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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Camper's - Hong Kong

Date of visit: Saturday, 5 July 2014

My mother and me are creatures of habit, frequenting the same restaurants even if the queues are only getting longer and the portions smaller. Though we live near the increasingly-happening Soho East, we have never dined at the many restaurants in the area. On a Saturday night we decided we should stop going to the same place (for a weekend at least) and headed to Camper's, a Japanese eatery tucked away in a street of garages. Our "curiosity" and "bravery" were well rewarded with some awesome hearty home-cooking!

Slow Cooked Pork Cartilage ($29) - in my head, pork cartilage is a chewy business. Think pork cartilage in noodle soup from Ajisen Ramen and Tsui Wah. Lots of people love that, I don't. I prefer this slow-cooked version from Camper's. There's just something magical about slow-cooked braised meat: succulent with a flaky texture and intense flavours, sitting in its own glaze... In this case, the tough cartilage had broken down into this gooey goodness. And it's only $29!

Beef Ribs in Black Sesame Curry with Mixed Rice ($63) - I eat plenty of curries, but black sesame curry is something I'd never heard of. Though lacking in a distinctive sesame flavour, it gave the curry a dark, almost blackish tone. As for the meat, it's my favourite - braised beef ribs! They could have been more generous with the rib pieces, but they were generous indeed with the vegetables. There was even sweet potato pieces in the rice. Reminder: don't eat this on a date! Unless your date is into black teeth and black bits inbetween teeth...

Hiroshima Oyster Curry with Mixed Rice ($66) - I had been craving oysters so my mother got this to share with me. From the photos it's clear that this, compared to the black sesame curry, was lighter and runnier. Personally I prefered the Beef Ribs in Black Sesame Curry, but this was tasty as well.

They charge $3 per person for tea. Sort of a strange practice... You could pay extra for juice instead but I'm not sure if refill is available.


Rating: 4.5/5

In a nutshell: Healthy and unpretentious Japanese home-cooking that your wallet will love. I especially appreciate the shop's motto of healthy eating. There's even a dish called 1-day Mixed Vegetables Curry to help you meet your 5-A-Day. I will be back!


Camper's 坐忘
13 Pan Hoi Street
Quarry Bay
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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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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The Old Spaghetti Factory - Toronto

FIRST POST YAY! Nothing celebratory though, just a causal meal with friends.

Date of visit: Sunday, 27 October 2013



After a visit to the Distillery District - of which I had an image of being a more photogenic LKF but in reality looked more like Main Street in Disneyland - we walked to the Old Spaghetti Factory in St. Lawrence upon the recommendation of a friend in our group.

Hadn't eaten anything since 10 a.m. that day, I was starving when we got there at 6 p.m. But it was still a 20-min wait before we were seated. Needless to say I was thrilled when the waitress brought us fresh warm bread with garlic butter.



We ordered three entrées - Penne Arrabiata with Sausage, Chicken Parmigiana and Seafood Linguine. Each came with soup/salad, ice-cream and tea/coffee. I had the minestrone soup, which was great but over-seasoned. To be frank, the pasta tasted rather like my home-cooked dinner (am I a good cook or...?). Though I did enjoy the baked chicken breast of the Chicken Parmigiana a lot. I also loved the texture of the Seafood Linguine. It reminded me of fresh pasta I had at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen: doughy, gummy and almost Shanghaiese noodles-like.



Rating: 3/5

Food: Slightly better than your average chain restaurant food, with a few surprises here and there. But nothing remarkable.

Environment: Famous for its various interesting antique decorations. The restaurant felt like a mix between the pre-renovated Spaghetti House (coloured-glass decorations) and a Ruby Tuesday (dark and birthday-celebrating crowds). I only learnt it was a chain restaurant when I googled it for this post, but I wasn't too surprised when I found out.

Service: It was a gigantic restaurant during dinner time, so it was understandable for the staff to be inattentive. There were no spoons to eat our ice-cream with - I used a knife! Our server, Lizzie, gave us a smile (albeit fake) whenever she walked past our table, but she managed to skip seeing us eating our ice-cream with forks and knives.

Price: Roughly CAD$23 pp post-tax and tips. Good value considering the location and the portion size.


The Old Spaghetti Factory
54 The Esplanade
Toronto, ON
M5E 1A6
Canada

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