About Me

sharing my thoughts on all things related to food.

Wednesday 30 June 2010

More dessert?

Date of visit: 27th June '10 



五代同@ Tsim Sha Tsui

Earlier today I had frozen yogurt from Milky Cow, but I felt like more sweetssss!

We were at TST tonight and were looking for light desserts to share after Ebeneezers. I took my friend here because I had a really good experience here (friendly waiters, great snowflake ice). 

We came relatively early, and there was only two other tables taken. We decided on the pre-set toppings with green tea snowflake ice (I'd have gone for the Taro if not for the pre-set toppings which didn't appeal to either of us). 

The pre-set toppings that came with were red beans, coconut flavoured jelly cubes, white tapioca pearls and black-eyed sago, with a little condensed milk drizzled on top. Very appealing and the snowflake ice was truly a star. The green tea flavour was very well pronounced and not to sweet. Texture-wise, it was melt-in-your-mouth and creamy - good! All of this for a mere $35! If you wish to chose your own toppings you may fill in a sheet, starting with $35 for the snowflake ice itself....each fruit / sauce / topping is an additional $3-5. 

After we finished the snowflake ice (abt 20 mins), the ginger souffle ($40) arrived. Taste-wise it was spot on: strong ginger scent and flavour. 


After 5 minutes of sitting on the table the middle sunk.... sadly. I was really disappointed and told one of the waitresses. She was very apologetic and sent it away, promising another one but would take 15 minutes. So we sat there looking at others' desserts and chatting whilst waiting. Later a much puffier soufflé came out: 


This was quite evidently cooked thoroughly, as it did not sink! There was a crack which meant the first flat-topped one was prettier but was because it wasn't in the oven long enough. Apart from the small size, I was a happy customer. 

Food: 
Service: 
Price: $

Shop 8, G/F, BCC Buildling, 25-31 Carnarvon Road, TST
Tel: +852 2723 3383

After this we went to Isquare's Log-on...and ended up with two very attractive snacks... 
Whilst the strawberry mochi-flavoured Hi Chew was a failure, the strawberry yogurt Ritter Sport chocolate was fantastic! The picture looks exactly like the chocolate bar itself, with strawberry bits in the strawberry yogurt filling. Excellent! [p.s. don't you just love the pink packaging...] 

And that was my Sunday...!

Set Lunch at Cenacolo

Date of visit : 26th June '10
Cenacolo @ Soho, Central

So the non-stop pouring ruined our original plans to visit Orchard Garden in Causeway Bay, and we came here as a back up as my friend requested for western food. Remembering I had a very good dinner experience here (love the extensive a la carte menu for such a small restaurant), I suggested this place for lunch... Little did I know the lunch menu would be so boring!


There was a set lunch menu ($88) (this place offers brunch - i.e. egg items on Sundays I believe), with a choice of soup or salad for starters, fish / chicken / beef / pasta of the day for mains, and either dessert of the day or coffee/tea as final course.


For starters, I had the pumpkin soup (soup of day) which came with two garlic croutons... Whilst the soup was great with a sprinkle of cheese (mozzarella?), I didn't enjoy the croutons as they were quite soggy.


M's salad of apricot and orange segments looked very tasty and colourful...she seemed to enjoy it as every bit of this place was gone! =))


For my main I chose the Fish of the day with tomato-basil sauce, rather than the menu-prescribed lemon butter sauce, which the waitress gladly changed for me. The fish turned out to be a very boring but well-seasoned (therefore tasty) piece of sole fillet. Underneath was some standard grilled veggies - carrots, eggplant, broccoli etc and potato mash. The sauce was good - tangy as it was rich with stewed tomatoes (not ketchup, yayy) and I love basil so I was happy. 


M chose the grilled chicken (breast used, but she didn't realise) which arrived with the same tomato-basil sauce on top, and grilled veggies + mash underneath. Apart from the protein I am guessing it was quite similar in taste to my main? M thought the chicken was quite dry though... 


As an ending to our meal I chose to have coffee as I was already stuffed....I was engaged in a good conversation with my friend so I forgot to really taste it =P I just remembered "not bad" crossing my mind, but nothing to write home about. 


My friend chose dessert of the day - tiramisu, which came with a scoop of ice cream. Whilst I think the addition of ice cream is not necessary for most desserts (save for chocolate fondant and apple crumble), I'm not complaining that Cenacolo chose to provide a scoop with their dessert! This was clearly a slice from a large batch. I had a bite of the tiramisu - very light, like commercialised tiramisus, but the sweetness was just right. Portion was good for a set-lunch, and a small sweet ending to a meal. 

Perhaps I shall visit for their a la carte menu, but won't be returning for their set lunch (too boring!)...But for our engaging conversations (a lot on food), doubt I would have sat through lunch wide awake like I did in this hot humid rainy weather, so thank you, M! 

Food: ♥♥
Service: 
Price: $$
No. 45-53 Gramham Street, Soho, Central
tel: +852 2525 2430

Monday 28 June 2010

A tribute to HK's recent craze...

FROZEN YOGURT has recently captured the hearts of many teenagers (and adults) in Hong Kong. I remember a few years back in the US, frozen yogurt stores were still growing, and have heard that many shops in LA have in deed closed because their craze is pretty much over... But here in HK they have just begun! My very first frozen yogurts from HK were Yo Mama (Wanchai), Yogurtime and Berrygood.

The above stores have since expanded, Yo Mama and Yogurtime each having four locations (I think), and other froyo stores have also erected, including Crumbs, Smooch, Yogo, Milky Cow, Misocool, Holly Cow etc etc....

Indeed when it comes to frozen yogurt, everyone's preference is different. I prefer flavours which are true to their name. Let me explain - if it is an original flavour, it must be tart like real yogurt. If it is Chocolate, it must taste like chocolate....and not watered down cocoa powder. Although I have tried most of the frozen yogurt places mentioned above, I will review the recent ones I have tried this past week.

23rd June '10
Yogurtime @ Soho

Large Size ($38); Eurotart and Chocolate froyo; diced strawberries and chocolate wafers

This day's offerings also included a 'mix berry' and 'chocolate-coconut' and 'vanilla' flavour, which the sales person gladly let us test (yes, all of them!). He also enthusiastically informed us we were allowed to have two flavours in a cup and for the large we could pick two toppings. Although I knew this already, I didn't mind listening again because he was just so friendly and polite. We decided on eurotart and chocolate in the end, and I must say the texture of Yogurtime's froyos are not everyone's ideal froyo... Eurotart aside, I have had many friends who seem to think their other flavours lack creaminess and reminds them of shaved ice. I agree, which is why I usually come back for their Eurotart only. As they did not have mochi today, our selection of chocolate wafer with strawberries did not disappoint, though they were clearly running out of fruit so there was only one tablespoon of fruit given..

I want to mention a little on Yogurtime's servings - they are often generous with the froyo despite the increased prices, and I like how they don't 'swirl' the flavours, which I find ruins things for me. I like them to be kept separate like this one here!

25th June '10
Next was Berrygood @ Graham St., Soho

interior of the shop


Large ($40); Chocolate flavour; pound cake, mochi and blueberries as toppings

Berrygood's original is not bad, but not special either compared to its rivals. On this day, they had original and green apple in their machine. We sampled the green apple and I thought it was really strange... in a bad way. I looked in their fridge and found my favourite - chocolate. Berrygood's chocolate flavour reminds me a lot of Dreyer's ice cream, and I love it. We shared a large so we could have the three toppings, and a tablespoon of each variety was given. The toppings here is what I am sure keeps fans coming back for more - they are fresh with a lot of variety to meet everyone's needs =). 

27th June '10
Milky Cow @ Bonham Rd, Midlevels
After lunch nearby on a rainy Sunday afternoon we headed here to kill some time. Both G and T had tried Yo Mama so it was interesting for us to compare. Today's other flavour was raspberry, which I liked a lot when I tried it on Milky Cow's opening day. Being greedy, I chose to purchase a large original in one cup and a large raspberry flavour in the other with gummi bears. 

Large ($30); Original Flavour 
Large ($30); Raspberry flavour; Gummi bears (extra $5)

Milky Cow's original flavour is very similar to Yo Mama's, but slightly more tart, and lose the wooden spoon (which I hated anyway). There are three sizes on offer here, but often none of the cups are filled - usually only 1/2 full, so don't be deceived by the size of their paper cups! On the surface, it seems cheaper than the other froyo stores, but start adding toppings (which by the way are quite limited) and you will probably come to a bill more than you bargained for, as each spoon of topping is heftily priced at $5. Pricing aside, I really liked the original - creamy, right balance of sweet and tartness, lovely!

Their raspberry flavour left a mark on my mind since I last had it. And this time was just as I remembered. More tart than their original flavour, as the real fruit usually is, yet sweet and creamy. And as seen in the picture above, it seems to look the same as the original, probably because no food colouring is used (yayy). The gummy bears were probably a mistake - they were poor quality (i.e. their flavours were quite nasty) and hardened from being on top of the frozen yogurt... ahh no next time!

So there, three frozen yogurt stores visited in the span of one week!

Caffe Habitu @ Elements

On this rainy day I found some free time, so here I am blogging, trying to make this site up-to-date with my current eats =))
23rd June '10
Caffe Habitu @ Elements Mall
So my friend E and I came here for 'brunch' on a Wednesday.... I have only been to Habitu The Pier before (which by the way is closing soon...!), and so I had no idea this place requires you to order your food at the counter by the entrance before finding your own table...

Poor-ish system aside, we chose our table - with a view of the ice rink. Drinks arrived first...
Rose Milk Tea
I ordered a set, and opted to pay a little extra in order to change it to this Rose Milk Tea. Probably not a good idea after all, since it was quite watered down with a only a hint of rose scent. Yes, it looks great but taste-wise it was a disappointment. Although, I will say the barista did a pretty good job with steaming the milk - the foam was creamy, light and stiff at the same time. 
Hazelnut Habbiccino
This was E's choice. Habbiccinos have been newly added to Habitu's drink menu this year, and having tried the caramel before, I recommended my friend to try one. She chose Hazelnut, and in my opinion it was pretty good. Reminds me of Starbucks' hazelnut latte, but frozen and the blended ice was nicely done, without large chunks of ice like one would often find in Starbucks...
Prosciutto Pizza
With my set, I opted for the Prosciutto pizza ($96 with the rose milk tea), which was one of four pizza selections in Caffe Habitu. When it arrived it looked quite good I thought, but these thoughts quickly disappeared as I dug through it. It was the thin-crust variety, but the crust was so soggy it was hardly edible and safe to say the worst pizza I have eaten in a long time. The prosciutto was nice, not too salty and sliced thinly, but hardly any was given, as seen in the picture. 
All-Day Gourmet Breakfast
E's Gourmet Breakfast ($58) arrived the same time as my pizza (yay for this), but perhaps the staff had been waiting for the pizza to be ready or something which caused it to be only luke warm when it arrived. The plate consisted of sautéed mushrooms, scrambled eggs, half of a thick slice of toast, two small sausages, some baked beans and half of a grilled tomato. E liked this a lot, so I tried the eggs and sausage, both of which were quite good but better if hotter. 

What I liked about this branch was its relative quietness during weekdays, so you can read the SCMP (ask the staff for a copy) or have a good conversation with friends. I don't think I will be visiting for pizza again, but I wouldn't mind having my caffeine fix or some pastries here...!

Food: ♥♥
Service: ♥♥♥
Price: $$

Shop 1001, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon Station
Tel: +852 2196 8466

My first 'proper' post =)

I created this blog back in 2007....and it was originally a recipe blog, rather than a food blog. Though I love cooking, blogging about my HK-eats seem much more interesting!

For my first official post, I have decided to post about the last eatery I visited which I have not yet reviewed on openrice....and will continue from there.


Date of visit: 18th June '10
EXP  @ Festival Walk


I haven't visited EXP since last year... and I noticed some changes on their menu - the pizza selections have definitely changed and prices have increased. I chose the new 'Seafood Pizza' for tonight's dinner and taste-wise, it wasn't bad. The seafood, apart from the fish fillet, was fresh enough and the quantity of cheese good and nicely melted. My complaint however, would be that the seafood or pizza sauce was not quite dry enough, resulting in my pizza being slightly 'wet' - not good! 


This was S's Duck Breast Fried Rice. This item has been on their menu ever since they opened I believe, and was every bit as good as I remember it to be =) on top is the raw garlic mash which S chose to leave out wisely as the raw garlic was way too strong, pungent, and no doubt would leave one with bad breath. The smoked duck breast seemed to be the vacuum-packed variety, which didn't really bother either of us as it was tasty. The fried rice was not oily and very flavourful...

This affordable restaurant is definitely worthy of a visit if you're in Festival Walk. 

Food: ♥♥♥
Service: 
Price: $$

EXP 
Shop 23, UG, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong
Tel: +852 
2265 8298


For dessert, we chose the banana pie (should really be called banoffee pie, no?) from Simply Life. I really only have had one other, from 798 Unit Co (TST branch) several months back, and was not impressed. This one here, moderately priced at $35 for a large slice (we took out, so no service charges) was really quite satisfying. We smartly shared it, since it was really filling after having had a full dinner. Before I go on, some pictures for you... 

Our take-out box. 

Our banana pie (I should have removed the protective sheet...oh well!)

A forkful of the pie, showing the five distinct layers - Whipped cream (white), Chocolate-banana mousse (brown), Fresh bananas (yellow), toffee (caramel), digestive cookie base (Mc Vities variety I believe). And if you see the previous pictures, there were yummy chocolate shavings on top of the pie too. 

My verdict? Compared to 798, this one rocked! A friend of mine has suggested Portobello's  (Staunton st.) Banoffee Pie, so I have yet to try that. 

Simply Life had many other cakes which I have yet to try too but will save that for my next visit to Festival Walk or IFC. 

Food: ♥♥♥
Service: 
Price: $

Simplylife Bakery Café
Shop 42, L2, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong
Tel: +852 
2265 7418