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Hong Kong: Dim Dim Sum

Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | 7:00 pm | 0 comments

Found this gem of a dim sum shop just 10 steps down from where my hotel is, so this is our last meal before we depart for the airport.

CLAYPOT CHICKEN & MUSHROOM RICE (25 HKD)

花菇滑鸡饭

This strangely reminded me of our chicken rice, but better.

If I didn't have other dishes, I could finish this bowl bowl of rice.

The chicken was tender, and the mushroom had an extremely fragrant smell to it. Pair it with the rice and chicken, and you wouldn't be able to stop eating it.

SHRIMP DUMPLINGS [HAR KAU] (23HKD)

晶莹鲜虾饺

These har kau are quite different from the Tim Ho Wan's version, but nevertheless, they were good. I like that it's huge, the prawn inside was really fresh and had that meaty juicy bite to it.

PORK & SHRIMP DUMPLING [SIEW MAI] (24 HKD)

蟹子烧卖皇

Siew Mai is a pretty standard dish at any dim sum restaurant and this place did it well.

Meaty, juicy and the tiny fish roe lookalike added a burst of texture as well.

TRUFFLE XIAO LONG BAO (22 HKD)

黑松露小笼包

This was a mehhhh.

MEHHH.

Don't bother ordering this, I have extremely high standards when it comes to xiao long bao.

Not even Din Tai Fung, the king of xiao long baos can beat the streetside ones I had in China.

This one doesn't even come close.

PINEAPPLE BUN [PO LO BUN] (13 HKD)

真丝菠萝包

This is my first time having pineapple bun and this one is pretty good.
I like that the top part is crusty and mildly sweet, opening up the inside was quite a surprise too because there were pineapple paste and pineapple chunks hidden within.

PIGGY SALTED EGG & CUSTARD BUN (23 HKD)
金沙肥猪仔

Hello custard bun! This is their signature dish and I really enjoy the salty sweet paste hidden in the pig. Unfortunately, it doesn't flow and that was quite a disappointment. The bao was also too thick so I just ate all the insides haha. You got to admit the pig design is rather eye-catching though.

DEEP FRIED WASABI DUMPLING (13 HKD)
芥末咸水角

This is a vegetarian dish, there's some kind of a sticky paste inside that's flavoured with wasabi, the outer layer is deep-fried but the skin seemed to be made of glutinous flour as the texture was quite mochi-like.

CRISPY SHRIMP RICE NOODLE ROLL [CHEE CHEONG FAN] (23 HKD)
脆皮鲜虾肠

This has got to be my favourite dish out of everything. The rice roll is thin and q, and there's a thin layer of crispy vermicelli inside (I think so because the uncle explained in Cantonese but I know nuts about the dialect haha) and then you get to the very bouncy juicy shrimp inside. Damn this is one creative chee cheong fan, so many layers of texture and flavour, definitely one of the highlights of my eating trip.

In a Nutshell

Verdict: 4/5

Price Point: $$

Thumbs Up: The chee cheong fan was soooo good.
To Improve: Focus on what they do best, creative dim sum dishes.

Will I return: Yes yes yes!

Why: The service is warm and sincere, the food is amazingly good and it satisfies all your cravings for some good old dim sum.

DimDimSum Dim Sum Specialty Store (Wan Chai)

7 Tin Lok Lane, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, China (Wan Chai)

Labels: dream-oracle.blogspot.com, Feb2015, Lifestyle, SgBlog, Singapore, Travel

Hong Kong: Tim Ho Wan @ Central MTR

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 | 6:30 pm | 0 comments

Tim Ho Wan is a name many Singaporeans are familiar with. With various branches opening up in Singapore, we can satisfy your craving anytime without flying to Hong Kong. Yet many of us are still joining the crazy mad queues in Hong Kong for this, for two very simple reasons.

It's delicious and it's insanely cheap.

Baked Char Siew Bun

The signature dish.

This is 10x better than the one we had in Singapore. Partly contributed by the fact it's also extremely cheap. I like the crispy outer layer and the salty-sweet balance of char siew inside. The Singapore version tends to be a little on the sweet side, but this version here in Hong Kong is more balanced.

Black Bean Steamed Pork Ribs

Hello pork ribs! This was juicy, tender and delicious.

Carrot Cake

This is another of my favourite dish here at Tim Ho Wan. I like that the carrot cake is slightly charred so there's a crispy contrast to the softness inside. Very flavourful, more so if you pair it with their chili sauce. That chilli sauce is the bomb man, it elevated the taste of the carrot cake to this point-of-no-return level. No other dim sun style carrot cake can ever beat this now.

Shrimp Dunplings {Har Kau}

I always order har kau at a dim sum place, it's my benchmark test for any dim sum restaurant. If you can do the har kau well, you can do the rest of the dishes well. This did not disappoint, the skin and shrimp didn't fall apart (yay!) and the shrimp was huge. Huge and crunchy. I'm in dim sum heaven.

Shrimp Rice Roll {Chee Cheong Fan}

The rice roll is thin and the shrimps are fat and juicy! Not a fan of the sauce, not sure if it's cause we poured the wrong sauce hmm..

Shrimp Wonton & Black Fungus Soup

This was just so-so, nothing extremely special to shout about.

In a Nutshell

Verdict: 4/5

Price Point: $$

Thumbs Up: Baked buns & carrot cake!
To Improve: Bigger shop, it was so packed!

Will I return: Yes!

Why: The food is satisfyingly good, next time I'll head to their main branch!

Tim Ho Wan

添好運點心專門店

Labels: dream-oracle.blogspot.com, Feb2015, Food, Lifestyle, SgBlog, Singapore, Travel

Hong Kong: Australian Dairy Farm

Thursday, February 12, 2015 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

I so badly wanted to say this place didn't live up to the hype but....
I really can't because the breakfast food is really quite spectacular.

The snaking queue went past a couple more shops but the queue moves at a pretty fast pace.
Seeing as it's a cha chan teng place so people usually wouldn't linger (not that I would want to either), you can get in pretty quickly even with this ridiculous queue. Tip: If you don't go in big groups, you can get a seat much faster.

We ordered a couple of their star items to try, and I must say I really dislike their menu.
No pictures one, and they all have funny Chinese names that...don't quite translate to what I think it should translate to. It was such a tedious procedure, just ordering the food. Another thing is, this place is just..so damn rude. Oh dear why do I keep saying that?! Rudeness seems to be a recurring theme in my HK experience, and that is just plain sad.

Tip: Simply use English to tell them what you want. Not sure what the menu is referring to? Point to other's orders haha and tell them in English you want that. Don't bother trying to decipher that menu. They are also nicer to you when you speak English because they assume you're a PRC if you speak Mandarin to them. You think they would be able to differentiate a PRC accent to other Chinese accents, but no. Geez. So, moral of the story, speak English. Your life will be better.

This is their signature French Toast, looks unassuming but it was sooooo good!
Crispy on the outside and gooey soft on the inside, drench it in syrup and you have yourself a heartstopping breakfast.

HK milk tea was too milky for my liking. I kept putting sugar in but it just wasn't sweet enough, maybe the milk overpowered the sugar.

This is their star dish, scrambled eggs.

I know, it just looks like a yellow mess.

But this, this is the bomb man.

This is the scrambled eggs of all eggs.

This plate of eggs makes you want to dig in and finish all of it by yourself then order a second serving. It's just that good.

I don't know what they added to it or how they cooked this, but this is hands down the best plate of scrambled eggs I've ever tasted.

In a Nutshell

Verdict: 4/5

Price Point: $$

Thumbs Up: THAT SCRAMBLED EGG!
To Improve: I don't expect customer service at a cha chan teng but..how bout some basic manners?

Will I return: Maybe

Why: The food is pretty good but I dislike having my morning ruined by bad manners...

Australian Dairy Farm

47-49 Parkes Street

Exit C2 of Jordan MTR

Labels: dream-oracle.blogspot.com, Feb2015, SgBlog, Singapore, Travel

Ramen Friday: 5 Ramen Places in a Month

Thursday, February 05, 2015 | 7:30 pm | 0 comments

Ramen Friday began when the management decided that there will be extra unnecessary meetings and activities every Friday afternoon so that everyone will be unable to complete their tasks asap and go home early to rest. Dinner time has already rolled by after said meetings ended (mehhh), and ramen is the one food we crave to sooth our hungry tummies and our overworked souls.

First stop: Chabuton @ Star Vista

The broth is one of the lightest I've tasted and it could easily be one of my favourites but the soup wasn't piping hot. Don't get me wrong, it's not lukewarm but the whole point of a good bowl of ramen is that the soup stays warm til the very last drop. This turned cold pretty quickly so that was a disappointment. The one thing I loved is that they offer half portions on the menu, perfect for small eaters!

Chabuton

#01-41 Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617

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Second stop: Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Orchid Hotel

This was a wow moment when I first tasted the soup.

Definitely a good start.

The broth tastes very clean and rich, distinctly a pork bone broth flavour.

It was extremely umami and packed full of flavours. The only downside was the soup is more on the salty side, so if you like your ramen broth light, you probably wouldn't like this too much.

Keisuke Tonkatsu King

1 Tras Link, #01-19 Orchid Hotel, Singapore

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Third stop: Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square

I love the slight spicy and super umami broth, it was thick and piping hot. The addition of stir-fried pork to the ramen was a stroke of genius. It added a certain smokey sweetness to the soup and created this very distinctive flavour.

The only downside was the soup was way too heavy so about 1/4 through the bowl, I was already feeling quite jelat so I just ate the noodles and left the soup alone.

But if you're not a light eater like me, you'll definitely love this bowl of ramen. Order the spicy black, the fragrant garlic oil is something not to be missed.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

60 Paya Lebar Road, Paya Lebar Square #01-04

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Fourth stop: Ramen Keisuke Tori King @ Amara Hotel

Oh this is by far one of my favourite places to have ramen.

Love the atmosphere best (Japanese waitresses are awesome hosts and very smiley!) and the ramen oh the ramen, is unforgettable!

Every bowl of ramen here comes with a giant chicken drumstick reminiscent of the drumsticks that come with your Indonesian grilled drumstick rice. The meat was so tender I could easily tear it apart just using my chopsticks. Love the free flow beansprouts and the broth is soooooo deliciously good.

Don't try to finish all the broth if you don't want to end up feeling too jelat, it can get a little too heavy towards the end. But all in all, a very delicious bowl of ramen that is worth revisting.

Ramen Keisuke Tori King

Amara Hotel #03-15, 100 Tras Street

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Fifth stop: Ramen KeisukeTonkotsu King Four Seasons @ Bugis Village

I can't believe it but this branch of Keisuke did not impress. My dining partner agrees.

Not that the food wasn't good, but it just wasn't as good. It can't compare to the other Keisuke branches and it didn't have that "OOMPH!!" feeling that I get at the other outlets.

Every bowl of ramen should have that "OOMPH!" factor the minute you take in the first mouthful of soup. That is the deciding factor whether a bowl of ramen is worth finishing.

Even though it wasn't as good, I have to say this Autumn bowl of ramen with 3 types of fried mixed mushrooms mixed in is pretty refreshing. The broth is not as heavy (the flavour was also not particularly complex and lacked some depth), considerably lighter and easy on the stomach so feel free to slurp it all up. My dining partner ordered the King ramen but the soup wasn't piping hot, what a disappointment. The staff reheated it in a microwave again upon request but I expected more from Keisuke.

Having said that, I probably wouldn't return again. Definitely not on my to-return list.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons

158 Rochor Road Bugis Village

In a Nutshell