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

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