July 2012

In Chinese

Chan Kan Kee Chiu Chow Restaurant: Michelin 2012 “Bib Gourmand”

July 31, 2012

Chan Kan Kee Chiu Chow Restaurant has been serving Chiu Chow cuisine in 1948, thus making them the oldest restaurant in Hong Kong serving that type of food. My grandfather took us here for lunch.

I was so excited because I haven’t been to a Michelin rated restaurant yet. They were selected this year as the “bob Gourmand” for restaurants with good food at moderate prices.

Baby Oyster with Minced Meat Congee is not like normal congee, but was one of my favorite dishes. It has a lot of oyster flavour and tasted very fresh, giving it a creamy texture when eaten. The aromatics – green onions and coriander freshen up the dish. Highly recommended!

Omelette with Baby Oyster was another one of my favorites! The freshness of the oyster really since through and make the egg and oysters go very well together. Highly recommended!

Marinated Cold Dishes of goose liver, goose intestines, and other guts. This isn’t a dish for everyone! Some may gag after figuring out what these items are. Some others may love it. I personally did enjoy it because it comes with a vinegar sauce on the side that makes it so much more delicious.

Marinated goose breast was very moist and savory. It was way better than chicken or duck meat!

Sauteed beef in rice noodle was really delicious! The beef was very tender and the sauce is like awesome gravy covering all the rice noodles. YUM!!

Overall, I was impressed by the overall quality of the dishes. I got to eat goose for the first time…and all it’s guts too. Even though most people in North America would gag at eating guts…it was really good.

Words of Wisdom:

Can get very busy during peak hours
2 floors of seating
Sheung Wan MTR exit A1

We Rate Chan Kan Kee Chiu Chow Restaurant:

Address:
11 Queen’s Road West,
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

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In Cafe

Maxim’s Hong Kong Day: Wontons, Sandwiches and Pineapple Buns

July 30, 2012

Maxim’s Hong Kong Day is a quick-service restaurant. We were in Olympic City shopping mall, so we decided to get a quick bite to eat. They sell the usual Hong Kong Style cafe food.

There are a lot of seats inside and nice interior.

You are able to see through into the kitchen to see the food and drinks being prepared.

Hot Chocolate was made with powder and it wasn’t stirred very well. After mixing it up more on our own, it tasted ok according to my sister.

Hot coffee and tea mix was good and it’s a perfect drink for people who love tea and coffee.

Wonton Noodle in Soup was alright but nothing impressive.

Maxim’s Hong Kong Day BBQ Pork Club Sandwiches were pretty awesome. It comes with layers of egg, pork, tomatoes and lettuce. The gooey egg definitely adds character to this sandwich.

Pineapple Crispy Bun with Butter

The slice of butter was quite large and too much for this bun. I took half of the butter out and it was still enough to cover a lot of the surface area on the inside. The bun was good, but there could have had more topping and be more crispy.

Overall the food was alright, but nothing to rave about. The service was ok as well, but we did notice another table had an issue with a fly in their drink and got the managers and security involved.

We Rate Maxim’s Hong Kong Day:

Address:
Shop UG65, Olympian City Phase 3, 1 Hoi Wang Road,
Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong

Website:
http://www.maxims.com.hk/en/main.asp

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In Chek Lap Kok

Ocean Empire: Congee at Hong Kong Airport

July 29, 2012

Heading to the airport for a red-eye flight to Korea makes a person skip dinner. We headed off to Ocean Empire at the airport for a quick dinner before our flight. We didn’t know what to choose since there were a good amount of options available. We eventually chose Ocean Empire because they were serving congee. We’ve been eating so much dim sum that we thought this would be a healthier option.

We ordered a variety of different congees and some side dishes.

Chinese donut wrapped in rice roll with soy sauce was disgusting. It wasn’t very fresh and the donut was a bit stale.

Fried Noodles was cold and was lacking in flavour.

Radish Cake was hot, but wasn’t very impressive tasting. It didn’t have a lot of ingredients embedded inside either.

All the differing congees that we ordered basically sucked. It had minimal flavour and is essentially fast food congee. They just dump in the ingredients you want in a generic congee soup.

Overall, I was not impressed by the quality at all. It was barely passable and the attitude of the staff was horrible. The cashier seemed like he was always yelling at the cooks to be quiet.

Words of Wisdom:

Just don’t eat here unless you’re desperate

We Rate Ocean Empire:

Address:
Arrivals, Level 5, Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport,
Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong

Website:

http://www.oceanempire.com.hk/eng/p1_3.asp

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In Chinese

Chi Lin Vegetarian: Great Eats at Nan Lian Garden Hong Kong

July 28, 2012

We took the day to visit Nan Lian Garden, Chi Lin Nunnery and Hollywood Plaza. Its easily accessible though the Diamond Hill MTR station. The Garden and Nunnery are quite breathtaking and makes for very epic photos. This was my favorite site for far in my trip! You can’t forget the golden temple in the middle of the garden surrounded by modern apartment buildings that go up to 80 floors high (or more).

Sometimes looking for Vegetarian cuisine is quite hard if you are on vacation. Good thing I like to eat anything and everything. It was a good change from not scarfing down tons of pork and beef. I actually really like vegetarian cuisine.

At the eat end of the Garden, there is a restaurant called Chi Lin Vegetarian. It’s very popular for locals and tourists who visit this garden. It is located behind a waterfall and server very good vegetarian food with lots of vegetables, tofu and mushrooms.

Patrons can sit and admire the waterfall at the windows as they dine. This place can get quite busy.

Tea! You also have 2 chopstick of differing colors. One is your communal chopstick where you grab your food without sharing your germs with others. The other one is for eating. It’s a good way to not spread germs, but it’s easily to forget which one is which.

A little side dish arrived at the table. We all couldn’t figure out what this was and was torn between a mushroom or tofu. Nonetheless, it was delicious.

Small Five Fortune Appetizer Platter comes with green beans, beet salad, tofu, mushrooms and cucumber salad. It was really well done and you can see and taste the variety of vegetarian cuisine. My favorite was the mushrooms and the tofu. Just simply delicious!

Small Braised Supreme Assorted Vegetables is also another delicious dish. It has a large amount of mushrooms! I love mushrooms, so it was a delight for me to dig into it. This was probably my favorite dish.

Mixed vegetables with mushroom and Beans has a beautiful presentation with the vegetables on the outside and the mushroom and beans on the inside. It was a good dish, but I think I liked the previous dish better.

Fried Rice with Pinenuts was my sisters favorite dish. She usually doesn’t eat much, but she ate almost all of it and it’s not a small dish either. It was a very good fried rice with good amount of ingredients inside.

Sweet and Sour Bean Curd with Pineapples had a very interesting texture. It was a bit crispy and soaked up a lot of the pineapple sauce since it’s quite porous. I am not a fan of sweet and sour things, so I did not particularly enjoy it.

Overall, the food was pretty well executed and great for everyone. The menu is also in English, so it won’t be challenging for tourists to order. I would definitely go again.

After your lunch, don’t forget to check out Chi Lin Nunnery! It’s very beautiful and not very far away. It’s connected to Nan Lian Garden, so it won’t take too much effort to get there.

Words of Wisdom:

Large variety of vegetarian dishes
Diamond Hill MTR Exit C2

We Rate Chi Lin Vegetarian:

Address:
Long Men Lou, Nan Lian Garden, 60 Fung Tak Road,
Diamond Hill, Hong Kong

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In Cafe

Honeymoon Desserts: Drinks and Desserts in Hong Kong

July 27, 2012

Honeymoon Desserts established its first location in Sai Kung district in 1995. It was soon developed into the current chain-stores you see today. Its popular among the locals especially the youth in Hong Kong. I was recommended by Joyce of VanFoodies to try out this dessert place too! Since I saw it at Langham Mall, I decided to grab a drink here with my sister and mom.

Mango Pomelo & Sago Sweet Drink was ordered by my little sister. She really enjoyed it! It might be because she has a secret addiction to mangoes.

Watermelon Juice was ordered by my mom and she didn’t want anything too sweet. She thought it was good too.

Mango Pomelo & Sago Sweet Soup with Green Tea Ice Cream was very good and refreshing on a hot summers day in Hong Kong. The green tea pairs nicely with the mango and its great for people who have a sweet tooth.

Overall, pretty good option for cold drinks and desserts. It’s similar to Hui Lau Shan, but the items are very very similar.

Words of Wisdom:

At Langham Mall Exit C3 of Monk Kok Station
Very busy, but turnover of tables is fast
You can reserve tables

We Rate Honeymoon Desserts:

Address:
Shop 409, Level 4, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street,
Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Website:
http://www.honeymoon-dessert.com/en_us/

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In Cafe

Big Thumb Restaurant: Two Thumbs Down For Pasta

July 26, 2012

One day we headed to Tuen Muen to go shopping at The Trend Plaza and got pretty hungry, so we went to the Big Thumb Restaurant. We didn’t know what to eat, but we were sure we didn’t want dim sum. This restaurant is located on the ground floor near a bunch of other restaurants.

Cold Milk and Coffee Mix (Yuen Yeung) is my favorite drink in Hong Kong besides milk tea. It gives you more of a coffee taste with an addition of more caffeine.

This was one of their special Summer drinks that they are offering. It’s too bad no one remember what it’s called, but my sister said it was very yummy.

Iced Lemon Tea was what my dad ordered with his meal.

Iced Red Bean and Coconut Drink seemed ok, but I am sure they could have given us more red beans.

Beef Brisket Curry comes was a good size portion and rice for one. It has a little bit of spice but not too much.

Pork Laksa comes with noodles, egg, sliced up pork steak and vegetables.

Seafood Laksa has tofu, egg, fish, shrimp, and vegetables. The seafood isn’t too impressive, but decent.

Ramen comes with imitation crab stick, corn, egg, seaweed, slices up pork cutlet and noodles in a pork broth.

Braised mushroom and clams in pasta was a horrible dish. It lacked flavour and had little to no flavour. I was expecting a little bit of sauce at least. Avoid this dish.

Overall, the food was ok, but nothing to rave about. The service was fine, but I was kinda annoyed how you aren’t supposed to take pictures, but I did anyways. hehehe. There are also lots of options besides this restaurant. Then entire mall has tons and tons of options.

We Rate the Big Thumb Restaurant:

Address:

Shop 8, G/F, The Trend Plaza, 2 Tuen Lung Street,
Tuen Mun, Hong Kong

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In Buffet

Mija’s Spanish Restaurant: Buffet At Stanley in Hong Kong

July 25, 2012

Stanley is a beautiful little town on Hong Kong Island. It’s a very popular place amongst locals and tourists. A beautiful historic landmark is Murray House, a Victorian-era building originally built in Central during 1846 as the officers’ quarters of the Murray Barracks. Since then, the building was relocated to Stanley sometime in 2000’s.

Inside Murray House is Mija’s Spanish Restaurant. They have buffet for $288 HK Dollars during lunch. There were other restaurants offering buffets, but this menu looked the best. Mija’s Spanish Restaurant is owned by the King Parrot Group, they own various types of restaurants all over Hong Kong.

You can sit indoors or outdoors. We decided to sit at the patio since it was a lovely day outside. Plus, it over looks the water.

You get a good look at the pier and surrounding areas. Not a bad lunch if you get a great view like this.

The buffet items are inside and you get a good amount of different dishes.

Besides just the buffet item, you can order additional items as well that is included in the buffet price. Plus, each person can choose between oysters or Goose liver.

Oysters were the popular choice at the table. Some others got the Goose Liver and it was pretty good.

Various starters.

Various salads and starters.

Tortilla Espanola with Chorizo and Paella.

Smoked Salmon

There are fresh pineapples, watermelon, honey dew, and strawberries.

There are 3 tiers of desserts in miniature cups. Ranging from Mango mousse to layer mousse with graham crackers.

Various cakes, tarts and profiteroles.

For my first plate, I had to get everything with meat! I was surprised by the variety of seafood and meat.

Round two was a bit of traditional spanish dishes, plus lots of fruit!

For my third plate, it was dessert time! I didn’t indulge in too many desserts since not a lot of them interested me. I got the ones with the mousse textures. Then I got more fruit and prosciutto.

Satay Chicken Skewers can be ordered to your table instead of going up to the tables. This ensures the food is fresh and not lying around of the tables. It tasted pretty good, but a tad dry.

Homemade Meatballs in Tomato Sauce is another item that can be ordered to your table. It tasted ok.

Crispy Fried Calamari was ordered too. The batter was light and delicate. It went well with the lemon and sauce.

Earl Grey Tea with Milk was my drink at the end of the meal. You have your choice of coffee or tea.

During your meal, you can be serenaded by lovely singers and guitar players. I’ve never had this treatment before and it definitely makes your dining experience so much more grand. They knew a lot of old classic songs, plus some newer hits. Randomly we asked if they knew Lady Gaga. They sang ‘Bad Romance’ and it was surprisingly good!

A few hours later, the pier got pretty busy as ships came in to load and unload passengers. It’s a great little area to stroll around after lunch.

You can watch people go fishing and see what they catch. It’s quite fun to watch! Close by, there is also the Stanley Market. You can do a bit of shopping. Don’t forget to visit Jenny Bakery as well because it’s very famous for their cookies. Locals and tourist go crazy after their cookies.

Overall, Mija’s Spanish Restaurant was alight. I love it more for the atmosphere and view rather than the food. The food was decent, but it wasn’t the most amazing buffet I’ve had.

Words of Wisdom:

Good variety of buffet items
Great patio view
Best to make reservations to ensure a good seat

We Rate Mija’s Spanish Restaurant:

Address:
Shop 102, 1/F, Murray House,
Stanley, Hong Kong

Website:
http://w4.kingparrot.com/

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In Bakery

Maxim’s Cakes: Angry Bird Cakes at the MTR Stations

July 24, 2012

Maxim’s Cakes can be found everywhere in Hong Kong. Most MTR stations with have one inside. Even if you look along the streets of popular areas, you are bound to run into this bakery. It was founded in the 1960’s and has grown into the largest cake store in Hong Kong.

We came here after a long day of shopping and decided to get a few cakes for my sister. We always see her eyeing the cakes and I think it was time to get her some. Plus, there was a sale. We love sales.

There are lots of bread and little pastries.

In the glass case are all the cakes!

People in Hong Kong really love Angry Birds for some reason. They even have Angry Birds jello cups available.

Angry Bird cakes can be seen too! They also have then in Vancouver T&T too. They look too good to eat, plus who knows how good or bad they taste.

We grabbed a bunch of smaller cakes to bring back home. There was a buy 3 get 1 free deal, so we bought 6 cakes to get 2 free. We really didn’t need so many slices of cakes, but discounts make asian people buy more. It’s in our genes to find good deals.

Blueberry Cake had a nice strong blueberry flavour, but it wasn’t too sweet. It has layers of blueberry mousse and cake. Then, it’s topped with blueberries and a jelly. If you are a blueberry fan, you must get this.

Cheesecake was not too sweet as well, it had a very smooth texture that went eaten.

Chestnut tart was my favorite! It is topped with a mound of chestnut paste, whipped cream, chocolate on top of a crispy tart. Very delicious!

Chocolate Mousse Cake has layers upon layers of chocolate with a douse of coco powder on top. Remember not to inhale when eating this since you don’t want to start coughing due to the coco powder up your nose.

Mango tart has huge chunks of mango on top of whipped cream, chocolate and the tart. It’s very good and the mangos don’t fall off as easily as you think. Highly recommended for those mango lovers.

We definitely enjoyed all our cakes. Pretty decent for a chain store. I would return if I really have a craving for a quick slice of cake. There are numerous other cake shops in Hong Kong, so don’t think this is your only option.

Words of Wisdom:

Ask if there are discounts
All cakes are pretty good

We Rate Maxim’s Cakes:

Address:
Shop 10-12 at Paid Concourse,
MTR Tin Shui Wai Station, Hong Kong

Website:
http://www.maxims.com.hk/en/main.asp

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In Four Beakers

Ippudo HK: Killer Ramen Across the World

July 23, 2012

Ippudo is a world famous chain ramen store. It was started by Shigemi Kawahara over 20 years ago in a small restaurant with only 10 seats in Fukuoka. Since 1985, it has expanded to New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and even Korea. What makes their ramen so delicious is their slow-cooked pork bone soup with the combination of toppings.

As my parents had something to do at Tsim Sha Tsui, so I suggested we try this place for lunch. It wasn’t too long of a line up, but they do have a digital ticketing machine for people to put down their name, telephone and # in their party. If there is a long line up, you can just stroll around the 2 malls as you wait.

The kitchen has an open concept, so you can see the chefs at work creating your noodles. The interior isn’t too large, but the turnover should be quite fast.

You get chopsticks, a spoon and a spoon holder. Pretty cool stuff.

Ippudo Gyoza Dumplings comes in five pieces and is very popular item in Ippudo Japan. the dumplings were quite small, but it has a good amount of flavour! It wasn’t the best dimpling I’ve had, but it was decent.

Ippudo BBQ Pork Bun just comes with one bun. It is cut in half and contains slices of BBQ Pork and lettuce. The bun is very popular at Ippudo NY and thus they offer it at Ippudo HK.

I did not particularly love this bun. It was ok, but nothing special.

Akamaru Shinaji has a rich tonkotsu flavour with slices of pork, egg, green onions with fragrant oil and miso. A majority of the family at the table ordered this item. They enjoyed it but felt it was a tad salty.

Ippudo Karaka has a tonkotsu soup, miso, minced pork and spicy oil. I loved it, it wasn’t too spicy but it was enough to tickle your taste buds. I would recommend this if you like spicy.

Shiomaru Motoaji has lean slices of pork with thin Hakata-style noodles. It looks very simple, but the broth really speaks for itself. It’s very delicious and my little sister gobbled this all up!

I’ve been to the Ippudo NY in a few months ago, but I feel like this location was much more delicious. No matter where you are in the world, if there is an Ippudo in your city, go check it out. You might be pleasantly pleased by their taste.

Words of Wisdom:

Ramen is a must!
Tsim Tsa Tsui Subway exit L5

We Rate Ippudo HK:

Address:
Shop 210, Silvercord Tower, 30 Canton Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Website:
http://www.ippudo.com.hk/

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In Chinese

Golden Swan Restaurant: Signature Dishes

July 22, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: ChineseBites.com approached us to try a few signature dishes at Golden Swan. Although the meal was complimentary, the views and opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Last week, I headed out to Victoria Street along with Sherman, Rick and Kevin to try a few signature dishes at the Golden Swan Restaurant. The first dish we tried was the Golden Swan Appetizer Platter (五福拼盤). A very common offering, this opening dish was quite well done. The prawns, bean curd wrapped mushrooms and meats were tasty and definitely whet the appetite for the subsequent dishes. Portion wise, this dish is good for 5-6 diners. For larger parties ie 8-10, you will probably want to order two. Great presentation and good base flavors, a very familiar and welcome start to dinner.

The second dish was the Soft Tofu in Japanese Style (千頁滑豆腐). First off, the name was a little confusing as we were not quite sure what the Japanese element was but that aside, a pleasant dish. The tofu was very soft and well complimented by the sauce and diced vegetables. I think this dish would go very well with a few bowls of white rice. Vegetarians will definitely want to consider this as a light entrée over the meat platter above.

The third dish was the Sauteed Geoduck and Scallops with Sweet Peas (帶子象拔蚌炒蜜磄). For those not familiar with Geoduck, this dish will definitely be an interesting experience. The geoduck was tender but a little rubbery. That said, the highlight of the plate was definitely the large scallops and fresh sweet peas. Again, with a bowl of white rice, the tofu dish above and this seafood offering could be a light dinner unto themselves. Even though I am not a huge fan of geoduck in general, the scallops and vegetables were prepared well.

The fourth dish was the Sauteed Beef Tenderloin with Chayote in Black Pepper Sauce (黑椒合掌瓜炒牛柳粒). I felt the pan tossed beef was decent though I would have liked to see the beef a little bit more tender. The black pepper sauce was good and definitely appreciated as the prominent flavor profile as chayote tends to be rather bland. Personally, I could have done without the pieces of strawberry as they were served somewhat mushy and the sweetness was not really complimentary to the overall dish.

The fifth dish was a deep ceramic pot of House Special Salty Chicken (秘製鹽焗雞). This turned out to be one of my favorite dishes of the evening. The chicken was salty, tender and very clean. There was absolutely no oil residue which left the skin very crisp and crackling. The serving size was quite large and easily accommodated the six of us at the table. With a bowl of noodles or rice, this chicken can very competently stand as a primary entrée.

The sixth dish was an Egg white custard w/Almond milk (天鵝杏汁炒奶). Unfortunately, this dish was by definitely a “miss” in terms of taste and presentation. The white custard was extremely bland and not very appetizing. Visually, the dish was not very engaging so I ended up only taking a small spoonful to try. Although technically it did not taste that bad, I personally would not order this again. I strongly feel a dominant ingredient needs to be added to give this dish some semblance of flavor and structure.

The seventh dish was Angel Hair with Tiger Prawn (天使干燒大売蝦). This dish was an interesting ‘fusion’ attempt, combining the very popular Italian pasta ‘Capelli d’angelo’ or Angel Hair pasta with a very popular sambal prawn component. Overall, this dish was simple but very appetizing. The excess sauce from the prawn went very well with the pasta and almost made for an Asian spaghetti of sorts. I would have liked to see the prawn sauce with a bit of heat but to be fair, it was quite good as it was.

The eight dish was a large bamboo steamer of Lobster, Scallops, Shrimp with Rice on Lotus Leaf (荷香珍珠海龍皇). This large seafood dish was very generous, packed full of lobster, scallops, shrink and rice. Flavor wise, it was pretty good though the rice was a slightly dry/hard for me. Overall, the seafood was prepared very well and the portion was quite dense. A good signature or showcase dish for those wanting a bit of everything.

The ninth dish was actually one of two desserts we received, a Baked Tapioca Pudding (西米焗布甸). Those familiar with Asian cuisine will definitely recognize this dessert dish as it is very common in any Chinese restaurant. Having eaten this baked pudding dish literally hundreds of times, I can say this is definitely one of the better offerings in Vancouver. The pudding inside is not overly sweet and the top crust being slightly thicker than normal, almost like an almond cookie. Although I was quite full from the meal, I actually reached for seconds of this great dessert. A very pleasant end to a good meal.

The tenth and final dish of the evening was a plate of Durian Rolls (飄香榴連酥). For anyone familiar with what durian is, I do not think I need to say that there are few ‘fruits’ in this world more polarizing. Honestly speaking, you either love it or you hate it. Due to the very strong smell and thick, almost meat like texture of the fruit, durian is not exactly a universally embraced dessert ingredient. That said, I personally love durian and found these rolls to be pretty great. The actual flavor of the durian is not overpowering but it is definitely present. The pastry is flaky and fresh and with the durian infusion, is a very unique pastry you have to try at least once.

To wrap up with a few final thoughts, I felt the evening was a fairly strong showing by Golden Swan. Although there were one or two misses, the majority of the signature dishes we tried were quite good. With good presentation and simple, traditional seafood dishes, eating at Golden Swan will definitely feel like a very familiar experience to those well versed in Chinese cuisine. For those just starting out and wanting to learn more, I think this restaurant is a pretty safe choice for a solid orientation. I didn’t find anything startlingly innovative or new but for the food they do make, they do it quite well.

Words of Wisdom:

Anything with prawns, scallops etc. is a pretty safe bet
For vegetarians, there are several rather tasty selections to be had
Nothing ground breaking but traditional fare prepared well and at fair prices

We Rate Golden Swan Restaurant:

Address:
5380 Victoria Dr.
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Website:

http://www.goldenswanrestaurant.com/

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In Indian

International Curry House: Great Curry and Non-Existent Naan in Hong Kong

July 22, 2012

While roaming around Chai Wan doing some shopping, my Grandpa took us to the International Curry House for some yummy curry at lunch time. I had no idea where he was taking us or why curry of all places.

The International Curry house has been around for 30 years and serving delicious curry to the people of Hong Kong. It has been featured on Lonely Planet and CNNgo.

The interior is alright. Pretty standard and nothing too fancy.

They do have nice chandeliers installed to enhance the atmosphere, but it can be easily missed.

Lamb Skewers were very delicious and comes with a peanut sauce and cucumbers to accompany it. It has a good amount of flavour, but it was a bit on the dry side.

Beef Skewer was similar to the lamb skewer. Since the rub on the outside was similar, it was sometimes a bit hard to tell the difference between the two types of skewers. Each type of meat has their distinct taste but its very subtle.

Vegetable Samosa comes with 6 pieces and a sweet green sauce. It’s not like the traditional samosa you would find at an Indian restaurant. It’s made with wonton wrappers. It still tasted good.

Beef Brisket Curry was very good as well. It’s best to order a side of rice to accompany this saucy dish. I would definitely order this again.

Curry Ox Tail Pot came in a large pot and is best shared amongst 2 or 3 people. The ox tail is very tender and the curry was slightly spicy. You can ask the to adjust the amount of spice to your dishes.

Paratha is pan-fried indian flatbread. It is in no way the same as naan. It didn’t taste very good with curry. I would probably just stick with rice instead.

Overall the food was great, but the service was very mediocre. They charged us for a dish that never arrived at the table and took a while to correct the issue on the bill. The curry and the skewers are good, but it’s not very authentic. It does have a Chinese twist to the dishes. If you come in here expecting 100% authentic Indian dishes, you will be very disappointed.

Words of Wisdom:

Mediocre Service
Anything with beef is good
Wan Chai Station Exit A3

We Rate International Curry House:

Address:
G/F, 26-30 Tai Wong Street East
Wan Chai, Hong Kong

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In Causeway Bay

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert: Mango Desserts in Hong Kong

July 21, 2012

Hui Lau Shan is Hong Kong’s most popular and famous mango dessert restaurant. It has various locations all over Hong Kong. You are bound to see one near an MTR station or a large mall. Joyce of VanFoodies highly suggested I visite here. During my first few days in Hong Kong, I noticed so many locations everywhere. Their branding does change slightly depending on which location you go to, you keep your eyes open since not all shops are written in english. The exterior of this shop was written in Chinese, but the interior has english.

The location I went to was across from Sogo in Causeway Bay. It was a super hot day waiting for the bus, so the family and I decided to go on a hunt for a cold drink. To my surprise, it was only steps away from our bus stop!

They have a large amount of items to choose from. If a friend isn’t into mangoes, you can find some other alternative on the menu. I had a very hard time choosing since I wanted everything.

Mango Drink with Aloe Jelly was what my sister ordered. When it arrived, we were so surprised the aloe jelly was so green! I’ve never seen it this color. They are very generous with the jelly and makes up a large amount of the drink. The drink was really good, but she was a ad disturbed by it’s unnatural green color.

Mango Drink with Coconut milk and tapioca was what my mother ordered. It was very refreshing especially for the hot day humid weather in Hong Kong. The mango was very fresh tasting and not diluted at all.

Mango Sampler Platter comes with three different dishes. Its great for indecisive people who just don’t know what to order. It comes with Mango chunks with Mango Puree and Glutinous Rice Balls (Bottom left), Crystal Jelly with Mango chunks and Mango Ice Cream (Bottom Right), and lastly Mango Mochi with Fresh Mango (Top).

My favorite item was the Mango chunks with Mango Puree and Glutinous Rice Balls. Its a very popular item to order even if you are not getting the platter! Anyone that goes here must order this item…or get their friends to order it! Its refreshing, has a great fresh mango taste and is a must to have! The mango ice cream was really good. It was very icy, but for some reason I couldn’t get enough of it! So good!

Overall, it’s a great place to sit down to have a drink or get take out. Don’t be too discouraged by the large crowd or the occupied tables. The turn over is quite quick, so if you and a few friends want to sit down, your wait shouldn’t be too long.

Words of Wisdom:

Anything mango is a must!
Good prices

We Rate Hui Lau Shan:

Address:
Shop 3, G/F, 2-6 Yee Wo St
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Website:

http://www.hkhls.com/

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In Chinese

Hanami Japanese Restaurant: Dining on Dim Sum at YVR Airport

July 20, 2012

Hanami Japanese Restaurant is located right before you enter the security check for flights. They serve dim sum and Japanese food. Right before my flight to Hong Kong, my parents and I decided to have some dim sum since we went to the airport way too early.

We waited for a server to seat us at our table, but there was only one waitress on staff. There were two cooks at the sushi bar area, but they did not acknowledge our presence to help us get a seat. After an awkward long while, we just sat ourselves down. Off the bat, we were not impressed at all.

Tea! I’ll say this every time!

Deep Fried Mixed Meat Puff ($5) is not my favorite dim sum item. I always eat it, but I’m not a fan of the combination of the meat and the slightly sweet dough.

The inside has a decent amount of filling. It wasn’t anything too amazing.

Steamed Beef Rice Flour Rolls ($6) has the minced beef in the center surrounded by the rice flour. There are slits cut on top to allow flavour from the soy sauce to seep into the center, plus it’s makes for a good guide to divide this up when eating dim sum.

Bean Curd Rolls with Fish Paste and Greens ($5) was ok, but my parents both felt it was salty.

Pan Fried Eggplants Stuffed with Shrimp ($5) was very weird! It has the shrimp paste sandwiched between two slices of eggplant. It is also very oily, when you bite into it, a lot of oil comes out of it.

Steamed Scallops and Shrimp Dumpling ($5) was ok as well, nothing very special.

Deep Fried Shrimp Toast ($5) was very crunchy and had the slice of toast underneath and the shrimp mixture on top.

Steamed Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce ($5) was ok too, nothing very special.

Steamed Pork Dumpling with Shrimp ($5) didn’t look very appealing and the taste was ok.

Chilled Mango Pudding ($3.75) is always my little sisters favorite item. It is shaped like a heart and topped with evaporated milk.

Overall, the food was quite poor and way over priced. It’s what you get when you eat at the airport. I had some hope for this place, but our experience from beginning to end was very poor. We will probably not return.

We Rate Hanami Japanese Restaurant:

Address:
3211 Grant McConachie Way (Before Security, Int’l Level 3)

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In Chinese

Maxim Palace: Afternoon Dimsum in Hong Kong

July 19, 2012

In Vancouver, we all know Maxim as “that asian bakery near T&T”. In Hong Kong, Maxim owns a variety of different restaurants from bakeries, to cafes, and to some very large high end restaurants. While visiting Hong Kong during my first week, my aunt and uncle took us to Maxim Palace. it has won several awards and was named the “Newly wed’s most favorable wedding venue”.

It has been renowned for its Guangdong-style dim sum and dishes and offers a classic Chinese yumcha and dining experience. The servers come around the restaurant with trolleys of dim sum! Maxim’s Palace has eight restaurants, all at prime locations near subways and buses.

The interior is HUGE and I can see why people would use this for special occasions.

Tea! I love tea! It comes in a little coffee cup. I was so happy there was a handle because the usual cups can burn your fingers. It’s like drinking tea with a bit of style.

Fishmaw Stuffed with Minced Prawns were very good! I actually didn’t know the bottom was fish maw until someone told me a week later. I initially thought it was puff tofu. hahaha. Fish maw are the air bladders of a fish to control their buoyancy. It a very delicious item since there are a lot of air pockets to soak in all the flavours of the dish.

Tripe is the stomach lining of beef. This dish was prepared with some aromatic vegetables and a nice savory sauce. I like this type of tripe better than the thick harder ones. It’s a good dish to eat if you can wrap your head around eating cow stomach. It’s a popular ingredient to use in Pho as well.

Steamed Fish Ball is paired with some fish sauce for additional taste. It was delicious and delicate.

Steamed chicken with fish maw (Cotton chicken) was really good. Fish maw seems to be a very popular ingredient in dim sum in Hong Kong. I haven’t seen too much in Vancouver. This was a very delicious dish.

Roasted Duck was really good. Good amounts of meat on the bones and just down to earth good.

Rice was ordered to accompany the meat. Its good with the duck since the duck has very delicious sauce.

Crispy Roasted Pork Belly is quite addictive! If you’ve ever eaten this, you will know that you could eat all the skin like chips. It’s done very nicely here too!

Beef in Rice Roll was alright, nothing too special about it.

Sui Mai was ok as well.

Lotus Wrapped Rice (Lo Mai Gai) came with three pieces with one order. I didn’t eat any of this.

Baked Lotus Seed Paste and Sago Pudding was my little sisters favorite.

Red and Green Bean Soup is made with the two types of beans rather than just one.

Overall, it was great dining at Maxim Palace, but it can get quite pricey. There are long line ups during weekends, so do arrive early if you are with a large party. It’s located all over Hong Kong, but this particular location is at the ShaTin New Town Plaza. you can do some shopping before and after your dim sum!

We Rate Maxim Palace:

Address:
8/F, New Town Plaza, Phase I
Shatin, Hong Kong

Website:

http://www.maximschinese.com.hk

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In Airplane Meals

Air Canada: Meals and Beverages from Vancouver to Hong Kong

July 18, 2012

When I went to Hong Kong from Vancouver through Air Canada, this 13 hr plane ride was accompanied with dinner and drink service throughout the flight. My family and I were all seated in Economy class and had a total of 3 meals. Each meal, you could choose your own drink to go with the meal.

We boarded the plane at in the early afternoon and then arrived near dinner time in Hong Kong.

Our first dinner meal was a choice of chicken and pasta or Rice and Beef Stirfry. Each set contained a brownie, bread, salad, water and your choice of entree.

I chose the chicken and pasta and it tasted good. It wasn’t amazing good, but the texture from the tiny balls of pasta and the chicken worked well together. It was a decent first meal.

My mom ordered the rice and beef stirfry. It wasn’t as appealing as the chicken and pasta. The sauce was a bit salty and the rice was just rice.

Four hours later, they present you with another meal. This time there are less side dishes, but fruit and bread with the entree. You had the choice between pasta with meat sauce or rice and chicken.

I love chicken, so I chose the rice and chicken option. It was very similar to the rice and beef stirfry from earlier, but with chicken instead. I really didn’t like it.

My little sister loves pasta, so she got the pasta with meat sauce. I tried a bit of it and it was really good. Not restaurant worthy, but good food considering it was on a plane. There was just enough sauce to cover all the penne pasta.

Another 4 hours later, they provided us with cup noodles and a half a turkey sandwich. I actually hate cup noodles, but I just ate it anyways. Not my favorite meal, but you have to eat in order to not starve yourself. At this point in the meal, I am pretty sure everyone on the plane just wanted to sleep.

I also noticed there was a lot of carbs hahaha. My little sister is mildly allergic to gluten, so she had to pick wisely what to eat.

Besides eating and sleeping on the plane, most of the time was spent with my sister rewatching old episodes of Adventure Time. If you don’t know what Adventure Time is about, please watch it! It’s my most favorite cartoon at the moment!

What is also super cool about the airplanes is that it has a usb charger and a socket charger. It’s pretty awesome if you are on your laptop or any electronic device. None of the programming on the plane interested me, so I didn’t even watch any movies on the plane. I spent most of my time on my laptop.

In Fairview

Suika Japanese Snackbar: Stingray, Pig Foot, and Other Odd Dishes

July 17, 2012

Suika Japanese Snackbar is owned by the same people who created Kingyo Izakaya. It is located on Broadway near Fir St. I’ve been to Suika Snackbar a few times and it’s a great place to dine with friends over yummy Japanese food.

The famous chandelier!

Chicken Karaage ($7.80) is deep fried chicken pieces with a side of salt and pepper. Very yummy! I usually order this when I go to any Izakaya restaurant.

Corn Kakiage ($4.80) are corn niblets fried in cilantro batter, soy sauce and butter. It’s one of my favorite items! It comes with 3 pieces and the butter definitely enhances the flavour!

Tonsoku ($6.80) is a sauteed pig foot until it’s crispy. It is flavoured with soy butter. On the menu it says “Don’t try, if you never had”. Just because of that line, it made CandiedZen and I eat it! When it arrived at the table, it was indeed a pig foot. It tasted good, but it’s not for everyone. There’s not much meat on it, so you are basically eating skin, fat and cartilage.

Sweet Balsamic Sauteed Portabella Mushroom ($6.80) was a very interesting dish. It looked really weird, but with the balsamic vinegar, it was sweet.

Eihire – Dried Sting Ray ($4.20) was something that caught our eye on the menu. CandiedZen and I were so curious about how this would taste! It is also accompanied by a chili sauce and mayo. The look of it was quite weird as I commented saying it looked like very thick feet skin. I think I ruined M and CandiedZen’s appetite. hahaha. The taste was like dried squid, so it tasted totally fine.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio ($9.20) had lots of slices of tuna with mayo, onions, tobiko, and pea shoots. It’s a pretty solid dish to order at any izakaya restaurant and Suika does a good job at making this. Yum.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on Street
No refills on pop (M accidently spent $7.50 on 3 cups of coke)
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Suika Snackbar:

Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.suika-snackbar.com/

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In Bakery

Ess-A-Bagel: It’s a Bagel in New York

July 16, 2012

Ess-A-Bagel is located in Midtown East in New York. They are best known for their bagels and it was conveniently located less than a black away from my hotel! CanuckGirl went twice and told me it was very awesome and delicious!

You can order bagels at the back of the store, but if you want it prepared, you need to go to the counter on the left.

They have a lot of cream cheese! Imagine a gelato shop but instead of gelato, it’s cream cheese.

Sesame Bagel ($1) was not as fresh as the one I had devoured in montreal. I had the sesame bagel toasted on each side and didn’t add any cream cheese inside. I wanted to taste the bagel itself, which I guess was a mistake. It’s not very great on its own, you really need something to go with this.

I took the bagel back with me as I waited for my flight to Vancouver. As I sat there eating my plain cream cheese-less bagel, I really wish I ordered it with cream cheese or some other type of filling. Departing New York with regret because I wish I could have eaten more.

Address:
831 3rd Ave Ste 1
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.ess-a-bagel.com/

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In Fast Food

Wendy’s: Burgers, Bacon, and Chili Cheese Fries

July 15, 2012

I told you I love fast food. Wendy’s in my opinion is the best when it comes to bacon. Plus, their bacon looks so much better than McDonalds or any other fast food chain. M and I came here one night because he really wanted to try the chili cheese fries.

We chose to dine in, but its always very depressing. Empty and with super outdated furniture. I always hate eating in the restaurant. I prefer eating it in the car hahahahahahaaha. Yes, I can be quite a slob sometimes too.

The ‘W’ Sandwich has 2 beef patties, two slices of cheese, thick-sliced tomato, and sauce in a bun. M enjoyed all that meaty goodness.

Asiago Ranch Chicken Sandwich has white meat chicken breasts topped with smoked bacon, asiago cheese, ranch sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes. It tasted ok, but the chicken breast had way too much pepper. The bacon inside this was very good!!

Chili Cheese Fries contain sea salt, meaty chili, melted cheese, and shredded cheese. It tasted alright, but it could have had more cheese. M enjoyed it. I kinda dislike beans, so I didn’t like it very much. I probably wouldn’t order it again.

Overall, the experience this time was alright. I would just stick with getting any burger with bacon. If you don’t get bacon, you’ll be sorry. Get the Baconator or the Jr. bacon cheese burger!!