Big balls!

In Cheung Chau, there are lots of places selling HUGE BALLS, oops I mean huge fish balls.
I went to this stall randomly because they had five flavours:
Curry, Green Curry, Satay, Gravy and plain.


I chose the gravy because it was not spicy.
I also had a skewer of offal as well.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fish balls in gravy:

To me, fish balls are not really my cup of tea because I often find grounded fish bones in it and there is not more than 10% of fish in the mixture which is why it does not have any fish taste and needs sauces and more MSG in the mixture.
As I was a spolt brat, the fishballs I had were homemade which had more fish meat than flour in them.
Anyway, the fish balls here were ok, at least they did not contain any bones and they were springy and elastic.
The sauce was sweet and savoury which helped flavour the outside of the fishball and because it was so big by the time you got through to the middle there was no sauce left and it just tastes like the ordinary fish ball with a hint of sweetness but no fish taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Offal:

Not my cup of tea because the colour of it was dull and they stank.
Something was not cleaned properly which stank out everything in the pot.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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TUNG YUEN SNACK (Cheung Chau)

Price: $19
Service: OK
Yummy factor: ok
English Menu: no
Air Conditioning: no
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Traditional desserts don't work for me

After trying the strawberry series, came back to try the Durian pancake and this other grass jelly dessert with durian in vanilla sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Durian pancake:


There was a pile of these in the fridge which must mean they were made a while ago.
The cream tasted artificial and the durian meat was not that fresh.

I prefer the pancakes at Chung's because the pancakes here are thick and not so soft.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
grass jelly dessert with durian in vanilla sauce:

The grass jelly dessert fared better because I loved the vanilla sauce with ice crystals that cool you down.
The durian meat was quite heavy but it was the most expensive element in this dessert.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Price: $5X
Service: OK
Service charge: no
Yummy factor: Could be better
Noise levels: Noisy
Glass of water provided: No
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: Yes
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Spring at Azure

Tried the spring four course dinner which begins on March 4 for $588.
I have always been a fan of Azure because of the breathtaking views of Hong Kong and amazing location.


The decor of Azure is fantastic with a classy bar at the end.

A cocktail of colourful and fun drinks we had that night.


Naturally I love the vibes and the people here because the Chef is British and they have a hotel in the UK too.

To start off, we had bread which a came with three butters!! Not one but a choice of three!!
There was olive, truffle and Italian tomato.


All three butters were exceptionally good.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Goat's cheese:

This was compressed watermelon which is juicier and concentrated paired with goats cheese, pistachio, truffle and olive.
As you can see, it was presented colourfully and elegantly especially the golden caviar balls and truffle powder.
The cubes of juicy watermelon and cheese were just wonderful, a sweet burst followed by savoriness of the cheese.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Minestrone di primavera:
Light spring minestrone soup with finely diced zucchini.



The soup was poured into the bowl infusing with the vegetables and light foam.
I loved this soup because it couldn't be more refreshing, I loved the tartness and richness of the tomato.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

For the mains, there are three choices which we all tried:

Roasted red mullet:


Roasted Charlotte potatoes and fennel with an olive and capers salsa.
Succulent fish paired with heavily soaked fennel in alcohol which had a striking taste.

Veal saltimbocca:


Classic Italian dish with thin pan-fried veal scaloppini with sauteed spinach and prosciutto.
Even though beef is not my favourite meat, but this is the one to choose because the veal meat was soft and supple.
The prosciutto was gorgeous too because it was crispy and salty!!

Pappardelle with short rib ragu:


US beef short rib braised in red wine and beef stock with fresh tomatoes and basil.
As well as the veal, I liked this too because of the richly braised beef but the pappardelle could have been softer and more tomato and basil sauce would be good.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chamomile mascarpone mousse:


Lime jelly infused with chamomile served with homemade honey ice-cream.
Dessert here was visually stunning as well as mouth watering especially the honey icecream which had a fragrant honey taste, and the mousse in the middle had this texture similar to marshmallow.
I finished with the orange segment last as a refreshing juicy palate cleanser.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Robatayaki delights from Enmaru Izakaya

Enmaru Izakaya has newly opened at Times Square and I was invited to check it out.

At the entrance, it clearly themes itself with fire and Robatayaki because the logo is roaring with live digital fire.

Robatayaki or robata originates from Japan which means cooking by the fire where food is put on skewers and slow-grilled.
At Enmaru Izakaya, there is a huge robatayaki counter at the centre of the restaurant where everyone can watch.

They use vertical grilling in which not only juice and freshness of the meat are perfectly retained, but also smoke generated by meat juice dripped on charcoal can be avoided.

Here is Kinki fish being grilled and it reminds me of text books with Eskimos cooking their food by the fire.

We tried signiature dishes at Enmaru Izakaya and here was what we tried.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hokkaido Kinki Price: $888:

According to the restaurant, it is jet fresh from Japan. Hokkaido Kinki is a precious fish from the deep sea.
Using their grilling technique, it keeps the distinctive freshness and delicate taste of Kinki keeping the fish meat delicate and moist.
After trying it, the fish meat was soft inside and it was much moister than expected and the fish skin was lovely and crisp flavoured by the salt that was rubbed on it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
ENMARU's Signature Simmered Beef Offal with Garlic Bread Price: $72:

A classic dish proudly presented by ENMARU. Top-ranked beef offal and rib finger are simmered in a long-boiled rich flavored sauce.
It was interestingly paired with garlic toast to dip in this lovely rich sauce.
The rib meat was lovely and sauce and the offal taste was not that strong but can be fatty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Homemade Potato Salad with Salted Squid: $42

Homemade salad created by combining Hokkaido’s buttered potato with Izayaki’s well-known salted squid. The salad is stored in an air-tight glass container and sealed with an ENMARU sticker.
I love spuds, so clearly I was going to like this, after mixing the squid it gives it some extra saltiness.
Add the squid accordingly for the required saltiness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Homemade Tofu in Wooden Bucket $72:
To make this handmade tofu, organic soya milk was imported from Kyoto.
The hot and fresh tofu is contained in a traditional wooden bucket that is immediately served to customers giving that wow factor.

To accompany the tofu, there are some condiments.

Tried the tofu without the condiments and it was creamy with a strong soya bean taste.
After adding the salt, it enhanced it even more because the salt they serve has this umani taste as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweet Potato in Cream Honey Sauce $45:

These Kagoshima sweet potatoes were carefully grilled with bichotan retaining the natural sweetness and tenderness.
It was topped with ENMARU’s homemade cream honey sauce.
These sweet potatoes were divine because the cream was thick and fragrant with a reminiscence of clotted cream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
ENMARU Original Ramen Price: $78:

Ramen in white chicken soup prepared in Japan with a large amount of chicken bones, chicken feet and pork bones. After an eight hour long-boiling process, the soup is frozen and transported to Hong Kong by air, providing diners with the finest genuine taste from Tokyo Japan.
The noodles were impeccable as well and it was surprising to get a good quality ramen from a robatayki restaurant.
The price is affordable too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roasted Rib Eye Sushi Price: $98:
At first I did not know it was sushi because it looked like a big slice of thinly sliced beef.
It was a thin slice of premium Wagyu rib eye steak that is skillfully roasted and laid on sushi rice.


This is delight to beef lovers, a big slice of beef wrapped around the rice and eaten in one go!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
GARIGARI-KUN Shochu Soda Price: $48/glass:

A Classic Japanese ice lolly is added to shochu soda creating a playful drink that reminds every Japanese of their childhood.
If your lucky the lolly stick may be printed with a complementary drink, so be sure to check it!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
ENMARU Roll Price: $198:

The presentation of this was stunning, it was served on the longest plate you could possibly find and you need a long table for this!!
The sushi rolls was fresh paired with creamy foamed sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sake:


For sake lovers, there is huge variety of sake served here.
When diners enter the restaurant, there is a huge display of sake bottles at the entrance.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Green tea milk pudding:


A creamy and smooth milk pudding topped with light green tea sauce on top.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

The BEST dim sum in Hong Kong

Dragon I
At night, this is a thriving swanky chic club, in the day it is a classy restaurant for quality dim sums.

It is reassuring to see that 80% of the patrons are expats.
Although most expats are in Central, you don't find a majority of them in other Chinese restaurants which means this place is good!

I used to think the dim sums at Loyal dining and Loong Toh Yuen were good but the ones here are amazing, almost everything you order turns out great whereas at the other dim sum places, there are only one or two that are good.
I was surprised they are nominated in the Michelin nor in openrice's latest list because Dragon i dates back to 1967 way before I was born!!

As this restaurant is a nightclub at night, you would expect unpleasant smells from spilt drinks/alcohol/vomit but there were none.

However they do use aroma essences which make me dizzy.

Basically they serve all you can eat dim sum at $198 per person with nice ambiance because you don't get surrounded by loud chatter and clinking ceramics!
The best part is that you don't need to rinse anything!
Pity I did not discover this place earlier because it was cheaper before and I have been here so many times.

The quality is not as consistent as I would have hoped but the in general, the food quality is better than the dim sums elsewhere.

The staff here speak good English and are very attentative and they even refill your cups of tea as well.

I loved the huge oriental black teapot with flowers which was so classic and it holds a lot of tea in it too.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried crab claws:

It was a treat having these for dim sum because you usually find them in Chinese banquets and not served a la carte.
It was big and surprisingly filled with quality REAL crabmeat and prawn patty.
Again it was delicious when their frying oil was fresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sauces:

complimentary chili sauces that goes well with all their dim sums and enhances the taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jellyfish:

The jellyfish appetizer was divine, it was chunky pieces of jellyfish head which have a meatier texture soaked in their aromatic sesame and chili sauce seasoning.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice rolls with roast pork:
The best of the best here!!
They have joined forces with Joy Hing roast who are famous for roast pork!!


The rice rolls were truly delicious as well because of the thinly sliced roast pork from JH inside wrapped tautly in the delicious THIN and al dente rice rolls skin paired with their delicious sweet soy sauce!!
From the photo you can see how translucent the rice roll skin was.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried crab dumplings:

This was similar to the crab claws, but it had more crabmeat inside which was fluffier and softer encased in the delicious crispy shell!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sharks fin dumpling in soup:


I was surprised by this as well because I found crabmeat in it too, but the soup was a bit heavy for my liking however they have red vinegar which balances it out.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef and parsley balls:

If they are consistent, these beef balls are delicious because the parsley was fragrant and they put lots into it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
fried squid rings:

These squid rings were addictive because they were chunky, soft and the coating was thin and delicious.
I loved the soft fatty texture of each squid ring complemented by the light crispy batter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Vegetarian rice rolls:


Another genius dish of rice rolls because they were filled with crunchy vietnamese rolls with a crisp netting and juicy pieces of white carrot and waterchestnuts inside complemented by the fragrant parsley leaves on the outside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roast pork buns:


If these buns could be consistent, again they taste the best because the bun was really fluffy and soft without being dry.
The roast pork filling inside was delicious and not fatty.
Usually expats and I hate these roast pork buns because they just taste sweet but here you can actually taste the roast pork and the fluffy bun was not that sweet as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Anyway, I love this place for dim sum and I don't get bored of it.
If you google this place, it comes up with the best place for dim sum in expat forums but it hasn't been nominated for anything yet.
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Price: $198 per person
Service: great
Yummy factor: great
Toilets: yes
Glass of water provided: tea is provided
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: Yes
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