[Bistroholic] Italian food with a modern twist

Found out about this place through a friend, the name Bistroholic sounded really familiar. It turns out that it is run under the Coffeeholic group in Sheung Wan, hence the name. When you get there, you are greeted with this modern bar table by the window with flamingoes and a mini leaning tower of Pisa at the other end of the room.

The menu was really good with a wide variety.

Here was what we had:
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Sweet corn soup bisque with salted caramel popcorn: I loved the way, the soup was sweetcorn all the way through with sweet corn soup bisque paired with popcorn which is also made of popcorn. It had a lovely sweet touch from the caramel on the popcorn, so sweet or savoury popcorn would both work and it just makes the soup a fun part of dinner.

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Next were the Chicken wings stuffed with Taiwanese sausage and prawn. Interesting combination! The chicken skin was so crispy that they cracked when you put your fork in them which was brilliant as there isn't much fat underneath the skin.

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The Matsusaka pork confit with smoked romaine salad was another surprise.

I am not a fan of pork, but the pork here is thinly sliced, tender and silky seasoned well by the truffle and has an aromatic smoky flavour to it complimented by the air dried apples.

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For pasta we had the Spaghetti marinara with Argentina red prawn with mussels and Taiwanese peeled jalapeno.

The pasta was al dente and the Taiwanese peeled Jalapenos gave a lovely tangy punch with a spicy kick to it.
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We also had the Pan seared Hokkaido scallops risotto with sea urchin prawn jus.
This was seriously rich with uni and prawn jus but I liked it.

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Slow Cooked Iberico Pork with Anchovy Tomato Jus:
The Iberico pork was lovely and juicy as it was slow cooked and it went really well with the tasty Anchovy tomato sauce. I liked the mash and grilled vegetables that came with it because it makes it complete.

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Finished with Tiramisu which is light and moreish as it is soft and creamy just how it should be with an alcoholic soaked sponge in the middle.

f you book through FB, you get truffle seasoning, truffle pate and a cash coupon when you dine there. (whilst stocks last).

[Bistroholic]
21/F Circle Tower, 28 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel 3500 2273
IG/FB: @bistroholic.hk

[The Sky Bar] Quality Steaks

Fans of Mr Steak can come here because The Sky Bar is also part of Mr Steak, hence the beef is guaranteed to be good.

The set dinner includes a semi buffet soup, salad and dessert bar.

The sets are priced according to the main course that you choose.

For starters, chose the Brown crab and American Pearl Oysters.
The oysters were fresh as expected and all it needed was a squeeze of lemon.
Although there is some strange tomato sauce in the middle which is a Hong Kong thing.

The Brown crab was the star of the show because there was so much roe and Tomalley that it was best eaten with bread.

The pea soup from the soup bar was warm and comforting with lots of peas in it.

For mains, the pineapple and short ribs were tangy and tender.
I had the surf and turf because the beef was as good as expected.
It was a nice chunk of tenderloin that was juicy and full of beef flavour.

Finished with the desserts which left me feeling satisfied.


[The Sky Bar]
8/F., Lee Theatre Plaza, 99 Percival Street, Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣波斯富街99號利舞臺廣場8樓8A舖
Tel: 24099866

[Fûhn] North American Pho satisfied here

In UK, I had no fuss or complaints with Vietnamese food but I found myself avoiding it in HK because the quality and taste is so different from UK.Recently heard of Co Thánh but it didn't really motivate me, but Fûhn did because they specialize in North American Pho which I have always wanted to try. The reason why Fuhn appealed to me is that CBCs, ABCs and celebs are always raving about how good the pho is over there just like how the texture and taste of ricerolls and noodles are more elastic and not sweet by default in UK. The noodles are served with herbs such as basil, perilla, fish mint, rice patty herb, which you can add according to your preference.

You also get a side of beanshoots, chili and lime for the noodles. The beanshoots are impressive because each one has had the top and tail removed so they look clean and fresh.

Moving onto the noodles, we got the XXL special beef pho where the bowl is so big that it takes up most of the table and the chopsticks and spoon seem tiny in proportion.
This is the size you would get in the US and Canada.

Tried the broth first which instantly got me hooked because of the strong herbs yet the broth was clear and light free from a layer of oil. It was savory and not sweet like Hong Kong phos and the noodles were just right flavoured with that broth. The noodles were topped with thinly sliced onions, raw beef, cooked beef, beef tendons, beef balls and beef tripe. I really liked the beef tripe because it was sliced to about 4mm so it hung more soup and it was less chewy to chew!!

We also had a platter and the prawn cakes were the best, they were tasty and fluffy with chunks of prawn in it which tastes like the prawn paste they use in UK's sesame prawn toasts served in Chinese joints.

Finished with avocado milkshake and Vietnamese ice blended coffee, both did not disappoint but there was tomato smoothie on the menu too so it will be on my drink list on the next visit, so will the chicken noodles.

On Fridays and Saturdays, it will never be too late for pho as they close at 4am!!!!!!

[Fûhn]
1/F The L Square,
459-451

Skye 1st anniversary set lunch

As a fan of Gary Rhodes, I went to SKYE for lunch to try the 1st anniversary set lunch inspired by Gary Rhodes.

As it was a clear day, there were beautiful views from the window.

Started with bread which was served with butter, salt and pink peppercorns.
It was such a treat with pink peppercorns because they have a lovely aroma that doesn't have a strong spicy kick to it.

It was followed by white tomato soup which tasted like tomato consomme mixed with milk.

Autumn foie gras:
This was silky smooth foie gras with tart berries and I loved the way the caramelized brittle gave it a touch of sweetness enhancing the flavour.

Moving on to the truffled mac and cheese which was cheesy yet balanced by the spinach leaves and earthy mushrooms.

The lamb loin was tender and juicy drizzled with appetizing gravy.
Since the pink peppercorns were still on the table, I put some on the lamb and it tasted fab.

Finished with the bread and butter pudding which is the best I have ever tasted because there was a strong vanilla taste and the top had a crisp caramelized sugar crunch to it just how Gary demonstrated in his video on how to make bread and butter pudding.

[SKYE]
310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay.

A decent bowl of Taiwanese Beef noodles

There are lots of Taiwanese beef noodles in Hong Kong but not many taste good.
To me a good bowl of Taiwanese beef noodles is a combination of a strong beef broth, pickles, beef and most importantly the noodles.
Tristar is opened by a local celeb and here Taiwanese husband so you might catch other celebs dining here.

Anyway, I tried two noodles, the beef noodles and the noodles in spicy sauce.

The beef noodles were satisfying because the broth was strong and the beef was tasty. The broth was slightly spicy which made it more appetizing.

The tossed noodles were good because each strand was evenly flavoured by the spicy sauce.

Finished with the chocolate drink with extra herbal jelly which had a lovely thick milk foam cap to it.

I didn't try the pearls but they seem worth trying because the size is relatively smaller than the other ones in HK.

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Tristar Kitchen:
https://www.facebook.com/tristarkitchen/

Hongkongers flipping over Flipper's

Souffle pancakes are trending in Hong Kong, but my first souffle pancake was at K11 but unfortunately I was given an extra strand of hair and the taste was too buttery for my liking.

There is another popular one in MK called I love you Dessert Bar but the location is inconvenient, as well as that, there is a latecomer am.pm which does affordable souffle pancakes.

Anyway, decided to try FLIPPER's because it is on the HK side and celebrities go there.
As usual I was taking pictures of the menu when I noticed this girl sitting opposite behaving really weirdly, she was literally looking down, using her hair to hide her face like she had some weird problem which makes you notice her even more.
It turns out that she was Chrissie Chow 周秀娜!!

There wasn't a queue that day and it wasn't busy as expected.

Compared to all the other places, this one is the priciest but you get decent cream.

Decided to get the melon because I like melon and it does not have syrup like the strawberry and banana versions.

It turned out to be really good because there was no buttery taste and it was light and fluffy, whereas other places, the texture is just like foam and it disappears into nothing.
The best part is the cream because it is thick creamy cream and the melon was super sweet as well.
I was reminded by the staff not to use a knife to cut the souffle pancake as it ruins it.

FLIPPERS: i.t blue block  
Address: 6/F Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
Hours: 10AM–10:30PM
Phone: 2367 2133

Nissin ramen popup store at LOF10 Bar Dining

As a fan of Nissin noodles, I had to check out the Nissin ramen popup at LOF10 in Causeway Bay where they have decorated the place like a ramen joint with ramen bowls and Nissin figures.

On the menu special, there are four sets to choose from ranging from $88-$108, all including a noodle, dessert and drink.

For me, it is super difficult to decide which one to get but in the end I narrowed it down to the two.
It was either the soup or the one with luncheon meat so I settled for the soup one because of the okra.
The ramen turned out really good because the softness was just right and the broth was good with a poached egg which makes the broth even richer.

For dessert, there was the bubble eggette topped with syrup and rose petals.

Finished with a satisfying latte.

LOF 10 Bar Dining:

https://www.facebook.com/Lof10cwb

Shop 302, 3/F, Tower 535, 535 Jaffe Road Causeway Bay.