Yum Cha - Tao Heung and Maxim's Palace

One of the lifestyle habits in Hong Kong is to have morning tea (yum cha).

It is easy to get the dim sum from the tea restaurants. One of the restaurant frequented by the locals is Dao Xiang. They have at least 8 to 10 restaurants. Went to the one at TST from a local's recommendation.

Ah.. The hustle and bustle of the dim sum restaurants is a factor you love or hate at once. The range of dim sum was wide and you can just keep ordering.

Someone told us a tip about the steamboat practice for this restaurant. You get to enjoy 50% discount if you come after 9pm.

Maxim Palace is slightly more upscale as it is on Hong Kong Island.

The roasted meat is really tender and juicy. It simply melts in the mouth.

The carrot cake is rather different from the ones in Singapore. They are steeped in sauce.

We also ordered many other items:

As it is near the business district, the restaurant is rather packed. Maybe good to head to restaurant earlier to avoid the queues.

稻香集團 Tao Heung

尖沙咀加拿芬道20號加拿芬廣場3樓

Website: http://www.taoheung.com.hk/

美心皇宫 Maxim's Palace

香港中區大會堂低座2樓

Website: http://www.maxims.com.hk/

Tao Heung - Steamboat in Hong Kong

Tao Heung is a chain of Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong serving dim sum in the morning and steamboat in the evening. What's a thrill is that steamboat is at 50% discount after 9pm.

Making a reservation is crucial to ensure a table. The restaurant was packed to the brim even though it's way past 9pm.
The variety to choose from is rather rich. Half the time we were not quite sure what we were ordering. One of the errors made was in ordering this gigantic fish head. Help! How do we finish that?

The quality of the food is rather high. The prawns were still fidgeting when they were released into the hotpot. Oh what freshness is this.

The rice vermicelli bundle is tasty and delightful: 

Even though we were full, we parked space for desserts! A must try is the mango pomelo dessert.

I recommended this restaurant to a colleague who also visited HK. She was so pleased with the recommendation and suggested that the others should check it out too!


稻香集團 Tao Heung
尖沙咀加拿芬道20號加拿芬廣場3樓
Website: http://www.taoheung.com.hk

Hung Kee Seafood Restaurant (洪记海鲜酒家) - Sai Kung

If you are on a seafood hunt in Hong Kong,you cant miss out on Sai Kung. There are so many seafood restaurants at a stretch. It can be rather overwhelming for a new comer. There are waitresses trying to entice you to settle for a meal in the restaurants they work in. They are also busy distributing leaflets with info about the  set meals.

We eventually gave in to Hung Kee Seafood Restaurant when we saw the mega tanks of live seafood!

In our poor Cantonese,we tried to order and gesture at the seafood we are keen to get. The order would all go into a pail and straight to the kitchen.

It was an endless line up of fresh seafood!The favorite dish has to be the lobster. Slurp. Little did we know that it goes well with cheese.

The scallops were also of high caliber. And it is not expensive at all. We could not resist a second helping.

The fish was of absolute freshness. Hardly taste that extent of freshness in some of the local seafood chains.

We were also taught that the set meals are relatively cheaper for the ingredients may not be optimal. What an unexpected lesson it was!
Although there were negative reviews about this restaurant when we were doing our research, it turned out to be better than expected. If I were to return, I'm likely to check this place out again.

Hung Kee Seafood Restaurant (洪记海鲜酒家)
Shop 6 & 9-10, G/F,
Siu Yat Building,
Sai Kung Hoi Pong Square
Tel: 2792 1348

Margarita's - Mexican at Dempsey Hill

One way to kill Monday blues is to have a fabulous dinner with a brunch of good friends!

We did so by popping by Margarita's at Dempsey Hill. Felt a little apprehensive as the online reviews were not fantastic. It turned out to be a pleasant meal!

The vegetarian nachos started us on the Mexican fare. Probably good if you are a nachos fan.

I like the appetizer better - it's a slight wrap with warm cheese and mushroom. The combi is just delightful.

After which, I started to feel that maybe the online reviews were subjective.

The main dishes were served about twenty minutes later. As it was a large group, we were able to order a variety of main dishes:

Desserts were rather mediocre. They are good to have if you are already eating in the restaurant. Mind you,the tiramisu was HUGE!

If I were to be in Dempsey in the near future, I may try the food again. Perhaps it is not bad an idea to try the other Margarita's outlets.


Margarita's
Blk 11 Dempsey Road 
#01-19 Tanglin Village (Dempsey Road)
Tel: 65 6471 3228

Hong Kong Tea Restaurants (Cha Can Ting) - Tsui Wah, Macau Cafe and Casa!

Hong Kong is analogous with tea restaurants. You could even find a few of them along the same street! Bread/toast, milk tea, red bean desserts, noodles, dim sum are the staples in most tea restaurants.

It has been a year since I visited! The top 3 cha chan ting I enjoy eating at are Tsui Wah, Macau Cafe and Casa. 

Tsui Wah
Someone at the hotel recommended Tsui Wah. Was told that Tsui Wah is one of the most famous chains in HK! Even celebrities patron the chain. Went to the one at YMT area as it was nearest to our hotel.

The person was right! The food was of substantial standard. The braised wings are so good that I wish I could have another round.

The pineapple bun was another cheer. The threesome just kept ordering.. And the table is packed in no time.

Macau Cafe
Macau cafe is another cafe that is pretty decent. An ideal place for breakfast. The pork bun is a must try though the ones in Macau are really unbeatable. 

I'm not a fan of milk tea but it surely looks good.

Casa
Casa is another cafe to our liking. It is located at the ground level of Casa Hotel at YMT. My brother bought supper back the night my sis was unwell. 

It was so satisfying that we decide to pop over for breakfast the next morning. Although it is the usual Western fare, it was just very tasty. Yumz.

I so want to go to Hong Kong again!

Tsui Wah
15-19 Wellington Street, Central

Macau Cafe
25-27 Lock Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsimshatsui MTR Exit A1

Casa
487-489 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei