Shaver's Profile

My view towards Eric Kayser changed today.  The raisin bread is one of the breads which I buy often, I like the crusty exterior and the pack full of raisin on the inside, so I do know this bread.  At $25 for a bread the size of my palm, it is not cheap.My raisin bread today is so stale that I can assure you this is not made today.  If you have to charge premium price, you do need to have an impeccable quality control.  The bread I bought today is disappointing and have turned me completely off, I will not be in a rush to go there and buy another loaf any time soon.For my next raisin bread, I will go to the basement of Sogo, it is a lot cheaper and I have never been served a stale loaf.This is an absolute disgrace.…Read More

I have always like good quality chocolate in whatever format, when I learnt that Passion served Valrhona drinking chocolate, I decided to give it a try.It took about 5 mins from ordering to "drink-in-hand", I did not mind, it is best wait for quality than to have a rush job.  Though, the last time I waited that long for a hot chocolate was at Angelina, it was expensive and not worth the fuss.I walked out of the shop with the drink in hand thinking it felt a bit light in weight, so I decided to unveil the lid and see what is inside.  To my surprise, there was barely half a cup of chocolate.  To be honest, I do not mind paying a bit more to get a full cup but when you give customers a standard-sized cup and then give them half the volume of a drink, there is serious implications.  Customers get cheated and operator is extremely greedy.Frankly, the quality of the drink is good.  It is rich with floral note, I just wish there is more than a taster.They have lost me as a customer.  Forever.  I do not want to feel stupid no more.…Read More

It was the first day of soft opening, so we can allow for the staff being green.  My 2 friends ordered their lunch sets, they are priced at Central prices, each over $100, but only child portions came.  Child portion salad, child portion main, end of.  My 2 friends (both grown men) giggled at what came and wolfed them down at break-neck speed.  Management should have editoral rights on this, they should not be allowed out to the customers as it was just ridiculous.The pancakes i ordered took half an hour.  They are stodgy, heavy and just ok.  The presentation looked like traffic accident on the plate.  I believe they use a mix but I can usually do better myself at home with just self raising flour, egg and milk so when i eat out, I expect more.  If they are full house, they would have been in a lot of trouble.Coffee has some punch, not bad, at least it tasted like coffee.  Staff still needs to pay heed to what is going on in the cafe, job for the management.Powder blue decor with fake corian table tops, copy! copy! and copy!All in all, it is not value for money, I won't be going back there any time soon.…Read More

As I discovered the operator writing their own review, I just have to come, try and pass judgement.There were not much bread types on display, maybe about a dozen in variety and just a couple for each type.  As it was lunchtime, you wonder why they were not busy?I ordered a latte and a red bean roll to start.  The roll was expensive ($16 I think) but what the hack!  It'd better be good.  My anticipation soon went cold when the coffee and the roll came.  They put the roll directly onto the service tray without a plate or a lining paper, very ood and unhygienic considering they also collected dirty plates and whatnot on the same trays.The only thing the latte has going for it was the look.  I did not ask for a large latte but was charged for one, it came to me like a normal small latte, costing $40.  I also burnt my lips (aside from my pocket) when I tried and have the first sip, it was as hot as lava! In fact, I had to set it aside for at least 10 minutes before I could gobble it down.  By then, the coffee tasted horrible.  I could make a Nescafe at home and it will taste better, FACT!The red bean roll is nothing to write home about, just a normal white roll, dotted with a couple of beans and topped with some sweet dust.  I will price it at about $6, not $16.Feeling peckish, I went back to the counter and ordered their set lunch which includes a soup and a spaghetti bolognese.  After 10 mins wait, a child portion pasta came.  It has no seasoning, bland as white paint and the pasta itself is mush, well past the al dente stage as it was reheated in the microwave.The soup I paid for never come but after tasting the pasta, there was not much point in chasing up the order.  Despite the place was empty, it must have been hard to get the orders right for some.For less money, there is Maxim's fast food, Cafe de Coral and McDonald's within minutes away, and you can get decent lunches at any of them. Maria's bakery is also miniutes away for better, fairly priced breads.…Read More

Having nice deco does not mean you can charge any price.  The coffee is so-so but the pastries are really disappointing.My pear charlotte has a jellified mousse centre, soggy boudoir biscuits and a totally hard and inedible pear like fruit on top.  For $6X dollars, I can go to Robouchon, Petite Amanda, Laduree and have more pleaure in my purchase.Digging their own grave in my opinion.…Read More

Many a time when a successful brand overseas bring their idea to Hong Kong, they forgot what they are selling.  We hear about things like "coffee culture" or "life-style" but ultimately customers go there for their products.A friend of mine went with me in the afternoon, it was not particularly busy, prices are not particularly cheap.  I was expecting my latte to be full of flavour and smack me in the face, instead, all I got was a mug of milk with very little coffee taste.  I asked my friend about her Mocha and she also said all she could taste is chocolate.  The "coffee" which we came for is like the emperor's new clothes, only The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf knows its secretive existence.Waiting time for the coffees was long too, we were given a pager and we waited for almost 10 mins although there was an army of people behind the counter.My friend's blueberry tart was the lowlight of the event.  It was definitely a frozen product, the whole thing is soggy, wet and simply revoting.  How they can charge almost $40 for a slice of wet nap amazed us.  The decoration of the shop is well thought out but no point decorating a turd.We did not get a chance to sample their teas but we have no near future plans to return and put our hard earn money to risk either.…Read More

Outback has once been one of my regular haunt a few years back. but portion has become smaller and the deco has not been refreshed for some years thus it is looking tired and the lack-of-attention service does not help in any way.2 friends and I decided to come back here for lunch today.  One of my friends had a recent surgery and is on a strict diet thus he wanted something healthy, ie. no cream sauce and not a lot of oil.  After browing through the menu, he settled on the penne pasta.  My other friend ordered a steak while I was the adventurous one and ordered the fish tacos as the picture shown is bursting with colourful vegetables.The starter of soup was extremely salty, I can bet it was a pre-packaged product or at least the stock base was.  The thousand island dressing which came with the mixed salad has already changed colour on top, again, this is shop bought.  I would like to remind everyone that Outback pride itself in making their own sauces when they were first open.We were immediately looking at each other as soon as the main dishes hit the table.  My friend's penne has half an inch of oil on the bottle of the pasta plate, so much for healthy eating so he left most of it.The steak was tiny but considering the price, it was fine.I could not believe my eyes when I saw the tacos as the taco shells were soggy, tough and inedible, they did not even hold their shape and they flopped about on the plate.  The fillings were even worse, only a few strands of onion and a few cubles of peppers, a very big depart from the pictures on the menu.  The salsa on the plate has no seasoning and tasted like hospital food.  The rice is the highlight on the plate, it has flavour from the dry herbs and quite spicy but quite greasy.All in all, a very bad meal.  I understand people do not pay the full a la carte rate at lunchtime but the food was truly awful.  Service leaves a lot to be desired too, it was rushed if you get any.I will not be going back there any time soon.…Read More

First time visit to this French brasserie, space is open and not crowded. Renovation is under way in the building with scaffolding on the ouside so it kinda felt like eating in a building site.I ordered a smoked salmon Caesar salad and a Steak Frites from their lunch menu. Service was brisk and unclumsy. I was surprised to see the chef actually gushed out of the kitchen to serve me the starter. I can assure you that this is not an isolated incident as he came out 3 more times not only to serve but also to clear AND asked me whether I needed more bread. WEIRD!! as there were 2 serving staff on the floor and lunch was not busy.The smoked salmon Caesar was a total disappointment. The size is small and there were just a few slivers of salmon sitting on top of a fistful of romaine. The salad was fresh but the dressing lacks parmesan cheese and anchovy - the things which gives the sauce umame.The menu said the steak can come with pepper sauce or tarragon sauce, I chose the latter. It turned out their tarragon sauce is a Bernaise, I was more thinking of a tarragon flavoured jus. My medium steak was very much under, more apt to be called a medium-rare and it didn't have time to rest as when I cut into it, I had a big puddle of blood on my plate, mixing with the Bernaise, it wasn't very appetising. Although the steak was only a half palm size, I was given half a plateful of Bernaise (which has no seasoning whatsoever, it needed some je na sais qoui to bring it to life). In fact everything on the plate has no salt which reflects on the confidence (or the lack of it) of the chef. The creamed spinach was very decimal, togehter with my big Bernaise-blood puddle, fat on fat, no no. The herb crust roast tomato has only a tiny sprinkle of herb crust, again, no taste. Fries were good, oil was clean but there was a little bit of raw meat stuck on my fries, which looked like the chef was preparing steak tartare at the same time.After the small meal, I was asked by the Nepalese waiting staff whether I wanted dessert or coffee but when i asked to see the dessert menu, I was told there was only profiteroles. It has to be said that he lost a golden opportunity to upsell. I then opted for a plain Jane coffee and such a mistake it was. The coffee was aggressive and bitter, I thought things would improve when I diluted it with a lot of milk, it didn't so I ended up leaving it and the little sip I have left me with a lot of bitterness in my mouth.Lunch was generally not expensive in the area but for the price, the chef needs to look at his seasoning and maybe offering a more upmarket coffee as WE CAN TASTE THE DIFFERENCE!…Read More

It's my friend's birthday and she has asked me to pick a restaurant for her. I chose Berliner because of the good reviews plus I have never had a pork knuckle before so I was looking forward to it.The restaurant was not busy, approximately half full, so we were seated straight away. Since we are not that hungry, we ordered a tarte flambe to start, followed by a pork knuckle and a sausage platter. Safe options, at least that was what we thought at the time.We did not have to wait long for the tarte flambe, when it came, I was a bit miffed. It was covered with rocket leaves, a few strands of onion and a few sliced garlic. For all I know, a tarte flambe should have bacon and onion and for paper thin pie with miniskew ingredients, it should have wow factor and taste amazing. The tarte we got tasted of nothing. Onion was sweet but it was over-powered by the rocket which were exceptionally bitter. Later I found out by reading the menu again that the wrong pie was ordered, not a good start.Pork knuckle came first and it looked good, with a crispy, golden skin and a big pile of sauerkraut. A senior waitress person offered to disect it for us but she was having so much trouble because the knuckle was so tough that her knuckles turned white when trying to cut it. My friend suggested to her to do it in the kitchen out of kindness, in a way, we were hoping that they will swap the tough knuckle with one that is more tender. No such luck, they gave us the same one and they only was able to cut it into a few sizeable chunks. Half of the meat was still on the bone because it was an impossible task to debone. Good news was, skin was crispy. Bad news was it was borderline on inedible, unless you are a shark, you will find it chewy and tough.. Sauerkraut is nothing to write home about. The mustard on the table has no heat, just vinegar taste, not a good compliment to anything.Sausage platter is just a plateful of processed meat. The sausages have been bought in, reheat and served. No skill. Some of them are exceptionally salty plus the skillet the dish was served in was swimming in grease.After our disappointing mains, we were hoping that the dessert will get back some brownie points for them but the apple streudel continues to disappoint. Apple filling was mushy and pastry was soggy. You cannot do any worst. I can even dare to say that the McDonald's apple pie tastes better. Ice cream was good, we give them that but the dessert was a let down.Overall, service was attentive but restaurant was only half full on Friday night, so service should be impeccable. I played safe by ordering all the ":signature" dishes but I was so disappointed, will not be back for a long while.…Read More

My friend and I are both free in the afternoon for a catch up, so we decided to go to Hooray at WTC for a get together and try their afternoon tea set.As everyone in the restaurant were sitting al fresco, my friend and I were happy to join them too. The restaurant has a large outside seating area but I cannot understand why the staff wanted all the customers to be densely populated in one area. We asked to be seated somewhere else and guess what? The next patrons they showed sat right next to us. I can only guess the staff are too lazy to walk back and forth and serve customers, which is their job if I am not wrong? The new table actually asked to be moved somewhere else, so I am not the only sensitive one. The upbeat music blasting from their outside bar counter did not help to compliment, totally not apt for a relaxing afternoon.Our coffees arrived 10 minutes before the food, by the time the afternoon tea sets came, we have almost finished our coffees. The coffees were good with deep complex flavours. Depite staff walking up and down seemingly checking on tables, no one has actually asked us for seconds. We had to wave and get somebody's attention to order our second round of coffees. Not only that, we were charged full price for our second coffees.The tea set came in 3 layers, one of them is occupied by just "smears". It has to be said that this is not a typical afternoon tea set with top layer of sweet items, middle layer of scones and bottom layer of savories. The top 2 layers have been merged into one middle layer. I am very sceptical of restaurants trying to re-invent the wheel, there is definitely an etiquette to eating afternoon tea.Both the bread for the pate canapes and the smoked salmon & asparagus canapes are not fresh. These are not stale bread toasted today, these are toasted bread from weeks ago. They are soggy and dead. Normally, you cannot go wrong with serving foie gras and pate but wrong - the pate served here is topped with a golden sultana and a piece of nut. I guess the nut is a texture thing and the sultanna is to sweeten the deal but for something as rich as a pate, you need some tart fruit compote to cut through the richness.The scone is also very stale to the Nth degree with the bottom almost solid, you can take it home and use it as a billard ball. The low quality jam and the whipped cream does nothing to help with the situation either. Scones should be served with clotted cream, full stop. The white chocolate dipped strawberry were seeping water onto the rack as it is defrosting from the fridge chill. The conetto with the creme patissiere is ok but very light, again, pastry is not fresh. Creme brulee is just a typical classic done poor. It is very horrifying to think that they have a cake shop called "Carousel" in the same building, maybe they have transferred all the leftovers from there to here for customers' enjoyment?All in all, we will not come back simply because this restaurant is all style and no substance. We were automatically given the bill after an hour when the restaurant was only 25% full, we left soon after we paid wondering whether we have done anything wrong or some maniac is actually running it. The only wrong thing we have done was to come here.…Read More

A restaurant steeped in history in bustling Ashley Road TST should be busily packed at lunchtime, La Taverna is not despite it's fabulous location.There is no greeting as you walk in. Restaurant is cozy, full of off colour decorative items (I did not say junk) from their glory days in the 80's and dust, dust and more dust. There is dust all along the skirting and in all the corners, there is more dust covering everything that is hanging from the ceiling, including the shaded lamp right above your table, over whatever you want to eat. It is one thing being old, it is certainly another being dirty and I surely am not keen on dust sprinkles on my food. My leather chair has a big hole on the side and the stuffing are coming out in handfuls.My friend and I ordered 2 set lunches. We kicked off with Minestrone soups. The soup has no pasta, no cavalo nero cabbage and no canellini beans and certainly no parmesan cheese sprinkles. That is fine if they have not boasted that their menu is authentic Italian. And just when you think you cannot go wrong with a simple tomato based vegetable soup, it has absolutely no taste, no seasoning and no love. It is a complete waste of energy transporting spoonfuls of it from the soup dish to our mouths.My chicken breast in Marsala sauce came as a shock to me when it arrived, I was not sure it was actually what I had ordered. On the plate, there were 4 thin slices (each no bigger than a business card) of meat, covered in a gloopy sauce. It definitely said chicken breast on the menu! The sides are equally shocking too. Potato wedges are stone cold, not fresh, definitely not cooked on the same day and tasteless. The 2 lumps of carrot are cut from the big carrots which are usually used in Chinese soup making, they have been hot water dipped before putting on the plate whilst the centre is still cold, again no taste. Cauliflower is the only hot item on the plate but surely they do not just cook vegetables in hot water in Italy, at least not in the 21st century plus we did not come for diet food.The chicken breast meat has a very strange, loose texture, something which I cannot associate with fresh food. The sauce has a sour, off putting after taste.And just when you think that a Spaghetti Carbonara is the easiest thing to cook in the world and I could have made that at home, out came the La Taverna version for my friend. Pasta is hard, not al dente, this is not even rubber band chewy, it is like wire. The pasta arrived barely warm. The sauce was a gluey mess which has already set on arrival. Worst still, either the cream or the cheese has turned rancid and was giving off a very strong pongy odour and it's taste further confirmed our beliefs.I was hoping to give my mouth a rinse with some coffee but the coffee served here is sour, aggressive and below average, my nescafe at home is much more approachable. We skipped the urge to order a tiramisu in order to save our lives, we were not sure whether we would be getting something that they had prepared in the 1960's.Despite less than 10 diners in the restaurant, there is no service. Dishwasher emerged from the kitchen having loud conversations with the floor staff. CD player has been jumping the moment we walked through the door but no one cares. Music was something you want to hear before you slit your wrist.We paid $230 for our inedible lunches and our tummies were grumbling afterwards. If you want to unimpress someone, bring them here otherwise keep on walking past La Taverna.…Read More

I am shocked and horrified to find a sign on every table saying "Reserved for dining guests only" today when I walked into Triple O. Obviously, this is aimed at the Filipino maids who may have occupied seats at this joint before.I am sorry, I am really offended.All you have to do is to ask them nicely when you need the table and I am sure they will understand and budge. That's what management is for, instead, all the other customers got an offensive sign starred back at them when they dine, how is that fair? Without bringing racism into discussion, I am calling them racist.Here are the things I am offended by too:I am offended by the higher than usual price Triple O charges, the burgers are not that much better.I am offended by the torn seats when nobody bother to call someone to fix. I don't think you can find hidden treasures there.I am offended by the fact that they don't have soup and they put a soup pot right behind the cashier counter.I am offended by the overweight person who put me off my meal as he wobbles to my table when delivering my meal.I am offended by the lack of interest in improving when there are so many things they can do better.I am offended by being given their promotional leaflet about "value" breakfast set meals, it should have been my choice to whether or not I want to find out more.I am offended by the word "mini" on the leaflet when they don't want to us to know that these are mini version, hence the low price. What a scam!Get this, I am not going back there again…Read More

When you think of the success of Vietnamese food, a few words spring to mind: Fresh, zingy, spicy & sweet. Freshness comes from quality & clean ingredients, zinginess comes from the lime, spicy from small red chili's balaced by sweetness of sugar to counteract the heat.Pho Tai has quite an extensive menu but the operator cleverly group them into 2 "one price sets" with limited choices. I guess it is easier for customers to order and by focusing on just a limited range, they can minimise wastage.Service is non-existent. Due to the fact that we are in the midst of summer vacation, the whole shop is run by summer-job seekers.As you sat, a basket of sprouts and basil, chili & lime, epitome of Vietnam in a basket, is placed in front of you, together with a glass of water. Water is very merky and you seriously don't know who or what has been before you. At first glance the basket was an uplift, a taste tantalizer and laid the carpet on what you can expect of the food. On closer inspection, the story cannot be far different. Only the top layer of sprouts are fresh, the ones at the bottom are rotting. The basket, made from bamboo skins is obviously not as water-proof as they might have thought, it has the first sign of fungal infection.This does not help by the musky smell that hit you when you first walk in, you are starting to realise where it has come from. Don't vomit yet, as when you have not seen what's is living and growing on the wooden partition yet. The white partition has some greyish pattern on them, on closer inspection, these are moulds. It doesn't help much when there are cobwebs weaved in within the cut out patterns. The whole decoration is just alive & kicking.Drink is as dull as it can be, there is no effort in building a drink. Lime soda is just lime & soda, no lime syrup or anything to excite the palate.Chicken pho is also just chicken & noodle, you will be mad to think that I would dip my hand into that manky, disgusting, rotting sprounts and greens.As I start to worry my respiratory system inhaling all the infestions that were going on, I left quickly without looking back. I can't help but to think that eating on the road side or on a sampang on Meekong River is safer.…Read More

Triple O is conveniently located in Exchange Square, it is a bit "out there" if you happen to work in the IFC. The decor is very uninspiring, very hospital like and sterile. Tables are arranged in canteen style, at least if you are wearing flip-flops and bora bora shorts, you will not feel out of place.I am not a beef-eater so the promise of a succulent whole chicken breast burger was my ideal choice. There are not that much leeway one can move in terms of how you want the burgers or the way the meals are put together, a bit like their deco, boring beige.The bun was anything but delightful. You cannot tell whether it is fresh or not because of the amount of chemical (improver) in it. It surely has no texture. It is fluffy and big and does nothing to your meal experience except it is a bulker. Unlike the tasty bun at Freshness Burger, this one is everything but.Unlike when you order a beef burger, the chicken in the chicken supreme burger has a whole fillet. The guys at Triple O obviously think it is acceptable to charge people full price but give them half the goods and half the time you are chomping on a void inside the bun and playing Russian roulette with the chicken.Fillings are standard fare of iceburg lettuce, tomatoes and honey mustard sauce. For $60 fast food, it is as dull as you can get. Chicken breast is quite dry, hence the reason for the honey mustard sauce and the watery vegetables but it still does not deny the fact that it is dry and cooked with microwave. Yup, you try cooking this piece of meat in the time they serve to you, you might win a nobel prize if you can just pan fry.Fries have been sitting around for a bit and soft drinks are post-mix, flat as a pancake.What puzzles you is when they say crap like: "If we are not happy with it, don't serve it" (or something like that, does it really matter?) You think to yourself, how did this end up on my tray if you are not happy?Anyway, you will not want to complain because staff has no interest in what you want to say, I am sure. All they are interested in is whether the meal you want is a combo or whether you want to have it take away.Overall, cleanliness of the floor and the tables are good but the skirting is crawling. If you want cheap & cheerful, there are a lot of other choices but if it is raining and you want a shelter, feel free to drop by.And please, do not let anybody in there start you on their Triple O story on the sauce....you may wet your pants.…Read More

I complain a lot and that's not because I am a professional grumbler but because I believe if you are charged top dollars for your food & drink, you should get it at a decent standard. It is just the norm.Le Pain Grille looks good on the outside but looks can be deceiving, very deceiving....I approached the counter after admiring the display and I stood there for over a minute and a half while all their pretty staff happily chatted behind the counter (there were about 4/5 of them) before a supervisor type person who was dressed differently rushed to me looking hot & bothered. Last time I checked, this was a cafe where people come to relax and chill out, the worst thing you can get is a hot & bothered person serving you.My ordered was a skimmed latte and a raspberry tart and the person who took my order "ordered" me to stand and wait while she tonged the tart onto a plate, gave it to me, and "ordered" me to wait for my coffee. The tart has a base card which she did not even bother to take off, I don't get many things inedible on my plate often. They have enough staff to run a restaurant and the least they could have done is to deliver me my order when they were charging top dollar. I am sure in Times Square a lot of tourists will come by for a bite with loads of shopping in their hands and they will think the same.While waiting for my latte, I saw the coffee dripped in under 10 seconds and the "barista" (a very very polite title, I could have called her something else) left the milk on the steamer while swanning round behind the counter. When I unveiled the drink, the dish-water like sewage confirmed my believe that they had no training on making coffee.I had my last raspberry tart at the Congress at the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre and have stopped eating one since, I was served a tart with mouldy raspberries, was kinda hoping the raspberry tart here would restore my confidence in the poor pastry, it didn't.The tart case was biscuit-like hard, undercooked, stale and no taste of any butter, I would imagine chewing on a brick is more enjoyable. The creme pat has no taste of vanilla, cream or egg. It is sweet no doubt but eating is not about empty calories. Raspberries are seeping. At first, i thought they must have been maserated in something, I was wrong, they are just seeping, not fresh, full stop. You know the sliminess you get from leaving lettuce in fridge for a long time and it turned grimmy, that is exactly the same. And the flaked almonds only adds to the whole bad experience as they were rancid. I could have picked up processed food from any supermarket, I don't have to come here for fine pastries.The Italian tourists sitting next to me shaked their heads violently and uncontrollably after they had the coffee, a ringing endorsement of how the food & drink here have become the best of the worst.Let's put this into perspective, for about $70, i bought a coffee and a tart here. I could have had 4 afternoon tea sets at Cafe de Coral and their food is prepared on the same day. i could have bought 3 coffees at Tsui Wah for the price I paid for the merky water here and at least they deliver what they agreed on the tin.Looking pretty is never enough in this business and i think if Agnes b herself had what I had for afternoon tea, she would have weeped in shame.…Read More