charlieb88's Profile

Great quality ingredients and a kitchen that knows how to cook them. Friendly, unpretentious service and reasonable prices.The signature iberico was exactly what it should be. The bravas was like it is in Spain. The gambas fresh, firm and tasty. The paprika in several dishes was exactly as it should be; fresh, smoky and spicy, without being overpowering or cloying. Much better than we’d expect in soho! We’ll be back. …Read More

We tried Jiang's again after a disappointing experience a couple of years ago when it opened. The selection looks great, and the flavours are very Hunan without being too salty; but the quality of the ingredients seems very poor. Over half of the clams in our dish were unfresh and didn't open, and the potatoes were a cheap and tasteless variety (when a variety more similar to the Hunan original is absolutely available in Hong Kong)At first we assumed that they were just using cheap ingredients to keep the cost down; not our taste, but not a problem. But at a final cost of over $200, and with utterly nonchalant service, it will be more than a couple of years before we try again. There are so many better options in the neighborhood. …Read More

Great Beijing and northern food, including perhaps the best duck and pancake in Hong Kong? Not a word in English though, if that's something you need...Have been here three times this week since discovering, which is quite a tribute in the food paradise that is shek tong tsui!…Read More

We left the restaurant trying to explain to the chef how 'terrible' the food had been. He nodded and thanked us. I guess that's how well they understand what good is. Fugu soggy, asparagus chewy, Chilli sauce more msg sauce, corn at least a week old, scallops tasting of socks. $9 yakitori is a pull no doubt. It's not worth it. 7-eleven fishballs are better. …Read More

What a shame to lose such a great outdoor eating spot. For years, they served great food to happy customers. We left today. The new team served their signature clam dish to us and to several others with 9/10 of the clams still closed, and then proceeded to help customers to force open the closed clams. If the clams has been dead for a while, I think this could cause food poisoning.Having waited over 40 minutes for this disappointment, we paid for our drinks and left. We won't be going back.…Read More

terrible. terrible. terrible. the meaning of 14 negative reviews vs 3 positive ones should be clear, but we wanted to make our own judgment. don't. the doomsayers are absolutely justified. if you can get past the glaringly bright lights and angry-looking staff around you, you will get to experience the shockingly bad food. it's not about lack of care and attention. the food is hygienic and well prepared, but follows a totally misguided recipe I expressed incredulity to the manager that the place had been open for 6 years, but instead of asking me what could be improved, he simply asked 'how long have your been in Hong Kong?'. Long enough to tell you that every one of your neighbors is delivering better food, better ambiance and better service, for a better price. …Read More

When we first visited Tivo when it arrived in Kennedy town, it was pretty disappointing. The new team really didn't seem to 'get' good food or good service. How they have turned it around! They now deliver fantastic versions of simple dishes like pasta carbonara or sirloin steak, with fresh quality ingredients from a masterful kitchen. I wouldn't recommend the pork belly bun unless you are in to very chubby pigs, but they do have very good coffee.…Read More

Limewood have a great spot on the beach, and full of pretty people on a weekend. But it seems they are booking a table for beach vibe, not the food. Some interesting things on the menu, but it's lazy and soulless preparation. Sweetcorn that is shriveled and tasteless, smothered with cloyingly sweet coconut. Fish deep fried saturated in salt. Cocktails ruined by bitter unripened limes. We didn't have a single dish in our group that actually hit the mark.If you're ok to burn $500 on a mediocre lunch, then it's a nice enough place to chill by the beach. But there are much better beach spots and much better food to be had in Hong Kong. …Read More

Great new addition to Shek Tong Tsui - and bright and open environment was lovely on a sunny day.Juice options are fresh and inventive. Apple and lime was a hit.Pasta Carbonara better than the average for Hong Kong, but really much too heavy. Carbonarra doesn't really work with UHT cream, so better to move it down the menu if you can't source fresh cream. Dairy failure a theme - with the bright orange "mozerella" cheese in the panini. It doesn't need to be anything gourmet, but something with a gentle mozeralla flavour would have made the other (good) ingredients work much better.Will repeat the climb up the hill for lunch from time to time whilst the weather is still cool, to see if the ingredients improve....…Read More