Pad Thai

It's nice meeting up with K and N in Kong Kong cos we always get to have Thai food and they know all the good places to go. This time they suggested a place on top of Delaney's in Wan Chai.

We started off with a pork and glass noodle salad, one of my favourite dishes. If I could make salad like this I would be having salad everyday! Loved the punchy dressing which was spicy and slightly sour at the same time. I liked the fact that it didn't have too much fish sauce in it, which could be overpowering.

Our pad Thai came wrapped in an egg omelette. It caused a few wows from us. It was nicely cooked with quite a lot of prawns and it wasn't too greasy.

Pork jungle curry. I think the jungle part means mixed vegetables. A nice substitute to a green curry.

Stir-fried vegetables. Usually I'm not too keen on the mixed vegetable dishes as they are usually some soggy bits thrown together in a dodgy sauce. This one was actually rather nice, we got crunchy broccoli, kale, baby corn and Chinese mushrooms.

Our starter fish cakes arrived last. We could probably do without them as they were not all that nice anyway. Just like any regular fish cake: slightly chewy and you wouldn't know it's a fish cake if it wasn't for the faint fishy taste.
Pad Thai
1/F One Capital Place, 18 Luard Rd., Wanchai, Hong Kong. Tel: 2126-7900

Yung Kee Restaurant

Another trip to Hong Kong, another trip to Yung Kee. This time we were there for lunch and we got to try its dim sum for the first time.

Spring rolls. The fillings were actually really delicious, as supposed to some of the others with mystery fillings.

Siu mai - you can see my husband couldn't wait till after the picture before he grabbed one. again we liked them because the pork inside seemed leaner than the regular versions.

Har-gau. They were nothing extraordinary I have to say.

Our regular dish XO sauce and scrambled eggs. It got a nice kick and not overcooked.

Ma po tofu. It was quite spicy with bits of chili and some kind of chopped-up crunchy pickled vegetable in it. The result was rather interesting and we polished everything off.

Sweet and sour prawns. We liked the size of the prawns but the sauce was not as zingy as the last one I had. A little disappointing really since I had been fantasizing about it for 3 months.

At least the fried rice was excellent to make up for the prawns.

Yung Kee Restaurant

32-40 Wellington St., Central, Hong Kong. Tel: 2522-1624

Watami

I couldn't believe how crowded it was at the Tai Po Mega Mall on a Saturday afternoon. I thought the whole point of living in the sticks was to get away from the crowd but there were just people everywhere! Interestingly the only eatery in the mall without a line-up was Watami and so there we went.

The menu is pretty much the same as the one I saw in Central about a year ago...I actually like stability. It's nice to know what to expect before we even walk in.

I can never remember the name of these beans (they call it green soy beans on the menu)(HK$19) but we always order them. It's one of those "feel-good" healthy dishes.

Bite sized tofu(HK$29). It was pretty tasty as far as tofu goes.

Beef sukiyaki (HK$59). A big dish consider the price tag but the beef was sooooooo fatty it was ridiculous. We considered saying something but we weren't too hungry at that point so we decided to eat all the veggies and picked at the little lean beef we could find.

Beef and okra rolls (HK$29). I really liked it as I love okra but my mom found it a little weird - she had never had okra before! Now what's more weird?

Eel skewers (HK$29). This is the only way I would eat eel (can't handle the Chinese eel dishes or worse yet, that English jellied eel...yuck). I liked the sauce and most importantly it's boneless.
We also had a pork chop with eggs on hot plate (HK$39). I don't know why but I once again forgot to take a picture. I always liked the dish but my mom said it was too salty.

We were so full and the meal came to HK$225. Everything was nice enough and worth the price tags. Will have to visit the Shanghai branches next week!

Watami
Shop 273-275, Zone B, Tai Po Mega Mall, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. Tel: 2662-3241

Zuma

The trendy Knightsbridge eatery Zuma has opened a branch in Hong Kong recently. While we were wandering around Central trying to grab a small bite to eat before our Harry Connick Jr. concert the place came to mind.


We ordered a number of rolls to sample, as we were told that they wouldn't take long.
California maki (HK$90).
Zuma chirashi maki (HK$85).

Toro maki (HK$110).

Boston loster maki (HK$140).
They were all freshly-made with high-quality ingredients. The crispy seaweed and soft tasty rice added points too. We also had some beef skewer (HK$120) from the robata section and it was pretty tasty also.

The light dinner for 2 came to HK$682. I have to say while we enjoyed the meal with this price range I'd rather go to Nobu. The menu in Zuma is nice but not really unique and you can probably get most of the items in other high-end Japanese restaurants, whereas Nobu actually has got some signature dishes. It was a better dining experience compared to cramped Nobu: Zuma has two glitzy floors and spaced out large tables. Not a bad place to impress your date!

Zuma
Level 5 & 6, The Landmark, 15 Queen's Rd., Central. Tel: 3657-6388

Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill

I must have been going to Dan Ryan's for at least 15 years for now and the food always tasted the same. The only difference might be the slightly smaller side dish - I seem to remember a full plate of fries in the old days.

My husband's BBQ half chicken with coleslaw and fries. It was as good as usual: nice juicy chicken and crunchy fries.

My full rack of baby ribs with fries. I always loved Dan Ryan's ribs and this one didn't disappoint. The meat was so tender it fell off the bone. And I would love to have the recipe for the finger-licking BBQ sauce.
Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill
114 Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Tel: 2845-4600

Tsui Wah Restaurant

One of my favourite places in Hong Kong, Tsui Wah opens almost 24 hours a day knocking out reliable food. It's the place to go 3 in the morning when you want to have something to soak up the excess alcohol!

On this lunch visit I ordered a simple beef fried rice. I would give it 7 out of 10: nice chunky beef and egg-y (I love eggs). Minus points on the slightly mushy rice.
Tsui Wah Restaurant
15-19 Wellington St., Central, Hong Kong. Tel: 2525-6338

Brasserie on the Eighth

We know we can always get good food and spot-on service in a quiet civilised environment at Brasserie on the Eighth we headed there right away once we landed in Hong Kong at 9:30 on a Sunday night.

By the time we got to the restaurant it was almost 10:30 but everybody was all smile and we didn't feel rushed. We both picked from the good-value set dinner menu: if I remember correctly it's about HK$400 for a 3-course dinner. Not bad at all consider we know the food quality would be top-notch.

My husband started with some kind of grilled prawns. He wolfed it down ever so quickly I am guessing it must have been really nice.

I picked the tuna and salmon tartare. The fish was so fresh it was out of this world. I am not usually a big caviar fan but in this case it went really well with the fish.

The Brasserie's version of surf and turf. It was very simple but all the ingredients were fresh and of excellent quality.

My roasted chicken. Minus 10 points for giving me the same side dishes as the surf and turf but otherwise it was very nicely cooked. Juicy and tender it made me wonder why we could never roast chicken like this at home.

The finale was a chocolate souffle for 2. It was huge! While it was good to look at it wasn't very practical when it came to dividing it. I felt pain when the waiter sliced through the nice and fluffy top and had the thing cut in half. Although not looking quite as nice its taste was out of this world. I had mine with passion fruit sauce and hmmmmmm I am beginning to drool now just thinking about it. We need to go back for more!
Brasserie on the Eighth
8/F, Conrad Hotel, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Tel: 2521-3838

Singapore - Jumbo Seafood

Jumbo was the busiest joint along the quay so we figured it had to be good. The earliest reservation we manged to get on a Saturday evening was 9:30pm. Good thing I had some snacks in the afternoon or I would have died staving.

We ordered a number of dishes and the first thing to arrive was the stir-fried broccoli. You know you're in a Chinese restaurant when you get your dishes in random orders. The broccoli was very crispy and fresh we decided to order a second portion.


This pile of meat, sorry black pepper steak, was one of the signature dishes. It came sizzling hot and tasted better than it looked. I wouldn't be calling it a signature dish though.

Now the reason to come to this place: Singapore chili crab. It was my first time to try the dish and being a crab lover I enjoyed every bite of it. I wished we had ordered a larger crab cos the claws were not as big as I had hoped for. The sauce was spicy but sweet at the same time and it was so thick it coated the crab nicely. It had quite a uniquely nice taste but I have to say I prefer the Under Bridge version better (see here).

The waitress suggested some bread rolls to scoop up the chili crab sauce. They were miniature Chinese buns and while my husband liked the plain ones the deep fried ones did it for me.

Last but not least was the seafood fried rice. It was fried with egg white, prawns, and chunks of scallops. It was delicious! The rice was firm and dry and not overly greasy - it's easily as good as the one in Yung Kee.

On the side there was a dip made with what I believe to be chili, garlic and vinegar. I should have asked about it because it would have been a very nice addition to have in the kitchen. Similar to the chicken rice dip (which I love) this sauce had a lot more kick to it. Two thumbs up!
Dinner for two came to S$110 and we thought it was pretty good value...especial when our curry cost about S$100 the other night.

Jumbo Seafood

Riverside Point, 30 Merchant Rd., Singapore. Tel: 6532-3435

Singapore - Bengawan Solo

Famous for its cookies, Bengawan Solo has also got cakes and desserts. I have been told the cookies (especially the almond ones) are very good but I decided to give but I decided to give these cakes a try instead. They are called kueh something rather and a packet of 12 costs S$1.5.
They were very sweet, spongy and not very substantial at all. It was like eating air.

Singapore - fish balls

Fish balls with noodles is a typical snack you find in every food centre in Singapore. On top of the Cantonese soupy version a dry and spicy version is also available and it seems to be more popular as well.
The noodles came with fish balls, a couple slices of pork and a spoonful of minced pork, all infused in a mild curry based sauce. On the side is a bowl of clear broth although I'm not entirely sure what you are supposed to do with it -I sipped mine like water as I ate..not bad. As for the noodles they had a nice bite and they were not sticky at all. The fish balls looked like the mass-produced machine made variety but they tasted OK and not too fishy at all. For S$3 a bowl it was not bad for what you get.

Singapore - Billy Bombers

It's a nightmare trying to find a place to eat at Clarke Quay on a Friday night around 9:30pm. I swear every single person in town was out and eating all at the same time. Reluctantly we settled into Billy Bombers...I have to say the name put us off and the decor (really in-your-face 50s diner stuff completed with Elvis memorabilia) didn't help. The menu wasn't that bad though and it had all the comfort food items.

We started with some beef nachos. I didn't like the flimsy corn chips and the fake cheese but we weren't too picky.

My husband's southern fried chicken looked pretty good I wanted to swap him.

My BBQ ribs were not bad but then again we were truly desperate.
I also got myself an Oreo milkshake and it was probably the best thing for the evening. It was thick like a blizzard and I got plenty of it my husband had to help me out at the end.

Overall it wasn't bad but it could be better. Dinner for 2 came to around S$70.

Billy Bombers
#02-78 The Central, Clarke Quay, Singapore.

Singapore - Maxwell Food Centre

They say you can find the best food in Singapore's food markets. On this early weekday afternoon I decided to check out Maxwell and as soon as I got there I was immediately blown away by the the number of stalls and the variety there.

I knew what I wanted and I went straight for it: chicken rice. There are numerous stalls selling chicken rice but Tian Tian was recommended to me. The line up (it wasn't even 12 in the afternoon) was a good sign.

For S$4 I got my chicken rice set. Bargain! You may have your chicken sans bones and skin - perfect for me.

Now the taste. Everything tasted right but nothing was exceptional. The chicken was kind of plain but the dips made up for it. The rice was fragrant but it didn't really jump out on me. And I didn't think much of the cucumbers and the soup. For S$4 it was very good and I will defintely go back for some more. Let's say it was better than the version at the HK Mandarin.

We went back on a Sunday afternoon for some more and this is the fish congee (S$3) I got which I had to line up for 45 mins! While I was lining up my mood changed from being annoyed to frustrated to extremely irritated then to curious. Curiosity prevailed at the end and I got to see what the deal was. Well I have to say it was very good but no congee is worth 45-min wait if you ask me.

Maxwell Food Centre

Maxwell Road near China Town, Singapore.

Singapore - Sitara Indian Restaurant

We decided to start our Singapore food hunt with Sitara based on our friend's recommendation. Across from the busy 24-hour mall Mustafa right in the middle of Little India we knew we were onto something good.

We were very pleased that a stack of poppadoms were served immediately right after we ordered. These days restaurants never give you poppadoms unless you order them. It's a major put off cos they are cheap as chips anyway so why upset your customers?

Our must-have starter chicken tikka. Although it didn't come in on a hot sizzling plate the chicken was still very nicely seasoned and cooked to perfection.

We tried something new as well this time: our aloo chaat had got a real kick to it. Good thing the dish was refreshingly cooled (chilled) otherwise we would have been on fire.

Our usual curry spread (clockwise from top right): nan bread, dal makhani (lentils curry), lamb biriyani, bhindi (okra) curry. All were pretty good especially the nan and the okra.

We had to sample the lamb vindoloo. The cuts of meat were nice and the curry was fierce! I think we can take spicy normally and this was almost reaching our limit.
Nice curry all in all but a little expensive I have to say. Dinner for 2 with 1 beer came to S$100!

Sitara Restaurant and Lounge
#01-01, 291 Serangoon Rd., Singapore. Tel: 6291-3211