Basmati buffet lunch

I have always wanted to try the buffet lunch at Basmati.
It was raining cats and dogs that day so I gave up going to this other Indian place and went here because it was close to the MTR.

The buffet was a bit disappointing because there were not much vegetarian choices.

Basmati:
San Toi Building, 137-139 Connaught Rd Central

CEO Neway is deteriorating (wanchai branch)

Normally I go to the CEO Neway on Sugar Street but as I was in Wan Chai, I decided to go here.
Had the buffet as well for dinner so it works out about $300 per person including a bag of compulsory charged crisps.
Unfortunately the food selection was a bit sub par for CEO, it was the same type of food served at NEWAY but charged at CEO prices.



The bak kut teh soup was mostly oil and had lots of msg in it.


The audio quality of that room was not good either so it was a double disappointment.
Next time I will go to the Sugar Street branch or NEWAY and not bother with food.

CEO Neway:

3/F-4/F, Emperor Group Centre, 288 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai

Matcha Red Bean cupcake at ENxNICH festival

To celebrate the exciting ENxNICH (日本緣日夏祭) festival, Phoenix Sweets have come up with a Matcha Red Bean cupcake that is only available for a limited period of time!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Matcha Red Bean cupcake:

It has a moist cake base made with Japanese red bean, covered with tasteful butter cream made with Japanese matcha powder.
For red bean lovers, there are lots of red beans garnished on top of the buttercream as well as inside the cupcake.
I liked the red beans in the cupcake because they were hard and not starchy and the green tea buttercream was strong and not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎

Phoenix Sweets (Central)

https:/www.facebook.com/PhoenixSweets

Salads at Cafe Muji

Had a craving for salad so went here for the potato salad.
Before I went in, I asked the girl at the counter if I could get a mix or you had to get two salads and she seemed to say that it was possible to get a mixed salad.

When I sat down, the waiter at the restaurant said it wasn't possible so it might have been a misunderstanding at the beginning or the restaurant staff didn't know you could get a mix.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Potato salad :

The potato salad was divine with pieces of spinach and bacon in it and the potatoes had a strong potato taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Sargassum salad:


The salad was nice at first but then the sesame dressing lingered and it got a bit sickly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

Aloha Second Hawaiian joint in HK

The first time I tried Hawaiian POKE was at Pololi in Central, I wasn't quite sure if it would become popular with the locals but HK'ers love sushi and sashimi bowls.

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.

It is encouraging to see a similar shop in Quarry Bay because Quarry Bay has more people than eateries so every restaurant is packed at lunch.


At Aloha, they have more options such as Quinoa and brown rice.
From the choices, they use mostly yoghurts and coconut dressings so they all taste similar and creamy.
The wasabi one also tasted creamy and the wasabi was not strong enough.


I got the tofu because the fish wasn't that interesting and they all tasted really similar.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Tofu avocado:


The tofu had a creamy taste and the lime was not strong enough.
There were big chunks of tofu which were chewy, spongy and rubbery but didn't have much taste and it got sickly after I had a lot of tofu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

Pizzas and sweet treats at I.E. Kitchen Academie Culinaire

Went to a friends house warming so got some treats for them.
I didn't want to get some lame cakes or stuff that you can get anywhere so went here.

I got some pizzas, fruit tarts and cheesecakes which were really affordable because the pizza was only $20 and the tarts were $18.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Macaroni and cheese pie:

I thought this was a quiche but they said it was macaroni and cheese pie.
The filling was satisfying with pasta twists in creamy cheese sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Salami pizza:

The salami pizza is really tasty and the salami is not too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Hawaii pineapple and ham:

This was my friends favourite because they liked the pineapple.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Olives and mushrooms :

The olives and mushrooms pizza was my favourite because there were lots of veggies such as colourful peppers and mushrooms.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Sweet treats $18/pc:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Truffle chocolate tart:

The chocolate truffle was silky and rich with a soft piece of cake in the middle.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Raspberry cheesecake:

The raspberry and blueberry cheesecake base is basically the same topped with raspberry or blueberry.
I found the cheese not strong enough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Blueberry cheesecake:


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
NY cheesecake:


The NY cheesecake was rich with a strong cheese taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Melon tart:


Basically the fruit tarts are the same but with different fruits.
The melon one was my favourite because melon is juicy and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Fruit tart:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Blueberry tart:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Lemon tart:

I loved the lemon tart because it was sweet with a hint of lemon tartness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IE-Kitchen-Academie-Culinaire

Beancurd pudding pot plant at Kyoto Matcha Cafe

Came here a few years ago and the food was crap but went here again because I was thirsty.
There were more choices for food and drinks so I ended up getting a dessert as well.

The floor was not very clean because there was lots of rice all over the place.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Uji matcha with chocolate milk:


The drink tasted very powdery with a mix of green powder and chocolate powder.
It was pleasant to drink but it wasn’t impressive.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Uji matcha beancurd pudding:


Beneath the black biscuit crumbs was matcha tofu which had a light matcha taste and no tofu taste.

There was a layer of cream in the middle which wasn’t necessary and ruined the taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
京都抹茶屋
Kyoto Matcha Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/kyotomatchacafe/