Summer fiesta at [Spaghetti House]

I am so glad, Spaghetti house has launched the summer menu because they have my favourite pasta with lemon and other summery dishes.

While I was deciding what to order, I had the strawberry cooler which was refreshing as well as photogenic.

To my surprise, there was fresh melon at the bottom which makes such a different to tinned cocktail fruit.

Started off with the [Spaghetti with lemon, dill and shrimps] pasta and it tasted better than I had expected.
The spaghetti was al-dente infused with lemon yet you could also taste some slight bitterness of the lemon peel.
It would be great if there was a wedge of lemon served beside it because I like my lemon strong and the dill could have been stronger as it was just sprinkled on top so the flavour didn't really come out when it was cooking.

Next was the [Lobster claw salad with pomelo in white wine vinaigrette] which turned out to be such a big portion that it seemed good for three people. It was refreshing with pomelo meat bursting with sweetness and chunks of lobster claws.

Finished with the [Prosciutto, air dried beef and arugula pizza] which was loaded with Prosciutto and air dried beef.
The saltiness of the prosciutto and beef worked very well with the pizza while the arugula and balsamic vinegar balanced the flavour and heaviness.

[Spaghetti House]
http://www.spaghettihouse.com

[Extra Virgin] Affordable Italian pastas in Hong Kong

It is really difficult to find affordable and delicious pastas in Hong Kong.
Extra Virgin has finally answered my prayers after Pasta Mio closed in Central.

The menu is diverse so it caters for Hong Kongers.
I felt that the drinks selection could have been better because they only served Hong Kong style tea in those thick rimmed cups and lacked Western teas.

The Italian choices were clearly the picks for me.
It had almost everything I wanted except Lasagne so I made quite a few visits to try them.

Here was what I had: Spaghetti aglio de olio, spaghetti pomodoro e basilico, fettucine bolognese and the Feta cheese pizza.
Everything was cooked to order.

+++++
spaghetti pomodoro e basilico:

Perfect pasta with fragrant basil and rich tomato sauce.
+++++
fettucine bolognese:

This was al dente fettucine in a lovely meat sauce loaded with lots of minced meat.
+++++
Feta cheese pizza:

The pizza was impressive because the cheese was just melted to how I like it while the base was thin and crispy.
It would be great if they used tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because they were clumsy and kept falling off the pizza.
+++++
Spaghetti aglio de olio:

Unfortunately, this was boring and tasteless, perhaps the Vongole might be a better choice.
+++++
Will definitely come again for the ravioli and hope that they will add lasagne to the menu.

Extra Virgin:
https://www.facebook.com/Extra.virginss/

Maxim's Chinese spaghetti bolognaise

As with most Chinese spaghetti bolognaise it comes with a fried egg on top.
Anyway, I really hated the bolognaise sauce because it was too sweet with a strong garlic taste when the onion taste should have been more prominent.

Cantonese wonderland in a retro cafe

Kei Heung Cafe (Ho Man Tin)

Ever since I saw photos of this place I had to come and try their pasta.

There is another place in Sheung Wan which serves pasta with tomato sauce in an old Chinese cafe but the difference is the ketchup is plonked on top and here is it tossed in ketchup.

This restaurant is located on Victory Avenue where there are so many other eateries in competition with it.

Kei Heung Cafe is quite unique on this road being the oldest and operating for more than 4 decades with no attempts to renovate it.



The prices of the food are quite cheap and down to earth compared to other restaurants on that road, so expect queues because people will choose this place because the choice on the menu is simple.

Most people dine there for pasta.

The menu is on two sides, the drinks list is quite extensive and takes up one page.


They even have cold coffee and icecream ( not sure if it means coffee flavoured icecream or coffee with icecream).


The other side consists of pastas, instant noodles and snacks.

Food menu
The restaurant is quite small so expect to be knocked about every now and then by people walking past.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pasta braised in tomato sauce with shredded omlette pieces, ham and chicken:


The definition of braised here is slightly different from braised dishes in other restaurants. I think they mean spaghetti tossed in tomato sauce.
I really liked the texture of the pasta and it was not soggy even though the strands looked huge and they were easily twirled with a fork.


The pasta was delicious because the sauce was evenly tossed on every strand.
The tomato sauce was so moreish and the taste was not too tangy or sweet with rich tomato taste.
Each strand of spaghetti was firm and the texture was similar to freshly made pasta with a doughy texture. The chicken, ham and egg added more taste and chew to it balancing out the thick tomato sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tri coloured icecream with soda:

Initially I ordered chocolate icecream with soda but I changed my mind and chose the tri coloured one thinking it would be three mini scoops of different flavoured icecreams but it was one scoop of Neapolitan icecream.
There was not much chocolate in the scoop so it was just pink and white.





I took a sip of the soda beneath thinking it was soda water but it was 7-up/Sprite which I did not like but after mixing it, the drink was delicious and tasted like a nice milkshake.




The colour was nice just like a thick strawberry milkshake, but the pieces of ice were about the size of the straw diameter so they kept getting stuck.
It had a nice strawberry and lemon taste with a fizz.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Mixed Mushroom Spaghetti in a Lemon Juice & Parsley Sauce @ Carnegies

Carnegies have made a great improvement since my last visit, they will display their menu outside early in the morning, so you can walk past and see whats on for lunch.

Also it is much appreciated they update their weekly menu on facebook.

I chose to eat today, because of the mixed mushroom spaghetti in Lemon juice and parsley sauce.
For starters ordered the romaine salad with cajun chicken

Mains:Grilled Chicken Steak with Garlic Sauce, French Fries, Carrots & Snow Peas
and Mixed Mushroom Spaghetti in a Lemon Juice & Parsley Sauce

Dessert: Coconut banana fritters with Rum sauce.

Cajun chicken salad:
pieces of romaine lettuce on a bed of sliced chicken breast covered in spicy cajun sauce.

The bread was cute, served in a dimsum container, the bread was crusty and chewy, and the butter was nice and salty.

Grilled chicken:
juicy chicken with french fries and veg, the chicken was thigh meat. ( I thought is was slighty chinese the way it had been cooked)

Lemon pasta:
pasta cooked just right and the sauce was nice and lemoney, certainly worth choosing today to come. However the parsley could have been chopped finer since the menu said lemon and parsley sauce. It was more like a sprig of parsley.

Banana fritter:
Slightly over fried, not so much coconut, but the rum sauce was good, slightly bitter.
reminded me of the Caribbean.

Overall the menu is well suited for westerners and asians, since one dish will be western, and the other sounds western but cooked in chinese style.

 

 

 

Famous restaurant in the wet market eateries

Due to this keen waitress adjacent to this restaurant, we sat down in the wrong restaurant, but then luckily realised and quickly left and went to Ying Kee.

Was looking at the menu and the waitress asked us to hurry up and order because their kitchen was closing at 7pm, luckily had in mind on what to order so ordered that.

That waitress gave us soup for free, most probably they had some left at the end of the day, since she gave us free soup, she felt obliged to offer the people opposite us soup as well, but they rejected it.

As expected, the male staffs that serve food are very grubby and have black fingernails, but I pretended to not see that!
Same with the food, I did see some hair, but just let it pass by for this occasion.

Tomato and beef spaghetti:
There was generous tomato sauce, and it was not too sour either.
The spaghetti was firm, but not in long strands, so had to use a spoon.
Reminded me of heinz spaghetti.

E-noodles with chicken, enoki mushrooms in abalone sauce:
Also generous sauce with this dish, and the taste was just right, and there was plenty of chicken and mushrooms too.

Free papaya and chicken feet soup:
Just the usual soup taste

After dinner, started taking pictures of the menu, one of the cleaner staffs noticed that and gave us a photocopied menu (the young one who was practising Thai boxing when there were not much customers around).

Bit weird, as I did ask for a menu the previous day, but the waitress said there was none left.