The Steakhouse Winebar + Grill 

@ Intercontinental Hotel

 

Tapeo

so....after a long trip to the States I'm back in town, but this time round I will be mostly posting photos since i have so many to put up yet so little time!! So from now will mostly be photo (read: foodporn) posts, with a comment (or two) when I feel its necessary! Enjoy!

Tapeo @ Central 

This was a lunch a while back... their lunch deals (Mon-Fri only) are super value-for-money if your wallet's tight yet you want some decent food! 

 

Yardbird

Yardbird @ Sheungwan

Yardbird has fans. A lot of fans. And despite the long queues (no reservations taken), one waits, and wait they should - the food here is fab. Below is a collection of photos over several visits, with a few comments here and there.

Menu, specials on board

MIST Rahmen

Mist Rahmen @ CWB

I finally got around to trying MIST a couple months ago and went back for a second visit (ordering the same soup-bases because they were so good)... Here, its all about the soup, consistent and impressive. Their noodles are made in-house and come in several thicknesses, but after sitting in the broth for some time, they quickly became too soft, so eat quick! I'd gladly visit MIST again - pricey, yes, but their soups have so much depth it more than justifies the price....!

Menu

Tea at Lobby Lounge

Lobby Lounge @ Intercontinental Hong Kong 

 Not long after my visit at the Four Seasons' Lounge I came for afternoon tea at the Intercontinental. 

we went with the set for two, and had the iced coffee (fantastic - the ice cubes are frozen coffee) and a sencha (Japanese green tea).

Tea at Four Seasons Lounge

Four Seasons Hotel's Lobby Lounge is one of the more popular tea places on Hong Kong Island (Mandarin Oriental, Island Shangri-la being the others) where people from all sorts of backgrounds (youngsters, business partners and tai-tais) frequent. 

As my friends and I have an affinity for high tea, we decided to have our catch up over tea. We arrived to a small queue, but were seated quite quickly after about 10 minutes wait.

Set for 2 - comes with 2 tea/coffee drinks

Savories

 Very average with a few hits and misses. My favourites were egg salad truffle on toast and the smoked salmon finger sandwich. 

Sweets

This tier was largely a miss for me - room temperature, lacked freshness, macarons were wet/soggy and nothing was memorable... 

 

Scones - raisin in front; plain at the back.

Probably the only thing I would consider returning at tea time for, these scones were drier than other ones I've had in Hong Kong yes but warm and crumbly in the middle for you to take advantage of the devonshire cream and apricot and raspberry jams. Hmmm...

Food: ♥♥♥ 1/2 for the scones, ♥♥ for everything else.
Service: ♥♥♥
Price: $$$

The Lounge, 

Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance St., 

Central

Tel: +852 3196 8820

Dondonya

Dondonya @ Elements Mall

Assorted sashimi bowl

 Sashimi was not bad; it was fresh save for the slightly fishy salmon roe. Normally they have salmon too but as I don't eat raw salmon they simply took it out - my understanding is that they won't substitute other fish for you here... at least not when I've visited.

Rolled Pork and Shiso Katsu

I loved the flavor of the shiso leaves though I thought the crust could've been less oily - definitely not on par with Tonkichi's frying techniques.

The works: sesame, tonkatsu sauce, house sauce which tastes like pork - mix less or more of each as you please.

On another visit, I sampled the below items: 

Kimchi beef stone pot rice

 This stone pot rice is always a safe and good option - slightly spicy, tender beef cooked fully (if you mix it nearer to the bottom), and the crispy crust of the rice at the bottom....

Hokkaido seafood rice bowl + set upgrade

ikura, ebi, hotate

  I really enjoyed the salty/briny flavour of the ikura mixed with the scallop, shrimp and rice though it was leaning towards the fishy side.

Eel Stone Pot Rice

For those who avoid raw foods yet don't want deep-fried items, I would highly recommend this eel stone pot rice topped with an egg. The eel had a good balance of sweet-salty taste from the kabayaki sauce with the hot stone crispy rice at the bottom and soft egg mixed in, it was delicious!

Dondonya may not be a top-notch Japanese restaurant, but if you look at is as casual fare (which, given its prices, it surely is), it's a good option if you're in elements - just note there may be a longer wait time during dinner hours on weekends.

Food: ♥♥♥ 

Service: ♥♥

Price: Range from HK$120-300pp  depending on the rice bowl.

 

Dondonya
2103-5, Level 2, Elements 

1 Austin Road West,

Kowloon
Hong Kong 
T: +852 2196 8589 (walk-in only)

Sushi Kuu II

Sushi Kuu's kaiseki lunch

Regular lunch menu

Dim Sum at Man Fa Hung Hotpot Restaurant

This hot pot joint in Soho, Man Fa Hung is relatively popular at lunch and dinner. Although I haven't been for dinner, I am certain I've found a cheap and cheerful dim sum joint in Central. 

dim sum sheet

Nanhai No. 1 - Contemporary Chinese eats

 Apologies for not having updated in a long time, but studies took over a lot of my time and I've been finding it hard to find time to update!
Hope everyone has a great 2012 filled with amazing food =) 

Nanhai No. 1 @ Isquare

Marinated jellyfish

 Quite thickly cut compared to other versions I've had. 

Marinated cucumbers

 Marinades for both starters were very well balanced. 

Double boiled soup

Contents from the soup - chicken feat, pork, gizzard and conch etc.

Braised soya chicken

 Very tender chicken in a balanced soy stew sauce. No complaints and perfect with plain rice. 

Stir-fried shrimps with jade melon, mushrooms and carrot.

Seasonal veg with shimeiji mushrooms

Mushrooms had a lovely 'wok hei' (smokiness from the heat of the wok) to it. Looks simple but so delicious.

Flash-fried garoupa fillets

Fried rice and seafood in lobster soup

One of the better versions I've had. The waiter puts the hot fried rice into the soup in front of us for a bit of theatre, and then after serving the rice retained a crispy-stickiness to it. Yum, and better than Cuisine Cuisine's.

Food: ♥♥♥♥
Service: ♥♥♥ 1/2 
Price: $300-400pp

Nanhai No.1

30/F, Isquare, 

63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2487 3688