gweilocal's Profile

Tai Hang needed a traditional Cantonese diner with good seating and now it finally has one. All of the usual Cantonese dishes are on offer here and there’s a good drink selection as well. Can’t read Chinese? No problem, the menu is available in English. There are no surprises here: dishes are prepared correctly and portions are generous.…Read More

Having sampled Korean food in some of Seoul's most celebrated eateries, I am happy to report that some of the best Korean cuisine is available right here in Hong Kong at Han Guk Gong (translated Korean Palace).Things got off to a great start when the obligatory kimchi arrived. Lacking the typical manufactured texture and strong ammonia aftertaste of factory made kimchi, it was clear from the beginning that we were about to experience something special. Indeed, the kimchi is homemade by the friendly owner who was happy to share her approach to the art of kimchi making. Be careful because when you eat the real thing, it will not be possible to eat store bought kimchi again. The tofu soup, kimchi fried rice and grilled mackerel soon arrived with the same attention to detail and perfectly balanced flavors. Han Guk Gong stands far above all the other Korean eateries in the neighborhood.…Read More

I have eaten at every notable ramen restaurant in Tokyo and at least ten more in Hong Kong. The Bari-uma soup base is one of the best I have tried and the ability to substitute pork for chicken is unique for the Hong Kong market. Prices are the same as most other ramen establishments but quality is much higher than average. When I want ramen, there's only one place I need to go!…Read More

I thought I knew a lot about Chiu Chow cuisine. Compared to most westerners, I probably do. And while I knew that many Chiu Chow eateries in Hong Kong have deviated from their Guangdong roots, they have done so over many years and there can be some standard of authenticity measured by those standards. Like anything else, there are good ones and bad ones and everything in between.The H Kitchen is Chiu Chow cuisine owing its roots and inspiration to Shantou; a coastal area of Guangdong province. A small but very noticeable consideration like using quail egg instead of chicken eggs and not deep frying oyster pancakes with a cheap flour coating thus preserving the juiciness and shape of the oysters is the type of detail we saw in every dish on the table. The owner happened to be there during our lunch and explained many things about the ingredients and preparation of the magnificent dishes we tried. It's clear that The H Kitchen holds a very high standard that is quite difficult to find these days.The H Kitchen is not a fine dining establishment. The prices are reasonable. So naturally I was quite shocked by this high level of quality.Service is friendly and attentive. My only criticism is that there is no English menu. Take a Cantonese speaking person along with you and everyone will leave The H Kitchen with a massive smile and a full belly!…Read More

Walking by after dinner, we noticed an assortment of interesting Indonesian desserts in the window. We selected four desserts to enjoy once we arrived home. Two of the four desserts had a terrible, sour flavor that signaled they had spoiled already. After making cautious, small bites of the other two desserts, we determined that they were not spoiled however at that point we considered that none of the desserts were fresh enough to safely eat.…Read More

While most vegetarian restaurants are busy trying to shape tofu into something that looks and tastes like meat, Veggie Spinner takes a more creative approach. They combine high quality fruits and vegetables in unexpected ways to make dishes that burst with flavor and leave you feeling satisfied. This is a great place for strict vegans and anyone else who simply wants a healthy meal. The fresh squeezed juice as a set menu offering is a great touch.…Read More

Chong Fat is my favorite place for Chiu Chow cuisine, and it's worth the trip to Kowloon City for the experience. Many thanks to my Hong Konger friends for making the introduction! I gave it four stars for decor. Why? Because it takes us back to the golden years of Hong Kong eateries before the overpriced, fancy western eateries arrived. If you're looking for ambience; expensive lighting fixtures and artwork on the walls, go elsewhere! If you are looking for great food in a clean but spartan environment, then you are in the right place. The food display is larger than most Chiu Chow restaurants and the seafood selection is impressive. The prices are more reasonable than those on the Island and the dishes are far more authentic. There are no English menus but you can point to dishes and the staff can speak enough English to get you started. …Read More

Lotus rice, oysters cooked in port, bok choy with xo sauce washed down with hot iron Buddha tea. That's a good Cantonese meal! The food is good and the big tables full of friends and families drinking beer out of bowls along with the charm of the wet market atmosphere is something tourists and locals alike can enjoy. The menu is in English and Chinese making it convenient to order. There's really only one downside to all of this Cantonese goodness: its very expensive. Budget conscious local diners know they can get similar dishes and quality at the Happy Valley wet market for a lot less money. I gave this place 5 stars for decor. The dilapidated decor is really part of the experience. The place is dirty and I don't think that contributes to the experience. …Read More

If you are looking for dense, rich breads baked in HK using the finest flours from France then there is only one place you can go: Levain. We have been loyal customers for close to four years since the time of their first shop which was located on Old Bailey in Central. They have since expanded operations and the baked goods on offer has grown as well. We order several loaves of our favorite bread so we never have to go without! Trips to the store creates additional temptation with all of the expertly baked sweet goods on offer. Simply put, if you're someone who demands high quality baked goods and cannot imagine eating cheap, store bought bread with questionable ingredients, Levain is the place for you. Stop by and relax at the PMQ location for a canelé and a cup of coffee. Leave with a load of bread. Repeat!…Read More

I have eaten at Passucci a few times. I can sum it up quickly: great flavors, small portions, friendly service, disorganized arrival of dishes.The bruschetta appetizer we ordered was the last dish to arrive at our table, even before the pizza. This is a common issue here, and this is at the root of my comment about disorganized. I expect it at a cha chan teng, but not an Western eatery where the order in which dishes arrive is a thoughtful process.While the bruschetta was a bit too light on the olive oil, that could just be a matter of taste. However the frutti de mar required a microscope in order to see the seafood portion that was mixed with the small pasta portion. That's more than a matter of taste, it's a matter of value. The pizza is a reasonable size and perhaps the only dish we happily could not find fault with. We finished with good coffee.Overall, Pascucci offers some very good flavors but it definitely could use improvement in other areas if it wants to build the same clientele as its competitors.…Read More

This review is for my third visit to Tai Hang Bar & Grill. Due to the steady flow of customers into the restaurant, It's remarkable that I am both the first and second reviewer to this newly opened eatery behind the public library in Causeway Bay and at the edge of the Tai Hang neighborhood.Every time we have entered the restaurant we are greeted with friendly, smiling staff. And every meal we have tried is nicely prepared with good quality ingredients.Our lunch started with a lovely cauliflower soup and Indian inspired chicken skewers. I had already tried the skewers in a larger entree form during an earlier visit and the quality was consistent. The seafood pasta dish was perfectly light and a great choice if you don't want a heavy meal.I had not eaten mac and cheese for 4-years until yesterday. The quality was much higher than the cheap stuff I ate back in the States! The dish is baked with a golden brown crust on top. If you are a mac and cheese fanatic, this is the best you can get.A light cheesecake and ice cream serving rounded out the lunch set which by all measure is a bargain.A highlight of our visit was meeting Kim, who waited on us occasionally. She was there to train staff in making coffee drinks for her "Coffee Culture" brand Kim & Co. Kim was kind enough to allow us to sample her coffees and explain the properties of the blend. The coffee is wonderfully smooth without sacrificing the richness and body that serious coffee drinkers insist upon. A perfect way to wrap up the meal.Tai Hang Bar & Grill is the perfect place to get a high quality western meal with friendly, attentive service at reasonable prices. With all of the recent rent hikes and forced closures of Tai Hang's small but diverse eateries, Tai Hang Bar & Grill give us hope that the neighborhood can still flourish!…Read More

We had string beans with belechan, Penang style fried noodles with shrimp and tofu, fried boneless chicken and a side of barley rice. Every dish was nicely seasoned and served hot to make for an all-round good meal. Definitely worth the visit if you are looking for spicy curries or Singaporean style cuisine in general. Ask for a side of samba sauce to complete the experience.…Read More

This review is for our third visit to All In. Although I wanted the awesome chicken tortillas I had eaten (and reviewed) before, we decided to try something new. They were quite busy when we ordered and we were warned that the food may take some time to prepare. No problem for us. We would rather have a good slowly cooked meal than a bad fast meal. It's a comfortable environment to chill out, listen to music with a beer or cocktail and watch people walk by. I passed on the alcohol and went for a strawberry milkshake to start the meal. As the saying goes: life is short, start with dessert! At most restaurants, fish and chip dishes usually have 2-3 pieces of fish. At All In, it's a single large piece of fish. Net size seems the same, just a different presentation. The spicy potato wedges with half lemon on the side was a nice addition. We also ordered a fish sandwich which is a slightly smaller package if you prefer that. The serving sizes are not small but they are also not huge. Seems just right and we left full. The prices are very fair for what you get. We finished with scotch eggs, though we had to box them up and try later that evening because we were too full from the fish and chips and fish sandwich. It's very rare to get scotch eggs that are perfectly prepared with a completely runny yolk inside. But All In nailed it! Wrapping up, All In is unique in the sense that the staff, environment and menu is casual but the food that arrives to your table is gourmet and what you would expect from higher end restaurants. …Read More

The fried pomfret in soy sauce is a bit plain though the quality of fish was very good. The spring vegetables, which nearly every Chiu Chow eatery offers, lacked the savory flavor the dish is known for however the addition of turnips to the dish is a nice touch. The fried shrimp and crab meat balls were perfectly fried but the sauce offered on the side was a bit too sweet. In general, the food is of good quality but the flavors are more akin to Chinese fine dining than Chiu Chow. Sadly, the staff here are were using foul language, yelling at one another very loudly and repeatedly bumping into my chair. When the bill arrived, I realized that we could have had a more peaceful meal at half the price elsewhere.…Read More

Playt is a great place to go if there are people in your group with different tastes. Everyone will find something they like here. The foods are nicely prepared and the quality is good. From crab legs to sushi, baked pork and beef to the expansive dessert bar, you'll certainly leave satisfied. The downside? It's expensive. …Read More