eatinout

南发 Bah Kut Teh @ Klang

2009-07-05T23:30:00.008+08:00

Yesterday dinner with friends and get complained again because seldom update my blog :-). So I quickly dig out some photos to keep it alive a bit...

My Klang buddy finally able to have breakfast with me again. Today we are having BKT as usual but focus will be on pork intestines instead of soup. This stall is not too packed and I think mostly only Klang people are visiting.

Their intestines (猪肠) are really good for soup-based BKT, a bit chewy and not smelly at all, other shops either didn't clean it properly, not layered enough or too soft. Why compare only with soup based? Because I think those Yip's families dried BKT doing not bad at all in preparing their intestines. 南发 claimed to be the pioneer in "claypot" style BKT, but their soup is not the type that I like, nevertheless, this is still a nice breakfast session with friends.

Read more about 南发 BKT here (unfortunately in Chinese only)

南发瓦煲肉骨茶
11 & 12, Jalan Gelugor,
Off Jalan Meru,
Klang.

Technorati Tags: Bak Kut Teh + Klang

Pisang Goreng, Waffle World @ 1 Utama

2009-05-23T12:46:00.003+08:00

What if suddenly you longed for fried banana while shopping at 1 Utama? If it's still around early tea time, my first reaction will be drive all the way down to Brickfields for some Mr. Chiam's pisang goreng (read here and here), but the chance that it's already sold out is very high, so not worth it.

A simpler way to fulfill your desire is to try out Waffle World's version of pisang goreng. More expensive but it comes with a scoop of ice-cream, honey coated and air conditioned environment, better than nothing.

For reviews on Waffle World's other signatures (mainly waffles and pancakes), you can go to :

Fullhouse @ NZX, Ara Damansara

2009-05-04T18:50:00.006+08:00

Bumped into Fullhouse last year (another old post...) when sending one of my colleagues back to NZX area.

Can't really recall the price, but the thing that still vividly in my mind is a warm greeting in Korean from an Indian waiter, what a funny combination. Food served in small portion with nice decoration, great for us as we are not looking for a full dinner.

Quality wise, I don't really like the drink but the main dishes are tasty. I thought I will revisit them again when I have just started my meal, but in the end, I decided not to pay them a visit anymore. Partly because NZX's location is too inconvenient for me, another reason is because the owner (or maybe just another employee of Fullhouse) treated the Indian waiters so badly even in front of customers. If they are really care and proud about their cozy environment, please scold the waiters in the kitchen instead, btw, I don't agree on "scold" at all.

Other reviews:
KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL
Shell Food Station
she, the epicuriousgirl.

YOICHI @ Bandar Puteri, Puchong

2009-04-17T22:56:00.006+08:00

First post in 2009... why missing in action for so many months? Well well, busy work, renovation, Chinese New Year, move in new house, house warming(s), registration of marriage, wedding preparation, etc... but the real reason behind could be, lazy to write :-) and this has resulted uncountable backlogs. Last Friday after I had a bad food experience at hawker stalls, I was thinking to restart my blog with some really bad reviews, unfortunately weekend really make someone lay back and prefer do nothing, that's why I failed (again).

So why restart today then? Simple, because we just had a nice dinner @ YOICHI Japanese Restaurant, Puchong. Noticed YOICHI about month ago but no time to give it a try, besides, also because restaurants in Bandar Puteri quite disappointing sometimes, but I'm glad that finally I have stepped in.

This post will have no food photo at all, reason is I can't get a good shot under dim light. Few things that surprise me about YOICHI :

didn't expect a Japanese restaurant in Bandar Puteri running by Japanese chef
a Chinese lady boss that can speak great Japanese
taste good
very reasonable price
since when we have so many Japanese customers in Puchong?
a blog to market their restaurant, but it's all in Japanese

We settled our dinner with only simple don set; Tori Teriyaki Don (鶏照り焼き丼, RM 11.80) and Buta shogayaki Don (豚生姜焼き丼, RM 14.80). The set comes with a nice miso soup and a great small side, both of us thinks the food is very good. The only small down side could be the rice itself is not too Japanese (not so sticky and not fine in shape), but with the price it's selling now, I don't really mind at all. Other than the don sets, I have also ordered a Tempura Moriawase (てんぷら盛り合わせ, RM 15), great value with meaty and juicy prawn.

To read more about YOICHI, visit their website here. For photos of our orders, check out their dinner menu. I will definitely visit them again.

Map : Go here
Address : No 21, Jalan Puteri 2/3, Bandar Puteri, Puchong.
Short direction : Same row with Bandar Puteri Public Bank.

Technorati Tags: Japanese + Puchong

Tian Hong Char Siew @ Salak South

2008-12-20T23:47:00.008+08:00

I love char siew and have eaten really a lot when I was kid. Why? Because my family was in food business years ago selling only BKT and char siew, so when come to dinner, I can only choose between BKT or char siew rice (how lucky I was...). Too bad we are no longer running it, so I have to pay for good char siew now :-).

Other than the famous Meng Kee char siew @ Tengkat Tong Sin, Salak South is another place I will go whenever I crave for char siew.

Went there again one Friday 2pm+, still a bowl of char siew (yes, a bowl, they didn't hang everything) so without hesitate too long, we have ordered 3-pax char siew for only 2 of us ;-). The food still good as usual, frankly I love Meng Kee's char siew better but 2pm+ I'm pretty sure it's already sold out. The secret behind this good char siew is hold by the old owner, always with calm and peaceful look uncle.

Tian Hong just located opposite 7-eleven Salak South, to read more about this char siew:
You Get What You Give...
she, the epicuriousgirl

Again, a scrumptious lunch :-).

Address:
Kedai Kopi Tian Hong
A82, Jalan Tuanku 2
Taman Salak Selatan
Kuala Lumpur

Technorati Tags: Char Siew + Salak South

Heun Kee @ Pudu, KL

2008-11-19T20:00:00.000+08:00

Tried a few claypot chicken rice in Klang Valley but failed to find one that suit my taste buds, luckily recall boo_licious post on Heun Kee and give it a try... and it's so good! Not so confident in the beginning because noticed this is prepared by 2 foreign ladies, but once I realized they have been helping around the owner for 7-11 years, this explains why it's still so delicious.

Yet to try their claypot 腊味饭 (waxed meat), will do soon. Detail review please read masak-masak, no time to write much, sorry ;-)

Technorati Tags: Heun Kee + Claypot Chicken Rice

Yook Woo Hin @ Petaling Street, KL

2008-11-15T20:55:00.001+08:00

Heard some good comments about Yook Woo Hin dim sum long time ago, but because need to go wake up and go to city early in the morning, so always no chance to try it out. One fine morning because wanted to buy toys for a friend's new born baby, so here we are breakfast at Yoke Woo Hin, Petaling Street.

A little bit of "oldish" feeling overall is what I enjoy most; the restaurant, people, cutlery and dim sum... Finally feel like having dim sum at 莲香楼, although still not "old" enough. Food wise, all dim sum ingredients are fresh and real (hate other local dim sum places where the minced meat tastes like mixed with a lot of dunno what) but not many varieties.

Among the dishes, I highly recommend their chee cheong fun. I'm expecting either normal Hong Kong style or Ipoh mushroom sauce style, but surprisingly, this is something new to me (forgive my illiteracy in chee cheong fun), a bit sweet with minced pork meats really a good match of the soft chee cheong fun.

Other reviews:
Babe in the City

Technorati Tags: Petaling Street + Dim Sum + Yook Woo Hin

Fat Siu Lau & Hang Heong Un @ Macau

2008-09-30T23:13:00.000+08:00

Read so many reviews on Fat Siu Lau (佛笑楼) and hoping to get great taste from them, unfortunately during my last visit in Macau, their quality is just average. Their Superb Roasted Pigeon (石岐烧乳鸽) no doubt is well marinated but the spices failed to attract us. Look at the tiny pigeon served...

Maybe they can do better in other signature dishes, so we give their Baked Pork Chop on Rice (焗骨饭) a try. Honestly this is not too bad but as compare to RedAnt, this is really nothing to shout about. Price for drinks, soup, pigeon and baked rice = MOP 235.

As usual, lunch or dinner in Hong Kong and Macau always complete with dessert :-). Read from somewhere that Steven Chow likes to visit Hang Heong Un (杏香园), so we head to Travessa do Auto Novo (清平直街) after lunch to have some (hopefully) great dessert.

People always complaint about the price here but thumb up for their quality, therefore the shop is quite empty all the time. We have ordered 雪糕马蹄沙 (MOP 26) and 白果杏仁核桃 (MOP 26), both are refreshing but indeed, too expensive for a small dessert like this. Wonder how can they survive, and how they consume the remaining desserts end of the day (I don't want to know, and don't want to imagine... ha ha!)

Another blog

2008-08-30T18:29:00.003+08:00

Created another blog mainly for song album comment, unfortunately, it's in Cantonese. Do visit if you are interested and can read Cantonese (广东话) well, 哼inout.

Ah Tau Seafood Bak Kut Teh @ Klang

2008-08-24T00:49:00.008+08:00

Congratulations to Chris new born baby! Guess after he promoted to father, will be very hard for him to have early BKT breakfast with me in Klang :-).

This visit to Ah Tau BKT (阿头肉骨茶) in fact already months ago. As usual, most famous BKT in Klang come at a price - wake up really early. We reached there around 8am and it's already packed with people. Chris is regular customer here, so without discuss too much he has placed all the orders for us.

I already heard that this tastes a lot different than the normal BKT, so I didn't put high expectation to it as I love the normal BKT so much. When this big bowl first served to our table, honestly, the smell and boiling soup with fried chicken claws, flower crab, fried bean curd skin (腐竹) and meats are really impressive. Tried one scoop of soup... ah, they have added cili padi, so it's a bit spicy, not my type ;-).

Anyway, the mixture of seafood, meat and herbal soup is not bad, just I will not call this Bak Kut Teh. I enjoy the fu zuk and fried chicken claws so much, but overall the meat and seafood part do not really indulge me. Some foods I reckon they are savory but I will not addicted and die for it, this seafood BKT exactly this category to me.

Everyone has their own preference on food. Read lot of good and bad comments about Ah Tau Seafood Bak Kut Teh, but individuals are unique and same goes for taste buds, if you like this, eats more, and if you don't, simply stop eating. Life should be as simple as this :-).

35, Taman Mengkuang,
Off Jalan Telok Pulai,
41100 Klang, Selangor (民香茶餐室内)
7.00am - 10.30am
03 - 3374 2630

Technorati Tags: Bak Kut Teh + Klang

Teck Seong BKT @ Klang

2008-08-02T20:56:00.003+08:00

Didn't blog for so long because busy searching renovation idea every weekend :-).

There are a lot of BKT in Klang, sometimes I enjoy the claypot version but most of the time I still prefer the bowl type. Teck Seong (慶祥) is one of Chris' (my friend from Klang) favourites, knowing I will die for great food so one very early Saturday he brought us to here.

Heard their recipe also derived from Teck Teh, but I like Teck Seong better because their soy sauce is not overpowering. If there is one BKT that I can eat every week, this must be the one. One good reason to eat BKT with Chris is he always bring us some good Chinese tea, today 正溪王 leaves tiny sweetness in my throat, good one!

Technorati Tags: Bak Kut Teh + Klang

Everything else @ Hong Kong

2008-06-15T20:57:00.002+08:00

Ha ha... you can say I'm lazy, going to put rest of the food photos I have taken last October in this post, because they are not some famous restaurant, but definitely items that I will try again in next visit, maybe find a more famous restaurant serving these.

过桥米线, a Yunnan's delicacy but also available in Hong Kong. We tried this at Da Jiu Jia (大救驾) somewhere Mong Kok because of their big advertisement board outside stating their chef won great recognition last (last) year. Bowls below are 金菇肥牛米线 (HKD 28) and 豆花米线 (HKD 25).

Macaroni soup with ham also a great breakfast that I wish we can have it here. Cost about HKD 16, you can eat this at most of the "cha chaan teng" or from their famous fast food chain Fairwood (大快活) or Cafe de Coral (大家乐).

Borscht (罗宋汤) always one of my favourite soups, most "cha chaan teng" serves this.

When can we have nice beef noodles everywhere? Still... most "cha chaan teng" serves this, some really good, the rest also not too bad. Beef noodles to them almost close to our pork noodles culture here, but too bad I like beef more than pork :-)

Once a while, can also try (rather) extreme delicacy like baked ox tongue (牛琍), oh... heaven!

Last but not least, wantan noodles (HKD 20/23)! They always come with great wantan, I didn't pay attention to the noodles but the wantan and "sui gao" really big and tasty. These are from Mak's Noodle, a quite famous restaurant at Central but we tried them at ferry terminal.

Coming up... more Macau's posts.

.99 Steaks & Chops @ TTDI

2008-05-31T17:55:00.005+08:00

Dining at cozy restaurant like Silk Road once a while is still fine, but of course I can't afford to spend like that often, so what happen if you really want to eat somewhat okay but not too expensive? Try this, (very) cheap western food, taste okay + big portion :-).

We are not familiar with TTDI area at all. After my colleagues (thanks Martin, YY) brought us to Devi's Corner weeks ago, we revisited this area to hunt for dinner and found .99 Steaks & Chops, packed with people on Saturday night. With only limited choice on their menu, we have ordered Lamb Chop (RM14.90) and Kopitiam Chicken Chop (RM10.90).

Both plates come with big side dishes. The mushroom sauce of lamp chop slightly over salted and the chicken chop can't really compare to either Sin Seng Nam or Yut Kee, but overall taste okay and it is an enjoyable dinner. With 2 additional fruit juices, total cost for our dinner is only RM34.60.

Technorati Tags: TTDI

Silk Road @ Pavilion KL

2008-05-11T22:40:00.000+08:00

At the Silk Road Restaurant, discerning dinners can feast to their hearts' content as they join in the spirit of discovering authentic Chinese cuisines like Shenyang dumpling, Beijing roasted duck, Sichuan handmade noodle and more...

『丝绸之路』是一条美食之路。四川、西安、北京及沈阳的独特传统美食纷纷在此落户，无论是沈阳饺子、北京烤鸭、四川拉面等...

Because of my limited knowledge of China provinces and cuisines, I never understand what is Silk Road and why it's so interesting, until we have visited this restaurant recently, then only I start to read some more about Silk Road.

The most interesting item we had is the Eight Treasure Tea 八宝茶 (RM 5), a traditional drink that commonly served along Silk Road. I can't really recognize all 8 ingredients, but it obviously contains red dates (红枣), Chinese wolfberry (枸杞), raisin (葡萄干), longan (桂圆干), etc. My tea tastes different every time the waiter refill my cup with his special made pot, guess that is because of the flavor of some ingredients only start to emerge after some times.

We have ordered 2 items ourselves - their award winning Pan-fried Cod with Sichuan Spicy Sauce 鱼香香煎鳕鱼 (RM 43.80) and Twice-cooked Sliced Pork 四川回鍋肉 (RM 16). The cod fish is very well fried, but I'm not impress with the sauce at all because it tastes too close to typical sweet and sour sauce that we have. The sliced pork is good to me but some may find it too oily :-).

We followed the waitress recommendation for another 2 dishes, Shenyang Pan-fried Snowflake Dumpling 沈阳冰花煎饺 (RM 14) and Crispy Rice Bubble with Seafood 锅巴海鲜 (RM 29). The way they serve the dumpling is quite special, I can imagine the pan's shape because they served together with the lightly burnt parts, but this added special flavor to the dumpling overall. For the rice bubble stuffs, I'm quite surprise because it is quite nice although I don't like the "kwong fu" style like this.

Will probably revisit Silk Road, of course not often as the 2-person lunch like this already cost RM 120++.

Technorati Tags: Silk Road + Pavilion

Tai Cheong 泰昌 Bakery @ Lyndhurst Terrace, Central

2008-05-03T16:19:00.007+08:00

# Read trip summary here

While looking for the Lyndhurst Terrace (擺花街), an uncle pointed us to climb up this "hill"... OMG, lazy person like me really find this a big challenge!

There are a lot ramps like this around Central (中环) area, I'm pretty sure people that live and work here already get enough exercise everyday, no need to worry how many food you eat during lunch because you will need to walk back to office afterward.

Once you are at Lyndhurst Terrace, it's not hard to locate Tai Cheong Bakery. The brand has been around since 1954 and moved to this new address in 2005. Even until today, most of the biscuits are still handmade by the owner.

The signature item here is egg tart (HKD 4), the butter pastry type, so not the same as what we buy from Tong Kee. The last Hong Kong governor, Chris Patten is a great fan of egg tart selling here, he even become a friend of the owner and still keep in touch with him (seen this from one of Astro's documentary). Some claims that this is the best butter egg tart in Hong Kong, I cannot judge as I didn't try others in Hong Kong, but frankly, this hot popping piece of egg tart is really good (IMHO) and makes me recall scenes in Stephen Chow's movie 行運一條龍. Grab one if you are there!

Address:
35, Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
香港中環擺花街 35 號
See map Q6

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Central + Egg Tart + Tai Cheong

Luk Yu Tea House 陸羽茶室 @ Central

2008-05-01T21:22:00.005+08:00

# Read trip summary here

Hong Kong series continue after so many months... why? No reason, could be stress from various sources, make me feel tired after work and even during weekends.

Luk Yu 陸羽茶室 is another famous old dim sum place similar with 莲香楼, but more pricey as a lot celebrities like to visit here. It has been around for more than 60 years and waiters all dressed in old white costume. We tried only typical dim sum here as they didn't serve anything special (at least I didn't hear the dim sum lady shout any special stuff...). Quality no better than 莲香楼 but almost same portion of breakfast here cost us HKD 251!

Another reason why Luk Yu is so famous is because a business man was killed here years ago. Not sure am I sitting at the same table or not :-)

Short story of Luk Yu Tea House at Wikipedia.

Address:
香港中環士丹利街 24-26 號
See map R6

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Central + Dim Sum + Luk Yu

Small, Medium, Big Bao @ Shanghai

2008-01-26T23:45:00.000+08:00

Few weeks ago, I was in Shanghai for a week business trip. That was my first visit to China mainland, everything so new to me, nice buildings, night scenes, crowded city, ridiculous property price... Frankly, I don't quite like the environment and living style there, only work there maybe is fine, but living there will be a no no for me.

In a week time, I didn't really try all the local foods, but luckily colleagues brought me to City God Temple (城隍庙) so I didn't miss the famous original Nan Xiang xiao long bao (南翔小笼包).

Nan Xiang is an ancient building near the lake, first floor, second floor and third floor selling different grade of dishes. We had our xiao long bao at 2nd floor, price at RMB 12 (6 pieces), a lot cheaper than M'sia, BUT... one of my Shanghai colleague also try this for the first time, we all agreed that this is not good at all. This is rather disappointed, can't imagine why long queue at first floor to buy this xiao long bao. The skin is thick, rough and not much soup inside, heard that Nan Xiang is working hard to keep their prestige in Shanghai after Din Tai Fung entering into China, but with this taste, the quality just too far away.

After the disappointment at Nan Xiang, we moved to another restaurant nearby, can't recall the name but they also one of the signatures here, serving very large xiao long bao.

Same type can be found in Nan Xiang M'sia, but what I have tried in Shanghai again is just so so. Well, I dare not say it is too bad, because I can finish it (except the skin), but how can these dishes in City God Temple tagged as best in Shanghai?

With all the disappointments, I went back to my hotel near to 吴江路 (wu jiang), which also a famous street selling lot of local specialties. I have seen long queue everyday outside a shop name Yang's Fry-Dumpling (小杨生煎馆) but no chance to try, since I was still hungry after the small and big bao, so I decided to try the fry dumpling as well.

(I snapped the shop again during day time.) Ah... finally I found something good :-). With only RMB 4 (4 pieces, damn cheap), quality over price I have no complaint at all. The little dumpling filled with lot of soup inside, combination of fried skin, sesame, hot soup and minced meat is so great, indeed it is a bit oily due to pan fried, so I didn't finish the skin. Saw 小杨生煎 along Nanjing Road but heard the most authentic one is this outlet at Wu Jiang Road. Don't be too greedy if you buy dumpling here, 4 pieces are enough to me.

The rest are just some random shoots along Nanjing Road.

Technorati Tags: Shanghai + Xiao Long Bao + Nan Xiang

RedAnt @ Millennium City 5 (APM)

2008-01-05T17:17:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

Other than exploring the oldish restaurants in Hong Kong, one of the good modern restaurants that we have visited is RedAnt (红蚂蚁). I can't find history from their official website, but heard from my friend this is highly recommended even for their local citizen.

We stumbled on RedAnt because it was really crowded and their menu offers wide variety of fusion foods. Although the dishes we ordered were printed in Chinese on the receipt, I have copied their English name from their website.

Starters: Charcoal Grilled Lamb Chop with Honey (炭烧纽西兰蜜糖羊扒 HKD 48) and Baked Mashed Potato with Escargots Topped with Herb's Butter (巴黎牛油田螺肉焗鲜白菌薯蓉 HKD 30), really long name huh ;-)

Both also taste very good (night mode photos again, so as usual... bad), I especially like the baked escargots with potato that full of butter (or milk) smells. If you don't feel like want to have a main course as dinner, can consider eat only this, enough for girls.

My main dish of the day: Baked Home-made Chicken Roll in Japanese Sauce with Chopped Garlic and Salty Fish (蒜香咸鱼蜜汁焗酿鸡卷饭 HKD 55). I always felt insecure when ordered a "chicken" dish but luckily this was really good. Chicken rolls were boneless (that's my favourite, lazy man) and baked rice just nicely done, I will recommend this but if you want to try other baked stuffs, I think should be quite safe as well because RedAnt was famous with baked rice combo.

Hope I was there again to try out all the items in menu with RedAnt tagged. Their main shop resided at Causeway Bay (check their website for address) but this one is located at APM shopping mall.

L1-13, Level 1, Millennium City 5 (APM)
MTR Kwun Tong (观塘) station exit A2 (see map T6)
Tel - 2389 9393
Fax - 2389 9595
Mondays to Sundays : 11:30am to 12:00am

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Kwun Tong

Yung Kee 镛记 @ Central

2008-01-01T23:21:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

Back. Has been thinking should I continue the Hong Kong trip story or just stop it, but lot of my friends planning to visit Hong Kong this year (2008), so hopefully my posts can help them a bit ;-). Before I start my first post in 2008, would like to wish you HAPPY NEW YEAR!

After we failed to dine at Yung Kee that day, on a cloudy morning we revisit Central again just to lunch at Yung Kee. This time we arrived just before 12pm, still very easy to get a seat and most important, ordered the famous Roasted Goose (金牌烧鹅).

Well... this is not cheap, HKD 110 for a regular plate (例牌) but to me, this tastes really good! I have been hearing great stories about this roasted goose, such as Brunei sultan shipped this to Brunei during his birthday party, top 15 restaurant in the world etc., although the rest of my orders not so impressive, I still think if you drop by Wellington Street, this is a must try.

We both not enjoy the Barbecued Pork (蜜汁叉烧 HKD 90), it was a bit dry and can only be graded average as compare to what we have in Malaysia. The Sauteed Seasonal Vegetable (郊外菜远 HKD 60) was plain but very fresh, so still okay to me.

You can read short story of Yung Kee at Wikipedia, or full story at their official web site here.

Address:
香港中環威靈頓街 32-40 號
See map R6

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Central + Roasted Goose + Yung Kee

Busy and no update

2007-12-16T20:29:00.000+08:00

So sorry, no updates because busy with work. Tomorrow will fly to Shanghai work for a week and coming back on Saturday. Would like to greet you earlier:

Merry Christmas!

Central - Wan Chai - Causeway Bay - Central

2007-11-29T11:21:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

After dim sum at 莲香楼, time still very early (~8:15 am), what can we do now? Take a short walk along Central's main roads: Queen's Road Central (皇后大道中), Des Voeux Rd. Central (德辅道中) and Connaught Road Central (干诺道中) is really a good option, because there are a lot of spectacular buildings along these roads, besides, you can also check out how Hong Kong OL dress up ;-)

HSBC Main Buiding and Legislative Council Building, only can show you 2 photos as the others are either not nice or contain our face. From Central, we travelled to Wan Chai (湾仔) by tram with merely HKD 2 per person. Visit Wan Chai because I heard that Kam Fung Cafe (金凤茶餐厅) has great prestige with Hong Kong milk tea (奶茶).

And here is the famous Kam Fung cold milk tea (HKD 13), best record sold 200 cups in 2 hours. It is smooth but again I don't like the taste (yet), more enjoy the butter polo bun (HKD 4.50). Most tables ordered the penne in clear soup, must try this next time as I'm already full.

We spend the next 2 hours window-shopping at Time Square, Sogo and some shops around Causeway Bay, didn't try any food there except a cup of latte from Pret a Manger (HKD 26), should have more sandwiches chain shops like this in KL because I love sandwiches :-)

Go back to Central again by tram to have lunch at Honolulu Coffee Shop (檀岛), the initial plan is to try the roasted goose at Yung Kee (镛记), but too bad it already sold out. Read from somewhere Honolulu's egg tart also one of the best in Hong Kong and has been around for 40 years, sounds like a must try therefore become our 2nd choice after Yung Kee.

I know instant noodle is not healthy but I love it, so still ordered it with roasted duck and char siu. The not healthy noodle is good to me ;-), but the signature coffee taste a bit bitter and smell like charcoal roasted, not really fond of the smell. Their egg tart is almost like Tong Kee's in KL, I think the quality more stable as they managed to sell about 4000 pieces a day! The lunch costs HKD 45.

Kam Fung Cafe (金凤茶餐厅)
14, Spring Garden Lane (春园街), Wan Chai (湾仔)
See map T9

Honolulu Coffee Shop (檀岛咖啡)
33, Stanley Street (士丹利街), Central (中环)
See map R6

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Central + Wan Chai + Causeway Bay + Egg Tart + Milk Tea

Lin Heung Tea House 莲香楼 @ Wellington Street, Central

2007-11-21T22:14:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

Some might say Central (中环) is mainly a financial district, but I found quite a lot of historical places and restaurants here, which I'm still regret because I didn't spend enough time in this district. On a windy Tuesday morning, both of us wake up really early just for a dim sum breakfast at one of the oldest restaurant, 莲香楼.

Established since 1918, 莲香楼 still maintain its food quality according to most reviews. Sitting in the restaurant like this will feel a bit strange since we are the youngest among the crowd and only 2 of us order the teapot instead of tea bowl (茶盅). At 莲香楼 don't expect you can get a nice table, so just grab any seat available and aim for the dim sum cart ladies.

Curious to compare our first dim sum with the usual dim sum in Malaysia, so we go for the most typical har kao (虾饺) and siu mai (烧卖) first. Both taste good and the ingredients are so fresh. No frozen meat I guess, every single bite you can feel how serious their selection and preparation. Of course this doesn't make me shout out loud, but this is no doubt an enjoyable breakfast combined with the hums and old ambience.

Something not that usual here; the beef ball (鲜竹牛丸). This looks not so interesting due to crude cuts but I can assure you this is delicious. The pork tripe "mai" (猪肚卖) also new to me and I like this because without the typical pungent smell. Rice noodle rolls (肠粉) should be the one less exciting, think I will just skip rice noodle rolls next time in order to save more rooms for other stuffs (their dim sum portion is quite big, so be prepared).

Finally, we tried their cha siu baau and again like Hong Kong tea, I think the taste will need time adapt to, it is quite different with what we have here, more like our fermented bean curd baau (南乳包) but the meat is a lot less oily. I don't think I like this :-). Total bill HKD 102.

莲香楼
Lin Heung Tea House
160-164 Wellington Street, Central (See map R6)
Tel : 2544 4556

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Central + Wellington Street

Dinner @ Temple Street

2007-11-13T23:13:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

If you ask me which place I'm most disappointed in Hong Kong... I think should be Temple Street (庙街). After so many scenes and memories we got from Hong Kong movie and drama series, we always looking forward to this place, it should be very antique, old-time feel and happening, but in reality it just a very normal street, maybe one or two fortune tellers if you are lucky, and I don't see anyone singing on any stage. Let's hope for the food.

Read about Hing Kee (兴记) claypot rice from some reviews, maybe it is a bit risky to try claypot rice here since this is so common in Malaysia, but it is hard to skip this because they are located at the beginning of the road and waiters keep on yelling their name when you walk by.

Coke in bottle, how many restaurants still selling this here? I drink so many bottles in my life, why? There are 3 things that my mum will refill regularly: Gas, Coke and Cintan noodles. Unhealthy life isn't it ;-)

We didn't order the typical Chinese sausage chicken claypot rice as we want to try something new, so we decided to go for the Pork Neck Jowls Rice Pot (猪颈肉煲仔饭) with an egg (HKD 30) and Mantis Prawn (椒盐拉尿虾, HKD 50). They also serve whole crab with rice pot if you want to try.

The rice pot come with almost plain rice and you can add as many sauce (sort of soy sauce but not that salty) as you like. We are glad that we have added an egg, else this pot of rice will be too simple. I like the rice as it's cooked just well and the meat is so tender, but Cantonese people like me wish to add more stuffs into it if possible, sausage, salted fish, mushrooms... ha ha, but aunty doesn't allow me to add salted fish as she thinks this combination will not work.

I basically give up on the mantis prawn because it hurts my finger, my tongue and my mouth. It tastes good but I have no idea how to peel it, so ended up I don't enjoy this. As a visitor I don't think you should travel all the way here to try this claypot but if you have tried most of specialties in Hong Kong, you can give this a try too.

As usual, a complete meal must ends with dessert. We went to the nearby Yee Shun Milk Company (义顺牛奶公司) to try the Double Boiled Milk (炖双皮奶), my first time to this dessert but not quite like it, maybe can do it again next time at their main shop in Macau or try the double boiled milk with ginger. I'm more enjoying the milk that I took away, how good if this can be delivered to my house everyday.

It was so happening along Nathan Road because of China National Day count down event, we joined the crowd and handsome ah sir to watch the fireworks and that ends our second day in Hong Kong.

兴记菜馆 (Hing Kee)
Yau Ma Tei Temple Street (See map V6)

义顺牛奶公司 (Yee Shun)
Jordan Pilkem Street (See map U6)

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Tsim Sha Tsui + Temple Street + Yau Ma Tei

Yuen Kee @ Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

2007-11-08T10:27:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

So lucky for those who born in Hong Kong. Why? Look at the 牛杂...

This is my lunch at Kimberley Road (金巴利道) and it's so delicious. I have no complaint about my bowl of noodle, with cowhells (牛筋), tripe (牛肚), meat, etc., even SG who usually not prefer beef also give a thumb up to this. I always thought Chinese will eat pork more than beef, but this statement somehow not that true in Hong Kong. In almost all cha chaan teng that we have visited, they also serve this, the only difference is either okay, good, or very good, I've never stumble upon a bad one (so lucky...).

We also ordered the typical Hong Kong tea (奶茶) and a 菠萝包 (don't know what the name in English is). Second try on their tea, but still cannot accept it as good, have to wait until I've sampled the most famous tea in Hong Kong then only I can conclude this. The 菠萝包 is a typical snack for tea time, it's something new to me, not bad but I don't think I will order this too often. Simple 3 orders cost us HKD 38.

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Tsim Sha Tsui

Macau Restaurant @ Lokville, Tsim Sha Tsui

2007-10-31T22:27:00.000+08:00

# Read trip summary here

Didn't plan to wake up so early, but day here is really "early", 6:15 am already sunny like 7 am in Malaysia, so better wake up and have some morning walk. Must blame myself because didn't reserve time to schedule activity weeks ago, ended up we just flipped through the books and decided to visit the nearest place from here - Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀).

I personally not interested in those Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong Science Museum, etc., once we exit at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, we straight away head to Avenue of Star (星光大道) and take a short walk along the promenade. Not sure is all the "stars" feel proud to be "printed" here since everyone just step on it when they walk by. (Btw, I'm not a fan of Andy Lau)

It's really refreshing with the wind blowing directly to your face, the only problem is when you want to take photo, your hair will be like a mess. Walk until the end (or the beginning) of Avenue of Star, you will see the Star Ferry Pier (天星码头), not sure is this the one that proposed to be demolished but if you ask me, I will say keep this, forever.

Start feeling hungry and while searching for food along Lokville (乐道), we found this nice Macau Restaurant.

Our breakfast, Macanese Crispy Roll with Pork Chop and Scramble Egg (HKD 23) + Portuguese Tart (HKD 7).

Maybe some words about the tea first. The taste is not the same compare to what we have here, somehow I find it hard to love this taste even after few times I tried this in Hong Kong. Think I will need more time, just like when I first tried Penang's curry mee, also couldn't accept it but it's one of my favourites now :-)

The pork chop is juicy and I love the scramble eggs. I know I might not have enough time in Macau to try this, so it's good that I can try this in Hong Kong. This restaurant is under management of Macau Regency and they also have outlets in Central, Causeway Bay and Shanghai. By putting "Macau" as their name, it is impossible they do not sell Portuguese Tart.

This is so far the best Portuguese Tart that I ever had in my life (see how little my food experience :-(), if you drop by this place, try one and let me know what you think.

More attractive places:
Shopping - Harbour City (海港城) (although I don't enjoy it, except city'super inside), Park Lane (柏丽大道) and Kimberley Road (金巴利道) area.
Nightlife - Knutsford Terrace (諾士佛台) and Alfresco Lane.
Other food - 源记 "cha chaan teng" and High tea at The Peninsula HK.

Direction
Avenue of Star
MTR exit Tsim Sha Tsui F and just follow the signboard.

Macau Restaurant
MTR exit Tsim Sha Tsui A1, Lokville just at the junction opposite.

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong + Tsim Sha Tsui