Caprice
From HK$450 lunch course. Pumpkin Velouté with Chestnut Cappuccino and Fresh Herbs. Crispy Pork Belly with steamed Brussels Sprouts and Sauce a la Diable. Citrus Pear and Caramel Napoleon with Carambar Ice cream.
Went to this expensive French restaurant inside Four Seasons Hotel twice before(see tag old entries). The food was not exceptional but still good in my previous visits but this time turned out to be a disappointing experience. The quality is mediocre and the portion has become so small just like Japan. My sister and my mom ordered their beef medium but they both came out well done. We didn’t want to wait so didn’t complain – I am sure they are willing to make new ones for us. But the manager came to ask us how the food was so I told him about this and he gave us all these reasons about how the beef was supposed to be like that blah blah. I couldn’t help but pointed out that he should have mentioned all those things BEFORE we ordered it. Also we had to wait forever for the desserts to come. Anyway, we had the window seat so the view was nice.
Menu here.
Dong Lai Shun (東来順)
Restaurant inside the Royal Garden(hotel) serving Beijing cuisine. Food is delicious, price is reasonable, environment is nice. Unfortunately the service is very spotty – not rude or anything but most of the staff don’t seem to know how to serve and they don’t seem to care either. There is no pork in the menu due to religious reasons. I have been there twice and tried many things and most are good. The Crab menu is a must try: steamed crab dumplings, crab glutinous rice, crab and tofu hotpot, crab and lobster on rice crackers(left pic) etc. The soup, which has a large variety of choices, is also very nice. Spicy fish(right pic) is tongue-numbingly hot but super yummy. As for the desserts, go for the hot ones, like taro pancake or sesame dumplings.
Restaurant Le Fauchon
Add: 6, Staunton Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2526-2136
Lunch is about HK$100~120 depending on your choice of the main dish. I had pan-fried sole in red wine sauce. My friend had the spring chicken. Both are a bit too deep-fried. Seems like a popular place as it is quite full at lunch time. Though I thought its quality doesn’t live up to its popularity. Perhaps dinner is better?
Tai Fung Lau Peking restaurant (泰豊楼酒家)
Add: 29-31 Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2366-2494
Old Peking restaurant famous for its lamb shabu shabu. The traditional coal-heated hotpot is so tall! They give you the sauces at the beginning and you can mix your own sauce. I just added a bit of everything. Thinly sliced lamb is a must. Squid balls with crab in the middle is really good. Try the pork meatballs too. Dessert is fried egg puff with sesame sauce inside and sugar sprinkled on the surface. Nice but the skin is very thick.
Cafe de Paris
Add: 23 Elgin Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2810 0771
Lunch is less than HK$100, including bread, appetizer or soup, main dish, coffee or dessert. I had leek and potato soup, pan-fried seabass, and carrot cake. Quality is okay-good but not impressive. Though we saw a group of guys ordering from the a la carte menu…and we couldn’t help drooling over their food.
So we went back the next day for the onion gratin soup and the mussels in red wine sauce we saw the previous day – both are fantastic! The staff told us that a la carte(or dinner) menu are much better than the set lunch. Two of us shared the mussels which came with very good french fries and salad, plus each of us had an onion soup, total was HK$380 – not bad at all considering the quality.
I fell in love with Krispy Kreme when I tried it in Las Vegas so when it opened in Japan I was really excited. But after something like a year, I still haven’t managed to eat it because of the crazy queue! 2 hours wait is the norm especially on weekends, especially outside the Shinjuku branch. Just as I heard, it is so much easier in Hong Kong. I swallowed two donuts bought from the branch inside Hong Kong aiport once I arrived, and shared three more with friends in the Soho branch after lunch. Too bad they don’t have freshly baked ones hot from the oven. Apparently the donuts are baked somewhere else and are delivered to different branches. But still, good donuts!
Changwon Korean restaurant (荘園韓国料理)
Add: G-1, Kimberley Street, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Tel: 23684606
Very delicious Korean restaurant. Big plates and very cheap. Love the octopus with veggy(left pic) so much! I ate a bowl of rice just with the yummy spicy and sweet sauce. Kimchi and pork is a bit sour(right pic). The staff said kimchi becomes sour when you heat it(really???). Also had spicy tofu soup and Korean leek pancake which are both very good.
Bonheur
Add: 6/F., The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
Tel: 25446333
Bread has lots of stuff in it – cheese, onion, herb, bacon etc. Very good but quite heavy!
Pan-seared foie gras with glazed apple. The foie gras is very crispy on the surface. The foie gras itself could be a bit richer in taste though. Also the apple is not soft and sweet enough. Still not bad overall.
Seafood soup. Mushroom cream soup. Both are good but a bit salty.
Oven-roasted Australian Rack of Lamb.
Chargrill U.S. Prime Beef Steak, Green Pepper Corn Jus.
Oven-roasted Kuro-buta, Forest Mushroom Sauce.
Mille-feuille with mango.
The main dishes are all very good. The meat are tender and juicy. Sauces are nothing fancy, and all the sides are the same mashed potato and veggy but they are delicious. We were too full so we shared one dessert. Again nothing too impressive but the mango is sweet.
Three-course dinner is HK$338, four-course is HK$368. Glass wine is HK$55. This is not a proper restaurant but a private kitchen. The environment is nice and there are quite a number of tables, which were all filled up when we went on a Thurs night.
Menu(E): 1, 2.
Life Organic Health Café
Add: 10 Shelley Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2810 9777
Lentil soup.
Grilled Eggplant salad: With roasted peppers, pesto, air-dried tomato, wild rocket and manouri cheese with organic balsamic vinegar dressing. This is really delicious!
Spinach and Feta Filo Bake: Spinach, feta cheese and pine nuts wrapped in a filo pastry. served with a crispy house salad and shredded beet and carrot. Nice too!
Homemade vegetable Lasagna: Creamy layers of organic whole-wheat pasta, spinach, zucchini and mushroom with an Italian style tomato and basil sauce, topped with melted cheese and grated nutmeg. Hmm everything is a bit too mushy.
Life’s pizza: An organic homemade whole wheat flat bread base topped with Lebanese zaatar, fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers, onions, black olives and manouri cheese with a sprinkle of rocket. Not bad but wish there were more veggy toppings. Must eat while its hot or the crust will get very hard.
Mexican Burrito: With organic red kidney bean, mozzarella cheese, ground cumin and coriander served with organic red rice, mixed salad and tomato salsa. A bit too much beans stuffed into the burrito. Easy to get tired of the taste. The avocado cream on top is really good though.
Zinger: Orange and Wild berries.
Sunshine Shake: Banana, mangoes, dates and flaxseeds.
Power Lunch Shake: Wild berries, homemade organic soya yoghurt and strawberry protein.
I like the Zinger the best.
Food menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Sweets and drinks menu: 1, 2, 3.
Kin’s Kitchen (留家厨房)
Add: 9 Tsing Fung Street, Tin Hau, North Point
Tel: 2571-0913
Today’s soup.
Braised luffa, bamboo with Yunnan ham.
Fried shredded yellow eel with bean thread(vermicelli).
Braised pomelo peel and assorted vegetables.
Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
One of my favourite restaurants in Hong Kong. See tag for past entries. Looking at old photos, the “braised pomelo peel and assorted vegetables” seems to have shrunk in size? Also I remember it was much richer in taste. But I like it still. Everything is good in this restaurant.
My friends recommended me cookies from Jenny Bakery, which is truly addictive, and also dried noodles from On Lee Noodle Factory(安利製麺廠) which I bought many as souvenir.
Minakami(水上) station in Gunma（群馬） Prefecture. From Ueno station in Tokyo, it is about two and a half hour to three hours by train. There are a few souvenir stores right in front of the station, but other than that, the town is very quiet.
Breakfast. You can choose either Japanese or Western.
