Udon in rich crab sauce at Donka

Ever since GF recommended this place, I have always wanted to go but couldn't because they don't open on weekends and it is located on the 11th Floor which puts me off.

Basically any restaurant above the 1st floor will not be high on my priority list because I can't be bothered to wait for elevators going there and on the way out.

According to the reviews, the service is cha chaan teng style at fine dining price.

I got there at an odd hour, so there were no customers throughout my meal.

The service was reasonable because they were not busy, but the staff were rather noisy because they had trouble with their phone so they kept shouting to whoever was on the other end.

The decor was simple and reasonably comfortable.



The menu had Japanese and Chinese fusion dishes starting at $98.

I chose the udon in crab sauce as planned.
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Udon with crab sauce:


The udon was nicer than anticipated because they served the thin Inaiwa type which was extremely al-dente.
It was richly covered in orange crab sauce which was enough to finish the whole bowl of udon, but I found it a bit too salty and there was quite a fair bit of grounded pork fat, other than that, I loved the chunks of crab which did not have any annoying bits of crab shell.
There was vinegar too which was supposed to enhance the taste but I found it too sweet to do any good.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The udon was $148 but with the 10% on top, it came to a whopping $16X which was rather pricey for a bowl of udon which does not include a starter or soup.

It came with a drink but the choice could have been better because for Japanese and Chinese fusion I would have expected a choice for Japanese tea but it was only the local chachaanteng choices ie lemon tea, HK style tea or Coffee which I don't drink.

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Donka

11/F, 11 Stanley St., Central

Udon tempura is coming

Marugame Seimen
Since my last visit, there are new items on the menu.

They have wasabi inari!


They also had UDON TEMPURA which was not for sale as it was on trial.
They looked like snacks called potato sticks.

Anyway I tried one and the texture and taste was exactly like those potato sticks.








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Curry Udon:


I am not fond of Sanuki udon, but this time it was quite nice because it was chewy and al-dente.


The curry sauce was just right and not too spicy.
It would be great if they had a vegetarian version without the beef or burdock curry.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Udon with meat and burdock:


Beef is not really my favourite meat, but the burdock was nice.
At the end, it was not very pleasant because the lard started solidifying.





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Squid tempura:





The squid was delicious, the batter was light and it was infused with seaweed powder.
The squid was nice and chunky too but not tough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Salmon omusabi:
This was delicious but disappointing because it did not hold together!
No improvement from my previous visit.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Overall, this place is good for fast food and you can grab what you like from the Tempura bar.

Delicious Okinawan style in East Soho

This Okinawan restaurant has been around before people started to discover that Okinawa was a good place to travel to and the trend for Okinawan foods.

Long before the time when Japanese dramas were broadcasted on TV.

It is located near Tai Koo Plaza by the residential flats and its first review dates back to 2007.

The decor was quite nice, it was mainly wood and black.

 

There was a sashimi bar where people can sit and chat to the chef while waiting for their food.

 

After trying an Okinawan restaurant recently, I was slightly more familiar with Okinawan food and the main items in that cuisine are Bitter gourd and seagrapes.

 

I would have ordered the jewel leaf but they did not have it.

They had pork knuckles as well but I tried other stuff.

After you have ordered, they give you some jellyfish pickles.

 

They provide tea as well.

 

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Musabi with roe:

 

The musabis were quite big and it came with pickles to give it more flavour.

The roe in the middle was quite salty and hard.

 

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Miso soup:

 

The miso soup was quite nice and there were generous vegetables and tofu pieces in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Congee with sea kelp and fish roe:

 

The taste of this extremely light so it is advised to try this first.
There is orange cod roe in the congee which gives it some slight flavour if you really concentrate your tastebuds.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bitter gourd panfried dumplings:

 

These dumplings were delicious, the dumpling skin was also green, inside the dumplings were thinly sliced pieces of bitter gourd which were crisp and still had the bitterness to it.
After dipping it in the vinaigrette, it was even more delicious as the bitterness was reduced.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Squid ink soup:

 

The squid ink taste was not prominent. You could only tell that it was squid ink because of the colour.
I was expecting the soup to be slighty thicker and not transparent.
Basically it tasted the same as the miso soup I had earlier.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Udon stir fried in squid ink sauce:

 

The udon was fried in squid ink sauce and there were generous pieces of baby sweetcorn, carrots and sliced pork.
However the slices of pork were not lean, and the squid ink taste was not prominent.
It tasted like udon stir fried in oyster sauce because it was quite sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Overall the portions here were reasonably big.