The best collection at Tsui Wah Cafe [翠華冰廳]

Tsui Wah Cafe is a new concept that combines the best of the East with the West for Hong Kong style dishes.
It is located in Tsuen Wan with a spacious dining area.

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I love the logo which has a cute Chinese dragon and a lion which reminds me of a football team.




At every table, there is a QR code so you can order via mobile.

Moving on to the dishes, I liked the way the menu has incorporated GP6D friendly dishes and plant based dishes for people with different dietary requirements.
Lets begin with the noodles which uses their signature famous fish soup that everyone should be familiar with.
The difference here is that the rice vermicelli they use is a curly one which absorbs and hangs the broth better.



Next is their signature Kagoshima style pork cartilage served in a modern way in a bun!



For people who can eat really spicy food, the spicy corned beef and egg submarine will really shock your palette with its addictive Sichuan numbing and fiery spices!!!!!




Moving on to the vegetarian dishes, they had the beyond burger with scrambled egg with beyond meat and Vegan cheezy cheese.







My new favourite had to be the minced omnipork with fried egg over rice.




For kids, there is a cute kids meal with a gift!




To finish off, there is Hong Kong style milk tea with a twist with milk pudding at the bottom.

[西塘花記] Life is colourful with these dumplings

I have been wanting to try this place for ages because they have these colourful dumplings.



Finally the hype is over so decided to give it a visit when it was nice and quiet. You are greeted with trays and trays of dumplings and an open kitchen when you go in the restaurant.



The decor is pink and girly with an oriental touch.


As well as dumplings, there were so many choices for drinks so ordered the hot mountain yam and purple potato drink which are not often seen around especially the mountain yam.



Both drinks were viscous and kept hot for quite a while.

The best thing was that you could really taste the ingredients and it wasn't too sweet. 

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Dumpling names and descriptions were quoted from Menu.

Rainbow Dumpling (8 Pieces) Dumpling Wrapper with Red Amaranth Dragon Fruit Juice, Spinach Juice and Pumpkin Juice (w/ Water Chestnut and Pork Stuffing)



Apart from the fancy wrapper, it was just water chestnut and pork stuffing in the middle. 

It was a waste for an instaworthy dumpling because a memorable filling and not something ordinary and common as waterchestnut and pork would be better. 

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Signature Five Fortunes Dumpling (10 Pieces): 

Dumplings with Spicy Sauce and Fish, Red Amaranth Dragon Fruit Juice Dumplings with Tomato and Beef, Pumpkin Juice Dumplings with Mushroom and Pork, Cuttlefish Juice Dumplings with Crab Willows, Scallops and Shrimps, Spinach Juice Dumplings with Leeks and Shrimps (2 Pieces Per Flavour)



There are two assorted dumpling sets to choose from so it depends what you prefer. I liked this one as it had spicy fish and the scallops and shrimp dumpling was tasty.



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Cuttlefish Juice Dumplings with Seaweed, Pork and Shrimp: 

The cuttlefish and seaweed dumplings were my favourite because the seaweed makes it unbelievably good especially that chew and unami moreish aftertaste.





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Finished with the Homemade Yogurt which is a bit different from the creamy yoghurt that you buy at the supermarket. 

The yoghurt here is much lighter and acidic with a curd like texture so if you don't like refreshing yoghurts then choose the ones with fruit toppings.



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I do hope to come back when they serve the full menu.

[華香雞] Persistence and Passion

Wah Heung Chicken has been around for ages, according to the OR directory, WH Chicken has been at 18 different locations.

I vaguely remember it at Wanchai.

The fact that there were 18 locations before got me curious so I googled this restaurant and found out that the owner is really passionate about chicken that he worked at KFC to learn the tricks of the trade.

I believe Kwun Tong is now the best spot for it because the kitchen is nice and big to whip up the best dishes and the dining area can seat lots of people during lunch while the big tables would be good for big gatherings in the evenings and weekends.

Finally gave WHC a visit during lunch and I was happy for once that the food in KWUNTONG was not too salty.
I was really impressed they had water because I don't like Chinese drinks so water is always the best.

Overall you can feel the passion at the restaurant.

Every now and then they will have talks on how to be a better vegan.

They even have bowl feast for people to order.

I had trouble with the menu but the staff were really patient at explaining the dishes.

I ordered lunch with no regrets because I really wanted to try the rice vermicelli and turmeric rice. For the chicken, they have three types: signature and the wine infused chicken.

Ordered one each with the rice and vermicelli.
For the signature chicken, you can choose three different sauces: spicy, spring onion and ginger, the sa cha sauce.

Before I talk about the chicken, the vermicelli was the best I have had in a while because it was not sweet by default and the soy sauce they used was a good one.

The rice was also as good as expected because I love carbs but perhaps the turmeric could have been stronger.

As for the chicken, both were good but I liked the wine infused one because it had the extra punch while the signature relies on the sauces.

Will definitely come back in the evening and try the bigger dishes.

[華香雞]
 Shop 9-11, 1/F, Sing Win Factory Building, 15-17 Shing Yip Street,, Kwun Tong

[Review] Crispin's Fish Bar in Sittingbourne

I love chips so if there are any chips shops in sight, I will probably go and get some!

It wasn't particularly warming when I went in but chips could be good so ordered a small chips anyway.

The chips were in the heated cabinet so they were ready in an instant and not freshly fried.

Unfortunately, they didn't look good before I even tried.

You could see they were dry and not that evenly white.

I knew that adding vinegar and salt would not help because when chips are dry.

The chips lacked potato taste so I suspect they have been cut and stored for a while before they were fried or the fact that they have been fried for quite a while and left in the cabinet which caused them to dry off and go tasteless.

As I couldn't finish them, I ended up throwing them in the bin near the shop but it appears that someone also threw some half eaten chips in the bin.

It looks like that the person was full or they didn't like it.

Judging by the chips in the bin (pic below), they were burnt and worse than what I had.

Lesson learnt, next time I will probably have a quick look in the bins nearby and see if chips are thrown away as an indicator to quality.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/crispinsteynham/

Crispin's Fish Bar
69 London Rd, Teynham, Sittingbourne ME9 9QL
Phone: 01795 521212

Plant Based dishes for less than HKD50 at Tsui Wah

Tsui Wah is a famous restaurant that serves Hong Kong style dishes.

I was really excited to find out that Tsui Wah Restaurants are serving omnipork which is the current trend for plant based alternatives.

In general, the prices at Tsui Wah can be pricier than similar restaurants so I was elated that their plant based dishes were under HKD50!!

On the plant based menu, they have the classic Baked Omnipork Bolognese Spaghetti for HKD49 and the local Hong Kong favourite, Omnipork Bolognese sauce with Fried egg over rice for just HKD45.
If you want it totally vegan, you can request for it without egg and cheese which they are happy to accommodate.

As well as main dishes, you can also get your vegetable fix with chilled okra complimented by wasabi soy sauce.

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Omnipork Bolognese sauce with Fried egg over rice:

I am so glad this is now on the menu because I loved it, bolognese and rice is simply delicious together and more nutritious with egg if you can eat it.

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Baked Omnipork Bolognese Spaghetti:

For pasta lovers, this is another good option, again you can request it without cheese.

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I will definitely be coming back for the Omnipork Bolognese sauce with Fried egg over rice because it is just comforting and filling.

For those who are new to omnipork, it is cholesterol free, lower in calories and unsaturated fats.

A tasty Piedmont food journey at Castellana

Castellana Restaurant is no ordinary Italian cuisine because they specialize in dishes from Piedmont in Italy.

Piedmont cuisine is so different to your usual Italian fare like pizza because of its location and climate. You won't find olives growing well there hence root vegetables are used and you will find risotto cooked with butter instead of olive oil.

I  had the 7 course set which meant I could try more variety and all the courses on the menu were worth trying.

Started with their house made crusty bread:

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Roasted Pepper with Parmesan Cheese:
This was a nice appetizer to tease the palate.

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Smoked lake trout:
The first course started well with the smoked lake trout which I found it comforting because I always have that in UK and it is rarely served in Hong Kong unless some restaurant imports it. The trout was not overly smokey complemented well by the berry gels on top.

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Fassona beef broth and vegetables:
Next was the soup which was warm soup with beef tartare on the spoon. The tartare was the finest I have ever had, you begin with the beef tartare, then the soup and finish with the pickles. I loved it the way the tartare was not over seasoned so that you could taste the beef and the warm soup adjusts your palate with savouryness and then the pickles get you ready for the next course.

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Risotto with black garlic and river prawns:
As mentioned earlier, many dishes use butter instead like this one so the risotto was very rich but the black garlic was a good element in mellowing out the butter with its sweetness.

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Carbonara Au Koque:
Homemade taglioni and Vigezzo valley cured ham. This was no ordinary Carbonara, I loved the way the sauce was poured on when it was served. The best thing was the cured ham on top which was crispy and thin. Every mouthful was sinfully delicious with creamy strands of pasta and the saltiness from the cured ham crisps.

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Corregone Lake fish glazed with black cherry:
Again, this another dreamy moment, delicate fish in an aromatic sweet black cherry sauce. On the side was rainbow chards which I haven't had in ages, again another vegetable that I always take for granted in UK. On top there were fresh blackberries and raspberries.

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Fassona beef:
The last main dish before dessert was the beef which was soft and supple in a bed of silkilicious mash with crumbs. It was definitely a satisfying main before dessert.

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Tiramisu:

Dessert was a playful twist of the past, present and future in the form of Tiramisu. My favourite was the middle one which was sweet and creamy, while the chocolate bonbon had a bitter twist. 

There was more to come with hazelnuts and truffle chocolate which was a perfect ending.

I would definitely recommend this place as every course is a surprise and it is helmed by Marco Sacco.

CASTELLANA:

10/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay

Camellia is not just a garden flower

Earlier this year I discovered Camellia oil because it was awarded 'The Best Natural Cooking Oil' award at Hong Kong LOHAS Award 2019.

Sunplan - Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Camellia Oil is a vegetable oil extracted from Camellia tea seeds which contains all three essential fatty acids like Omega 3, 6 & 9.

Since I have this plant in my garden, I felt compelled to try it because Camellia has always been a pretty flower in the garden.

Before I use any ingredient, I will always smell and taste it so that it can be used accordingly.

I was expecting the oil to have a flowery aroma like the real plant but it didn't which meant you could use the oil for anything like cooking and making cakes.

One of the advantages of Camellia oil is its high smoke point (burning point) which means it is suitable for cooking at high temperatures like frying food.

I used the oil on egg fried rice because egg is the soul of fried rice and it turned out quite well.

It just behaved like normal oil and the fried rice tasted good as you could still taste the egg.

For baking, I happily used the oil in the muffin mixture because it is good for your health and better than using non nutritious oils.

As as well as cooking, it can also be used on hair and skin.

The best thing is that it complies to the FDA which is something I trust.

Sunplan - Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Camellia Oil can be purchased from HKTVmall:
https://www.hktvmall.com/hktv/en/main/DRAGON-MAX-SEAFOOD-COMPANY-LIMITED/s/H6625001/Supermarket/Supermarket/Rice-%26-Cooking-Oil/Cooking-Oil/Others/Cold-Pressed-Extra-Virgin-Camellia-Oil-500ml-gift-set/p/H6625001_S_F00120