SCeles's Profile

I think it's a bit unfair to compare a fairwood to an established Hong Kong Style Cafe, therefore my review will only compare those of similar price and accessibility.Today I was craving Imitation Sharksfin Soup so I went ahead and tried Fairwood's version. I bought the D lunch set for $23 and it includes the soup, Honey hot dog, a chicken wing and a drink. Hot Lemon TeaI know it seems odd to say this but their lemon tea really hit the spot. They gave four lemons in the small cup and it was really great and fragrant. I do feel I'm craving lemons so it probably isn't as outstanding if you're a tea aficionados. But to me, it was great and as it was a takeaway I put it into two cups and added hot water. Really nice, very lemony. Streetstyle Sharksfin SoupLooks just like other pictures from fairwood and the taste was definitely not bad but it was a little bland. At first I thought it was disappointing but with each bite it grew on me. I think I will go ahead and add more vinegar for punch and it will taste better. I do miss the texture from the excellent street hawker variety I had in mong kok but of course it's unfair to compare the two. BBQ chicken wingNote, I am not a big fan of chicken wings and again I bought the set for the sharksfin soup and was thinking of giving the chicken wing to my dog after washing it in water. First bite in I thought, sorry poochy you're getting something else tonight. Lots of flavor and served on a stick. Done surprisingly well and exceeded my expectations. Honey SausageAgain didn't buy it for this but this one was also surprisingly good to me. Not as surprising as the BBQ wing but good.Conclusion:This is a great lunch set for all the "wrong" reasons. I had absolutely no desire to eat the BBQ chicken wing nor the honey sausage but they were both bursting with flavor. The sharksfin soup on the other hand, lacked flavor but was not offensive. It just needed something and I will experiment with it. Overall I'm quite surprised with the quality of the lunch set as the lunch that I had before with my folks was quite blah. But due to the good service and the flavors I definitely recommend this place now. It's a fairwood so you shouldn't expect much, but I think the chicken wing won't disappoint :)…Read More

After writing a scathing review of The Yuu (horrid service, don't go there!) I prefer going back to my roots as a foodie and obsessing about good food. And there's no better place to write about than the famous Din Tai Fung.Service:Impeccable and unbeatable. There was a funny incident last time where my dad accidentally spilled tea. Before we even saw it the waitress was on it and cleaned it right up. I don't remember another place that was so on the mark.The Food and Pricing:This is all about Taiwanese cuisine and if you don't fancy it, it's a good idea not to come here (though the xiao long bao should be tasty for any carnivore). In addition, this place is not cheap by any means but you get what you pay for if you choose wisely. That said if you only want the best food pay the premium for the following threeXiao Long Bao (regular)The perfect xiao long bao with delicious soup inside and perfectly wrapped so not one of our baskets (more than 30 xiao long baos) had a rip. One that seemed to drip was actually due to the plethora of juices inside coming out from the top.Xiao Long Bao (Hairy crab)I love crab but I'm not a big fan of the Hairy Crab variety. That said, if you LIKE hairy crab you'll love these xiao long bao inspirations as I've been told they're bursting with flavor. Though I pass, I heard they're delicious and worth the price premium.Dan Dan MienAnother taiwan authentic dish made genuine right down to the fragrant leaves and slightly bitter aftertaste. It is spicy but nothing too hot to handle. It is bursting with flavor and some love the juices enough to eat it straight. It is a bit too salty for me though so it just goes excellently with the noodles.Overall:I cannot recommend a restaurant that places a premium higher than Din Tai Fung. To me it's one of those places where you go "it's expensive" but then realize "it's worth it". You won't be disappointed with the service and the taiwanese cuisine.…Read More

I respectfully disagree with the Editors Choice review below me though you should take in mind everyone's taste buds operate on a different level. Meatballs $9What was once my favorite is now repulsive to me. I'm DEFINITELY not a big fan of the Meatballs made today as they are literally swimming in the sauce (which was always less tasty than the meatballs to me) and have become mini sized. You can barely taste anything BUT the sauce and the portion is fine as I certainly don't want seconds. Perhaps you'll still like them if you like the sauce or you'll get lucky and they'll skimp a little. But as the servers are on autopilot it's hard to control that. All in all if you want to taste the meatball you'll do better buying it from the market. I can't vouch and say the quality of meat is the same or worse because I honestly couldn't taste it. Hot Dogs $6On the other hand, I think the hot dogs now taste better. While I agree that both the meatballs and hot dogs shrunk, I prefer quality over quantity and for the hot dogs they hit that quality mark. It's now a snappier dog without as much of that processed taste that made me prefer the meatballs and it also goes along better with the toppings. That said don't make that mistake of overwhelming the meat in sauce and only use sparing amounts of ketchup and mustard. These of course aren't German franks but for $6 it's really tasty. Popcorn $4Quite good and a little bit sweet after you get to the end, but otherwise very fragrant and yummy. Great even if you're like me and don't like caramel popcorn. Sundae $2The waffle cone is really delish and the ice cream itself is quite good. It's comparable to McD's and has a lighter, icier feel to it. It's not milkier or less sweet, as one reviewer said, but it's still quite good. Especially the cone.All in all ikea is value priced and their portions are quite small. Great for a quick bite to eat as it hits the spot, it's not great if you had fond memories of their old tasty meatballs. …Read More

Dad and I wanted to eat a bit of Steak so after sleuthing around on openrice found that people felt Outback served good food at great prices but had lousy service. Good food was always meant more to us than meh service so I went in with expectations of yummy noms and zero expectations of lawry's style service.My findings? The food was spot on and great. But the service? Equally as good! Asked for refills and everything though the way the place is laid out it's kinda hard to see the servers and hard for them to hear you. You have to flag them down and then they wind around the maze and get right to you.I also have to mention the lunch prices.After gratuity it came to less than $70 a person ($58 on menu) and it was such a steal. We got:Cream of Corn Soup - Ok, not amazingA small dish of salad - Fresh and crispBread with Cream cheese - Very tasty!Black Pepper Steak cutlets with rice and veggies - The best of these dishes. Perfectly cooked steak but the meh veggies and rice took it down a notchAnd Coffee or Unlimited Soda (they serve Coke Reg/Zero, Sprite, Cream, Fanta, and I believe that is all but may be missing something)There were about 9 selections in total on the menu and this was the only beef one but boy it sure did not disappoint.The black pepper steak was EXCELLENT for Hong Kong standards and pretty damn good if you come from the states like me. The rest of the main dish, was forgettable but when eaten with the steak tasted fine.All in all I have no biggie complaints about the food, service and quality. And neither do the expats who sat away from us smiling as they dug into their burgers. The meat is great for HK standards and I have to agree with one reviewer who said that the burger sure does look delish.Unless we were really lucky or you're really unlucky, you can't go wrong with lunch at CWB Outback. And this is coming from a non fan of outback.…Read More

We went for a saturday brunch and after hearing all the hullabaloo about this place thought that it was going to do some serious impressing, it didn't.It was still good but it is definitely not as good as the hype you'll read. The best I've had in Hong Kong, especially at the price, but I'll just say it's fresh and tasty and can sorta see why the uninformed flock to this place.I'll stick with the best first Steamed EggYou go to a japanese restaurant to eat... eggs? Well sounds crazy but I was glad I was in the party and suggested it because they never tried this before. The steamed egg is the absolute must try signature dish of the Mon and it definitely didn't disappoint. The egg was perfectly cooked and it went faster than the sushi... which is somewhat sad since I expected a good sushi. Chicken GristleThe chicken gristle had a great smokey taste to it but was definitely oily. Again not the best I've had especially for the price and while I liked it it is only because I love chicken gristle. SushiWhat was supposed to be the main dish just seemed like a filler to me. The sushi was fresh but had no other distinguishing feature that set it apart from other expensive HK sushi joints. While good it seemed ho hum compared to everything else.I realize I may have had a less than shining experience and perhaps this is the lowest quality you can expect from the Mon. The steamed egg was definitely one of the best I've had, and if this is just an off experience I can live with how this has over 200 smileys while other restaurants that are far superior than what I experienced gets crys and OKs. …Read More

Roti Paratha $10 (a steal!) Lamb Kebab $35-$40 lunchtime comes with soda/drinkOnly have time for a brief review but this is definitely worth coming back to. I saw a local Pakistani eating here and enjoyed a very friendly owner explaining to me what the foods were. Since we already paid $15 more each for 2 good but not great Istanbul Express Kebab Rolls, we weren't too keen on getting two. We ordered a $40 lunchtime set with Roti paratha. It took a bit longer than expected but the taste, especially of the roti, was divine.I'm tempted to try the kofta and the milk tea. But I'm definitely getting the roti as it's hand made and just about as good as the ones I got in Singapore, if not better. (and those people sure know how to make rotis!)The bottom line is, even if you prefer Ebeneezers or Istanbul express this place will not break the bank. Also the guy working here is quite nice. The only drawback is that it takes a little bit of time.…Read More

You can see my former review of the Quarry Bay MOS burger and then look at reviews here that the same chain does indeed differ like night and day in food quality. Tsing Yi's MOS burger was excellent. Just about as good as the MOS burgers I had in Japan and that says A LOT.The servers were super polite and even gave us extra water without us asking. The promotion was great (the previous post remarks on the $18 meal so posting photos would be redundant) and everything was served properly. Most importantly it looked just liked the photo, which was a MOS burger standard in Japan. The bun was lightly toasted, the cheese was plentiful and tasty and while I didn't taste much black pepper sauce the tomatoes and overall flavor balanced so well I couldn't help but lick the paper afterwards.I told myself not to get another one but well I did. I inhaled that second burger and was oh so tempted to get a third but pried myself away from the register.In short, go here and don't let bad MOS burger experiences get to you. After the Quarry Bay experience I almost never wanted to go to another MOS burger again. After this chain, and eating the deliciously fresh promo MOS burger I'm so glad I did.And a bonus? The servers who work here all look happy and friendly. Service here is better than some 4-5 stars I've went to and this is a FAST FOOD chain.…Read More

Reviewing the food firstI find a lot of these reviews based solely on the atmosphere, the history and purporting how these eggs are the best in the world in an unbeatable dining experience. Some feel you have to go because not going is a travesty to all that is Hong Kong dining. Be sure to take such advice with a grain of salt and make sure you go for the food, as if you're not you'll be disappointed. Also take away the atmosphere, the crowds, the history, and the hype and you are able to judge the food as it is. Nice comfort food that is cheap, efficient, and consistent but not world class.Therefore my review is catered to Asian Americans or people from the United States who are going for the food as well as warning them that this place is not a tourist attraction. For those who do not know this it is indeed run by the former (??) HK black mafia. According to my mother it was rumored to turn many "bad kids" around and is renowned as somewhat of a YMCA of HK cafes. Again take this bit of history with a grain of salt and focus on the food over any potential humanitarian efforts.Scrambled Eggs and ToastFirst I find it hard to rate a place that has good scrambled eggs and toast as a 5. I tend to rate on variety as well as quality and this place ranks at best as a 4. Having some of the best scrambled eggs on the island does not mean this place is a must go for every foreigner who ventures to HK. Besides I do not consider scrambled eggs and toast the apex of all that is Hong Kong dining. But on that note, this place does boast some very nice scrambled eggs and toast.Taste wise I prefer the Flying Pan much more, but that is comparing eggs benedict to scrambled eggs which is indeed unfair. I digress and will say these are good scrambled eggs but not "the best" nor will I recommend someone going there JUST to eat scrambled eggs and toast.The best scrambled eggs and toast I have EVER had was from a local breakfast restuarant in rural New York. It beat this one clear out of the water though this one does share some similarities. Both of these places were "local" and both of these places used excellent quality milk to produce such a high quality of scrambled eggs. Australia Dairy is purported to use hokkaido milk (ironic considering their namesake), and the NY place I went to used farm fresh New York milk. Their eggs also had more substance and was they were also farm fresh. And if you know eggs you know they can either be crap or divine. I cannot source the eggs of ADC but the taste just was not up to snuff.The toast on the other hand is a force to be reckoned with. If you're a bread-a-holic you probably won't find better quality unless you are willing to shell out quite a bit more. That said, the value of the breakfast set is quite high and even though it's not the best I've ever had it's good. If you're a tourist who's never been to HK on a limited time frame I recommend going to Excelsior for Lord Stowe's egg tarts instead and trying out the eggs here. If you've grown up on a farm it's safe to say you've most likely had better. It's also ok to skip Australia Dairy unless you're a fan of the following dish.Steamed Egg White and MilkIf you have ever went to Causeway Bay and paid for the overpriced Milk Tops, I must say this is better. The texture and the taste of eating this when it is freshly heated makes this the only reason why I would venture out to Jordan. If people overhyped for this dish I would understand even if I cannot wholly agree. As other reviewers have said, this is creamy and sweet and quite easy on the senses. For Hong Kong this is close to the best milk quality you can get, and since I'm a dairy maven I have cravings for what I consider good milk and therefore this dish.Why I do not go there everyday however is because I have indeed tasted better dairy and while this steamed egg and milk is not found everywhere, I do not consider this, in any means, fare that defines Hong Kong. If you were hard pressed though and wanted to say this is the best, then it at least would be more understandable than eggs.So Called Crappy ServiceNot every cha chan teng I will actually like, and frankly the ones I will revisit I can count on one hand. But since this is one of the exceptions I will say this. Despite understanding the etiquette involved in the waiting business I never had a problem with this cafe as their attitude reflects mine: Go in, Eat, Get out. If they ever had a mantra it would be, "we serve you fast so you should eat fast". There are also a few other points to take into consideration.First of all the place looks as cheerful as a tiled lavatory. Sure it's clean, sanitary and better than other HK cafes, but it's definitely NOT the Four Seasons and I don't particularly care to linger here.Second, for the price and the quality you are here to EAT not to whimsically reflect on how wonderful the history of this place is. Like the servers, their courtesy is giving you good food fast and your courtesy to them is to be sure you don't hold up other waiting customers aka money. Ask in dulcet tones how this place came about and you may get a curt and gruff sneer. If that puts you off, don't come here.Third, because of the history behind this place MANY foreigners like to do number two and frankly it's annoying. You're a newbie and perhaps you get more leeway, but they're not here to play tour guide. A dozen other hungry customers need to get served and if you're not ordering more food you are not a priority. A few of these people don't get it especially with reviews like the ones I find here (aka stop overhyping and confusing non locals). Honestly you'd fare much better with the service if you treat this place as a quick stop.Verdict and RecommendationAll in all this place does have good food and a very good Steamed Egg White and Milk Custard. But if you hate eggs or want to experience varied fare, you're pretty much SOL hence the 4 rating. My recommendation, however, and especially if you're foreign is paying a bit more and experiencing the international dining in Hong Kong. And if you really want good eggs, go to the Flying Pan while getting a steamed egg white and milk to go.Don't dig all the hype and go for the setting alone. You won't be able to sit there and enjoy it for long.…Read More

Bottom Line: You want good savory crepes go to the Jusco in Tai Koo. The difference is pretty much night and day. Otherwise if your crepes require ZERO preparation you could chance this one. IMO however, you're just better off with the other branch.ReviewSo I read the mixed reviews on here and decided to take a go. There were people on the other Marion Crepes page who raved about the Causeway bay branch and I decided to try it.Utter waste of $32 HKD. The servers were rude, basically demanded money without a thank you and slopped on the meat and the crepe and just rolled it up and sent you off. The wait was crappy and the surrounding people just smelled bad from BO and street crowding. Also the hygiene is definitely sub par. I feel funny after eating the COLD meat and insides of the crepe just did not taste fresh. Frankly I will never go to this branch again unless the servers changed. If the suggestions card was available next time I will go ahead and write my heated review.The ONLY saving grace was that the crepe was crispy and good. However, even that doesn't deserve an extra star and the one star rating is totally deserved. I attribute this to the fact that the other branch actually HEATED the insides of the savory crepe and made it a consistent and addictive mouth feel.VerdictObviously go to the one in Tai Koo and look for the happy and pleasant girl who is quite helpful. She makes the savory crepes absolutely addictive and delicious and the difference in quality is night and day. I highly recommend that you go get their $10 HKD waffle cone promotion.In short I will NEVER go to this branch again unless the servers change. Though even that may not convert me. I'm quite happy with the Taikoo branch and how pleasant and accomodating they are.…Read More

After the absolutely awful experience at the MOS Burger across the street, my friend and I walked across to Jusco to try some other cuisine to wash our mouths out. We came upon this place and I noticed the very attractively priced Mini Milk Ice on their display. I'm quite a picky eater of ice so I thought if it sucks and it was just $10 bucks it's not a big deal.One bite and I was in Heaven. I wanted to buy 3 more but settled with one as I did not want to spoil my dinner nor ruin my teeth as it was quite hard to chew and cold (I love that texture)As we were sharing the ice, we saw a menu on the side and we discovered more affordable things like the light crepes and also $10 Ice Cream cones.This discovery was the start of our not so cheap excursion into all that was Marion Crepes. Within the next three days we have eaten and fallen in love with:The Teriyaki Hamburger Crepe (light and with cheese)The Kyoho Grape and Green Tea Ice Creams (Only $10!!! with waffle cone)The Mini Ice Milk Slush (Strawberry, also $10) The oolong tea that came free via coupon was blah but who cares about making oolong tea tasty when the star was ice cream and crepes!By and far, this Marion Crepe branch knew how to make their items delicious and value priced. The crepe came hot and oh so crispy on the top, and the ice cream cone was absolutely addicting and delicious with a wonderfully tastey waffle cone. Aside from the awesome and delicious food (savory and non) we also got great service. The server actually gave us caramel ice by accident but then replaced it with Strawberry immediately. They were also quite quick and the food came out great despite a long line and the tension of multitasking.All this combined has sold us and we're repeat customers now.It would be nice to keep this place all to ourselves but hopefully this suggestion will help this quiet stall do better. …Read More

Again I'm not sure why this is getting high marks on Open Rice whereas other delicious thing get low marks. As an American Asian who has travelled to the states and Japan I can tell you that this burger SUCKS. And my friend said the SAME exact thing.We ate a $44 meal with croquette and corn soup and we can say everything was substandard. The meat quality was awful, the taste of the sloppy joe topping was really horrendous (like day old canned sloppy joe) and the placement was lopsided and messed up. The Corn soup was totally watered down, and the "saving grace" if you can call it that was the crispy croquette that still had too little corn taste and was utterly ma-ma.I've eaten at the Japanese MOS burger and they are in NO way comparable to the awful versions here. Even the Taiwanese branch had corn soup was tasty and had corn, not like the ones here that was just watered down mush. On that note, I have to say this chain does not do the Japanese MOS burger ANY justice. The mos burger in Japan was by far the most delicious, if small, burger I have ever eaten and was the only time I wanted to queue up in a +15 minute line to get another serving.My belief from all these obscenely high ratings is that no one here has ever eaten a decent burger. And I feel sorry for the people here. If you're a foreigner, AVOID this branch and if you're daring try another one. But in my honest opinion, McD's serves a better Big n' Tasty for a much more reasonable price.At least you can taste the quality of beef in their burger and not some sloppy joe gimmick.…Read More

Went here Saturday noontime and everything was great. We've eaten in nice restaurants before and usually we can nitpick some things here and there. But honestly there was nothing to nitpick here. This is a great place to take your family, friends, coworkers, date, so on and the food was excellent. Definitely want to go there again. RecommendationsCoffee, cakes (delicious), cream based dishes, and pastas (if you like al dente) though frankly everything we tried was really excellent.I'm not a coffee drinker nor a sweets fan, but both were excellent. RecommendationsWe each ordered a set lunch though I am not sure if the set lunch changes daily. If not you cannot go wrong with the Mushroom Truffle Risotto. It was excellent and paired with the cream of mushroom starter, this was better than any mushroom set I've ever eaten (including homemade and in other expensive restaurants).At the end there was a choice of Coconut-Mango Mousse or blueberry cheesecake. Surprisingly both were excellent in its own right.It's location, food and price made this an excellent dining experience. And unless you demand the best food for a relatively very cheap price, you can't go wrong with this place.For $108HKD with no service charge you can't go wrong with the set lunch.…Read More

I'm very surprised at the reviews so I felt compelled to write mine.This place is great when you come on the weekends, but while I have no experience during office hours, I wouldn't expect it to be as bad as people here are saying, considering the food is as good as it is.I have went here the first time with my sister in 2006 and we loved it. Then we came back today for lunch buffet this time with my second sister treating the entire family, including my eldest sister and my brother in law who lived in Japan. They are food mavens and KNOW what good sushi is.We have to say all six of us thought this was one of the best tasting sushi joints in Hong Kong and everyone was impressed, including them. Everything tasted good and for me it came down to eating the best of the best. It was hard to narrow down my favorite foods but it came down to the Soft Shell Crab Hand Roll, the salmon roe hand roll, the toro and scallop sushi.Though everything was yummy the chicken gristle gyoza was a little greasy. It wasn't actually bad, but compared to the other amazing foods it took the back seat. With fresh scallops, tuna, and the minced toro, it's hard not to wonder why.The area is also clean. We did not see mosquitos, as per another review, and the bathroom is small but very hygienic. The area was also compact but clean.The servers were also courteous. The young one was always refilling our teas, answered our questions and cleaned our plates. The older, more seasoned wait staff seemed to be the one the reviewers were complaining about but honestly they were not rude either. Besides, when I get good food for a good price I don't expect people to wait me hand and foot. Also the food did take a while but good food takes time.On this note, pre-planning is likely important. For $128 per person you need to book in advance as the seating is limited. This might also be the reason why people came out dissatisfied when they ordered ala carte and it took longer than most places to prepare.As far as advertising, I see nothing misleading. There are the standard service charge and tea fees. But only if you are a fresh expat would you not understand the terminology they use for public holidays here. On that note, weekends almost always counts as a public holiday and this place is therefore not an exception.Even if you still feel the service sucks, this place has great food when you go at the right time. Order off the list and for a really good price you get some of the freshest sushi in Hong Kong. We also ate a lot and we found no rudeness with the wait staff who diligently carted off our plates. So on a lazy sunday, when you aren't in a rush and would like some of the freshest sushi on the island you can't go wrong by booking this place.This is the second time my sister and I ate here and the quality definitely did not go down.…Read More