[Hui Lau Shan] Possibly a belated Halloween Dessert?

Went here because of the new dessert series.

Tried the pistachio and purple sweet potato soup and the other one.
The pistachio was too sweet and sickly with a strong coconut taste which overpowered the pistachio.

The pistachio at Lan Chee Koon and Hoi Kee tastes better.
The black glutinous rice and taro paste looked like this.

There were two waitresses, the one at the till was rude because she gave the change back in a rude manner.

[Cafe De Coral] Chicken bone feast

I was attracted by the CDC product shot of this golden yellow chicken oil rice with Hainan style chicken but reality didn't turn out that way.

It was weird that it was sprinkled with sesame because there isn't supposed to be sesame on it and I wonder if they put it there deliberately to cover up the bruised chicken!

The rice was the worst because it was white and smelly, not yellow as shown on the product shot.

The remains of the chicken!

[LoYe DimSum] DimSum just like China Town

Although Hong Kong is famous for dimsum, a good majority are not as good as the dimsums in UK because the dumpling skin is weak, the quality of the fillings are not fresh and they are oily and spiked with too much MSG.
I was attracted to this place because one of the reviews showed these cute dimsums and I don’t mind paying more if it is good.
They offer traditional dimsums as well but I was more interested in the modern dimsums.
The restaurant décor was really nice, it had a Western Oriental touch to it with nice wallpapers and window frames.

Visible kitchen:

Nice chopsticks and bowls:

They were playing old Chinese music that people listen to in the UK.

Tried both the traditional and modern dimsum and personally I liked the modern whereas the traditional dimsums are more suited to local tastes.
I think expats will like this place but a better English menu is needed.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Black pepper wagyu puffs:

Light and delicate pastry filled with beef in rich black pepper gravy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Goldfish dumplings:

Flawless prawn dumplings.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Buns:

These were buns with a cavity in the middle when you turn them over to put the delicious spicy and salty pickles in the middle.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Crispy duck English style:

This is how duck is served in UK, the duck is fried but it is still soft and silky in the middle with crispy skin on the outside.
Overall, it was nice but it would be perfect if they came with pancakes.
Ironically, Charlie's place a few doors away also had this duck but the owners have gone back to UK and now this place has popped up.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Black and white prawn toast:

Creative prawn toasts with the use of black and white sesame together but I wasn't keen because there was processed cheese in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Black garlic and spring onion oil fried rice:

When it came, it looked like green tea fried rice with red beans but it was actually grounded spring onion that gave it the green colour with pieces of black garlic.
The taste was interesting because it reminded me of the spring onion and ginger oil that you get with roast chicken.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Crispy pork knuckle:

A nice pork knuckle with crispy skin and pork that was not too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Beef Short Rib:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Custard dumplings:

Sago dumplings filled with custard.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
I can't wait to come again for dimsum and duck.

[LoYe DimSum 老爺點心]
Man Hee Mansion, 4 Landale St, Wan Chai
Phone: 2328 8938

[Pacific Coffee] 2015 Christmas Cherry Pie

I was mainly captivated by the cherry tart and ended up getting the cake as well.
+++++++++++
Cherry pie:

Got the cherry pie because I love cherries but it seems like a hybrid between a pie and tart.
It’s more like a tart because it has weird a custard layer beneath the cherries which doesn’t make it a pie, while it looks visually like a pie, the pastry was tart pastry which was hard butter crust.
Anyway, the custard ruined the taste and made it too sweet hence it didn’t taste like a pie.
+++++++++++
Strawberry vanilla cake:

The chocolate sponge was good but the vanilla mousse was a bit sweet like white chocolate and there was not much strawberry taste.
+++++++++++

Hong Kong vs UK supermarket Self-Checkout

I love the supermarket but not the queues and now they have self-Checkout counters which is really good because you can do it yourself.
I have tried the self-check counter in UK and HK.

The HK self-checkout is simple and almost idiot proof but it allows people to steal if they really wanted to by accidentally not scanning an item, whereas in UK, your shopping is weighed before scanning so that the scanned weight should match the weight before.

In terms of payment, UK is better because you can pay by card, cash, coupons and even scan offers/discounts whereas Hong Kong only allows credit card and octopus.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
Idiot proof Hong Kong Self-checkout counter:

Before you start, make sure your octopus has enough credit or pay by credit card which I haven’t tried yet.
I am not sure if there is an English interface but I couldn’t find it but basically you touch the screen to activate it.

Press start

Scan your item

Once all items have been scanned press the ENTER button

Choose form of payment


I chose the octopus, so you basically tap the octopus and the receipt will be printed out you are ready to go with your goods..




++++++++++++++++++++++++
UK Self-checkout counter:


Accepts card, cash and coupons!!

Where you collect your change

Receipt:

++++++++++++++++++++++++
#惠康超級市場 #惠康自助付款 #自助付款 #自助購物

[Appolo] Uji matcha froyo

I love Appolo's frozen yoghurt because it is the mother of all froyos in Hong Kong before the Froyo trend and it tastes natrual.
Went here because I was having dinner nearby and discovered that they had this uji matcha froyo which sounds good as you don't often find any froyo that is matcha flavoured.

As well as uji matcha, they also had this new Hokkaido vanilla flavour but you can't try them.

I was told that it was froyo mixed with uji matcha powder.

Anyway, the woman there was a bit grumpy so it was hard asking her about the different flavours.

There was some free strawberry yoghurt at the bottom from the last order.

As for the uji matcha, it was quite nice but a bit too sweet which overpowered the yoghurt flavour and the uji matcha flavour was quite strong with hard starchy bits of red beans in it.
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