山東餃子館 : fennel dumplings

山東餃子館 (Sham Shui Po)

On the window outside it showed a variety of dumplings and skewers so decided to go in and to try them.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fennel dumplings:


They were a bit disappointing because the fennel taste was light which is probably good for people who do not like fennel or havent tried it before.
Here you get 10 dumplings for $30 which is the cheapest compared to the other two places I have tried.
My issue with these dumplings is that the fennel is old and dry which was why they lacked the fennel aroma.
There was also a twinge of sourness in the dumplings.
I did not like the pork because it had pieces of unchewable bits in it such a tendon and parts of pork that your meant to throw away.
Lastly the dumplings were quite salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I think I should have ordered the lamb skewers and boiled sweet potato leaves.
The two other places which I have tried Fennel dumplings:
Biang
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2292296&tc=review
華園餃子館
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?shopid=23306&commentid=2291541

Soft boiled egg in wine @ 日船章魚小丸子

日船章魚小丸子 (Tseung Kwan O)

This joint is actually famous for Takoyaki balls but when I saw the soft boiled eggs in wine I decided to try it.

They were only $5 each because it was on promotion.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soft boiled egg in wine:

I was given two pathetic bamboo skewers to eat it which was pretty challenging because egg is the most delicate thing you can eat and it was a soft boiled one too.

Managed to eat it and the yolk was indeed runny!
The egg was a bit cold because it was chilled and it was a bit too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Dinner served in a rice cooker at Hong Kong Day

Finally tried Chan chuen fun noodles

Tung Yuen Banquet (Wan Chai)

Went to Tung Yuen for Chinese food......


Just going to review what I found interesting because I can't stand Chinese food in Hong Kong.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Spare ribs with Chan chuen fun (陳村粉):I was quite impressed with this dish because not many places serve Chan chuen fun 陳村粉 which was why it was my first time reviewing them.

There was actually more noodles than the ribs.
Basically it was a chewier and firmer type of rice sheets that were not rolled up.
It was clumped together which absorbed the delicious black bean sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Prawn dumpling:
Not great, but not bad.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Egg tarts:

They were oval shaped and the thin shortbread crust was too thin and floppy that you could not really use your hands or any other utensils to hold them.
The filling was still runny as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soy bean milk with sweetcorn (low sugar):
Interesting drink.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Secret taste! Secret Location!

Secrettaste (Causeway Bay)

I am beginning to like private kitchens because you get to discover every nook and cranny of Hong Kong!
Places where you thought a restaurant could not exist, it could be a private kitchen!!

Private kitchens are becoming more popular these days as more people are readily accepting them as restaurants just like those upstairs retail shops.

So far this is my favourite private kitchen, I think I like it because it is converted from an old residential flat, the ones that have three floors without an escalator.

As it has been opened for two months, I like the privacy as not many people know about it so far.
Ideally at the moment, it is great for public figures (公眾人物) to dine here or for them hold parties and celebrations such as the completion of filming (慶功宴).

Anyway, here was what we tried which is about $350 per person with no 10% service charge and corkage fee.

I was extremely impressed with the portion size because I was full after all that!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pan-Fried Watermelon & Wrapped sea urchin mousse

Even though I don't like watermelon, I have always wanted to try pan-fried watermelon after seeing it on some food show before.
It basically tasted the same as uncooked watermelon and it was still crisp.
I liked the spring onions, garlic and crushed peanuts that garnished it, because it got rid of that weird watermelon taste.
The other piece was sea urchin foam wrapped in filo pastry which was extremely light and delicate and the sea urchin in the middle has a faint taste of crab.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Parma Ham & Black Truffle Salad

To be honest it was proscuitto ham and not parma ham as it was softer and not so waxy.
The proscuitto was quite salty but with the salad, the taste balanced and the portion of this as a starter was really generous.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cream of Mushroom Soup

It was cream of mushroom soup which is commonly served in lots of restaurants these days.
The foam on top just differentiated it from the rest and something that will make me remember this place.
It added a touch of gastronomy and sophistication (高雅) to the soup.
The truffle on top enhanced the flavour of the soup but if the soup was not that salty it would taste better.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roasted Chicken Asparagus Roll with Goose Liver

The presentation was marvellous, every corner and area of the plate was decorated.

The liver that they put in the middle was really velvety and soft which is achieved by using liver pate.
I was really impressed with these chicken rolls especially with the golden roasted skin on the outside and juicy chicken on the inside complemented with sweet asparagus and rich liver.
The roll was made with chicken thigh meat too which is nice and tender.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pasta in carbonara sauce with sesame and peppered scallop

The pasta surprised me as well because the sauce was really nice, it had lots of bacon and onions which gave it a lovely smoky and sweet taste.
The sauce was also made with sesame and pepper.
On top there was a seared scallop too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate Mousse:
The appearance of the mousse was slightly different from the usual mousses.
It had a lumpy surface.

After trying it, I realised there were pieces of chocolate sponge cake in it which gave it more depth and dimension.
The icecream on the side was equally as good because it had pieces of dark chocolate in it.
The portion size of this dessert was reasonably big.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
At the moment I would choose this place as my favourite private kitchen because the environment is good and the portions are big and suitable for guys.

Healthy and light Chiuchow cuisine

Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant (Mong Kok)

I have always loved Chiuchow style food and there are so many variations.

At Pak Lok they specialise in Top Notch Chiuchow food and the restaurant is wheelchair friendly, but saying that there may be difficulty getting the wheelchair in the mall and getting to that floor because HK is a small place.

The tasting was interesting because I found some elements of Western cuisine in it.

The meal was paired with two sakes, a strong sake with a hint of melon (Kubota Suiju Daiginjyo Nama zake $680) and Yuzu sake (Fukucho Junmai Yuzushu $190).
For photos refer to the earlier review by Mjqueen7e.

Heres what we tried
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soyed Goose liver:

This was my favourite, I love Soyed goose liver, the liver was done just right, it was silky and moist.
It paired nicely with both sakes, with the Kubota Suiju Daiginjyo Nama it reminded me of duck liver with wine while the other sake reminded me of Duck and orange.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jellied Golden chicken bells 金鐘雞:

The appearance reminded me of the Xiamen jellied worms which I have always wanted to try because of the jelly.
The ones here are made with pieces of chicken set in chicken soup and cooled in the fridge.
It is golden in colour and shaped like a bell, hence the Chinese name golden chicken bell.
I really liked this because of the savoury jelly and pieces of chicken and wolfberries which were cooling when you ate them (great for summer).
It would be good if there was some sake infused in it, but sipping the sake when you eat this has the same effect.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soyed assortment:

There was an assortment of goose intestines, goose wings, goose meat which were delicious, the best thing about it was the sauce because there is no msg and the sauce is much lighter which is healthier.
My favourite pieces were the mid joint wings because it is the most delicate part that has absorbed most of the sauce.
When they were cooked, it was also cooked with pig tendons which gives it a lovely gelatinous texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soyed Pig Tendons:

These were the pig tendons which could also be ordered too, they were soft and gelatinous.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Smoked Holland Eel:

I was surprised to see this because I tried it at Dot Cod before and I thought it was a Western dish.
It doesn taste bad and there are no bones but I was not keen on its fatty texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Blood cockles:

These have always been my favourite but they are considered risky because they may cause food poisoning.
There is a Chiu Chow shop at Kowloon City which sells them but they were sold out when I tried to get them, luckily I was able to try them here.
The photo is a close up so you can see how clean they were.
After opening the shell, there was a juicy cockle inside with lots of orange liquid hence its name blood cockles.
It tasted really delicious as it was soaked with chilis and garlics, and the best thing was I did not get food poisoning.
Next time I will definately be back for them.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chilled Chiu Chow Crab:
(Mjqueen7e's photo)
because I deleted mine by accident.

The crab was really expensive but it was really delicious.
The restaurant cracked it well, so it did not need further cracking.
It was sweet and fresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised Chicken in Chiuchow style fermented soy bean sauce in pot:

If you've had the Chiuchow style fish, it comes with a side of fermented soy bean sauce.
The gravy for this is made from that, the beans are crushed which is why you can't see them in the sauce.
It is not as salty as the sauce because the sauce is mixed with fish sauce.
To me it tasted like delicious gravy but the bean taste was not strong enough, and it was slightly sweet too.
I think adding some sake (strong one) into the gravy would taste nice.
The chicken itself was surprisingly tender and soft for the white meat part.
From the photo you can just see how much gravy there was which was perfect to go with rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried Crispy "E-Fu" Noodle Served with Sugar & Vinegar

I tried the noodles without sugar and vinegar and it tasted nice because there was some chicken stock taste to it.
It was partially crispy and partially soft on the other side but when you picked it up it was not too hard which was good.
After trying sugar and vinegar I felt that vinegar tastes better as it makes it not so greasy.
It tastes better than other restaurants because it is not that oily.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Omelette with Baby Oysters
The omelette was lovely and soft loaded with lots of juicy plump oysters with nice crisp edges.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep Fried Crab Meat Balls & Shrimp Balls:

There was crab meat and shrimp which visually look different by the shape.
Personally I liked the crab because you can taste real crab and not surimi.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chilled fish skin:

This is a MUST try, they were springy and slightly spicy infused with delicious sesame oil.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed milk and egg white pudding with taro puree on top:

I don't usually like ANY type of Chinese dessert but this was perfect because it was not too sweet.
The pudding was mixed with egg white and milk which was light and silky paired nicely with taro puree on top which is Chiuchow style.
It would be good if they could make it with the taro puree in the centre so it flows out when you break into the pudding.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Anyway I will definately be back!!

Exclusive Glamorgan patties in Hong Kong

I have dined here so many times but not tried their A La Carte.

I tried it before and after renovation for their curry buffets which were absolutely delicious.

Thanks to the communications team for inviting me to try their A La Carte menu.

After analysing the menu, there were so many items that make you feel at home:

York Ham and Montgomery cheese toastie
Irish smoked salmon and soda bread ( I love soda bread)
Bucket of fat chips and curry sauce (yay, very british, chips and curry sauce)
Glamorgan patties (This seems to be the only place that does this)
Macaroni cheese
Cornish fish pie (I love fish pie)
Manchester tart and spoon of clotted cream (My fave at school)
Sticky toffee pudding (My fave at school)
Treacle tart (My fave at school)
Peanut butter mousse

Hopefully I will see Bubble and Squeak, clapshot on the menu someday because I really miss that and I shall make sure I will not miss the Robert burns night dinner as well!~
As well as Dicken's, The Chinnery does great British fare too (Scotch eggs, Welsh rarebit, Sherry trifle)!

Dicken's Bar is nicely laid out with the bar at one end and the other side for dining.

Heres what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tale of two cities:

Made with mint leaves, lemon, apple juice and topped with ginger beer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dickens Tai Tai:
This was black tea with apple juice, fresh lemon, topped with ginger ale.

I loved this drink because it was refreshing and not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
York Ham and Montgomery cheese toastie

The portion of this was huge but it was simply delicious.
I know it is simply cheese and ham, but the York ham was soft and the saltiness was just right paired with deliciously melted montgomery cheese.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Glamorgan patties
(cheese and leek fritters served with apple cider salsa)


So far this is the only place in HK that I know serving these Glamorgan Patties.
They are filled with cheese and leek.
I tried them piping hot and the cheese inside was lovely and gooey, after it cooled down the filling was slightly firmer and the taste of cheese and leek was stronger.
Hence this is why I always say food tastes different at different temperatures.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cornish fish pie

I loved the fish pie, there were chunks of delicious fish in rich dill sauce, the potato mash on top was baked to perfection and it was lovely and velvety.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Manchester tart with a spoon of clotted cream


Manchester tart is a traditional English baked tart consisting of a shortcrust pastry shell, spread with raspberry jam, covered with a custard filling and topped with flakes of coconut and berries.
The tart here was gorgeous with delicious custard and dessicated coconut.
On the side there is clotted cream too.
Anyone with a sweet tooth will love this because the raspberry jam and custard is delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Knickerbocker glory with hot chocolate sauce
The knickerbocker glory served here was a luxurious version of my usual one at Beefeater.
The one I had as a child was served in a narrower glass with plain softserve drizzled with syrup on top.

The Knickerbocker here was loaded with so many berries and marshmallows.
It was a great dessert to share
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Peanut butter mousse

This dessert is probably popular with the Americans because they have lots of confectionary that has peanut butter.
This is another MUST EAT dessert too if you love PB~
The taste of this was really dreamy and it does not have that dryness that peanut butter has.
It is extremely velvety and creamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★