[Extra Virgin] Affordable Italian pastas in Hong Kong

It is really difficult to find affordable and delicious pastas in Hong Kong.
Extra Virgin has finally answered my prayers after Pasta Mio closed in Central.

The menu is diverse so it caters for Hong Kongers.
I felt that the drinks selection could have been better because they only served Hong Kong style tea in those thick rimmed cups and lacked Western teas.

The Italian choices were clearly the picks for me.
It had almost everything I wanted except Lasagne so I made quite a few visits to try them.

Here was what I had: Spaghetti aglio de olio, spaghetti pomodoro e basilico, fettucine bolognese and the Feta cheese pizza.
Everything was cooked to order.

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spaghetti pomodoro e basilico:

Perfect pasta with fragrant basil and rich tomato sauce.
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fettucine bolognese:

This was al dente fettucine in a lovely meat sauce loaded with lots of minced meat.
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Feta cheese pizza:

The pizza was impressive because the cheese was just melted to how I like it while the base was thin and crispy.
It would be great if they used tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because they were clumsy and kept falling off the pizza.
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Spaghetti aglio de olio:

Unfortunately, this was boring and tasteless, perhaps the Vongole might be a better choice.
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Will definitely come again for the ravioli and hope that they will add lasagne to the menu.

Extra Virgin:
https://www.facebook.com/Extra.virginss/

[Falafel TLV] A big portion of hummus that satisfies your craving

Discovered this fantastic joint because I was checking out a restaurant nearby.

Basically they serve hummus and falafel which are both my favourites.
This place is called Falafel TLV so you can tell it is from Israel because of TLV ie Tel Aviv.
The menu was quite simple and they even serve desserts and drinks.

Anyway, the hummus and the falafel are a must so I had the Hummus Tahini and falafel.
The hummus are made with fine Bulgarian chick peas.

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Hummus Tahini:

It was so comforting to see this huge portion of hummus because it is just how it is served in London.
The taste and texture was really creamy that it was perfect with their soft fluffy pita bread.
The portion of hummus was generous that second orders of pita bread were needed.
It was good for sharing and sufficient to dip three pita breads.
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Falafel:

The falafel was uniform in size and they were nice and crispy. The oil is changed daily which guarantees the quality.
Each bite was delicious and had a lovely smell of cumin.
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On the table, the AMBA sauce (mango sauce) was addictive because it was really refreshingly savory yet strong that it goes with anything especially falafel and shawarma.

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They also sell condiments imported from Israel and they even have my favourite Zaatar!!

For drinks it was either Lemon and mint of Banana tamar which is milk, banana and dates.
I went for the banana tamar which was quite palatable.

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Finished with the Malabee which is a rich pudding made of cream milk, rose syrup topped with coconut and crushed peanuts.
It was similar to a milk pudding but the creaminess was stronger and it has a curd like texture.
[My Malabee didn't contain the rose syrup because I requested it without]

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Restaurant: FalafelTLV
Facebook: FalafelTLV

Decorated suckling big by GoodBBQ

My dad was in HK so decided to get him a cute decorated suckling pig from Good BBQ which is something that you probably won't find in the UK decorated like this.

It was delivered on time and the design was a lovely surprise because it was for Father's day and I left the design over to them.

The eyes flash.

The tie had two sides to it.

After chopping it up, it was enough for the eight of us and the sauces were hidden beneath the pig.
The suckling pig was crispy and the meat was tender and well seasoned that it didn't really need the sauces.

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video of the suckling pig:

GOODBBQ:

https://www.facebook.com/GOODBBQ.HK

choo choo Masala train express

As an Indian food lover, this has been on my list to try when I heard about it.They serve curry, rolls and a good variety of vegetarian and sugar free desserts.

There was a vegetarian roll I had to try and this is the only place that serves it.
To my knowledge not many places serve Bhurji and this one is completely vegetarian while the one in Central serves egg bhurji.
I had the paneer bhurji roll which is basically filled with cottage cheese in aromatic spices and the texture is like scrambled eggs.


You will also find bits of red and green bell peppers as well.



I wish they had paneer bhurji rice because that would be more filling.
Anyway, my friend had the chicken biryani box.



For dessert I had the rice pudding which was really dreamy and I loved the texture as it was fluffy loaded with some nuts and dates.
I liked the way it was not cloyingly sweet as compared to other Indian desserts and it is sugar free sweetened with dates which makes it super healthy.

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MASALA TRAIN: 146 Lockhart Rod, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Creative cakes for Father's Day by Saint Honore Bakery

Creative cakes for Father's Day by Saint Honore Bakery!!!

I felt that they were photogenic so I posted them.

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Wrist watch chocolate cake:

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Coffee cup mousse cake:

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Champagne cake:

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Frothing beer mug:

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Beyond Meat Burger

As soon as I heard this vegetarian beef patty was in Hong Kong, I had to try it because beef has nasty fat bits, chewy plastic bits and it sometimes stinks.

You can either buy the twin pack of beyond meat patties for $7x and cook them yourself or you can try them in Burger version at Green Common, The Butcher's club (for a limited time) and Ovo Cafe.

I wanted to buy the patties but getting a decent bun in HK is difficult and a decent bun means you have to pay more than you should do compared to UK where you can just get a decent bun anywhere that costs no more than a few HK dollars.

I decided to try Green Common, Butchers Club and skipping Ovo Cafe because the burger at OVO Cafe contains Kimchi and it is quite pricey $14x with chips.

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Verdict for The Green Common Burger:

The green common one didn't taste as beefy as I expected and the ketchup let me down because it was too sweet and not tart enough.

I also added extra cheese which made it $90.

Video of the Green Common Burger:

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Verdict for The Butchers Club burger:

The one at Butchers Club costs $100 and it is much tastier because the beetroot chips have this realistic bacon flavour to it and the sauce was creamy.

The only complaint was that it was a bit too salty.

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Dr. Fern's Gin Parlour

While death and being sick in Hong Kong is a taboo, Dr. Fern's Gin Parlour is breaking this taboo at the Landmark.
Not familiar to HKers, I found the entrance very comforting as it was very similar to the Doctors place where I went as a child because I come from a Victorian seaside town.
There are two doors, both have frosted wired glass panes. One says waiting room while the other is the Doctors room.
I doubt HKers could relate to the surroundings but it is definitely a brilliant hideout with a good variety of gins.
Inside you will find old fashioned furniture and decor which transport you back to the Victorian era.

I was there for coffee and I have to admit the coffee was really good as a non coffee drinker because it was very aromatic, the temperature was just right and there was no sour aftertaste.

The receipt could do with more humour though with diagnosis and prescriptions added to it and for fun you can try submitting it to your company account dept and see if they fall for it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUyIsJrlVmk