為食貓QQ's Profile

With the weather getting hotter and hotter by the day, I feel a strong urge to have something to cool down my palate and body. Just happened to be browsing through a magazine one day and noted a small section on this new eatery; what actually caught my eye was the various forms of cold noodles (涼麵), which I thought would be very nice to have in this sort of weather. Since the place is situated at North Point, and not too far away from where I work, I decided to give this place a try for lunch. Situation in a rather "hidden" location in a small alley, this place was not exacting easy to find for someone not living nearby, and worst of all the information on the map was a bit misleading. The best way would be to get out from one of the 'B' exits from the North Point MTR, then turn left to enter 書局街, and keep walking until you reach the end of the road; there you would find a small alley leading off the main road to 錦屏街, where the shop is located. The shop is pretty small (at most 20 seats) so a bit of waiting would be almost inevitable; fortunately for me, I did not have to wait too long on that day. The wait staff (2 of them) appeared to be relatively young and inexperienced, but at least they were conscientious and helpful and tried their best with the work. Seating was reasonably comfortable, place was decent and still relatively tidy and clean, and the view into the kitchen provided extra insight into how the food was prepared (including how the peel or knife-cut noodles 刀削麵 were freshly prepared by the chef ) . Choices were listed out on the order form - unfortunately for me, the cold noodles are only served during dinner For noodles, one could choose between ramen 手拉麵 or knife-cut noodles 刀削麵, and between regular or large portions; for ingredients, mainly beef, mutton, egg, vegetables etc. Ox-bone soup 牛骨湯底 was used for all the noodles. There were also other side dishes that one could order, including things like spa egg 温泉蛋 and various forms of skewers, marinated with either salt (himalayan salt used) or cumin. At the end, I decided to go for the beef with regular portion knife-cut noodles 青藏牛肉刀削麵, cucumber salad 涼伴青瓜, the grilled lamb rack with cumin 孜然羊架, and the mushroom skewer 汁燒野菌. After a wait of 15 mins, the noodles and the salad arrived first. The soup got a nice brownish colour and was semi-transparent, with smell and taste characteristic of ox bone, which was quite nice; for not only was it not excessively salty, there also did not appear to be a lot of MSG inside. The noodles were rather thick-cut, and portion was not small even for a "regular" order; the noodles were also cooked just right, being quite chewy and tangy in texture. The beef used was not beef slices but rather beef briskets, and they were full of beef flavour, being slow cooked to yield a tender texture. Overall speaking, the beef noodle was nice and exceeded my expectation; I certainly wouldn't mind if they could make the soup base even richer and full-bodied in flavour, for that would definitely make the whole thing even more enjoyable. The cumcumber salad was also a delight, for they were served chilled, marinated with vinegar and just a dash of chilli oil and sprinked with sesame, and were smashed rather than chopped up which helped the sauce to penetrate into the substance of the melon; for those who wanted to spice things up like myself, extra chilli oil and chopped garlic were provided as condiments and I simply added loads of them onto the dish A very refreshing dish indeed and quite a good choice for the summer seasons. The grilled items arrived after another 5 mins of wait. The mushroom skewer was nicely done, with the mushrooms lightly marinated with a sweet sauce and then grilled; best of all, the mushrooms were carefully broiled to retain their juicy nature, which was not often the case with this item according to my experience elsewhere. The lamb rack with cumin was even more impressive, with a strong smell and taste of cumin (it was literally covered with it), while the mutton remained tender and juicy . My only comment, if I were to be particularly picky on this one, would be that it was perhaps a bit overseasoned, and the salt and cumin probably masked the flavour of the mutton a bit more than intended; but it was a nonetheless a great dish, and definitely a cut better than those so-called "lamb skewers" that I had tried locally before. Highly recommended for mutton lovers At this point I was already completely full. Overall a most enjoyable meal and the price was very reasonable, considering the loads of stuff I had sampled. Would definitely love to come back again to try the cold noodles and the rest of the skewers later. Hope that I could again get a "high" with the stuff here next time round. NB. Note that the place is closed on Tuesdays whole day. …Read More

It has always been my belief that in order to judge the standard of a restaurant, one should go for the simple dishes rather than those "complex" or sophisticated ones; and a simple dinner was indeed what we had here, and we were quite impressed with the overall quality of the food. The first dish to arrive was the 大哥义燒, supposedly one of the signature items of West Villa. Despite its great reputation, actually we found it to be a bit disappointing, for the meat texture was unnaturally "tender", almost to the point of "mushy", and lacked the usual firmness in texture like the char siu that we used to have elsewhere; moreover, the fat content was a bit too high, there wasn't too much evidence of char-grilling, and the sauce was also way too sweet Could it be that we arrived just a bit too late, and missed the better portions of the char siu which were already sold out on that particular night ? We don't really know for sure. But if I were to pick my favorite char siu, this would score way down on the list, and I would rather go for the product of restaurants like Fu Sing instead. So, quite surprisingly, it was the char siu here which turned out to be the most unimpressive dish for that evening. Fortunately, better stuff would soon follow.Next to arrive was the 南乳齋煲, with lots of ingredients like mushrooms, dried tofu, 腐竹, vermicelli etc, all cooked in a tasty broth. Quite delicious in fact and or course the sauce was a near-perfect match with steamed rice. In retrospect, we felt that the taste of the dish was probably deliberately toned-down a bit to make it less salty, in order to suit the taste of the average customers. We certainly wouldn't mind a richer sauce, but this one was perfectly ok by usual standards. Not a bad dish to try, but of course no major surprises here as one would expect. The next two items that came were very nicely executed. Both of them were quick fried with loads of ginger and onion, and arrived piping hot in casseroles. The 班腩煲 was made with large chunks of fresh, good-quality fish(? from groupers maybe), and the fish chunks were lightly fried to give it a slightly cripsy texture on the outside, while the meat inside remained tender. Best of all, the added peppers gave a spicy edge to the dish, making it really delicious and flavourful. Although seemingly a "simple" dish, this one certainly stood out as one of the best I had tried before, and really set a new standard for this classic comfort food. The 薑蔥美國石蠔煲 was another delightful dish to have, with the fish chunks being substituted this time with large pieces of juicy, tender oysters; there were at least 5-6 large pieces of oysters in the pot, all of which tasted fresh to us and cooked just right, and hence we finished the whole dish in no time at all. At the end we were all very full and had to skip the desserts. Overall speaking a most enjoyable dinner, which was really "simple but beautiful"; we looked forward to coming back again to try the more "complex" dishes later ... ... …Read More

Had lunch here with my friend the other day. My friend tried the stir-fried flat noodles (hor fan) with spicy XO sauce while I ordered the signature "delicious" chicken lunch set. The hor fan arrived within 5 mins and tasted fine according to my friend. The chicken, however, took a bit longer to prepare, and finally arrived after a waiting time of 15-20mins. The set also included a soup, some green vegetables, a small pot of rice, and a drink. The soup was quite nice, with lots of ingredients (like chicken legs and chunks of pork), and was rich in taste, with little or no evidence of MSG being added The green vegetables (choi sum) were also fine, being fresh and not overcooked, while the pot of rice was peeping hot when served. But the chicken was really the star of the meal, and in my opinion was definitely worth waiting for. The chicken itself was of good quality, being neither excessively fat nor overly lean. It was marinated with salt beforehand, freshly steamed on order, and cooked just right to give an overall tender texture (except for part of the chicken breast, which was a bit "firm" but was still ok nonetheless); but the best part of it was the small puddle of "chicken broth" underneath the steamed chicken, which was very delicious indeed and perfect for going with the rice. The cold drink that came at the end (yuzu with honey) was ok. Portion was not small and price was reasonable. Quite a good place for lunch if you happen to be nearby. …Read More

Happened to notice this place as we were walking down Hanoi Road the other day - apparently another new restaurant selling simple kamaage-udon and rice dishes. As the place was fully packed during the lunch hours, we decided to come here with a few other friends for dinner instead. The place was decorated in a simple way, with adequate spacing between tables. As the place was still relatively new, everything appeared bright and clean. A glance at the menu revealed that there were not many choices for food other than udon; the udon could either be served with a "hanging" sauce or in a soup. There were also a few side dishes and appetizers that one could order to go with the udon. Drink list was downright disappointing, with little choices other than canned soft drinks, and nothing remotely alcoholic in nature was in sight . As most of the items were quite reasonably charged, we ordered the following items:Udon in a special hanging curry sauce (秘製咖喱掛烏東)Udon with poached egg and yam puree in soup (長芋温泉蛋鳥東)Basically the udon were fine, really tangy, and they were cooked just right to give the correct texture . The poached egg was also nicely done, being imported from Hokkaido, and was quite fresh and rich in egg flavour On the other hand, the curry sauce was neither hot nor spicy, and was definitely not very "special" in our opinion. Likewise, the soup was a bit on the salty side, and we also suspected that it was not MSG-free as claimed by the proprietors. The udon and poached egg are worth trying, but we think they should really work on and improve further the sauces and soup. Assorted tempura (雜錦天婦羅) - with the usual shrimps and mixed vegetables etc. only good thing was that the batter used was not too thick, otherwise an ordinary dish with no major surprises. Could probably be skipped unless you are a great fan of tempura.Potato and beef croquettes 炸薯餅(牛肉) - not bad, being freshly made and cripsy on the outside while maintaining the moisture in the inside. Not much evidence of "beef" inside, though. Worth a try. Seaweed (碎海草): likely a form of kumbo, this one turned out to be the worst item of the night - with a dark green and unappealing appearance, these tiny pieces of seaweed had a very "tough" texture, and tasted bland, which meant that probably they had been hanging around for some time already. Totally not worth trying in our opinion. Kandodaki (關東煮- 魚餅,淮山卷,竹輪卷): ok, this is really a difficult dish to mess up with really, although we wish they could be a bit more liberal with their seasonings... ... We feel that this is a place that may be more suitable to come for lunch than dinner, as there are really far too few choices on the menu to choose from. As for us, at the end we decided to finish off our dinner elsewhere, and we ended up having a really great time, but it would take another review to tell the story ... ... …Read More

When our die-hard chocolate-loving friend requested a present for her birthday, we could think of no better choice other than the chocolate cakes offered here; and so off we went all the way to Causeway Bay, and our determination was so strong that even the rainy weather could do nothing to deter us. Unfortunately when we arrived at the shop, we were told that the rum and cherry cake was already sold out , so we picked the chocolate banana cake instead. By a rare stroke of luck, we were told that there was a special offer available for Citibank visa card holders - that we would be given a complimentary scoop of "Hei" ice cream (dark chocolate ice cream) with our purchase of the cake The ice cream was very good indeed, being very rich in chocolate flavour, smooth in texture, and not too sweet in taste; it was as good as those belgian chocolate ice cream we had tried before. Before long we found ourselves digging repeatedly into the scoop, and in our haste to finish it we totally forgot to take a picture ! There was a nice bitter aftertaste that lingered on for a long time in our mouth after we had finished the ice cream, and in contrary to the experience of some of the other patrons, we did not feel excessively thirsty after taking the ice cream. A truly outstanding product, and well-worth a try in our opinion. And things got even better when we tried the cake. The rich chocolate flavour again overwhelmed us, but this time the bitterness was nicely balanced by the sweet taste of banana in the cake. Despite the presence of the lots of chocolate as topping, the cake was surprisingly light, and also not too sweet in taste; for they used mainly dark chocolate for making the cake, and did not put in excess amount of cream in it. The end result ? Well, we (6 of us in total) finished the cake with no difficulty at all. We really look forward to trying the rum and cherry cake ... ... let's hope that we need not wait too long for that ... ... …Read More

Being great fans of ramen, how could we miss out on this new ramen store in the Shatin area ? This restaurant certainly looked as though it was having a nice start, with great popularity judging from the impressive lines queuing outside the store; fortunately we made a reservation before hand. Superfically, things certainly seemed ok; for instance, there was the cold wheat tea which ought to be served at every "authentic" ramen store; there were those standard choices of soup bases for the noodles on the menu, namely shio, soy sauce, miso, as well as hot and spicy; and of course they use fine, standard ramen here, definitely not those horrible stuff which tasted like instant noodles, and they were cooked just right to give the correct tangy texture. We tried the soft bone pork and chashu with tonkosu ramen (叉燒豬軟骨豬骨湯拉麵) and the beef ribs with shoyu ramen (美國牛肋肉極上醬油拉麵). The ramen arrived in big bowls with the nori served separately. Toppings included standard fare like sweet corn, menma (dried bamboo shoots), negi (green onion) and half-cooked egg; both the ramen and the toppings came in medium to small portions only. Serving temperature was ok. For the soup base, we would favour the tonkosu one, as it was quite rich and tasty, and definitely better than those versions usually served elsewhere; and although it was a bit oily, it was still perfectly acceptable.The shoyu one was less impressive, for apart from the "saltiness" it was rather lacking in depth of flavour, and hence we did not find it very special. For the ingredients, the best item by far was the soft bone pork, being cooked to a tender texture; the chashu was too fatty to our taste, and resembled pieces of pork belly meat rather than chashu; the beef ribs were downright disappointing, for they were dried and overcooked, and lacked the usual beefy flavour and texture - in fact, it must be classified as one of the worst "beef rib" I had tried recently ! Would suggest to avoid this item if possible. Besides ramen, we also ordered a crab roe salad (ok, nothing special) and a mixed skewers set, with items like beef tongue, chicken wings etc.. Unfortunately, the skewers were also a bit disappointing as most of them were overcooked and dry, with the beef tongue being possibly the only exception; but then the beef tongue was not adequately seasoned with salt and tasted a bit bland to us as well. For dessert, we tried the Hokkaido milk ice cream with red bean and dumplings. The dumplings were fine in taste, with black sesame filling inside, but unfortunately as it was served warm its presence made the ice cream melt faster than it should; the ice cream itself was also not special, with not much milk flavour at all, and tasted like ordinary vanilla ice cream to us Service was barely acceptable for such a small shop. In summary, it is evident that the shop owners here try to convey a feeling of "authenticity" to its patrons, and it is certainly a nice try; unfortunately, there is still a long way to go for this shop, especially in terms of the quality of the food. Wouldn't recommend a special trip just to try out its food, but if you happen to be around, it is not a particularly bad choice for lunch or dinner. …Read More

Every now and then we have friends coming from overseas for a visit - and this time a couple from US wanted to try "something spicy", namely Sichuan food; so without much hesistation we decided to take them to this place. Known for its authentic Sichuan dishes, and already a favourite among locals for years, this place has certainly gained a lot in popularity recently, due in no small part to its listing in the local Michelin guide as a "Bib Gourmand" i.e. restaurants where good food are offered at moderate prices. And it turned out that we were not disappointed - it was truly a feast of contrasting flavours The signature beef slices (燈影牛肉) were very nice, being sweet and spicy, with a delicate and cripsy texture - still amongst the best in Hong Kong that we had tried before . The poached fish with fried beans (豆酥桂魚) was also exquisitely done, with the fresh fish slices cooked just right and very tender in texture, contrasting nicely with the texture of the fried beans - again, we could not recall having tried any better version of the dish before The stir-fried green beans (抄四季豆) was not too oily and had a dry texture, and was a cut better than those "soggy" versions commonly served at other local restaurants; it would have been even better if the chef could cut back a little bit on the salt seasoning. The chicken with chillis (乾煎雞, probably a different version of 重慶辣子雞) had a very impressive appearance, with loads of dried red pepper, and taste-wise was similarly awesome with the loads of peppercorns giving it a truly "numbing" and hot flavour The bitter gourd and meat (回鍋肉) was rather special as they used bitter gourd in the dish, but that was fine as we are great fans of bitter gourd The taste of the dish was thus a blend of bitterness and spiciness, which was very well balanced; and the meat was also cut nicely into thin slices, with a tender texture - much to our surprise, even our friends from overseas enjoyed this dish a lot On the other hand, the Dan Dan noodles (擔擔麵) was a bit of let down, for although the texture of the noodle was ok, the soup was rather lacking in flavour, having neither a strong peanut flavour nor spiciness, which was not as good as the versions we had tried elsewhere Though we were already very full at this stage, we also tried some desserts: both the tiny dumplings in wine sauce (酒鑲丸子) and the banana toffee (拔絲香蕉) were very fine. Overall a very satisfactory meal in terms of the food; service was less impressive, as we noticed that very often we had to search hard for the wait staff to place our orders, and our plates were changed rather infrequently during the meal. But we would very much agree with the Michelin assessors on their comment of this place "... .... the quality of the food - and the pricing - sets it apart." …Read More

For those of us living in the neighbourhood, the opening of this new bakery is a welcome relief, for it is obviously much more conveniently located than its counterparts in City One or City Plaza We have tried the bread here already and it is pretty good, for here they add in a lot of butter into the bread giving it a rich flavour, which is quite different from those usual stuff you get from the other bakeries; in fact, I would say they taste more like cakes than bread to me Besides bread, this shop also churns out mini desserts (like puddings, mousse cups, cheese cakes and jelly) which are also pretty good; for instance, we recently tried their Macau sawdust pudding and the Tiramisu. The pudding ($12 each) had a smooth and creamy texture and was rich in coconut flavour, while at the same time it was not excessively fattening, unlike some of the puddings that we had tried elsewhere; the tiramisu ($16 each) was also a delight, with a rich cheese and wine flavour, and the right texture as well. All the products appear to be quite reasonably priced. Let's hope that this "new kid" will continue to stay on the block; we will surely come to try the other items pretty soon. …Read More

Have you ever been to a restaurant, only to find that you are the only customer ? Would you leave, thinking that the place is not worth a visit since it is so unpopular, or would you rather stay and trust your own instincts ? Such was the situation we found ourselves in as we entered this very restaurant the other day for lunch. Fortunately for us, we had the benefit of prior experience to guide us, for we had previously been to another restaurant belonging to the same group, Tatsu, and we had a most enjoyable experience then; so at the end, we decided to stay. Situated on the 6th floor of a building, with the entrance of the building located off Cameron Road in a small alley, this place was indeed rather "hidden", and we were not surprised that few people even know of its existence; we only read about this place for the first time from a magazine fairly recently. Place was decorated in simple, traditional Japanese style with ample spacing between tables. The set lunch menu offered quite a lot of choices (more than 30), mostly at very reasonable prices. After going through the menu, we finally ordered a "Kichi" special bento set and an assorted sushi set. As photography was apparently not allowed here, we simply sat back and relax this time, while the chef busied themselves with the cooking inside the open kitchen. As all these were happening, other customers (mostly Japanese) started to arrive at the doorstep, and before long our lunch was served to us. The assorted sushi set came with appetizer, soup, 10 pieces of sushi plus an egg roll, a small bowl of cold udon, and a coffee. The appetizer was a form of mixed stew with lotus root and other vegetables, marinated in a dashi-based broth, and was nicely done; the miso soup was freshly prepared and had depth in flavour, definitely not those run-of-the-mill stuff usually served in other local Japanese restaurants; the cold udon was nice and tangy and served in a sweet soy broth; egg roll was of the right texture and fine, although a bit lacking in flavour; and sushi were all reasonably fresh by lunch-time standards - the salmon belly and minced tuna sushi were particularly good. Coffee was ok. Overall speaking, although this set offered little surprises, still all the items were of reasonably high standard, and at ~$100 per set, it was definitely good value for money in our opinion If the sushi set was good, then the Kichi special bento set was even better. Miso soup was the same as the other set and of high standard. Egg rolls were ok. The appetizers were the marinated burdock with carrots and the cold Japanese style pasta, both of which were refreshing and tasty. The cold tofu was also nicely done, served chilled with bonito flakes and a sweet soy sauce. But the true highlight of the set must be the grilled Japanese mackerel, which was cooked just right with cripsy skin and tender, juicy meat, being served with freshly grated daikon, and of course, well-cooked Japanese rice - a simply irresistable combination ! (Actually for this set, you could also choose fermented yellow beans and fried vegetables, instead of the tofu and fish.) Dessert was sesame ice cream which was fine. At ~$70 per set, the standard of the set was very high indeed. My only negative comment for this place was for the service, which was quite lacking at times. Apparently some of the wait staff were just trainees and they were not adequately supervised. No one seemed to bother to refill our tea, and the bill arrived only after repeated prompting. Wish they could improve on this bit ... ... Overall speaking a most enjoyable meal. We noticed that most of the items on the menu were not terribly expensive; perhaps this would give us the excuse to come back again to try the other items. …Read More

Wow ... ... a shop selling Japanese "Gokujyo puddings" making to OR's top ten list ? And with people really making a trip all the way to Happy Valley just to try it out ? Sounds quite incredible, so we thought we better check it out as well. The shop was situated right next to the famous private hospital, and was not difficult to find at all, although for most people not living nearby, getting here alone would be a bit problematic; the easiest way would be to take a tram or bus heading for Happy Valley as terminus, hop off at the last stop, and aim for the hospital as a landmark. Shop was pretty small, and so dine-in would not be an option. When we first arrived in the afternoon around 5pm, there were already people queuing up and placing advanced orders, and we were told that everything - yes, you heard me right, EVERYTHING - was sold out already (!!) ... ... However, being die-hard gourmets, we were totally undaunted and came back few hours later to try our luck - and fortunately this time we finally made it. Tried the red bean and green tea puddings. Both were very creamy and soft, with a texture that resembled mousse rather than pudding. No doubt they owed their rich milk flavour from the ingredients, for it was said that they were made from full-cream Hokaido cow's milk imported from Japan. Flavour wise we would vote for the green tea as the better choice of the two. With a price of $28 each, with only a small cup of pudding, some may consider the puddings to be a bit expensive; we certainly were not too impressed with them (perhaps we just picked the wrong flavours) ? The other thing we disliked about them concerned their high fat content (contributed from the milk and cream added). Not only did the fat linger in the mouth long after we had finished the pudding, making us quite thirsty, it also had a bad effect on our stomach and caused a bit of indigestion afterwards So as far as we are concerned, given the awkward location of the shop and the less-than impressive products, we see no reason to visit this place again in the near future. NB: We also did a google search on the term "Gokujyo pudding", apparently the word just meant "extreme" in Japanese, and we did not manage to find a match for our search; we were therefore forced to conclude that this interesting term was probably just another "invention" by the shop owner, apart from their puddings …Read More

Having dinner here a while ago taught us just how true that axiom was: "don't blindly follow the crowds". Passing by one evening on a weekday, we could not help but be impressed by the long queue lining up in front of this new restaurant at Shatin, and so we ended up becoming part of the queue ourselves. Not that the queuing process was particularly unbearable - we actually got seated within 15-20 mins, which was not too bad at all; however, the dining environment was a major let-down: shop was pretty small, tables were placed quite close to one another, and due to the immense popularity of the place, sharing tables with other patrons became the norm rather than the exception. Seating was crampy and uncomfortable, very much like sitting in a dai pai dong; hygienic condition was also far from satisfactory. Food-wise wasn't particularly impressive either; the 土匪雞翼, supposed to be a signature dish of this place, was ok but tasted just like ordinary chicken wings to us, except that they added a lot of black sesame to the wings; there was hardly any hint of spices like cumin in it. The 麻辣過橋米線 was quite big in portion, with lots of different ingredients inside, and arrived steaming hot (both temperature and taste); unfortunately, the soup base was not balanced in flavor and tasted quite strange and unappealing, there was hardly any numbing effect, and some of the ingredients tasted bland and appeared not very fresh to us, although the rice noodle itself was ok. Drinks were overly sweet. The only good point I could think of was the huge portion of the noodles - should be sufficient for sharing unless you are really starving. Price was not cheap, taking into account the food quality and dining environment. Sadly we discovered once again that the crowds may not always be right - so trust yourself, and don't follow them blindly. …Read More

On the day that we decided to have lunch here (it was a Saturday, by the way), the weather could not be worse - the No.3 typhoon signal was hoisted, it was raining heavily, and with thick black clouds up above in the sky and the sun nowhere in sight, our moods were pretty down and we badly needed a boost; fortunately, it turned out that we picked the right place this time . This new establishment is the first in HK to introduce the unique brand of food products inspired by the two-starred Michelin chef, Moreno Cedroni, who is known for his simple yet delicious creations throughout the world. Located on the St. Francis, just a short walk from the Queen's Road East, the restaurant was pretty small, with a capacity for 30 persons or so at most, with simple decor and adequate spacing between tables. The restaurant was in fact, part-cafe, part-wine bar, and part-deli, with a counter displaying a dazzling array of products (mainly jam and various sauces for pasta, with some interesting ingredients like monkfish liver and tuna belly etc), as well as nice nibbles like sandwiches, stuffed olives and sweet peppers, salad, and desserts. The funny looking water glass was the next item to catch our attention - was it inspired by the Pisa tower ? Anyway, we decided to go for the set lunches, and before long, food was ready for our comsumption.First to arrive was the Amouse Bouche, or "mouth amuser", which was intended as a small cold dish to kick start our palate before the meal. It was nicely made in the form of a sushi, with some rice (?risotto) made into a small cube, with a piece of smoked salmon and a leaf (?arugula) placed on top. Although the thing looked nice and appealing, unfortunately it tasted rather bland and was not particularly impressive This is certainly one item that they could work on to improve further. Next came the soup and the bread rolls. The soup was classic minestrone served in a small bottle, and it was rich and tasty, with lots of mixed vegetables as ingredients and cooked in a tomato based broth; my only comment was on the serving temperature, which was only luke-warm and not hot enough for our taste. On the other hand, the bread rolls were fine as they were quite hot in temperature and cripsy. Overall not a bad start, just hope they could control the serving temperature of the soup a bit better.The mains arrived after a 15-20 min wait. The Grilled seafood risotto was quite nice, with the risotto cooked just right, served with grilled shrimps, scallop, fish fillet and some vegetables. The seafood tasted fresh to us, and the creamy sauce made the dish really delicious and enjoyable In contrast, the Grilled half chicken with herbs was less satisfatory; for although the portion was huge, somehow the aroma of the herbs did not manage to infiltrate into the meat of the chicken, and some parts of the chicken meat was quite tough in texture, especially the chicken breast Still, I think the chicken would probably still score a pass unless you are a really picky gourmet. Overall not too bad for the mains, but I would suggest to stay away from the chicken if you have a choice. For desserts, the complimentary fruit tarts suffered from the same problem with the mouth amusers - they looked nice but tasted so-so only; and they were very small in size, too. At the end we decided to get a final boost and ordered a tiramisu as dessert; this turned out to be fine, with the liquor and cheese flavors in the right proportions and the right texture, being not too soggy in the bottom . The coffee that came at the end, freshly brewed and richly aromatic, also served as a nice conclusion to our meal. At the end of the meal, the friendly and helpful wait staff also showed us around the place and introduced to us the various items on sale in the shop. They even gave us some samples to try out before we actually made the purchase. We were most grateful to them, for they helped to made our stay even more memorable and enjoyable We spent almost 1.5 hours with the meal. At the end, we found that the rain had stopped and hence we could move on again. It was indeed a simple Italian on a rainy afternoon; we look forward to coming back again soon, perhaps for dinner, and hopefully the weather (and the food) would be even better then as compared to the present.…Read More

Believe it or not - this is now the ONLY Korean restaurant in the Shatin area, after the closing down of Nam San Gok at the NT plaza a while ago. Tried the food here once on a weekday night, and the food was not bad at all, being quite authentic in taste. Both the stone pot with beef and rice (very hot and tasty, especially with the added chilli sauce) and the noodles with black bean sauce (tangy noodles, a bit on the sweet side but still acceptable) were quite nice. The spicy stir-fried nian gao (rice cakes) was even better, the "cakes" being chewy and served in a red-hot fiery broth - guaranteed to satisfy every one of your spicy taste buds and enough to make you drenched in sweat afterwards ! To help cool down our hot palates, we also tried a special cold drink with cinnamon which was nice and refreshing. My only negative comment for the food concerned the kimchi, which strangely was quite non-appealing, lacking both in taste and appearance, likely just a "generic" item bought from supermarkets rather than freshly produced by the restaurant. Overall food quality compared favourably to other more "established" (and expensive) Korean restaurants that I have tried locally; price was of course a cut cheaper. Maybe that is the reason for its popularity ? Be prepared for some waiting and "really intimate" dining experience, as the place is rather small and the tables are actually abutting one another. Also, the place is closed for Sunday pms. Recommended if you crave for Korean and happen to be in Shatin; would probably be back once in a while ourselves to savour the comfort food …Read More

Our food adventure finally took the 2 of us right to the southern end of Hong Kong Island - this time to meet the Greeks ! Situated at the end of a small alley, being surrounded by old housing estates and a garage, this place was not exactly easy to find, especially for someone not living in the area. Fortunately, turned out that this place was not bad at all - and well worth a visit in our opinion. The restaurant was pretty small and decor was simplistic, conveying a homey and authentic feeling to the customers. Tables were also available for the option of alfesco dining if desired. We were promptly greeted by the wait staff and offered a table by the window. For drinks, free tap water was available but only offered on special request. In addition, we also ordered a glass of draft kronenburg beer and a special drink called "Monaco", which was basically beer mixed with lemonade and some fruits. Both drinks were cool and refreshing. With the drink and the light music in the background, before long we found ourselves really relaxing and digging repeatedly into the small plate of mixed olives and preserved vegetables in vinegar offered as a complimentary appetitizer ... ... which was pretty ok by itself. Not bad for a start ! As this place was rather difficult for us to get to, we decided to really indulge ourselves a bit and ordered 2 set dinners instead of the usual set lunches, which gave us more choices with the starters, mains and desserts. For starters, the Horiatiki (Greek salad) came with a small basket of pita bread. The salad itself was nice, with real feta cheese, red onion, tomato and, of course, lots of olives, all mixed together in an olive oil-based dressing; the pita bread also arrived really hot, very soft in texture, and with added spices on top for enhanced flavor. Before long, we found ourselves finishing the salad and mopping up the delicious dressing with the bread For the other starter, we actually ordered Moussaka, but they made a small mistake and we were given Spanakopita (spinach and feta cheese phyllo pastry) instead, which again was not bad - straight from the oven, with thin and crunchy phyllo pastry, interspersed with layers of cheese and spinach - not really Moussaka, but a reasonable substitute, I guess ... ... Again, no complaints with this one and we finished the whole dish in no time.For mains, we tried 2 items - a fish and a chicken. The grilled whole sea bass was very good indeed: the whole fish was de-gutted and the inside was stuffed with lots of garlic and herbs, then the fish was grilled to perfection with crispy skin while maintaining the tender and juicy meat texture, and then served on a hot sizzling plate with lots of potato, olives and other vegetables. We really enjoyed the whole fish down to the last piece of bone ! The other dish we ordered was the Chicken with chilli sauce, which was also fine, with tender chicken meat rendered spicy and hot with a generous helping of Per-Peri sauce, and despite being a bit oily, was still acceptable; we just thought it was less impressive compared with the fish (which was exceptionally good).By this time we were almost totally full, but no visit here would be complete without a try of the typical Greek desserts, so we ordered the Baklava with vanilla ice cream and the Yogurt with syrup and berries. The Baklava was actually phyllo pastry layers filled with nuts and drenched in syrup; the pastry was again freshly made, crunchy, and the "filling" was also tasty and delicious (a bit like peanut candy); taken together with the ice cream, the whole thing was simply gorgeous ! The yoghurt with syrup and berries was also fine and was totally enjoyable, but it was not very special in our opinion. Before we left we noticed that they were also selling Greek honey ($50 per jar), and out of curiosity we bought a few home with us; it was actually pretty good, with a milder flavor than the honey that we used to buy from local store. The honey was not expensive and served as a good sourvenir / memoir for our visit, and I'll explain why in a moment ... ...The bill at the end was not cheap, but since we enjoyed the meal so much, we didn't pay too much attention to the amount charged at first. After paying with my credit card and as we were about to leave, the manager suddenly came over and mentioned to us that they had made a mistake with the bill, for they had charged us extra money for the honey. Although only a relatively small sum of money was involved, still we were most grateful and impressed by the excellent service rendered by the staff here. If I may add a few comments at the end, I only wish they could improve on the hygienic condition of the place, as small flies could be detected readily within the premises, probably because the place was situated right next to a park ... ... Also, I wish they could consider lowering the price tags a bit as this would definitely help to make the place more popular, especially during lunch time (note: food portions are quite big so sharing would also be an option, especially if you are not too hungry). As for ourselves, we certainly hope to be able to come back again soon, perhaps for dinner, when you could get an extra 15% discount with parties of 8 or more …Read More

Came here aiming for a quick lunch - didn't have very high expectations to begin with, but we still ended up pretty disappointed with this place. Ordered a "deluxe" set lunch (grilled salmon and eel rice) plus the tomato, beef and poached egg with rice, both of which were poorly done For the deluxe set, the salad that was included tasted bland as there was hardly any sauce in it; the small piece of grilled salmon was too dry and overdone, while the eel got a very strange "doughy" texture, quite unlike those that I had tried before; at such prices ($168), I must say even I would have done a better job than the chef here with such a "simple" dish ! Likewise, the beef in the other set was rather tasteless, and there was so little sauce that we had to drench the rice with the soup provided in order to make the dish palatable; worst of all, the "poached" egg was completely cold, suggesting that it was probably prepared well beforehand and just placed into the rice at the last moment ... ... And even though the coffee and dessert that came at the end was not bad (ice cream with sweet potato), still it could not save our already sinking spirits ... ... Price was not cheap either, and service was basically non-existent. In short, not worth a visit in our opinion, and we certainly see no reason for us to come again. …Read More