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

Saboten - Tonkatsu Delight at Parco Marina

Among the slew of Japanese restaurants in Parco Marina, Saboten is one with relatively long queues. It is just beside the Italian restaurant Tavolo.

Was there on a Saturday evening at 730pm thereabout. I was rather taken aback that we had to queue for almost 30 minutes. I even asked my friend if we should continue in the queue.

Eventually, we pulled through the waiting period. I like the care they put into serving the food. Items are piping hot or well chilled as they should be.

As we await the food, we are served hot green tea. The tea is different from the conventional green tea served in some restaurants. It smells and tastes as though it's been roasted. 

There was also a free flow of finely cut cabbage. It was definitely fresh! 

There were also 2 types of sauce to go with the cabbage. If you are more adventurous, you could try the sesame sauce. If you like something more appetizing, go for the the vinegar based sauce. 

The miso soup was also delightful. It is not as salty and you could definitely have more than one round.

You find all types (salmon,pork loins, prawns etc) of Tonkatsu in this restaurant. Set meals start from twenty onwards. Each of us ordered a different set:

This may not be a place you may frequent regularly due to the fried food. But if you are craving for quality fried food, head down to Parco Marina!

Saboten
9 Raffles Boulevard #P3-01
Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk
Tel: 65 6333 3432

Tavolo (closed) - Italian restaurant at new Parco Marina Bay

Celebrated a friend's birthday at an Italian restaurant at Parco Marina - Tavolo. Seem to have acquired a liking for Italian food of the late.

Tavolo boast of an open concept with a simple and stylish set up. Located on the third level, it is just right beside Saboten. 

We were in good stead for treats. Firstly we just need to top up SGD5 for coffee and dessert to the ala carte order. A dessert was in the range of SGD 10.00. Furthermore you get to enjoy 10% off ala carte items with Citi Bank credit cards. Woo hoo!

The soup of the day is pumpkin soup (SGD9).The finely mashed up pumpkin blended very well with slices of cheese. What a unique combi. 

We ordered several main dishes. The most special dish is Pappardelle with Rabbit meat sauce (SGD26).

The home made pasta was delectable. I'm not a pasta person but I actually find that I like to eat more of it. I was really surprised on knowing that it's rabbit meat sauce. To the extent that I looked traumatized.

We also had slightly more down to earth dishes:

-Pork Cutlet (SGD26) that was so thin and tasty.

-Salmon (SGD29) with mustard sauce. The pepper bits added enhanced the entire dish.

One of the first desserts we tried was the tiramisu (SGD10).

Other than tiramisu,the desserts were not conventional at all. Zuccotto Di Ricotta (SGD10) - It is a sponge cake made up of cheese,almond nuts. There is a slight lingering taste of cinnamon. The cheese is quite light as well.

Chocolate Sausage (SGD10): This is chocolate made in the form of sausages. The whole "sausage" was just nice and not too sweet. There were also almond flakes and biscuits in the chocolate. I like it how it's not too sweet.

Am likely to return to this place!

Tavolo
Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk
9 Raffles Boulevard #03-07

Food For Thought - Good place to chill

Have been wanting to head to Food for Thought. Wanted to go on a Sun previously but it was fully booked.

Decided to make advanced reservation for dinner on a Tues evening. It is a cosy setup located at 8 Queen Street. The other outlet is located at 420 North Bridge Road. I find it an ideal size suitable for small and large group gatherings. I like it how it is not rowdy like the typical restaurants or cafes. 

Found the menu to be a little limiting. We have also missed the timing for the much raved about pancakes.

We thought we would do with some appetizers and 3 main dishes. We were taken by surprise when they serve the appetizers along with the main. We were a little clueless as to what to start on. If we do either soup or main, the other may not as warm. Hope they would improve on this in the future.

The food served was rather average to speak:  

Clam chowder (SGD6) - The soup of the day was huge! It was a relief that we did not order one each. 

Broccoli Tofu Salad (SGD9) - Nothing much to mention about this dish. Just that it sounds healthy. Heh. 

Chicken Linguine (SGD14)

Seafood Risotto (SGD18.00)

Crispy chicken (SGD18) left an impression for it was really huge. Essentially it just a spicy chicken cutlet.

The hot chocolate drink (SGD5) was brilliant. As you drink it, you get to taste the richness of dark chocolate. It's a must for choco lovers!

The other bit we love is the butterscotch apple and cherries crumble (SGD10). The crumble was freshly baked and it went very well with the apple chunks. The dessert was strewn with berries but we found it a lil too sour. 

The only qualm was the seating arrangement. Though our booking was for 3 pax, we were given a 2 seater table and an additional chair. However they arranged a 4 seater for two other diners who were apparently walk ins.

This maybe a better place for desserts or drinks as compared to the conventional meals.

If you intend to visit, it is best to make a reservation.  :)

Food For Thought

8 Queen Street

Tel: 65 6338 9887

Wesite: http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/Food_For_Thought.html

The Oasis - Taiwanese porridge

Most people might have visited The Oasis when it's at Kallang. Its been relocated to a park opposite HDB hub/bus interchange. Taiwanese porridge is the anchor of the restaurant.

With a group of six others,we decided to check it out on a Saturday evening. I didn't expect that it would be that packed especially when it was about 8pm. 

 

It's especially a good day for some hot porridge. The porridge is littered with pieces of sweet potatoes.

 

We also ordered some of the famous dishes. The following are almost standard dishes seen on most tables:

Diners get to enjoy 10% discount with Standard Chartered/UOB credit cards.

The Oasis

303 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh

Tel: 6346 4418

Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant - Fine Dim Sum

The hidden gem at Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel is none other than Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant. The dim sum was a delight and pleasant treat for the palate. 

My family arrived shortly after eleven. We were the first patrons in the restaurant. It was a bliss as compared to the environment in most Chinese dim sum restaurants on a Sunday morning.The deco and ambience was simplistic yet classic at the same time. 

We’ve a variety of dim sum and most are slightly above average. It is really the taste and freshness of the food items that keeps us wanting more! My favourites are the beancurd skin, char siew pastry tarts and the sweet xiao long baos! 

One of the highlights was the Beijing Duck. A whole duck would cost SGD60 while a half would cost SGD32. Although it looked small, but the texture of the skin was just optimal! Coupled with the skin and sweet sauce, how could anyone give it a miss? It was not just the experience of eating the skin. The meat (served as a dish and together with ee fu noodles) was smashing too! So you could safely assume that there were no left overs. 

How could we miss out on desserts! Most of the desserts are in the range of SGD8. The most commendable dessert is probably the yam paste with corn. It is actually bo bo cha cha. 

Ready to give it a try?

Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant

50 East Coast Road 2F

Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel

Tel: 65 6340 5678

Soon Heng Rojak at Gourmet Paradise - Rojak with perpetual queues

If you're looking for rojak at Toa Payoh area, you got to head to Gourmet Paradise at Toa Payoh Hub. There is a store with perpetual queues. It's none other than Soon Heng Rojak! One has to wait for 20 to 30 minutes to get their craving satisfied! 

Why is it so popular? I can think of 3 reasons:

• Usage of fresh ingredients
• Generous serving of good quality peanuts
• Tasty paste

Have you tried other nice tasting rojaks? Feel free to suggest!

Soon Heng Rojak

Gourmet Paradise Food Court

480 Lor 6 Toa Payoh #B1-23

HDB Hub Toa Payoh