toutouhappy's Profile

It was a girls' night out and we started with a bottle of rosé. The restaurant is spacious but the music was extremely loud, probably because there is no carpet to absorb the sound. The restaurant is well-staffed, and we were quite surprised that there were so many people working in the open kitchen. The choice of set tasting menu is simple, either the regular ($788) or the Feast ($988), and we were feeling hungry, so Feast for everyone. You have to choose the same tasting menu for the whole table. Before we started, we were sent the complimentary snack platter, everything was nice on the plate, but not spectacular. Then we were served a shot of fluorescent green drink. We were told it was fermented jasmine tea with matcha. It was the most foul drink I have ever been served - it simply tasted and smelled like toilet cleaner. We reflected to the waitress that we did not like the drink. Two minutes later, the manager came and 'explained' why we should like the drink (because for some medicinal or wholesomeness reasons) and the drink is exactly how the restaurant serves it. Fine, we just didn't like it. But he just went on and on, trying to convince us that we were wrong in not knowing how to appreciate the drink. In the end, we had to stress that it was us not them. Some kind of service. OK, the tasting menu. Oyster - Gillardeau oyster, cucubmer and wasabi.      This was a much better dish than the horrible drink, we liked the wasabi sauce. Tomatoes - Zen heirloom tomatoes, king crab, tomato water, herbs, blossoms.     Really refreshing and the tomato water was superb. Salmon - Irish organic salmon, beetroot, smoked buttermilk, dill.     Bland, and the beetroot slices were too acidic. The beetroot countered the smoked buttermilk. Salad - Zen organic vegetables, garden herb butter, aged parmesan.     This was very refreshing as well, the little sweetcorn was the best. And the parmesan crisp was delicious. Egg - Taiyouran egg, mixed grains, shiitake mushroom, garlic chive.      This was the best dish of the evening. The egg yolk was runny and mixed perfect with the mixed grains and mushroom. The garlic chive was a bit overpowering. Bread - house baked rye sourdough bread, mushroom butter.      I'd come back for the bread and the mushroom butter, superb. At this point, we were reminded that we just finished our bottle of rosé, so we were provided with a wine list. We ordered a bottle of pinot grigio. Two minutes later, the same manager came and asked why didn't we consider a bottle of red. Because we didn't WANT one! If the restaurant would like to recommend a pairing wine, they should have done it before we decided on the wine (like any other restaurants), and we'd welcome recommendations. But not after the diners have made their decision. Chicken - Roasted chicken, cauliflower, seaweed, oyster emulsion.      We couldn't quite see the point of this dish at all. The cauliflower was grilled perfectly, but the chicken rolled in seaweed was not the best idea. Beef - Stockyard smoked wagyu cheek, black garlic.       The cheek was tender, but it wasn't flavorful enough. Guava - Guava, coconut, roselle.        Palate cleansing. Chocolate - Bitter chocolate, orange, hazelnut.         Everything on the plate was nice, but it was not a spectacular dessert to finish a tasting menu. For a restaurant that serves 'nourishing gastronomy', we couldn't quite see that point. The ingredients were fresh, but they were not necessarily handled well to bring out all the flavors. To be fair, the food was about average, but not worth the $988/person price tag. The service was definitely not up to the standard. In our two encounters, the manager was absolutely annoying and off putting. The music was loud so the waiters couldn't introducing the dishes clearly (btw, the waiters need pronunciation training). NUR is not for encore.  …Read More

Saturday morning walk took us down to Cheung Sha Wan, usually there is really nothing to eat there. Luckily we found Sun Wah Cafe on one of our previous walks, and it has become our favorite and go-to place in Cheung Sha Wan. First, you have to love the sign...they still kept the phone number from the last century. Wonder what happened when people called for take-away or delivery I ordered the special: note, with the choice of jelly or tea! All breakfast sets come with ham omelette and a bun.I have to say the harm omelette was quite amazing, the eggs were done just right, so it was still a bit runny, just the way I like it...super yummy. The bun was hot and soft. My satay beef and noodle was perfect. The cafe used fresh beef and the texture was really tender. The satay sauce was flavorful and slightly spicy, just perfect for the instant noodle. The 雪菜 preserved veggie and pork vermicelli was quite good as well. Slightly too salty, but it worked well with the bland vermicelli. 雪菜 is just the taste of cha chaan teng, and there is no escaping! Spicy pork vermicelli, this was just straight from the can, so nothing much to comment other than the cafe has chosen a great brand! Spicy and hot, enough to wake anyone up! We should have get the egg tarts to go, but we were too full...they looked super delicious!…Read More

A party of 10 and we were pretty hungry and we left, or at least I was. We ordered the escargots cooked in chilli oil (sorry no photo)...very hot. Other than that, the escargots were the tiny ones, not the bigger French types. So for every bite, you have to work real hard. Then stir-fried vegetable (2 dishes), the restaurant just used so much cooking oil that there was 2-inch of oil at the bottom of the plates ...really disgusting.Ok, then came the famous deep fried mantis shrimp and crab covered in deep fried garlic and chilli. I had one piece of each and really didn't see the attraction. The mantis shrimp was so over cooked that I couldn't taste freshness at all. And the meat was so chewy. The crab was better with the hard protective shell!!!! But the garlic and chilli was really overseasoned. That's another complaint: everything was too salty! Steamed scallop : this was the nicer dish, but the seasoning was still very strong. The scallop was steam to perfection, but there was too much soya sauce and garlic. Oysters baked with port wine was just ordinary. The oysters were of good sizes, but they were overcooked, so the meat was a bit chewy. But the taste was good, and actually the onions tasted much better than the oysters. :(We also ordered a pot of stewed beef brisket, but it was so chewy that we left half of it. It wasn't worth the energy. Finally, fried noodle was so dry and bland, with very little onion or bean sprout. Just couldn't imagine anyone liking the dish at all. Seriously, this restaurant is just a tourist trap (I think we were the only stupid locals). For the price that we paid and the food we got, we were scammed. …Read More

We had the Tasting menu, but somehow it was different from the online menu. In the end, we decided on the 4-course tasting menu: 2 appertizers, main and dessert + a bottle of wine. We didn't get our first choice of wine...ended up with a Chilean chardonnay. Salmon in Six Ways was a visual and tasting delight. We love the seared and cold-smoked salmons the best. The quality of the salmon was superb. Melt in the mouth.He chose the shrimp and fish cake, very strong flavored, crispy on the outside and you can see chunks of shrimp and fish. I chose the Arctic Charr Inkokt...I didn't get this dish. It was more like eating herring. I didn't like the bland seasoning. The house-smoked salmon was wonderful. The fish was definitely melting in my mouth, so tender and not too strongly flavored. The stewed morel mushrooms was just mind-blowing, perfectly seasoned and didn't overwhelm the taste of fish. The potatos were lovely as well. My question: where do they find fresh dill in Hong Kong? The grilled spring lamb was absolutely a must-try item. The lamb was tender and gamey. The potato puree was well-done, but could have been smoother. The only thing was the foamy light malt sauce...didn't get that...The terrine was good, but the best part was the mint ice-cream.The lingonberry white chocolate mousse cake with the tiniest meringues, there were too many flavour going at the same time: white chocolate, rhubarb, beetroot...not bad, but not the most memorable finale to a meal. …Read More

It's one of those days that we needed a glass (or two) of Sangria after a long week. Without any reservation, ViCool is the best choice in TST. Nicest glass of Sangria in town, with cinnamon added. The tapa serving portion is perfect for 3 or 4. The first tapa was smoked eggplant, we had this dish twice before and it was just great. Even someone who doesnt like eggplant, he wolfed down half the dish. The eggplant was flavorful and the generous use of pine nut added additional texture to the dish. The only thing I didn't quite like was the overuse of chives on top. The whole dish was covered with chives....The ham croquettes were good, creamy inside and crispy outside. The taste of potato was not very strong though. I quite liked the creamy texture, but it did have a Campbell's Soup feel to it.The Catalan Susage pizza was fantastic. Catalan Susage was like the English black pudding, really rich and strong-flavored. But the susages worked perfectly with the crispy and slightly bitter endive leaves. Wish they would put more susages on top...The homemade bread was average...nothing memorable...The slow-cooked egg with Iberico ham and fried was an absolute delight. Basically fries with lots of bacon bits and cheesy creamy sauce, plus the liquidy egg yolk...guilty and sinful pleasure. Finally the spinach and parmesan cannelloni, definitely great if you like spinach. Finally chooped spinach stuffed in the cannelloni and an extra creamy parmesan sauce. We skipped desserts after recalling the bad memory of having the desserts there (basically not worth the money). Had another glass of Sangria...…Read More

We arrived at about 11:45am for lunch on Sunday to avoid the queue, especially when the original restaurant was under renovation. We took a taxi and followed the address from the OpenRice app and got to this branch. We usually went to the old branch, but looking at the instructional map stuck on the door, we gave up and went inside. It's actually much better in terms of the seating: small tables, spacious, chairs with backs(!). In the other one, 15 people have to share a 10-people table and it's usually uncomfortably crowded. So we do like the new branch even before eating. :)We ordered the usual beef pies (you simply can't come here and not order this!), onion pancake, beef curry with rice, and egg curry. This is the order list that we have been ordering for the last several years. When I ordered the egg curry, the waitress was absolutely dumbfounded, 'Egg curry? Do we have egg curry?'. Now it's my turn, I have been eating egg curry for the last 5 years! She went to the kitchen and came back saying, 'It's only a fried egg with curry sauce...', 'Yes, that's exactly what we want!!! And the potatoes.'OK, beef curry with rice arrived quickly, tasted fantastic...spicy and scrumptious, beef very tender, and and the curry sauce is on the hot side. Don't worry, the rice was piled high. But the egg curry was a bit disappointing. We might have ordered the wrong dish  should have been the potato curry. The egg curry...three fried eggs (more like a frittata) with curry sauce and ONE piece of potato on top...my memory was potato and then two fried eggs (real fried eggs) on top...but that dish was $50!!!!! Remember to order the potato curry next time. Then came the beef pies...mouthwatering! The smell was amazing. The pastry was thin and panfried crispy. As usual, the sauce inside was piping hot, flavorful and tongue-burning. The minced meat was just heavenly. The beef pie here always made me happy. The onion pancake was perfect as well. Again panfried crispy and lots of onions inside, not too salty. Perfect for soaking up the curry sauce! Have been visiting this restaurant since I was a kid, and I left happy and full everytime! …Read More

Make a reservation...a small shop. The best prime ribs sandwich in town, and the gravy was to die for. Great fries. The meat just melt in your mouth. Dip the whole sandwich in the gravy, you are in heaven. Forget the salad. Forget the clams. The grilled shrimps were also amazing. It's a great place for a Sat/Sun brunch...for the health conscious...take the apple for dinner!…Read More

We came for lunch on a Sunday afternoon, it was quiet. I usually had dinner here and have never been here at lunch time. Greeted with a lunch set menu! Quite a lot of choices at very reasonable price. We ordered two sets: spicy squid and ribs in ginseng soup. Both super yummy. The squid was firy hot, but that's exactly what we wanted! The beef was so tender that it melted in my mouth. A super great Sunday lunch!…Read More

A very random bus trip took us to Kwai Fong and a random walk brought us to this dumpling place. Excellent dumplings, freshly made (the ladies were practically sitting next to us making dumplings!). Excellent Taiwanese style beef with rice, the pig trotters were tasty. Even the bubble tea was quite good!It's inside a noisy shopping mall, but it's a great quick eatery. …Read More

Practically empty on a Sunday afternoon...should be a cautionary tale.Anyway, the boys insisted that we should give it a try. Japanese curry with burger and a beetroot-flavoured omelette...it's pink, that's all I would say.We ordered two rice pizzas...one with kimchi and bacon toppings, the other one was bacon and cheese (or something like that). The rice pizza base was very chewy and tough, more like burnt rice then a pizza base. The kimchi topping was very spicy with a couple pieces of really fatty bacons. The cheesy one was not particularly memorable. But the plus side was that it was a set lunch so the whole meal was quite cheap, and the place was nice and quiet. …Read More

We have breakfast here almost every Saturday, and definitely love their French Toast. Three layers of bread with peanut butter filling. Freshly made every time. Absolutely melt in your mouth! Really the best French Toast in Hong Kong. We also usually have the luncheon meat and eggs sandwich, average. All their drinks are on the sweet side, so remember to ask for 'less sweet'. Really friendly waitresses. …Read More

Girls' lunch at Sweet Basil Thai. The pomelo salad was very spicy. Fried chicken soft bones are tasty and crunchy. Chicken feet, don't ask why this was ordered, were extremely spicy. Fried shrimp cake was extremely good. The best was the seafood fried rice in coconut, creamy sauce and tasty seafood, the fried rice was excellent. The dessert was horrible (I don't know what it was), the green sticky cake, bland and warm and sticky and yucky. The waitresses were absent-minded, kept serving the wrong dishes to the wrong tables. The place was also quite noisy on a Saturday afternoon.  …Read More

Went to Australia Dairy Company for a breakfast at about 11:15am...a long queue already waiting outside the restaurant. But the staff were super efficient, I am always amazed by their ability to maximize the number of people seated at a table. Well...queued, because I missed their super delicious scrambled eggs. Only a 5-minute wait and was arranged to sit down to order for a breakfast: scrambled eggs, toasts, ham and macaroni, and hot lemon tea. The eggs and toasts were served in 1-minute. Well...it wasn't the same scrambled eggs that I remembered, still delicious, but it was way too greasy. Not that I don't like butter, but the amount of grease was unbelievable. The thick-cut toasts were nice. The ham and macaroni in soup was just forgettable. It was just a 5-min wait...so it was still ok. But I don't think I ever want to go back again given that you have to finish your meal in about 10-min and leave. That's the average time people spent there. …Read More

We had to catch a movie and heard that this was a good restaurant in Shamshuipo, so we arrived at 6ish to get our dinner. There are not a lot of choices for dumplings on the Kowloon side :( Ok...everything was wrong in this restaurant, it's noisy and crowded, and quite dirty. The seaweed cold dish was not quite up to standard, with extremely strong vinegar (and not really good quality). The same with the potato salad, which should have been light with a dash of vinegar. If you go there again, skip the cold dishes. The dumplings were...disappointing. The fillings were not memorable (I can't remember what I had), the pastry was really soggy and bland. The beef patty was a disaster! I know we are in Shamshuipo, but they really don't have to save money on the beef! There was practically no beef in the patty. Go to Kowloon City to satisfy your next beef patty crave. We ordered the last dish, French beans with chili. It was so oily that we gave up. Not the most pleasant food...I don't quite understand why it is so popular! When we ran for our lives at about 7, there was a long queue outside. …Read More

We didn't know where to go on a Sunday afternoon, and Al Molo came to mind. The weather was nice enough to sit outside. The best thing about this lunch buffet is that we didn't have to 'fight' to get our food. A great selection of salad and antipasti dishes. Love the stuffed pepper with tuna. The breads were great. We ordered the steak and lobster ravioli dishes, fantastic! The steak was done just perfectly and the poached egg sat beautifully on top of crunchy potatoes. The ravioli was so flavorful that we fought to have the last one. The dessert selection was not that spectacular. …Read More