KWOTJO's Profile

Having walked past this eatery many times, I was looking forward to finally trying their dumplings for tea today.I actually wanted to try the chives with pork dumpling as it was their bestseller, but my friend who was sharing the order with me was keen on the black fungus with cabbage flavour, so that's what we ordered. Since their soup was advertised as not containing any MSG, I contemplated an additional order of just the pork bone soup, brewed with a combination of Chinese Yam and fish maw. Seeing my hesitation, the server kindly offered to provide me with a little more soup for my dumpling order.The soup and dumplings were packed separately, and reached home piping hot.With an allergy to MSG, I can vouch for the soup being MSG-free. Unfortunately, it seems that to make up for the lack of MSG, the chef decided to substitute sugar and salt for the same. Both the soup and dumplings were not seasoned to the point of being inedible, but they were not for those with a light palate. Considering that the soup was brewed with other ingredients, its flavour profile was best described as salty and sugary sweetness, rather than the expected full umami flavours of brewed meat stock. More than half an hour after finishing the meal and a full glass of water, I still had that lingering sweetness which I only experience after consuming candy.The dumplings had a similar issue, with too much sweetness that overpowered any taste of the pork in the filling.Overall, the food was not inedible and the service was friendly and accommodating, but I will not be returning to try their best-selling chive and pork dumplings after all.…Read More

This is my second visit to the restaurant as I wanted to take my family to try something different from the average dim sum restaurant. We ordered 5 types of dimsum and 3 dishes, which was enough for 4 adults. My fave was the steamed vegetable dumpling with truffle (透明波波), we ordered 2 of these. Allow the dumpling to just cool slightly before consuming as the skin then tends to have a little more bite (like glutinous rice). Do not expect to really taste the chopped vegetable filling as the truffle taste was quite strong, though not considered overpowering.The presentation of the pineapple pastry (鴿吞鳳梨) was nice, coming to the table in a little birdcage, but it looked better than it tasted. The pastry was nice and crumbly, but the pineapple jam filling was overly sweet and tasted as if pineapple essence or flavoring was used. This is not something I will order again.Buns in this restaurant come in cute little designs. The barbequed pork bun (一籠八戒) came in the shape of a white piggy face whilst the molten custard bun (睇住流奶) were little orange buns with eyes.  Both had nice soft buns and the custard cream was not overly sweet with a slightly saltiness to it.The shrimp dumplings (有色蝦餃) had a generous portion of prawns and tasted fine, but was unspectacular. I will prefer if they had left out the coloring and gold leaf which added nothing to the flavor of the dumplings.I did not taste the spicy turnip cake (乾媽蘿蔔), but it was one of a handful of turnip cakes from dimsum restaurants that my mom found acceptable. One of the pluses is that it did not come to the table doused in oil.The fried squid tentacles (椒鹽鬍鬚) was thankfully not overcooked, but the batter was unfortunately more oily than crispy during consumption.Their version of the fried french beans (金四季豆) came with a little twist - it was coated in salted egg yolk. This was another favorite, as the beans were not soft but just cooked enough to lose the raw taste. The only fault may be that it was just a smidge over-salted, but that was to be expected with salted egg. Service was friendly and fairly attentive. Making a reservation is recommended as they seemed quite packed on the weekends. This is a place I will consider bringing visiting friends, to experience the fun of dimsum.…Read More

The bakery was almost empty when I entered and the selection of baked goods were rather limited too. Not sure if it is because of the weekend. I had been wanting to pop by after reading about their attempt to take on the recent fad (from Singapore, I think) of using salted egg yolk in snacks. Their version was the salted egg yolk pastry chips. It was rather disappointing though - the flavor of the salted egg yolk was rather weak (perhaps salted egg yolk cooks better when fried than baked) and its savoriness was dominated by the sweetness of the pastry chips. At HKD 35, it was overpriced.I also purchased their full-size palmier, which is the best one I have had from any bakery thus far. I put it in the oven just to heat it to a slight crispness. I did not have the chance to take a photo as we were all ready to dig in after enduring its wonderful aroma wafting from the oven. It turned out to be delicious and flaky to the last bite, unlike those from most other bakeries that tend to be burnt around the edges but hard and a little undercooked in the centre. I would prefer it if they reduced the sweetness of the pastry and the price of HKD 20 seems a little high, but this is a treat I will allow myself on the rare occasion.…Read More

Walking from Wanchai to an appointment in Causeway Bay and looking for a place to lunch on the way. Came across this eatery and decided to go in to try since there was an available table. From the choice of available lunch sets, I ordered the Ipoh Hor Fun Soup with Shredded Chicken and Prawns (怡保雞絲鮮蝦湯河粉), with a cup of Teh Tarik (Malaysian "pulled" milk tea 馬來西亞拉茶). My friend who subsequently came to join me ordered the Malaysian Curry Chicken Rice (馬來西亞咖哩雞飯) and a cup of Ipoh White Coffee (怡保白咖啡). The Ipoh Hor Fun came piping hot and looked quite delicious, but was a little disappointing taste wise. The soup did not have the sweet taste of prawn that one would have expected from its color. There was a thick layer of oil floating atop the soup that I was ultimately forced to skim - there turned out to be almost half a rice bowl of oil in the soup. Digging from the bottom of the bowl of hor fun, there were grey-colored prawn shells with heads and legs that appeared to have been put in to flavor the soup. These should have been removed before serving, as they made the noodle look unappetizing and tended to get caught between the strips of hor fun which then forced one to spit as they could not be swallowed. Although I am not a big fan of hor fun, the noodle in this dish was smooth and had a little bite (not overly soft), which I did like. The shredded chicken was tender, unlike those found at some other eateries that taste like meat that has been used to brew the soup base. The prawns that were used however, were totally tasteless. My friend had much better luck with the Malaysian Chicken Curry. The flavor of the curry is quite authentic, although we found it a little salty and would also prefer a little less coconut milk, so that we would not feel surfeit after. Thankfully, paired with rice, the saltiness was bearable. There were 3 big pieces of chicken with potato in the serving of curry - quite a generous portion. The chicken was tender and appeared to have been simmered in the curry, as it had absorbed the curry flavor.I tried both beverages and will pass on the teh taik next time. The tea had an astringent aftertaste, in spite of the milk. I liked the white coffee as the aroma was strong and there was no sour aftertaste. Be forewarned though that it can be a little sweet, so a request for a reduced-sweetened version may be necessary for some.I intend to return to the eatery to try other dishes such as bak kut teh (肉骨茶). The table next to ours ordered it and the aroma was delectable. The Hainanese chicken rice (馬來西亞海南雞飯) also looked like it was worth a try.…Read More

I have been buying cookies from this shop for more than a year now.I have tried most of their selection of cookies, but my favorite is the almond cookies. The texture of these cookies are crumbly and melt in the mouth. As salt is sprinkled over the top of the cookies, the taste is sweet with a touch of saltiness. It would be more perfect (and better suited for elderly people) if both the sugar and salt were slightly reduced. Nonetheless, these cookies are addictive - it is always difficult to stop at one helping. This range of cookies also comes in two other flavors - cashew nut and walnut. The cashew nut is also good as it has the rich flavor of the nut, but tends to be slightly sweeter than the almond cookies.The cookies are packaged in a simple tin box that is quite air-tight to ensure freshness. They are sold in 2 sizes - small and big, the latter being better value for money. If you are not sure of what to do with the cookie tins after, you may return them to the shop for a rebate of $3 per tin to offset the cost of the next purchase.The staff at the shop are friendly and most, if not all the selection of cookies are available for sampling, so feel free to try the cookies before deciding on which to buy. …Read More

Read about the prime rib promotion the restaurant was running, so made a reservation to catch up with 2 girlfriends over dinner there. The ambiance in the restaurant was good (nice for couples). We were shown to a booth table that afforded us privacy to chat. The dinner was a set consisting of a soup of the day, 10oz prime rib and a beverage.Bread rolls came to the table warm, soft and fluffy - wish they provided more than one per person. The soup served that day was a cream of leek with crab meat. With the first spoon of soup, one of my friends and I found it a tad too salty, though we found the flavor of the leek pleasant. There were little bits of crab meat in the soup that though not very sweet, were fortunately not "fishy". When the manager came by to check, we informed him that we thought the soup was over-salted. He immediately offered to change the soup for a salad, but as we enjoyed the flavor of the soup and the level of saltiness did not render the soup inedible, we did not take him up on his offer. The manager later returned to our table with a cup of soup to taste for himself and obtain more feedback. He concluded that the aftertaste was a little salty and promised to share the comments with the chef. Fearing that the prime rib would be overcooked, I requested for medium rare, instead of the usual medium. My friends in turn requested an 80% doneness. The meat was perfectly cooked to the requested degree, which I then found a little rare for my taste, so the staff very kindly offered to send it back to the kitchen to be cooked a little more. This time it came out perfectly medium as I preferred. The portion is actually a little huge for the average girl, but as the meat was juicy and had a rich beef flavor (we did not even need to use the gravy that was served on the side), we could not help finishing the entire steak. The tomato and broccoli garnishing the dish were fresh and the side of baked potato was soft and fluffy.We were offered the dessert menu and informed that having ordered the set dinner, we could enjoy the desserts at half price. We were really full then, but the photos of the desserts looked so decadent, we finally gave in to temptation and ordered both the apple crumble and tiramisu with extra rum. We wanted to order the souffle as well, but they had just taken the order for the last one - I shall have to go back for it. I did not try the apple crumble but my friends declared that it was delicious, not overly sweet and without an overpowering cinnamon flavor. The warmth of the apple crumble made a nice combination with the cold of the vanilla ice cream.The tiramisu was served with a small pitcher of rum. The rum was to be poured around the piece of tiramisu so that it will not become too soggy. The coffee flavor of the tiramisu with the rum-soaked sponge in the dessert was perfect!For the beverage in the set, I ordered a latte. It is nice that one does not have to pay an additional charge for ordering drinks other than the usual daily brew. As I still had half a pitcher of rum left after finishing the tiramisu, I decided to add it to my latte. I have read of liquor being added to coffee and now understand why - the added rum enhanced the coffee, really nice.I look forward to re-visiting the restaurant to try other items on the menu or even have the prime rib set again, but perhaps to share the latter this time as the portion is generous. It helps that most of the restaurant staff were friendly and sincere in their service. :)…Read More

The boss wanted to treat the team to lunch and eventually settled on this restaurant as the venue. I had been here for dinner previously and was quite impressed by the quality of the food. The lunch sets did not disappoint either. As there were more than 20 in our party, we were requested by the restaurant to pre-order to ensure sufficient time for preparation. The service was polite and food was served up in a timely manner. The 3-course lunch sets were very affordable, ranging from $88 to $108. Appetizers were a choice of a soup and a variety of salads. The Caesar salad had fresh greens and crunchy croutons, though a little more bacon and cheese would have been preferred.There were quite a few main courses to select from, ranging from pasta, rice, fish, chicken, and various types of red meat. I ordered the baby lamb fillet without realizing that it came with a mint gravy, which I do not normally enjoy. I was a little concerned after I caught a whiff of the mint when the dish was set before me. But was I in for a surprise! The mint in the gravy was very light. The gravy was a good balance of sweet and sour and a perfect complement to the tender lamb strips. I would definitely go back for it. I had a taste of the seafood paella that my colleague ordered and it was quite nice too. The rice was cooked just right and the portion of seafood was generous. The feedback on the grilled ribeye steak was also favorable.The set lunch included a choice of beverages or dessert of the day. I was hoping that tiramisu would be offered as I recall it to be quite good when I had it on my previous visit. But the dessert turned out to be a chocolate cake served warm and a la mode - it did not disappoint though. The cake was of a dense texture and rich, but not overly sweet. Very nice with the vanilla ice cream. The location of the restaurant may be a little out of the way, but for the price and quality of the lunch sets, as well as the spacious and comfortable seating arrangement, it is well worth the trudge up the hill.…Read More

When I visited this eatery in Tin Hau with my family for lunch on the weekend, all the tables on ground level were occupied, so we were directed to the 2nd floor. Seating is generally comfortable but beware as you make your way to the back of the restaurant where both the stairs and the kitchen meet as the wet and oily patch of floor in that area can be a hazard.After placing our orders, we had to wait about 10 to 15 minutes as the dimsum was cooked to order, and not pre-cooked, so all the dishes arrived at our table piping hot.The vegetable and shrimp dumpling (鮮蝦菜苗餃) was delicious. There was a generous serving of the vegetable filling in the dumpling that was not in the least fibrous. The skin of the dumpling which was thin, did not break easily, and had a slightly “chewy” texture. The same type of dumpling skin was used for the beef and bittergourd dumpling (涼瓜水晶牛肉餃). This is an unusual choice of filling for a steamed dumpling as the bitter taste of the bittergourd may not be for everyone. Fortunately, the bittergourd was diced small enough such that it was sufficiently soft and cooked through to remove the “green” taste of the gourd, and it was a nice combination with the tender beef filling. The ingredients in the filling of the chiu-chao style dumpling (古法潮州粉果) complemented each other well and were not overly salty – the only imperfection for me being that the peanuts in the dumpling were not as crispy as some others I have tried. The family member who had the pork and shrimp soup dumpling (瑤柱灌湯餃) found it bland and unexciting. The shrimp dumpling (功夫蝦餃皇) at $7 each was unremarkable and seemed little overdone - the skin of the dumpling was a little too soft.We loved the plain rice rolls (布拉滑腸粉) which had a nice “chewy” texture, and were thin and smooth without being overly oily. The soy sauce that accompanied the rice rolls was a good balance of sweet and salty. The fragrance of the lotus leaf wrapping the rice with shrimp, chicken and pork (足料鮮蝦荷葉飯) preceded the dish. The rice looked quite dry and unappetizing when it was unwrapped, but turned out to be surprisingly soft and fluffy when eaten. There was not as much meat ingredients in the rice as we had expected, and we were left with quite a lot of rice and no accompanying meat at the end.We did not find the potsticker (金網香煎鍋貼), a recommended dish on their menu, outstanding. It did look unusual with the pan-fried dumpling sitting atop a rice flour netting, but the novelty ends there. The rice flour netting was hard, not crispy, and the skin of the dumpling was thick. The meat filling, though juicy, was a strange tinge of pink, like uncooked meat.We had the jujube (dried red dates) and ginger juice steamed cake (特色薑汁紅棗糕) for dessert. Quite a few dimsum restaurants offer this dessert, but this is one of the best I have had so far. The cake was not too sweet with the strong fragrance of jujubes and a little kick of spiciness from the ginger juice. The texture of the cake is smooth and chewy, without sticking to the teeth. I also liked that it could be peeled off in layers to eat. Service was polite, even though it was very busy that day and the service staff looked hassle. The challenge was in trying to catch their attention at opportune times.Prices are average (not cheap), considering the quality, but I will visit again.…Read More

Had previously walked past this cake shop and was attracted to the colorful cakes, so when there was an offer to try the cupcakes at half price, I ordered half a dozen cupcakes for the family to enjoy as a tea-time snack over the weekend. When I went to collect the order, the service at the shop was not as friendly as when I called to place the order a few days earlier.I ordered 4 flavors of cupcakes - Chocolate Crunch, Hazelnut Caffe, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Rose & Lychee; but only tried the first 2 myself.The cake itself tended to be a little dense, so tasted a little dry on its own. Fortunately, the dollop of buttercream atop the cupcake with some "filling" inside the cake itself were a nice balance, moistening the cake as one ate it. The chocolate crunch cupcake was quite rich but not too sweet, with chocolate buttercream atop chocolate cake. Inside the cupcake was a little chocolate ganache with chocolate crispy balls, creating a nice textural difference. :)The hazelnut caffe cupcake had a fairly strong coffee flavor without being cloyingly sweet, but I could not taste the hazelnut as indicated by its name. I liked the taste of the cake, but with just the buttercream alone to moisten the cupcake, the cake still tended to be a little dry.I did not try the chocolate hazelnut or rose & lychee cupcakes, but my family members who did, shared that:1) the rose & lychee cupcake was too sweet with no rose flavor; and2) the hazelnut flavor was undetectable in the chocolate hazelnut cupcake.The cake box that the cupcakes were packed in was thin and flimsy. I asked for a bag to put the box of cakes in as the box was a little warped and could not be sealed properly, but was told that I had to pay for the bag. It was a little disappointing that given the cost of their cakes, the shop could not provide better packaging or a bag as most places would.In summary, I enjoyed the cupcakes that I tried, but at the original price, would think about whether to buy it again, especially with the wide selection of cupcake shops available nowadays. …Read More

Bought 2 sets of groupbuy vouchers to have dinner with my friends. This is in fact our second visit to the eatery after several months and we were looking forward to dining there again as the food was pretty good on our first visit.Fortunately, our dinner did not disappoint - the quality of the ingredients and standard of cooking had been maintained. The groupbuy offer was a set meal for two, consisting of:- a plate of vegetable in fish stock (魚湯煮娃娃菜);- a snack platter of fried fish ball with shredded yam (星洲金黃香芋丸) and prawn paste chicken drumlet (蝦醬鬱金香雞槌);- a bowl of laksa; and- 2 drinks.The plate of vegetable was alright, nothing outstanding. The fried fish ball in the snack platter had little shreds of yam inside that were tasteless, unexciting at best. The prawn paste chicken was delicious though. The fried drumlet was crispy but not overdone, the chicken meat was juicy and well marinated, but not overly salted as is the case with this chicken dish from other eateries. :) We were also given 2 pieces of fish rolls for checking in at the location on facebook. The fish roll is actually a fried rice paper roll with a slice of garoupa fish wrapped inside. The fish did not taste fresh - it had a frozen taste and was slightly fishy. The rice paper was soaked in oil and was quite unappetizing. :(I have tried quite a few eateries in Hong Kong that claim to serve authentic laksa, but this is one of the very few that serves a laksa as close to authentic, by Singapore (SG) standards. As seen in the photo, there is a little too much oil in the laksa, but we skimmed off the oil before digging in, so it was not a huge issue. The flavor of the laksa is quite good with the right amount of spiciness, though it will taste even better if it were a little less sweet. The gravy is not as thick as the laska normally found in SG - it appears that coconut milk is either not used, or used minimally with evaporated milk as a substitute. This is sometimes done in Singapore households as a healthier option to traditional laksa which uses more coconut milk in the recipe and can cause one to feel surfeit after. Other ingredients in the laksa are prawns (not very big, but fresh and sweet), fried beancurd puff and fish ball. Of note is that instead of using cockles and fish cake slices, traditional ingredients in laksa, clams and pieces of fish crackers are used instead. The clams tasted fresh. The fish crackers appeared to be very thinly sliced fish cake that are fried. When served, they are not crispy but have the flavorful taste of fish cake, combining well with the laksa gravy.There are a variety of specialty drinks available to choose from, not just the usual lemon tea or milk tea. These include teh tarik (SG "pulled" milk tea), lemongrass tea, sourplum drink. We ordered the luohan fruit tea with red date and dried longan (羅漢果龍珠茶). Whilst they were generous with the dried longan, the drink was not overly sweet. :)The eatery is conveniently located right outside the MRT station, but quite small, so seating is cramped - it is not a place where one can sit around and chat after the meal. Service is polite, but not very friendly, probably because there was only one person serving all tables that evening.There are some hits and misses with the snacks, but I will visit again when I have a craving for decent laska! …Read More

Shopping with family in the Jordan area and looking for an eatery to lunch at when we came upon the lunch menu for DAP displayed outside the building where the restaurant is located. I had noted that the restaurant used to have a branch in Wanchai, but did not have a chance to try before it discontinued business. The prices seemed reasonable so we decided the lunch there. Turns out they were just about to close for the afternoon when we appeared at the door, but service was polite and friendly, and they offered to accommodate us (without even being asked) before closing. All 3 of us had the set lunch - starting with either the caesar salad with tandoori chicken pieces or the cream of watercress. There were quite a few selections for the mains - I ordered the beef short rib that the waiter recommended whilst my family members had pastas with pork slices. The lettuce in the casear salad was fresh. The tandoori chicken was tender and heavily spiced, but that is how I like my tandoori chicken, so I really enjoyed it. I had a taste of the cream of watercress that my family ordered and it was nice - there was a strong watercress flavor without the "greenness" that usually accompanies this vegetable. The soup was of the right consistency and not over-salted. :)The beef short rib that was recommended was very good. The flavor of the beef was strong, but not gamey, and the meat was tender and juicy. My family members who had a taste also enjoyed it. I did not taste the pastas that my family ordered, but the feedback was that the dishes were decent.Dessert came in the form of a sample platter of 3 different desserts, namely tiramisu, cheesecake and vanilla pannacotta. The tiramisu was lacking as it did not have sufficient coffee liqueur. The cheesecake served was of a dense texture, but the taste was pleasant - a nice complement to the rich coffee that accompanied the set meal. I am not a fan of vanilla nor pannacotta, but this dessert turned out to be the most outstanding of the 3. It did not have the milky taste that usually accompanies pannacottas, and the vanilla flavor was not overpowering. The set meals were about HKD 100 each, so was fairly value for money. We enjoyed the food and warm service so much that we made another reservation for 2 days later to take the rest of the family there for lunch on the weekend.On our second visit of the week, there were 5 of us. The service was as friendly. All of us wanted to order the short rib, but they only had 2 portions left, so some of us ordered other mains, namely the pan-fried fish selection and the roast of the day which was a corned beef steak. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the short rib was not as tender that day. The problem appears to lie with the cut of the meat, rather than the cooking as the beef was obviously not overcooked and still tasted great. The pan-fried fish was nicely done but not memorable. The corned beef steak was surprisingly good - tender and not over-salted.The appetizers were the same as that available on our first visit and equally good. The dessert platter was great too, with a chocolate mousse in place of the tiramisu. The mousse was very rich, like eating melted chocolate. The standard of cooking at this restaurant seems fairly consistent. I will visit again. :)…Read More

Visited this eatery on Friday 2 March as my friend had never been there and was eager to try. This was my 3rd visit, but a first for dinner. The restaurant was quite full when we got there just before 8 pm, but we were seated immediately as we had already made a reservation. As there were only two of us, we could only order 3 dishes and a noodle to share:1) Fried pork ribs with aged tangerine peel (香酥九製陳皮骨);2) Fish cutlet slices with preserved plum sauce (梅子汁拌炸魚); 3) Fried duck slices with glutinous rice (香酥糯米鴨); and4) a dan-dan noodle (招牌擔擔拉麵). Yes, the 3 main dishes were all fried as they seemed like the most appetising choices on the menu. We note that there were patrons sitting nearby who ordered steamed fish and other tofu dishes, but these did not look very appetising (though I cannot vouch for the taste). In spite of its name - 香酥九製陳皮骨 - the meat was actually boneless. The fried pork pieces with aged tangerine peel consisted of pork pieces fried in a thin batter till golden brown, and then sprinkled over with what we deduced to be aged tangerine peel that was ground into a powder. The batter was light and crispy, and the meat was not overcooked. There was a mild taste of the peel with each bite, though it would have been nice if they were a little more generous with it. Nonetheless, a delicious dish that would have been great with a beer! My friend fell in love with the fish cutlet slices that was drizzled over with preserved plum sauce (梅子汁). The fish itself was ordinary, not overcooked. But the essence of the dish lay in the sauce, that was just the right touch of sweetness balanced with a bit of tartness. We enjoyed the sauce so much that we used it as dressing for the shredded red cabbage garnish in the other dishes. It was a great combination too as it took the bitter edge off the cabbage. The last main dish we ordered, 香酥糯米鴨, consisted of thick duck slices placed atop a thin cake of glutinous rice and then fried. We suppose this was the fusion version of the traditional Chinese fried duck with mashed taro, but it turned out to be the disappointment of the evening. :( This seemed to be a popular dish as we saw it at quite a few tables, but the fried glutionous rice was more hard than crispy and the duck, while not overcooked, had lost most of its flavor. I usually buy the instant DIY version of the dan-dan noodles from XiYan to eat at home or in the office, but the one at the restaurant is always better. We ordered the dry version that had a little minced pork, peanuts and their special sauce with ramen. Good! We were very full after all that food, but given the wide selection of desserts available, we just could not end the meal without having any, so we decided to share the lychee ice cream with osmanthus wine 桂花酒釀荔枝雪糕. The osmanthus in the wine complemented the lychee flavor of the ice cream very well, but for non-drinkers, be forewarned as the wine packs quite a punch. All in all, a perfect end to an enjoyable dinner!…Read More

My family and I have regularly patronized this eatery since they opened years ago. The standard of the food has been consistent and service had been good then.However, in our last few visits to the restaurant, we have seen the service standard drop, though thankfully the standard of the food had maintained. We now realize that this drastic drop in service is due to the departure of the previous manager, who was always professional and made efforts to ensure both good food and service.We visited the restaurant again yesterday evening (Sat 15 Oct) as I had recently purchased a set of groupbuy vouchers. The groupbuy offers were for a approximately 60% discount off (1) a portion of steak and a piece of foie gras (originally costing almost HKD400+) and (2) a lobster soup with whole lobster (originally costing HKD 200+).Some time after we arrived, the waiter plopped the basket of french bread on our table as he walked past our table to serve another. The bread was cold but had a very brown crust that tasted slightly bitter, however we were already too hungry to protest. After almost an hour after our arrival, the manager came by and suggested that we have our main course first as the soup was going to need a little more time to cook. I am still not sure why it took so long to prepare the lobster soup, especially since we had, at their request, advised them of our orders when we called to make our reservation the day before. The main course was finally served up about 15 minutes later, but was not piping hot. One of the steaks was overcooked, and the marinade of the steaks were a tad salty. However, what was most disturbing was the portion considering that it was supposed to be a HKD 400+ entree. There were 2 pieces of steaks measuring about 7cm wide and 1cm thick each and a piece of foie gras (about 4.5cm wide and 0.7cm thick), accompanied by 2 quarters of potato and several florals of broccoli. I am sorry I have no photos to share as it was already past 9pm then and we were starving. At the original price for what was served, it appeared the restaurant is now charging fine dining prices for less than fine-dining quality. In all fairness, I did enjoy the slice of foie gras which was nicely pan-fried - crisp on the outside, meltingly soft on the inside.The lobster soup was finally served at the end of the meal, after another 20-minute wait. The creamy broth was delicious, but the accompanying lobster was overcooked and therefore a little chewy. The bill for the service charge took another 10 minutes to come. In total, we ended up spending HKD 800+ for the meal vouchers and another HKD 200+ for service charge (or should I say, the lack of it). The meal of a soup and main course took a total of 2 hours.I am curious about the restaurant's intent of participating in a group buy offer as given the circumstances of this evening, it was obviously not to win any new customers, and most definitely to drive away regular customers. Over the course of the meal, we had quite a lot of waiting time to observe the other tables. We saw some foreign patrons looking a little frustrated and in some cases, shaking their heads, no doubt at the poor service. Never in my years of dining out, have I ever been served soup / appetizer after the main course. And all through the evening during the long wait for our food and at the end of the evening, there was not a single apology or expression of embarrassment from the manager or the waiter and waitress who pulled on long faces as they went about their work.I will miss the restaurant for what it was, but I think our relationship has finally run its course. For those of you fellow group buyers, I hope you have more luck than we did.…Read More