R&B - Hong Kong

Date of visit: Saturday, 12 July 2014














Review: This meal was from summer, but the food was too photogenic for these photos only to sit around on my hard drive and not shared. Though, photogenic might be the only positive adjective I could use to describe my experience at R&B. Let's begin with the stingy-portioned Fisherman's Chips (1st picture). I'm a fan of thin-cut fries, but these were weirdly thin and soggy. Elote (3rd picture) was all looks and little substance. It was very messy to eat and sadly not worth it. It's hard to go wrong with anything baked with cheese but R&B did, the Clams Dynamite packed too much salt. The French Dip sandwich (2nd last picture) could have been alright... if I could look past the sad and soggy bun. The biggest disappointment of the day, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Eggs Benefit (last picture), was basically stringy meat on dry biscuits. There were jalapeno bits in the biscuits but the whole dish was too dry for the flavours to blend and for the spice to give it all a kick.

While I really wanted to like R&B for its bright airy loft-like (aka hipster-y) space, it's hard to believe this place is called R&B (short for Research & Bakery, according to the restaurant) for reasons other than initialism wordplay. Has the chef been researching on how to make bland lemonade and mediocre food? Aesthetics is indeed important, but flavours are what keeps customers returning for more.

Rating: 2/5


R&B
3/F, Pacific Mansion
172-174 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong

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OVOCAFE - Hong Kong

Date of visit: Sunday, 6 July 2014

If you're active on the foodie side of Instagram, you should have seen pictures of people slurping spaghetti, posing with their all day breakfasts in a garden / greenhouse setting. Yes, I'm talking about OVOCAFE. A new(-ish) vegetarian cafe located in OVO store, part of the redevelopment project of the Grade III Historic Building Wan Chai Market.

The menu is very simple. One page of food and one page of drinks. There is also a cake display with some cakes to choose from.

Truth to be told, when I first saw pictures of this place, I was worried about all the seemingly plastic faux plants... poking my skin whilst I was trying to eat or the dust deposited would trigger allergic reactions. But no, there wasn't too many plants, and most of them seemed real! They, along with the high ceiling, made the place pleasant and very colourful.

OVO teamed up with Felix Wong, the man behind two of my favourite coffee places (Cafe Corridor and Coffee Assembly) to develop OVOCAFE. So it's only natural that the drinks menu of OVO resembles that of Cafe Corridor. 8pm was too late for coffee, so we both ordered the Apple Passionfruit Smoothie ($45), a drink I had ordered and loved at Cafe Corridor. They looked exactly the same, except for the container they came in.

Linguine with King Oyster Mushroom with Miso Sauce ($68) - this dish took 洋食 to a whole new level. Thick slices of king oyster mushroom, seaweed, nutty miso... on linguine. While I wouldn't call myself a big fan, there's no denying this was innovative and special.

Mixed Vegetables with Goat Cheese Wrap ($50) (front) - by mixed vegetables did they mean mixed salad leaves? I'm not a vegetable-bashing 8 years old, but how could I not hate salad leaves in hot pressed wraps? They make great wraps/sandwiches soggy and so bitter. Other than the cooked lettuce problem, the wrap was crispy and stuffed with plenty of goat cheese. Bengali Sweet Potatoes ($48) (back) - a generous amount of yellow and purple sweet potato chunks covered in this curry syrupy sauce. This was extremely addictive, especially when hot. We couldn't stop even when we were full... It would be a crime to throw these away.

Rating: 4/5

In a nutshell: Great food in a pretty cafe. Perfect for any occasion - light work lunch, coffee and cake with yourself, dinner with a group of friends... Not only would you have a lovely meal, you would win plenty of likes on Instagram!


OVOCAFE
G/F, 1 Wan Chai Road
Wan Chai
Hong Kong

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This Fortnight in Eating (30 Jun - 13 Jul)

When I first started this blog, I envisioned a place where I document my eating adventures with pictures and as few words as possible, aka "let pictures do the talking". This explains the tagline "an eating log". But rambling on and on is my second nature. I find it hard to not talk when there's so much to talk about! Each long-winded post leaves me with little time for others. And I have accumulated a long list of less memorable / less writable places.

Say hello to This Fortnight in Eating! A new feature to this ever-changing blog. It's a compilation of snapshots from my restaurant / bar visit, happening every two weeks.


Mori Sushi 森壽司

Hokkaido Kaisendon 北海道魚生飯 ($98) - possibly the best thing that can happen during lunch break. The sashimi tastes fresh and there is more of it than rice. It's true there is only a small bowlful of rice (you can ask for more but it isn't going to make a difference) but the oily fish and sticky rice (along with the zensai appetiser, miso soup and ice-cream mochi) will fill you up pretty nicely. I have been for more than five times and I still want to go back. Be warned though: service isn't the best and you're advised to book two days ahead.

Sanche Modern Korean

Bossam ($138) - this is my favourite among the three dishes we ordered that day. I love Korean food and I love how Sanche does it with a twist. And it's impressive they do it all in the tiny corner in the restaurant they call kitchen.

Sevva

This reminds me of something I have read in a rooftopping article - "the coolest views are often from lower buildings nestled in between the tall ones."

Forgot what I have ordered... but it's the first time I have eaten a passionfruit.

Posto Pubblico

Linguine Vongole ($145 set lunch) - my first time having linguine alle vongole in red sauce (rosso). Loved the sauce, the big clams and the generous portion.

Frey & Ford

A few years ago there was a budding artisan sandwich craze. There were shops selling mini hot dogs and sandwiches. Memorably, a tiny shop in Wan Chai, 'wich, shut their doors before I could pay a visit. Frey & Ford is the only shop that is still around. Mind you, it isn't a sandwich shop, it's a "sandwich boutique". They sell "petite sandwich creations" which are actually "a work of gastronomic art that pleases both the tastebuds and the eye". Yes, I'm stealing sentences directly off their website.

Set A ($58) - this included three petite sandwiches and soup/salad. I got the French Onion Soup, Salmon Sandwich Cake, Bruschetta of Tomato Salsa and Parmesan and Peking Chicken Pocket Rockets. There was a generous amount of onion in the soup, which made me happy. But the sandwiches failed me. Like jewellery in jewellery shop, the "work of gastronomic art" sat under the glass patiently waiting for your purchase. But unlike jewellery, bread would go stale and dry. And that's why these sandwiches were. It's a shame though, as I really like the concept of artisan sandwiches.

BO-LO'GNE

Deep Fried Pork Cutlet Sandwich ($?) - this place used to be pretty famous for their Danish bread. In recent years, with more bakeries selling Danish bread and "trendier" bread, BO-LO'GNE seems to have gone off the radar. Their bread was still good, but this sandwich was disappointing. The pork cutlet was too thin and dry, the breading was detaching...

BEP Vietnamese Kitchen

Pho Tai ($68) - BEP is Nha Trang group's latest concept, or you can refer it as it the hipster sister of Nha Trang. It's more expensive but in my opinion, it tastes better. The broth of my Pho Tai was distinctively clearer and more flavourful than that at Nha Trang... but MSG level was the same. Can I get some more water please?

Taco Chaca

Nachos (?) - it doesn't look like it would taste good does it? I may be biased because I had just had some world-class nachos over at Dicken Bar a few weeks before.

Baja Fish Taco ($58) - was there even fish? All I could taste was flour tortilla (weird because it said "corn" on my recipe) and guac and lemon juice.

Ping Pong 129

Who would have known under this unassuming door...

... it would be a gintonería? I know nothing about gin, but the long stairway and high ceiling and industrial hippiness of this place speak for itself.

La Terrazza bar & grill

La Terrazza is positively reviewed by the online community. So when we headed to Shatin one Sunday to run some errands (I hadn't been there for almost five years!), we decided we would go there for lunch. But disappointedly, bread was the best part of the meal...

The mussels were surprisingly not bad, but the spaghetti was soggy! I thought with the concept of "al dente" being more and more common, soggy pasta would only exist in cha chaan tengs nowadays. Apparently I was wrong.

La Terrazza operates under the Maxim's group. Its menu reminded me a lot of another Maxim's operation, Simplylife Bakery Cafe - salad, pasta, chicken burger, beef burger, roast chicken, steak... but Simplylife does it so well while La Terrazza does it so bad, it would surprise me they have the same parent if I hadn't known already. Simplylife's Beef Burger is my go-to choice when I'm feeling extremely hungry and want to play safe. This burger? It was awful. The bun was exactly the same as the oatmeal rolls I used to buy from the supermarket for school lunch. The burger patty was... wait, was it even a burger patty? Not meat-flavoured plastic? It was dry and dense from over-handling and over-compression.

Greyhound Cafe - Hong Kong

Date of visit: Wednesday, 25 June 2014

My neighbourhood mall underwent a massive renovation this year. There was a change of layout and an injection of new blood. It was hard bidding farewell to shops I grew up with, but when I knew "Greyhound Cafe" was opening in a quiet corner of the mall, I was excited!

I had always wanted to visit Greyhound Cafe. So in the opening week, we decided to give it a try. My dad went in person to make a reservation. Apparently Greyhound was "fully booked before they even opened". Wow, OK... Then, my mum, ignorant of my dad's failed attempt, went to reserve a table too. She was told they'd stopped take bookings but several tables would be available for walk-ins. When my mum asked for the best time go for a table, the smug manager said "forget it, I'll put your name on our list" while making it sound like he'd just done us a big flavour. Seriously, Greyhound, making it difficult for your customers isn't going to make you a better restaurant.

After all that drama, it would be interesting to see if Greyhound lived up to its own idea of being an elBulli reincarnation or the new NOMA.

Who doesn't? You aren't that special, Greyhound Cafe.

Spaghetti Cha Cha Cha ($128) - not gonna lie, this was really good. Squid ink spaghetti cooked "to the tooth", a generous amount of seafood (relatively to the amount of spaghetti). I like that there was green peppercorns. And it was spicy, I love spicy.

Mini Pork Ribs ($108) - while this might resemble leftovers from Chinese family meal the night before, it was actually pretty good, especially with the tiny lime and ginger cubes. Presentation issues aside, the portion was... small. The last time I checked lettuce was still cheap. Nevertheless the fermented tofu pork rib was a joy to eat on its own... or maybe I was just really hungry?

Fusilli Phad Thai ($98) - I like to think I'm an innovative cook. One of my weird creative ideas is to make pasta the Asian way, like Shanghai fried pasta. This dish reminded me why I never actually cooked up an Asian pasta - it wouldn't work... nor would overcooking your pasta help. The fusilli in this dish was too soft and didn't blend with the phad thai flavour at all. Kids, when you think you've got an ingenious original idea that no one's ever thought of, there may be a reason why it isn't already out there in the market.

Greyhound Famous Fried Chicken Wings ($68) - their signature dish, also the reason why Greyhound Cafe opened in Hong Kong (Deborah, Nicolas Tse's mother, was so impressed with these wings she decided to introduce Greyhound to HK). Normally I'm not a fan of chicken wings, but the meat of these wings fell of the bones cleanly. The fact that they had been previously deboned (or semi-deboned because only one of the two bones had been removed) made them even easier to eat. Question though: where do they source chicken wings so tiny from?

Rating: 1.5/5

In a nutshell: Truth to be told, the food was above average (avoid the Fusilli Phad Thai though). But portion size was strikingly small and I could get food of the same quality in more satisfying quantity for less money. I'm also spitefully docking 1 star for that ridiculous reservation incident. Go for the hype if you really want, but I doubt you will make a return.


Greyhound Cafe
Shop 007, G/F, Cityplaza,
Taikoo Shing
Hong Kong


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MANA! Fast Slow Food / Elephant Grounds - Hong Kong

Date of visit: Tuesday, 24 June 2014


MANA! Fast Slow Food

MANA! is the temple of the local clean eating community. It really does resemble a temple with all the exotic-looking sculptures. There are two types of people you see here, namely: yoga-pants-wearing, health-food-jargon-speaking type, and pseudo-healthy-eating type that believes a healthy resting heart rate comes from munching "health food" once in a blue moon. I belong to the latter.

"Healthy food" is slowly becoming a food category... By that I mean when I hear "healthy food", images of $50-bottled-juice / $200-superfoods-salad spring to mind. I certainly see the appeal - in the short run: guilt-free goodness that fills you up without post-meal drowsiness, in the long run: healthy body, mind and soul!!! However, the Eat Clean movement is getting too much. I love my boiled broccoli and steamed spinach more than most things, but I'm just sick of seeing EAT CLEAN YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT Pinterest-y posts on my Instagram feed every day. I can't pinpoint the reason why photos of wraps and shakes from MANA! are popping up everywhere. Is MANA! really such a great lunch place? Is there a extremely high correlation between the love to share and the love to "eat clean"? Or people "eat clean" only to tell the world? OK, digression's over.

MANA! Bliss Flat (full $75, half $45) and Babylon Shake ($55) - all flatbread is topped with Zaatar, a mixture of herbs and spices used in Eastern Mediterranean. A taste I quite enjoyed. In Bliss, there is avocado, hummus, cucumber and spinach. Babylon Shake is made by blending banana, figs, tahini, soya milk and cinnamon.

An arm's length of flatbread wrap... When we were placing our order,  Chak and me were repeatedly saying "why would people order half a wrap that's definitely not enough!" Little did we know the flatbread wrap is huge (almost double the size of a Pret wrap)... lesson learnt. 

I can see why MANA! is addictive. It's like a Pret addiction - tasty food that makes you think you're down 3 lbs instantly and feel good about yourself. But let's not kid ourselves - you aren't going to feel refreshed and slim down by eating a footlong wrap for lunch. I like the food at MANA!... For the flatbread, they are generous with the fillings and the flatbread itself tasted really great. But after consuming half a flatbread, it got bland and the house hot sauce wasn't spicy enough to give it a kick. As for the shake, it's just shakes from a cafe... I may go back for half a flatbread, but is this place worth the songs of praise from everyone on the Internet? Considering the price, let's just say I'm disappointed.


Rating: 3/5

In a nutshell: It's only a light lunch if you don't go overboard with your order. Clean eating may make you (feel) lean and mean, don't forget it comes with a hefty price tag.


MANA! Fast Slow Food
92 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong

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Elephant Grounds

This coffee shop is located in the new hip lifestyle store WOAW*. I love all things elephant. I love the sharp orange paper cups. And most importantly, I wanted to try cookies hand-made by the inspirational Joyce Cheng (see Homie Cookies).

* It had only been opened for half a week when we visited a month ago (I'm a bad blogger). There were two other customers going for coffee in our 30-min stay. Passed by during lunch today - full house! That's the importance of social media / word of mouth / cool Instagram pics in action.

Seating is limited to an indoor bar and an outdoor high table with stools. We stayed in the air conditioning (of course!) and watched the barista working the shiny nuova simonelli.

Elephant Grounds Ice Coffee ($36) and Homie Cookies ($20 each) - the coffee came in a tiny glass jar, with a Titanic-sized iceberg in the middle... I may drink a lot of coffee but I'm not good at judging the taste professionally. We shared the White Chocolate Chip Matcha Cookie. $20 may be expensive for a cookie but this is totally worth it. The Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel is more chocolatey than salted caramel-y, but still soft and awesome. I can eat half a dozen of these bad boys for lunch!

Hihi elephant!

Flying coffee cups!

Rating: 4/5

In a nutshell: Awesome cookies. The patio is great for the cooler autumn months ahead.


Elephant Grounds
11 Gough Street
Central
Hong Kong

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Urban Bakery Works - Hong Kong

Dates of visit: Monday, 10 March 2014 & Tuesday, 17 June 2014

In case you don't know already, Urban Bakery / Urban Bakery Works* operates under the Maxim's umbrella. As much as I'd like to see Urban Bakery simply as another product of clever marketing that tries too hard to be cool (see M&C.Duck 美中．鴨子**), I believe there's more to it. Though it may well be another soulless shop that wants nothing but your money, their croissants are the best I can find in Hong Kong.

* Urban Bakery is a bakery whilst Urban Bakery Works is more of a sit-down cafe. Except for the 8-hour Duck Confit Sandwich ~inspired~ by Borough Market, Urban Bakery sells the same sandwiches as Urban Bakery Works, but cheaper.
** Seriously what on earth is that name? I'll never understand the world's obsession with the dot, which FYI is known as 間隔號.

Double Ham and Brie Croissandwich ($48) - double ham as in "ham" ham we normally have and parma ham

Lotssss of ham, as you can see. But half of the only slice of parma ham fell out of the sandwich (see first photo) so I couldn't taste it until the last few bites.

Langoutine Croissandwich with Curry Emulsion ($48) - this is from my March visit. I like langoutine and croissant... I remember wishing there would be more langoutine

Rating: 3/5

Food: I love Urban Bakery's croissants. Flaky, buttery and probably artery-clogging but I don't care. So it's unfortunate that these croissandwiches from Urban Bakery Works are pre-made. They sit there under layers of wrap paper, slowly becoming a greasy soggy mess that swims in its own butter, no longer crispy and airy. They still taste OK but what a shame.

Environment: Confusing system - get your sandwich from the sandwich bar, then run to the other side of the bar to pay. Want a drink? Order at the cashier... I wonder if people run off with their sandwiches without paying.

Service: No service... I get it, this place gets quite busy during lunch time, but how hard is it to force a smile?

Price: I've noticed an interesting phenomenon - shops can get away with selling you sandwiches for $100 if they do it like how they do it in Europe or America; whereas local fast food places are damned for charging you $50 for fried rice and a drink. I know it's "just £4", but I do mind paying $48 for a sad pre-made sandwich. I know it's Central. But come on Maxim's you could do better, with your economies of scale. Next time I'll get my croissant from Urban Bakery for $14, buy some beef and make a sandwich myself. It will probably taste better.



Urban Bakery Works
Room 322, 3/F, The Landmark
12-16 Des Voeux Road Central
Central
Hong Kong

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Le Port Parfumé - Hong Kong

(Remember when I said I'm gonna keep words to a minimum on this blog? But my recent posts (aka the ramen series part one two) have just shown what a hypocrite I am. The infrequency of the updates doesn't help either... But now I'm back! Along with a few micro reviews.)

Date of visit: Wednesday, 11 June 2014

The restaurants of Central (Soho in particular) most operate in this way - they offer prix-fixe lunches for $1xx, serving items very different from their regular menu, which they save for after the sun goes down. So if you want to try their signature dishes, be prepared to shell out several more hundred bucks.

But Le Port Parfumé is different. For a change, their set lunches are really good. Rather than mediocre soulless salads and steaks, they serve items similar to those on their dinner menu but with cheaper substitutes (e.g. pork cheeks instead of beef cheeks and tomato sauce instead of Guinness stout). They even do the same desserts! At a much lower cost, you get the sample their style of cooking.

The menu

Tomato Salad with Anchovies and Black Olives - I love cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, anchovies and black olives so naturally I LOVED this appetiser. My friend had the Tomato Soup (not pictured) which I stole a spoonful of... nothing remarkable but nothing like soup that comes in a tin either. I'm not joking some shops actually serve Campbell's.

Pork Cheek in Tomato Sauce - I'm a big fan of stew and I still think about the Carbonnade I had in Belgium two summers ago. Hell, I even made beef stew when it was 33 degrees out! The pork cheek was tender and nice. Portion was generous too. But I still prefer beef and wouldn't mind if they gave me less meat for some beef.

Roasted Chicken and Peas - juicy chicken on a bed of peas. My friend isn't the biggest pea lover and was surprised to see so many peas on her plate. But don't worry I helped her out.

Floating Island (front) - the meringue was too styrofoam-y for my liking. It wasn't bad, and since this is a classic dessert hard to find in HK, I was glad we ordered it. But once is enough. Blue Cheese Gelato and Honey Comb (back) - you can't go wrong with this golden soft/crunchy combination and surely we didn't here. We enjoyed the gelato and wished it'd come with more gelato and less cream.

Rating: 4/5

Food: Good quality and (relatively) interesting for a prix-fixe lunch in Central. I'm pretty sure amongst all set lunches I've tried, Le Port Parfumé serves one of the best. Perfect for causal business lunch with co-workers when you want to impress and relax too.

Environment: The restaurant has fishing village vibe to it - dark wood tables, seaside-themed decorations with French words on them... While most of these Soho restaurants are typically quiet during lunch hours (though Kau U Fong isn't exactly Soho), this place is packed. The only downside to this is we had to share a table with two businessmen. Thankfully the table was large enough to cut down the awkwardness. This proves that Le Port Parfumé is a popular destination of the Central crowd, so fais ta réservation!!

Service: Friendly and attentive staff. Glasses of water got refilled frequently. Nothing to complain.

Price: $138 for two courses and $148 for three. Adding $10 for the dessert is a must! In the land of inflation that is HK, $148 may only buy you a tiny plate of pasta. This set lunch is really good value for money and the food doesn't disappoint either.


Le Port Parfumé
Shop C, 6-10 Kau U Fong
Central
Hong Kong

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Little Bao - Hong Kong

Date of visit: Saturday, 5 April 2014

I'm an aspiring restaurateur. In my dreams my restaurant will be bright, sleek and modern with communal tables. And no, we won't take reservations. The indicator of our popularity will be the long line in front of our door. And yes, I have Momofuku in mind as I describe my dream restaurant.

Apparently there is a new-ish restaurant in town that fits the above descriptions (maybe not sleek part though). In the name of research, I made a visit on a public holiday... Luckily there was no visible line and we got the last table in the second seating after 15 minutes of wait.

Gin & Juice ($78) - cucumber, gin, lime and ginger (left) and "Mac & Cheese" ($108) - steamed rice rolls, metaiko cheese sauce (right). Very refreshing cocktail that helped washing down the overly salty cheesy cheung fun. It didn't taste like mac and cheese, but it was interesting and the cheese crust on top was some yum stuff. Just too salty... 

Pork Belly Bao ($78) - slow-braised pork belly, leek & shiso red onion salad, sesame dressing, hoisin ketchup. I had a bit of the pork belly but I don't know what it tasted like overall... I only know my date really enjoyed it.

Fish Tempura ($78) - fresh market fish, tamarind palm sugar glaze, pickled lemongrass fennel salad. Very fresh fish and very messy to eat as the fish flaked apart...

LB Green Tea Ice-Cream Sandwich ($48) - deep fried bao, green tea ice-cream, condensed milk. Their signature dish! Even if people can't get a table, they will order a green tea ice-cream bao to go.

LB Special: Salty Caramel Ice-Cream Sandwich ($48) - deep fried bao, salt ice-cream, caramel. We thought both ice-cream sandwiches were great, but the salty caramel was slightly better. Salt ice-cream was really salt ice-cream!

Like any other hip restaurant, they gave us stickers. In fact, they gave us three - two dark blue's, one pink... why three though? Anyway, if I don't stick movie tickets / ferry tickets / other memorabilia in my planner, they will be forever lost under the piles of random stuff in my room. This is why this sticker of a weird looking baby is now in my Moleskine.

Rating: 3/5

Food: The food was definitely tasty and interesting, but I feel that I could get the same quality elsewhere for 70% of the price. I'd be happier to pay the full price if the portions were larger. But the restaurant is called Little Bao (飽) after all, maybe we aren't supposed to fill full?

Environment: The restaurant is really small! I must have apologised to the woman sitting beside me and vice versa for more than three times for accidentally hitting each other. I have sensitive ears and the music was slightly too loud for my liking. But it's cool to see that in a quiet part of Staunton Street, so much was going on in a tiny restaurant.

Service: There wasn't much service really... but the staff were all friendly.

Price: $541 for two cocktails, a starter, two baos, two dessert baos and still water. Bear in mind the portions are tiny... Overpriced? Yes, but that's the cost you pay when you want to be hip. Poor students like me are probably better off staying lame.


Little Bao
G/F, 66 Staunton Street
Central
Hong Kong

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