New menu with shaved ice 2.0 at Hanbing

We began our dinner with a glass of special drinks "Skyline"($35), which is aptly named with this heaven blue Ramune soda shaved ice which is my favorite! If you want something soothing and warm, Honey Grapefruit ($35) is a great choice.

Before we move on to mains, we opted for Kimchi pancake and skewer pancake ($35) with a color combination of crab stick, spring union and egg fried till a perfect golden color.

As a carb lover, I opted for a Kimchi fried rice ($78) surrounded by a sea of cheese and egg; and Topokki (Korean hotpot), which the portion size is enough for 2-3 people.

 I found huge improvement at Hanbing, especially the rice cake at its Korean hotpot ($120- for 2-3 ppl), the capstone of Korean cuisine- Heavenly soft (but not powdery/ or overcooked texture); the rice cake shouts for its freshness. Sprinkled cheese on top and waiting for the cheese melted together with instant noodles was as excited as it was for a baby coming out of mummy’s tummy. (Add $10 for an extra bowl for cheese craver)

A great finish to our meal with signature shaved ice items in Hanbing- Amber Snow Ice($88). This pineapple goodness simply stands out as a great addition to the new menu! We all enjoyed the contrast between the wedges of ripe and sweet pineapple and the finely shaved goodness. (A perfect dessert size for 2-3 people)

Delightful Honey Melon (Korean shaved ice- $120) is such a tasteful touch for our spring celebration! Accented by a fresh scope of vanilla ice-cream ( with fresh vanilla seed), cheese cake and mochi, milk shaved ice is light and refreshing. Only 15 sets are available for each branch everyday!

Ambiance

Personally prefer Causeway Bay branch, which is luxuriously spacious, with minimalist yet modern decor, and more privacy! There is 8 ppl private room seating, which is perfect for a group of 6-8 (which we can take advantage of the next time we visit with friemds- we just wanna try to be considerate if we cant stop laughing and talking loudly with our besties.)

Verdict
If you are on a budget (but you want to dine in Causeway Bay), price at Hanbing is reasonable enough ( take the set which always offer a drink, one main and one dessert-$160) and food tastes good enough to usurp other dinner options.

Address: 1005B, Time Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

King's cuisine: Authentic Chinese dishes with dried seafood

A superb restaurant peddles an extensive repertoire of dried seafood plates, ranging from braised abalone($388) to shark fin soup ($38) and seafood porridge. (Money has been lavished for Chinese dried seafood)

Braised abarlone with a traditional oyster sauce accompaniment is nicely tender and meaty with a strong ocean flavour; but salty thanks to the sauce. Seasoning was a bit too much at this restaurant in general; soup is equally salty, making it unbearable.

For those who loves western inspired fish at Chinese restaurants, special menu items will satisfied your stomach. Squid ink pasta in pumpkin sauce ($188) was colorful option; so as the light and refreshing Sauteed Prawn with apple ($120) in modern plating ( comparatively). We all appreciated the details, from the beautifully cut apple supporting the deep fried prawn, to the golden apple thread on top.

We also recommended the the sweet and sour pork ($88). Every piece was tidily cut, having a great layers of meat and fat in between that gives a great texture. The delectable sauce was toffee like; a lot stickier than expected.

Not only does it knocks up authentic Chinese dishes, but it uses super food- interesting ingredients- Avocado. Baked seafood with Avocado is the winner of the night; creamy avocado pairs well with flavourful seafood in Portuguese sauce.

We washed down our dinner with stewed bird nest soup in almond sweet sauce ($288). Enjoy a mouthful of mushy jelly-like bird nest which was known as collagen boost for women.

My favorite super food- Avocado

Cupping Room

If you are looking for a quality coffee fix and toast that will charm your socks off, Cupping Room is set to become our favorite local hangout. Ground floor is for ordering, and take away coffee; or you can walk up to 2nd floor and grab a seat. Venue is simple, bright and minimalist.

Avocado on thick cut campaign taste is my favorite super food meal! With the minimalist seasoning, avocado is rich and creamy, leaning on top of the fluffy thick-cut champagne toast ($98) with a pinch of salt and pepper. A cup of flat white ($40) with well executed foam adorned the top is a great accompaniment which is strong enough with silky smooth texture.

We also opted for its signature pasta: Pan fried chicken breast spaghetti with garlic parmesan cheese creamy sauce. ($128).  Bouncy pasta paired with parmesan cheese cream sauce never goes wrong. Chicken breast was a big surprise to us, moist and soft; as if it's the product of slow cook or something that makes you feel healthy.

Lobster Creme Brulee ? Dinner or Dessert?

We began our dinner set, Lobster Creme Brulee with thermidor (30 mins prep time) ($248) is such a delightful French dining experience. We were all impressed by this creative kind of savory creme brulee full of lobster goodness. With a layer of crispy caramel on top. It was rich and creamy finish that got the appetite primed for the lobsters to come.

With fresh and sweet chunks of lobsters and plenty of mushrooms in lobster sauce are too sacred to pour over toast points. This combination tastes surprisingly good but the portion sizes and price was not reasonable enough to usurp other lunching options along school streets and King Street. Perhaps because we saw the huge price difference among all items in its menu.

For dessert, we loaded up from Black Sesame Souffle ($98) with homemade Black sesame ice-cream which was a highlight with a rich and creamy texture, and a pleasantly strong freshly grand sesame flavor. We forgoed the sinking soufflé which was a bit thicker; flavour dominated by the ice-cream.

Our night ended merrily with a vibrant blend of herbal tea. Tea pouch was filled with subtle slices of citrus fruit and soothing chamomile. 

The first port of call that brings village vibe to Sai Kung

Five Coffee Company is the first port of call to start our day with a caffeine hit in Sai Kung. We dose ourselves with a perfect Macchiato Latte ($38) which exudes a stronger and more aromatic taste than usual latte.

We also loved Black eye ($42) using Kenya kirinyaga Gachami AA that gives a balance of sweet and sour sensations, with a lively, lemonade brightness. Mouthfeel is silky and smooth. I think it's a perfect day-to-day drinking coffee!

*What's the difference between latte and Macchiato latte? The owner of the store explained espresso is added to milk for Macchiato Latte,while milk is added to espresso for Latte. It's more about the order difference of milk and espresso.

Looking for something free of caffeine? Highly recommend Ice Red Latte ($42) with a blend of pure rooibos tea and milk; served with honey and cinnamon. It's not quite common to have Rooibos tea options in most Hong Kong cafe.Glad to have the alternatives to coffee at this tiny laneway coffee shop that the deft barrister took pride in. Staff are a joy to chat with too!

We loved the outdoor sitting much more than inside,  especially when we can make most of the sunny sun these days. It's such an inviting space overlapping with the public laneway. You can simply take a sip of coffee and chill our lungs out with friends while being part of the local community. 

Address: No.3, Hoi Pong Street, Sai Kung, NT, HK

Who wants some rainbow icecream and mini cakes?

The rainbow icecream selection has driven us crazy at A Fun Store at The One Shopping Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. As a macha lover, I have also ordered few scoops of ice-cream among that rainbow selection without any doubt- Macha at different intensity- 15%, 25%, 40%, and now it's 50%! Strong in the astringent macha flavor, so dense and silky smooth; flavor stayed at palette without  If you are not the ultimate macha fans, I would recommend ordering 25% or even less.

We also ordered the Chamomile Sweet olive Oolong Tea flavor which gives a mild flavor and flowery-green aroma. Be patient as you will only start experiencing the mild Oolong tea after staying in your mouth for few seconds. A great option to cleanse and refresh our palate with a mild Oolong tea aftertaste:)


"My Cake" ($65) in rose flavor topped with strawberry, orange peels, dragon fruit, and dried raspberry. It's a mini sponge cake at one person's size, beautifully decorated by staff, no matter what toppings you selected. (at max 4 options). The rose flavor of this fluffy sponge cake is pleasantly lovely, reminding me of dried rose pedal.

Beer soft cream in Jordan

Pink Fairy ($44) was a clear favourite with a pronounced BEER 🍺flavour, thanks to its 6:4 Hoegaarden Rosée to milk portion. 🍻
Embellished with crispy raspberry and chocolate pop rocks which accented the texture of soft cream. An additional salty pretzel, as a perfect beer snack, has perfectly added complexity to it. Greentea one was good too!

If you love beer and ice-cream, you’ll love@thelittlecornerhk. 

Address: 10 Hillwood Road, Tsim ShaTtsui

Dim Sum workshop in HK

After mashing and kneading the dough while trying my best to sculpture the rose pedal piece by piece, cheers to the taste of this mighty rose bun! Am quite confident that it’s edible; without poisoning anybody haha!

This course is priced at $500, offering 2 sets of dim sum making (mine is rose bun and dumpling in crab and spinach filling) plus a mini tea set. A big plus to us: this is kid and family friendly, with passionate chef teaching those secret steps!

As a level-2 dim sum, this required patience and attentions to details ( and obviously I wasn’t possessed of any :P) All the ingredients, from the dough to filling have be prepared.

What you need is simply rolling up the wrapper as thin as possible and wrap it with the filling artistically. Sounds easy but deceptively complex even if you roll up your sleeves; so be thankful to the chef overtime when you have these pretty dim sum at the retro!

Okinawa brought its prestine ingredients to the table

In February, Naruto has brought some of the Okinawa’s pristine natural ingredients to town which explained the longevity and health of this famous island.

Garnering a great deal of attention, this green caviar salad ($48) was our table’s favourite. Fresh carrots and green caviar were the highlight, giving an additional crunch and popping texture to the dish, allowing the taste of ocean shining through the dish. A Colourful option for early spring. 

Having won the award of No.1 Japanese award ($168/10 ps) in 2013, Beef in Okinawa has a greater fat proportion which also explained why Chef didn’t cook it into its oily buttery form but presenting it in sashimi instead. Dipped with freshly granted wasabi, and veggies on spicy verge of flavour, ( raw spring union and union), the best of the beef has been presented in our mouth. 

Commonly found in the country, Mozuku, aptly means as “the cloud in the water, is a kind of seaweed found on the sea floating; characterised by its unique viscous texture, with low calories. Naruto has created a deep fried mozuku ball ($48), on a flavourless and floury inside, not much to our liking; healthy though.

For mains, we opted for a HK/Japanese fusion-Steamed rice pot with Okinawa sausage, and “lap cheung”, the local marinated sausage. This kind of pig is specifically fed by purple sweet potato and sugar cane. ( quite healthy right?). Drenched in the essence of pork, the rice has a perfect accompaniment of flavour- both sweet and savoury. We would recommend devouring the okinawa fresh sausage first,for fear of getting dominated by the strong flavour of lap cheung.

Another highlight is the deep fried rice paper roll with carrot filling. ($28) Creatively wrapped with rice paper, instead of battered, texture is quite interesting, making these lighter and crisper than usual chinese-style sprig rolls.  Sliced carrot ad extra crunchy in contrast to the fresh draw cake inside. 

Surprised by Naruto group as I have never tried something as authentic as this okinawa’s campaign before. Wish it is able to keep such quality, and the passion towards fresh ingredients in the future. 

Join the Facebook game t wine 2 round trip tickets to Okinawa! (from 11-27/2)

Click into the facebook page of Okinawa hk office, answer the question, and you will get a chance to join the lucky draw. 

Chinese New Year dining and treats

Let's celebrate the year of monkey with a new year specialty - big bowl meal with a lobster twist (pun choi), priced ranges from $788-1888, including Abalone, freshly caught lobster, shrimps, chicken, dried oysters, fishball, a highlight of dee fried golden squid cake and many more! Happy Chinese New Year!

To whip up a feast this CNY, this eatery has also created "Lobster grill in flame” that leaves us an impressive visual presentation! Sprinkled with a couple shots of Rose wine and then ignited to add complexity to the fresh seafood, and a slightly roasted flavour. A great start of our year of Monkey! 

Besides festive times, BBQ lobster is aptly named that serves wonderful seafood. Hotpot with congee base and Steamed seafood in 9 layers of towers are two of its signatures. Before doing the steaming ( Clams, shrimps, scallops, cod fish, lobsters, crabs, abalone), we were highly recommended to finish the chicken pot (the 9th layer) at the bottom first so the meat remains tender and juicy. 

The golden yellow broth was excellently seasoned; you can tell many ingredients, from chickens and to herbs that give a wonderful flavour. Priced at $988 for 4 people- get your money worth!

Congee hotpot set was another winner. ($200/head). You might underestimate this plain congee broth until you discovered a spoon of coconut meat and precious cubicles inside! Served with fixed set of chicken, veggies, high quality australian wagyu beef, and crustanoues freshly bought at wet market nearby, no where can you get this feast at such price!

Let’s whip up a feast this CNY! 

Address of BBQ龍蝦燒: 6 Man Ying Street, Jordan, HK