[Cardamon Street] Indian food reinvented and healthy

I love Indian food so went to Cardamon Street!

Cardamon Street, it is not what you would expect so be prepared to be blown away with fantastic and healthy food.

The all day menu has everything covered, so is their weekend brunch with an Indian twist with dishes like Masala French Toast, Scrambled Eggs Paratha Wrap and Chole Batura.

For the lunch rush hour, there is a fuss free Lunch set where you get a starter, mains and a dessert which is quite basic so I highly recommend trying the main menu which really showcases their dishes.

The main menu will blow you away with Salads, Sliders, Tacos, Curries etc and not Naans, Tandooris, Tikkas etc!
Scouring the menu, you will find super foods and modern ingredients at play like Kale, Quinoa and Beetroot which are healthy.

It was so damn hard deciding what to eat as the tacos and sliders with an Indian twist should be delicious but in the end I went for the Indian Mezze Platter,  Cardamon Special Roasted chicken, Lamb Quinoa Biryani and the Beetroot Halwa. Those who don't really eat spicy food will love this because it isn't spicy!

[Indian Mezze Platter]
The mezze consisted of three dips: chick pea, eggplant and tomato.
The eggplant dip is a fusion Baingan  bharta reinvented. I loved the bread that came with it as it was topped with my favourite rosemary and zaatar so everything was delicious.

[Cardamon Special Roasted chicken]
The roasted chicken was two chicken drumsticks which is convenient and tasty to eat drizzled with Saffron and Cream cheese.

[Lamb Quinoa Biryani]
This was another one of my favourites because it was so tasty and healthy.
The lamb was moist and tender.

[Beetroot Halwa]
Halwa is traditionally made with carrots but here they have used beetroot which is just as tasty.
I actually finished it all because the sweetness has been toned down!

For drinks, I had the Kacche amm Ka sherbet which is raw mango,  cumin, coriander etc. My kind of drink because it was savoury and sour so imagine it like a salted plum or salted lemon drink.

For lunches, you get an appetizer, curry and a dessert of the day.

Appetizer:  Paneer croquettes

Mains: Bengali Fish Curry

Dessert of the day: Kaju Katli

Will definitely be coming back to try the brunch and dessert as the sweets here are not cloyingly sweet.

[Cardamon Street]
38 Elgin Street
https://www.facebook.com/pg/cardamonstreet/

Hello Kitty series at Maxim's Bakery 美心西餅

I'm not really a fan of Hello Kitty but tried it anyway as it was affordable and some of the bakery products in the series looked delicious.

Strawberry burger:

Savoury burger:

Apple cheese tart:

Sugar and Cinnamon Toast:

On this visit, got the toast and bread.

I'm not a fan of Maxims bread but this cute little this loaf was filled with red beans and cream cheese.

Out of all the products, I liked the toast most because it was just simply Hello Kitty's head with sugar and cinnamon.

I love the taste of sugar and cinnamon so therefore I liked it.
It was a little soft but it didn't bother me.

Delish Roast beef bahn mi at [越之味 Tasty Vietnam HK]

Randomly went here because of the roast beef banhmi.

I didn't have any expectations because the location being in polam so I was expecting everything to be localized.
They did have some interesting items on the menu like the rolls with liver paste.

Dined in for the roast beef bahnmi and it was pretty good there wasn't a 10% service charge. But then I suppose, it is getting competitive with so many new eateries nearby such as the Taiwanese noodle joint, Marugai udon, laksa joint and this Chinese joint.

When it arrived, it looked promising.
The baguette was not burnt with a lovely golden crispy crust while the middle was soft.

The roast beef was convincing, it was pink and you could see the fibres without any connecting tissues.

I was totally satisfied after taking a bite because everything was good from the baguette to the beef.
Most importantly the pickles were properly pickled and not sweet.

There was a dash of mustard which went well with the beef.
The texture of the beef was really tender that I wouldn't describe it as roast beef but a cross between pastrami without the smokiness and slow cooked beef.

I think the beef tastes better in the banhmi than the pho as the heat will end up changing the texture of the beef.
Will definitely be back and hopefully the beef will be just as good on the next visit

The only thing they could improve is having tissues on the table.

[越之味 Tasty Vietnam HK]
Shop 051G, UG/F, MCP Central, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O

Best Pastas in Lai Chi Kok by [PICI]

Business is booming in Lai Chi Kok and so is the demand for good food!
Pici started off in Wanchai, Feb 2017 and now has five branches with the fifth branch in Lai Chi Kok. Last week, they were doing a pasta giveaway but unfortunately I had other plans that day.

I like the way, all the branches have the same style an alfresco bar, dining area and a bar table where you can watch the pasta chefs make the pasta.

The menu at Lai Chi Kok is slightly different.

Green Ravioli and Tuna Tartare are exclusive at this branch while the popular favourites like truffle pasta, meatballs and tiramisu are all on the menu.

Started with the Sicilian Sunrise which was a vibrant sweet start with citrus flavours.

Green Ravioli [LCK exclusive at the moment]:
The green ravioli was new and I love ravioli so tried it.
It has broccolini, peas and asparagus which were all my favourites.
The ravioli was fresh with the crunch of the vegetables topped with ricotta which gave it the saltiness.

My friend had the lunch because you get salad and a dessert.
The truffle pasta was on the lunch menu so how could you not order it for HKD148!!!

Radicchio Salad [Part of the Lunch Set]:
There were so many options to choose from ranging from Hams to Burrata cheese but we chose the Radicchio salad which was healthy and light topped with delicious hazelnuts and tangy vinegar.

Taglioni with shaved fresh truffle [Part of the Lunch Set]:
Less is more and this was simply delicious because it was just freshly made pasta with freshly shaved truffle and truffle sauce. The pasta was silky yet al dente.

Tiramisu [Part of the Lunch Set]:
For dessert, the Tiramisu is a must as it is thick and creamilious.
PICI's Tiramisu is unique as the mascarpone is visually yellow like custard and it tastes so delicious with the soaked layers of ladyfingers.

With freshly made pasta, PICI never fails to impress.

PICI, Lai Chi Kok
Shop G03,
D2 Place TWO,
15 Cheung Shun Street, ]
Lai Chi Kok.

New Summer dishes at [Casa Lisboa Gastronomia Portuguesa]

It has been a while since I have been to Casa Lisboa.
Since my last visit, Casa Lisboa has relocated to Wyndham Street.

We had the new Summer menu that night and every dish was flawless.

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First was the [Cozido Soup], which is a popular soup that you will find in every Portuguese home. Just like Chinese soup, you will find lots of meat and vegetables which are eaten as well.
The chef has modernized it by wrapping the meat inside the cabbage parcel.
I really enjoyed the soup as it was smokey with the  saltiness from the salami.

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The next dish was the [Vegagna] which was a vegetable lasagna made with layers of courgettes filled with tomato and aubergine. It had a nice hint of cumin which gave it a Mediterranean twist.

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The [Bone Marrow] is definitely recommended because it is so different to the ones I have had.
There were lots of herbs in it and it tasted like Christmas Stuffing that goes with the Turkey.
Although it came with crispy slices, it tasted good with the bread on the table.

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[Guinea Fowl Cabidela]
Traditionally, this dish is made with chicken blood but it has been modified with beer and morel mushrooms for a healthier approach.
The risotto was definitely delicious infused with flavours from the beer and morel mushrooms but being adventurous I would still love to try the recipe with chicken blood.

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[Iberico Pork Chop with Apple Sauce]
Pork and apples always go well together in any cuisine so this dish was popular with all the guests.

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[Short Ribs with Alheira Migas]
The ribs were visually flawless as you can see how lean and moist it was that it doesn't need much explanation.
The side of Alheira Migas was also the star of the show as it was beans with kale.

I found it really comforting because it tasted similar Mexican refried beans.

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[Mango and Passion Fruit Burrata] 

Finished with the burrata which looked like burrata!
It was fluffy sweet cream cheese shaped like a burrata drizzled in mango and passion fruit sauce.

Overall, I was impressed with meat dishes that they serve especially the ribs and risotto.

[Casa Lisboa Gastronomia Portuguesa]

2/F Parekh House,

63 Wyndham Street,

Central

Lime Caviar and its culinary potential in dishes

Ever since I heard about Lime Caviar I have always wanted to try it.
I literally thought they were pearls made with lime juice using molecular gastronomy.

To my excitement, I finally got to see them at Hofex on the second day.

Lime Caviar comes from Finger Limes native to Australia and there are quite a few different colours available.
The best thing is that Finger Limes are all natural and the beauty is that you will find tiny pearls when you slice it open and squeeze it.

These pearls will burst zesty tangy juice so imagine taking dishes to the next level by garnishing oysters or anything that needs a zesty and colourful finish!

You can now get them in tubs which are quick and convenient to serve by spooning them out and sprinkling them on whatever you fancy.

The good news is that you can now get them in Hong Kong through [Eat The Kiwi].

[Eat The Kiwi] offers a good range of New Zealand groceries.

Also at the booth, I spotted some Deer Milk powder which is said to be rich and creamy.
Deer Milk was apparently on the menu at the worlds 50 best in Macau so I wouldn't mind just drinking a pure shot of deer milk to see how it tastes!!

About [Eat The Kiwi]:
Eat The Kiwi was born out of the success of The Produce Company, a business responsible for sourcing and delivering high quality, fresh food to many of New Zealand’s top restaurants since the 80’s.

In the early days they started exporting to Super Yachts and Luxury Hotels in the Pacific but then as they learnt how to provide small consolidated orders to hard to find locations, they decided on taking Eat the Kiwi to the World by hoisting a New Zealand flag.

They landed in Hong Kong in 2015. For the first two years, their carefully chosen, fresh New Zealand ingredients were only available to top restaurants and hotels, but they soon found out that people were eager to access their naturally good food in their own homes too. 

In recent years they have opened Eat the Kiwi Offices in Shanghai and Western Samoa.