Corner Cafe, Disney

After a morning of running around in Disney we were ready to sit down and eat whatever there was available. We were surprised it didn't take long for our big group to get a table at the cafe on Main Street. Even though Halloween food was the only option on the menu we gave it a go.

Cream of pumpkin soup which came with the kid's meal. It was the only normal looking dish and it was actually tasty.

Kimchi Ramen with beef short ribs and some Halloween touches. I thought two chicken's feet were excessive. I was quite worried and put off to be honest. The noodles and the rest of the fixings were OK. Very ordinary but I wasn't expecting much.
Fish fingers and fries for our little ones. They enjoyed pretty much everything except for the pappy broccoli. Go figure.
The pork chop and rice bake looked like a mess but it was actually delicious. We were not sure what the 2 pieces of lychee were supposed to be.
Some kind of pasta salad starter, which was part of a fish set.
Sole fillets in basil and some kind of orange sauce. The fish was frozen and had that stringy texture. Still it was probably the healthiest choice of all.
Corner Cafe

Main Street, Hong Kong Disneyland.

Under Bridge Spicy Crab

We finally got to go to Hong Kong and we wasted no time to go to Under Bridge again. We got there close to 9pm and managed to get a table quickly. The place was still really busy!

To start we had stir-fried clams with chili and black bean sauce. I am never a fan or black bean sauce but it goes really well with clams.

And this is what we were craving all those years: chili and garlic mud crab.
We picked a medium to large crab (~HK$600). The meat was sweet and fresh and to die for.
Scallops and broccoli. Big meaty scallops, simple but worked well.
String beans with olives and pork. I always find this dish too heavy tasting and in this case it was extra salty.
The excellent fried rice helped wash down everything nicely. We left with happy tummies.
Under Bridge Spicy Crab

405 -419 Lockhart Rd., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Tel: 2893-1289

bibimbap

Our first bibimbap attempt. I think we have to be more generous with sesame oil next time. Not bad!

FCC

As our quest for a good Vietnamese restaurant in Shanghai continues, we went to FCC for a quick fix. Although not the best (and pricey for what you get!) we find it's as good as it gets in Shanghai.

Beef banh hoi (rmb48). Beef was fried in lemon grass and it was delicious.

Vermicelli spring rolls (RMb45), stuffed with pork and coriander. Fresh and crunchy and they are sinfully good.
Beef satay (RMB48). Meat was a little overcooked and chewy.
Sour and spicy seafood pho (RMB55). Very disappointing. The soup was neither sour nor spicy. In fact it was very bland and the few bits of seafood were very ordinary.

Shrimp mousse skewer (RMB30). Tasted what it should taste like but we thought it's expensive!

We also ordered a beef pho (RMB48) and it was a let-down. The noodles were uncooked - twice in a week. Unforgivable!

FCC

889 Julu Rd. (nr Changsu Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6445-8082

Simply Thai

A quick set lunch at Simply Thai. For extra RMB10 you get a cold syrupy drink. Nice and cool and it's hot.

My set had a spicy beef salad and when this dish arrived I did not think to look at it. It was so small (like a dipping sauce dish) I thought it was just decoration. When my salad didn't arrive I decided to poke around and there was the thin slither of beef hidden in the leaves! Size aside it was actually pretty tasty with a punchy dressing.
Egg soup. Ordinary. Not sure if they serve it in Thailand.
Beef with coriander and chili. Beef was tender and went well with coriander. I since tried to make this dish at home and it's pretty simple.
Dessert was sago with coconut pudding. I prefer mango sticky rice but these were not bad.
Simply Thai

5C Dongping Rd. (nr Hengshang Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 400-880-7729

O'Malley's

Our first visit after O'Malley's renovation work. To our disappointment the place is no longer kids friendly: the playground is gone, the garden is gone, and even the kids' menu is gone. It was still nice to sit out in the sun and we decided to stay. Big mistake.

The seemingly impressive steak and kidney pie. The pastry was the only thing which was nice. The pie itself was pathetic with few pieces of stringy meat and frozen veg.

Without a kids menu we got a spaghetti Bolognese for the kids to share. While it didn't taste bad it was pretty dry.
The banger and mash was a total flop too. We had to send them back once as the mash was stone-cold. Don't think we will be going back in a hurry yet.

O'Malley's

42 Taojiang Rd. (nr Wulumuqi Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6474-4533

Coffee Tree

It was quite pleasant to be sitting outside on a sunny day, except for the renovation noises next door. Nonetheless the place was packed out and we were glad we got there early.

My chicken taquitos (RMB35), served open. A little awkward to eat but it was delicious with fresh chunky chicken pieces.

Tuscan sun-dried tomato and chicken panini (RMB48). The taste was OK but it was a little small.
Polette (RMB38). Tasty meatballs and sauce, a little add with rice on the side. I could also do with more than 2 meatballs. Mind you when you look at the price tag you can't really complain.
Coffee Tree

Ferguson Lane, Wukang Rd. (nr Hunan Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6466-0361

Mr. Willis

Our very first visit to the always busy Mr. Willis.
The extremely tasty scallop and lentils starter my husband ordered (RMB68). Scallops were big and juicy, and grilled to perfection. The accompanying lentils sauce had a faint curry flavour and it went very nicely with the dish.
Beef tartare (RMB82). Tasty but I prefer it more zingy with lots of capers, onions, and of course Worcester sauce.
Grilled veal chop (RMB155). My husband said it was one of the bests.
My rack of lamb (RMB148) was tasty but pretty fatty. By the time I trimmed everything off there wasn't much left.
My husband's pavlova (RMB52). He managed to polish it pretty quickly.
My sticky date pudding (RMB58). Sticky date is not as good as sticky toffee but it did the job to finish our wonderful meal.
A pretty damn good meal and a very wallet-friendly bill. No wonder this place is booming!

Mr. Willis

3/F, 195 Anfu Rd. (nr. Wulumuqi Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 5404-0200

Tang Palace

Another try at Tang Palace after our last visit a while ago. Still we were not impressed at all. Don't think we will be back.

Tang Palace

103 DongZhu An Bang Rd.(nr. Jiangsu Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6251-3960

Issimo

Yet another delicious meal at Issimo. We can't help but to go back repeatedly!

Home-made orecchiette with fresh tuna, capers, black olives and anchovies (RMB128). I wish I can make pasta like this at home. The anchovy sauce was a great compliment to the firm pasta. Loved it.

Cream of mushroom soup with truffle favour (RMB78). Very rich and creamy, it was the one of the nicest mushroom soup we tried.
Gnocchi with traditional Bolognese sauce (RMB108). Tasty chunky meat sauce. Couldn't ask for more.
Spaghetti tossed with fresh clams, cherry tomatoes and rocket (RMB118). Nice flavours and not too garlicky.
Thinly sliced grilled Australian veal sirlion with seasonal mushrooms ragu and rosemary potatoes (RMB228). My husband was pretty happy with it.
Grilled Italian pork sausages and New Zealand lamb chops with apple and onion compote (RMB198). My dish was probably the only boring one that night. Everything was just grilled and while the lamb was tender and juicy the sausage was very average. And the onion and apple compote did not leave an impression.
Hot chocolate amaretto, coffee meringue and coconut ice cream (RMB65). Loved everything especially the coffee meringue.
Cheese platter with truffle honey and walnuts (RMB158).
Issimo

2/F, Jia Shanghai, 931 Nanjing Rd. West, nr. Taixing Rd., Shanghai. Tel: 3302-4997

Sushi U

Finding a lunch spot in Central can be tricky these days. The two places we had in mind had huge lineups on this particular day and we had to go with plan B. We stumbled upon Sushi U by chance and we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food.

We got seated in one of many spacious tatami rooms. There were 7 or 8 lunch sets to choose from ranging from HK$150 to HK$250. My sashimi rice set had all the usual suspects. I was not particularly happy with the selections as I do not like cooked prawns, roes, nor octopus normally. Luckily everything was very fresh and I was happily polishing everything up at the end.

Teriyaki beef set. Lean and great cut of meat, V said it was delicious.
Interesting this is called the ladies' sushi set. Maybe the name is a reflection of the quantity, which we found to be plenty. If I remember correctly it is about the same price as my sushi set and I was secretly cursing myself for not ordering this set instead.
Red bean ice cream as dessert. Even the ice cream was delicious! We wonder what dinner is like at this place? Lunch was definitely good value although service was slow.
Sushi U

3/F, Century Square, 1-13 D'Aguilar St., Central, Hong Kong. Tel: 2537-9393

Zelo Bar and Restaurant

We went to Zelo because we were too tired to walk anywhere else. We didn't have a lot of expectation and still we found our dishes pretty flat.

Wagyu burger and fries (HK$228). Who doesn't do Wagyu burger these days? Despite the wagyu beef burger was pretty standard but the fries were good.

Paella for two (HK$398). The portion was not big enough for two and we were not big eaters. There were clams, prawns and squid, all tasted pretty fresh. Could use more in quantity though.
Service was friendly but the place was infested with mosquito! I had 4 or 5 bites at the end and we had no idea where they came from?

Zelo Bar and Restaurant

Shop 007, LG1, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong. Tel: 2918-1028

Rice Paper

A quick lunch at Rice Paper. To our surprises the lemongrass pork was delicious! Juicy and tender, it had all the right flavours and a nice presence of lemongrass.

My pho with Vietnamese pork sausages, on the other hand, was mediocre at best. The only up side was it was not heavy on MSG.
We had an order of soft-shell crab but it simply did not show up. We asked for it twice and subsequently cancelled it. By the time our bill came we saw the dish being carried out! Oh well. It was 3pm and the place was not busy at all so we had no idea why it took so long.

Rice Paper

Shop 3319, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, TST, Hong Kong. Tel: 3151-7801