However, to see such a restaurant in Hong Kong is a peculiarity, given the Hong-Kongese penchant (especially for younger generations) for not cooking at home and opting to eating out.
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| Outside of Restaurant |
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Okonomiyaki Dohtonburi, Quarry Bay
Okonomiyaki - a grilled Japanese savoury pancake topped with sweet okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes and seaweed flakes - can be easily found freshly made by the occasional food stall at events/markets, along with the token takoyaki and deep fried chicken stalls. If you're lucky, you can find speciality restaurants within the Kansai region of Japan that allow you to cook your own okonomiyaki. I tried this on a previous trip to Osaka but SissyG and I were way too noob to figure out how to do things on our own so the waiters took pity and ended up cooking everything for us 😆.
However, to see such a restaurant in Hong Kong is a peculiarity, given the Hong-Kongese penchant (especially for younger generations) for not cooking at home and opting to eating out.
However, to see such a restaurant in Hong Kong is a peculiarity, given the Hong-Kongese penchant (especially for younger generations) for not cooking at home and opting to eating out.
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
Hong Kong: The Lounge @ JW Marriott 香港JW萬豪酒店, Admiralty
In order to thank me for my hospitality during my aunt's stint in Sydney and knowing that I was a foodie, she decided to treat me for a meal at The Lounge inside the JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong, which is renowned for their afternoon tea buffets.
Let's say the experience was... seriously epic!
Afternoon tea at The Lounge runs from 3:30pm to 6pm so I had a light lunch beforehand to prepare myself for an afternoon feast and had every intention to skip dinner that night. 😂
Let's say the experience was... seriously epic!
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| Entrance of Lounge |
Afternoon tea at The Lounge runs from 3:30pm to 6pm so I had a light lunch beforehand to prepare myself for an afternoon feast and had every intention to skip dinner that night. 😂
Friday, 27 January 2017
Hong Kong: Teawood 茶木, Quarry Bay
Teawood is one of my sister's favourite restaurants, which offers Taiwanese cuisine and is famous for their honey toast stacks. So upon setting foot on Hong Kong, my sister decided to take me to the Teawood in Tai Koo Shing, which was one of her few usual food haunts when eating out.
After a long wait in the queue, we finally were seated at a booth table and got to skim through their extensive menu. Given the limited eating time, we quickly made our orders and the food was quickly churned out.
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| Sign Outside Restaurant |
After a long wait in the queue, we finally were seated at a booth table and got to skim through their extensive menu. Given the limited eating time, we quickly made our orders and the food was quickly churned out.
Saturday, 10 December 2016
Roadtrip to Bilpin
A few months ago, a few friends and I decided to go on a road trip together to visit a friend working in the Windsor vicinity. After doing some research into the surrounding areas, a friend suggested that we visit Bilpin for a day trip.
Bilpin is located just over 1.5hrs drive north-west of Sydney and is popularly known as the 'Land of the Mountain Apple', due to the rich fruit orchids and bountiful gardens that line the main (Bells Line of) road, which runs through the Blue Mountain region. The famous produce from the region are the locally grown/produced apples, juice and cider. Since they don't usually advertise the source of apples at the local supermarkets nor do I usually partake in cider (or any alcoholic drink), this place didn't really ring any bells so I was up for the challenge.
Bilpin is located just over 1.5hrs drive north-west of Sydney and is popularly known as the 'Land of the Mountain Apple', due to the rich fruit orchids and bountiful gardens that line the main (Bells Line of) road, which runs through the Blue Mountain region. The famous produce from the region are the locally grown/produced apples, juice and cider. Since they don't usually advertise the source of apples at the local supermarkets nor do I usually partake in cider (or any alcoholic drink), this place didn't really ring any bells so I was up for the challenge.
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| Roadtrip! |
Sunday, 2 October 2016
Bernie's Diner, Moss Vale
After an enjoyable lunch at Biota Dining, Bowral, the group headed off south to Bernie's Diner.
Set in Moss Vale, Bernie's Diner resembles the classic American diner from the 1950-70's (à la Grease) with bright red bar stools and booth seating, and a black and white checked floor. Their menu here is actually rather extensive and included burgers, sides, drinks, dessert - oh the choices...
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| Entrance of Diner |
Set in Moss Vale, Bernie's Diner resembles the classic American diner from the 1950-70's (à la Grease) with bright red bar stools and booth seating, and a black and white checked floor. Their menu here is actually rather extensive and included burgers, sides, drinks, dessert - oh the choices...
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Biota Dining, Bowral
Just outside of the Bowral town centre, Biota Dining is a fine-dining restaurant shrouded by a tall row of bushes along the main street. There is limited parking outside the restaurant but don't be discouraged by the sheer number of cars filling the car park - the spots may be occupied by people
attending a party/function in the small area next to their bar.
Biota Dining offers both degustation tasting menu ($145+ pp; requires reservations beforehand) or bar dining during lunch hours. As this was a last-minute food stop, our group didn't have a booking so we rocked up to see if they were able to fit us in for a late lunch. Ivanhoe did try calling beforehand but got stuck with their voicemail...
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| En Route from Car Park to Restaurant |
Biota Dining offers both degustation tasting menu ($145+ pp; requires reservations beforehand) or bar dining during lunch hours. As this was a last-minute food stop, our group didn't have a booking so we rocked up to see if they were able to fit us in for a late lunch. Ivanhoe did try calling beforehand but got stuck with their voicemail...
Li-Sun Exotic Mushroom Tour, Mittagong
Two months ago, Ivanhoe began organising a group road trip to Bowral in order to attend the Li-Sun Exotic Mushroom farm tour in nearby Mittagong over the Labour Day long weekend. I wasn't quite sure what to expect so I did a little research/light reading to get myself prepared for what was ahead.
Fortunately, the weather on this day was awesome and we headed down south early in the morning so that we could scout out the local cafes in the Bowral town centre before the tour. The time soon came to head to the local swimming pool car park, which was the pickup point for the tour.
Fortunately, the weather on this day was awesome and we headed down south early in the morning so that we could scout out the local cafes in the Bowral town centre before the tour. The time soon came to head to the local swimming pool car park, which was the pickup point for the tour.
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| Shuttle Bus |
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Hong Kong: Tao Heung 稻香集團, Shau Kei Wan
In Hong Kong, you know there is a bargain when a lot of people are lining up (and you join the queue without even knowing what is actually for sale) or everyone in the restaurant is ordering the same thing - this is the case at Tao Heung:
In Chinese, there is a saying that something is real cheap and totally worth getting - "$1 chicken" - except here it is in the literal sense in that you can order a whole cooked chicken for the measly price of HK$1! Even in HK, where you can eat a meal for under HK$20 on the streets - This. Is. A. Bargain!
Okay, the quality of the chickens vary - some were plump and fat whilst others were scrawny little things - but you can order just as many as you want to your hearts content (in our case, we ordered a total of 6 chickens for 6 adults and 2 teens):
There are sauces and condiments that you an also eat with your chicken as well:
Along with this deal, you can also pay an additional HK$12 per person to gain access to the unlimited, buffet-style dessert/drinks bar (note that there is a requirement that everyone at the table must take be part of this, i.e. you can't have one person at the table paying for the dessert/drinks bar whilst the others don't):
My (non-cheapo) relatives also insisted on ordering additional non-chicken dishes so they ordered the following:
There were actually tiny specks of truffle in the omlette (not that you could really taste it...) and the vege hot pot is just your average hot pot but costs more than the chicken + dessert combined for the entire table =P .
Given that this deal is on every so often at Tao Heung, you're likely to hit the jackpot and get a "$1 chicken" for a steal - especially when it costs HK$60+ for a cooked chicken at the local supermarkets, or even HK$100+ for a live one at the markets!!
Tao Heung also do yum cha during the daytime with the occasional daily specials (e.g. HK$3.80 steamed rice pots or rice congee):
Link to Open Rice: Tao Heung, Shau Kei Wan
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| Entrance to Restaurant |
In Chinese, there is a saying that something is real cheap and totally worth getting - "$1 chicken" - except here it is in the literal sense in that you can order a whole cooked chicken for the measly price of HK$1! Even in HK, where you can eat a meal for under HK$20 on the streets - This. Is. A. Bargain!
Okay, the quality of the chickens vary - some were plump and fat whilst others were scrawny little things - but you can order just as many as you want to your hearts content (in our case, we ordered a total of 6 chickens for 6 adults and 2 teens):
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There are sauces and condiments that you an also eat with your chicken as well:
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| Sauce Bar (From Top Left, Clockwise: Satay; Spicy; Spicy Bean; Chilli; Spicy Bean with .... ; Soybean; Savoury Paste; Sesame; Sesame #2) | Condiments Bar (Freshly Minced Garlic; Dried Sichuan Pepper; Dried Chilli; Chilli Sauce; Green Pepper; Minced Spring Onion; Celery Grain; Minced Red Cluster Pepper) |
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My (non-cheapo) relatives also insisted on ordering additional non-chicken dishes so they ordered the following:
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| Egg Omelette with Prawns and Truffle | |
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| Dried Seafood and Vegetable Hot Pot (Half-Eaten/Attacked Before Photo =( ) |
Portion from Hot Pot |
There were actually tiny specks of truffle in the omlette (not that you could really taste it...) and the vege hot pot is just your average hot pot but costs more than the chicken + dessert combined for the entire table =P .
Given that this deal is on every so often at Tao Heung, you're likely to hit the jackpot and get a "$1 chicken" for a steal - especially when it costs HK$60+ for a cooked chicken at the local supermarkets, or even HK$100+ for a live one at the markets!!
Tao Heung also do yum cha during the daytime with the occasional daily specials (e.g. HK$3.80 steamed rice pots or rice congee):
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| Pot of Steamed Rice with Chicken and Preserved Vegetables (Bo Jai Fan 煲仔飯); Glutinous Chicken Rice (Lo Mai Gai 糯米雞) |
Link to Open Rice: Tao Heung, Shau Kei Wan
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Taipei - A foodie's guide (Day trip to Shifen and Jiufen)
Ms Strawberry will notice I've skipped a few days of our itinerary in this blog. But I have a friend visiting Jiufen relatively soon so I dedicate this eating guide to her. I hope she finds this useful on her trip :).
Shifen (十分)
If you require detailed information on how to get to Shifen, Jiufen & explore the Pingxi area by train, please leave a comment with your email and I'll be happy to send you our itinerary. But long story short, there are plenty of trains from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang (the trouble is simply getting on the right train), but from Ruifang to Pingxi area there is only 1 train every hour. So make sure you plan ahead to avoid wasting time.
I was somewhat disappointed when 1. we had to wait ages for them to cook and 2. when we discovered they were filled with rice instead of meat. O well, it was a good snack to keep Aunt T happy-go-lucky before a hike.
Basically its a paper thing pancake, coated in shaved peanut brittle, with two scoops of ice cream then wrapped up. It's also served with a sprinkle of corriander which we opted out for. Yummy! It kind of reminded me of mango pancake - but a peanut and ice cream version.
Jiufen (九份)
It was mid-afternoon by the time we arrived in the hillside town of Jiufen. We got lazy and caught a taxi from the train station instead (which was the best $10 we've spent) as it was getting overcast.
After getting off the taxi, take a few scenic photos before heading into Jiufen old street. To make things easy, the following eating guide is in the order of what you will come across as you follow the meandering old street.
There is of course the option to add chilli if you like - and I highly recommend it. The combination of flavours work really well and if I go back, I would definitely get this again.
Stop 2. Not too far down the street on your left hand side, you'll come across Zhang Ji Traditional Fish balls. You won't miss it because there's always a crowd of people as this is the most famous place to get fish balls here. We did the touristy thing - got the Mixed Balls Soup, which we found ok.
The fishballs were nice, but I didn't find it outstanding and memorable. By all means, if its a cold day its a pretty warming, decent soup - but maybe come back for this on your way back because really, there's a lot of good food you'd want to save your stomach for.
These sticky rice balls are unlike any elsewhere in the world. The taro ones are savory and won Ms Strawberry, while I fell in love with the sweet red bean grass balls. We see people buying dozens of these and I would too next time I'm here. I ate a few 2 days later and they were just as good!
The amazing thing is you can really taste each different flavour in the balls and they all had a slightly different texture due to their key ingredient. If you eat nothing else in Jiufen, you have to try this!
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Hong Kong: Crystal Jade, Wan Chai & Tsim Sha Tsui
My family are a fan of Crystal Jade and their widely popular Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) so I actually visited this restaurant twice (although at different branches in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui).
Their menus include a rather detailed explanation into their culinary concept and the types of La Mian (拉面), which is basically hand-pulled noodles, available for selection. Who even knew there were at least 8 (?!) different types of La Mian:
Our trek to Crystal Jade wouldn't be complete if we didn't order their Xiao Long Bao:
I have a personal preference for pan-fried pork buns (生煎包) over Xiao Long Bao so to me, the Xiao Long Bao was good but just didn't blow my mind - it had a very thin outer pastry surrounding the juicy pork interior, which is similar to the fare at top Shanghainese restaurants in Sydney like Din Tai Fung or Chef's Gallery. The glutinous rice cake was cut up into random-shaped pieces - looked like it was part of a plating disaster - and rather salty, especially in comparison to the La Mian (served in a bland M.S.G. broth, topped with parsley and spring onions) with fried pork chop that we ordered on the day:
The Hot and Sour Soup is not for the faint-hearted as it's rated with two chillis - it was too spicy for me - and you get a large serving of the soup, which is filled with ham, dried bean curd and dried fungi. The fried noodle and fried rice were just the typical Shanghainese fanfare - topped sparingly with miniature eel and shrimp respectively.
Crystal Jade is by far not the cheapest eat in Hong Kong and does nothing out the ordinary but if you're in for a Shanghainese food indulgence, this is a place to check out. However, please note that a lot of their dishes contain chilli so order with care (check for their chilli rating), especially if you can't stand spicy/hot food.
Both the restaurants in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui have window booth seats overlooking Victoria Harbour, however the views aren't as great as they used to be. Hong Kong is rife with constant re-development and extension/expansion of land area (a.k.a. "reclaimed land") into the harbour so what used to be a 'water' view is now becoming 'land' view =( .
Links to Open Rice:
Their menus include a rather detailed explanation into their culinary concept and the types of La Mian (拉面), which is basically hand-pulled noodles, available for selection. Who even knew there were at least 8 (?!) different types of La Mian:
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Our trek to Crystal Jade wouldn't be complete if we didn't order their Xiao Long Bao:
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I have a personal preference for pan-fried pork buns (生煎包) over Xiao Long Bao so to me, the Xiao Long Bao was good but just didn't blow my mind - it had a very thin outer pastry surrounding the juicy pork interior, which is similar to the fare at top Shanghainese restaurants in Sydney like Din Tai Fung or Chef's Gallery. The glutinous rice cake was cut up into random-shaped pieces - looked like it was part of a plating disaster - and rather salty, especially in comparison to the La Mian (served in a bland M.S.G. broth, topped with parsley and spring onions) with fried pork chop that we ordered on the day:
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| From Top Left, Clockwise: "La Mian" with Fried Pork Chop; "La Mian" with Hot and Sour Soup; Shrimp and Vegetable Fried Rice; Fried Noodle with Eel | |
Crystal Jade is by far not the cheapest eat in Hong Kong and does nothing out the ordinary but if you're in for a Shanghainese food indulgence, this is a place to check out. However, please note that a lot of their dishes contain chilli so order with care (check for their chilli rating), especially if you can't stand spicy/hot food.
Both the restaurants in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui have window booth seats overlooking Victoria Harbour, however the views aren't as great as they used to be. Hong Kong is rife with constant re-development and extension/expansion of land area (a.k.a. "reclaimed land") into the harbour so what used to be a 'water' view is now becoming 'land' view =( .
Links to Open Rice:
Thursday, 9 April 2015
Hong Kong: Thai Simple Kitchen 泰簡單, Causeway Bay
Hidden in the back streets off SOGO and directly above the President Cinema in Causeway Bay, there lies an inconspicuous Thai restaurant. Entry to the restaurant is accessible by lift from a small walkway off the street and you're sure to not lose your way as the restaurant's name placed next to the '3' lift button.
The entrance to the restaurant is lined by Thai statues and dim/ambient lighting rules across the restaurant. They also have an external table seating, surrounded by fairy lights, which can be viewed from the inside through large floor-to-ceiling windows - at first I didn't realise and started freaking out when I noticed something moving on the other side of the window behind my seat -__-".
The menu is rather extensive and filled with colourful pictures so you'll need to spend some time flipping through it and ponder over what to eat. Having never eaten here before, I left most of the ordering duties to my two local friends.
The satay skewers - well marinated and soft - came with mini toasts, fresh green salad and a peanut sauce (can be refilled on request). I had never tried pomelo before but fortunately the pomelo salad left a pleasing experience - it was light and refreshing amongst the other flavour-intense dishes. The fried rice was nothing spectatular, aside from it being served in a hollowed-out pineapple, but they must seriously love their pork floss as it was adorning the fried rice as well as the pomelo salad.
This is a classic Asian-style omelette that I remember having as a child - fluffy egg omelette filled with fresh oysters and shallots served on a bed of bean sprouts.
The highlight of the night was the soft shell crab (red) curry, which is served in a hollowed-out golden nugget pumpkin:
This was highly recommended by one of my friends and even though I'm not a big pumpkin fan, I was seriously impressed by the dish. Its presentation sort of resembles the traditional Eastern-Europe goulash in a massive hollowed-out bread bun but tastes so much better. As you're eating the curry, you can dig into the pumpkin flesh until all that's left is the thin layer of pumpkin skin (which eventually collapses because you've dug the life out of the pumpkin). It's definitely a dish that could be easily replicated at home and would surely impress dinner guests.
The downside to this restaurant was the service - it took forever to flag down waiters, whom were running around to accommodate the full restaurant.
If you visit, be sure to go early, or make a booking, and bring an empty stomach.
Link to Open Rice: Thai Simple Kitchen, Causeway Bay
The entrance to the restaurant is lined by Thai statues and dim/ambient lighting rules across the restaurant. They also have an external table seating, surrounded by fairy lights, which can be viewed from the inside through large floor-to-ceiling windows - at first I didn't realise and started freaking out when I noticed something moving on the other side of the window behind my seat -__-".
The menu is rather extensive and filled with colourful pictures so you'll need to spend some time flipping through it and ponder over what to eat. Having never eaten here before, I left most of the ordering duties to my two local friends.
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| Left: Mixed Satay Skewers (Chicken, Beef, Pork); Garlic Bread (4 for HK$30) Middle: Pomelo Salad with Peanuts and Pork Floss Right: Fried Seafood Rice in Pineapple, topped with Sultanas and Pork Floss (HK$75) |
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The satay skewers - well marinated and soft - came with mini toasts, fresh green salad and a peanut sauce (can be refilled on request). I had never tried pomelo before but fortunately the pomelo salad left a pleasing experience - it was light and refreshing amongst the other flavour-intense dishes. The fried rice was nothing spectatular, aside from it being served in a hollowed-out pineapple, but they must seriously love their pork floss as it was adorning the fried rice as well as the pomelo salad.
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| Egg Omelette with Small Oysters |
The highlight of the night was the soft shell crab (red) curry, which is served in a hollowed-out golden nugget pumpkin:
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| Soft Shell Crab Curry in Hollowed-Out Pumpkin (HK$118) |
This was highly recommended by one of my friends and even though I'm not a big pumpkin fan, I was seriously impressed by the dish. Its presentation sort of resembles the traditional Eastern-Europe goulash in a massive hollowed-out bread bun but tastes so much better. As you're eating the curry, you can dig into the pumpkin flesh until all that's left is the thin layer of pumpkin skin (which eventually collapses because you've dug the life out of the pumpkin). It's definitely a dish that could be easily replicated at home and would surely impress dinner guests.
The downside to this restaurant was the service - it took forever to flag down waiters, whom were running around to accommodate the full restaurant.
If you visit, be sure to go early, or make a booking, and bring an empty stomach.
Link to Open Rice: Thai Simple Kitchen, Causeway Bay
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