judgefoodie的个人专页

Well, Ivan the Kozak is unique. I’ll give it that! When I walked in I was very aware of how dim and dark the place is. The walls have windows painted on to them, with views of green pastures in the distance, but there’s actually no natural light in the place. The chairs have embroidered cushions on them like you are at your (Russian?) grandma’s. The place also has quite a stale smell, and the decorations hanging on the wall look like they haven’t been dusted since 1987.We were there for lunch and went for the $59 set lunch option. For that price we got soup of the day, plus our choice of a main course and a drink. We both had the mushroom soup, which was a light broth with a mix of mushrooms and some potato in it. I really liked the thin soup and all the mushrooms of different shapes and sizes.Unfortunately, the mains were really average. When my friend’s “lamb stew” arrived, I wondered whether they’d forgotten (a) to cook the meat and (b) to turn it into a stew – shouldn’t stew be cooked in a sauce? You can see from the pictures yourself. Quite possibly the most unappetising meal I’ve ever seen. I had the pan fried sole fish, which wasn’t too bad. The fish had a light batter on it, covered with a sauce that was thick like normal gravy, but had the tang of mayonnaise or something. Both main courses were served with a cabbage salad, and the only thing you could taste in it was raw garlic – a bit too raw for me. You can choose between spaghetti, rice or mashed potato to go with the main courses. For my drink I ordered the rose honey tea, which was like sipping on liquid Turkish delight. It was bright pink and really sweet, and was probably more like drinking jelly mix after you’ve added the hot water to the jelly crystals before it all sets. One last thing – the flashing neon lights out on Cochrane St pointing you to Ivan the Kozak might seem a bit random, but when you get inside and listen to the Russian disco beats that are playing, it all kind of makes sense. …查看更多

The setting of the Double Happiness Café is quite sweet and homely. The walls and all the decorations are red, and because it’s quite a small place you feel really at home, especially with the good service. Our waitress was friendly and had a big smile, so maybe the restaurant’s name is true…?The food, however, gets a mixed review. The noodles in the dan dan mian were a bit overcooked and soggy, and didn’t have any bite to them at all. The soup was quite thin in flavour, and the most obvious taste in it was peanuts. Eventually I found the Sichuan peppercorns that I love, but there weren’t many of them and I wished it were more spicy. A nice touch of the waitress was to ask if my husband and I would like the one dan dan mian split out between two bowls by the kitchen – this was great, so we didn’t have to splash noodles everywhere trying to share them ourselves.What the noodles lacked in spiciness I hoped would be made up for in our next dish, the Sichuan prawns. However, I was disappointed again. There weren’t even any Sichuan peppercorns in it, only fresh sliced chilli. The prawns were served stir fried with red and green capsicum, cabbage and onion, and they were all a bit overcooked. Luckily the pan fried dumplings made up for things. The dumplings weren’t too greasy, and the dough was the perfect mix between crispy on the outside and soft underneath the outer layer. The inside had spinach in it as well as the meat, and it was seasoned well. The service we received was really good, and my jasmine tea was re-filled with boiling water again and again before I even knew it had run out. …查看更多

We went to Blue Smoke on a Friday night, and it was fantastic! A lot of the reviews out there for this place have given it a really bad rap, but we had a great night and (nearly) everything was awesome. Blue Smoke is all about southern American BBQ – that means meat, and lots of it. And when it came to meat, I don’t think they could have done much better. Between the four of us we had two of their burgers, and the (enormous!) Porterhouse steak. The price difference between them was kind of funny – the burgers are a bargain at $88, but the Porterhouse was $888! Now, the burgers don’t come with fries, so that prices is for the burger only – but it doesn’t matter whether you go for Classic, or one of the fancier options, they’re all the same price - $88. Fries are about $38, and in my opinion they are a must when eating a burger. I asked the chef to cook the burger however he liked, and it came out a bit crispy on the outside and really succulent and juicy on the inside. The burgers come with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles (yum!) and are served on a soft bun.I had a taste of the Porterhouse, and it was pretty delicious. But, for that price, it just came out on its own – no salad or veg. It’s definitely big enough for two people to share, but I was glad I went for the burger so at least I had the variety of some salad and a bun. For entrée we got the Wedge Salad, which was pretty average. It’s a giant wedge of iceberg lettuce with crisp fried onions, crumbled blue cheese, cherry tomatoes and a blue cheese dressing. The dressing tasted a bit sweet and processed, but the rest of the ingredients were alright. We also got the Sweet Thai Chilli Pepper chicken wings, and they were so spicy that most of us could only eat one! Apparently they’re made with chilli jelly and a really hot chilli from Nepal. The texture of the wings was quite unique. They had a very sticky marinade, and as they cooled down it was like we’d dipped our fingers in a bowl of glue, but under the marinade the wings were really crispy. If they didn’t burn so much, they would have been great, but they were for only the most serious chilli lovers.The chef sent us out a complimentary Banana Cream Pie for the table to share, and it was a bit full on for me after all that meat. The biscuit base was really delicious, but the banana and cream tasted very artificial, which put me off. Our waitress was an American lady, and her service was really good – no complaints there. Conclusion: stick to the meat – it’s awesome!…查看更多

Sijie Sichuan Dishes has been described as a “private kitchen”, a term which conjures an image in my mind of an intimate, dimly lit, “fine dining” dining room, where the tables are spread with crisp linen tablecloths and the waiters are professional (yet superior) in dealing with their rather elite room of diners, who themselves have an air of smug satisfaction about them for being so crafty as to snare a table for the evening at that particular private kitchen. Sijie Sichuan Dishes is not like that. Exiting the lifts of this building, you find yourself in a hallway lined with doors, none of them looking like they would open up into a private kitchen… With the little Chinese we had between us, my husband identified the Chinese characters for “Sichuan” on a small sign, and it was then we noticed a string of chillies hanging at the door. “This must be it…” we said as we tentatively opened the door and entered the chaos that is Sijie Sichuan Dishes. In that mad, chaotic way that things tend to happen at Chinese restaurants, we were pointed in the direction of the only table that sat half vacant, and the waitress was right in assuming it must be ours. Having never met the other guests already seated, we were glad she knew what she was doing. When the rest of the group arrived, the Sijie regulars took hold of the paper menu and explained that with our group of eight, that meant we ordered five cold dishes and seven or eight hot dishes from the selection on the menu (which is in both English and Chinese). You can choose from 14 cold dishes, and for me the standout was the “Sichuan cold noodles”. The noodles are sitting on a bed of Sichuan chilli oil, and were a great starting point to introduce the chilli theme for the night. Although I didn’t try them, a couple of others at the table spoke highly of “Pigs ears with spicy sauce”, which they insisted were very tender. Unable to disassociate these pigs ears from the ones we give to our dog when we want to keep her occupied chewing for hours, I couldn’t bring myself to eat them. However, no-one at the table who did try them had any complaints, so Sijie has obviously got the right technique. The “Spicy and sour eggplant” is very light and has a melt in the mouth texture. Unlike a lot of eggplant dishes, this seemed to have been steamed and was not soaked in oil. It was, however, loaded with garlic! Now, the hot dishes are where it’s at when you go to Sijie, and you can choose from over 50 of them. One look at the “Poached fish in hot chilli oil” and my mouth (and eyes) were watering. The dish’s name says it all – it is literally fish poached in chilli oil, with hundreds of dried chillies floating on the surface of an enormous bowl, full to the brim. At the bottom of this chilli quagmire lurked a reward worth the burn of the chillies you ate trying to get there: the most texturally superior noodles I have tasted. They were clear, thick and about 40 cm long. I tried to transfer them from the big bowl to my bowl without attracting too much attention, but each time I lifted a noodle from the bowl, it slid back in and splashed hot chilli oil over everything in sight. But when you do finally get a hold of one of these noodles, it is well worth the effort. My favourite dish of the night.The most memorable part of the night came when the kitchen stopped cooking and we were sitting around contemplating whether we could fit in one of the last “Deep fried chilli shrimps” or “Salt and pepper pork tenderloins”. Sijie (the owner/chef) then came out and walked from table to table, chatting animatedly and challenging each table to a drinking competition. She showed no mercy (or sign of intoxication), and could out-drink everyone in the room! We were the last table left, and after having a chat, she offered to make us her version of the famous “Dan dan mian” noodles. We were completely stuffed, but couldn’t resist and so off she went to the kitchen, and a few minutes later brought back freshly made “dan dan mian”. I hadn’t tried them before, and at first glance they looked to be quite plain, but then she showed me that you need to stir in the sauce that was hiding underneath the noodles, and they truly were one of the most simple but delicious noodle dishes I have ever eaten. It was all in the sauce, which was a minced up fusion of garlic, chilli and Sichuan peppers with chilli oil and spring onions. Wow. Five cold dishes, eight hot dishes, and god knows how many Tsing Taos, and the bill came to $250 per person, which for a great night of food and entertainment, was excellent value. It was as much about the experience as it was about the food and I can’t wait to find some chilli-loving friends to take back.…查看更多

We went for the all you can eat dim sum lunch.Three words – total rip off. Come on people, anyone can do the maths and figure out that unless you are a sumo wrestler you are not going to get your moneys worth! It costs $188 plus 10% (so about $210) each. Where else would any Hong Konger pay that much for dim sum???Most of the dim sum was good, but I just felt like I was paying the dragon-i premium to be eating there. It is a lovely venue, and the aviary is nice, but for a dim sum lunch location it just strikes me as the sort of place pretentious yoga-going gwai-los go to feel like they are embracing Chinese food. Summary: go there on someone else’s credit card.…查看更多

Indian Village is primarily a takeaway Indian restaurant, but it has a few tables so that you can eat-in if you want. Even takeaway meals require you to use some dishes at home (and hence have to wash up!), so we decided to eat in for our first visit. Our experience confirmed that this is indeed a takeaway restaurant, with the eat-in experience only recommended if you need to get out of your apartment. The staff were in a frenzy taking orders over the phone, taking orders from walk-ins and giving directions to their delivery drivers. The food was okay. We had Saag Paneer (cottage cheese in spinach) and Chicken Tikka Marsala, with a garlic naan and rice to go with it. The naan was a bit flat and disappointing. It was tough, chewy and didn’t have any of the fluffy, yeasty qualities that a good naan has. It was like it hadn’t been given time to rise before going in the tandoori oven. The other surprise was the rice – it was jasmine rice, and not basmati! The curries were okay, but nothing to get really excited about. The chicken in the Tikka Marsala was lean and not at all fatty, which was great. There’s nothing worse than a big piece of fat hiding in curry sauce. Perhaps the curries lacked seasoning… the Saag was rather tasteless, although I guess it’s made of spinach and cottage cheese, not two of the tastiest flavour combos. If we go back to Indian Village, it will be because of the convenience and the price. Our whole meal only came to HKD210, which included a mango lassi and a beer, so even though the food was average, we didn’t feel too ripped off. …查看更多

Although I’ve been in Hong Kong for nearly six months, I still feel like such an amateur restaurant hunter. I just can’t get my head around restaurants not being visible from the street and at eye level. So, lucky I was introduced to Haka YeYe by a local, otherwise I would never have found it. Located on the second floor, when the elevator opens up the first thing you notice is the clean, fresh, modern interior and bright natural light coming from the windows facing Wyndham St.I went for lunch with a colleague, and we had the set lunch. There were two set menu options to choose from, one for $72 +10%, and the other $90 + 10%. They are really great value. We both had the cheaper set, and for that price we had the option of soup or spring rolls for entrée, and a choice of three main courses plus rice for main. Dessert was also included. Now tell me that’s not a bargain!We both had the soup to start with, which was really delicious. It was very light and I am told it was Chinese herbal soup. It had a light broth, which was white in colour and the soup had lean pieces of pork and some different Chinese ingredients that I don’t know the English names for (one was like a white yam, and the other was big pearls of barley). It really felt like a health soup. If I were in bed and sick at home, I would be very grateful for someone to bring me this. For main course, we shared the “Chestnuts, pork ribs and chinese celery cooked in a claypot”, and “Pork mince and vegetables with vermicelli noodles”, which were served with two small bowls of mixed red and white rice. The pork ribs were so tender, the meat fell away from the bones and melted in my mouth. The gravy was flavoured mostly from the pork and also the celery and spring onions and was perfect with the rice. It was quite a hearty winter casserole. The noodles were okay, but nothing really to write home about. Dessert was a choice of fresh melon, or sticky purple rice in soup, and we had one of each. Although the serving was small, the rice for me was a bit full on after such a hearty lunch. The fresh melon on the other hand was light and delicious. The service provided by waiting staff was a bit haphazard, with tea being regularly refilled, but when we needed dessert and the bill there was no-one in sight. It will definitely be the setting and affordable lunch set that will bring me back to Haka YeYe. And also the fact that now I know of this hidden restaurant, hopefully one day I too will be able to show it off to someone who doesn’t know that the place to find restaurants in Hong Kong is actually above eye level. …查看更多

It was a farewell dinner for a friend returning to Australia that took us to Verve Bar & Grill on a Sunday night. Used to this friend’s extravagant ideas for dinner venues, I made a trip to the ATM to prepare for what has often turned from, “Let’s catch up for a casual dinner” to, “Okay, so the bill comes to $800 each” (this person’s insistence on expensive bottled water as though Hong Kong is sister city to Jakarta could have something to do with it…).On arrival however, I was pleasantly surprised at the menu prices. Especially considering how nicely the restaurant had been furbished. Tables were dark wood and had white linen table cloths, with soft tea light candles in the middle. The lights were dim and the candles created a nice, soft atmosphere. I would suggest an intimate table for two for a casual romantic dinner. Verve has an extensive café style menu, with lots of pastas, pizzas and salads to choose from, as well as specific chicken, meat or seafood choices. The starter selection reflects the somewhat haphazard choices on the rest of the menu and included Mexican themed dishes from nachos and quesadillas to Asian inspired salt & pepper calamari and Vietnamese cold rolls.We were a group of six and decided to order a couple of starters to share. We chose the quesadillas and salt & pepper calamari as they are easily split between a group. The calamari was cooked perfectly, not at all chewy and spiced with just the right amount of spices. The quesadilla was a bit dry and disappointing. There wasn’t enough sauce or topping on it, and the quesadilla itself was overcooked and crunchy. It had lost all sense of chewiness and didn’t ooze with cheese and fillings like I was hoping.For mains, nearly all of us chose a salad. I had a prawn and mango salad with the dressing on the side to avoid another incident of an over-dressed salad. When it arrived I was so impressed – it was so big and green and the lettuce looked so fresh. But with only four prawns on it, an hour later I was wishing I’d gone for a carb-loaded pizza or pasta. My husband had the spaghetti bolognese which was a very traditional take on this classic dish. Perfectly al dente spaghetti with a rich, meaty tomato sauce – highly recommended. And large.Service was attentive and our bill was suitably inflated with expensive Perrier that the waiting staff did an admirable job of refilling after every sip. I suggest Verve Bar & Grill for casual style menu choices in a nice restaurant setting.…查看更多

We went to Wagyu for lunch on a very hot Saturday afternoon. It was one of those hot Hong Kong days where the sun was out and shining, and you seriously considered catching a taxi for the 500m walk to the restaurant. We didn’t, and were grateful for a nice cool restaurant on arrival and regular top ups to our water glasses throughout the meal.Wagyu captures the true essence of a modern Australian restaurant. I felt like I was back in Australia and loved it. The menu was varied and had a good combination of more sophisticated “modern Australian” type dishes (e.g. the Wagyu Carpaccio, or Fennel, Beetroot & Goats Cheese Salad) and true blue Aussie pub food, like the Wagyu Burger, or Steak Sandwich Supremo. To be fair, the majority of food is probably less of the traditional pub food, and more contemporary (there are also lots of pizzas and pastas to choose from). On our table of four, two people chose the Wagyu Burger Like No Other and when it came out I felt an immediate pang of regret at my choice of the Thai Beef Salad. Whilst the wagyu steak in the salad was cooked to perfection and delicious, the salad was overdressed and too sweet. The chefs didn’t quite perfect the combination of sweet, sour, spicy and salty that a Thai dressing should have. I spent most of the meal shaking the lettuce leaves trying to get off the excess dressing. The Burger on the other hand was fantastic. You can choose to have Swiss, Cheddar or Blue Cheese on your burger, and the Burger is served with fat chunky chips and a salad on the side. I know what I’ll be having next time.Of course, as well as the pub food and modern Australian choices, there is also a whole page of the menu devoted to the restaurant’s namesake – wagyu. Being on a budget at the moment meant we had to give the wagyu a miss. However, we are looking forward to the day when our budget allows us to splurge on a 10oz Wagyu Sirloin for $620. Until then we can only dream……查看更多