harrypotterxd's Profile

The Alchemist Cafe has several branches in Hong Kong, and this time I chose to visit its Shatin branch, given its location along Shing Mun River (and the captivating view it possesses!)First ImpressionThe ceiling of this restaurant really is high! What’s better is that each table is separated by a large distance, which is most desirable under the pandemic. The staff is very friendly and provided us with the menu the moment we settled down.How about the food?Spaghetti with shrimps in salted egg yolk cream sauceTo be honest, I am rather disappointed by the food… The shrimps are of normal quality but lack the umami that seafood should have. Even though the recipe called for salted egg yolk, the spaghetti lacks the savory taste that it ought to bring about, rendering the dish rather insipid. In addition, there is hardly any sauce clinging to the spaghetti, so the whole dish is rather dry in texture. I ordered an apple cinnamon tea for drink, but it turns out to be an apple cinnamon tea bag in hot water, so the flavor is not particularly strong.Final wordsOverall, this restaurant is great in terms of the vibe and service, but the quality of food genuinely needs to be improved.…Read More

I've been a die hard Potterhead for ages, so I am rather excited when I finally get to visit this Harry Potter themed restaurant with my friends. It is located in a rather inconspicuous commercial building, and is smaller than I expected. Even thought the setting is slightly less authentic to Harry Potter than I imagined (there are some books that are irrelevant to the Harry Potter series), it is still a cozy place to dine in. You can actually ask the shopkeeper to lend you a wand to make believe yourself as a wizard/witch, and there is a large dementor suspended at the back of the cafe which you can take photos with.Duck Breast and Asparagus Linguine with Black Pepper Sauce $98 (7/10)I seldom eat duck breast, so I decided to give this pasta a try. There are five pieces of duck breasts, which tastes reasonably fine, but there are some parts which are a bit stiff. The asparagus tastes nice but is a bit too thin. While the sauce is just a little bit spicy which is just right, it is also way too salty which kind of covers the taste of other ingredients. On the good side, the texture of the linguine is perfect and attains the "al dente" level.The service there is rather good since the waiter is willing to take a picture for me and my friends, though I think they can try improve the taste of the dishes to make them even more appealing.…Read More

For those who crave for tempuras but are on a tight budget, Tenya might be a viable option for you. This restaurant is often suffused with people in lunch hour, so when I noticed that half the seats are still vacant at noon, I immediately entered the restaurant.The cheapest choice for tempura with rice only costs $49, but since I am pretty hungry, I ordered a "Sheung Tin Dong" (Don't know how to translate the dish name to English lol).Sheung Tin Dong $63 (8.5/10)This dish contains two shrimps, two green beans, a slice of lotus root, a slice of eggplant and a piece of crab stick, which is reasonably sumptuous. The batter of the tempura is surprisingly thin and less oily than typical tempura, and the bonito soy sauce tastes excellent with the rice and tempura. The shrimps and crab stick are meaty and fresh, and the green beans taste nice as well. Meanwhile, the eggplant is a bit too oily and the lotus root is too stiff. Also, the serving of the rice is too small, so it might not fill the stomachs of the hungry ones. Overall though, the tempura is of good quality, and the service is nice. Note that there is a 45-minute time limit though, so it might not be a good place to have a deep chat with friends.…Read More

I have been shopping in YOHO Mall for clothes since noon, and when my stomach growled, I realized it was already 3pm! Thus, I went to Mango tree, the nearest restaurant within my scope of view, for its tea set.Char-grilled pork neck fillets with rice ($58) (8.5/10)I originally expected a tea set's serving size to be pretty small, but it turned out that there are 12 pieces of pork neck fillets! The fillets are pliable and not tough with a nice charcoal scent, though the seasoning is a bit too sweet. They go well with the spicy sauce, which highlights the Thai style of the dish. There are raw cucumbers accompany the dish, but they are flavorless and too lukewarm.The service there is pretty good. For instance, the waitress provides me with a cup of hot water instantly after my request. However, I think that there should be addition of transparent boards between each table in this pandemic situation, and it is still quite expensive for a tea set.…Read More

I have often expected theme restaurants like Cuisine 1949 to be rather pricey, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came across an advertisement board stating that a single tea set costs only $42. Obviously, I am not about to give up such a bargain, so I decided to try it with a friend.The tea set consists of a bowl of noodles, a type of dim sum as well as a drink, which is incredibly cheap considering that it is a Chinese restaurant. I ordered beef noodles with fried wonton, while my friend called for wonton noodles with fried dace fish balls.Beef noodles (8/10)The beef is tender and what's more, there is a whole beef tendon which is really collagenous. The serving of the noodles is too small though.Fried wonton (9.5/10)This, I would say, is the highlight of the meal. The fried wonton is so crispy that I can literally hear a loud crack when I bite in. Moreover, unlike fried wontons in generic dim sum restaurants, this one isn't greasy so you won't feel like oil is clogging at your throat. Remember to dip the wontons into the sweet and sour sauce to bring the flavor to the next level.Wonton noodles (8/10)Even though they are boiled instead of fried, the wontons in the noodles are tasty nevertheless. The stuffing inside is an actual shrimp that tastes fresh.Fried dace fish balls (6/10)Presented in a mini frying pan, this dim sum is less impressive than it looks. The scent of dace fish is not strong enough and it is merely made up of compound meat. On the good side though, the texture of the fish balls is bouncy enough.For the noodles, I would recommend choosing thick noodles rather than thin ones, since they have a stronger eggy flavor and can be chewed more easily. The service, meanwhile, is definitely better than normal dim sum restaurants, since the waiters are quite courteous.…Read More

A friend of mine suggested this café for gathering, and I am impressed by the artistic design and the high ceiling when I went inside. Since we haven't booked a place, the waiter assigned us to a table on the second floor, which is a bit stifling to be frank. It appeared that all three of us weren't extremely hungry, so we decided to order a tasting menu for two to share. It is quite expensive at first sight ($580), and it strikes me as a bit peculiar that there is a 10% service charge even though we have to order the food at the cashier ourselves, but the pleasant food that came after that made it up.Assorted Bread (8.5/10)The bread is evidently homemade and really soft, which tastes even richer when paired with the truffle butter. Definitely a great item to start the meal.Salad (7/10)There isn't anything special about the salad, though the lettuce and cherry tomatoes taste well with the vinegar.Seafood Platter (7.5/10)The scallop tastes best with its aromatic pan-fried surface, as for the lobster, the size is just too small and doesn't taste fresh enough.Mushroom, Truffle Salsa, Whisky Blueberry Risotto (7/10)A weird combination at first sight, but it turns out fine actually. The risotto is too creamy for me (but probably that is the nature of risotto) but the blueberry's acidity did balance it for a bit. A thing to note is that the mushroom is large in terms of quantity and size.Short Rib (8/10)The Short Rib is devoid of frozen scent, which is a good thing, and tastes natural with the BBQ sauce. The texture is rather tender, and there are actually three pieces even though it is a menu for two.Molten Cake (5/10)The molten cake, literally, isn't molten enough, since the chocolate sauce inside is too thick and gooey. It is also a bit too sweet for me.Raspberry Tart (7.5/10)To me, it looks more like a cake than a tart, yet the flavor is rather pleasant since the acidity of the raspberry made it taste refreshing, especially when paired with the ice cream.While this menu is certainly not cheap, the quantity is larger than expected, so be sure to have an empty stomach before ordering.…Read More

This vegetarian restaurant was always packed on weekdays given its location within the industrial area in Lai Chi Kok, so I chose to visit it on a Sunday for family dinner. I am mildly surprised when I skim through the menus, because there are plenty of choices! At last, we settled for an Impossible burger on hot plate, Indonesian satay with turmeric rice, prawn crackers and eggs, and a moist lemon cake for dessert.Appetizer (8/10)The appetizer is served at a buffet mode, and out of the ten types of starters, the cucumber slices with chicken thread impressed me the most, since it does taste like real chicken! Other than that, the kannyaku is pleasantly "al dente" as well. The soup of the day, which can be refilled, is carrot soup, tastes nice with the sweetness genuinely coming from the red carrots.Impossible burger on hot plate (9/10)While it might not look like real beef on the outside, the flavor and texture is pretty much similar to genuine burger, and goes well with the mushroom sauce. I usually have little expectation for the vegetables accompanying the burger, but for this one, the zucchini, carrot and corn taste surprisingly sweet and fresh, and are even more aromatic when they are grilled on the sizzling hot pan. The fries are crispy on the surface but also moist enough at the inside! Indonesian satay with turmeric rice, prawn crackers and egg (8.5/10)The satay kebab taste excellent as it retains the texture of flesh and meaty flavor (even though it is not real meat) and the satay sauce is not too spicy which is suitable for me. The cracker made from taro is also crispy and tastes subtly of prawn, and the spring rolls taste light with the cabbage filling. The only component that can be improved is the rice, since the ginger scent is not strong enough.Moist lemon cake (6/10)The dessert is a little disappointing, I would say, after the outstanding main courses. Even though the flavor does resemble that of lemon, the texture is too loose since the cake breaks easily upon cutting. It is also a bit too oily for my taste, though the cream on top improved it to a small extent.Remember that you have to order and take the food from the counter yourself, as well as putting the tray back to the suitable place after finishing your meal. The service is generally nice though, as exemplified by the pleasant attitudes of the waiters and cashier.…Read More

I visited Red Rice on a Friday for dinner on my own, and it is surprisingly crowded (given that the restaurant is located in an industrial area). There isn't an empty table at the time I arrived, so I am requested to share a table with another person. A skimming of the menu is enough to tell me that the omelette rice series is most popular, so I ordered a pork chop omelette rice. The quality isn't as nice as expected though. It looks nice on the outside, but the pork is a bit too stiff and tasteless, while the rice is overdosed with soy sauce. The only good thing is the egg, which is not too cooked and retained some fluid property. …Read More

It happened to be my birthday that day, so I went to little break with my family for dinner. The restaurant is already packed even though it is only half past six, with a number of tables being reserved, though fortunately we still managed to secure a table. The food was a bit expensive to be frank, but since it is a birthday dinner, we decided to order a variety of dishes, which included crispy potato shrimp, mussels in creamy wine sauce, spain pork loin and the golden ages pizza.The soup of that day is black truffle cream soup, and it is quite light without too much cream inside.First came the crispy shrimp and it is definitely worth trying. Even though it is deep fried the surface was not too oily, and the shrimp is still really tender. The rockets accompanied is excellent with the viscous vinegar.The mussels taste ok, but seems rather ordinary and the sauce is a little too heavy for me. The size is large enough though.Next came the pork loin, and while the surface is slightly roasted, the meat inside is really tender. It is quite thick as well, and taste even better when dipped in the apple cider sauce.The pizza is fine as well, with some crispy kale is the middle and tasty vinegar sauce drizzled onto it. But the parma ham seems too little in quantity and the crust can be more crispy.Last came the drinks, which are hot rose and hazelnut latte. Th hazelnut latte can be more rich in terms of the hazelnut flavor, but the rose latte is excellent! The whole cup of coffee is suffused with rosy taste and the cream pattern of the coffee is ideal for winning likes from friends in FB or IG!It is a pleasurable dining experience overall and it is likely that  I will visit little break again.…Read More

It was already past lunch hour when I visited this restaurant, so naturally I ordered from the tea menu. The shop is rather sparsely populated when I arrived, enabling me to occupy a four-seat table even though I came alone. A ten minute interval elapsed before the first item arrived --- grilled panini with cheese & roasted beef. The panini is slightly larger than I expected, considering that it is stated to be half-sized. Freshly baked from the oven, the bun is suffused with the aroma and flavor of tomato, and the thin slice of beef is reasonably tender as well, though I think the cheese can be more melting. There is an abundance of tomato and cucumber in there as well, so it will be rather appealing if you are a veggie lover. In fact, this panini is of comparable quality with other high class sandwich stores, but the price is much lower at $29, so it is a good choice for western food if you are having a tight budget I also ordered a hot matcha latte, and it was fine, not too sweet, but the matcha flavor was not strong enough in my opinion.The service there is ok as well, probably because it is already past lunch hour and the waiters are not so busy. Might try the lunch sets next time and see how the food is.…Read More