Fancy Thai - Mango Tree

When a Hong Kong person thinks of Thai food, Kowloon City aka "Thai town" of Hong Kong often springs to mind. No doubt, there is an abundance of cheap and cheerful Thai eateries there although standards have dropped since I was young - my school was nearby and visits to the Thai restaurants in the 'hood as well as Kung Wo Soybean Factory was a must-do every week... Now that I am based on Hong Kong island, trips to Kowloon City is rare and when I do go it's often for the veal goulash cakes, or "牛肉餅" in Muslim Food followed by a bowl of smooth tofu fa at Kung Wo. (If you haven't been already, what are you waiting for?!!)

Anyhow, I do often make trips to Elements - it being easily accessible and all; and one of my favourite restaurants there is Mango Tree. It's first branch in Hong Kong is in the Cubus building in Causeway Bay, but this place has a slightly longer menu and a floor to ceiling windows giving you a wonderful view of Hong Kong.... This place is definitely pricier than the many Thai restaurants around Wanchai, Causeway Bay and Kowloon City but on my couple of visits here the dishes were executed well and tasty. 

chicken and beef satays with peanut sauce and pickles (($98 ea)

Washoku lunching at Nadaman

After a hectic week, dad, brother and myself headed over to Nadaman at Kowloon Shangrila Hotel for Sunday lunch. Given that it was the weekend we arrived at almost 2pm to find the restaurant fully packed and a few tables celebrating birthdays (I believe you get a free tiramisu cake with certain credit cards!). Anyway, we were led to our seats and promptly ordered as we were quite close to the last-order time of 2.30pm.  

Although I really wanted to order the kaiseki set lunch ($480) our waitress informed us that we were too late! Next time I thought, next time... Having ruled kaiseki off, the two men went with the Nadaman shokado bento boxes and a Tokusen nigiri zen called for me... 

Tokusen Nigiri Zen ($440)

The Steakhouse Winebar + Grill 

@ Intercontinental Hotel

 

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).

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)

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

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..  

Ootoya

Ootoya @ Tsim Sha Tsui

It was 3pm and I was in TST thinking of options for a late lunch.... Ootoya was near and since i've never been I thought i'd give it a go... 

Upon looking at the rather limited afternoon menu, we decided on the following.

House-made Tofu ($20)

There was not a lot of flavour in the tofu, and the portion was pretty tiny.... (4/10)

"rice with vinegar ootoya special soy sauce flavoured raw tuna" ($100)

close up of the tekka-don (tuna sashimi on rice)

Minor errors with the english name on the menu, but language aside this set was quite enjoyable. 

the maguro was marinated in a soy sauce-based marinade and so additional soy-sauce dipping was unnecessary. the thin slices of fish was clearly the star here, succulent and the marinade was very light and didn't kill the taste of the raw fish.... the rice was also really good, plump grains which retained a slight bite, and pre-seasoned with vinegar.... (8/10)

chawanmushi

served alongside the tekka-don was this little cup of steamed egg. perfectly smooth but a little too light on the flavour... the dashi might have been missing.?? (6/10)

miso soup

also came with the tekka-don, not bad.

"rice bowl with deep fried breaded chicken and cold udon (in a wooden box)" ($72)

close up of the chicken katsu, on a bed of shredded cabbage and rice (7/10)

whilst the chicken katsu was pretty good, with tender chicken wrapped in a golden and crispy panko-crust, the rice underneath was normal long grain rice, and slightly too 'wet'... would've loved it more if it were the Japanese rice (unseasoned) that came with tuna rice set above. On the side was a vinegary and slightly sweet katsu sauce to go with it. 

cold udon noodles spread in the wooden box...

these udon noodles were pretty good texturally, though my favourite remains the thin inaniwa udon noodles. the mentsuyu (in a sake-like jar next to the cucumber in picture) was far to light in taste, so when the udon was dipped in and slurped out it was still very bland..... my guess is that it was too diluted. (7/10 for noodles only)

Ootoya is an affordable and tasty option for popularized Japanese food....though I think I'll need to return during dinner, with hopefully with a fuller menu and better execution of the dishes.

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥

Price: $$$

Ootoya

1/F, Imperial Hotel, 32 Nathan Road, 

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2312 2675

Chez Shibata

Date of visit: 15th September and 1st October 2010

Chez Shibata @ Elements

Chez Shibata is a Japanese-French patisserie which has been franchised in Shanghai and in September, Hong Kong. My first visit to Chez Shibata was shortly after its opening, and tried out the first five reviewed desserts below, and on a second visit, tried the two signatures plus one croissant. My experiences with each cake varied, but nonetheless good overall.

 after I snapped these two pictures I was informed no pictures are allowed...!

"Tranche Maccha" ($40)

green tea mousse, chocolate mousse, sponge, green tea powder and crispy chocolate balls

this was naturally my first choice, since i love matcha and chocolate (both separately and together!). but i must say this was one of my least favourites from Chez Shibata, since this was poorly executed. the cake comprised of green tea mousse, chocolate mousse, and (orange?) sponge, all of which were overly 'wet' and not very pleasant in the mouth. green tea mousse could have been stronger, and so could the chocolate mousse. sponge layers were so thin and drenched you could hardly taste them. i have no idea if they are always like this, or if it was just my unlucky day, but a pastry chef should know when his batch of cakes have gone bad and therefore not allow them to be sold... 4.5/10

"Mont Blanc" ($38)
chesnut, cream, chocolate flakes, chocolate sponge
this was E's first choice, as she loves all things chesnut! as far as I remember, the top underneath the chocolate flakes were chesnut puree and beneath that layers of sweet cream and chocolate sponge. the whole dessert was not too sweet and was quite good, balanced, but again towards the bottom of the cup was wet cake... 7/10

"Macaron Emotion" ($34) 
cream, macaron, strawberries, custard, jam. 
my favourite so far, the crispy macaron shells were surprisingly not overly sweet, and the filling of fresh strawberries, custard and strawberry jam worked very well, was balanced, and very enjoyable. 9/10

"Verrine Plaisirs" ($36)

white chocolate mousse, chocolate mousse, passionfruit jelly, mango

mousses were not set properly (i.e. liquid when spooned), and I didn't really think the sour fruits went with the white and milk chocolate mousses at all... 2/10

 "Mi Cuit Fromage" ($36)

cream, berries, cheesecake

this cheesecake was a toned down version of the American cheesecake - a lot smaller and much less sweeter for the Asian palate. one thing we noticed was the lovely strong fragrance of the cheese when we opened the box, and the taste and texture definitely did not disappoint. before you reach the biscuit base there's a thin layer of berry puree as well. would definitely recommend if you like baked cheesecakes! 8.5/10

 "Éclair au caramel" ($32)

choux, caramel, salted butter cubes

upon examination, this eclair is slightly different to the standard pastrycreme filled choux pastry and a glaze. this thinner and longer version had no pastry creme, but only layers of a strong and wonderful caramel. the cubes of salted butter melted instantly in the mouth, and matched nicely with the already-perfect caramel (strong in flavour yet balanced in sweetness). my only complaint would be the texture of the choux - if it could be crisper this pastry would have been peerrrrrfecttt! 8/10

"Couer de bois" ($38)

sponge, peanuts, mousse, raspberry mousse, raspberry jam, red sugar, raspberries. 

this, being one of Shibata's signatures, as well as its perfect red heart shape prompted me to pick this. the red exterior is simply coloured sugar (very thin layer), and inside is a very light mousse-type layer, sort of like whipped mascarpone, not very strong in taste. in the middle you will find raspberry mousse and raspberry jelly, which gives the cake a tangy/sweet punch of flavour - quite refreshing indeed. lastly, at the bottom is a thin sponge as base sprinkled with some peanuts, which I disliked passionately. I believe the purpose was to add crunchiness and textural differences to the cake but the taste of peanuts really did not match the sour raspberry and light (mascarpone) mousse...! 7/10

"Raspberry almond croissant" ($20)

croissant, custard, jam, almond topping. 

definitely not something for breakfast. this pastry is sweet with its raspberry jam and custard filling,  as well as the sweet almond and butter topping. again, better if the croissant could be more crisp. 6.5/10 

on both times I had the desserts to-go, but had them around 10 minutes after being packed. there are a couple tables in-store if you wish to have them there, but this will cost you an extra $5 per piece, plus 10% service...

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥

Price: $-$$

Chez Shibata 

Shop 2003, 2/F, Elements, 1 Austin Rd West, 

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2196 8921

Inaniwa Udon Nabe

Date of visit: 13^th September 2010

Inaniwa Udon Nabe @ Elements

For a family dinner I picked this restaurant as Elements is accessible and is one of the better restaurants in Elements. It was a Monday and we were seated in one of the rooms for more privacy (not that we needed it, we were only five!).

menu

soy milk hot pot set ($160x2)

left: cabbage, assorted fungus and...

soup base... 

hot pot set is listed on the menu as $160 per person but since minimum order is two, the minimum charge is $320.  came with a plate of assorted vegetables and a plate of assorted seafood/meats. we also decided to add another plate of seafood ($95), cabbage ($15) and shimeji mushroom ($12) 

the soup base of soy milk was milky white and wasn't pure soy as I imagined it might be. There's definitely some dashi in there since it had the 'umami' taste - pretty enjoyable. 

the plates that came with the set included Japanese sliced pork loin, clams, salmon, and in the bamboo stick is some minced chicken, which you slide cuts of into the boiling pot. 

the other plate had cabbage, Japanese bean curd skin, black fungus, fresh and enoki mushrooms. 

the plate of extra seafood (not photographed) had two large prawns, scallops, salmon and some shellfish.

as the broth got evaporated or divided into bowls the waiters refilled the pot with stock. ingredients on the whole were fresh, particularly memorable were the broth, minced chicken and the slippery smooth bean curd skin (really different in texture to ones we get locally), as well as the large prawns. 7.5/10

Inaniwa udon in hot soup with Hokkaido crab meat ($108)
the broth is very thick, so we were warned. come to think of it, it may have been the enoki mushrooms that made the broth become so viscous, rather than some form of starch being added. i like thin and slightly thickened soups so I quite liked this. There wasn't much crab meat to justify the extra $4x, but price aside the noodles were really good - thin, slippery and slightly chewy - my favourite! 7.5/10

Inaniwa Udon in Tomato and Pork Bone Broth with Japanese Pork ($108)

The udon noodles were again good, though I didn't care for this broth. I was expecting something heartier but all this was was sour tomatoes and sliced pork in a broth which tasted very pedestrian. for me the noodles didn't match the broth at all. (ps. very subjective, because dad clearly liked this bowl of noodles better than the crab meat one above). 5/10

Inaniwa Udon in Hot Soup with Prawn Tempura ($108)
This would probably be my favourite style of serving these udon noodles - in a very simple Japanese shoyu-based stock. I know that the best way to enjoy these noodles are probably having them served cold and you dip them in the sauce/broth, but I much prefer hot soup noodles, so provided you don't let the noodles sit so long in the broth, the texture of the udon remains intact (read: eat quickly!). the tempura shrimps were crunchy, but then again they were quite small and I'm not sure whether it justifies $48... I loved these noodles so much I just might have to go back soon and be open-minded about trying their cold varieties! 8.5/10

Homemade Squid cake ($65)

a must order - i don't think i've had anything like this before, and these slices of squid cake were bouncy and had tiny bits of squid meat for a variation of texture. seasoned very well too, so no sauce was needed. 8/10

Cheese Rice Cake ($48) 

these cute little rounds of mochi had a molten cheese centre, and were crispy on the outside, whilst the mochi layer was hot and only slightly chewy, the cheese melted easily in the mouth. they were fried really well to achieve the crispy exterior minus the oily/greasy taste. after a plate we decided we needed another one too =P 8.5/10

Cross section of the cheese mochi...

if i remember correctly everything was polished off! we all really enjoyed this meal.... i wonder when my next visit will be?

Food: ♥♥♥♥
Service: ♥♥♥
Price: $$$ (about $200 per head)
Inaniwa Udon Nabe Japanese Restaurant
Shop 2004, Elements,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2196 8989