板長壽司 (Hong Kong)

Last time when we were in Hong Kong, we went to 板前壽司 (Itamae Sushi). This time, we want to try the sister restaurant which is opened by the same owner called 板長壽司 (Itacho Sushi). Just like Itamae, Itacho is also a chain sushi restaurant. We went to the branch in Causeway Bay.

The five of us ordered the following for dinner:

1) 小型海膽井 (Small Uni Don): This is my first course for the night. The uni is served on top of rice in a small container. Uni has a strong unique taste to it.

2) 海膽壽司 (Uni Sushi): We asked for the uni from Canada. The uni has a very sweet flavor and is of very high quality.

3) 三文魚子壽司 (Salmon Fish Roe Sushi): I did not try this because I don’t like the strong flavor of salmon fish roe which has a fishy taste in most places.

4) 鵝肝壽司 (Foie Gras Sushi): The foie gras is too small and has a mild taste. It would be tastier if it is pan fried for a longer period of time. I like the foie gras sushi served at峰壽司 much more because it has a richer aroma.

5) 板長蝦 (Itacho Shrimp Sushi): I don’t like raw shrimp at all. Even the sight of it makes me lose my appetite :p

6) 三文魚腩 (Salmon Belly Sushi): The salmon is very fresh. The belly is the best cut of the fish because of it is very fatty.

7) 秋刀魚壽司 (Saury Sushi): This is one of my husband’s favorites. It is only available in the autumn when it is in season. It has a strong distinctive taste to it, a little bit like Mackerel but milder.

8) 魚背壽司 (Fish Porch Sushi): My sister ordered this. The texture of the fish porch is firm and crunchy.

9) 特長海鰻壽司 (Super Long Sea Eel Sushi): This is a huge piece of sea eel sushi which is torched and served warm. I like the eel sauce which is sweet and the slight burned taste of the sea eel from being torched. However, it is not as good as the one served at 峰壽司 because it is not soft enough.

10) 油甘魚腩壽司 (Hamachi Belly Sushi): Hamachi Belly is one of my favorite sushi. The fish has a soft texture and it is filled with a rich taste of fish oil.

11) 天使蝦 (Angel Shrimp Sushi): I just don’t prefer raw shrimp.

12) 平目魚壽司 (Flounder Sushi): This is another kind of white fish. It is similar to hamachi but it is more bland.

13) 肥美少筋吞拿魚腩 (Toro Sushi): Toro is the fattiest part of tuna. However, the slice of fish is too thin. I would rather get a more generous portion and pay more.

My husband and I also visited a branch of 板長壽司 in the Hong Kong airport. During that visit, we tried the salmon sushi, scallop sushi, hamachi belly sushi, saury sushi, 醋鯖魚壽司 (mackerel sushi), and the super long sea eel sushi. The mackerel sushi has a strong vinegar marinated taste to it. The quality of the fish at this branch in the airport exceeds our expectations. However, the size of the rice is way too big, which overpowers the taste of the fish.

HOKAT Rating:
90/100

Address:
銅鑼灣東角道24-26號東角Laforet2樓281-282號店
2890-2461

黃枝記粥麵店 (Hong Kong)

After a few heavy meals, my family and I want something lighter for dinner. We went to 黃枝記粥麵店 in Central to eat some noodles. This noodle shop is famous for their 竹升麵 (bamboo rise noodles). These noodles are special because they are all hand-made by the master chef sitting on top of a bamboo stick to keep pounding on the dough. The dough is repeatedly pounded upon to increase the elasticity of the dough. I can tell that the noodles are more bouncy and chewy. The noodles are served with 鮮蝦雲吞 (shrimp wontons) and big chunks of 牛腩 (braised beef brisket).



Besides the famous bamboo rise noodles, we also got an order of 水蟹粥 (water crab congee). The crab congee contains half a crab. However, there is not much taste in the crab and the congee is not soft enough. In comparison, the congee from 正斗粥麵專家 is of much better quality.

Another dish that we got is the 沙嗲肥牛河 (satay fatty beef chow fun). The satay sauce is very rich in flavor and it matches well with the chow fun. There are slices of pineapple which adds a sweet taste to the dish to provide some contrast. However, this dish is a big rip-off because it only contains a few slices of fatty beef.

HOKAT Rating:
82/100

Address:
中環蘭桂坊威靈頓街15號B地下
2869-1331

五代同糖 (Hong Kong)

There is a popular dessert place in Causeway Bay called 五代同糖. It is known for its high quality desserts and its head chef who has previously worked in a five-star hotel restaurant. We went there two nights in a row. On the first night, I went there with my husband and my mom. My mom ordered 楊技甘露 (mango delight). It is made from sweet mango that is just ripe. Besides dominated by mango, the dessert also contains some grapefruit, tapioca, and agar agar.



My husband ordered a coconut tapioca dessert. It has a rich coconut taste to it. To me, it is a common dessert that is served in many places, and I would rather get something more unique like the Mango Soufflé.



Each soufflé is made to order and takes about 15-20 minutes to bake. Since we had to share a table with another couple, the waiter messed up our orders and gave my Mango Soufflé to the couple who ordered the original flavored soufflé. Since the waiter gave away my soufflé, I had to wait another 15-20 minutes for the chef to re-make my order. In total, I waited more than half an hour to get my Mango Soufflé! Although the service is quite terrible, the desserts themselves are excellent. When I took the first bite of the soufflé, I knew that it was worth the wait. The soufflé is extremely moist and soft, with a slight mango taste to it. The quality of the soufflé is comparable to those at high class french restaurants.



The couple who shared a table with us also ordered a snowflake ice, but they waited more than 20 minutes for it. By the time we left, they were still waiting for it. We think the waiter messed up again and forgot about the rest of their order.

When we went there again on the next night, I ordered the chocolate soufflé and shared an order of 芒果雪花冰 (mango snowflake ice) with my family. The chocolate soufflé is not as tasty as the mango one because it is not as moist and is a little overcooked. The mango snowflake ice does not taste like slush or ice at all. It tastes like soft ice-cream that has many layers. It is a perfect dessert for the summertime.

HOKAT Rating:
87/100

Address:
銅鑼灣告士打道250-254號伊利莎伯大廈G11舖
3486-8528

永祥燒臘飯店 (Hong Kong)

This is another local favorite eatery. The place is very tiny and most of their business is from takeout orders. They are only famous for one thing, which is their 燒臘 (roasted meats). We ordered the 义鵝飯 (rice with roast pork and roast duck) and 义雞飯 (rice with roast pork and garlic scallion chicken). We also got a side order of roast duck leg.




The roast pork is marinated in a strong barbeque sauce but it is not fatty enough so it is a little rough. The roast duck is very delicious; the meat is moist and the skin is crispy. The roast duck leg is huge, with so much meat that it is a meal by itself. I also like the rice which is topped with a special sweet soy sauce.



HOKAT Rating:
86/100

Address:
跑馬地景光街2號地下
2573-9082

翡翠拉麵小籠包 (Hong Kong)

To celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday, my family and I went to the famous chain restaurant 翡翠拉麵小籠包 for dinner because my mom loves to eat 小籠包 (soup dumplings). Although it is a chain restaurant, 翡翠 serves one of the best soup dumplings that I have ever had.



Since crabs are in season, we placed four orders of the 蟹粉小籠包 (crab roe soup dumplings) to share among the five of us. Each order has four soup dumplings, which means we ordered 20 of them. The waiter was surprised that we ordered so many soup dumplings and asked us if we are sure we want to order so many. The wrappers of the dumplings are so thin that we have to be super careful when picking them up. The meat inside of the dumplings is so moist and juicy. There is so much juice inside of the dumplings that they can fill half a bowl. The crab roe adds a rich aroma to the soup dumplings.

Besides the famous crab roe soup dumplings, we also ordered the following dishes:

1) 醉雞: This is a cold dish. The chicken is cooked in a clear wine sauce. I don’t really like eating cold meat.

2) 手抓餅: This is very thin bread that is pan fried. It is very much like Indian style naan.

3) 糖醋排骨: This is sweet vinegar spareribs. This dish is extremely sweet. The spareribs are not tender enough.

4) 津白: This is my favorite vegetables dish. The cabbage is pretty soft. It is cooked in a milky cream sauce.

5) 排骨麵: This dish has Chinese style noodles that are white in color. There is not much taste to the noodles. The spareribs are deep fried and served separately.

6) 鍋貼: The pan fried dumplings are very crispy. The meat inside are very juicy, just like the meat inside of the soup dumplings.

We all felt extremely satisfied after the meal. We can keep eating more of the crab roe soup dumplings. This is a restaurant that we will keep coming to.

HOKAT Rating:
93/100

Address:
中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場2期2樓2018-2020號舖
2295-3811

清真牛肉館 (Hong Kong)

The Hong Kong TV show “So Good” has done an interview on 清真牛肉館. The host, Ah So, highly recommended the beef buns. She described the beef buns as an enhanced Chinese version of the hamburger. After watching the show, we are determined to travel all the way to 九龍城 to give it a try. It is a long way to travel and takes about a whole hour by train and bus.



There is a minimum spend requirement of $20 per person, so we put in an order of the 蔥油餅 (scallion pancake) and two orders of the 清真牛肉包 (beef buns). All orders are freshly made. The scallion pancakes are pretty thin and not oily. We ordered it just to meet the minimum requirement, but it’s pretty good. The only minus point is that the scallion taste is not strong enough.



The highlight of the meal is obviously the beef buns. They are served hot and fresh. There is so much juice inside the buns that you have to be very careful when you bite on it. If you are not careful in biting the buns and consuming the juice, the juice will get squirted out. The beef buns are delicious. However, you can only eat one or two of them before it becomes too much.




After the meal, we can understand why Ah So recommends this restaurant. The beef buns are amazing. I have never eaten any buns with that much juice in it. The amount of juice can fill half a bowl.

HOKAT Rating:
86/100

Address:
九龍城龍崗道 1 號
2382-2822

蓮香樓 (Hong Kong)

There is a dim sum place near the Central area which has been opened for over 100 years. This is one of the few “ancient” restaurants in Hong Kong. This dim sum place is very old style, with buckets and hot water pots everywhere. You have to find your own seats and everyone has to share tables. Since we arrived at around noon time, it was impossible for us to get more than two seats together and we were forced to seat apart. It is an extremely noisy environment with not much service, and the utensils are not the cleanest.





Besides refilling hot water for your tea, there is not much service otherwise. You will have to get your own food. For popular items like 馬拉糕 and 千層糕, they get sold right after they come out, so you have to be on the lookout and get them yourself. After eating the food, I can understand why so many people flock to this place. The dim sum items are all hot and fresh. The first dim sum items that we got are the classic 蝦餃 (shrimp dumping) and 燒賣 (Siu Mai). The shrimp dumpling is bite-size and it has a thin rice wrap on the outside. The Siu Mai is made from a wonderful mix of minced pork and shrimp. Again, it is the perfect bite-size. Then, we ordered the 燸米雞 (sticky rice). This is basically a big portion of sticky rice with various meats inside which is then wrapped inside a green leaf and steamed. The sticky rice is very flavorful due to the aroma from the meats inside.



We continued to order more dim sum items. The next one is 鳳爪 (chicken feet). The way you eat it is to take off each joint and peel the skin off the chicken feet. It sounds gross but it is delicious. The sauce does the trick for this dish.

Even after eating a few dim sum items, we were not that full and so we ordered the popular 陳皮鴨腿湯飯 (duck drumstick in a soup with rice). The duck meat is not as tender as roast duck meat. It helps to fill the stomach though.

Next comes the dessert items. The first dessert that we got is 年糕 (New Year cake). This is the only dim sum item that we did not like. The New Year cake is simply too hard to chew on. I ate one piece but at the end there are about 3-4 pieces left untouched.

The first dessert item that we got is 馬拉糕 (Malaysian style steamed cake) which is my mom’s and my sister’s favorite. The steamed cake is so incredibly soft and spongy but not too sweet. The outside layer is the best part of the cake.

My favorite item from 蓮香樓 is the 千層糕 (thousand layered cake). It is so delicious that I felt like I can keep on eating it. You can see the crossing of white stripes and yellow stripes in the cake. The thousand layered cake is so soft and moist. There is a lot of 奶黃 (custard made from eggs and milk and solidified) in the middle of the cake. In addition to the custard, there are also bits of 鹹蛋黃 (salted egg yolk). I love the sweet taste of the custard mixed with the slightly salty taste of salted egg yolk.



Towards the end of our meal, the steamed buns came out. We got an order of the chicken buns. The buns are gigantic with big pieces of chicken inside. The portions here are very generous. The buns are soft and the pieces of chicken are tender.



We ordered about 15 dim sum items to share among the 5 of us, but the bill only came out to about $40 USD, what a bargain! Even though the place is extremely crowded and not very clean, the excellent food by itself is enough to make me want to go back.

HOKAT Rating:
89/100

Address:
中環蘭桂坊威靈頓街160-164號
2544-4556

譽滿坊 (Hong Kong)

There is a famous dim sum place in Happy Valley called 譽滿坊. It is a high-end restaurant with excellent food that is visited by many celebrities. Of course the prices are very expensive. Each dim sum item costs about $10 to $12 USD. It has an old Chinese style décor that makes you feel like you are back in the 70s. The restaurant has wooden tables and wooden chairs with a big 屏風 (standing screen). There are also posters from the 70s on the walls.

Every time we visit 譽滿坊, we order the same dishes that we like the most. Of all the dishes, I think 蝦餃 (steamed shrimp dumpling) is simply the best. There are two shrimp dumplings per order, and they are gigantic. The rice wrap is thin and sticky. There are at least three huge shrimps inside of each. The shrimps are chewy and bouncy.



The 燒賣 (Siu Mai) is another of our favorites. Each order comes with two of them. This dish is made from pork and shrimp minced together and put inside a yellow egg wrap. The portion of shrimp is very generous. To enhance the presentation and value, 譽滿坊 puts shark fin on top of the Siu Mai. I like the taste of pork and shrimp mixed together. The fat from the pork matches very well with the chewiness of the shrimp.



Two other dim sum that we ordered include the 牛肉丸 (minced beef balls) and 煎腸粉 (pan fried rice rolls).The minced beef balls are very moist and bouncy. The rice rolls are marinated with soy sauce and pan fried until brown. They are served with sweet sauce and peanut sauce.




All of the dim sum dishes are served hot and are freshly made per order. It is one of the best dim sum places and is definitely the fanciest one that I have been to.

HOKAT Rating:
88/100

Address:
跑馬地成和道63號地下
2834-8893

Derby Room (Hong Kong)

Since my sister is a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, we were able to make a dinner reservation at the Derby Room, which is a high class French restaurant. There is no special occasion, but the four of us dressed up nicely and went there for dinner. The service is excellent and the atmosphere is very formal. When we were given the menus, we found that there are no prices listed. It turns out that only my sister’s menu has prices listed because she is the host and we are her guests.

When I was trying to decide what to order, my sister told me that the 2-people Special Set is the best value out of everything in the menu. In the Special Set, there are a few choices of appetizers, main dishes, and desserts that you can choose from.

To start things off, we got a dozen oysters to share among the four of us. The oysters are extremely fresh. They are of various sizes and some are more salty than others.



For appetizers, all of us ordered the foie gras. The foie gras is pan seared and served with a raspberry sauce. It is truly impeccable, with the outside crispy and the inside very moist and soft. I love the texture of foie gras because it literally melts in your mouth. The foie gras here is of top grade but the portion is too small. After finishing it, I was still craving for more.

There are three choices for the main dish, which include Boston Lobsters, Sea Bass, and Sirloin Steak. I chose the Sea Bass as my main dish. My brother-in-law chose the lobster whereas my husband and sister chose the sirloin steak. It turns out that my brother-in-law made the best choice. There are about two small lobsters cut up in pieces. The lobster meat is chewy and bouncy. Besides the taste, it is also the most expensive dish, so I think my brother-in-law made a smart decision. The sirloin steak is a little dry and it doesn’t have enough fat in it. The chef should have compensated by putting more sauce on it. As for my sea bass, it is pan fried and so the skin is pretty crispy but the fish itself is kinda bland. However, it is hard for any pan seared fish to make a lasting impression.

Saving the best for last, we ordered the chocolate soufflé and strawberry soufflé for dessert. The soufflé is a light dessert made from egg whites. The chocolate soufflé is the better of the two. There is a slight sweet taste from the chocolate taste but it is pretty mild. The strawberry soufflé is a little sour. I love soufflés because they are so soft and fluffy.

Overall it is a great dinner in a high class restaurant. The French food is very authentic, as it is served by an English chef who has worked in a Michelin three star restaurant in the past.

HOKAT Rating:
93/100

Address:
跑馬地山光道香港賽馬會會所地下
2966-1310

峰壽司 (MI-NE Sushi in Hong Kong)

On a Saturday afternoon, my family and I went to 峰壽司 to get sushi for lunch. There are two branches in Causeway Bay, and the one we went to is on the first floor of the Diamond Building. We got seated in a table inside of sitting at the sushi bar with a revolving sushi belt. This is because we would rather put in orders for sushi that is made fresh for us rather than taking sushi from the revolving belt.




Here is the list of sushi that we ordered:

1) Hamachi Toro: The cut of hamachi is extremely fatty, and so pretty much all you can taste is the fat.

2) Toro: Toro is the fattiest part of tuna. However, the ones at 峰壽司 do not have enough aroma from the fish oil.

3) Salmon Toro: This is the fatty part of salmon which has a rich taste from the fish oil. You can’t eat too many of these though, because it fills up your stomach quickly.

4) Tuna: This is a regular piece of tuna with the usual strong taste. I like the Toro much better, but of course Toro is about four times more expensive.

5) Mebachi Tuna: I cannot really tell what is the difference been this and regular tuna. I guess it has a milder taste.

6) Uni Gunkanmaki: Uni is always one of my favorites. The ones at 峰壽司are fresh with a bit of a sweet taste. It can be a bit of an acquired taste.

7) Minced Tuna and Green Onion Gunkanmaki: I did not try this, but the color of the minced tuna looks too pale.

8) Salmon Roe Gunkanmaki: I don’t like salmon roe because of the fishy taste. The ones that you can get in Japan actually have no fishy taste at all, and each roe dissolves in your mouth with a salty taste.

9) Shrimp Tempura Sushi: My mom ordered the shrimp tempura sushi because she doesn’t eat raw fish. She seemed to enjoy this.

10) White Fish Tempura Sushi: This is also for my mom.

11) Swordfish Sushi: The swordfish has a very firm texture. Like other kinds of white fish, the flavor is very mild and there is not much taste to the fish.

12) Yellowtail Sushi: Yellowtail is another kind of white fish. It has a slightly stronger taste than swordfish where you can taste the fish oil.

13) Japanese Amberjack: This is the third kind of white fish that we tried.

14) Fish Porch: My sister and brother-in-law ordered the fish porch. It is pretty crunchy.

15) MI-NE Shrimp Sushi: Another favorite of my sister’s. I don’t personally prefer raw shrimp.

16) Saury Sushi: My husband loves the Saury fish which is in season in the autumn. It has a strong distinctive taste to it, a little bit like Mackerel but milder.

17) Foie Gras Sushi: This is one of my favorite sushi. It is a new style creative sushi that is not served in Japan. The foie gras is pan seared and literally melts in your mouth. To enhance the presentation, the sushi chef put some gold glitters onto the foie gras sushi. I just wish the piece of foie gras can be bigger.

18) Torched Sea Eel Sushi: This is a huge piece of sea eel sushi which is torched and served warm. I like the eel sauce which is sweet and the slight burned taste of the sea eel from being torched.

The quality of the sushi that you can get in Hong Kong obviously cannot be compared with the sushi in Japan. I think the main difference is that the fish in Hong Kong is too dry and a little cold because it has been frozen. In Japan, it is fresh cut of the day which requires no freezing at all, and so sushi is served in room temperature. Also, the sushi rice in Japan is more moist where you can clearly taste the vinegar infused in every grain of rice.

HOKAT Rating:
89/100

Address:
銅鑼灣軒尼詩道525號恒和鑽石大廈1樓
3421-2211