hkfoodie的部落格

As a renowned food paradise, it's the trend that we can savour more often the delights of dining at exotic and relaxing eating outlets along the "food streets" nearby the popular shopping malls. We can also enjoy the budget lunches or relaxing dinners in the spacious outdoor sitting area outside these eateries. That day, i hung out in the "food street" of Taikoo Place, and i tried one of the impressive bar there --- East End Brewery.

Oops !! peanut shells were thrown all over the floor. that's the typical atmosphere of a foreign pub !! there're plentiful choice of such popular beers as Hoegaarden and Brooklyn. but this time i'd rather like to try out the food there ...... thus i picked the set dinner ( $108 ) and a cup of hot cappuccino ($25). 

Wow !! a basket of welcoming peanuts just for free ...... the same as that i tried in Slim's before. the fabulous coffee is good, but a little bland for me.  

First is the appetiser ~~~ i chose the veggie salad. (or u can pick the soup). it's tastily fresh, with slices of cheese which surely enable the dish to deliver a rainbow of flavours. 

the main is the grilled salmon in mango salsa, with mashed potato and daily vegetables. the salmon is well-fried but it's not fresh enough. instead i love the salsa with sweet and sour flavours ...... YummY !!  it's suprising to learn the vegetables are those mainly appeared in Chinese cuisine ! 

the salmon is in a bit large portion ...... so the coming dessert has a hard act to follow. ok, but i wanna satisfy my sweet tooth now ...... let's taste the lemon cheese cake with fresh strawberry dusted with icing sugar.  Delicious !! the cake has a strong flavour of lemon !!  it did taste good except the crispless cake base. 

The classy, airy and roomy ambience there is quite relaxing and comfortable, with huge windows and a high ceiling. So it's wonderful also to have plenty of seats for street-viewing. but it's the photos of old Hong Kong hanged all over the walls that totally impressed me !!

One thing i should point out is that the young non-Chinese serving staff are enthusiastic and eager to help !! though it takes time to wait for every dish for my dinner, i can enjoy the layback feel of fine dining !!

East End Brewery (Quarry Bay)

Address :

G/F., 23-27 Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay

(near the Taikoo Place food street)

Telephone :

28111907

Opening hours :

Mondays to Sundays  11:30a.m. - 1:00a.m. 

Right !! BURGERS AGAIN !!  

i wanna share the experience of savouring the cute Slim's burgers, which are mini-sized as found in a bistro located at Wanchai !!

in fact, Slim's is a pub-styled American restaurant opened for a year only.  there are amazing variety of beer with a basket of peanuts free of charge welcoming foreigners and hongkongers. the ambience is relaxing, with red lights and red seats inside. we can find, however, walls painted with American pop-stars, funny film clips etc. in colourful comic style.  tables set just far enough apart to suggest privacy in this compact, cozy but still comfortable eatery.

i chose the " Super Slim " combo ( $70 ), including the Slim's burger with beef, the chickenburger and mini hot dog. i also chose a dish of fresh fruit salad by adding $10 only (or you can pick fries).  it's named "super" cuz i can taste all 3 types of Slim's signature mini burgers and hot dog ...... oh !!! sorry !!! the dog is sold out and the pretty nice waitress asked if i can choose one more cute burger. ok !! i pick the one with beef.

the beef burger is surely the best choice. why ?  i haven't taste this marvellous mini beef patties before !!!!!!   it's well-fried and absolutely soft and tender !!   the beef mince is surely hand-made instead of making by machine !! just bit a little piece out of it ...... spicy, tasty and succulent but not oily.  i've to admit the quality is obviously superior to those of Shake'em Buns and Triple-O !!

the bun is also well-prepared as it's soft inside but crispy outside, but too small in size !! the orange-coloured cheese, sliced tomato and lettuce are fresh enough to give me a joyful experience in tasting these cute bread. the chickenburger is at all delicious with spicy chicken meat !! but it's not juicy and not as attractive as the beef burger.

the last dish ~~~ the fruit salad ...... indeed it's not salad but assorted fruit only. i can taste the fresh slices of pomelo, papaya, orange and kiwi-fruit. they are all sweety and fresh. YummY !!

tonite i picked a cup of cappuccino with frothed foam.  i wanna say it's absolutely crucial in tasting the food which is made by the cook in artful and hearty way, whenever we enjoy our dining experience.  just a lovely creamy foam with the cute heart-shaped chocolate sprinkled on top ...... i can feel not only the taste, but the heart of the barista !!  life is too short for living without love and care !!!!!!  Miss C, i await your wonderful cup of coffee which can tug at my heartstrings !!!!!!

SLIM'S

G/F., 1 Wing Fung Street, Wanchai, H.K.

( Tel : 2528-1661 ) 

原本安排這篇飲食之旅於較後時間發表，不過看見這間新開幕的超級shopping mall ~~~ Elements 成了城中熱話，我這個shopping fans 又怎會錯過爭先發放這裡所見所聞的機會呢 !!  10月7日晚我到了這間位置比較偏僻的Caffe Habitu，品嚐了這裡的意式coffee 及pizza。

Habitu 其實有數間分店，聽說最佳是尖沙咀 Habour City那間，不過始終未能一試其Italian cuisine。那天碰巧在 Elements 留下足印期間給我發現了這間新分店，當然要把握機會試試 !!

既然coffee 是這裡的specialty，看見ticketing櫃檯有個大牌推介這款名為Tazza Di Cioccolata Con Espresso ( 即意式朱古力咖啡，$36)，就選它吧。 

這裡的barista 很勤快和熟練的完成了這杯精采的coffee。當我看到這杯熱咖啡的presentation 時，即時為它加了分 ...... 是一杯上面鋪了whipped cream 的chocoholics，還有一小杯這裡標榜選用產自意大利Trieste咖啡豆而製的espresso。這種讓客人自己邊喝邊倒入espresso 於choco 的方式明顯是跟隨老牌咖啡廳的傳統飲用模式，這亦是以往歐洲上流社會享受coffee的習慣 (正宗的其實是連whipped cream 也是另碟盛載的)，若這個盛載espresso小杯不是用上不銹鋼 ，而用瓷壺就更有elegant feel 了 (我曾在blog說過飲食時的感覺也是相當重要的)。

首先我用匙盛了些cream 進口試試，不單止light，還驚喜的發現它是溫熱的，不是 iced 的那種，很新鮮 !!!!  

我也點了salad，但只有兩款選擇，我試了這個 Delicious Avocado Salad (沙樂美腸牛油果松子野菌沙律，$48)。

這是現成用膠盒載的salad，蔬菜算新鮮，不過給雪至比較乾身。沙樂美腸雖不salty，但味道偏淡。野菌只有數小塊，portion 與價錢有點不相稱，幸好有整個牛油果吃，附上的鹹酸醬汁不算失禮。

友人想試試這裡的pizza，但同樣只有兩款薄批選擇，於是點了Parma Ham (巴馬火腿芝士薄脆比薩，$68)，和這裡也是馳名的 iced strawberry & lemon tea ($28)。

這個薄脆批crispy 不在話下，還非常薄，又乾又香脆，差點以為在吃餅乾 (其他分店也給food comments 這樣評價)。批面的cheese 及sauce 較少且乾，令整件pizza更乾身。上面的ham 並不鹹，但味淡，那些火箭菜的味我接受到，整體來說不見突出。

這裡環境算不錯，有像Starbucks 一樣有大梳化椅，也有卡座，更有stools，店內一邊是大單邊，樓下可看到溜冰場，是chatting 的理想地點。不過要彈這裡的service，這店說是assisted self service (故沒有加一)，即是要買飛後自取飲品，食物是店員端上，不過竟然連餐具也是要自取 !! 我想快餐店裡這是可接受的方式，但這裡是中檔消費的特色caffe !! 故這方面應予改善。Habitu 的食物亦算貴，portion細，遇上水準未盡如己意的食品便會覺不值了。這店其實也有十數款desserts，下次要再來coffee + desserts !!

實在很興奮啊，香港又多一間大型shopping mall !! 這裡的格局像九龍塘的Festival Walk，但氣派卻勝了一籌 ( 有一種高雅感覺)，部份通道比較濶落，設施更不惜工本，如今期飲食雜誌有介紹的洗手間等。想在這裡分享的是這裡有接近30間食肆，質素在現時來說絕對頂尖 !! 皆因最大特色是食肆種類繁多，有來自各國的大型餐廳進駐，不像以往的商場比較側重於亞洲cuisine (尤其是日式食店)。這裡也有數間首度在港開分店的食肆，論gimmick 氣勢當然一時無兩 !! 於是在這裡開店的見慣見熟的連鎖店如 Starbucks、利苑酒家等便頓時失色不少。不過由於這些新店大部份走中高檔路線，網友們若計劃在這裡享受lunch 或 dinner 就要在預算上作個向上調整了。

另外一點要提提的，是由於Elements 摒棄了cooked deli 這個設計安排，所以內裡的食店位置會比較分散 ( 除了5樓的數間食店集中一處，即店號R字頭的食肆 )，加上商場本身很大，建議若是一家老幼的，最好先找到目標食肆位置，擬好步行路線次序，免得行了冤枉路 !!

順帶一提，若想行全港最大超市ThreeSixty，要留意這裡的bakery，實在有很多款式選擇 !! 商場內也有其他bakery 店，如大阪餅店，都是high-class ...... 麵包迷，胃食鬼，仲唔快快殺到嚟 ?!  

As a dining paradise in the world,  we can enjoy in HK the cuisine from all the countries one can come up with.  For the western style, burgers, a "charisma" of the American cuisine, should be one of the most important " ingredients " in the dining experience of the Hongkongers.  We are blessed with numerous outlets specialised in selling burgers and chunky chips --- a great alternative to the mediocre fast-food variety.  In this passage, i would like to share the dining experience in renowned burger seller ~~~ Shake'em Buns, which is commonly ranked as the middle-of-the-road choice for a burger lover or connoisseur.

The shop we visited is located in Causeway Bay, in which the apartment is larger than that of another shop in Wanchai. I tried the attractive burger, the chips and two drinks : 

this is a cheese burger named Hawaiian Surfer Girl ($60) with 4 layers !! ...... 

the top is a rasher of the indescribably delicious bacon which is remarkedably crispy and spicy, but not too salty. 

then there finds the juicy pineapple ( i love it very much ). Though it is the canned one, the size is big enough and it can for sure alleivate the feeling of fullness after eating such a big burger !!

The third layer is the tasty thick patty with strong beef favour. It is absolutely juicy and tender. The taste is enhanced by the rich cheese in melted form. Though oily, as can be seen by the juice dropped from the burger, it's quality should be superior to that of the fast-food chain restaurants. 

Lastly there is a thick slice of fresh tomato and lettuce, which is also yummy !!

The freshly-baked bun is also tasty as soft inside and a bit crunchy outside, and it is spread with salad sauce.

To taste the original taste and texture, the chips i chose is the one without cheese ( another popular choice is chilli cheese fries ), which is named " Keep 'em Coming" ($12). The thumb-sized fries is crispy outside and soft inside, with strong taste of fresh potato. However, marks should be deducted as it is quite dried inside. 

My friend picked the canned Sprite ($18), and i chose the milkshake called Strawberry Tender ($35). The can drink is quite pricy, and it would be worth my money to pay more for the wonderful smoothies there!! 

As we chose the seats near the open kitchen, and perching on a bar stool, we can watch closely the process of making fresh-baked buns and how did the patties pan-fried gently !!

The Causeway Bay shop is cozy and newly deocrated ( i found the large crystal pendent lamp) in traditional American style.  The walls are panelled with dark wood with dark tables and chairs. The huge glass windows offset the low lighting. It is a bit noisy, but it gives a warm and friendly ambience as i can see a whole family sharing their food on the two tables in one side, and the teenagers had their gathering and they shared their food on two chair sets in another side.

We finished the burger meal with relish. This delight experience helped me to learn that we can easily feel the "charisma" of burgers, which are presented in so many forms that it's fun to experience different combinations of patties, sauce and vegetables sandwiched between yummy bun halves.  Just like desserts, we can enjoy freely with numerous taste, texture and outlook !! Some cute burgers made with heart can be displayed beautifully and elegantly, so that one can be easily charmed by such type of "bread"!!  It is no wonder Miss C feels touching uptill now whenever she retrieves her memory of meeting her former boyfriend for the first time when they enjoyed their burger meal together  

Shake 'em Buns

Causeway Bay Shop

Address : G/F., 5 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, H.K.

Telephone :  25726220

Wanchai Shop

Address : Shop k, 2 Star Street, Wanchai, H.K.

Telephone : 28662060

It is known that cafe with home-made bakery is uncommon in HK. Thus it would be an intriguing dining experience at Simplylife Bakery Cafe (one is in Taikoo Shing and another in Kowloon Tong), which is popular for it's tasty range of freshly-baked bread.

I've visited both cafe enjoying my brunch (Kowloon Tong) and dinner (Taikoo Shing) there. It is pleasurable to experience the flexibility of choosing dishes from the menu : e.g. for the appetizer, we can choose onion soup or salad; we have totally 6 choices for the main course (dinner) ;  and we have the option of choosing desserts or not ($10 more for desserts).  

the cafe of Taikoo Shing ...... we can see the open bakery counter with the display of various delicious bread.

The appetizer :

we chose crabmeat salad  with a slice of rye bread for the brunch

there're more bread for the dinner : rye bread and raisin bread.

The bread is for sure home-made and freshly-baked. We can taste the cripsy but a bit hard crust, with soft but chewy inside.   The butter has been complained for its hardness in the food web., and I experienced this in Taikoo Shing, but the reverse is true for the brunch in Kowloon Tong. 

The salad is quite good, as the fresh vegetables are served with fresh crabmeat and seasame sauce ......  it only whets my appetite !! 

The main course :

I picked the burger set ($98 with desserts) with French fries for the brunch

a closer look 

the french fries with sliced tomato and garlic have been admired by food comments ...... well, it is delicious for strong taste of potato and the moist but still quite crispy texture. otherwise, it's nothing spectacular for me.   

my friend chose the angel hair pasta with grilled prawn served with tomato sauce. obviously the prawn is over-grilled though it is quite fresh indeed. the pasta is not al dente, but fortunately the sauce is quite good. 

for the dinner, I chose the grains rice congee with grilled assorted mushrooms.  the cereal grains included not only rice and oats,  but black glutinous rice, lotus seeds, fox nuts etc.  it is topped with cheese, and it is cooked like risotto with white-coloured sauce.  the taste is OK for me, but maybe flavourless for others. 

The desserts :

The type of desserts is decided by the Chef. For my dinner, i have chocolate brownie stuffed with walnuts, with icing sugar sprinkled on top.  the portion is too small for me, and the brownie is quite hard in texture.

i've also lemon cheese cake for the brunch.  though it is again in tiny portion, the taste of lemon is strong and the cake base (maybe made by crushed digestive biscuits) is not thick. yummy !!   

For the setting , the black furnishings is arty and trendy. and the ambience is still comfortable though a bit cozy. there are seats inside and outside the cafe.

The service is quite good as the waitresses are courteous and friendly. but there is room for them to improve their oral English.  

Simplylife Bakery Cafe           

太古城 :                                                                     

鰂魚涌太古城中心1樓142A號舖   (Tel : 29678163)

九龍塘 :

九龍塘又一城商場2樓L2-42號舖  (Tel : 22657418)