Soul Food Mahanakorn, Bangkok - Many expats, but definitely an excellent place for modern Thai eating

Soul Food Mahanakorn, Bangkok - Many expats, but definitely an excellent place for modern Thai eating  

Apologies for such a long hiatus! Blogging definitely requires a lot of effort and I admire those who hold a 10+ hour job and can still make time to post their foodie excursions. 

I'm currently on a long holiday break and hence have found some time to post my travels of this year. I definitely regret not posting anything whilst away in London, Madrid, Berlin, Paris, Singapore and Philippines in 2014 as I've maintained this blog as a way to remind myself what I've eaten in the past and share with the public pictures of my meals and thoughts for reference. Going forward I'm going to do my best to post blogs on my meals during my travels, and for photos of my meals in HK you may visit gastronomerr.tumblr.com! 

On to the good stuff, earlier in May my first stop was Bangkok. I was there mainly for spa and relaxation however did manage to book two restaurants I had read about and wanted to try - desperately! I picked one casual and one fine dining place to see what Bangkok had to offer. Both turned out great, and below is my experience at Soul Food Mahanakorn, which I had read to serve excellent Thai food with small twists to the traditional ingredients/methods. 

Best pastrami in NYC?

Guess where I am? 

that queue... all day, every day.

I'm at none other than the famed Katz's deli, which is known to have queues at any time of the day. However, I don't think they are anywhere comparable to the queues of Hong Kong's Ichiran... yes my home city is some crazy queue-loving place. 

Anyway, my belief is that one cannot have truly "eaten" NYC without visiting a proper deli... and since I've heard too much about this place it was only righteous that I paid a visit to Katz's.

Zanzo - izakaya with vegetarian friendly eats!

Visiting Rakuen recently reminded me of another Japanese drinking/eating establishment I enjoy taking friends - Zanzo in hipster area Tai Hang. They have a lovely bar area and small tables surrounding the bar - whilst I wouldn't recommend this for big groups it's definitely somewhere to check out with a partner or a couple others. Part of the Miramar Group, this Japanese 'contemporary bar' has a short but well-executed menu and several daily specials each night; and although one doesn't often think of Japanese places as vegetarian friendly, this place does have a small but good selection that will make any vegetarians happy. Moreover, the prices are ridiculously reasonable.... probably because of its neighbourhood being not as easily accessible (okay it was a good ten minute walk from the MTR, which, is not bad at all!)

guess what's this black and multi-colored dish?!

Soju + Apgujeong Tent Bar

I love spicy food. I might not be able to handle Sichuan Shuizhu  (水煮) as I find that it shuts down my throat which is not a good feeling for anyone to have.... but when it comes to ethnic food generally e.g. Thai / Indian / Korean, the spicy dishes tickle my fancy.  

Banchan

Top left: fried anchovies, vegetables, fishcake, beef, spinach and sprouts, radish kimchi and cabbage kimchi in the middle. 
The banchan here was probably the most disappointing banchan I've had in the many Korean restaurants I've tried around town... (if you are looking for good refillable kimchi like they do it in Korea, Sura is it!) Save for the cabbage kimchi which was way too heavily salted and spiced, the other items were acceptable but even though we were a table of six the above was what we had in total; so we each probably only had a bite of a few of the banchans. When asked whether we could have a refill they simply said no.

Food for my soul - Southern Style BBQ in NYC

The Cardinal is a place for soul food. If you don't know what soul food is, I strongly recommend a quick browse through this list. I was introduced to the Cardinal as my cousin's fave spot for Southern food and given that she had also accompanied me to the Red Rooster it seemed fit she brought me somewhere with real good fried chicken. 

source: cardinalnyc.com/

As it was my cousin's turf, it was only right that her and her friends decided on the food. I was keen to try pretty much everything on their menu anyway. When it came to the sides, all mains during dinner come with two sides of choice, and since I've never had Southern collard greens or candied yams I suggested for these and left the rest of the ordering to them. 

August Restaurant Week HK - Socialito

I've always associated Socialito to being more of a drinking spot as opposed to a foodie venue, probably because I've heard too many friends tell me its "mehhh". And knowing the States sell tacos on average US$1-3 per taco ($1 being average); HK$60-85 for two before servicehere seemed a little on the steep end.
Tacos aside, Socialito serves up some Mexican eats in their main dining area. A couple weeks before Restaurant Week I'd heard they'd done some revamping - new menus and all and I thought this would be the perfect occasion to try out their (new) food.

Ethiopian eats... in Providence!

Since it's opening, Abyssinia has received rave reviews. Whilst I can't say I loved the food (nothing beats Indian cuisine when it comes to curries and spices IMHO!) I certainly enjoyed the various elements and eating (gasp) with our hands - bid farewell to utensils as you're encouraged to eat with your hands only here!

Spanish Tapas in Providence

Flan Y Ajo was one of the spots my Spanish-loving Chinese bestie P took us one evening. A tiny little tapas bar in DownCity that will seat less than 10 and have many people standing drinking and nomming on shareplates. We took up the window area with a small table to share and proceeded to order from their blackboard.... Below is a selection of the food we ordered!

pa amb tomaquet

Brunching in Providence

My second stop in the States was Providence, Rhode Island where I met my bestfriend P and her buddies J, T and A. We got along right away - bonding over nothing less than our love of good food! 

Nick's on Broadway was one of the stops we made for brunch. We waited nearly an hour to be seated if I recall correctly - this place is hugely popular on weekends!

open kitchen - we sat at the bar tables and got to see chefs at work!

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! 

 

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)

Doppio Zero

Doppio Zero @ The Pemberton

On a Monday lunch hour Doppio Zero was quite empty. It was blazing hot outside and the first thing we ordered were two icy cold drinks, for me, an iced coffee that was actually quite delicious and for K, a lime soda. We then started to go through the lunch options and decided on the following: 

Loyal Dining

Loyal Dining @ Wellington St. 

Since its opening, Loyal Dining has received copious press attention and visitation from diners who wish see what the fuss is all about. Hell, even my mother wanted to come here to try. My first visit was lunch with a friend, and later I returned for dinner with family to try more dishes before I could decide whether I liked the place or not.

Linguini Fini

Linguini Fini @ L Place

After the opening of Cantopop, IHM hit harder with Linguini Fini, an Italian eatery focusing on great homemade pastas, fresh organic vegetables and surprisingly impressive desserts. I went for lunch and dinner the same day after being rather impressed with the set lunch. 

super-cute fireman art.

Saikou, third time's not a charm

Saikou @ Wellington St

I know i have previously given a (sort of raving) positive review about Saikou about a month or two back, as one of my favourite lunch spots in Central for sushi... If only I could write this post having the same positive views... ! 

I arrived at Saikou today with my brother, hoping to introduce him to this place I used to to like. Without the 20% discount for after 1.45pm arrivals, it seemed a lot more expensive for what they give you. We hesitated at first, but finally decided to go for the pick-your own Tempura Set ($220) and the Sushi Platter ($190). 

Sun Tung Lok

 Sun Tung Lok @ Miramar, TST

I think Sun Tung Lok's status sort of shocked everyone, with its rise to 3 michelin stars quickly after its move to Kowloon side. This visit was a trip to try out their 'higher end' dim sum (i say this because dim sum in HK is often not very expensive, being a breakfast / brunch type food for many), and whilst overall quite good it wasn't exceptional or mind-blowing..  

Sushi Hiro

Sushi Hiro @ Causeway Bay

Despite the horrific event that happened to Japan back in March I haven't stopped going out for sushi or Japanese food for that matter, just because i believe that the government of HK and Japan take strict measures to make sure our food is safe. in fact, the centre for food safety of HK has daily updates about the radiation tests it performs on various food products... 

i firmly think that the best way to support Japan is to keep consuming their goods, and in any case, any potential hazard will be screened by the respective governments...

on a saturday the 10/f was packed to the rim - guess sushi hiro isn't one of the japanese restaurants experiencing a significant dip in business!

That said, this will be a super brief post!