[Review] Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream - China Town

There are two branches of Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream and they are famous for its purple ube ice-cream and other sweet treats.

Mamasons specializes in Filipino ice cream with special items during the weekend when there are more people.
There are two branches, one in Chinatown and one at Camden.

As I was at Leicester Square, I tried Mamasons over the weekend as they had the donuts as well.

I went for the ube icecream on ube brownie as well as the donut.

If you have tried Flipino food, a majority of it can be quite sweet but overall Flipino food is extremely delicious especially dinuguan, pinkabare, taro leaves etc.

At the Chinatown branch of Mamasons, you can expect it to be quite busy being in a prime location so best to visit on week days.

The ube donut was just pretty, an ordinary donut contrasted by the purple creme which had a rich and fragrant ube taste, however the doughnut dough was a little disappointing because it wasn't yeasty and it was rather oily and yellow just like Chinese donuts.

As for the ube brownie, it was definitely different because it was made of ube hence the dark purple.
Unfortunately, I found the texture too sugary but luckily the ube ice-cream fared better.

Also had tea, but it was too hot to handle as they didn't have cup sleeves but luckily they gave me another cup.

[Review] China Town - Wan Chai Corner

Wan Chai corner has been around in Chinatown for quite a while.
They serve Chinese roasts and the usual fare.

In Hong Kong, Wanchai is a place on the Hong Kong island which is a mix of residential and offices.
It has changed so much over the last ten years with Lee Tung Avenue taking it to the next level bringing more hip restaurants to the scene.

As I like Wan Chai, I decided to try Wan Chai Corner for food.

I have always felt that Chinese food in UK is better than Hong Kong without needing much luck or connections.
For example tastings in Hong Kong, sometimes food is presented better but in reality when I return as a customer it is not the case.

Chinese roasts are much better in UK as the meat is fresh while most in Hong Kong stink.

Anyway, at Wan Chai corner, tried the stir fried beef with flat noodles, roast pork and crispy pork belly over rice and this tofu thing in gravy.

Overall, the Roast pork was my favourite, it was soft, moist and succulent.

The stir fried beef with flat noodles were also better than a good majority in Hong Kong, although there are a few good ones over there.

The tofu dish was not mine but just showing it here anyway.

Finished with fortune cookies which is such a China Town thing!

Ask any Hong Konger and they won't know what the hell they are but recently expat Chinese restaurants like Madame Ching are serving them.

The Menu:

Wan Chai Corner:
10 Wardour Street

[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

[Review] London Chinatown's talk of town Wong Kei

Wong Kei is a famous restaurant in Chinatown for its rude service.
It is that famous you can google it on Wikipedia.

All that changed after 2001 when the restaurant got refurbished and friendlier waiters were hired but still there are some cocky ones.

To be honest, I am not a fan of Hong Kong style Chinese food but went because I was curious of how the restaurant was after renovation.

Not my cup of tea but it is the usual stuff you get from Hong Kong so if you miss food there, I would highly recommend it.
Saying that, I didn't order the roast duck but saw someone eating it and it looked good so I might try it next time as the famous duck nearby was disappointing.

Here were the dishes my friends had. Basically the Hong Kong fare.
Tried the flat rice noodles and tofu and it is the same but probably cleaner and fresh than the crap in Hong Kong.

Also had the beef brisket noodles which I would say taste better than Hong Kong because the beef is edible and tasty.

The broth is also rich with a hint of caraway seeds unlike the anaemic pale tasteless beef brisket soups in Hong Kong.

I would say the broth here is tasty like the one you get at Wing Kei noodles in Causeway bay while the noodles don't have that annoying lye flavour to it and the texture is much softer.

It is also recommended to ask for the chilli oil which spices things up even though it is tasty without whereas in Hong Kong chilli oil is definitely needed because the noodles and broth are seriously tasteless except for that nasty lye taste.

The only place for good beef brisket noodles in Hong Kong is Kau Kee where they also put caraway in the beef stock but their broth is weak.

I was a bit disappointed with the stir fried beef flat noodles because the strands were all broken which made it hard to pick up with chopsticks let alone a fork.

I found it bland overall.

The tea you get is also good and you can see why it is so aromatic because you get whole tea leaves.

Not top quality but better than average.

WONG KEI:
41-43 Wardour St, London W1D 6PY

[LoYe DimSum] DimSum just like China Town

Although Hong Kong is famous for dimsum, a good majority are not as good as the dimsums in UK because the dumpling skin is weak, the quality of the fillings are not fresh and they are oily and spiked with too much MSG.
I was attracted to this place because one of the reviews showed these cute dimsums and I don’t mind paying more if it is good.
They offer traditional dimsums as well but I was more interested in the modern dimsums.
The restaurant décor was really nice, it had a Western Oriental touch to it with nice wallpapers and window frames.

Visible kitchen:

Nice chopsticks and bowls:

They were playing old Chinese music that people listen to in the UK.

Tried both the traditional and modern dimsum and personally I liked the modern whereas the traditional dimsums are more suited to local tastes.
I think expats will like this place but a better English menu is needed.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Black pepper wagyu puffs:

Light and delicate pastry filled with beef in rich black pepper gravy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Goldfish dumplings:

Flawless prawn dumplings.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Buns:

These were buns with a cavity in the middle when you turn them over to put the delicious spicy and salty pickles in the middle.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Crispy duck English style:

This is how duck is served in UK, the duck is fried but it is still soft and silky in the middle with crispy skin on the outside.
Overall, it was nice but it would be perfect if they came with pancakes.
Ironically, Charlie's place a few doors away also had this duck but the owners have gone back to UK and now this place has popped up.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Black and white prawn toast:

Creative prawn toasts with the use of black and white sesame together but I wasn't keen because there was processed cheese in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Black garlic and spring onion oil fried rice:

When it came, it looked like green tea fried rice with red beans but it was actually grounded spring onion that gave it the green colour with pieces of black garlic.
The taste was interesting because it reminded me of the spring onion and ginger oil that you get with roast chicken.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Crispy pork knuckle:

A nice pork knuckle with crispy skin and pork that was not too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Beef Short Rib:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Custard dumplings:

Sago dumplings filled with custard.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
I can't wait to come again for dimsum and duck.

[LoYe DimSum 老爺點心]
Man Hee Mansion, 4 Landale St, Wan Chai
Phone: 2328 8938