Kishoku

I think I just might have found my new favorite sushi heaven. I won't waste your time by giving you a full-on intro on Kishoku, but if you are interested in a little background information, just read this article. We came just before last order and sat at the sushi counter. Our sushi chef came and introduced the menu and recommended we try the deluxe sushi platter... This was what we had come for and so we happily went along.

lunch menu

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

Sushi Fuku-suke

Fuku suke @ Causeway Bay

It has been almost two months since i've had sushi (last visit was at Tenzen, which had decent but not particularly memorable quality fish, may post about it later) thanks to exams taking over my life for the past several months. how i crave this stuff! Note to self: must have decent sushi at least once a fortnight =) 

So on a friday afternoon i dragged my raw fish-loving brother to causeway bay to visit fuku suke in hopes of ordering their famous assorted sashimi rice bowl...

some appetizers

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!

sushi shota

Date: 22nd September

Sushi Shota @ Kyoto Plaza

My younger brother was set to leave town for some time, so I decided to treat him lunch at Sushi Shota… 

menu

we ordered the Sashimi and Sushi set ($280 + $20 for upgrade to hot udon), plus a beef teriyaki set ($90)

chawanmushi

the sashimi and sushi set came with a lot of side dishes, and this was first to arrive. the custard was pretty solid and very eggy and not much taste to it apart from 'eggs' - i.e. there wasn't enough dashi added to the mixture. there was no seafood but only a few pieces of mushroom.... definitely no where near Naozen's. 

potato salad

mashed potato salad, iceberg, cucumber, tomatoes, fish roe

T downed this one for us, as we don't like potatoes much...

udon

thick udon, hot shoyu broth

udon was too soft for me - i still prefer the thin and chewy or flat udon noodles.... 

miso soup, pickles

nothing crazy good here - miso soup was just plain with spring onions. 

sushi and sahimi platter

sushi: negitoro (fatty tuna & spring onion) maki, uni gunkan, salmon roe gunkan, snapper, steamed shrimp, tamago, salmon, yellowtail, fatty tuna

sashimi: octopus, lean tuna, sweet shrimp, salmon, clam, yellowtail, hirame (flounder), mackerel

whilst most of the sushi were fairly fresh, my favourite being the negitoro maki, the sashimi disappointed. the sashimi today were mostly the inexpensive kinds - something you would expect for their normal sashimi sets, rather than a premium set. we weren't given any toro save for the one piece on top of the sushi, and even so, the lean tuna which we were given was no longer fresh and was quite oxidised....it was actually inedible =(. Mackerel sashimi was nice though. 

appetizer

this appetizer of korean-like japchae came with the beef teriyaki set. weird pairing, but ok. 

beef teriyaki main

grilled beef, mayo, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, shredded cabbage

beef was way way way too tough, and it tasted..... a lot like a burger patty for some reason

the bowl of rice was also dishearteningly your typical long-grain rice, rather than Japanese pearl rice

after being rushed to pay, we were rushed to order our flavours for ice cream too... 

sesame

bits of ground sesame in the icecream for a bit of texture, different but strong and yummy

green tea

not as strong nor bitter as i would have liked - you can probably tell from the light green colour...but nonetheless edible

cute cup of coffee to end, served with miniature ucc creamers

Food: ♥♥1/2

Service: ♥♥

Price: $$$

Sushi Shota 

8/F Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Rd., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2834 3031

Café Matchbox - new-style bing sutt.

Date: 5th September 2010 

Café Matchbox @ Causeway Bay

Attracted originally by the décor and the type of food they serve here in Matchbox, I brought a friend here to try out the food. Honestly we were quite pleased with this new-style bing-sutt, even though its slightly out of reach. Upon stepping inside we were in love already! After being seated to a mini booth we studied the menu, and decided on the following...

main menu 

another menu + dessert menu 

B Jai Yin-Yang Drink (Horlicks + Ovaltine) 

Chicken Pie in Pea Soup 

Pancakes with banana and caramel 

We picked two items to share, one being their signature meal set of chicken pie in pea soup with pancakes ($38) which comes with a drink - we ordered 'B Jai Yin Yang' for an extra $5. The other item was a very normal beef and tomato rice (, just to be safe!

The chicken pie in pea soup was a little strange for us, but not bad at all. We agreed we would've preferred eating them separately, and I shall bare that in mind for next time! Here at Matchbox the chicken pie is a Hong Kong-style pie, being made with a sweet shortcrust pastry crust and only a little filling of chicken breast in white sauce with mixed vegetables. The crust was in no way soggy despite being served in the soup, and was quite rich, but good. The pea soup proved to be better than I thought. Green peas are probably one of my most hated vegetables, and this soup in no way resembled the boring old pea. It was flavoured with lots of ginger and puréed, so it was a hearty and healthy contrast to the pie. 

Pancakes came with a light caramel flavoured sauce and chopped bananas. The pancakes were warm when served, and nicely browned on both sides and soft on the inside. The caramel sauce is not your typical caramel sauce, this one being lightened by the addition of (corn) starch, which also makes it less-sweet! Although some might think they aren't being genuine, serving 'fake' caramel and all, it is actually the preferred taste of many Chinese people who don't like their sweets too sweet any way! Of course it would've been better if served later, but then again we should have told them to - this is a cha chaan teng after all. 

Beef and tomato rice

Beef and tomato on rice ($42) was good as well. Whilst the rice could've been better, the beef was soft but not too much so as a result of tenderizing ingredients (yes, baking soda), and the tomatoes were chopped small enough before being fried so they cooked thoroughly and softened easily, rather than being semi-raw big chunks which I got from Tsui Wah recently. Also in here were button mushrooms, and the main character - the tomato sauce, was not overly acidic and not too sweet either, a wonderful balance! 

 Really neat utensils drawer on the side of each table!

We were very happy with this visit, and I'd definitely come again! 

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$

Cafe Matchbox

G/F, Highland Mansion, 8 Cleveland Street, 

Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 2868 0363

Hainan Shaoye and Mochi Cream

Date of visit: 12th Aug 2010

Hainan Shaoye @ World Trade Centre, Causeway Bay

I made reservations about a week prior to our visit, and was utterly disappointed with the service over the phone. This restaurant is no cha chaan teng (local tea restaurant) or dai pai dong (outdoor Chinese food stalls), and so I expected a little more I guess. When I spoke to the lady over the phone, I asked if I could make a reservation. She then replied with me a 'when? because if it's for dinner we are fully booked till next month'. So I told her I wanted to come for lunch, Thursday, at 11.45. She then said they were full too, and so I asked what time they open? "11.30 in the morning". I then hesitated, but asked "how about 11.30 then, can I have a table for two then?" She said "yes, we can do 11.30". With a reminder that they have a 10 minute wait policy before giving our table away, I thought to myself that was rather b.s., since it was technically 5 minutes apart from my original time plan, plus it was not like the restaurant was prepared to kick us out if we stayed passed 12 or 1pm...or at all! A table free is a table free, if they weren't going to do two rounds at lunch hour they should've given me the table regardless of time. 

Okay, phone conversation aside, our service at the restaurant was acceptable. We actually arrived on the dot and were turned away because their kitchen was "not ready yet" and give them 5 or so minutes. Say whatt???? 

Now, food! 

We decided we would forgo the signature Hainan and Roast Chicken Rice set, and went for a Bak Kut Teh ($88) (for me) and a Seafood Laksa ($88) (for E). These lunch time 'sets' come with a drink too - coffee or tea. 

Our sets arrived together, and we tried each other's, to see what we liked/disliked. My Bak Kut Teh was most disappointing, since I was expecting something more herbal and peppery with tender ribs... that it not what I got.

In my dark red soup there were plenty of wolfberries and dates (and even dried lychees) in this soup to make it way too sweet for Bak Kut Teh and resemble the Chinese herbal soup (for the ladies - "bo huet"/help produce more blood). I'm not saying the soup was bad, I just wasn't expecting it to taste so sweet and mask any signs of spices and pepper (if any was added...).  Other components included dried tofu puffs (tofu-pok), coriander for garnish and pork ribs that were so dry, tough and chewy I struggled to eat them... 

The other parts of my lunch set included a dish of chopped deep-fried dough sticks ("yao-tiu"), a bowl of white rice and some chilli-infused dark sweet soy sauce and a few pieces of bak choy. While the dough sticks didn't not impress, being soggy and nothing like the ones at good local restaurants serving congee, I loved the rice! Each grain doesn't stick to one another, and was cooked perfectly - not soft but not undercooked either...pure comfort with the dark soy sauce. Ahhhh I must make a mental note to ask what brand of rice they use when I return! 

E's Laksa was also not what we were expecting, but not bad. Hainan Shaoye's version is spicier than the laksas I've had locally, but same spice-level as they do it in Singapore. The soup however, is very watered-down to a thin broth with a mild taste of coconut only. Now a little mention of other restaurants serving Sing/Malay cuisine - Good Satay in TST East offers a good bowl of laksa that has a very rich broth - too rich to drink but delicious nonetheless. Meanwhile, Sabah Malaysian Restaurant in Wanchai has a hearty curry broth that is right in between Hainan Shaoye's and Good Satay which we thought took first place between the three. 

Hainan Shaoye's big bowl of seafood laksa came with toppings of tofu puffs, sliced fish cakes, two large shrimps and some fishballs. These all fared very well, and the two shrimps which E gave to me were fresh and bouncy. 

We vowed to return, not for a repeat of the food we had ordered this day, but for the highly controversial Chicken rice meals! 

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$

Hainan Shaoye

Shop P311, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2111 3166

Mochi Cream @ SOGO Department Store (level B2) 

We wanted a sweet ending to our lunch, and a steamed milk custard from Yee Shun seemed way too much after our large lunch sets.... I suggested we visit the basement of SOGO to hunt for some good Japanese sweets, and were attracted by the lovely display at Mochi Cream. 

I was about to go for the black soybean flavour, when I hesitated and asked the shopkeeper which one was her favourite. She said apple pie and purple yam. I wanted to see how they were to pull off purple yam ($14), and being a sweet potato fan I was quite drawn to it...naturally it was my choice! E opted for the caramel macchiato ($17) mochi, and we paid and ate. 

Caramel Macchiato mochi

purple yam mochi

Whilst I liked mine because of its lovely purple colour and not-too-sweet and natural yam taste, I wished it wasn't so cold... it was almost frozen, and so it was a bit too hard for me. E  loved hers though. There were bits of caramel and a coffee-flavoured centre, which she continued to rave about after!

Mochi cream has loads of flavours, from chocolate to raspberry mille feuille, and I will be back for more!

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $

Mochi Cream

Shop B2-29, SOGO Department Store, 555 Hennessy Road, 

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2831 3946

Siu Shun Village Cuisine

Date of visit: 8th July 2010

Siu Shun Village Cuisine @ Causeway Bay Plaza II

We were a table of 10, an organized dinner for the arrival of my cousin from US. We had a set dinner (12 pax), which totalled at $1688 - dirt cheap for seafood if you ask me!

Siu Shun specialises in seafood. The food in general was mediocre, nothing really stood out and nothing was really memorable save for the large fresh prawns and the little cute tapioca custard dumplings for dessert... so this post will just be a pictorial.

"Prawn Toast" - really nice prawns used, toast was oily. 

Flaked fish fillet and sharks fin thick soup, did not like the raw Chinese celery in this soup!

Stir-fried soy milk with crab meat - an alternative to 'chao siin nai', with crispy fried vermielli at the bottom. Didn't detect any crab meat, tastes like tofu.

Steamed fish dish

Three kinds of fungus with broccoli, variety of mushrooms, spinach and vermicelli

Prawns with ee-fu noodles in gravy. Best dish of the night...

Fish fillet stir-fried with peppers and celery. Simple yet tasty fish, second best dish of the night. 

Za Ji Gai (Deep-fried crispy whole chicken) - chicken looked browner than the one at Luk Yu on Monday, but wasn't as good (not surprising). The prawn crackers were awfully soggy and not crispy, so aunt ordered them to send out another plate, which they did....

Much nicer prawn crisps =)

This was not on the original set dinner, but as they had sold out of the glutinous rice (dessert), they made a fried rice with yellow croaker. The yellow croaker was awfully over-cooked and didn't taste pleasant. Rice not dry enough.

Tapioca starch dumplings with custard filling - not too sweet, suited everyone's palate nicely.

So that was a Thursday night! Hope to take my cousin to more decent places around HK!