Cosy joint that is easily missed

Holly Brown (Central)

I have never dined at Holly Brown before because I was not attracted to their icecreams and if I am in Central there are plenty of other options.


However this branch is on the corner by the escalators, there is a small dining area inside.


It appears to focus more and coffee, grab and go items such as hotdogs and sandwiches convenient for people getting some light snacks before they get on the escalator.


Just for fun I had the Babyccino with marshmallows.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Babyccino with marshmallows:

The milk was nice and foamed topped with white marshmallow pieces.
The temperature was not that hot so the marshmallow pieces did not really melt, but it enhanced the taste of boring flat milk with some sweetness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Tasting at Yakichi

I don't often dine on the Kowloon side but came here because I was invited to try their food.

Apart from this restaurant, I have tried other restaurants managed by the same group which were good.

I liked this restaurant because it is located on the second floor and most of the tables have a lots of privacy.
Theres nothing more annoying than being able to hear the conversation nearby and having to shout because the restaurant is noisy.

As we tried so much food, there were lots of photos, hence three reviews to show what we ate.
This was a tasting, hence the portions sizes may be bigger so that everyone could try it instead of giving us two portions of the same dish.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Photos of the restaurant:
There were many nice sitting areas with good privacy, there were room private rooms as well with tatamis.



★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sake:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pickles to go with the sake:

A nice selection of pickles, the green looking one was actually pickled aubergine.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Seafood selection:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Nodoguro half sashimi:

The Nodoguro was seared so that the oily skin becomes crispy and the fish is less oily to eat.
The texture and taste was quite pleasant enhanced by the lemon.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Appetizer:

Nice appetizer of mushrooms in mentaiko.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Scallop carpaccio:

Beautifully presented scallop carpaccio that was fresh, sweet and did not really need any other sauces.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sashimi platter:


As you can see there was a nice selection of sashimi, my favourite was the botan shrimp, scallops and the Canadian urchin which was just divine.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Marinated tomato and octopus:

The marinated octopus was really nice because the tomato slices and lemon made it really appetizing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Okinawa chicken tofu salad:

I loved the chicken salad, especially the tofu and the portion was really.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried shrimp:

These fried shrimps were nice and crispy perfect with drinks.
In the middle there was some meaty prawn meat which was nice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Minced Okinawa chicken ball:

The chicken balls were smaller than anticipated but they were delicious because it was delicately minced chicken with sweet teriyaki sauce on it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled fish roe:

The grilled fish roe was quite nice and not as salty as other places with a dry texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled ox tongue:

Did not try this.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Okinawa chicken roll:

The chicken roll was quite nice but a little dry but the prune sauce made up for it because it was nice and tangy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bitter gourd pancake:

I wish there was more bitter gourd in the pancake to taste it, other than that it tasted nice with sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried okinawa tofu:

Lovely crispy tofu with salt on the side.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried Okinawa chicken tartar sauce:

The chicken was nicely done with a thin crispy coating covered in vinegar sauce and the tofu salad on the side was really nice, it was made of mashed tofu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Okinawa AGU pork salad:

Refreshing salad with pork which was similar to the chicken salad.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried chicken with bitter gourd:

The chicken was really sweet because they stir fried it with leeks.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sea urchin with black baguette toast:

This was another must eat item, the sea urchins they serve here are from Canada which are full of flavour and melt in your mouth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Seafood hotpot:

A vibrant assortment of seafood bubbling away, the crab and salmon tasted the best.
udon for hotpot:

After eating most of the items in the pot, the broth was perfect for udon because all the flavours are concentrated in the broth which made the udon was really tasty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Squid ink Okinawa noodles:

These noodles were amazing and must be tried.
Nicely flavoured and al-dente.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ice cream (salt flavour):

Nice icecream with subtle salt taste and not very sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Start a sweet autumn with Chestnut cakes

Maxim's Cake Shop (Central)
Thanks to the lovely PR agency who did a great job promoting the new Chestnut series at Maxims.
It was so nice of them to give us a teaser with a bag of chestnut magnets with a chestnut shaped helium balloon.

They reminded me of conkers, and they would be invincible too because they are made of metal.
Before these chestnut cakes were launched, chestnut to me just meant conkers and chestnut stuffing.

In the Maxim's new chestnut range there were chestnut tarts and chestnut cakes!


Here was what I tried.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chestnut and marshmallow tart:



Delicious butter based tart base filled with chestnuts and a marshmallow centre covered in delicious chestnut cream.
The starchy chestnut cream and marshmallow were a dreamy pairing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shandong chestnut, purple potato and sweet potato cake mini:
This was my favourite one in the series because it was really pretty, decorated with a ring of purple sweet potato on the outside.


There are three delicious layers in the middle, the top is chestnuts, the second layer is Okinawa purple sweet potato and the third layer is kagoshima golden sweet potato.

There was a good balance of filling to the cakes.
The fillings were really silky and the sweetness was not cloyingly sweet and the sweet potatoes just enhanced it even more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shandong chestnut almond crispy cake:



This is seriously for chestnut lovers, a cake filled with crushed chestnut puree, chestnut cream on a delicious crispy base with cotton soft cake in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

ori-gin, it all begins with gin!

ori-gin is gin themed bar serving fun cocktails by mixologist Antonio Lai.

In the 1920s, gin was a popular drink.

Many people made homemade spirits which required water, the bottle could not be filled at the sink because the sink was too shallow hence filled using the bathtub tap hence the name Bathtub gin!

At Ori-gin they have a real bath tub there, not for making gin but for washing your hands outside the toilet.

Previously I tried Quinary which is about the fives senses so I was expecting something similar.
I have always wanted to try the KGB cocktail because it is served in a cute bathtub with FOAM and a rubber duck as well!

The Ori-ginal KGB cocktail has:
Gin, Japanese Kyoho grape liqueur, lemon and lime juice, elderflower syrup, topped with kyoho tea air.

I tried the non-alcoholic version.

Initially I wasn't sure how it would taste because of the Kyoho grapes.
Most of the Kyoho grape flavours I have tried in the past taste artificial.

It was fun seeing the bathtub being filled, so it was good sitting at the bar.
The bathtub was filled with pretty glistening gold Kyoho grape caviar.





It was then filled with the cocktail.

Then topped with foam and it was ready!~!



★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
KGB cocktail (non alcholic):

Definitely a must after trying it because it tastes good as well looking fun!
The grape taste was not artificial and the best thing was that it was not sweet and I loved the caviar jelly at the bottom too!
The drink was also refreshing because of the lemon and lime juice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Special drink produced for Nespresso event:
See the cute bottle on the LEFT

I loved this drink because it was a good balance of alchohol and coffee and it tasted like a thick milkshake!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Just for fun:
After drinking my KGB, I filled the tub with water and put the duck in!~
However it is not advised to put the duck in the DRINK itself!!



★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
For more photos, please see my FB album:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.612789898756059.1073741882.163554443679609&type=1