Excellent Dessert @ Honeymoon Dessert 满记甜品, Langham Place on Day2 – 21Feb2017

greentea parfait @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

greentea parfait @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

after a great claypot rice dinner at chuen moon kee 銓满记 , there was a light drizzle, so we walked over to langham place looking for dessert.

we found honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 at level 4 of langham place. we were able to secure a seat for 4pax right away. when we were leaving there was a short queue at the front desk.

i was tired of the chinese dessert so ordered a green tea parfait. i guess this place a bit of a modern dessert place, not to talk about fusion.

the parfait was very good, not that it was better than say the mango sago 杨枝甘露 @ lucky dessert 发记甜品 at 2 prat street, tsimshatsui, which was also very good. it was just good, and different.

it was not quite in the league of a good japanese parfait like at-

  1. sun with moon, or at
  2. shokudo cineleisure.

still the fruits were refreshing. the green tea ice cream was good standard & so was the green tea jelly.

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 @ langham place

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 @ langham place

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 @ langham place was quite well taken up.

langham place at mongkok

langham place at mongkok

very nice atrium design at langham place.

langham place at mongkok

langham place at mongkok

impressive!

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

we ordered a green tea & durian ice cream dessert for our durian king friend.

greentea & durian ice creams @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

greentea & durian ice creams @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

i tried the durian ice cream. it was delicious! & the ice shavings & coconut was great.

mango sago @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

mango sago @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

another friend ordered the mango sago with cheng chow black jelly.

sago with palm fruit 海底椰西米露@ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

sago with palm fruit 海底椰西米露@ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

the sago with palm fruit 海底椰西米露 was good too.

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 @ langham place

honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 @ langham place

for me, i would rate this place as the best dessert stall i been to in this hong kong eat 7 hike trip.

c.h.e.f andy

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Nice HK$480 Set Dinner for 4pax @ Chuen Moon Kee 銓满记 on Day2 – 21Feb2017

garlic steamed abalones & prawns - HK$480 set dinner at chuen mun kee 銓满记

garlic steamed abalones & prawns – HK$480 set dinner at chuen moon kee 銓满记

a friend mentioned in the morning that how about trying the claypot rice in hong kong?

i googled and found this place chuen moon kee 銓满记 at mongkok which is near to our hotel.

so after returning from cheung chau to central ferry, we walked back the way through IFC Mall & mid-level travelators back to central mtr station, and took the mtr to mongkok station. it was quite easy to locate chuen moon kee 銓满记.

HK$480 set dinner at chuen mun kee 銓满记

HK$480 set dinner at chuen moon kee 銓满记

the experienced server pushed the set dinner to us.

he was very skilled, social guy, pushy to get the orders but courteous & responsive, not abusive. very professional service.

i was not particularly keen on set menu, as the objective was to try the hong kong claypot claypot rice 锅仔饭, so i would prefer ala carte. anyhow the server conceded that the HK$480 2pax set menu was good enough for 4pax, and it already included one claypot rice & the 例汤 soup of the day.

chuen mun kee 銓满记

chuen moon kee 銓满记

chuen mun kee 銓满记

chuen moon kee 銓满记

chuen moon kee 銓满记 quite popular, most tables taken up at 7pm.

spicy shells @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

spicy shells @ chuen moon kee 銓满记 

the mala 麻辣preparation for the 螺spicy shells was very good.

i don’t particularly like the taste of these shells, so the mala flavour actually did wonders to the dish, which would otherwise be “siap siap” ie a bit bitter after taste.

soup 例汤 @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

soup 例汤 @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

dinner started with the 例汤 soup of the day.

soup 例汤 @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

soup 例汤 @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

some meat & pim & pumpkin & radish.

soup was tasty enough, none too great…

roast pigeon @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

roast pigeon @ chuen moon kee 銓满记 the set came with roast pigen.

the roast pigeon was good!

but in hong kong where roast goose is so good, so flavourful, roast pigeon always feels like a waste of time for me. 🙂

1 in thick fish cakes @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

1 in thick fish cakes @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

the server emphasized the 1 in thick fish cakes.

didn’t think it was any special, basically like the fish cake selling at street vendors.

1 in thick fish cakes @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

1 in thick fish cakes @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

it was very good though very tasty.

fried mixed greens

fried mixed greens

& the fried mixed greens were very good too.

fried mixed greens

fried mixed greens

vegetables always fresh & good in hong kong. this was simple dish but well done.

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

& we could chose 1 claypot rice for the set.

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

we picked the 腊味饭.

the pork & liver sausages were really nice.

& the rice was fragrant, separate grains, fragrant & cooked just right.

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen moon kee 銓满记

& not to forget the garlic steamed abalones & prawns (top photo).

it was very good. fried garlic sauce really well done & flavourful. prawns were great with the garlic sauce. abalones were large. a bit like the australian green lip fresh abalones. never quite as good as dry abalones braised in brown sauce, but very well done as it is for fresh abalones.

so every dish was good really. i would count the soup as the dish that was below par by comparison to the other great dishes.

so the set dinner was actually pretty good. only thing for me is we didn’t get to try the different claypot rice, like they have the unagi rice 白鳝锅仔饭 & a host of others like chicken, roast duck etc.

i will definitely come back here to try more of these claypot rice dishes. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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Chuen Moon Kee 銓满记

Very Nice & Cheap Dessert at Cheung Chau on Day2 – 21Feb2017

fruit sago - cheap & nice dessert at cheung chau

fruit sago – cheap & nice dessert at cheung chau

my friends didn’t feel like walking around cheung chau island, so we just strolled the streets & looked at the stalls & vendors.

towards the end, before leaving by ferry, we found a nice dessert stall that looks good, and was indeed very good & cheap. can’t recall the name of the shop though.

we ordered a fruit cocktail sago with coconut milk recommended by the proprietress. it was very good . i think about HK$23 or something.

barley ginkyo nuts with tao huay

barley ginkyo nuts with tao huay 

the barley ginkyo nuts with tao huay  was good too.

black sesame paste with mochi 黑芝麻汤圆

black sesame paste with mochi 黑芝麻汤圆

the black sesame paste 黑芝麻糊 was good, competent not superb. it came with the added extras of mochi 汤圆.

dried orange peel red bean soup 陈皮红豆汤

dried orange peel red bean soup 陈皮红豆汤 

the dried orange peel red bean soup 陈皮红豆汤  was also good.

certainly it looked as good as the one at lucky dessert 发记甜品 at 2 prat street, tsimshatsui last evening.

fruit sago - cheap & nice dessert at cheung chau

fruit sago – cheap & nice dessert at cheung chau 

all the other 3 desserts were like HK$18, so the 4 dessert were like HK$77 or thereabout, and it was a very enjoyable experience even c/w lucky dessert 发记甜品 which cost like between 2x and 2.5x.

c.h.e.f andy

The Best! – Shiok Congee & Braises @ 振记粥面店, Cheung Chau Market Stall on Day2 – 21Feb2017

pig innards congee 状元及第粥 @ cheung chau market stall

pig innards congee 状元及第粥 @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall

coming out cheung chau pier, we turned right & walked towards the market, taking in the street stalls & atmosphere.

it’s about 3.10pm after 55mins on the 2.15pm slow ferry from central ferry. many of the congee stalls on the side facing the water were closed.

振记粥面店, the nearest as we walked towards the market stalls, was opened. they sell braises (intestines, wings, gizzard, pig ears etc) & congee.

my friend ordered the pig innards congee 状元及第粥 @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall.

it was very good, choke-full of ingredients, and the congee was smooth and sweet! ^^

small intestines pig stomach congee 粉肠滑肚粥 @ cheung chau market stall

small intestines pig stomach congee 粉肠滑肚粥 @ cheung chau market stall

he also ordered the small intestines pig stomach congee 粉肠滑肚粥.

this was excellent too! the small intestines 粉肠 were very good. the pig stomach滑肚 was very tender, just as it should be…& NOT the very poor ones at the not so good 极之好粥面家 we had earlier this morning.

i count the congee here as among the best.

braised items @ cheung chau market stall

braised items @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall

the braises were delicious too! ^^

braised items @ cheung chau market stall

braised items @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall

my friend ordered pig’s ears, big intestines, wings, pig’s skin & goose gizzard.

braised items @ cheung chau market stall

braised items @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall

the braise was very tasty.

i must try to do this at home. this the typically teochew lighter colour braise, and yet it was very flavourful, nice sweet braise. quite perfect. (currently i used tai hua braising sauce, which is a dark colour & stronger braise).

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

振记粥面店

Address:

Cheung Chau cooked food market

Hong Kong Tai Cheong Egg Tarts @ Tai Cheong Bakery 泰昌饼家on Day2 – 21Feb2017

tai cheung egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞

tai cheong egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞

after a nice beef brisket noodles treat at 联记面家, we had some nice kungfu tea 功夫茶 at our hotel room.

we were intending to take the fast ferry at 2.45pm to cheong chau. anyhow we decided to go earlier to central, so we took a walk along the mid-level travellators.

tai cheung pastry 泰昌饼家

tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家

one of our first visiting place was tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 at lyndhurst terrace.

this the original shop set up in 1954. chris patten, the former hong kong governor, is a fan – famously proclaimed as his best egg tart ever. it is part of the tao heung group.

& of course tai cheong bakery has set up shop in singapore, with its first restaurant at hollandv recently.

tai cheung pastry 泰昌饼家

tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家

my daughter bought some recently from the hollandv outlet, and it was very good really. the pastry was crumbly & tasted good, and the custard was not too sweet.

tai cheung egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞 bean curd drink

tai cheong egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞 bean curd drink

my friend bought some bean curd drinks also. that i think was not good, dilute & sweet.

tai cheung egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞

tai cheong egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞

the egg tarts 泰昌蛋挞 itself? quite good, quite consistent in quality, taste.

mak's noodles

mak’s noodles

mak's noodles

mak’s noodles

mak's noodles

mak’s noodles

after that we walked along & came by mak’s noodles.

we were full so did not want to try.

stanley street daipaidong 大排档

stanley street daipaidong 大排档

stanley street daipaidong 大排档

stanley street daipaidong 大排档

then we psssed by the few daipaidong 大排档  at stanley street. don’t think will have opportunity to come by & try for this trip. anyway not a must do thing for me.

we followed the mid-level travellators towards IFC, and walked along the IFC Mall till the sign shows “to all ferries” & walked to the central ferry terminal 5 to catch the ferry to cheung chau island.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Good Beef Brisket Noodles @ Lin Kee 联记面家 on Day2 – 21Feb2017

beef brisket cum tendons noodles 牛腩牛根面 HK$28

beef brisket cum tendons noodles 牛腩牛根面 HK$28 

so 3 of us had our first breakfast at the oxymoron not so good 极之好粥面茶餐厅.

we were back nicely on time. our friend was rejuvenated, recharged, ready for some makan (eats).

lin kee noodles 联记面家

lin kee noodles 联记面家 

we decided to have a bite at the beef brisket stall Lin Kee 联记面家 across the small road from our metropark hotel.

it’s a tiny place, but there is always a good traffic.

beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 HK$28

beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 HK$28 

we ordered 2 x beef brisket cum tendons noodles 牛腩牛根面 HK$28.

and 2 x beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 HK$28.

both had beef brisket & beef tendons. but the si tau po – proprietress said 牛腩牛根面 has more tendons while 牛腩面 has lesser just to complement.

beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 HK$28

beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 HK$28 

it was a tasty bowl of noodles. we were quite happy with it.

not sure if this was 清汤牛腩 clear broth version, but we had this on Day 4 at 牛棚 & the broth & the whole noodles were more tasty & flavourful.

the brisket meat here also not the ones i most preferred which has layered fat & connective tissues 胶 that becomes more flavourful when it converts to gelatine.

poached chye sim 油菜心

poached chye sim 油菜心 – HK$15

the poached chye sim 油菜心 was good.

beef brisket cum tendons noodles 牛腩牛根面 HK$28

beef brisket cum tendons noodles 牛腩牛根面 HK$28

overall this was a nice light & tasty breakfast, for the 3 of us, a second breakfast making up for the disappointing one at not so good 极之好粥面茶餐厅.

c.h.e.f andy

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Not So Good Congee @ 极之好粥面茶餐厅 on Day 2 – 21Feb2017

pig innards congee 状元及第粥

pig innards congee 状元及第粥

one friend did not have good sleep night before our flight to hong kong on 20.2.2017. he needed some make-up sleep time so we decided to start our day at 11am.

the other 3 of us decided to go out early for breakfast.

there was this mui kee 妹记粥家which one friend shared on whatsapp before our trip, it’s nearby at fa yuen street, so we decided to look for it. we found it on level 3 of fa yun street market & cooked food centre, but it’s closed on tuesday.

we walked on the next street tung choi street & decided to try 极之好粥面茶餐厅.

the name means extremely good. unfortunately the food was actually not so good. so 极之好粥面家but 不怎么好 la…

pig innards congee 状元及第粥

pig innards congee 状元及第粥

we ordered the usual pig innards congee 状元及第粥.

hong kong congee can’t be too bad…just that our expectations also higher, and this congee was not sweet ie tasty enough, not smooth enough, just not shiok enough…

pig stomach congee 滑肚粥

pig stomach congee 滑肚粥

they said pig liver & kidney not ready, so we ordered pig stomach congee 滑肚粥.

this though NOT just not good enough, but downright poor. stomach was not smooth at all nor tender, basically not quite ready, actually tough….

braised large intestines 鲁大肠

braised large intestines 鲁大肠

the braised large intestines 鲁大肠 though was quite perfect. nice “pang” flavours, tender, tasty braises…good as a braised large intestines 鲁大肠…

but no comparison with the very tasty braised large intestines 鲁大肠 at our recent scrumptious lunch at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) at 23 smith street on 21.1.2017.

that was just so good!

too bad, hong kong so many nice eating places, this one i am not coming back.

c.h.e.f andy

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OK Dessert @ Lucky Dessert 发记甜品 Tsimshatsui on Day1 – 20Feb2017

mango ice shavings

mango ice shavings

after a most satisfying dinner including incredible value dishes like 1/2 roast goose for HK$118 & 1kg steamed live garoupa for HK$58,

we took a stroll along the streets at tsimshatsui & came upon lucky dessert 发记甜品 at 2 prat street, tsimshatsui.

lucky dessert 发记甜品

lucky dessert 发记甜品

the place was crowded, but we were lucky we got a table for 4pax immediately.

lucky dessert 发记甜品

lucky dessert 发记甜品

some auspicious couplets & framed well wishes??

lucky dessert 发记甜品

lucky dessert 发记甜品

afterwards a queue gathered outside, i think about 9.30pm -ish…

mango sago 杨枝甘露

mango sago 杨枝甘露 – HK$43

the best dessert was the mango ice shavings (top photo).

it was not as good as the we had at Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 Chinatown Point on 21Jan2017.

still it was pretty good, and also included mochi & red beans etc.

mango sago 杨枝甘露

mango sago 杨枝甘露 – HK$43

for me, my mango sago 杨枝甘露  (above photo) was the next best. it was competent, mango was flavourful & good combination of fine ice chips, pomelo & sago, nice & refreshing.

black sesame paste黑芝麻糊

black sesame paste黑芝麻糊

the black sesame paste黑芝麻糊 was watery, dilute, and not smooth, even though they said 现磨 meaning freshly ground…i would say below average..

red bean soup 红豆汤

red bean soup 红豆汤

red bean soup 红豆汤 was pretty good. my friend liked it. it came with 陈皮,dried orange peel, that added the special flavour.

red bean soup 红豆汤

red bean soup 红豆汤

the shop seemed very popular but the dessert were really so so.

sago

sago

the sago dish was very poor.

mango ice shavings

mango ice shavings

so the saving grace was the ice shavings, which is not much of a hong kong traditional dessert but maybe that is what’s good here.

i cannot remember the prices, but the 5 dessert probably added up to about HK$180.

c.h.e.f andy

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Lucky Dessert 发记甜品 
Address:
2 Prat Ave, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Contact:

Operating Hours:

daily 12:30PM–3AM

Top Value Decent Above Average Dinner @ Tao Heung 稻香 Tsimshatsui on Day1 – 20Feb2017

1/2 roast goose HK$118

1/2 roast goose HK$118

before this trip, i had checked out some restaurants & eating places. so it was part of the plan that came together quite perfectly that we took a short stroll from the tsimshatsui pier to tao heung restaurant 稻香 at 3 minden row, tsimshatsui. ^^

tao heung at tsimshatsui 稻香

tao heung at tsimshatsui 稻香

it was about 8pm on a monday.

restaurant was well patronised. we got our table for 4pax immediately, no queue.

tao heung restaurant 稻香incredible promotion

tao heung restaurant 稻香incredible promotion

we planned tao heung restaurant 稻香 as part of our eat itinerary of coure to take advantage of the current promotion la! ^^

1/2 roast goose HK$118

1/2 roast goose HK$118

& primary on our order list was the 1/2 roast goose for HK$118!

we just had 1/2 roast goose at yatlok few hours ago & that was HK$280. tao heung 稻香 is a mid-price restaurant chain (i would say the standard of canton paradise), and 1/2 roast goose for S$22 is kind of a quite incredible offer.

the roast goose looked beautiful in colour, perhaps even better than yatlok. the skin was crispy, sauce flavour was great, and meat was also tender & tasty enough.

however the huge difference we thought was that yatlok’s goose had the fat nicely rendered thus making the goose more flavourful, whereas tao heung’s goose was very fat, and the fat was satiating. perhaps we had too much goose in 1 day??? still we finished the goose.

for this price, i will definitely come back for the goose, without hesitation la! haha! ^^

steamed live 1kg garoupa HK$58

steamed live 1kg garoupa 中青班HK$58

next on our list was the live garoupa!

at HK$58, i was expecting a 500g fish even though it says 中青班. but it was 1 kg, a huge fish. maybe it was not live??? but the flesh tasted bouncy & fresh, so i willing to bet it was live fish, especially this hong kong steamed preparation.

there is a downside to this. the fish was a bit mud taste. usually ones associate mud taste with seabass type fresh water fish less of garoupa, but there you have it, it’s not perfect.

steamed live 1kg garoupa HK$58

steamed live 1kg garoupa HK$58

still it’s HK$58 = S$11 for a 1kg steamed live garoupa.

the romaine lettuce dish next to it was HK$68. didn’t quite make sense, but who is asking?

steamed live 1kg garoupa HK$58

steamed live 1kg garoupa HK$58

our next table 2 middle age ladies also ordered 1/2 roast goose & this 1kg garoupa, just for 2 pax.

& every other table ordered the garoupa.

chicken sharksfin soup - HK$28

chicken sharksfin soup – HK$28

we ordered just 1 bowl of chicken sharksfin soup.

chicken sharksfin soup - HK$28

chicken sharksfin soup – HK$28

again at HK$28 it didn’t make much sense.

most of us don’t care much for sharksfin, and we ordered one in case we didn’t like it.

actually it was pretty ok standard. quite a huge serving of sharksfin actually. the soup was a but cold as we were sharing it 4pax. if we ordered one for each it should be ok.

not a must order for me unlike the roast goose & the garoupa, but didn’t mind it either.

烤麸&粉皮

烤麸&粉皮

my friend ordered the 烤麸&粉皮.

he made a very good 烤麸himself recently for the OPS gathering on 3.2.2017. it was very good, perhaps better than this – this one a bit more sweet…

粉皮

粉皮

anyway both dishes were very good still. i like both. 粉皮 was light refreshing & nice goma (sesame) sauce.

烤麸

烤麸

烤麸is something i beginning to like more ater trying my friend’s version recently.

romaine lettuce 蒜蓉油麦菜 HK$68

romaine lettuce 蒜蓉油麦菜 HK$68

the minced garlic fried romaine lettuce 蒜蓉油麦菜 HK$68 was competent.

hong kong vegetables always very good la…so this one was good, but most places better than this.

1/2 chicken 沙姜鸡 HK¥78

1/2 chicken 沙姜鸡 HK¥78

my friend added a 1/2 chicken 沙姜鸡  order. just to give it a try.

it was very poor really, any chicken rice in singapore would beat that hands down.

& nothing even approaching the samsui chicken at soup restaurant.

chicken breast was overdone, dry not moist, not tender, not so tasty also.

dinner-costs-hk521

dinner was HK$521

overall dinner was HK$531=S$100 for 4pax. a really good deal for dishes like live garoupa & roast goose etc.

as comparison, we ate hardly anything at yatlok earlier in the afternoon & that was like HK$410.

1/2 roast goose HK$118

1/2 roast goose HK$118

definitely i will come back if there is such similar promotion like the roast goose & live fish next time! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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Mesmerising Night Scene of Victoria Harbour on Day1 – 20Feb2017

night scene from central ferry next to IFC Mall

night scene from central ferry next to IFC Mall

so after the relaxing & for some spiritual peak circle walk, we got a cab to central ferry.

as we alighted from the cab, we were greeted by a lit ferry wheel & night lights of central.^^

cross harbour ferry from central ferry to tsomshatsui

cross harbour ferry from central ferry to tsimshatsui

we took the ferry to tsimshatsui.

my friends took many nice photos of the hong kong island night scene skyline from the ferry.

clock tower at tsimshatsui

clock tower at tsimshatsui

after getting out of star ferry, we walked along the tsimshatsui public pier side.

& took some photos of the former kowloon-canton railway clock tower & sauntered around the vicinity…

night scene of victoria harbour

night scene of victoria harbour

there were quite a lot of people nearer the public pier side, so we walked further.

there were some ongoing renovations of the hong kong space museum & some boarding up so we did not go to the avenue of the stars. not particular about seeing it any case.

night scene of victoria harbour

night scene of victoria harbour

victoria harbour & the hong kong island skyline is always so enchanting.

night scene of victoria harbour

night scene of victoria harbour

and more so at night.

night scene of victoria harbour

night scene of victoria harbour

we did not see the red tourist junk that always sail across along the channel.

the last time we saw that & took some nice photos in jan2016. ^^

after that we walked over to tao heung at 3 minden row, tsimshatsui as they were having fantastic promo dishes.

c.h.e.f andy

Panoramic, Serene, Contemplative Peak Circle Walk on Day1 – 20Feb2017

view of peak tower from peak galleria

view of peak tower from peak galleria

our plan was to do a peak circle walk around evening time, so we could have a nice, panoramic view & also see the sunset, evening hue. ^^

it was great that our flight arrived a bit earlier than 12.25pm & the journey to metropark hotel was very smooth. we arrived at hotel about 1.30pm & were able to check in & got out of the hotel by around 2pm. so everything came together nicely.

we had a light & nice dimsum at dimdimsum tung choi street at mongkok about 2.30pm.

then roast goose at yatlok at about 4pm.

& we flag a taxi at the taxi stand outside central mtr station & bascially was at the peak galleria by 5.30pm.

Peak Tram tickets
Return Single
Adult HK$ 45 HK$ 32
Child (aged 3-11)
Senior (aged 65 or above)
HK$ 20 HK$ 12
Remark: All ticket prices would be effective from September 1, 2016

taxi far for 4pax was about HK$62, again the most cost effective travel. peak tram fare is HK$45 return HK$32 single, & it’s always long queue coming up & this time as we were leaving i guess evening peal hours, again long queue going down. so taxi was perfect for us.

view from peak galleria

view from peak galleria – in the direction of aberdeen & deep water bay

we first went up to the peak galleria.

a beautiful simmering view in the direction of aberdeen & deep water bay

view from peak galleria

view from peak galleria

view of peak tower from peak galleria

view of peak tower from peak galleria

this the rooftop where i took a jump shot last time for RI friends, and i similarly took a jump shot for my OPS friends.

view of peak tower from peak galleria

view of peak tower from peak galleria

view of peak tower from peak galleria

view of peak tower from peak galleria

we walked over the other side of the rooftop overlooking the peak tower.

view from peak circle route

view from peak galleria

view from peak circle route

view from peak galleria

and a good bird’s eye view of the hong kong skyline around victoria harbour front.

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

we did the peak circle walk.

it is a round route, about 3.5km & takes about 1.5 hrs.

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

the setting sun cast a gentle golden hue.

& hong kong’s 2 tallest buildings – the IFC & ICC – stood out tall & iconic.

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

view from peak circle route

a wonderful picture spreads out, always pleasing to the eye.

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

took a photo of a tree along the peak circle route.

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

there were many professional photographers getting ready for sunset phtography.

walking along peak circle route

walking along peak circle route

& some time & every mood for contemplation.

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle rout

evening view from peak circle rout

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

sunset was simply mesmerising.

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

evening view from peak circle route

golden, simmering, gentle, warm & lingering……

so serene & beautiful…

we finished the walk i about 1hr 20mins, then took a taxi to central ferry so we could take the cross harbour ferry to tsimshatsui, enjoy the evening ferry ride & take in the night scenes of victoria harbour from tsimshatsui lookouts.

c.h.e.f andy

Hong Kong’s Best Roast Goose @ Yat Lok Stanley Street on Day1 – 20Feb2017

1/2 yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 - HK$280

1/2 yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 – HK$280

as we had planned, after dimsum at dimdimsum at tung choi street in mongkok, we took the MTR to central, exit D2, and walked to yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street.

the last time i was here was with my RI friends one year ago on 11.1.2016. that time the overall dining experience was dented by the hygiene factors of long queueing time, squeezy, wet floors, and very very poor char siew & siew yoke etc.

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

this time we arrived at 4pm.

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 at stanley street, central, hong kong

place was maybe 60% full so we had our table immediately.

honey lime drink - HK$18

honey lime drink – HK$18

we each ordered honey lime drink HK$18, nice drink not cheap.

dumplings 水饺 - 7 pieces for HK$50

dumplings 水饺 – 7 pieces for HK$50

& dumplings 水饺 – 7 pieces for HK$50 to share. this dumplings 水饺 was good as before.

1/2 yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 - HK$280

1/2 yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 – HK$280

1/2 roast goose price has gone up from HK$250 in jan2016 to HK$280 today.

thankfully it was very good in taste, very flavourful, skin crispy, oily yes but tasty & meat was tender, not overcooked or tough.

later that evening we had a roast goose at tao heung restaurant at tsmshatsui at a promo price of 1/2 roast goose at HK$118, which is like 40% plus the price at yatlok. & of course yung kee, which i refuse to go, charges even higher than yatlok.

still overall we all agree, the yatlok goose was better than tao heung! 🙂

1/2 yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 - HK$280

1/2 yatlok roast goose 一乐烧鹅 – HK$280

overall price was like HK$410 or so, more than 2x our dimsum for quite small orders for 4pax.

we were happy though, & yat lok is a place i am still happy to come back again next time.

this trip though i did not bring my friends to fu kee congee 富记粥品 at fa yun street 花园街. maybe i should have but we sought of had what we needed of roast goose after 2 roast goose in a day, and another roast goose opposite our hotel next day for convenience.

next time i will go back to fu kee congee 富记粥品 at fa yun street 花园街.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Good Dimsum at Dimdimsum 点点心 Hong Kong on Day1 – 20Feb2017

chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭

chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭

after checking in at metropark mongkok near prince edward MTR, we walked to the michelin star one dimsum 一点心 about 2pm. there was a long queue on the chairs outside, so we decided to walk down fa yuen street looking for another dimsum restaurant.

we found dimdimsum 点点心  at 112 tung choi street 通菜街.

i put chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭 as the top photo as for me one of the best consistently tasty dishes at hong kong dimsum restaurants is the ubiquitous 一口饭dish – just rice with meat dish toppings & drizzling with a light mildly sweet sauce…very simple & wonderfully tasty comfort food la! ^^

and so with the fun cheong 粉肠. for me that’s equally defining of hong kong dimsum, like the har gao also is. if you cannot do a good fun cheong 粉肠 like the quite bad ones at the one michelin star one dimsum 一点心, then you are a poor dimsum place. that’s just my own views la…

dimdumsum 点点心

dimdimsum 点点心

dimdimsum 点点心 had a good crowd at 2.30pm.

dimdumsum 点点心 menu

dimdimsum 点点心 menu

the menu is quite standard stuff.

dimdumsum 点点心 dimsum items

dimdimsum 点点心 dimsum items

we ordered 8 items – 5 above plus the rice, steamed pork ribs & siew mai.

the char siew pao was good, char siew tender & not too sweet, better than i expected. char siew pao not my favourite.

chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭

chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭

the chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭 was good as expected, totally competent, maybe not the best i had.

chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭

chicken feet pork rib rice 凤爪排骨饭

the chicken feet & pork rib 凤爪& 排骨were great, so maybe the rice and sauce not the best…

har gao 虾饺

har gao 虾饺

har gao 虾饺 was good as expected of any good dimsum place.

siew mai 烧卖

siew mai 烧卖

siew mai 烧卖 good too.

fupeiquin 腐皮卷

fupeiquin 腐皮卷

and the fupeiquin 腐皮卷 was great here, unlike the quite poor ones, surprisingly, at one dimsum 一点心

steamed chicken feet

steamed chicken feet

and the steamed chicken feet was excellent! ^^

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs

and so was the steamed pork ribs la..very good, tender, smooth, tasty. got some fat bits but overall ok.

walking along fa yun street 花园街

walking along fa yuen street 花园街

so before we found dimdimsum 点点心  at 112 tung choi street 通菜街, we walked along walking along the buzzling fa yuen street 花园街…

fa yun street 花园街lap cheong market stall selling chinese pork & liver sauasges

fa yuen street 花园街lap cheong market stall selling chinese pork & liver sausages

fa yun street 花园街 lap cheong market stall selling chinese pork & liver sauasges

fa yuen street 花园街 lap cheong market stall selling chinese pork & liver sausages

and we recky on the lap cheong stalls at fa yuen street market & cooked food centre.

fun cheong 粉肠

fun cheong 粉肠

the last item we had for our very good lunch which cost about HK$160 for 4pax was the fun cheong 粉肠.

this was good standard, light, smooth skin, good fillings. very nice!

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

dimdimsum 点点心 @112 tung choi street 通菜街
Address:
Hong Kong, 112 Tung Choi St, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Contact:

Opening Hours:

daily 11AM–2AM

Airticket, Hotel, Transport : Hong Kong Here We Come = HK Eat & Hike 20-24Feb2017

changi T3 singapore food street

changi T3 singapore food street

my OPS primary school buddies & i planned a hong kong trip to eat & hike 20-24.2.2017..haha! ^^

the last time i did hong kong eat & hike was with my RI mates 10-14jan2016!

***********************************************************************

we managed to get a promo SQ (singapore airlines) fare about S$310pax return, pretty good. weather in HK is best in jan & feb…& though the weather forecast for the week 20-24feb just before & during our trip was slight rain, we had almost no rain at all, all 5 days, just a drizzle on day 1 after we back in hotel after a great day.

2 of us arrived airport earlier.

our web printed boarding pass required endorsements, so we went to the self service machine to print out the boarding pass.

so we tried the T3 asia treasure lounge but it was closed, only opens at 7am (too much!), so we walked over to the singapore food street by universal dining & had coffee.

this card system is irritating. my friend queued at the stall, then had to go to the front to get a card, then return to the stall to order coffee, then had to refund the card (he decided to do another time).

SQ economy food

SQ economy food

on board, i opted for the dimsum.

the SQ food was quite poor this time.

SQ economy food

SQ economy food

har gao skin was thick & rubbery.

rice was hard…that maybe the style ie not the soft steamed lor mai guy type. it was reasonably flavourful but not texture i like.

SQ economy food

SQ economy food

the run of the mill fruit & desset.

HK airport IOIO sim card for mifi

HK airport IOIO sim card for mifi

there was a counter for mifi rental.

i did not pay attention as my friend had brought along a mifi, so we bought a HK$118 5GB sim card at IOIO.

that was enough for all of us for the entire 5-day trip, though my friends were sharing photos like nobody business. no hitch at all! ^^

taxi HK airport to metropark hotel = HK$280

taxi HK airport to metropark hotel = HK$280

we took a cab to metropark mongkok which was stone throw from prince edward mtr station.

this the most efficient & cost effective at HK$280 for 4pax!

the airport express would cost HK$90pax one way & HK$160 return, and we would have to go to kowloon station then transfer via a complimentary bus that probably stops at 8 other hotels before arriving at metropark kowloon!

we traversed the kap shui mun bridge & the tsing ma bridge.

metropark hotel mongkok at prince edward

metropark hotel mongkok at prince edward

after some online search we chose metropark mongkok hotel near prince edward mtr.

it was about HK$550 per room night nett, like almost 1/2 the price of royal plaza at mongkok east mtr where i stayed the last time in jan2016.

metropark was the previous SARS ground zero in hong kong in mar2003. that may explain the competitive pricing but that was also 14years ago.

metropark hotel mongkok at prince edward

metropark hotel mongkok at prince edward

& we were very happy with the hotel.

clean & nice big rooms! 2 single beds. strong wifi everywhere. nice toilets.

only the check in lobby betrays the 4-star (felt like 3.5) status c/w with 5-star for royal plaza.

view from metropark hotel mongkok

view from metropark hotel mongkok

the view from hotel a bit dilapidated, run down…no building maintenance in HK!…

c.h.e.f andy

Good Bakuteh @ Sin Min Road Bakuteh (the previous Rong Cheng) on 19Feb2017

bakuteh S$7

bakuteh S$7

went to rong cheng bakuteh at 22 sin min road at 11am this sunday morning on 19.2.2017. ^^

no queue & no problem parking. 🙂

the name is sin min road bakuteh now. i asked the server. she said it’s the same owner but they don’t put up the name rong cheng 榕城 now. 🙂 i have not been to their newer outlet (quite a few years now) rong cheng bkt at midview city. guess the boss wants the rong cheng name reserved only for that outlet.

sing min road bakuteh

sing min road bakuteh

i used to come here very often in the past but that was like 15+ years ago.

looking at my last blog post, i was here 2 years back on 20.1.2015. 🙂

it was still good then, and it was still good today! ^^

they opened till 7.30pm on weekdays & 5pm on weekends now.

used to be closed at 3pm.

22 BGain eating house

22 BGain eating house

the coffeeshop is called 22 BGain eating house. 🙂

bakuteh S$7

bakuteh S$7

i ordered 2 prime ribs. it was S$7. very good price by today’s standard.

bakuteh S$7

bakuteh S$7

i like the pork ribs here. it is fatty with layered fat so very tasty. & the parts along the long ribs are not just chunky meat but have great texture & taste.

today one rib had a lot of surface fat so i bite those off.

i like the texture of ribs here, not the very soft mushy texture, very tender & still with a good bite.

& the dark sauce was very flavourful. good stuff! 🙂

bakuteh S$7

bakuteh S$7

for me, there is a huge difference eating the regular pork ribs & this prime rib. so i will ask for prime ribs everytime if available.

the soup today was not so great.

both are better than this i had at rong cheng today. the prime ribs, difference quite marginal. the soup this one at rong cheng much poorer. price wise rong cheng very much cheaper, like S$7 vs S$10.50….

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++

Disappointed = So-So 2pax Dinner @ Patara Fine Cuisine on 17Feb2017

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23 

patara used to be one of our favourite restaurants.

my family used to go there often.  if w/o amex discounts, price is high though, so that explains why we have not been there for a very long time.

from my blog post records, the last time i was there was on 19,7,2014.

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23 

today wife called said there is amex 50% discounts for 2pax again.

alas, we forgot to check, brain doesn’t work so fast nowadays, and only when we sat down & asked then we realized that the promotion is for monday to thursday. so no discount on friday today & have to pay full price.

i guess we should have walked out politely, courteously, which is what i would do when younger & will still do today if my mind had been more active.

we could easily have walked over to labrezza, such great food & greater value.

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23 

anyhow we ordered our usual favourites, key among them tom yam talay (seafood).

this was quite poor really!

the soup had no intensity, aroma. like i told the server “it’s like tom yam soup from some cheap restaurant”. also the prawns & squid were totally overdone(old)…. (we thought the chef has changed but server said no change). to her credit & good service she offered to replace the soup. we had already finished the soup & didn’t really make sense to ask the restaurant to replace it, so we told her it was ok, just a feedback. i said to her surely other diners would have given this feedback too?

roast duck in red curry S$26

roast duck in red curry S$26 

fortunately the roast duck curry was superb, very lemak, fragrant, yummy.

the duck was average, quite tender breast slices. it has always been this way in patara. i think some other restaurants actually give nice roast duck, here it is a bit if western duck preparation.

olive rice S$21

olive rice S$21 

& luckily the olive rice was still very nice.

thai olive rice

thai olive rice @ patara on 19.7.2014

looking at the photo of olive rice @ patara on 19.4.2014, that looke dmore impressive & with more ingredients.

but the one we had today was still pretty good la.

olive rice S$21

olive rice S$21

so dinner, 3 dishes for 2pax came to S$70++=S$82…

if we came on mon-thurs, with 50% discount for 2pax it would be S$41 (we would have to order 2 main course but since tomyam talay was poor we could order some other main dishes).

i still enjoyed the roast duck curry & olive rice, the tom yam talay, totally not!

maybe i will still come back here when 50% discounts is valid…quite sad really, coming here & not taking tom yam talay.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++

Patara Fine Cuisine @ Tanglin Mall

Kongbak – Braised Belly Pork & Taupok – 29th Teban Gardens Community Breakfast on 17Feb2017

kongbak-braised-belly-pork4

kongbak – braised belly pork

i did kongbak (braised belly pork) & taupok for teban gardens community breakfast this morning on 17.2.2017. ^^

this my 29th friday breakfast community meal at teban gardens community service centre.

i first started doing a community meal dish for teban gardens CSC on 8.1.2016.

the centre was started in 2002 after much effort & challenge by our RI friend who is a pastor of pasir panjang hill brethren church (pphbc) which owns & runs the CSC.

ros-lontong2

Ros’ lontong

today the centre director, Ros, herself a marvellous cook, did a huge pot of lontong.

the kueh tupat & the ikan bilis chilli were supplied by another lady. Ros made the lontong gravy & sayur & tofu.

ros-lontong3

Ros’ lontong

it was excellent!

i try not to take breakfast & lunch if i can (unless there is lunch get togethers). today die die must take la…

ros-lontong

Ros’ lontong

sayur & tofu just nice, and gravy was quite perfect. not east to make such a huge dish for so many people. banyak bagus!

kongbak-braised-belly-pork-taupok

kongbak – braised belly pork & taupok

i did my simple kongbak (braised belly pork) recipe, just adjust for the size of serving.

Tai Hua chicken marinate (大华鲁鸡汁)

Tai Hua chicken marinate (大华鲁鸡汁)

using ready-made tai hua chicken marinade(大华鲁鸡汁) = kongbak made easy la!

 

kongbak-braised-belly-pork2

kongbak – braised belly pork

today i was doing about 1.5kg belly pork.

so i used about 160ml (2/3 cup) of the tai hua chicken marinade(大华鲁鸡汁).

kongbak-braised-belly-pork-taupok3

kongbak – braised belly pork

the recipe-

  1. fry 1.5 bulbs of garlic cloves, 2 cinnamon bark, 4 star anise, & 3 cloves in 1 tbsp oil till fragrant ie nice aroma.
  2. after washing with salt, scalding with boiling water to clean the pork, coat the pork with 2 tbsp sugar, place the pork in the wokpan, add tai hua braising sauce & let it coat the pork well on all sides for about 10mins. then add 2/3 cup water & cover.
  3. so basically to infuse the pork with the braising sauce & to steam & cook the pork with cover on. for 2 hrs. watch over & add water as required. the key is to keep the sauce thick & flavour intense not diluting too much.
kongbak-braised-belly-pork-taupok4

kongbak – braised belly pork

basically i tried the pork (use kitchen scissors to cut a bit to try) to my satisfaction in terms of texture – about 1.5hrs to 2hrs.

kongbak-braised-belly-pork

kongbak – braised belly pork

pork was excellent. all the teban gardens staff & several residents commented very tender & flavourful.

kongbak-braised-belly-pork

kongbak – braised belly pork

texture was gelatinous for the fat & skin & soft & tender for the lean meat.

braised-taupok

braised taupok

i added 2packets x 10 taupok (cut into 4 strips per taupok=80 pieces) to fully utilise the braising sauce.

kongbak-braised-belly-pork-taupok5

kongbak – braised belly pork & taupok

i added the taupok, and added water & covered & cooked about about 40mins. the taupok was tasty & well infused with the very “pang” sauce.

easy to do & a great, enjoyable dish for teban gardens folks! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good S$12.90 4-course Set Lunch @ French Table Waterway Point on 15Feb2017

duck confit linguine - S$24.80

duck confit linguine – S$24.80

over the last 1/2year my RI friends started doing birthdays for the group of us who meet often, now designated as brotherhood in the group chat…back to high school…haha! ^^

our RI default paparazzi photographer is the permanently appointed organiser who organises birthday lunches plus a birthday gift… 🙂

this time our tai tai kor (big boss man) recommended the lunch venue = french table at waterway point.

cream of mushroom - top-up S$2

cream of mushroom – top-up S$2

this my first time to french table.

it has 3 outlets = waterway point, northpoint & west coast plaza.

the signature dishes are duck confit & roasted chicken according to their website, with the duck confit described as the key pride of french table. 🙂

clear vegetable soup

clear vegetable soup

cream of mushroom - top-up S$2

cream of mushroom – top-up S$2

cream of mushroom - top-up S$2

cream of mushroom – top-up S$2

there is a 4-course set lunch menu.

soup of the day for the set lunch was a clear vegetable soup. i tried. it was nondescript.

S$2 top-up gets you a cream of mushrrom soup. this was good standard, creamy & flavourful.

duck confit linguine - S$24.80

duck confit linguine – S$24.80

i decided to go for the key pride of french table ie the duck confit. this one came with linguine. 🙂

duck confit linguine - S$24.80

duck confit linguine – S$24.80

duck skin was excellent, very crispy, duck was flavourful. the pasta also very nice & flavourful.

texture though was on the dry side & sinewy, not moist.

my own duck ragout fettuccine which i made recently on 12.2.2017, the duck meat was much more tender, moist & tastier (the texture of duck rillette).

sirloin steak 4-course set S$16.80

sirloin steak 4-course set S$16.80

there were 4 orders of sirloin steak which came with a supplement of S$3.90 = so total S$16.80!

steak was quite bad la! tough & quite tendonous, basically an inferior cut of meat.

vongole linguine 4-course set S$12.90

vongole linguine 4-course set S$12.90

the vongole linguine on the other hand, was simply fabulous!

vongole linguine 4-course set S$12.90

vongole linguine 4-course set S$12.90

the 2 pastas were all superbly done al dente. this one of the better vongoles I had taken.

chicken wings - 5 for S$5.80

chicken wings – 5 for S$5.80

chicken wings - 5 for S$5.80

chicken wings – 5 for S$5.80 

we added 2 ala carte orders of chicken wings. quite ok, nothing to crow about la! ^^

vanilla ice cream

vanilla ice cream

the 4-course set came with a drink = iced ocha or iced lemon tea.

chocolate ice cream

chocolate ice cream

and ice cream for dessert.

overall at S$12.90 for the 4-course set, it was very good value. specially when the vongole dish was quite outstanding.

the steak is to be avoided.

for ala carte (since i really do not need to have the drink or dessert of soup for that matter), i stick to their key pride – the duck confit & it was pretty good.

maybe can try their roasted chicken, looks very good in photo.

& maybe can try the clams & mussel soup linguine.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Valentine’s Day Dinner at Home on 14Feb2017

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

wife & i usually avoid the actual day 14feb where prices at restaurants are doubled or tripled & food & service go south or at best same! so we go out earlier for our valentine’s day dinner.

we had a wonderful valentine dinner at me.oue on 12.2.2015. ^^

& such wonderful views too!

at the time me.oue had amex lovedining discounts, 50% discounts for 2pax. now no more.

last year i decided to cook the valentine’s day dinner myself on 14.2.2016.

a wonderful dinner too, with gazpacho, gordon ramsay grilled lobster, and excellent steak.

2pax candlelight valentine dinner

2pax candlelight valentine dinner

we have been having western mostly, so this year i decided to try chinese.

chinese food is so difficult to cook c/w western la!

valentine decor

valentine decor

2 different friends sent me the same video on valentine food decor.

so i tried the cherry tomato heart & the cucumber carrot flower thingy.

it was not difficult but not as easy as it appears on the video. for the heart especially, alignment very important & especially the shape & size of the 2 cherry tomatoes. otherwise you are left with a broken heart or twisted/wrenched heart…..

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

i decided to do lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗.

for me, it would be so much easier to do a lobster pasta (i did a really beautiful one on 15.5.2014), can’t do much wrong with prego sauce or papa alfredo sauce.

live lobster

live lobster

i got my live lobster from sheng shiong at S$59/kg.

no offers, no about S$35+ for 600g+ lobster.

lobster - preparation for braising in superior stock

lobster – preparation for braising in superior stock

i wanted to parboiled the lobster. but it was too large to fit into my pots.

so i prepared the lobster (humanely the way i learned couple years back).

lobster - preparation for braising in superior stock

lobster – preparation for braising in superior stock

my idea of braising in superior stock上汤焗 is to prepare a very tasty, thick, intense stock, place the lobster with the stock, heat up & cover, so that the stock infuse the lobster for taste & the steam cooked the lobster.

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

wife loved the lobster. it was fresh, bouncy & sweet. afterall live lobster made all the difference (last valentine dinner 2016 i used frozen lobster)…

i felt though that i could have made the lobster a lot better, made a much tastier lobster. i started with very intense stock & i added to the lobster to let it soak in the taste for a while before cooking. however i think the lobster had a lot of liquid & i should have reduced it again in the wokpan, before adding the lobster. i could feel when i was cooking that the stock was diluted but i could not reduce w/o overcooking the lobster.

the superior stock worked very well for my yee meen subsequently as it was sufficiently reduced.

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

my dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤 may not look like dobin mushi, but it’s the same ingredients, with prawn, scallop, chicken breast, ginkyo nuts, shitake & shimeji mushrooms. no fish slice.

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

soup was very light & tasty! 🙂 wife liked it…

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

i did not have konbu & bonito flakes to make dashi. so i used chicken stock & mushrooms & lots of vegetables to sweeten the stock (carrots, radish, spinach stems, mushroom water).

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

& i didn’t have the teapot to serve the teapot soup, didn’t want to use our usual teapot.

anyway it was a very tasty clear soup, served by teapot or not. 🙂

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

next dish i made was a steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼.

it was quite good in texture & taste. i think can be improved though.

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

i had a really superb steamed turbot dish recently at fragrant garden on 8.1.2017.

so i decided to try cooking that.

i bought a frozen halibut steak (just S$3.90 for 500g on offer), and i used maybe 300g.

it’s called “halibut” (as it was called “halibut” at fragrant garden, but when i googled to check, halibut is a large fish & most likely these were turbot & NOT halibut!).

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

i just added the usual cut chilli padi, sliced ginger, chopped scallions, added sliced lemon & sliced tomatoes, then 2 tbsp olive oil, 2tbsp light soy sauce & 1 tbsp mirin. & steamed for 6mins.

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

very easy to prepare, looks quite perfect, & a nice dish small serving not too heavy for a multi-course meal.

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

my last dish for the evening to go with the yee meen was a mini pencai 迷你盆菜.

limpets

limpets

i did not have 发菜,dried scallops, dried osyters etc, so i just made do with 4 ingredients=prawns, scallops. limpets (proxy for abalones) & chinese mushrooms.

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

of course i had carrots, radish, yam, chicken stock, and i added some bamboo shoots i happened to have in the fridge.

i used the same intense chicken stock, mixed with 1/2 the limpets brine in the can, and added some oyster sauce & cornflour to thicken.

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

a fairly respectable mini pencai 迷你盆菜 i must say.

the carrots, radish, bamboo shoots were excellent, so very well infused with flavours. 🙂

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

it was nothing special though, kind of much ado about nothing…not quite the kind of dish that excites my wife & me la. 🙂

yee meen in superior stock 伊面上汤焗

yee meen in superior stock 伊面上汤焗

one of the best dish for this evening was actually the ubiquitous yee meen. this one excites me, and it’s easy to do, just good stock & well reduced.

i bought yee meen from cold storage. it cost S$2.45 & had 4 noodle pieces. i used 1 piece for 2 of us.

yee meen in superior stock 伊面上汤焗

yee meen in superior stock 伊面上汤焗

& the superior stock was just perfect for the noodles.

the plain noodles came out very very tasty, so good la! ^^

very sweet korean strawberries

very sweet korean strawberries

i got some korean strawberries from giant this morning. it was very sweet. an excellent close to round up the enjoyable valentine dinner.

c.h.e.f andy