Sunday, March 02, 2014

Let's duck to Cheung Chau for French crepes

Saw this shop listed on OpenRice and the name 食duck啦 Omyduck was really catchy so I googled it and found out that they did French crepes so I went to Cheung Chau especially for them.

Their logo is really nice too with a duck wearing a French beret with a curly moustache and blue striped t-shirt.

It is located near the pier which was great.

There was a French guy wearing a classic French beret making crepes with fresh bananas, sauces laid at the front of the stall.


The menu was simple, there were savoury galettes and sweet crepes.

The savoury crepes were made with buckwheat served crispy with savoury fillings, there was a choice of:
omyduck (duck confit, rocket salad, homemade dressing)
La complete (ham, French cheese and egg)
smoked salmon (smoked salmon, fresh cream, fresh cheese)

For sweet crepes, there was a choice of:
Butter and sugar
lemon and sugar
nutella chocolate
mango, strawberry or cherry
nutella and banana
grand marnier

Anyway ordered the omyduck because of the duck confit.

Basically he puts the galette mixture on the galette maker.


Then he put some cheese on my galette for some reason but it does not say there was cheese in the one I ordered.

Then he put my favourite dijon mustard.

On the other galette iron, he heats up the duck.


I didn't spot him put any rocket salad in it as stated on the menu and the galette was ready.

Anyway, it was really nice of him to slice it for me because there is no seating. If it wasn't sliced it would be hard to eat the crepe with a plastic fork standing up without a knife.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
omyduck:


It was nicely sliced into bite sized pieces which made it easier to enjoy.


The crepe was fantastic because it was crispy and the filling was delicious with the mustard which enhanced the duck with some extra saltiness and tanginess in taste while the cheese held it together when it melted.
For improvements, the duck could have been softer and shredded into smaller chunks so that it could be uniformly distributed in the crepe.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon and sugar crepe:

When he made it, he squeezed quite a fair bit of lemon into the crepe.
Anyway, I loved the texture of the crepe because it was soft and elastic.
He also put quite a fair bit of butter in it too which made me think "merde" in my head because I don't like butter but overall it was so delicious because it was really lemoney and not too sweet and the butter helped to give it that extra grease so that it wasnt too dry.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

As a summary, I really loved the crepes and I hope the standards remain the same.
I super regretted not getting the other salmon one too because not many places do salmon crepes and the price of these savoury crepes were a bargain, but Cheung Chau is annoyingly far and getting in and out of CC is rather troublesome !

Glad I dined at Laurel

It was the last day in Macau and I had a budget of MOP$8XX left.

Originally planned to dine at Gusto but it would mean I would still have quite a lot of cash left because the portions there are rather big.
Stumbled upon Laurel which is near the entrance of the Galaxy hotel.

Browsed the menu and the items looked luxurious so decided to dine there.
They were expensive you could only order a few dishes.

The decor and ambiance was grand just like a palace.


I loved the chandeliers and twinkling lights on the blue ceiling.


There is a nice little bridge to the other side of the restaurant too.


Before you order, there are a few compulsory charges:
-tea
-snacks


-chili sauce


All these charges are clearly stated on the ordering form.

I wanted to order the silkie chicken soup but it was sold out so ordered this other soup.
One of the soups cost $420 per person!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Prawn dumplings:


The prawn dumplings were a little disappointing because there was nothing amazing about them.
They tasted like the average prawn dumpling in Hong Kong.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled chicken with American ginseng and Chinese herbs:



The soup was amazing, it was strongly flavoured with chicken and really sweet that you could not taste the bitterness of the American ginseng. There was so much dried scallops in it as well and the taste of the soup had a concentrated taste which made is rich.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised crab with garlic and vermicelli in a pot:



This is a must eat item because there was so much garlic and spring onions in every strand of vermicelli which gave it a refreshing crunch and flavouring.
Each noodle was nicely tossed and it was glistening with a lovely golden colour yet it was not oily.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised sea cucumber and ducks feet:


This dish tasted how it should but it did not give me any surprises.
It should have been served earlier or later when there were no other dishes because by the time I got to this dish it was just warm and did not taste as good as it should when it was hot.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
If I had read the reviews, I would have ordered the pork trotters pot instead of the prawn dumplings and sea cucumber.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Laurel Chinese Restaurant,
Galaxy Casinos and Hotel Complex
Macau SAR of China
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Just my luck, NOT!!

I've never believed in group buying or even attempted to register an account to buy these things because it does not really work in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong, out of most countries is profit orientated while it's mother country is corrupted.
You can just tell how money hungry they are with cosmetic shops selling samples which are meant to be given to customers.
Same with retailers who try and get you to spend over a certain amount to give you a mere worthless discounts or samples that were meant to be free anyway.

They just copy schemes and change the rules beneficial to them such as bonus points which you have to spend it within a certain period or you only get points awarded for spending a pathetic huge amount which the ordinary person does not.
Never have I been deducted in the UK where I have not spent my points.

Most restaurants will increase the prices and make it look like you are getting a good deal through group buying when infact you are just paying the normal price because group buying just guarentees revenue for a restaurant.
Restaurants or companies likely to go bust soon like to take on these schemes.

Anyway, this time I bought the group buy because I had already tried the icecream at the original price for $35 before the $10 group buy deal was introduced.
(minimum of two orders ie $20)
{SEPARATE REVIEW ON ITS WAY FOR NORMAL PAYING EXPERIENCE, WHICH I SHALL SHARE AFTER THE GROUP BUY OFFER ENDS.}
I only got it because it was pathetically cheap and $20 to me is not a lot of money because I often waste more than $20 on shitty food.


The redemption period for this group buy is from 10th of Feb to 31st of March.

I had to wait for the flavours to be rotated because I have already tried the other flavours at full price before the group buy redemption started.

It was very kind of the dessert shop to reply to my enquiry when the new flavours were out so I went there on the 24/2/14.
However when I got there, their kitchen broke down, hence it was closed for the evening.
Luckily, I found a good eatery nearby called Mr. Chef Cafe.
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2349006

Went back a few days later (28/2/14) and the flavour I wanted was not available and they don't know when it would be available.
Luckily, I stumbled on this new McDonalds with modern decor.


Anyway, my third and last attempt (2/3/14), called and they said they had it but when I got there, there was a sign saying sold out!!
hooray!! time for this negative review!!!

Initially I was going to write a long review combining the paid experience and group buy experience which would feature four flavours:
Sweet potato, Tomato and yoghurt, sweetcorn and salt and some other flavour!!
But anyway, lets just say $20 wasted!!! Because it is wasting my time and money on further visits to TST because I don't go there!~
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The Dessert Kitchen (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Price: $20 via group buy
Service: crap
Yummy factor: sold out or not available, so how cud i try!!
Sweetness levels: OK
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Back for more vegetarian dishes

The vegetarian dishes here are filling and affordable which is why I came back for more.

Here was what I had:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried vegetables and rice:

I don't really like these diced vegetables consisting of carrots, peas and sweetcorn but surprisingly it was delicious because the sauce was sweet and went well with the rice as it made the rice moist and easy to eat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
American wrap:

On my previous visit, tried their other wraps which were divine, this was the only one I have not tried so came back for it.
It had a vegetarian frank which tasted like the normal ones and there was coleslaw in it which is my favourite.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
tofu in spicy sauce with rice:

Basically I have always loved the meat version but restaurants never use fresh meat so it stinks.
The vegetarian version is much lighter and they have Sichuan peppercorns in their sauce which has this numbing effect and no spiciness.
I would have liked the sauce to be thicker.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
stir fried purple cabbage with beef:

Another sweet tasting dish because of the purple cabbage but it was not cloyingly sweet, the vegetarian beef slices were great because they don't have those annoying tendons that you can chew.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried spicy Chinese celery and meat with rice:

This dish was good but it lacked something because there was too much Chinese celery in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I really like this place a lot but I hate those smokers smoking outside because their second hand smoke is mega annoying!
Anyway hope to dine here more often before the annoying summer comes!

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Sooo Vegi (North Point)
Price: $9X
Service: good
Service charge: no
Yummy factor: good
MSG levels: None
Napkins provided: yes
Noise levels: Noisy
Glass of water provided: yes
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: no
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Back for some new sweet treats

I don't really dine here because there is a regular tea house that I go to.

I have not had much luck with this place because I missed their Victoria sandwich when they opened and they were always closed or busy when I came.

Found out about the Strawberry and basil scone so went there for it because I missed it last year.
Before I came, I phoned to reserve one and their phone went dead after I spoke to them but luckily they still had a few left.

When I got there, the queue was flowing outside the door.

People can now sit on the tables outside or at the bar table in front of the counter.
There used to be a table on the left but it is not there anymore.

Apart from the scone they had this new Thai sausage and kimchi quiche which was quite creative.

They had this new sweet potato muffin so I got it as well.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Strawberry Basil Scone:

It looked like an American biscuit.

On a closer look, you can see pieces of strawberries and green basil leaves.
The pairing of strawberry and basil was interesting which was why I tried it.
I loved the fruity taste of the strawberries but the basil was not strong enough to taste it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Daigaku Imo (Honey Glazed Sweet Potato) & Cream Cheese savoury Muffin:



The savoury muffin did not taste that savoury and it was really dense and hard perfect for eating with a fork.
It did not fall apart like your usual muffin.
There was lots of texture from the black sesame seeds and sweet potato however the sweet potatoes were not soft enough and I could not taste the clumps of cream cheese in the muffin.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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teakha (Sheung Wan)
Price: $4X
Service: OK
Yummy factor: ok
Sweetness levels: just right
Napkins provided: yes
Noise levels: Noisy
Glass of water provided: self service
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: Yes
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Friday, February 28, 2014

Sweet Crispy Lemon chicken

Although I love fried chicken, the quality of KFC in Hong Kong is not consistent.
The quality of fried chicken can be good or bad.

I risked it this time because of this new Lemon Chicken flavour.

The design of the box was quite nice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried chicken:
Just judging the fried chicken, the quality was quite good this time because the coating was golden and the skin was firmly attached and not shrivelled up.
It was lovely, soft and juicy this time..

The chicken comes with a side of lemon sauce.

The lemon sauce was gooey and not two sweet with a slight bitterness and mild lemon taste.

Dipping the chicken in this sauce was perfect resulting in a sweet tangy tone.
I definitely want this again but I hope the chicken will be fried as good as this.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Price: $29
Service: OK
Yummy factor: ok
MSG levels: slight
Napkins provided: yes
English Menu: Yes
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Surprised by the quality at Mr Chef cafe

Discovered this little joint serving Western style breakfasts when I was at a tasting recently.

I was tempted to try it before but it was packed, there are 4 seats, 2-3 that you could possibly sit on if people don't put there bags on them.

Anyway, I was in the area again so dined there.
TST is not a place I usually go, but unluckily this place I wanted to try was closed, so luckily I remembered this place.

I was skeptical at first because it was Chinese style Western breakfast so I tried the omelette. There was also eggs Benedict which I wanted to try but sitting uncomfortably on a narrow bench table put me off ordering it.


The all day breakfasts cost around $34-$38.
I ordered the omelette because it looked easy to eat without much effort.

Unfortunately the drinks that come with it were Hong Kong milk tea or Coffee.
I ended up choosing the coffee because I don't drink Hong Kong milk tea.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fresh grounded coffee:


I don't drink coffee but I drank half a cup because it was quite nice and not too milky with no sour aftertaste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
green pepper and ham omelette:
When I saw it on the menu, the pairing of green pepper and egg was rather odd because green pepper has this distinct taste.
Anyway, when it arrived, I could smell freshly cracked black pepper that was sprinkled on.

The black pepper and green pepper went surprisingly well with the omelette and the texture of the omelette was soft and fluffy with a slightly runny centre.


It was just nice having the omelette with the toast and the side of salad was ok because it was dressed in sweet balsamic vinegar.
The baked beans were cold so I asked them and they said they were served cold.
I normally have my beans cold anyway because it tastes better.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Mr. Chef Cafe (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Price: $34
Service: OK
Service charge: no
Yummy factor: ok
Napkins provided: yes
Portion sizes: reasonable
English Menu: Yes
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