[Serendib] Sri Lankan food on the HK Island

There used to be only one place for Sri Lankan food in Hong Kong and that was Sai Kung which is so inconvenient.
Thanks to Timeout, I discovered this new joint located on this street in Sheung Wan selling Chinese delicacies and this little joint really sticks out.

They serve street food so expect string hoppers and Kottus.

I ordered the string hoppers with potato milk curry and the Cheese Kottu with beef curry.

The string hoppers and potato milk curry came first.

Tried the string hoppers on its own and they were surprisingly flavoured despite looking like unflavoured Chinese rice vermicelli.
These string hoppers are steamed so they are springy and soft and there are about 6 of these hoppers on the plate.

The potatoes were very aromatic because there was a lovely cinnamon aroma and taste to it and you will even find a cinnamon stick as well but the only let down was the potatoes were not soft enough.

The next dish was the cheese kottu,  I was really looking forward to this because I love cheese. It smelt so nice because of the onions and chili but so far nothing was too spicy.

The smell was so comforting because they smelt like the Shatkora kebabs in London.
The side of beef curry I ordered was also amazing because I love the mix of coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin.

They sell that curry powder too which is a special blend bottled exclusively for Serendib!!

To finish off, I had their Sri Lankan tea which is just Ceylon tea and it was so good because it was fragrant and not bitter like the ones you get in HK.

Serendib is run by an interesting couple who communicate in Japanese so you can't eavesdrop unless you know Japanese~~~
https://www.facebook.com/Serendibhk/

[Pici] Bring on the full pasta experience

Seeing lots of expats have visited this place I decided to go early one evening.

Luckily I got there at 6pm because it was full within an hour.

The menu is simple with appetizers, pastas and dessert.

There were four of us so we got a pasta each while we shared the starters.
It is really hard choosing a pasta because they have Gnocchi, ravioli, orecchiette, lasagne, tagliatelle, parpadelle and pici!!

We sat at the bar where we got a view of all the pasta being made and the cooking at the far end.
I seem to recognize one of the Chefs from Pirata.

Fresh hand rolled pici which looked like fat spaghetti being made:

Ravioli being prepared:

Parma ham sliced to order:

Began with bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar while we were waiting.

Started with the burrata cheese which was creamy, soft and supple:

Next was the Chefs selection which was served on a board comprising of parma ham, salami, taleggio and parmesan.
You can evidently see the difference of freshly sliced parma ham because it is moist and radiant in colour.

Moving on the the warm starters, we had the meatballs which were made of pork, beef with tomato sauce.
They were big and tasty.

Now to the stars of the show, we had lasagne, ravioli, gnocchi and orecchiette
The gnocchi was one of the best I have had because the texture is not stodgy and there are bits of potato in it.

The ravioli was also exciting, there were two choices for ravioli so I chose the one with truffle because it was filled with delicious asparagus and shallots.
The filling was silky smooth complemented by the fragrant truffle.

My friend had the lasagne which was very hearty and meaty.

Last but not least was the nduja orecchiette which had a spicy touch to it while the orecchiette pasta pieces were al dente.

Despite being quite full we had the tiramisu which was a perfect end to the dinner.

PICI:
https://www.facebook.com/picihk/

Hamataki in Tin Hau

A while ago I dined at Hamataki at Kowloon City so I immediately recognised the other branch in Tin Hau because of the sign surrounded by lightbulbs.

As it was lunch time, there was a good ramen deal with salad and a drink included.

Ordered a ramen lunch set and the grilled fish again because I remembered it was delicious at the Kowloon City branch.

Black garlic ramen:

When it arrived, the broth was bubbling because there is a pebble in the broth to keep the ramen hot while you're eating it.

The broth was thin but had a really strong garlic flavour that was quite bitter and the slice of pork was soft and fresh.
The salad that comes with it.

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My favourite grilled mackerel was moist and silky with a lovely salted taste.
It was so good that I ordered a rice to go with it.

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We also had this avocado and cream cheese which went nicely with the crackers.

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The silky tofu was a healthy fix as well.

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A great joint with nice decor:

Hamataki:
23 Electric Road, Tin Hau

[Cafe Royal Garden] Decent bagels in Kowloon

Discovered this relaxing place for coffee when I was in the area.

The decor was quite nice and I loved the glass roof which made me feel like being in a greenhouse.

They specialize in coffee but I was there for the bagel.

It was impressive the vegetarian had spicy hummus in a location like that because not many people in Kowloon would know what hummus is.
It was certainly delicious but a bit too spicy.

$72 for a vegetarian bagel is too expensive for Kowloon as it does not include a drink.

https://www.facebook.com/caferoyalgarden/