This Sichuan joint has potential

The photos here looked promising so decided to try it out.

After browsing the menu there were quite a few items I wanted to order and the prices were reasonable because of it's location.

Ordered the bean noodles in chili oil and the Chengdu dan dan noodles.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]bean noodles in chili oil:[/b]

These bean noodles (Liangfen) were slightly off-white in colour, translucent and thick made with mung bean starch which have a jelly like texture.

They were in quite a lot of spicy hot chili hot oil which had vinegar in it to make it more appetizing.

Unfortunately, I found them too spicy but they were as good as the ones I had at the Mandarin Oriental.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]Chengdu dan dan noodles:[/b]
The noodles were flat and white which are better than those soft round ones.

I was told to mix the noodles and sauce quickly.
The dan dan sauce was different because there were no peanuts in the sauce but there were some black bits which were quite salty and gave it a nice flavour but again too spicy. 

The noodles had an interesting bean taste which reminded me of Wei Lih jah jan mien instant noodles that have a sachet of chili and black bean paste found in UK's Oriental supermarkets in UK.
http://www.theramenrater.com/2012/11/11/re-review-wei-lih-jah-jan-mien-instant-noodles-with-fried-soybean-paste/

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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[b]The bill:[/b] $80
[b]Service:[/b] OK
[b]Yummy factor:[/b] good
[b]Spiciness levels:[/b] HOT
[b]Napkins provided:[/b] yes
[b]English Menu:[/b] Yes
[b]Air Conditioning:[/b] Yes
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Sichuan Cuisine 蜀香

8 Kwong Wa Street Mong Kok

Death by chocolate at 富豪餅店

There are many chocolate related desserts called Death by chocolate but I have never tried one.
We were lucky to try this luxurious death by chocolate cake from Regal patisserie at a gathering.

It had a metallic appearance which I thought was whipped chocolate cream but it was hardened thick truffle paste.
In the middle there were two thick layers of chocolate ganache.
After having a few spoonfuls it got a bit sickly.
All I can say is that it was thick and heavy that the chocolate ganache in the middle is enough to bake quite a few chocolate cakes!!!

NOT going to try their savoury stuff EVER again!~ Ice Cream Gallery

Previously tried their lobster and escargot icecreams at their Kwun Tong branch which were horrible not because it was lobster or escargot but because it was sweet.
I have also tried their sweet icecreams which fared better.

This time they came up with this interesting congee flavour with fried dough sticks.
Before ordering I asked the staff if it was SWEET OR SAVOURY and she said it was definitely not sweet hence I ordered it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Congee icecream:
油炸鬼白粥

The texture was a failure because it was hard and powdery.
When you put the spoon in it, it was crumbled into frozen chalk.

The worst part was the taste because it was so chalky and sweet when I was expecting a savoury taste.
Even if I had a real cold congee it wouldn't be sweet!
Anyway, apart from congee, there were also gingko nuts in the icecream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Weird scrambled eggs at 美心MX

Got the meal with two choices.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Meal with two choices:


Chose the scrambled egg with luncheon meat but unfortunately the egg was tasteless and it tasted weird like plastic.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Oolong tea at Pacific Coffee Company

I was a bit bored with Jasmine and Earl Grey tea so this time chose oolong tea for a change.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
oolong tea:


When I took the lid off, I could see that the teabag was filled with shrivelled tea leaves, sadly they didn't unfold so the flavour was bland.

Slim chances of survival

There were quite a few branches of this noodle place with a nice one in Central that is decorated with many paper crafts and the chairs which you sit on are made of cardboard.

Sadly that place has closed down.

Made the mistake of ordering dishes because the noodles taste better.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]Natto and vegetable soup:[/b]

Tasted like instant powder soup with a strong aftertaste of milk powder.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]Fried tofu with seaweed powder:[/b]

The frying oil was a bit rancid so there wasn't a pleasant taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[b]rice:[/b]

The rice was too soft and mushy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

The two people set is $118 according to the photo but we got charged $128.

According to the menu, there are two sets for two people which are priced at $118 or $138 so it is such a mystery how they got $128.

Apart from the bill, the staff were nice and the food portions were too big.

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[b]The bill:[/b] $138
[b]Service:[/b] OK
[b]Service charge:[/b] no
[b]Yummy factor:[/b] Could be better
[b]Napkins provided:[/b] yes
[b]Toilets:[/b] no
[b]Portion sizes:[/b] big
[b]Noise levels:[/b] None
[b]Glass of water provided:[/b] yes
[b]English Menu:[/b] Yes
[b]Air Conditioning:[/b] Yes
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Seafood Stand

Discovered this on the way to dinner but as I still had time I stopped by for a small snack.

The prices were quite cheap but then it is located in TST East which is about right.
I wanted to order the grilled lobster with cheese but the lady couldn't tell me whether is was Mozzarella or Cheddar cheese.
She just said it was ordinary cheese which leaves a lot of guessing so I did not risk ordering it incase it turned out to be processed cheese or Mozzarella which is stringy and tasteless so I settled for the fish.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roasted Wild caught cod filet with lime juice:

I am not sure if they mean cod but the appearance and taste is not quite like the chunky cod species that I normally get from the chippy or the UK.
The idea of roasted cod with lime juice sounded good because citrus juices are a great complement to seafood.
When it arrived, the fish was as good as I expected in terms of presentation because it had a lovely crispy skin even though it didn't look like cod.
The lime juice was not juice but a lemon sauce for lemon chicken that is thick, more sweet than sour.
If it came with a wedge of lemon or lime or a pot of lime juice mixed with herbs I would have given it higher marks.
The fish, whatever fish it was tasted great because the skin that was attached to it gave it that extra fishyness and kept it moist and soft but the oil was a bit old which had a slight aftertaste otherwise the fish would have got top marks too. Again if it was proper lime juice or lemon, it would have balanced the old oil taste but then not everyone has sensitive tastebuds that can taste slight differences.

The ketchup is interesting because they have mixed black pepper and herbs in it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Freeze dried prawns from 小王牛肉麵山)

Walked past and saw these interesting snacks so bought a packet to try.






★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dried shrimps:

Basically they were freeze dried prawns or shrimps as they call them.
I had to eat them carefully because the shell is really sharp.

They were really crispy but there was not much prawn taste as I hoped.

The famous delights of MK at 第三代肥仔小食店

According to the media, this joint is the same as the famous Mong Kok branch run by her son.
In Chinese it is called 第三代肥仔小食店 which roughly means 第三代 Fat boy's shop.
第三代 means third generation which is quite confusing because it should be second generation if he is her son.
I tried to search for a second generation shop but couldn't find it.

Anyway, as long as it tastes as good as the MK branch, people will come here for it.

The layout is pretty much the same.

I like this branch because there is no queue so I have time to look and decide and there is a small bar table beside it too.
I ended up choosing pig's heart, pig's liver and octopus.

They all come with mustard, soy sauce and Chinese sweet sauce which go well with the skewers in the cabinet because offal is basically chewy and has similar tastes except for the textures.
I was impressed with the pig's heart because it was meaty and softer than the gizzard.
The pig's liver was a bit chalky for my liking and the octopus was definately the best.

Next time I am in the area I will have the octopus and pig's heart again!

Okinawan purple potato and genmaicha roll cake

The Swiss roll slices looked good so decided to get one.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]Okinawa purple potato and genmaicha roll cake:[/b]

The roll was quite nice because there was more Genmaicha filling than purple potato puree, but the filling got a bit too creamy and heavy towards the end.
It would be great if there was more sponge cake layers like Western Swiss rolls and less of the filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
https://www.aromebakery.com.hk
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[b]The bill:[/b] $18
[b]Service:[/b] OK
[b]Yummy factor:[/b] ok
[b]Sweetness levels:[/b] just right
[b]English Menu:[/b] Yes
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Tea world at :jrink

Apart from Shortbread Teas I also go to other tea places because I love tea.

jrink is similar to Shortbread Teas and DK Cuppa where you can smell the teas before deciding which one to get.

I liked the chocolate series and for green tea lovers they have three types of green tea powders.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tea samples for sniffing:


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate mint:

The chocolate was not strong compared to other brands I have tried but it was nice that it was actual tea leaves they used for the tea.
It was interesting that it had coconut in it too.
I don't mind coming back for other teas because there were some really nice ones that smelt good.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Choux Creme now in CWB

Previously tried this at Tai Koo and the service was crap.
The staff at this branch were much nicer.

On this visit I tried the yoghurt puff.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]Blueberry puff:[/b]

The blueberry puff was quite nice and it was filled with aerated yoghurt cream which actually tasted like yoghurt not fake cream however the yoghurt filling was too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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[b]The bill:[/b] $20
[b]Service:[/b] OK
[b]Service charge:[/b] no
[b]Yummy factor:[/b] ok
[b]Sweetness levels:[/b] slightly too sweet
[b]Napkins provided:[/b] no
[b]English Menu:[/b] Yes
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[Pacific Coffee] 2015 Xmas treats

I was mainly captivated by the cherry tart and ended up getting other stuff.
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Lemon and almond finger:

These were long strips of crispy puff pastry coated with lemon and almond slices.It tasted like Lemon Puffs with an extremely buttery taste so cookie lovers will like this.
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Cherry pie:

Got the cherry pie because I love cherries but it seems like a hybrid between a pie and tart.It’s more like a tart because it has weird a custard layer beneath the cherries which doesn’t make it a pie, while it looks visually like a pie, the pastry was tart pastry which was hard buttercrust.

Anyway, the custard ruined the taste and made it too sweet hence it didn’t taste like a pie.
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Strawberry vanilla cake:

The chocolate sponge was good but the vanilla mousse was a bit sweet like white chocolate and there was not much strawberry taste.
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