[Review] Itsu Asian inspired food

itsu is a British chain of Asian inspired food that boomed in 2017 with over 90 branches in the UK with 50 in London.

It appealed to me recently because of the Asian inspired buns and the Christmas dumplings.

Went to three different branches.

The first branch I visited was in Camden where there were lots of customers.
Dumplings were selling like hot cakes and replaced quickly by the kitchen.

There were so many gyozas to choose from: prawns and spinach, chicken and spring onions etc as well as the Christmas Cracker.

The Christmas Cracker gyozas appealed to me as it was like a Christmas dinner inside a gyoza.
They are filled with cranberry and turkey in a red dumpling wrap.

Overall, the Christmas gyozas were quite nice but a little sweet because I was expecting the dumplings to be tart.

On another visit, I was at itsu, Westfield where I did not buy anything but observed the decor was nice.

Another time, I was in Farringdon where I went in for the hoisin duck steamed buns which is another creative pairing not seen in Hong Kong yet.

I liked the idea of duck and hoisin sauce in a bun but sadly I couldn't taste any hoisin sauce and it just tasted like a BBQ roast pork bun.

Although I was not wowed by their food, I love their creativity and probably will come back and try other new creations.

https://www.itsu.com/

[Review] Lo's Noodle Factory - Cheap Rice Rolls in a dodgy alley

As I was in London, someone asked me to get some rice rolls.
The message directed me to this dodgy alley so I thought the person was mucking me about as it looked dark and dirty.

Entered a shop which looked like a seafood shop and asked for rice rolls and the guy told me it was the shop next door so it appears I was in the right direction.
Finally found the shop with a narrow corridor that only fits one person so once you bought your stuff anyone queuing would have to give way.

To be honest, the rice rolls were really good as the texture was firm with a chew and much better than the crap in Hong Kong which is sweet by default without any sauces.

They also had buns which I didn't like much as they were hard to swallow.

Lo's Noodle Co Ltd
6 Dansey Place, London

[b DIM SUM] Legit steamy raunchy sexy steamed buns

Dimsum is a must in Hong Kong just like Roast dinners in UK.
What makes this joint so special is the presentation of some of the dimsums.
From the outside, it just looks like the usual dimsum joint with Chinese traditional tea pots and calligraphy on the walls.

However when you take a look at the menu you will find some fancy and stylish items!!
They have the basic dimsums like hargau and shaomai but I decided to order the fancy items.
In this day and age everyone is looking for something to showoff on social media and these are just made for it!!

b DIM SUM have taken it a step further to get attention with a touch of raunchiness with steamed buns that take the form of boobs.

Their restaurant name in Chinese also has a sexy twist as it is called 凸點 [pronounced dat dim] which means protruding nipples.
+++++++++++++
Inside these steamed buns are runny custard filling which will give us the visual pleasure of milk coming out if we play with these buns.

It would be great if the filling was condensed milk or coconut puree to get the visual effect of real milk.

Once a month they could serve specials like bigger ones as my males friends have been suggesting.
For men, it is a fact that the bigger the better!
As for the taste, it tasted delicious and not too sweet while the bun was soft and moist.
+++++++++++
The next photogenic item was the black and white Tai Chi bun.
It was filled with abalone, mushrooms and some whelks which give it a nice unami flavour.
I really liked this one because of the rich gravy.

+++++++++++
Another photogenic item was the BBQ pork swan pastry which was filled with BBQ pork.

An elegant item to order, delish morsels of BBQ encased in a crisp pastry.

+++++++++++
Last but not least was the black steamed bun which is made of charcoal and honey.
It was impressive that you could taste the honey yet it was not too sweet.

+++++++++++
Anyway, I will definitely be looking forward to their new dishes.

ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ
Restaurant : 凸點 b DIM SUM
Address: 198 Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mong Kok,

Exclusive dishes YUM CHA, Langham Place

I rarely go to the Langham mall because it is just escalators and escalators.
Luckily, Yum Cha is on the fourth floor so there are only two escalators that you need to get if you are coming from Portland road. Otherwise it is about 6 escalators if you come from the Langham MTR exit.
Thankfully you don't have to take those doomed escalators but then again this is why I refuse to dine in commercial buildings because if there is a fire, you are dead and the staircases are probably clotted with stuff that you can't escape.

At this branch, there are four exclusive dishes!~
Spicy diced chicken in Sichuan style.
Spicy Sichuan minced pork buns
Spicy beef, noodles in spicy soup
Beggar's chicken

++++++
Spicy diced chicken in Sichuan style:

This was quite nice but a bit too salty.
++++++
Spicy Sichuan minced pork buns:

These cute pink buns are filled with delicious juicy spicy minced pork in the middle.
They definitely tasted good.
++++++
Spicy beef, noodles in spicy soup:

This was too spicy for me.
++++++
Beggar's chicken:

This is a modern version with truffle gravy and I love the way it is wrapped in lotus leaf keeping it moist while making it fragrant.
A brilliant Chinese style chicken if you are looking for a Western roast chicken comfort.
++++++

[Cheung Kung Koon 張公館] Food for Tycoons

Thanks to M and the super twin brothers for inviting me to dinner at Cheung Kung Koon 張公館.
It is located at the new V Point with a beautiful view of the harbour surrounded by other buildings which feels like you are in Shanghai.

Cheung Kung Koon serves high quality modern Chinese food where you will find local celebrities dining there so the food must be good.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
鯊魚骨花膠湯
Shark bone and fish maw soup:

This was soup boiled with shark bones and fish maw hence the lovely milky cream colour.
The star of the soup was the 1.5cm thick fish maw that had a super sticky texture so you could imagine how much pure collagen was in it.
It was such an unforgettable experience eating this because it was so soft and extremely gelatinous which meant it was good in quality.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Crispy sea cucumber with goose feet:

Goose feet and sea cucumber are always paired together but the special thing about this dish is that the sea cucumber has a crispy surface as it has been coated in a light coating and fried.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Steamed egg and crab claw with Chinese wine:

The steamed egg was silky and there was lots of crab meat which was infused with a fragrant wine flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
川芎白芷魚頭湯:
Fish head soup with Chinese Angelica and Ligusticum wallichii (Szechuan lovage)
This is a herbal soup that is good for you. For more details the staff will happily explain it.

Anyway, I loved it because it had a strong fish taste with a nice bitterness from the herbs.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
麻辣燒賣:
Spicy shaomai

These shaomai are no ordinary shaomais because they are spicy with a lovely Sichuan kick to it.
I loved them because the spiciness balances the heaviness of the pork.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
菠蘿叉燒包:
Charsiu buns with pineapple

These charsiu buns will give you a surprise because it has real pineapple that is not sweetened hence they are very moreish.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
九宮格:
(冰鎮鮑魚 / 麻醬無花果 / 冰菜蕃茄沙律 / 炸墨魚滑 / 酸薑皮蛋 / 釀秋葵 / 椒鹽九肚魚 / 酥炸鴿蛋 / 咕嚕肉):
The palace box:
A good sampler of nine items but the only problem is that they are quite filling so probably a good idea to share this.
The nine items are: chilled abalone, fig in sesame sauce, chilled tomato and crystal lettuce, fried quid patty, preserved egg and ginger, stuffed okra, salt and pepper bombay fish, fried pigeon egg and sweet and sour pork.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
脆皮咕嚕肉:
Sweet and sour pork

Obviously my favourite because the coating was light and crispy and the pork was meaty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Chicken with lotus root chips:

Although the chicken was the star of the show, the lotus chips stole the show because they were so addictive and taste like crisps.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
鐵皮叉燒:Sizzling roast pork

This was juicy tender charsiu on a bed of deliciously sweet soya beans.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
水煮龍躉Fish slices in hot chili oil

The fish slices were silky but because they put okra in this dish, the fish was even more viscous with a strong spicy taste that was a bit too spicy for me.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
鳳凰炒長遠:

This was stir fried glass vermicelli with egg and beanshoots.
I loved the fragrant egg taste and springy soft glass vermicelli that went well with the juicy beanshoots.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
乾炒牛河:
Stir fried beef noodles

A flawless noodle dish that was not oily.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
龍蝦湯瑤柱貴妃飯:
Lobster soup with scallop and crispy rice

Last but not least was this golden soup which had a lovely sweet lobster taste with some creaminess that is best dipped with the crueller to soak the broth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
三色豬仔奶黃包:
Tri colour steamed piggy bun:

I loved these buns because they used vegetable colourings which you can really taste.
The green one has a spinach taste, the orange has a carrot taste and the pink one is beetroot.
Inside the bun was this delicious soft custard filling that was not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Pomelo sago:

This was served in a beautiful Thai style bowl, the crispy sago pearls gave it an interesting crunch that you will remember.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Almond pudding:
I was too full to try this as I had the sago pudding.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Hot sago pudding:

Both puddings come in these gorgeous Le Creuset pots which are tempting to take home.
Anyway, I liked the warm sago pudding because it wasn't too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
Cheung Kung Koon 張公館:
http://www.ckkdining.com/index_web.htm