commonerspalate's Profile

Discovered this cosy new cocktail bar tucked away on Shin Hing Street. COA serves up elegantly concocted cocktails that you can’t really find anywhere else in HK. I tried the caffeinated negroni, which had the aromas of a coffee plus the strength of a negroni, topped off with a tasty piece of chocolate. Think I’ve found my new fav hideout. OVERALL - awesome SUGGEST - legit almost all their cocktails are good …Read More

Went to check out this new kbbq place in Soho. Before I begin my very angry rant, I'd like to say that objectively, the quality of beef served was fairly decent, but it was the service that was a complete disaster. The meal started off not so smoothly when I picked two wines from the shortlist of options, but neither of them were available - their explanation was that they refresh their wine list often, which is fine, but not great if you don't update your physical menu to match it. Then, we wanted to get a bit more kimchi with our food. Apparently they make their kimchi fresh everyday in limited quantities so they didn't have any left (it was before 8pm at the time, how can you run a kbbq shop without an abundance of kimchi?). It was downhill when we ordered a second platter of beef, which took them 25-30 mins to serve. And, get this, their reason is they only hired one Korean chef who slices the beef, so he can't do it so quickly....what?? I don't care if you hire guys from HK, India or Europe, I just need you to serve me my raw beef in decent slices quickly when I pay good money to dine at your venue. WORST part was when the boss lady told me that I was cooking the beef incorrectly and wanted to show me how it's done. So she decided to put the beef on the pan when it wasn't even hot and after a quick fry, the beef looked like it's been straight boiled in water for 5 mins - completely unappetising - YET she decided to serve it to us. WHY? Why would you do that? And how are you in a position to accuse me of my bad cooking when you're just as bad? Never again. I absolutely hate this place with a passion. OVERALL - terrible SUGGEST - avoid like the plague, you will only get angry dining here …Read More

Went to check out the newly opened Number 2, which replaces Cocotte in Central. First of all, can we talk about the name 💩 (teehee). Ok, now the food. Claims to be Mediterranean food, but that isn't very apparent through the menu. In general, pretty average. Dinner: (1) mussels - highlight of the meal, juicy mussels with this awesome white sauce; (2) lamb chops - so tiny...for the price, it's kind of a rip off; (3) ribs - fairly tasty...kinda like ribs soaked in char siu sauce...but really hard to cut through for some reason; (4) lemon cheesecake - traditional, super cheesy, could be smoother in texture. Nothing too particularly memorable...maybe give it some more time?OVERALL - mehSUGGEST - mussels How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible…Read More

Went to check this place out during their soft opening and was looking forward to some cool, Asian contemp eats. Unfortunately, it was a bit underwhelming. None of their "signature" dishes really stood out for me. Dinner - apologies if I get the names of the dishes wrong because I'm working from memory since the menu isn't available online yet: (1) five spice squid - one of my favs for the evening...good slices of squid tossed in spiced salt and fried garlic made for a tasty starter; (2) duck roll - basically a spring roll but with duck meat and a bit of diced veg inside...not good...the wrap was nice and crispy but the filling was really dense and dry and the oyster sauce was too salty and overbearing; (3) jasmine tea smoked pork ribs - disappointed...was hoping for there to be nice hints of tea infused into the rib sauce but it wasn't there...cook on the ribs was okay but the meat didn't "fall off the bone"...oh and it was also too salty; (4) miso sea bass fillet - this was pretty nice...tastes exactly like what the dish name suggests...meat was flaky and tender; (5) soft shell crab roll - typical roll...didn't like how they put slices of mango on it...made it taste weird for me; (6) corn and eggplant skewers - standard stuff...lightly salted and nicely grilled. OVERALL - meh (also found it a bit pricey even after the generous 25% disc offered during its soft opening period? Prob need to give this place a couple more weeks to work things out)SUGGEST - five spice squid, miso sea bass fillet, try a couple of their cocktailsHow I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Stumbled upon this newly opened restaurant before it's official launch. Dinner: (1) bun mam (the "Vietnamese gumbo", a seafood vermicelli served in a fermented fish soup base) - most viet restos focus on the popular pho noodle soup (Phobar, Brass Spoon, BEP, etc.) but not many offer up the other tasty noodle soups from Vietnam...this bun mam was jam packed w plenty of seafood, a fragrant soup base and al dente noodles, but I found the soup a bit on the sweeter side and would have preferred stronger savoury flavours...still delicious though!; (2) banh mi - don't think there are many spots in HK that put so much meat in their banh mi's like this place does and all of it was wrapped in a fresh and slightly toasty baguette...it would have been even better with a greater spread of the pate. OVERALL - decent. SUGGEST - bun mam (the bun thai's soup base was much too light), banh mi was alright too. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) ceviche amarillo (fish, shrimp, calamari w red onion, fried garlic, cilantro, aji amarillo) - refreshing and citrusy ceviche but nothing particularly special I guess; (2) coxinhas de frango (chicken and okra fried dumplings w homemade chilli sauce) - pretty tasty...nice golden brown fry on the outside...awesomely portioned and seasoned filling on the inside; (3) marinated pear salad - it's just a salad...; (4) beef skewer - super tender meat...nice cook and good flavour; (5) chicken skewer - as good as the beef; (6) portobello skewer - didn't like this...think it might have been the chimichurri sauce that threw it off...would have preferred a stronger earthiness taste from the portobello. OVERALL - decent. SUGGEST - coxinhas de frango, all the skewers (except the portobello). How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) keema pao - one of my favs here...kinda like a sloppy joe...nice brioche-like bun that's moist but toasty and the ground beef is well portioned w a nice kick in it; (2) chicken kali miri naanza - not a fan...basically just pizza but the crust is a bit thick for my liking; (3) sev puri - really interesting, bite sized apps...not my fav but still tasty w a nice crunch; (4) chicken tikka masala - this is the best...the texture of the curry was nice and creamy w good portions of chicken; (5) chingri malai curry - this was a bit watery...texture of the prawn meat gave me the impression that it wasn't that fresh and that it was overcooked/slightly mushy; (6) do phool ek tandoor - simply flavoured broccoli and cauliflower to balance off the heaviness of the entire meal; (7) naan - perfectly cooked and just the right amount of thickness...just perfect. OVERALL - decent. SUGGEST - keema pao, chicken tikka masala, naan. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) cheese mochi - these are always awesome but I found them lacking a bit of flavour?; (2) thin cut ox tongue - not enough ox tongue; (3) kalbi skewers - tender and well seasoned meat; (4) lamb chops - over cooked and tasteless; (5) tsukune - if I had to choose a highlight...this would be it...chicken was ground and flavoured well and I always loved the dip w raw egg; (6) nankotsu (chicken cartilage) - too dry and not big enough for a good bite; (7) kurobuta belly skewer - too thinly sliced and meat was really dry; (8) grilled corn - decent and as expected; (9) yakimo (sweet potato) - also decently grilled; (10) gyu don (beef rice) - standard...found it a bit bland. OVERALL - meh. SUGGEST - nothing really stood out, but I guess the tsukune wasn't bad. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Lunch: had the chirashi and found it a bit underwhelming...it's just a bowl of diced, cheap sashimi all mixed over some Japanese rice...although, to be fair, the sashimi was fresh I guess. OVERALL - meh. SUGGEST - not the chirashi. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) beef tartare - good flavour but would have preferred the tartare finely diced instead of 'mushy'; (2) steak (think its flank) - nice medium rare...super tender and juicy w good seasoning; (3) boiled choi sum - this is honestly soooo good for some reason...it's simple veg in broth but so fresh and flavourful; (4) duck confit w casserole rice - the best dish of the night...good amounts of duck confit mixed throughout the rice to give it the right flavour...rice is cooked perfectly so it's not too dry nor soggy. OVERALL - decent. SUGGEST - duck confit in casserole rice. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) cured rainbow trout - cool presentation w the light on the bottom...the orange and grapefruit slices gave the trout a nice acidic balance; (2) crab cake w Sakura prawn powder - also awesome presentation in the shape of a crab...crab cake itself had a good portion of crab but nothing too special I guess; (3) Spanish carabineros red prawn tagliolini - pasta was cooked to a nice al dente w good seasoning...though would have preferred a bit more prawn; (4) steak (forget which kind....) - among all the other dishes...this had the most bland presentation...steak was a nice medium rare and seasoned well but felt like the texture of the meat was a bit tough. OVERALL - decent (and great service). SUGGEST - crab cake w Sakura prawn powder, Spanish carabineros red prawn tagliolini. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) tonkatsu w rice - haven't had this in so long...I always go for the most basic tonkatsu without the fancy premium pork nor seafood...pork was fried really well w a nice golden brown colour...the meat was tender and moist and the sauce was simply awesome. OVERALL - decent. SUGGEST - tonkatsu w rice. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) seared tuna, avocado, pickled radish, sesame - quite refreshing actually...good amounts of tuna that was decently seasoned; (2) pulled pork brioche slider and salted/dry-roasted pork belly brioche slider combo - so baddd...brioche came cold...the pork on both were dry and underseasoned; (3) spaghetti carbonara - so salty...; (4) honey/soy marinated Iberico pork rack - a bit overcooked and lacked flavour; (5) choy sum salad - basically like eating salt. OVERALL - terrible (but HH wines are only $25 each!). SUGGEST - just go for the drinks. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Lunch: (1) simple green salad - as expected; (2) steamed egg - good cook so it's not watery...nice flavour; (3) Murasaki chirashi - super fresh and good portion of sashimi...pre-flavoured rice so no need for more soy sauce...stunning presentation; (4) green tea ice cream - it's just ice cream. OVERALL - decent. SUGGEST - anything with sashimi. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More

Dinner: (1) deep fried calamari - not my favourite...a bit soggy; (2) French onion soup - melty cheese goodness and the soup was seasoned well...unlike a bunch of other places that are way too salty; (3) roasted pork ribs - yummmm...good flavour w the sauce but would have liked the ribs to be a bit meatier; (4) table side truffle spaghetti in cheese wheel - pretty cool table side "show"...spaghetti itself was cooked well w the right amount of truffle and not too overbearing...need to eat this quick tho or else the cheese will start to harden; (5) seven layer chocolate cake - absolutely divine! OVERALL - decent (esp cuz they do buy one get one HH deals by the bottle before 10:30pm daily!). SUGGEST - the booze, table side truffle spaghetti in cheese wheel, French onion soup, seven layer chocolate cake. How I rate: awesome > decent > meh > terrible. …Read More