comedicrit's Profile

First visit as I was curious to try the infamous 堂島卷.  But I found myself more attracted to the happy pouch, and I'm glad I bought it too, and not only because 2 items warranted a box - I actually found it more satisfying than the roll.  Surprisingly, the cream inside seened even more delicious, which left me wondering whether it's actually the same cream as in the roll, and was just tainted by the addition of the custardy sauce, or was it altogether a different (and in my opinion, better) cream?  I particularly enjoyed the combination of different textures of the thin pancakey exterior, thick cream and rich cheesecake.  It was indeed a very happy pouch.…Read More

smoked salmon salad baked potato:As you may note from the photo, there was a generous amount of topping.  But, I would perhaps more accurately describe it as salad dressing, with small bits of smoked salmon taunting me in a find-me-if-you-can!-game.  It was a challenging game.cajun chicken baked potato:Contrastingly from the above smoked salmon salad baked potato, which was literally invisible under the overflowing salad dressing, this baked potato could do with more topping, especially more pieces of chicken.  And if the cajun flavour was playing the same find-me-if-you-can!-game, I totally lost.  I could not detect it at all, but just a somewhat musky, slightly sour flavour.On the other hand, if you're just looking to fill up your stomach with a quick lunch, they'll do.…Read More

I'm not saying this place is bad, but is it really worth the long wait?烏卒卒In my opinion, there’s a reason why this is named after its colour and not its taste – although I could see the squid ink, I could not taste it. All it was, really, was a black looking maki that was somewhat crunchy.醬菜牛油鐵鍋飯Although this was served in a pan, there was a complete lack of sizzle, and the rice was actually merely luke warm, to my huge disappointment. It was also swimming in oil, that wasn’t even rich in butter taste. The kimchi wasn’t the normal cabbage type, but consisted of crunchy strands, but did not hide the fact that the overall taste was just “as expected” i.e. the same taste you get whenever you mix kimchi with anything.廚師卡邦尼年糕This was actually the best. It was even hotter than the rice and the sauce was rich and savory.校園花卷The beef was nicely flavoured but was inadequate, being the only filling. The egg wrapped around each roll was a bit flimsy and the rolls were a bit loose, giving the impression they were casually and uncaringly prepared.The mediocre quality of each dish made me wonder why I waited so long for a table and why others do too.   …Read More

This was a big disappointment.The service was bad and the food was bland, which doubly make the experience not worthy of the prices.  They even almost lost the cake I brought and put in their fridge, spending roughly 15 mins searching for it.  How not to be professional.To (badly) start, the HangZhou line of food was no longer available, and the choices on the menu were boring.  I had hoped the taste would make up for their lack of creativity, but no. The wasabi flavoured octopus&conch slices - while the slices had good texture, the wasabi flavour was so mild it was almost non-existent.  At almost $300 for this dish, I wished I had not ordered it.I was somewhat shocked that the roasted eel pieces were not only from a rather skinny and puny eel, but it was also not from the belly region of the eel.  And, while the brownish colour created the (false) impression that it was nicely marinated, it totally was not.  It might as well have been colourless.Steamed beef cake, a.k.a steamed large 牛肉球, squashed - There seemed to be no skill involved in making it.  Bottom line, it lacked taste and was completely unimpressive.Lotus wrapped fried rice - are you sure that's lotus leaf?  Because seriously, this was just some mediocre fried rice....with loads of rice...Dessert :- choice of sweet potato&taro sweetsoup  and  coconut sago.  While the former was decent, the latter was like diluted coconut milk water... All in all, this meal was not of the standard I had imagined and expected.…Read More

So, bought a mini-cake the other day - chocolate with mango filling (in the centre, not layered).  It was incredibly pleasing to the eye, but that is pretty much all the compliment I give, because it really wasn't that yummy at all.  The cream wasn't exactly the smoothest nor creamiest and the cake wasnt chocolatey enough.  It may be a nice and presentable gift, but it's not the kind of cake I would buy to satisfy a cake craving.Perhaps the larger cakes would be tastier? …Read More

Friday – Dinner for 3 – A La CarteWhile the casual setting was fine and unpretentious, the paper place-settings advertising ginger-vinegar-pig trotters created a very Café-de-Coral-like feel. As for the food:-Shrimp and crab relish on baguetteSpoon relish onto one of the 6 thin slices of toasted baguette and voila. This was pretty much all there was to it, which seemed overly simple, like something fixed quickly at home. Perhaps the baguette slices could be slightly buttered, if only for more a more attractive goldenness, or perhaps some salad leaves as well – to reduce the self-made quality.Crispy stuffed duck with glutinous riceThis seemed to be an interesting sandwich-like composition of chewy rice and duck meat. Sadly, neither the glutinous rice nor the duck meat stood out – they both tasted of nothing if not for the sauce. It was really just like eating a clump of glutinous rice…Crispy tangerine peel spare ribsThis was actually the most disappointing – the small bite-sized pieces of pork weren’t crispy and just tasted slightly sweet/sour. Spring rolls with radish and dried oystersI had never tried spring rolls with this mixture of filling before, and quite enjoyed it –not only were the spring rolls fresh and crispy, the strong taste of dried oyster was delectable too.Turnip PancakeAgain, I felt that this was quite an original recipe, and it was also quite nicely done, such that the edges of the pancake were crispy and there was plentiful plump turnips as well as mushroom and dried shrimp. However, although there was a right amount of batter, it was slightly too mushy and doughy.Dandan noodlesThis was an interesting twist to the traditional version, which is worth a try, but in the end I’m still more of a fan of the latter. I find that this lacked peanut sauce and peanut crumbs. The noodles were very al dente, which is a sign of good quality ramen, but personally, I prefer the type of noodles used in the traditional version, which somehow for me, matches the intensity of the sauce more. DESSERTSI was most eager to try the desserts, since this is the Sweets branch afterall. Unfortunately, the whole array of durian desserts were not available since it’s not the right season. Green tea and black sesame glutinous rice ballsI’ve heard most about this dessert and decided it had to be good. But… the glutinous rice layer, though not too thick, was completely soft and mushy and totally lacked any chewiness whatsoever. I’m not sure that is deliberate, and if it is, this take on glutinous rice balls is really not my cup of tea.Cooked pear in osmanthus wine and tofu ice-creamHome-made ice-cream: another must-try item. Sadly, I was rather let down again. It lacked tofu taste and smoothness. It was more akin to sorbet rather than ice-cream. The wine sauce also lacked intensity, and the pears seemed to not have been cooked for long enough.Caramel glutinous rice and banana ice-creamThe pairing of glutinous rice and ice-cream together is incredibly enjoyable, shame about the taste. To me, caramel and banana is itself a mouth-watering combination, but sadly, the tastes of both were hardly detectable. It was really just sweet - if one didn’t know what flavour the ice-cream was, it would have been pretty difficult to tell. For $220 per head for the above 6 dishes and 3 desserts, it’s not expensive at all. I just didn’t feel it was worth it. …Read More

It’s been a while since I wrote a restaurant review, but felt that this experience was worth putting into words, firstly because the restaurant is so highly regarded, with its connection to one of the best chefs in the world, and secondly because molecular gastronomy and tasting menus are becoming more mainstream in HK and could use more feedback and encouragement.We were seated in the VIP area, perhaps due to our reservation of the tasting menu, and were immediately attended to by our waiter, who asked for our order of drinks. Side note - While I understand that fine-dining restaurants do not tend to serve tap water, I couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback with the waiter’s express refusal of the same. I just don’t think a restaurant that cares about food should care that much about charging for water. It’s not like it’s even a ‘drink’ per se, but rather a necessity that should be a right to every customer? Albeit slightly bummed, I was excited about starting on the first category in the tasting menu - the Snacks. First up: Sangria in suspension and olive oil butter. The sangria part was good, with quite an obvious alcohol content too. Unfortunately, the suspension aspect, which I presume was the crux of the creation, was not as successful. In fact, I was less impressed than I was when I first tried Fruit Tree’s apple & aloe vera juice. Most of the stuff that was meant to be suspended was not, and lay at the bottom of our glasses, resulting in us having to throw our heads back multiple times. I suggest they start serving it with spoons.As for the olive oil butter, I had high hopes for the thick creamy butter that we squeezed out from a cute, miniature toothpaste tube, but was disappointed that the intensity of taste was just as miniature.Rest of the snacks: Black sesame miso sponge cake and Philopizza ; liquid ham croquette ; truffle dentelle ; foie gras with spiced bread – all were aromatic and composed of diverse flavours and textures as well as delicately presented. However, while they definitely delighted my palate, they did not surprise it in the way that molecular gastronomy usually does. I found myself wondering what other sensations they were intended to conjure or evoke. When the composition of the food plainly just mirrors the food’s name, without further transformation or concept, it’s all but a fine-dining experience, short of a gastronomical journey. Thus, by the end of the Snacks, I found my mind still in my brain and my socks still firmly on my feet. Until the tapas: the XXI Century Omelet ; slow-cooked salmon ; and Carbonara Egg Nest. There is a reason why these dishes are the signature ones at this restaurant. I finally felt the extra bit of innovation that reconstructed my food into something more unexpected and out of the ordinary. I particularly enjoyed the Carbonara Egg Nest, which made me feel like I was literally eating a plate of Carbonara which had been reshaped into an egg in a nest. I had no idea how they did it, and loved that. For the record, the slow-cooked salmon was actually just slow-cooked salmon, but it was some seriously good slow-cooked salmon.I can’t really say the same for the main courses: French sea bass and wagyu confit. I’m afraid they weren’t only boring, but weren’t even quite up to fine-dining quality. For instance, the texture of the beef was dry and tough and far from tender.Lastly, the dessert and petit fours. There was (sadly) just one dessert - chocolate coulant nitro. It was good, and I appreciate that liquid-nitrogen-cooked stuff are innovative and rare in themselves, but when it’s the main (and only) dessert item, I felt like it needed something more than just crumbs on the side. As it was, it was nothing special, especially if you’ve already sampled other creations made with liquid-nitrogen. It was like a big, icy Ferrero Rocher, and not as good even, without the hazelnut in the center. As for the petit fours, let’s just say I admired the minimalist way in which they were presented…but not much else. Moreover, to add to the previous outright dismissal of tap water, there was also a minor lack of professionalism in the server’s lack of knowledge about the flavour of the macaroons, and a major lack of professionalism in his failure to revert. I was actually waiting to find out, because even after eating it, I still had no idea (in my defence, it was green, but tasted neither of pandan, green tea nor lime). It’s interesting that, without having taken many photos of the food, I find my clearest memory to be one of visiting the toilet twice and having great difficulty returning to my table both times since its entrance did not revolve along with the rest of the restaurant.The above sums up my experience of the $1400 tasting menu. I guess on the whole, it still needed some work, whether it be treated as a fine-dining or a molecular gastronomy experience. …Read More

燒乳鴿Very tasty. But the birds were quite big in size so its chest area was really meaty but lacked tenderness. The prawn crackers were also really crispy.香酥鴨This dish was well-done, but it was nothing outstanding. It could actually also improve by being crispier…椒鹽蝦The seasoning was mainly just salt, and I felt it would have been nicer if there was pepper/ chilli as well...蝦子柚皮Overly salty, and the dried shrimp roe was a bit too weak for me. 送 : 合桃糊This sweet soup was one of the worst of its kind that I’ve ever tasted. It carried no taste of walnut, or any nut, for that matter. It was also composed of many unpleasant clumps of flour, which made it feel like I was eating a bowl of boiled sugar and cornflour. The chinese dishes aren’t bad here, but not that great either, and I feel they’re overpriced.…Read More

Grilled vegetables panini Wow. I was pleasantly surprised. At first I thought I’d made a bad choice because veg in bread seems so plain. But it wasn’t plain. In fact, I tasted not only the veg but also a lot of natural salt and pepper AND the chargrilled taste as well, which I did not expect. The veg was varied: mushroom, courgette, sundried tomatoes etc. Chicken Waldorf salad sandwichThe baguette was fresh and crunchy – made me a bit nostalgic for Paul (bakery) in the UK. The filling was great - green apple shreds, water cress, walnut crumbs, chicken meat, celery bits … and there was a LOT of it as well. Perhaps it had a little too much apple and not enough chicken/walnuts, but on the whole, still great. Smoked salmon :Unfortunately, the baguette this time was not that fresh, and was quite tough to chew… and, the pesto smeared on the inside of it was a bit scant, and the sandwich could have done without it. However, the smoked salmon was of decent quality, and there were a lot of fresh veg, including lettuce, red onions and tomatoes.Chicken and mushroom panini :This was another good quality panini but its taste was not what I had anticipated. The chicken and mushrooms were not mixed in sauce, but had been fried/grilled, and seasoned – it was perhaps a bit too salty for my liking. However, I loved the big juicy pieces of mushrooms and bits of spinach.Ham and cheese panini:The ham consisted of generous layers of thin slices. The cheese was not that strong, but was sufficiently cheesy, in a natural way. The panini was very crispy, but it could however have been toasted for a bit longer as the inner layers of ham were still cold.…Read More

Warning!芝麻流沙杏仁包This sounds nice, but it tasted nothing like its name. The bun was grayish in colour, but there was no sesame taste. Similarly, though the filling was white, it had no taste of almond. It was also a bit too watery, and made the bread a bit soggy, as if there was uncooked dough. The bun carried a slight bitter taste as well, which made this quite a bad option as a sweet dessert to end one's meal. 叉燒酥Cold and unfresh and hardly any char siu in it. Boo. 薄脆金鉤腸粉I don’t really recall the exact name, but it was roughly like this, which, again, sounds pretty delicious. Unfortunately, again, it wasn’t what was expected: the 金鉤 was merely one or two dried shrimp, and the 薄脆 was deepfried beencurd wrapped inside the cheung fun, which was not 脆 at all. This dimsum was like really plain white cheung fun, that wasn’t even as chewy and smooth as the really good quality ones. Disappointing. The good thing about eating dim sum at 稻香 is it's relatively cheap. But in my opinion, it's not 'cheap' when the food quality is compensated.. …Read More

Ordered delivery one night, and it arrived promptly after 30 mins as it said it would. However, I felt that the delivered food was much worse than when eaten in. 千島海鮮大批The pizza was not crispy, not soft, but hard like cardboard. There was also too little thousand island dressing so it was quite bland and dry… the cheese was not even as cheesy as pizza hut’s pizza. 小食拼盤 : 春卷 , 咖哩角 , 魷魚圈 , 雞翼I quite liked the variety but unfortunately, they lost their crispiness from being in the delivery boxes for too long. Of course, I’m not criticizing them because of that – I was also disappointed at the complete lack of filling in both the spring rolls and samosas - it was like eating plain flour. 炸雞BEST of the lot. I’d always thought this shop should just be called “Chicken” instead because it does some damn good chicken. They’re big, tender (only thighs and drumsticks served!!), not too oily, with crispy skin even in the case of deliveries. Why’s it called Cheese Pizza?!?! Even its Chinese name is just chicken. …Read More

Pack of 3 sandwiches:* Smoked ham & mustard :- could do with more mustard* Egg & cress :- too little egg, and too much cress… the egg was also a bit too dry, in need of more mayo/salad dressing* Prawn & mayo :- this tasted the best out of the three.Note: the bread for all 3 sandwiches was rather dry and hard, unlike at Prêt . The filling inside were also notably less than that at Prêt. (I’m comparing it to Prêt because that’s probably my go-to place for a take-away sandwich…)And, I didn’t really like the fact that butter was used in all three sandwiches… it’s not really necessary when the ‘gourmet’ filling is supposed to be really good…the butter had also gone hard and lumpy, and didn’t add much to the taste. However, I did appreciate the combination of different sandwiches in one pack, which you can't get at pret. …Read More

Red Velvet cakeFor me, this was not as good as the other cakes by Starbucks. I felt it mainly had to do with the frosting, which was rather thin and was a chewy creamcheese type rather than the sugary buttercream frosting that I prefer. The cake layers were also rather plain. I couldn’t help but think that this would be so much better as a cup cake… lemon tartI can't really remember what this was like, but it wasn't bad! …Read More

Having heard so much praise about this restaurant, I’d been really looking forward to trying it. I really wanted to like this place. But sadly, I’m afraid the food, for me, was not good as it is made out to be. Perhaps it was anomalously off its game that night? 萬壽果牛肋肉The meat was tender and the use of papaya is unique. That being said, I felt the papaya was somehow not brought out enough. I know it’s not meant to outshine the meat, but it could still have been allowed a stronger presence, instead of being overshadowed by the sauce (what would happen if the sauce was replaced by papaya puree?..just a thought). On the whole, it was really just another beef dish to me, and tender though it was, there was nothing else that struck me as anything special. 鳳凰三色蛋This was a beautiful creation. It sort of transforms the old concept of 三色蛋 into a fresh and interesting work of art – a primitive commonplace food into something delicate and fitting on a fine-dining table. They were like shining, golden pieces of mosaic tiles. The respective tastes and textures of the three different eggs were well preserved as well. 翡翠口袋豆腐This was merely alright. There was nothing wrong with it, apart from maybe a blander taste than expected, but nothing about it was really good. 茶粿I found this quite disappointing. The skin was quite thick, which was made even worse by the small size of the dumpling. The filling was therefore quite scant. I also felt that the skin could have been more chewy, rather than just soft. 炆魚嘴This dish surprised us by being pieces of fish head, rather than just pieces of the mouth. Not being a fan of fish heads, it may not be fair for me to critique it. Anyhow - we were told it would be very flavoursome, and it was, but I just felt like it was a bit too much like the average fish-head dish eaten at other ordinary Chinese places along with sizzling plates and the like. 芝麻卷 , 紅豆糕The sesame roll dessert was very soft but lacking in sesame taste… shame. The red bean one was quite fragrant, but again, it’s quite… plain.[…why do Chinese fine-dining restaurants love serving really ordinary dessert items (which may often be found being sold on the side of the road in big crude pieces) in the form of dainty, expensive ones…? Weird.] 生磨蛋白杏仁露This is a famous dessert here… but to be honest, though the egg white was skillfully whisked in, I was disappointed with the somewhat weak taste of almond... All in all, the dinner wasn’t bad, but I just felt like it could have been better. This is actually a compliment, since it means I feel like it’s got the potential to do so much better. …Read More

香芋雞蛋仔The 雞蛋仔 at this shop is a chewy type rather than a crispy type. Personally, I quite enjoy its soft flouriness. However, of course, my ideal 雞蛋仔 would have a texture that is somewhere in between soft and crispy – ie外脆內軟. I find that while this one is too soft, the ones at the famous LKK are too crispy and hollow and not too enjoyable either.. it's like they're trying to use as little batter as possible, then charging more for it. Moreover, the taro flavour was hardly detectable – but I expected this and only picked it for fun… I have yet to find a shop that does a good taro flavoured雞蛋仔 .. recommendations, anyone?…Read More