Eats in Hong Kong - Dessert

What better but to start my HK dessert blog but with my fav - Häagen-Dazs icecream!!!
After looking for an eternity at the menu, my partner talked me into ordering the high tea (for just a bargain HK$150).

Below is what it included - 2 teas/coffees. My partner went for the iced chocolate, and I opted for the iced mochaccino (which are around HK$38 when ordered separately).

The high tea for two lets you choose 4 different icecream flavours (I ordered the strawberry cheesecake, belgium chocolate, cappuccino truffle, and vanilla), all of which are completely heavenly yumminess! If only Häagen-Dazs was in Sydney >.<


The second tier was less interesting - strawberry mousse, choc-vanilla creme mousse, and shortbreads. Mmm... tasted alright when drenched with icecream! :)

And the last tier was fruit~ I don't do banana or kiwi fruit or grapes... but I did dip a strawberry into the icecream! :)

So if you've yet to get the gist, the best things at Häagen-Dazs is the icecream!!! and the icecream makes all mediocre things taste yummy :)

Another dessert place I went to was slightly more pricey. HK$198 per head scored us a dessert buffet at the Grand Hyatt hotel in WanChai (but we had to book quite a bit beforehand).

The dessert selection was vast, but like with all dessert places, not all were equally appetising.

There was also a selection of cheese which proved too strong for my and my friends.

There were cakes, tarts, macaroons, hot desserts (eg. freshly made souffles and waffles), and a nice fruit selection.

The chocolate tart tasted average, the macaroons - a bit too sweet for my liking, and the tiramisu... mine tastes nicer! :)

My partner's nicely arranged waffles.


My icecream!!! There was dark chocolate and coconut-pinapple sorbet. Mmmm - it was sooooo yummy!

And a nice fruit selection (as I mentioned before). The fruits below the pinapple were mine, the wierd fruits above the pinapples were my partners :P

And lastly, a Honky dessert post would not be complete without some honkie desserts.

Below is my partner's red bean grass jelly dessert with icecream. Normally, people choose EITHER the vanilla OR the green tea icecream. My partner (being greedy) wanted both! (much to the surprise of the waitress who appeared dumbfounded).

This was mine - grass jelly with mango, sago and pompello. Mmmm... deliciousness!

And my friend's tofu with mango, sago and pompello. Although not a Honkie, my friend appeared to enjoy his "weird" asian food. :)

Well - that's dessert in HK. I can only wish that in the next few years, they (esp Häagen-Dazs) will franchise into Sydney (preferably next to where I live). :P

Eats in Hong Kong - Noodles

Many of my friends think I'm non-chinese-like because I very much dislike eating rice. Instead, noodles (including the 2-minute variety) makes my favourite meal.

So in HK, I was very happily indulging on cheap and yummy noodles!


First yummy stop was in Causeway Bay where you could pick anything up to 4 different toppings on either egg noodles, rice noodles, or ho fun, all served in a beef-brisket soup base (prices ranging from HK$24 - 28 depending on the number topping you pick). mmmm... yummm...

Here my friend picked octopuses, white radish and... beef tendon (i think?).

This is one with deep-friend tofu, beef brisket and fish cakes.

I was most greedy and picked 4 toppings. I had the beef ball, cuttlefish ball, beef tendon and white radish. It was most most excellent (esp the white radish!). So next time, I'd go for 4 toppings - white radish, white radish, white radish and white radish! :)

Another noodle place I'm a fan of is a fish ball place in Causeway bay. I ordered my favourite noodle soup at this place, the "4 bo fun" (which really means four gem noodle soup). This is simply fish ball, cuttlefish ball, fish cake slices and fish paste dumplings with lots of seaweed. Mmm... yummy :) All for a great price of HK$26!

My partner tried out the 3 cuttlefish noodles (octopus head, octopus legs and cuttlefish balls), also for HK$26. Super yummy and super cheap - what would we be eating for around $4 in Syd???

On another occation, my uncle bought me to the most famous fish ball place in HK - which happens to be where I live (ie. in Aberdeen).

As you can see, I got the combination noodle soup - with basically every type of artificial ball thing there is! Ok, maybe not entirely artificial - the shop claims to make it's own fish balls fresh every day and I'm inclined to believe them (very different to the type you eat at other fish ball places). The fish balls were "crisp" in nature (I know... it might be the wrong adjective) but really, super super fresh and very different to ones you get anywhere else.


So - fishball-wise, the shop in Aberdeen wins. But overall-wise... the plentiful seaweed filled noodle soup wins my vote! :)

Eats in Hong Kong - Japanese

For the past week, I was fortunate enough to make it to Hong Kong (on super cheap tix!!! :P) and eat eat eat almost non-stop.

Hong Kong is a facinating place filled with shops, restaurants (of all sorts), and lots of people. Food-wise, you can choose to eat cheap, expensive, fast, or enjoy a slow chillaxing meal.

Not knowing a better way to blog about my eats in HK, I've decided to group the food.

Jap food abounds in HK, so much so that you can get it anywhere for a wide range of prices. You can eat at expensive restaurants with fantastic views (such as at Kamado - 1 Peking Rd, TST), or you can just pick up a pack of sushi or sashimi from your local supermarket. But one of the most popular ways of obtaining Jap food is thru Sushi-trains! (there are never-ending lines for these places - much to the frustration of my partner who hates waiting).

But, the wait is definately worth it. For instance, at Itamae (multiple branches thruout HK including at Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, and Kowloon Tong) the salmon sushi below costs HK$6 (on special), or $9 (normal priced) which translates to around AUS$1.20. And just because it is cheap, doesn't mean its not tasty. In fact, it is super super yummy!

One of my all time favourites is scallop sashimi. My partner was a bit deterred that I ordered so many of it. I couldn't help it! One was just raw, one was with green-tea salt, one was giant JUMBO scallop, and there's also grilled scallop (which I didn't order as there was too much food already). All scallop varities were super super yummy. If only Itamae was next to my house in Sydney...

The Jumbo Scallops were quite a bit larger than the normal ones - but both were deliciousness.

Then there are hand-rolls. As I had lunch before I went to this sushi train, we just ordered the eel hand-roll for my partner. No complaints there.

Now for some different sushi. Below is a photo of the mango with tropical prawn roll. I like mango and I like prawns... but the combination of the two with a strong wasabi flavour... hmm... interesting is the only word I can use to describe it.

There was also the lobster salad boat. Again, this was just average.

Below is a grilled cheese with prawn roll. The grilled cheese rolls I've had in Sydney taste really awesome - but this cheese tasted a bit like artificial craft singles (which really don't melt).

The crab and roe salad was super cheap (HK$18) for a huge bowl. My partner and I make this salad at home quite oft, and I have to say - mine tastes better. However, the cost of my salad does cost more than AUS$3.

By this time, my partner and I were both completely stuffed and ready to leave when one other plate (that I ordered and conveniently forgot about) came. Although this salmon and salmon roe sushi looked very apetising, I still could not fit it in my stomach - and hence, my partner had them both~ and no complaints there.

Most sushi plates at Itamae cost around HK$20 - which is around AUS$3-4. For the degree of yumminess of the sushis - it's definately worth the cost (espeically the scallops!!!).

At times when the sushi-train lines are TOO huge, there is always the opportunity to buy sushi and sashimi (and oysters and super marbled beef) at any local supermarket in HK. On one occation, I couldn't resist but to buy this salmon sashimi. And it was soooooo super super unexpectedly good.

On other occations, jap cravings may guide us to Japanese restaurants. On one such occation, we went to Kyou (in Causeway Bay).

There were set dinners for HK$89. The one we ordered comprised of Spicy Salmon Head noodle soup, 3 pieces of sashimi and 3 pieces of sushi. Very good deal seeing that the noodle and soup serving was quite substantial.

Of most interestingness was the sushi at this place. There was the "Don't know how to roll" sushi - which was a very badly rolled sushi. Badly rolled yet tasted amazing! The sushi was made up of spicy salmon salad, raw scallop, and raw prawns. mmm... yum.

So what happens after you "dont know how to roll"? You "know how to roll". We didn't order this as the photo of it didn't look too nice. So we ordered the next one down the line, the "cross roll". This is a bad translation. If I were to translate the chinese of this item, it would be "bad roll".


It really wasn't that bad either! Softshell crab with avacado. It was OK nice.

After the bad roll, it must be a good roll - or on the menu, it's an "OK roll". It does look the best out of the three rolls. However, taste-wise, it was just average. Just tempura prawns with salmon.

So, that's all for Japanese in HK for now. I think that Jap in HK is not any worse than Jap in Syd... just a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot more available :)

Adriano Zumbo Cafe - Balmain

I've heard many ravingly good reviews about Adriano Zumbo chocolate cafe so when my partner finally succumbed to my months of nagging him about coming here, I was super excited - even though I was thoroughly full from lunch.

Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Cafe

We ordered "the Younger Years" to share -which comprises of a warm chocolate fondant with peanut butter icecream and a raspberry and vanilla injection ($13.50) to share, and my partner opted for a cappaccino.

One of the first things I found interesting was the fork we were supplied with. I've never seen a fork that this before - and, when it comes to utility - it seems to be designed for the fondant~ the sharp bit breaks the crunchy fondant outside, and the spoony bit allows you to scoop the runny insides and the icecream. Ingenious!

Wierd-looking but handy fork

My partner's capp came first. When I asked him how it was, he described it with one word - 'crap'. Unconvinced, I had to try some for myself. Probably compared to Melbourne coffee, this was 'crap', but for Sydney standards, it could best be described as average.

Cappaccino

When 'the younger years' came out - the waitress did the "injection" (syringe-filled vanilla goodness minus the raspberry as I dislike that fruit) before I could so much utter a word. So - no photo's of syringe nor of me injecting myself with vanilla LOL.

The warm chocolate fondant smelt sooooooooo nice! Sweet sweet aromas :) And the taste - deliciousness! This beats the chocolate cake at Guylian anyday!

The peanut icecream was also surprisingly good - much more peanutty compared to the peanut icecream at Cold Rock Icecreamery. Bottomed with peanut and strawberry (also again because I'm not a raspberry fan), it was a very delicious concoction. The outside of the fondant was crunchy - the inside was soft, almost gooey, mixed with ice cold icecream and all smothered with crushed peanut ... mmm.... I could have this everyday!

The Younger Years - $13.50

Overall, the chocolatey goodness from Zumbo beats the Guylian anyday! Cheaper, yummier, more uniquely presented :) Next time - I'm all for the deliciousness-looking cookies and chocolate!

Ratings:
Food - 9/10 (minus 1 for the capp)
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 32/40

Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Cafe
5/308 Darling Street
Balmain (inside Balmain mall)
NSW, 2041