caffeinebear's Profile

Came here to try their lunch sets, which I heard to be good value for money. The restaurant isn't too difficult to find, if you know how to get to Shatin Town Hall. The rooftop garden provides a nice relaxing environment, something which isn't easy to find in Hong Kong. For their lunch menu, the set includes a cup of hot or iced apple tea, bread with olive oil and vinegar, and a main course selected from a list provided. I chose the prawn penne, while my friend chose the roasted spring chicken with vegetables. To start off, the bread was delicious. Stamping the name of the restaurant on the bread was a nice touch. The prawn penne was delicious. The sauce was the right amount of thickness, such that it would fill the penne, so each bite contains the prawn sauce. The prawns themselves were a good size, and were cooked well. The roasted spring chicken took some time before it arrived at our table. Plating could have been a bit nicer. The chicken itself was good, luckily it wasn't too dry. The roasted vegetables lacked a bit of flavour, but could be saved by the sauce. There are two desserts available for selection at a price of $28. There was a berries panna cotta, and a lemon cheesecake. I chose the lemon cheesecake, which turns out to be classic cheesecake with lemon sauce. The cheesecake was smooth, and flavours were good. I especially enjoyed the lemon sauce, which made the dish more special. Overall a nice find with good value lunch sets. The pasta dishes were around $75-90 (without service charge). The chicken was slightly more expensive. The add-ons available for the set were reasonably priced: wine/beer was $28 and dessert was the same price. I would like to revisit again, maybe to try their dinner menu. …Read More

Very impressed with Common Room. The food we tried were delicious and I enjoyed the 'Kiss from a Rose'. The only down side would be that the tables are too close together and we could hear what the table behind us was talking about.First we ordered the grilled shrimp poutine. The sauce was flavourful, with both truffle and cheese flavour. The shrimp was tasty but lacked in size. We then ordered the Wagyu Foie Gras Sliders. Amazing! I think I enjoyed this most because the wagyu patty was moist and tender, whilst the foie gras melted in my mouth. I could gobble up seconds (which I did!)A closer look at the layers of the burger..Then we had the lobster linguine. The lobster flavour was strong and the portion was appropriate. As for the lobster itself, there wasn't much meat to share. Not the best I've had so far.Lastly I must talk about the "kiss from a rose". It consists of Vodka, Lychee Liquer, Fresh Lychee, and Lemon juice. But the best part was the rose foam floating ontop of the drink. Sweet and fragrant, this drink will definitely be popular amongst girls.Overall I enjoyed this meal a lot. Definitely will go back for more sliders and drinks!…Read More

This is the first super monday restaurant that I went to.  The mains were 2 for the price of 1, so very reasonably priced. The restaurant was packed so I'd recommend making a reservation if you do decide to eat there on Mondays!We ordered a full caesar salad to share, and then a ribeye and sirloin steak.The caesar salad was far from the traditional ones you'd see in restaurants. First the lettuce was still intact, so to eat it you would have to cut it. It was delicious though, and the bacon bits were warm and flavourful. My friend enjoyed this a lot.For the sirloin steak, I ordered medium rare. The steak itself was so-so. The meat was far form tender, and I kind of regret not ordering another cut. But I must mention that their port wine sauce is amazing! Must order this with my steak again when I revisit. My friend ordered the ribeye, which was better than the sirloin. The mushroom sauce was ok but not surprising. Overall I would go back again because Super Mondays is such a good deal! Caesar salad is a must if you like the bacon cooked that way. Will also stick to the port wine sauce with my steak! …Read More

Haven't had these in a long time! After three doses of the 'original' flavours.. it's time to try the summer ones before they're gone! From back to front:1. Veloute Framboise - Yoghurt & RaspberryThis is pretty similar to the Veloute Ispahan, but of course minus the hints of rose. These yoghurt flavoured macarons are less sweet (on the edge of being abit sour), but still delicious. The ganache is creamy and milky, and slighlty acidic from the raspberry placed in the centre.2. Veloute Citron Vert - Yoghurt & Lime ZestThis is my favourite out of the 4 yoghurt ones. The citrus flavour goes well with the slightly sour 'yoghurt' ganache. Probably the easiest to accept because you expect it to be sour anyway! 3. Veloute Banane - Yoghurt & BananaPersonally I'm not a fan of banana flavoured things.. except maybe the fruit itself. 4. Veloute Ispahan - Yoghurt & Rose, Litchi, RaspberryAt first I thought this was the raspberry one.. but immediately after biting into the macaron, I could taste the hints of rose. This was delicious, and since Ispahan is a house signature it won't disappoint. 5. Jardin Merveilleux - Mandarin Orange Olive Oil & Cucumber WaterI think only Pierre Herme could come up with these bold and unusual flavours for his macarons. Before taking a bite of this, I had no idea what a cucumber flavoured macaron could taste like. Surprisingly orange and cucumber go well together, and one flavour doesn't overpower the other. The cucumber taste was very fresh, whilst the orange flavour was acidic. The olive oil was based in the ganache, but I was abit disappointed that I couldn't taste more of it. (I miss their olive oil and vanilla macarons. SO good)6. Envie - Vanilla, Violet & BlackcurrantThis was my favourite out of the box. A simple yet delicious combination. I think vanilla flavoured macarons from PH are amazing in general. I like the blackcurrant in the middle of the ganache, as it enhances the flavour of the macaron.7. Medelice - Lemon & Flaky Hazelnut PralineI remember I had a Lemon macaron from PH in London, and somehow it shrunk after a day..? Luckily for me this macaron did not change shape in anyway when I ate it the day after. The flaky hazelnut added texture to the macaron.Word of advice, make sure you put these in the fridge, otherwise the humidity and heat in Hong Kong makes the biscuit turn soft and the ganache may melt.ALSO I hope they'll soon change their policy so that macarons could be purchased by piece. I think I would buy them more often if that's the case.. since two or three already hit the spot. …Read More

Went here with a friend almost exactly a year since we first tried this place out together. Don't think there were lunch sets last year, but they do have it now! A lunch set costs $118 and we decided to have caesar salad and a signature pasta to share. Diavola is a signature pasta consisting of a tomato and chili sauce. It is pretty spicy, so if you can't handle the heat then I would recommend picking something else.We also ordered another pasta which wasn't in the list of signature pastas to share.As I've always loved pasta with mushrooms, so I picked this immediately. Texture of fettucine was good, mushrooms tasted good as well. One thing I didn't like was that the dish was a bit too oily. Would have been better had there been less oil. For dessert we had the tiramisu. This is reasonably priced with the lunch set, since we only had to pay $20 more for it. Sounds reasonable to add dessert This was unlike traditional tiramisus (I guess you've already spotted that from the photo). Basically it's a coffee cake crumble topped with mascarpone cheese and tiramisu flavoured gelato. The texture of the gelato could have been more creamy, but nevertheless the taste was there. I like the layer of mascarpone cheese which matched well with the cake. Pasta craving satisfied  …Read More

Came here to enjoy their high tea set for 2. After multiple times of revisiting the place, I still need to repeat myself and say that I'm crazy for their Earl Grey jam! It's unique and not too sweet.. matches well with clotted cream for the scones. I quite like the scones since its not too flaky like some other ones I've tried. The savoury treats are delicious. The mini burgers are filled with roast beef and prawn salad. I enjoy tea sets from places that actually put a bit of thought into the savoury part of the set, and not just fill it with sandwiches that don't look too appetising. As for the desserts, I think the strawberry dome cake was good. The texture of the pineapple eclair, being the pastry itself, is good but I'm not a fan of the filling. The caramel chocolate cake is delicious, especially for caramel / chocolate lovers. It is a bit filling so definitely need to share. As for the olive oil macaron, I was hoping for something similar to pierre herme's olive macaron.. but was abit disappointed. The filling is ok, not too much olive oil so not too oily. However the biscuit was too hard and chewy, I guess this is because of the size of the macaron? Overall enjoyable, and the live music perforances is lovely. They don't accept bookings for afternoon tea, so just walk-in and you'll probably get a seat. Might not be on the window side but actually you will still be able to enjoy the view no matter where you are seated, since they have full length windows. …Read More

One of the best soft serves I've ever had. Rich chocolate taste with a creamy texture. Love how its not too sweet, and I especially like the crunchy top of the cone. Sadly the icecream melts abit too quickly. Would love to have enjoyed it for longer Will definitely come back! …Read More

Came here for dinner because I was craving their Lemon Meringue Pie. I had it before and I loved it, because it was creamy, but at the same time not too sweet because of the zingy lemon taste. The pie crust is crunchy, but during my second try it was a bit too buttery. For dinner I had the seafood pasta. The lobster cream sauce and the prawns were good, however the pasta itself was too hard for my liking. It seems that the wheat that was used to make it caused the texture to become tough. The Lemon Meringue pie tasted abit better and was a bit bigger last time I had it. Maybe it's because I bought that in the afternoon, whereas this time I had the pie before they closed.It seems that their cakes are popular amongst guests, as I saw lots of tables placing their last order of dessert.Side view of my love. I'm still looking for the perfect lemon meringue pie, but until then I'm satisfied with this. I must note that the service is hit or miss. Also expect to wait if you arrive after 7 15pm.A good thing about having dinner here is that you can pick up some discounted bakery items. They packed 3 different types of bakery items (danish, croissant, twists, etc) and sell it for HKD25. The croissant and danish made a great breakfast the next morning.…Read More

Tried out the tea set here with my friend on a weekday. It wasn't really crowded but still they seem to lack waitresses/waiters because the whole restaurant is really big. We had a choice of two tea sets, one was chinese inspired and the other was a classic western tea set. We decided to have the classic western tea set.The top layer contains some savouries, including a crab salad, and foie gras toast. The piece of foie gras on the toast was thick and flavourful. The crab salad was refreshing, especially with the mango. For desserts, I thought the tiramisu and the mango tart (see first photo) was the best out of the selection. The macaron was so-so and the meringue on the side was too sweet. Scones were served separately, and they were ok but not anything special. (For best scones, I would say Clipper Lounger or Lobby Lounge at Intercontinental) The set costs HKD 288 for two people (not including service charge), so I would say for this value, it's a good place to relax and enjoy the afternoon with a friend. …Read More

Fofo has always been on my list of restaurants to try. I got the chance when it was my friend's birthday and a lot of us gathered there to celebrate.We tried a variety of tapas which we shared among 4 people. A really good thing about tapas is that it's shared, so basically you can try a lot of different things so long as you bring a group of people with you . The environment here is really nice and I love those penguins that you could see all around the restaurant! This scallop was fresh and delicious.. one of my favourites of the night. It was served with avocado and shallots, which I thought was a good combination.The king crab salad was refreshing, and the citrus just makes you crave for more food. This was a favourite among the table because it smelled great when it was served. The coating wasn't very thick, which is good, but it could have been more crispy. It's my first time having this, and I found the concept of the dish very unique, however it was a bit on the salty side. Not sure if it's because of the chorizo, which is salty in nature. Saving the best for last...this suckling pig was a delight! They brought the entire pig to the table to show us first (and as you probably predicted, lots of phones / cameras came out to take a photo of it ) They then divided it up so that it could be shared among each group of 4. Each 'portion' was served with onions and potatoes. This felt like a 'main course' and could definitely act as one. Their white sangria is full of fruit and really good! You can order by glass or in a jar. The manager told us the reason why even the fruit tastes good is because they soak the fruit so that it actually absorbs the white wine.A very good experience and will definitely revisit when I have the chance!…Read More

Came to Cafe Landmark to try their Lobster Linguine. For dinner they have a special set which consists of Crab Au Gratin, Lobster Linguine and coffee/tea. My friend and I ordered the set and Beef Tenderloin with Foie Gras to share. Although the crab looks a bit lonely on the dish, theres quite a lot of crab meat inside. It was creamy and delicious. The Lobster Linguine is soooo good. This is just half a portion, as the waiter divided it for us. To be honest I'm happy eating a dish this size, and probably wouldn't have finished the entire one . Together theres around half a lobster. The sauce is creamy and matches perfectly with the lobster and liguine. The tenderloin was tender. The onion bits on the top were crispy and I enjoyed having it together with the vegetables. The slice of foie gras is abit small and is hidden under the onion. The vegetables under were quite good as well, except for the carrots which were too hard. For dessert we ordered the mango souffle. Cafe Landmark closes at 9pm, so around 8:30pm they would ask whether you want to order any desserts. The souffle is baked once you place your order and takes around 10-15 minutes. The mango flavour was rich and not artificial at all. The souffle was smooth and fluffy, and eating something hot and cold together is quite interesting. Overall a good experience, I would go back again for their linguine or to try the other desserts. …Read More

Pierre Herme was always on the top of my must-go-to list whenever I was in London, so I was very excited when I heard that they'll open a store at IFC. I missed their unique flavours, especially white truffle! Hopefully that'll come to HK in the winter. I got hold of a box of macarons on their opening day. Their staff informed me that the macarons were sold with gift boxes. A box of 7 macarons cost HKD 210, and a box of 12 costs HKD 330.I was slightly disappointed because the macarons were abit soft and easy to crumble. This was probably due to the humidity, and it was pretty humid for the first few days of its opening. (I made another visit a week later and this problem was gone.) The fillings for the macaron were perfection. I especially love the Rose and Creme Brulee ones. The creme brulee seemed abit sweeter than the ones I used to have, however it was still a lot better than its competitors. The Inifiniment Chocolate Perou macaron will definitely be popular amongst dark chocolate fans. One of the best chocolate macarons I've tasted (the other would be Jean Paul's dark chocolate macaron). The Celeste macaron was another favourite. It's very fruity, with strong flavours of passion fruit and strawberry. I had this olive oil and vanilla macaron during my second visit. The filling was generous and the taste of olive oil was unique. I like how this is a twist of the usual vanilla macaron. It did get a bit oily after I left the macaron out for a while. A flavour which was limited to Asian countries is Imagine - a green tea and sesame macaron. One side of the biscuit was green tea, whereas the other side was topped with sesame. The filling was a mixture of both, so there was one thin layer of green tea and another of black sesame. This was one of the flavours which weren't very sweet, so you could easily devour a few and still have space for more. Overall, I can't be happier that Pierre Herme has finally opened a shop in HK. I will definitely go back for more. Hopefully they could sell them by piece, so that I could get one or two whenever I pass by. …Read More

As roll cakes become more and more popular, I couldn't help noticing a relatively new shop selling Dojima Roll and their crossover with Sanrio, resulting in a Hello Kitty cake!My friend and I decided to get both so we could try each of them out.I chose the Milk Hello Kitty, which consisted of a roll cake base with a milk mousse on top. There's strawberry jam inside the mousse. The mousse was really smooth and had a strong milky taste. The eyes, nose and flower are made from chocolate. The roll was more cream than cake, the cream was smooth but the cake was a bit dense. I enjoyed this although it was a bit sweet near the end. My friend had the chocolate Hello Kitty, which was a roll cake with chocolate mousse and orange jam inside. The chocolate mousse balanced well with the cream of the roll cake. Overall it wasn't as sweet as the milk one, so this would be better for those who don't prefer eating desserts which are too sweet.…Read More

Went to have high tea with my friends one afternoon. We've had our eyes set on the tea set at Kowloon Shangri-la for some time... one of the main reasons being the huge tea stand! The stand was set on the ground next to our table. We shared the set for 2 amongst the three of us. Theres quite a lot in the set, so we were all full by the end. There's 4 'layers': scones, savoury, sweet and petit fours. The set also includes 2 drinks, either coffee or something from their selection of teas. The scones were pretty good, although my heart belongs to the ones at clipper lounge (with their delicious rose jam) and intercontinental (earl grey jam!). I enjoyed the cakes, especially the chocolate one in the middle. The carrot cake was soft and the cream cheese was smooth. Service is impeccable, the waitress serving us was polite and very attentive. A great afternoon …Read More

My friend and I decided to try the semi-buffet lunch at Azure after seeing their Earth Day promotion. Their lunch starts at 12pm and lasts until 2:30pm. The appetisers and desserts were set out on a table - buffet style, and each person could order a choice of fresh / cooked seafood, a main and coffee or tea. There was a selection of salads and cold cuts, including smoked salmon and salami. There was a soup and bread as well. I thought the appetisers were pretty good, especially the smoked salmon. For the seafood we ordered the seafood composition and the platter so we could try both. It was ok, not really special.For the main I ordered the steak. I kind of regret ordering the steak... The slice itself was pretty thin, which means it could be easily overcooked. It was rough and I gave up on finishing it in the end. My friend ordered the roast chicken. It was better than the steak, but still it lacked taste.The desserts were better. There was a variety of different mini cakes, mousse cups, and a selection of fruit. I've read comments saying that the cheesecake is good, and I agree, although it would have been better if it was kept cold. The mango mousse was delicious (especially the second one I had when they refilled the selection so it was cold!) It contained 'popping candy', which seems to be very popular nowadays. The Earth tiramisu for Earth Day was really good. It was made up of green tea mousse, red bean, espresso sponge and chocolate 'soil'. Even the pot is edible! It's not as filling as the traditional tiramisu, but even so we were really full by the end of the meal.I quite enjoyed the meal overall, the idea of semi-buffet lunch is great and the price is reasonable. I would visit again, however I really need to choose my main course wisely.…Read More