Veg Indian paradise at [Sangeetha - 新意達]

I eat quite a lot of Indian food because it is one of my favourite Cuisines.
Recently I have started exploring Vegetarian Indian food when I realized there are quite a few in TST.
When I walked into Sangeetha, I was impressed to see that they make their own snacks because I normally buy these at Indian shops.

The menu was impressive and there was so much to choose from.

For Vadas, there was a good variety like Onion, pepper etc and the milkshake range too.
Started with the hazelnut milkshake which was very sweet.

It was really difficult making my mind up because every item was different and something I wanted to try.
Started with the onion vada which was crispy with lots of onions in it.
I was so glad I had this because most restaurants serve plain vada.

Next was the Idiyappam which is similar to rice vermicelli with coconut chutney and curry. The pairing of these were great as it balanced the fieriness of the spices.

Next was the Uttapam whichi is like a thick pancake with lots of peas in it. It was crisp on the surface with juicy sweet peas popping in your mouth.

For carbs, I had the fried mushroom rice and Sichuan fried noodles.

In my opinion, Indian fried rices and noodles are far less oily but then I am biased because I love long grain Indian rice which is fluffy and soft!
I really liked the fried rice because there was crisp lettuce in it which gave it a refreshing mouthfeel. The Palak Mutter was spicy but great with the rice.

Overall, this was the best experience because the staff were very patient and expat friendly so I will be coming back again.

[Sangeetha - 新意達]
UG 1-5 & 31, Wing On Plaza, 62 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

[Ebisoba Ichigen] has landed in Hong Kong

Ichigen is a famous ramen joint from Japan with its signature broth made with small shrimps.

There are 3 types of seasoning, miso, salt and soy sauce and 2 types of noodle to choose from.
The basic noodles come with a slice of roast pork, half an egg sprinkled with pretty pink crispies made of flour mixed with red ginger and prawn broth.
The broth was rich with unami as expected with a slight bitterness which hung to the noodles well.
Also had the BBQ pork rice which is exclusive in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the pork was tender and moist drizzled in this sweet and spicy sauce.

The prawn riceball is also a must order, rich in prawn flavours.

I felt that it tasted like firm lotus leaf wrapped rice infused with prawn flavours.

As a tea lover, I finished with oolong tea.

Expect long queues for the time being.
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[Ebisoba Ichigen]
Shop B-F, G/F, Yan King Court,
119-121 Queen`s Road East, Wan Chai

Sweet dinner at [Warren]

Dined here because a friend said he would be in the kitchen.
I don't know how long he has been cooking but Kits dishes were quite good.

The set dinner had a sweet theme to it, all the courses had some dessert element in it.

For appetizers had the Black Truffle Scallop Eclair and  Fried Foie Gras with Mashed Apple Sauce with Fig.
++++++++
Black Truffle Scallop Eclair:

The sweet scallops were topped on a light puffy eclair complimented by the fresh cucumbers and truffle.
++++++++
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Mashed Apple Sauce with Fig: Although I am bored of foie gras, this one was well executed because the texture wasn't oily paired nicely with he dried apple slice and fig sauce.

+++
Next were the French Onion Soup and Lobster and Tomato Soup:

+++
Lobster and Tomato Soup:

The tomato soup was a surprise because it was tomato consomme which tasted like tomato essence so I really liked it.

For mains, had the duck and Lobster. The presentation of the Sous vide French Duck Breast was really colourful.

++++

My Lobster Thermidor and Lobster Souffle was fun. The lobster souffle was a fluffy savoury souffle with lobster pieces at the bottom.

++++

Finished with the Daily Dessert Platter (+$80) which includes their light creme brulee cheesecake and double chocolate cake.

++++

[Warren]

Shop 1, G/F, The Warren, 9 Warren Street, Tai Hang

Tel: 23925121

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Louis XIII Cognac x [100 Years] by Pharrell Williams

On November 13th, LOUIS XIII Cognac premiered "100 Years", A Song We’ll Hear In A Century, But Only #IfWeCare About The Planet. "100 Years" is a first-of-its-kind musical composition created by Pharrell Williams and not set to be publicly released until the year 2117. LOUIS XIII and Pharrell's partnership is the result of a mutual dedication to the environment and an appreciation for its fragility.

This artistic project expresses the delicate relationship between nature and time, and the long-lasting effects humans have on their environment. LOUIS XIII is familiar with those effects, as it must always think a century ahead: each decanter of LOUIS XIII Cognac represents the life achievement of generations of Cellar Masters.

Pharrell’s exclusive track is engraved on a unique clay record made from the rich soil of Cognac, France. It is being kept in one of LOUIS XIII’s cellars in a custom, state-of-the-art safe. The safe has no code and no key, as it will unlock automatically in November 2117. But it is also water-soluble, which means the world’s only copy of “100 Years” will be destroyed if our neglect for the earth leads water levels to rise up.

I was really honored to attend this event witness Vincent J. Géré, Louis XIII Asia Pacific Director, unveil the unique safe storing Pharrell’s "100 years" exclusively displayed at this event.

A close up of unique clay record made from the rich soil of Cognac, France.

Mr Géré also explained the delicate relationship between LOUIS XIII and Time, and how each decanter of LOUIS XIII represents the life achievement of generations of cellar masters.

I tried the prestige LOUIS XIII and can't agree more with Mr Géré, that the Cognac is like walking into a big Cathedral, you cannot see everything in one go, but you see and taste more after taking more sips.

These beautiful Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac Crystal Glasses by Christophe Pillet make the sweetest toasting sounds!

https://www.louisxiii-cognac.com/en/100Years

[Vuong's French Sandwich] Vegetarian series

This is probably the 6th visit to Vuong because their Vietnamese baguettes are really tasty.Usually I go to the HK branch but they have moved all their operations here.
Luckily they still serve my favourite double cheese baguette.
As well as meat, they serve quite a lot of vegetarian options like Vegetarian Vietnamese Baguette and Vegetarian noodles.

On this visit, I had the new vegetable salad which comes with a choice of two dressings: Vietnamese or Japanese.

The Japanese sauce on the right is suitable for vegetarians because it does not contain garlic. It is made with olives and vinegar.
The Vietnamese sauce on the left contains fish sauce which was given for my noodles.

I tried the noodles without any sauce. I found it palatable so if you really wanted to be health conscious, it tastes ok without but of course better with sauces. Personally, I liked their new Japanese sauce because it wasn't sweet and the vinegar is appetizing.

The vegetable salad was huge and nutritious with pine nuts and seasonal veggies like lettuce, cucumber, onions, pickled carrots, coriander and tomatoes.

Finished off with my favourite vegetarian baguette which was packed with delicious flavours as usual from the chilis and pickles.

The cheese baguette is another must order item as well, but unfortunately I was full so I finished off with the salty sprite which has a prominent salty lemon taste to it.

I WILL BE BACK FOR THE CHEESE BAGUETTE!

[Vuong's French Sandwich]
Shop B4, 1 Tak Hing Street, Jordan
Tel: 26583800

[Pinot Duck] Duck Duck Ducktastic

Pinot duck has been serving duck dishes since 2015 in Stanley before the recent duck trend with places like MC DXXK, Forbxden Duck, etc.
With Charlies Restaurant in WC gone (my favourite Chinatown British style Peking Duck), Pinot Duck is one of the good ducks to replace it I suppose.
They serve almost anything ranging from Peking Duck to Modern duck dishes such as Crispy duck wings, duck lollipops, duck liver pate to duck risotto.

I was overwhelmed to learn that a second branch had just opened in Wanchai because Stanley is a bit of a trek and more people can finally try it.
With its new location in Wanchai, the place where everything happens, it is now time to for it to shine and the menu is bigger and better with more duck dishes than ever.
Next stop Michelin??

As I have already dined twice at the Stanley branch, I decided to try the new dishes but the one dish I had to order again was the Crispy Duck wings!!!!

Here was what I had:
*****
Crispy Duck Wings tossed in Sichuan pepper and cumin seasoning:
This is probably the only restaurant in HK that serves meaty and divine duck wings. They are extremely crispy and tasty especially with the unique Sichuan pepper and cumin seasoning.

*****
Xi'an Lamb Skewers:
This was a non duck dish but it was amazing because the chunks of lamb were juicy and tender and the yoghurt wasabi dip was fantastic as I never expected yoghurt and wasabi could taste that good together.
The dip was a good marriage of the East and the Middle East since yoghurt is always paired with lamb.

*****
Classic Peking Duck:
As well as Hoi Sin sauce, they also serve it with black pepper sauce, crispy garlic and minced garlic which makes sense because lots of duck dishes are served with black pepper sauce so you can have fun and experiment on the sauces.
Personally, I liked having my pancakes with hoisin sauce and cucumber and the pancakes were very satisfying because the texture was elastic and springy and holds everything together well.

*****
Pan Fried Duck with Sichuan Spices and Lychee hawthorn:
I ordered this because the Sichuan Spices and Lychee hawthorn was an interesting combination.
When it came, it was duck breast slices topped with lychee and hawthorn.
The taste was like sweet and sour with a twist of fragrant Sichuan pepper and sweet lychee contrasted by the tartness of the Hawthorn berries!
Personally, I found this dish really good with plain rice.

*****
Duck Fried Rice:
The duck fried rice was well executed with juicy pieces of pineapple and finely chopped spring onion.
It had a prominent charred aroma (wok hei) to it and they use Vietnamese Rice which is soft and fragrant.

*****
For desserts I went for the two new items, the Rolling Donkey and the Golden Almond Fingers.

Rolling Donkey:
The presentation of this was a surprise, it was glutinous rice mochi pieces covered in coconut shreds and crushed peanuts inside a black and white chocolate shell which you break.
Eating the mochi pieces and chocolate pieces were so good together because you get the sweetness from the chocolate which isn't too sweet and the coconut shreds reminded me of the Bounty Chocolate bar.

*****
Golden Almond Fingers:
This was a playful twist from fried milk replaced with almond milk. Inside the golden crispy batter was this silky sweet almond pudding filling.
It would be great if there was some sort of punchy sauce on the side or partially drizzled on top like Passionfruit or Cherry to complement it.

*****
I plan to try this again during lunch too see how their lunch menu fares and hopefully go here again with friends in the near future!!!!!
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[Pinot Duck] - Wan Chai
-Ground Floor, 18 Lun Fat Street
Wanchai, Hong Kong
 +852 2570 5928

[Pinot Duck] - Stanley
-Shop G07 The Piazza, Stanley Plaza
23 Carmel Road, Stanley, Hong Kong
+852 2772 0060

Enquiry: Info@pinotduck.com
Opening Hours: Mon - Sun 12 nn - 10pm
https://www.instagram.com/pinotduck/
https://www.facebook.com/pinotduckhk/

[Sun Curry] Star Street is never gloomy with Sun Curry

Discovered this new curry joint on Star Street when I was going to Maison ES recently.
The curry joint stood out because of the hippy style flowery SUN logo and the bright LED star.

Finally went there during Easter.
On the menu, there is a simple choice of curry which is paired with rice, noodle, vermicelli, flat rice noodle and udon.
They also specialize in Beef Brisket too, there is ordinary beef brisket and the Superb Beef brisket which is in limited supply each day.
I was really chuffed to see Lemon Chicken, Curry Fishballs and Fried Ice Cream on the menu.
It really felt like going to my local Chinese Takeaway in UK because curry and lemon chicken are popular picks.

Tried the Lemon Chicken and Beef Curry.
At first, I thought the curry tasted like Japanese curry but then it tasted like Pakistani curry which is very spicy.

Also tried a bit of the Superb beef brisket which was very soft and that beef broth it was in was amazing so I would recommend their beef brisket noodles as well.

The lemon chicken in appetizing lemon sauce was comforting and healthier because it was pan fried and not the deep fried version.

I really enjoyed my curry fix so I will be back for the fried ice cream and I secretly wish fried apple / banana is going to be on the menu and sweet and sour chicken too!!!
As you can imagine, this joint is very popular with residents and people working nearby.

[Sun Curry]
2C Star Street, Wanchai
Tel: 24123423