[The Spaghetti House] New Ocean Bounty menu

The Spaghetti House at Wanchai is a good place for dinner during the weekdays because all the people working in that area have deserted the place.

There was a new summery Ocean Bounty menu launched for summer.

They even had sea cucumber on the menu paired with salad but I was immediately attracted to the squid ink ravioli filled with spinach and scallops that are made freshly everyday.

It was a very hot day so had the macchiato with haagan dazs vanilla icecream topped with a square cube of frozen red bean puree recommended by the manager.

Definitely a photogenic drink with a strong matcha bitterness complimented by the red beans at the bottom.

The other drink Strawberry wonderland was just simply stunning with the sexy red strawberry floating on ice.

Started with the creamy asparagus soup with scallops which is a good pairing of asparagus and scallops because both are delicate in flavour.

The garlic bread was perfectly toasted and buttered, it was crispy with a slight soft centre saturated with garlic butter.

The mussels came in a rich tomato sauce which made every mussel tasty while the sauce was great for dipping the garlic bread.

Now to the star of the show, the squid ink ravioli filled with spinach and scallops were big while the ravioli pasta was soft and hung the lobster sauce well. 

www.thespaghettihouse.com

[Rustico] “Taste of Moments” Menu HK$880 available from 12 – 14th July

Rustico, helmed by chef Carlos Salvador Asensio is celebrating its 3rd Anniversary with a range of world class dining experiences.
“Taste of Moments” Menu HK$880 available from 12 – 14th July are highlights from Barcelona.

Here was what we had:

Gilt ceviche and tiger's milk, a refreshing start.

Coca “Vendimia” which was Whole Wheat Bread Topped with Garlic, Parmesan and Pine Nut Gelatine, and Dried Fruits', quite complex is taste when you burst the bubble in your mouth.

The Dried Fruits' seed Sticks with Japanese Miso was a fun teaser.

The “Ajo Blanco” Garlic-Hazelnut white Soup, Smoked Eel, figs was unique because you can really taste hazelnuts but there was a cheesy twist in taste.

The Manzanilla wine marinated raw Tiger Prawn served with Cherrie gelatine, mustard and Black Olive paste was too beautiful to eat.

I am personally not fond of sea cucumber because in Hong Kong, it is not the way how I like it but the Spanish sea Cucumber was fantastic because it was served on Potato puree with fresh Zucchini, Parsley-Pesto which tastes so much better.

The French Seabass, fresh lettuce, raisins and cashew nuts, Mango and Japanese curry Sauce was lovely with the touch of curry in the gravy.

For mains, I had the Stewed beef cheek served with red fruit and Daikon ravioli which was soft and gelatinous while the Daikon ravioli balanced the heaviness of the beef.

Dessert was Lemon cream topped with Curry foam and lemon sherbet, crispy coconut and crumble.

[RUSTICO]
D2 Place
Lai Chi Kok

[Metro Buffet & Grill] Seafood Buffet

After dining at Eaton a few weeks ago, decided to come back for the buffet because they have launched some new items for summer.
The buffet starts from 6 to 9:30 and it was nice of them to let you get seated before 6 and all staff had sincere smiles and service.
I thought it was a good deal for HK$478 per person because other places that serve oysters and seafood are around $600-700 per person.

As soon as I arrived, the place was impressive, it was like a green house with a high viewing ceiling and a birdcage with a crystal chandelier inside with bullet lifts going up and down.

You could also smell a lovely aroma from the Movenpick cart which offers so many different icecreams and toppings.

The buffet selection was really good, I like the cured salmon in beetroot and the other ginger one.

There were mussels as well:

The crispy soft shell crabs were paired nicely with salad.

In the Chinese crab selection, they had fried crab with glass vermicelli which was so tasty because it had absorbed the flavours of the crab.

Finished with a sweet ending of icecream and desserts.

[Metro Buffet & Grill]
380 Nathan Road

[Flamingo Bloom] Modern stylish affordable crafted teas

As well as food,  tea is another big thing for me, be it Chinese leaf tea or English tea.
For some people coffee is their start to the day whereas its tea for me.
Since Shortbread Teas closed down,  there hasn't really been another proper tea house.
Flamingo Bloom is totally different, I first noticed it when there was an eye-catching  lovely pink front backdrop covering the entrance.

There are four main tea blends with Jasmine tips green being the signature,  Highland oolong,  Honey orchid black and Chrysanthemum Pu'er.
They serve these teas for only $19, but why not go for the fancy crafted tea when you can have it with fruit, boba pearls, latte and even topped with a salted milk cap.

The tea that I had was just my style because all I could think of was Wimbledon and Cream teas.
It was SMASHED STRAWBERRIES JASMINE TIPS GREEN WITH A SALTED MILK CAP.

The taste was exactly like drinking fresh strawberries with thick cream just like strawberries and cream during Wimbledon Tennis season.
The name couldn't coincide better with Tennis because a Smash hit is where you hit the ball with an overhead smash.
Important tip:  The salted milk cap is drunk without the straw so that when you drink it from the cup,  you end up with a mix of strawberry tea and the milk cap,  otherwise with a straw you just end up drinking the tea and the milk cap is left floating on top.
Also tried the other teas which were as good as my expectation, basically a tea with a decent natural taste since they are brewed with tea leaves.
The decor and logo revolves around flamingoes so expect bright colours with a summery splash,  something that will put you in a positive energetic mood all year round.

Grand opening on July 2nd (Sun) 2017, they are giving away mini Flamingo floats with any drinks purchased between July 2 to 4 from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm, while stocks last.

Other drinks at Flamingo Bloom:
[Jasmine tips green with fresh fruits]

++++++
[Honey orchid black with Boba and salted milk cap]

++++++++
[ Jasmine tips green with Salted milk cap]

++++++++
This is a brand that I can see popping up in London or New York because it has style and an image that can be readily accepted anywhere.

[Flamingo Bloom]
50 Stanley Street,
World Trust Tower,
Central, Hong Kong

[泰麵膳 Boat Noodle] Authentic boat noodles in TST

To get decent boat noodles in Hong Kong, you have to trek into Kowloon City where most of the Thai joints are, but saying that the food can be disappointing because quite a lot of it is localized.
There is new joint in TST for boat noodles helmed by a Thai Chef and the menu and noodles are amazing.

The menu is simple and offers boat noodles, Yentafo in soup or soupless and Tomyumkung in soup or soupless with a choice of the usual rice noodles, Cambodian noodles, flat rice noodles etc.

I tried the Yentafo and boat noodles.
+++++++
YenTaFo:

Strangely not many Thai places serve Yentafo but it basically contains my favourite fermented red beancurd and chili in the broth.
The soup was tangy and had a strong red beancurd taste followed by a slight chili kick.
Rice vermicelli is the best noodle for this because it absorbs the soup.
It is topped with meatballs, fishballs, fishball slices which were surprisingly delicious and there is also a fish skin dumpling included as well.
+++++++++
Boat noodle:

Had the beef boat noodle and the broth was strong.
It was topped with tasty beef and fragrant basil leaves.
+++++++++
For snacks had the chicken skin and chicken drumettes.
+++++++++
The chicken skin was a delicious guilty moreish snack because it was so crispy yet not oily.

+++++++++
The chicken drumettes were well seasoned.

I could taste yellow ginger.
+++++++++
Definitely coming back again for more noodles or during the late supper section from 9-11pm because they serve smaller bowls for $12.
++++++++++
泰麵膳 Boat Noodle
https://www.facebook.com/boatnoodlehk/

A visit to Grade I Historic Building Lui Seng Chun (雷生春)

In the midst of new buildings bordering Prince Edward and Shamshuipo lies this old Lui Sang Chun building built in 1931.

They hold regular tours which I tried to apply but was unsuccessful due to it being cancelled.

Quoted from the LSC website:
"Lui Seng Chun is an old Chinese shop house (tong lau) originally owned by Mr. Lui Leung, a renowned businessman who moved to Hong Kong from Taishan county in Guangdong province. Designed and built by architect W.H. Bourne, the building was completed in 1931 with a total gross floor area of 600 square metres. Typical of all tong laus at the time, the ground floor of the four-storey building was used as shops while the upper floors were used as dwellings.

Since the 1960s, the Lui family began to move out of the building as the family continued to grow in size. The building became vacant in the 1970s. In 2000, the Antiquities Advisory Board designated Lui Seng Chun a Grade I historic building. With the vision of preserving the building and to contribute to society, the Lui family decided to donate the building to the Government in the same year.

The Lui Seng Chun building was included in Batch I of the "Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme" initiated by the Government in 2008 and, after a bidding process, Hong Kong Baptist University was selected to conserve the building and convert it into a Chinese medicine healthcare centre. The revitalisation work was completed in early 2012 and the clinic, Hong Kong Baptist University School of Chinese Medicine – Lui Seng Chun, commenced operations in April 2012."

Anyway, they serve herbal teas on the ground floor so decided to get the tea for fun which was unsweetened but not too bitter.

There were four different teas so it depends on how you feel but the lady there should be experienced enough to identify your symptoms and serve you the appropriate tea.

For more information and tour applications:
http://scm.hkbu.edu.hk/lsc/en/index.html

Lui Seng Chun (雷生春) 

Grade I Historic Building,

119 Lai Chi Kok Road, in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.

[Snow Sandwich] A cool corner in the midst of summer

I was walking to Yau Ma Tei in the sweltering heat when I noticed this bright blue shop so took a look.
It was out of place but stood out because of the bold design and fonts.

The name of the joint cooled me down slightly.

When I got nearer, I realized it was a sandwich joint and they had some homemade icecreams.
As it was stifling hot, I decided to get the avocado icecream since it was a rare flavour.

It was a bit icy but perfect on a hot day with a nice avocado flavour and real bits of avocado it it.

Snow Sandwich:
https://www.facebook.com/snowsandwich
G/F, Cheong Lok Street, Pak Lok Mansions, 322-326 Nathan Road, Jordan