Pretty, delicious and worth paying for

To be honest Japanese food is a headache because there are so many Japanese names which don't have English.
I don't know what is the best Japanese food but all the Japanese food that little_meg_siu_meg posts on instagram looks amazing but I wouldn't know where to find it in HK.
Anyway, I was really happy because the Japanese food here was different and some of it looked as good as what little_meg_siu_meg had.

As well as the taste, everything was beautifully presented and the price is reasonable compared to other omakase places.

I won't bother translating the Chinese into English because I am not a qualified translator and most of it doesn't have English when googled.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
鮪腦天醬油漬‧刺身沙律卷‧螢烏賊芥末酢味噌


Started off with these three appetizers and my attention was drawn to these currant tomatoes which are so cute and tiny.
It would be great if they sliced one for photos.
Anyway, the fish was refreshing because it was in this sweet soy sauce, the texture was delicate because it comes from the head part of the tuna.
Then I had the squids which were made tasty by the mustard sauce.
I had the sashimi rolls last because the currant tomatoes were too cute to eat but there were microcress in the middle and seagrapes to balance the oiliness of the fish.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
浜飛魚‧角作

I can't seem to find the English name of this fish but this fish has a huge fin which the Chef has dried and used as decoration.
The fish was minced with spring and onions and ginger which gave it a pleasant taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
富山灣白蝦‧生螢烏賊‧活白魚踊食
Then came another set of delights.
Initially I thought it was fish sashimi but when I took a closer look, they were tiny prawns placed like a flower!
Each prawn was delicate and sweet.

After eating the prawns, had the squid which had a smoky taste.

The last dish was a challenge, they were ALIVE!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
鯖棒鮨
SABA sushi

I loved the saba sushi because the fish was soft with a nice amount of oilyness which went well with the rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
鯛白子鹽燒
Red seabream milt (shirako)

Milt is the seminal fluid of fish.
I have tried this before but the one here was amazing because firstly it was big and secondly it tasted like molten egg yolk!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
大根鮑魚

Next was the abalone and daikon which I found a bit too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
紫蘇白魚天

These were delicate silky white bait fishes wrapped in perilla leaves and coated in tempura. They were crisp and scrumptious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
汁煮姬榮螺‧八寸風凍鵝肝

Then we had whelk and duck liver.
The duck liver was velvety but it was quite heavy so I poured some sake in it which helped balance it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
穴子苗‧水母酢
Then we had jellyfish tentacles and baby conger conger.


The conger conger was new to me and considered exotic because I don't often come across conger conger in my culinary journeys!

Both had a similar crispy jelly texture flavoured by the appetizing vinegar.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
櫻花蕎麥麵

Then we had soba noodles made with sakura flowers which were pretty and pink.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
櫻蝦豆腐湯

To end the meal, we had this prawn soup which was intense because it was boiled with prawn shells, prawns and lots of prawns, then topped with lots of sakura shrimps so the taste was really prawny so I loved it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
手作水信玄餅

For dessert we had this beautiful water cake which had a sakura flower in the middle.
It was too good to eat but it was similar to jelly and the sweetness was just right.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
I will probably come back again because it was only $680 and it was full of surprises.
The omakases I have tried before just served sashimi and more sashimi which was really boring followed by the typical miso soup and boring green tea dessert.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Hassan Japanese Restaurant:
G/F, 3 Lily Street, Tai Hang

A new hiding place

If you grew up in the UK, a den is a hiding place that could be a tree-house or a place to hide in the garden.
It is always fun going there with close friends and building it from scratch with twigs, pieces of wood and whatever you can find.

This was the reason I was attracted to this newly opened DEN in Sai Ying Pun.

It didn’t look exactly like a DEN but the path leading there certainly felt like one because it was a small quiet road with trees on one side.

Travelling to THE DEN was more convenient than I expected because I was dreading the walk from SYP MTR station but exit C is the shortest path and the elevator was fast.
When you get out of exit C, your almost there, you cross the road and the take the small uphill road adjacent to St Stephens college and your there.

The menu consists of steaks, comfort food and home made desserts.

I know that this place specializes in steaks but there were a few irresistible items I had to order, so steaks and dessert shall be items on my next visit.

My friend started off with grapefruit soda which I was expecting from the can or bottle but it was freshly made!!!!!!!!
First, the grapefruit juice was freshly squeezed into a glass and tonic water was added to give it the fizz resulting in a pretty glass of grapefruit soda with a lovely pink foam cap on top.

After seeing that, I immediately ordered the orange soda which was made the same way.

Both sodas tasted natrual and were thirst quenching.

For food, we had the beef cubes, fish pie, mash, bacon and egg butty and the portions were huge.
+++++++++++++++
Wagyu beef cubes:

To start we had the beef cubes which were a good way of trying out their beef.
Indeed each piece of beef was juicy and tender so I am convinced to try their Wagyu tenderloin next time when I have a beef craving.
There was a side of black pepper sauce that was homemade which had a strong peppery taste but the beef was really tasty on its own that it didn’t really need anything else.
+++++++++++++++
Fish pie:

Typical fish pies have a mashed potato top but here they have used puff pastry and you get a side of thick cut fries seasoned with salt and pepper.
The fish pie is slightly runny so that you can dip your chips and it is loaded with fish, prawns, crabsticks and clams.

The seafood pie was really good because there was a strong seafood taste.
+++++++++++++++
Mashed potato:

This was a buttery and silky home made mash.
+++++++++++++++
Bacon and egg butty:

For eggs, they have an option of free range organic eggs which cost $15 more.
Basically it was crisp tasty bacon on lovely toast paired with sunny eggs.
+++++++++++++++
Meringue pavola:

For desserts, finished with this fruit pavola which was topped with fresh fruits.
I loved the pieces of orange and meringue because it was a nice balance of sweetness and sourness.
+++++++++++++++
THE DEN:
8 Oaklands Path,

Sai Ying Pun

☎️: 2803 0901.

Black and white confusion

I was excited because McDonalds launched this black and white coconut pie.
To my knowledge, there has not been a black and white coconut pie but this was served in China last August.
As well as the pie, there are the black and white burgers that are the same as last years.
For the shake shake fries seasoning there is the salt n pepper crab which was available a few years ago in oct, 2011.
According to my earlier review, it has a fragrant basil taste.
http://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/review/causeway-bay-mcdonalds/2199458?con=rvw

Anyway, I went to McD's to try the coconut pie.
It seems that different branches are offering different things, the one I went to only served the pie and icecream but according to instagram some branches just sell the pie only.

The coconut pie was quite nice with a coconut filling that was not too strong and pieces of coco de nata.






If I had a choice, I prefer it without the icecream so hopefully I can find another McDonalds that just has the pie or wait until the 4th when the pie is fully launched at all branches.

HKD$10 noodles at 759雲吞麵

759 was a shop selling preserved packaged food to start off with and now they have expanded into other businesses such as cosmetics, noodle joints and now a bakery too!
I wonder if we will see 759 Medical clinics, 759 Salons, 759 Laundry, 759 Petrol Stations coming soon!!!

Initially 759 didn't appeal to me because the variety was limited and it was cheap and unhealthy packaged Asian snacks like noodles and crisps but now there is more European variety and they even have TIMOTEI shampoo.

I came across this 759 Wonton noodles shop because I was in the area so decided to try it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Noodles in wonton broth:



I don’t normally eat wonton noodles but because it was by 759 I decided to give it a go.
They cost around $3X which is not cheap but as I was having dinner I went for the plain noodles which cost $10.
It comes with vegetables so $10 is quite a good deal for vegetarians and meatless Mondays.
Anyway, the noodles were surprisingly good because the broth was good, it was strong with an addictive msg flavouring. 

As the noodles got softer, they were tastier because it has absorbed the broth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
759雲吞麵

Shop No. 1, G/F, Cheung Sha Wan Estate Ancillary Facilities Block,Cheung Sha Wan

A taste of Jamie's Italian at the Causeway Bay branch

There were queues and queues at Jamie’s Italian when it first opened but I wasn’t motivated to go because what is the point to eat rushed and the food is going to be rushed.
The menu is much better now compared to the opening with more choices and it was the right time to check it out because Jamie has been to HK and reassured the quality.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
AMALFI LEMON & BASIL ICED TEA $35:
A blend of succulent lemon & basil

The iced tea had a nice lemon taste with a hint of basil.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
SPINACH & TALEGGIO CROQUETTES $70:
Served with basil mayo

I definitely liked this because it was filled with silky cheese, spinach with velvety mashed potato.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
WORLD'S BEST OLIVES ON ICE $50:
With black olive tapenade & music bread

The olives were iced hence the icy olive flesh refreshed your mouth as you ate it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
CRAB & AVOCADO BRUSCHETTA $70:
Sourdough, fresh crab & avocado with apple,


This was a light crispy piece of sourdough topped with crisp tangy apple and fresh crab meat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
BAKED CHESTNUT MUSHROOMS $80:
With smoked mozzarella, thyme & crispy music bread

Cheese lovers will love this, it was like eating a wafer thin pizza topped with gooey mozzarella and earthy mushrooms.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
FISH IN A BAG $170:
Fish of the day with clams, mussels, fennel, chilli, anchovies & cracked wheat, topped with fiery arrabbiata sauce

The rice was so flavourful because it has absorbed all the flavours from the seafood and fish with a tangy tomato and herbs taste and the seafood was great especially the delicate fish.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
10OZ RIB-EYE STEAK $300:
10oz chargrilled rib-eye steak with wild mushrooms, peppery endive & funky chips

As I was too full, I didn't try this.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
LAMB LOLLIPOPS $220:
Chops grilled under a brick with a herby red onion salad, toasted nuts, yoghurt for dunking & polenta chips

The lamb was soft and tender without any gaminess.
Best yet were the pieces of polenta which tasted like potatoes with a grainy texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
TIRAMISÙ $65:
Coffee-flavoured trifle with orange mascarpone & chocolate

The orange mascarpone made a real difference because the citrus flavours and chocolate cake went really well together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
TUTTI FRUTTI LEMON MERINGUE PIE $85:
With limoncello & crunchy pistachio brittle


The lemon base was lovely and tart and the meringue on top was really thick and gooey like marshmallow making it sinfully delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Jamie's Italian:

2/F, Soundwill Plaza II, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
3958 2222

Le Main de Nice

Thanks to Ivy for getting me this huge bread that is the shape of a hand.
It is called Le Main de Nice which means The hand of Nice in French (Nice is a town in France).
It was joy seeing this bread because it was huge.
The texture was slightly hard and bread was quite tough but after warming it up it was slightly softer.

Chirpy girly roast in Pink!

Found out that a modern Chef owns this place so I decided to check it out because it’s a restaurant that is totally different to her existing one.

They serve roast pork with nuclear egg, which is basically a Japanese onsen egg that is healthier than a fried egg.

Anyway, I went for the crispy pork belly because it looked crispy.
It was actually quite good because there was no foul pork smell and both sides were tasty especially the crispy skin side and the belly side.

The fat layer was fat so I didn’t eat that!

Good Roast:

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