[乜記餐室 What Cafe] What the heck is What Cafe?

Came here randomly because the name aroused curiosity.
Inside it was just the usual cha chaan teng items but the decor was vintage with LPs and old posters etc.

Ordered the hainan chicken and the stir fried beef noodles.
The chicken was just skin and bone.



The stir fried beef noodles turned out the best and they used thin flat noodles.

After adding chili sauce, it tasted really good because the chili sauce they gave had some vinegar in it.

[百川居酒屋 Hyakukawa Izakaya] Cozy Izakaya

There are so many Japanese restaurants to check out in CWB.
Went here because it was slightly away from the crowd.






There were lots of options on the menu:





To my surprise they had Padron peppers so I ordered it because you don't normally see this in a Japanese place.



They were covered in Bonito flakes which gives it a smokey taste. Next were the fried gyozas which were fried to perfection.



I love oyster tempura so had that as well. The tempura batter was just right and not over done.





For carbs, finished with the bittermelon and pork pot and truffle sushi.
The bittermelon could have been softer.



The sushi was fantastic so I definitely recommend the skewers and sushi.

[西塘花記] Life is colourful with these dumplings

I have been wanting to try this place for ages because they have these colourful dumplings.



Finally the hype is over so decided to give it a visit when it was nice and quiet. You are greeted with trays and trays of dumplings and an open kitchen when you go in the restaurant.



The decor is pink and girly with an oriental touch.


As well as dumplings, there were so many choices for drinks so ordered the hot mountain yam and purple potato drink which are not often seen around especially the mountain yam.



Both drinks were viscous and kept hot for quite a while.

The best thing was that you could really taste the ingredients and it wasn't too sweet. 

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Dumpling names and descriptions were quoted from Menu.

Rainbow Dumpling (8 Pieces) Dumpling Wrapper with Red Amaranth Dragon Fruit Juice, Spinach Juice and Pumpkin Juice (w/ Water Chestnut and Pork Stuffing)



Apart from the fancy wrapper, it was just water chestnut and pork stuffing in the middle. 

It was a waste for an instaworthy dumpling because a memorable filling and not something ordinary and common as waterchestnut and pork would be better. 

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Signature Five Fortunes Dumpling (10 Pieces): 

Dumplings with Spicy Sauce and Fish, Red Amaranth Dragon Fruit Juice Dumplings with Tomato and Beef, Pumpkin Juice Dumplings with Mushroom and Pork, Cuttlefish Juice Dumplings with Crab Willows, Scallops and Shrimps, Spinach Juice Dumplings with Leeks and Shrimps (2 Pieces Per Flavour)



There are two assorted dumpling sets to choose from so it depends what you prefer. I liked this one as it had spicy fish and the scallops and shrimp dumpling was tasty.



+++++++ 

Cuttlefish Juice Dumplings with Seaweed, Pork and Shrimp: 

The cuttlefish and seaweed dumplings were my favourite because the seaweed makes it unbelievably good especially that chew and unami moreish aftertaste.





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Finished with the Homemade Yogurt which is a bit different from the creamy yoghurt that you buy at the supermarket. 

The yoghurt here is much lighter and acidic with a curd like texture so if you don't like refreshing yoghurts then choose the ones with fruit toppings.



+++++ 

I do hope to come back when they serve the full menu.

Over the moon with the world's first KFC mooncakes

A while ago, I spotted this huge signage that KFC was going to open a new branch at Causeway Bay in July so made a mental note about it.

The new branch is located on the corner and occupies two floors!!

The street level is Sweet Box which is grab and go desserts and drinks, the first floor is the ordering area with self service kiosks and bar seats while the second floor is the main dining area.
Both floors have an order screen that indicates the orders that are ready to pick up. 

Attended the KFC Causeway Bay new store and Mooncake official launch.
At the new concept store, there are some exclusive options to give diners a different experience.

Grilled chicken combo:
The chicken is grilled to order and it was really comforting because it visually reminded me of nandos, although the taste is different.
The chicken tastes like the flava roast.

Oven glazed hot wings platter:
The wings platter is great for sharing.
My favourites were the garlic cheese and honey glazed hot wings while most people liked the sweet chili.

Chizza:
Previously this was only available takeaway but they were so popular that it is now offered for dine ins.
It was appetizing with the pineapple chunks.

Baked rice with chicken filet combo:
For carb lovers, this is another option as well as the rice buckets.

All of them were tasty but my favourite had to be the  grilled chicken because it was grilled to perfection.
As well as chicken, they have desserts!!!

For mid Autumns festival, I was over the moon with their new World's ever KFC moonlight bucket which lights up with LED.

Inside this cool moonlight bucket you will find Moonakes!!!

There are two flavours:  Golden Lava custard and Spicy chicken and nuts mooncakes.
The Golden Lava custard is a popular mooncake in Hong Kong so it can't go wrong.

For the Spicy Chicken and nuts mooncake, think of it like chewy chicken biscuits gaaijaibeng with chicken floss and nuts inside just like the five nuts mooncake.

Overall I felt that the chicken mooncakes were quite traditional so it won't be a shock for the tastebuds.

KFC, G/F, 1/F & 2/F, East South Building,

479 & 481 Hennessy Road & 29 Percival Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2745 2903

[The Leah] English comforts in Causeway Bay

Since Excelsior closed, English food in CWB is scarce. Enter THE LEAH which offers English comfort food. It is located at Lee Gardens where you take the lift from the elevators near PRET, so you have to resist not going into Pret as well because that is English! 

When you get there, you have to walk through a lovely garden before you get to the restaurant and there is a play area for kids. 

I loved the huge deck chair which reminds me of the beaches but the one here is much bigger and covered with artificial foliage.

As you an imagine, everything on the menu is a must eat for me because they had pies, desserts which were all popular English items. 

The bigger items like Beef Wellington and Dover sole have to be ordered in advance. Being raised in a seaside town I miss my Dover soles which look like flounder fishes but slightly different. 

It was good that we came in a group so that we could order more dishes. 

Here were the dishes that we had: 

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[Scotch egg and Soldiers]: 

This dish is the ingenious marriage of egg and Soldiers with the Scotch Egg. Egg and Soldiers is a breakfast dish where a soldier is a thin strip toast that resembles soldiers on parade. Other versions include marmite Soldiers and Vegemite Soldiers in Australia. Seemingly a simple Egg and Soldiers dish is made fancy with the Scotch Egg so this dish is the best of both worlds.

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Scallop & Black Pudding: 

Black Pudding is a blood sausage served for breakfast and I liked the way it is used to compliment the scallops which gives it a richer flavour.

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For pies, there was chicken and Fish pie. 

It's a bit difficult to explain, but there are two different types, the shortcrust and the ones topped with mash like Cottage and Shepherds etc. 

[Chicken Pie with leek and bacon]: 

Another classic, delicious creamy chicken with smokey bacon in a flaky crisp pastry.

[Fisherman's pie]: 

Also another classic pie with creamy seafood beneath silky mash on top.

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Beef Short rib & bone Marrow Gnocchi:

The pieces of gnocchi were huge which made them great for accompanying the sauce and the beef was tender and soft.

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Butterbean and Aubergine Casserole: 

The butterbeans were surprisingly flavourful because it tasted like a Mediterranean dish with cumin and spices as well as vegetarian chili con carne.

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Beef Wellington: 

Interestingly, the Beef Wellington is quite popular in Hong Kong and no exception here with quality tenderloin beef wrapped in pastry with tasty mushrooms and parma ham.

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Dover Sole: 

I love Dover Sole so we were lucky it was in stock as this fish is sooooooo hard to get in Hong Kong. The fish is similar to the flounder found in Asia. Anyway it was cooked in caper butter so the fish was moist and soft.

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Green Beans and Shallot butter:

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Moving on to dessert, we had the trifle and apple pie. 

Strawberry & Sherry Trifle: 

I love trifle so I am so glad that this place serves it as well as Marks and Spencers. 

The base is loaded with strawberries and the cream is light and fluffy laced with vanilla seeds.

Granny Smith apple and nutmeg custard: 

The apple pie had chunky pieces of apple complimented by nutmeg custard sauce which is something different to your usual custard however I would prefer to have some real thick nutmeg custard but not ice cream.

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Overall, everything was really good and just like the food in UK with a slight modernization but then if you have been dining in the UK, lots of dishes have been reinvented.

[The Leah]

Shop 308 & 311, 3/F, Lee Garden Two, 28 Yun Ping Road Causeway Bay.

Tel: 23377651