Great American comforts at The News Room Diner

Although I am British, any food that is British, American or French is comforting.

The News Room had a facelift and is now a Diner serving great American food.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The new look:


Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried crispy prawns:

These were peeled prawns coated in breadcrumbs on a stick and fried.
They were crispy and tasty complemented by the creamy dipping sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mac 'N' Cheese:

The Mac and cheese was my favourite because it was cheesy with a mix of chedder and creamy cheese. The macaroni was al-dente and it was comforting that they used proper macaroni and not the local stuff.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Quesadilla with pollo:

Quesadillas are always my favourite because it had gorgeous melted cheddar cheese in the middle with chicken served with my favourite sour cream, guacamole and salsa.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sauteed vegetables:

The sauteed vegetables had a fragrant buttery garlic taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab salad:

We had the salad too as we ordered quite a bit of meat and it had my favourite crisp and sweet gem lettuce with fresh pieces of crabmeat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Buffalo wings:

The wings were really tasty with the creamy blue cheese dressing and a dash of hot sauce to give it that Buffalo touch.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Philly cheese teak:

Although I am not fond of beef, this is one that I would eat because of the thinly slices of tasty beef and juicy green peppers, onions and delicious cheese.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dirty Mexican:

This was a hotdog topped with spicy pulled pork in chipotle sauce.
I found the sauce a bit sweet and it was not spicy enough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The wagyu:


The Wagyu burger was topped with bacon, cheese, tomato and truffle mayo.
As I wanted to try the desserts, I was too full to try this.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
bbq pork ribs:

The ribs were sweet and soft but were a little on the dry side.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Now to the desserts which I was looking forward to!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
New York cheese case:

The cheesecake was dense and rich, with the top white layer having a strong cheese taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
homed made donuts:

This was my favourite, soft and crisp donuts which went nicely with the cream and marmalade.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
chocolate sundae:

hot fudge, caramel, peanuts with cookies ice cream.
I didn't try this because I was really full.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As a summary my favourites were: quesadilla, Philly cheese steak, macaroni and cheese and the home made donuts!!

The News Room Diner (鰂魚涌)

Great place to enjoy food with friends at Barg

Just behind Times Square is this great restaurant for gatherings because they offer a good range of Western food with reasonable portions!!

Started off with warm and delicious bread with roasted garlic that was so soft and fragrant that you spread on the bread.
As well as garlic, there was a delicious herb butter to complement it.

Then we had the appetizers and mains which really satisfied our hunger as well as being delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fresh tua tua clams in white wine sauce

These fresh Australian clams were sweet with fragrant basil and thyme which really brought out the sweetness of the clams.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
French style crabmeat and Tiger King Prawn toasts

This was stunning, a huge King prawn on top of the toast, it was loaded with crabmeat too with a crispy herb crusted surface.
The crabmeat had a delicious herb taste with chunks of springy prawns.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Caesar salad with smoked salmon

The salad was light with chunky pieces of smoked salmon.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
grilled beef salad with japanese horseradish in sesame dressing

I loved this salad because the grilled beef was lean and it was paired with enoki mushrooms which brings out the best flavour of beef while the horseradish made it more flavourful.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
S Pizza (seafood with homemade spicy sauce)

I loved the thin pizza base but I found the sauce too spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
penne with arugula in pesto sauce

The pasta is green with grassy arugula, a great option for vegetarians.
I would have liked the penne to be softer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
king crab leg risotto

I loved the risotto, the rice was al-dente in rich tomato sauce with delicious pieces of shaved parmesan.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
crispy pork knuckle

The pork knuckle was amazing because the skin was crispy and the underside was gelatinous and chewy while the meat was soft and supple without being too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
char grilled natrual beef Tomahawk with grilled organic veg and french fries

The beef on bone was huge and it was served with the giant rib for a more dramatic presentation!!! The steak was a little tough, but it was flavourful, complex and well marbled.
It was juicy yet there was a nice charred taste on the surface however I would have liked it more bloody and softer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
molten chocolate pudding, creme brulee

I only tried the creme brulee which was velvety with an eggy taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pina colada mocktail

The mocktail was so nice and cooling because the sharpness of the pineapple and coconut milk went well together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I can't wait to come here again for gathering and share the pork knuckle and the huge Tomahawk beef!

Soft pin! at Pak Lok Restaurant (Wan Chai)

The night before I was having dinner with a friend and he said that Chinese restaurants would abbreviate dishes in the most abbreviated form you could get.

Went here randomly for breakfast and ordered the pin noodles with soft pork bone (豬軟骨銀針粉).

After paying for it, the guy shouted out 軟針 to the Kitchen which reminded me of the conversation that I had the previous night!!
From pin noodles with soft pork bone to Soft Pin!!!


The broth was actually quite good because it had a rich taste that was not too salty or oily and there was fried egg and a slice of ham which I was not expecting but they were there because it was breakfast.



The noodles were firm and slightly springy but did not absorb the broth so it wasn't that tasty.
Although the taste was average, it was a bargain with all items in it!!
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎

Non spicy curry with okra and tofu cubes

Again the curry was flawless, I chose the non spicy curry with okra and tofu cubes.
The curry sauce tasted like gravy and not sweet like the other Japanese curries.
Compared to the previous visit, there was more okra but the okra was old and stringy.

321 Action! Rolling out scrumptious food!

Studio 321 is opened by a multi talented guy with a few partners teamed with three young Chefs that serve great food.
The owner used to be in the film industry which is how I found out about this restaurant because one of my friends who was filming 食得招積 is now filming 賭城風雲2 in Macau so I decided to join her!!
Apparently Chow Yun-Fat (周潤發) and Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) were going to dine there that night but the filming location in Macau got changed elsewhere.




Studio 321 serves Italian and French food which is perfect for me because I prefer Western food and for good Western food you have to go to the top hotels in Macau for that and spend a fortune, whereas the price here is really affordable.

The interior of this place is nice with a nice dining area upstairs.


The food was wonderful because it smelt good, looked good and tasted good.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bread:

The bread was fragrant and they are freshly made everyday.
My favourite was the pointy one because it had a nice cheesy peppery taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
French live bouchot mussels in white wine:

These mussels were gorgeous, just like the ones I had in Belgium.
They were FRESH mussels and not the frozen ones which gives them a sweet and soft texture and they were cooked in a strong garlic and white wine sauce great for dipping bread as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sea urchin and squid ink linguine:

Each strand of linguine was tossed in delicious squid ink complemented by the fresh sweet urchin.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Duck leg confit/honey mustard:

The duck leg confit was impressive because it was not too salty and the duck was soft and supple with a delicious crispy tasty duck skin paired with creamy mash beneath it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wagyu beef cheek, mash and baby vegetables:

The beef cheek was soft and gelatinous because it was slow cooked for days.
A very satisfying beef cheek infused with red wine with beautiful mash and vegetables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Earl Grey tea:


As well as the food, the tea was amazing because as a tea lover I was impressed they used tea leaves to brew the tea and not teabags or Hong Kong style tea!!
A good tea is always a good end to a meal especially with desserts and the Earl Grey was fragrant and pleasant.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Peach sorbet with champagne:

I love floats and fizzes and this dessert was just the thing, Champagne was poured onto the peach sorbet and red berries.


It was surprisingly good because the champagne had this savoury bitterness which balanced the sweetness of the peach sorbet.

The red berries and pieces of peach in the sorbet were just refreshing.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Homemade waffle:

I don't often have waffles because they just taste sweet and crunchy, but this waffle was different as it was chewy and the sweetness was just right.
The chewiness comes from the soymilk and glutinous rice mixture that it was made with.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I can't wait to come back again because there are not many Western choices in Macau.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Studio 321 (宋玉生廣場(皇朝))

A taste of Hawaii

This is one of the great things about Hong Kong, you can try almost every cuisine in Hong Kong if it exists!

It was my first time having Hawaiian food because I have never been to Hawaii or the US before.

At Pololi, they specialize in Hawaiian POKE.
POKE is typically raw tuna (ahi) cubes marinated with sea salt, a small amount of soy sauce, inamona (roasted crushed candlenut), sesame oil, limu seaweed, and chopped chili pepper.

However at Pololi, there are six different POKE flavours ranging from wasabi mayonnaise, Hong Kong to Traditional style.

Luckily, they will let you taste each one before you order so you can decide your favourites.

As I was hungry, I got the Hawaiian sashimi bowl for $90 which is served on rice or salad or a mix of both.

The decor of this place was colourful and bright.



I spotted some Spam musubis which I shall have to try next time.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hawaiian sashimi bowl:


For the sashimi bowl, you get to choose two flavours and I ended choosing the Hong Kong style and the ginger shoyu.
Tuna has always been my favourite sashimi because it is tasty and I love its soft texture which is great with rice.
This sashimi bowl was simple and delicious because the tuna was well marinated especially the ginger and shoyu flavour while the Hong Kong style flavour was slightly tastier because it had five spice and other marinades.
While I was dining there I spoke to this Hawaiian expat and he said the food was pretty native but lacked some seaweed in the POKE mixture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎

Pololi (中環)