The Banqueting House's mooncakes

The Banqueting House (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Recieved a mooncake coupon for The Banqueting House's custard mooncakes.

The mooncakes were in a paper box which was quite environmentally friendly.


【酥皮奶黃月餅】迷你八個裝
After they were reheated they smelt very buttery and the custard filling was sweet and savory.


As they do not have any preservatives they need to be refrigerated.

I would advise getting them before you go home because they need to be refrigerated.

Having a quick dessert inside Cafe Inside

This is the second branch of Cafe Inside, the first branch is located on Water Street in Sai Ying Pun.

It was like a greenhouse inside and there was an open area which is currently wasted.



This place used to be a dry cleaners called Redi something.

Anyway, I stopped by for desserts.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Milk pudding:



The milk pudding was quite nice and it was presented in a beautiful dessert cup.
It was topped with red beans which I did not expect.
Overall the milk pudding was smooth and creamy but slightly too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

English and Scottish culinary battle at Yorkshire pudding

On 18 Sept, the Scottish referendum will take place in which they will fight for independence away from United Kingdom.

In the run up to this, Yorkshire pudding will hold a culinary battle featuring the best of English and Scottish food from 1 - 30 Sept .

There are two menus to choose from:

English food menu:



Scottish food menu:


As a Brit, I am definitely tempted to choose the English menu, BUT you don't often see Scottish food being served at the Yorkshire pudding so I chose the Scottish food menu.

Some people chose the English food menu, hence the photos.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
English Menu:
Prawn cocktail

Oysters

Fish and chips

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

Eton mess

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Scottish menu:
smoked salmon carpaccio and scotch quail egg

Scallops and black pudding

Dundee fruit cake

Chocolate shortbread

Sheepshaggers gold!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As a summary, the fish and chips were seriously good because the chips were crispy with a silky starchy middle drenched with lots of malt vinegar.
For the Scottish menu, I loved the salmon and the cute quail scotch eggs, followed by the always delicious black pudding.
I finished off with the Dundee fruit cake which tasted like a lighter version of Christmas pudding without the orange peel.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Yorkshire pudding:
https://www.facebook.com/yorkshirepuddinghk

Mandarin mooncakes 2014

My colleague got some mooncakes from FedEx hence I got to try them!!

Same as last year, they were delivered by another courier company and not FedEx themselves.


They were egg custard mooncakes.



After microwaving them for 20 seconds in the microwave, they were hot and delicious.
There was a fragrant egg custard smell and the pastry was lovely and buttery which went well with the egg custard filling.

Spicy hot Northern Thai cuisine

The food served at this restaurant is North Thailand cuisine.

Overall I found them too spicy for my tastebuds but there were a few dishes that were delicious and not spicy.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
To start off I had the special young coconut drink which turned out to be the best young coconut drink I have ever had because it was thirst quenching and also acted as a cooler.
The young coconut was made into icy slush with young coconut meat making it tasty as well as cooling.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Then we started the meal with fiery Tom Yum Kung soups, there was chicken and fish





★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The next dish was interesting, it was finely chopped fried pork pieces accompanied with ginger, calamansi, peanuts, chilis and onions which were fillers for the lettuce wrap.

This was fun to eat while the calamansi and ginger added a fiery and refreshing note to the wrap.
For a spicier experience, add the green chilis as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Northeastern Thai style Grilled beef, papaya salad and glutinous rice:
泰東北燒牛扒青木瓜沙律配糯米飯 $168

The beef slices were meaty and juicy which paired nicely with the papaya salad.
The glutinous rice was fun to eat and presented in a cute woven box.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Northeastern Thai style grilled chicken:
泰東北燒雞扒 $148

The chicken was juicy and tasty with a fine charred aroma.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Spicy pork neck salad
香辣豬頸肉沙律 $78

I found this quite spicy and the pork neck slices were reasonably lean.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Prawns in Tamarind sauce
香炸虎蝦配酸子汁 $218

The prawns were springy and fresh but I felt that it needed more sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Black pepper crab:
秘製黑椒炒蟹 $360

The crab was quite spicy, spiked with spices and black pepper.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled fish with herbs:
泰式香草燒魚 $188





It was nice how the fish skin just lifted off leaving delicate fish beneath it.
The fish was soft and juicy which was further enhanced by the zesty sauce provided.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lamb filet with mango
香芒炒羊仔柳 $118

I didn't try the mango but the pieces of lamb were juicy and tender.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried young chayote plant:
清炒佛手瓜苗 $78
I was glad to see this on the menu because normally people consume Chayotes but not the plant itself.



It had a lovely dry crisp texture which is similar to the sweetpea plant but it was not stringy and does not have a grassy taste.
[I wonder how long this will be on the menu because of demand and supply issues.]
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Okra cooked in garlic:
蒜香炒毛茄 $78

The okra had a light taste and it had the usual viscous texture with a crunch.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
seafood and pineapple fried rice:
鳳梨海鮮炒飯 $118

The fried rice was impressive, it was colourful and tasty with savoury notes and spices.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pad Thai:
鲜蝦炒金邊粉 $88

The Pad Thai was a bit of a disappointment because it didn't really stand out in terms of taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dessert:
甜品 泰式香芒椰汁糯米飯 $68

The purple glutinous rice was chewy and sticky.
It tasted really nice after more coconut sauce was added.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soi 18 Thai Cuisine (Causeway Bay)