Tim Ho Wan

Can't believe I have lived in Hong Kong all this time and still not had Tim Ho Wan's BBQ Pork Bun! Had it last night and it definitely did not disappoint! For those who don't know, their BBQ Pork Bun is no ordinary Char Siu Bau, the bun has the exterior of a baked pineapple bun while the inside is the same as a traditional char siu bau.

I was so gobsmacked on how amazing this was I just had to share it (with the very few that don't know). The bun had such a crumbly short exterior that almost melts on your mouth and you get a very slight hint of that sweet pineapple bun flavor when you are done with your bite. The interior of the bun was what any good char siu bau would have, soft moist pork in sweet syrupy goodness! Just writing about it is making me salivate.

Other dim sums on their menu were good too, their Siu Mai and Har Gau had very well cooked shrimp (most yum cha's I have been to, the shrimp has a maggoty rubbery texture).  Their turnip cake was softer to touch and not as gelatinous and tough as the ones I've had (I'm no expert on turnip cakes, but this one seemed better to me personally). The translucent dumpling with bits of green in it was their "steamed dumpling in chiu chow style", very crunchy texture from the vegetables in it. The chueng fen with beef was okaaay, not bad but not memorable. In terms of price, we ate all of this in only HKD 125! Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised last night.

So happy to have finally eaten here, can't believe Tim Ho Wan has been in Hong Kong since 2009 and I'm just eating here now! If you haven't, better go, you are missing out!

Tim Ho Wan

Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central

Ground Floor, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po (this was the first one opened in 2009)

Ground Floor, 2-8 Warf Street, Seaview Building, North Point

Shop 49, Ground Floor, Popcorn 2, 9 Tong Chun Street, Tseung Kwan O (I went to this one)

Shop 72, Ground Floor, Olympic City 2, 8 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui 

Fish & Meat (Lunch)

I have heard so much about Fish & Meat and have been dying to visit since they have opened their doors last year in November, today I finally made it happen. They initially only had dinner service but this week opened up lunch, I booked a table as soon as I saw it on my feed (such a restaurant groupie). I'm  the kind of person that likes to read up on the restaurants I visit, usually it's just to find the menu so I know what to order before-hand. What I really liked about Fish & Meat before I even set foot in the restaurant was that they tell you where they source their produce from. I think it's nice to know where your food is coming from, especially if they are making the effort to source the best ingredients from all over the world. From doing all my "research" it seemed they focused on freshness and simplicity. As for the how the place looked, when I walked in got this whole "modern farm cottage" vibe. Not sure if that makes sense but if you go visit, you'll know what I mean.

When we were seated I asked the server which drink they would recommend and she told me that a popular one was their Homemade Lemonade with Blueberry Jam (interestinngg). I'd seen a post on their facebook page about a cocktail which was infused with the same blueberry jam so was couldn't wait to try it. It came in a little jar which I found super cute (random side point: if you look up at some of their lamps they are made from little jars too!). The lemonade was sparkly and tasted like what every good lemonade should, refreshing and zingy. I assume the jam gives the drink its color but the lemonade was quite tangy, so wasn't able to taste much of the jam. I asked the waitress if I should be tasting any berry flavor and she said she could add more jam to it if I wanted more. I liked my lemonade so I just left it as it was, (the color it was pretty to look at anyway).

They say their menu changes seasonally so I'm not sure how long this lunch menu will last, but it is exactly what is currently up on their website under "lunch". 

We started off with the Marinated Red Ahi Tuna, compressed watermelon, soy and basil vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was super fresh in flavor (I wish there was more of it, haha), very plump tuna and the watermelon definitely was needed to balance out the texture. I couldn't taste any soy but I did like the overall dish, nice  light start to the meal. 

Next we had their Crab & Jalapeno Crostini, I love crab and there was loads of it! This dish really exemplified Fish & Meat's overall vision. It was simple and the ingredients spoke for it self. I was really taken back by how fresh the crab tasted, and I don't know of you will get what I mean but I could actually taste the crab. There was a hint of cayenne pepper I think and the jalapeno added a little zing to the dish. The only thing was the crostini was a bit hard and not as crispy as I hoped, but I think the crab made up for that. 

For my main I ordered the Pan-fried sea bream with cherry tomatoes, fennel and pea puree. I was really satisfied with this. The skin was crispy, the flesh was moist and well seasoned. The puree was smooth and they even added some olives and calamari (not chewy at all) to the dish! Simple ingredients cooked well :) 

The other main ordered was the hand-ground veal and pork meatball baguette with mozzarella, pesto and tomato sauce. I did try a bit of the meatball and it was really hearty, juicy andvery strong herby flavor. I, for the life of me, can't remember what flavor herb it was, maybe oregano? I was told the baguette was crispy and crunchy. 

And finally to my favorite course of the meal, dessert! We had their Sicilian Lemon Tart and Chocolate Pot. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate mousse because it's usually super dense and is just too overpoweringly chocolate, but I really enjoyed the chocolate pot. It was topped with clotted cream (I love that you can see vanilla seeds in it) then had a nutty crumble underneath and then a very light airy smooth chocolate mousse. I was nice that they put it all in jar, made it more fun to eat :)

My partner preferred the lemon tart, don't get me wrong though, I liked the tart too but I loved the chocolate pot.  The crust was crumbly and the lemon custard was very "lemony" as my partner puts it. 

All and all, I'd give the restaurant a thumbs up :) Really liked their concept and how they jumped right into it, not only with the food but the restaurant decor too. Two favorites that I will not forget anytime soon will be their chocolate pot (so simple but genius!) and their crab jalapeno crostini. I have high hopes for their dinner menu!

Fish & Meat 

32 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

http://www.fishandmeat.hk/

https://www.facebook.com/FishandMeatHK

Al Dente (Wan Chai)

Al Dente (Wan Chai) is a small cozy Italian joint with the most hospitable and friendly staff I have ever met. Regardless of the fact if you are a first timer or regular, the manager is always outside greeting you with the biggest smile and always takes a minute or so out of his time to chat with you. Since I started up Hong Kong Bites I have been itching to come back here so I'd be able share their food with you people on the interwebs. I've been here maybe 6 or 7 times in the past four months and I am never, ever, disappointing with the food and service. I always come here for dinner and I always end up getting their dinner set menu, which is HKD 228 + 10% service for a 4 course dinner. Not bad eh? They are not the kind of place that does unnecessary frou-fou with their plating, I think the food is simple, cooked well and just speaks for itself. That is why I love it.

In your 4-course dinner they start you with some homemade bread with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You have the choice to pick one appetizer and main. If you go with pasta as your main, you can choose any one on the al-carte menu! I thought that was pretty cool when I first got here. 

This time around I ordered their mini-antipasto and lamb fillet (I highly recommend this one). The portion for the antipasto is pretty decent for one person. I know restaurants that would serve the same portion for a whole table. It had smoked salmon, parma ham, salami, buffalo mozzarella, fetta cheese, olives (they were hidden underneath), some pickled yellow peppers and grilled veggies (zucchini, eggplant and artichoke). Great start to dinner. 

On to the main course, grilled lamb fillets, which is always cooked perfectly. Never over or under done, if I ask for medium it comes medium. Its juicy, succulent and all sorts of good. Their grilled lamb comes with a mint sauce kind of gravy and if you don't know already, mint sauce and lamb are the PERFECT COMBO! Compliments the lamb so well. Veggies, without fail, are cooked well and have rosemary on them too :) (Another great combo with the lamb). The the potato mash is super smooth (sorry if you can't see it, it's underneath the veg). 

My partner ordered their grilled steak with pepper sauce, and it was cooked to a perfect medium (so hard to find places that know how to grill a steak to your preference that aren't ridiculously expensive). Also, there was barely any fat around the steak, another bonus because places within the same price range tend to have lots of fat left on the steak because they haven't bothered to trim or render it.

Today for dessert they had the banoffee pie with ice cream. It usually rotates between the banoffee pie or tiramisu. Sometimes they have both, so make sure to ask! My partner told me that they serve apple crumble too (and I LOVE apple crumble), but when I asked the manager if they had any today he said it finished up at lunch. So there I was busy eating my dessert and to my surprise he comes with two plates of poached apples with cinnamon, raisins and ice-cream (in addition to our two plates of desserts) on the house! I think they ran out of crumble and had some apples left, but I still thought it was really nice of him to bring it out for us. 

(apples and cinnamon..om nom nom)

If you are to ever visit Al Dente in Wan Chai, as I said before, expect great tasting perfectly cooked food, the friendliest staff and lovely service. Do let me know about your experience at the restaurant in the comment section below :)

Al Dente 

153 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai

LOKALI

This past week I made a deal with myself that I would have to have at least two healthy meals a day (even better if they were organic). So while I was searching the web for organic stores in Hong Kong I came across LOKALI, which is run by Just Green (organic convince store). I checked their website, saw their cafe menu and thought I'd give it a go. Their fresh produce are organic, their coffee and teas are fair trade and meats are sustainably sourced. What I found great is that they have gluten-free breads and cake! It's so hard to find places that sell gluten free products over the counter. It's a small cute cafe located right at the corner of Wan Chai and is open 10:30am to 7:00pm daily.

I got there about 6:30pm, but I would recommend going there for breakfast, lunch or tea beacuse their set combos are quite reasonable. Their food is inspired from all over the world and they change their salads and hot food selection daily.

I decided to go with their "medium" salad (3 choices), it was only HKD 68. I went for the quinoa (on the far right), pumpkin and eggplant (second from the left) and Thai papaya salad (first on the left). Now don't you go thinking that the food was bland, plain or flavorless! I enjoyed each single salad; the quinoa was still nice and fluffy, veggies were not soggy and still retained their flavor, they were dressed with lots of of herbs (I wasn't just tasting plain pumpkin and eggplant) and lastly my favorite the Thai green papaya salad, it was zingy, crunchy, spicy (not too much) and garlicy. The portion in the picture below doesn't look too big, but that plate was the size of both of my hands put together and it was really filling dinner. Oh, and just letting you know, they only topped the salad with a bit of lettuce (not tons to be cheap), underneath the lettuce was still a mountain of the three salads.

If you are either trying eat healthier and work/live in Wan Chai, want to be support and be a part of the organic community, looking for a place that provides gluten free products or are around the neighborhood make sure to try this place out.  I know I will be visiting again :)

LOKALI
82A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai

Bao Wow

Continuing my food journey this week, I'd gone to Bao Wow Thursday night before they closed for Chinese New Year. I was super excited to finally down these baos because I'd been following Bow Wow on facebook and their concept seemed quite interesting (and all their bao posts looked delicious!). Prior to hearing about Bao Wow I honestly had no clue what a gua bao was or tasted like, but I love trying new things, so I did my research and the place seemed promising. For all you gua bao newbies (like I was), the easiest way I can explain a gua bao would be a clam shaped/taco shell shaped fluffy white steamed bun.

I came in about 7:30pm and the place was empty (it was the last working day before Chinese New Year). They offer six types of baos on their menu, few sides and two desserts. You can make your order a combo that includes two baos plus a drink, with a choice to upgrade it with sides. We decided to go with the bao platter which gave us all six baos on the menu and ordered two drinks. This came to a total of HKD 198, which seemed pretty reasonable for me. It took them just a few minutes to prepare and the baos were served straight to us on our table in steamer baskets.

This was the Original Gua Bao (pork belly, chinese relish, cilantro, crushed peanuts and red sugar). The flavors were really nice and the pork was braised very well, but the fat was just far too much. I understand that the pork belly in a gua bao has to have fat, but there was more fat than there was pork and every bite had a very mushy texture. Not sure if it is meant to be that way, but this was not for me.

The Kimchi Bulgogi Bao (grilled sliced beef, kimchi, bean sprouts and homemade bulgogi sauce) below was alright. I was expecting the beef to be severed hot but it was cold and a bit chewy, the beansprouts and kimchi added a nice texture in the bao, but I think it might have tasted better if the beef was hot.  

Next on the list was the Pangpang Chicken (shredded chicken, cucumber, crushed sichuan spicy peanuts and homemade sesame sauce). Again, the flavors and textures were nice but, this too was cold. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be served cold, personally I would expect anything with a spicy sichuan flavor to be hot or warm. 

The Sesame Ginger Pork Chop (fried pork chop, shredded cabbage and homemade sesame ginger sauce) bao had a tender pork and was good to taste. 

This was the one I liked best out of all of the baos, their Thai Fish Fillet (fried fish, Asian slaw and homemade thai fish sauce). The fish was nice and soft and the exterior was crispy and not oily. The homemade fish sauce was creamy but had a nice tang to it, I would call it an asian tartar sauce. All and all, I quite liked it.  

Another nice one on the menu was their Teriyaki Tofu Bao (fried egg tofu, shitake mushroom and teriyaki sauce). The tofu was light and silky when I bit into it and the teriyaki sauce had a subtle flavor and was not too overpowering. 

I would say Bao Wow has great ideas up their sleeve but it could do with a few tweeks here and there. I wish them all the luck for Chinese New Year! I may drop by again to try their Bao Fries with ovaltine and condensed milk, really wanted to try them out but was too full by the time I was done with my baos. If any of you have been to Bao Wow and had a different experience let me know!

Bao Wow

28 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai,

Hong Kong

Racha Moo Yang

I discovered this tiny street stall restaurant a few years ago in Wan Chai and have been a regular ever since. Had some lunch here today and thought I would share the goodness. Racha Moo Yang is really just simple honest Thai food. Sitting by the street with those fold-able tables and plastic chairs really brings back memories of my childhood, so this place really hits home for me. If you've been searching for a place in Hong Kong for authentic Thai food, search no more! Every single dish I have ordered here is packed with a punch. If your tummy can't take the spice make sure to let them know before you order! There have been occasions where the spice almost knocked a few people out.

If you know me, you have most likely already eaten here (I have raved about it to almost everyone I know). I would definitely recommend their Stir fried noodles with chilli and Thai hot basil (Pad Khi Mao). You can have it with beef, pork or chicken, but I usually just have it with veg. The portion doesn't look too big below but you could share it between the two.

Their girlled pork neck (Kho Moo Yang) is THE BEST, and they actually grill the pork and not pan fry it, like most places here. It is soft, succulent with a bit of crispy char on the outside. Their homemade dipping sauce really complements the pork, it's salty, spicy, sour and sweet. Just typing about this is making me want to go there and eat it again

 

The seafood here really well made too. I've had it a few times but didn't order any today, BUT, I did take a few pictures of the menu to share if anybody reading were ever to visit. Their glassy shrimp with chilli, lime and garlic sauce is mouthwatering (have this 99% of the time when I go for dinner). This plate is not for the faint-hearted, if you have a good spice tolerance you'll love it. If not, you'll need a few glasses of milk to help you get through the night. It is great value for money too $99 for 10 shrimps! Not bad eh?

If it's a special occasion I order one of the two dishes below with a bowl of rice. Their Tom Yum Kung is one of the best I have had in Hong Kong, very authentic. Spicy, sour goodness (with a hint of sweet)! The Prawns in chilli garlic gravy is a great dish to share, I've ordered it three times now and they cook it perfectly and plate looks how it does in the picture when they serve it.

If you are ever in Wan Chai, Racha Moo Yang is open all day and most of the night. So if you have some late night munchies after a few drinks or just wandering around, keep this place in mind! There's always two Thai women running the place regardless of the time.

Racha Moo Yang

Shop AB, 87 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai

22 Ships

I visited this place on the 4 of Jan, it was another restaurant on my bucket list :) I had come in for an early lunch date with a friend because I heard it gets really busy at night. The restaurant was quite resourceful with how the placed the tables, they had a large rectangular communal table placed right where the bottom of a window would be. One person would be sitting on the "inside" of the restaurant while the other would be facing inwards but sat "outside". I'll have to take a picture of the exterior so you get an idea of what I mean.

Some of the dishes we ordered were just little pieces of delicate art. It was so hard for me to eat but I was salivating at the same time.

This was the scallop ceviche with apple, walnut and yuzu dressing. If you had a bite full of each ingredient it was a great contrast in textures and flavors. My friend really enjoyed this one. 

This was their beef tartare with egg yolk puree, pickled mushrooms and hazelnut. Doesn't the dish look so beautiful! There was more beef on the plate but I ate it before taking the picture (sigh..). The crostini was wafer thin with some garlic and the egg yolk puree was really interesting, almost gel like. If you want to maximize your flavor intake on this you need take the beef, mushroom, egg yolk puree and place it all on the crostini and have a mouth full of goodness. 

Now this dish is an absolute WINNER! Oberico pork and foie gras burger with avocado and cucumber pickles. Yes, they maybe small, but boy do they make up in flavor. Each serving comes with two and the burger patty is just so juicy and tender, I was ready to eat another serving! Make sure to put the avocado spread to maximize on flavor!

Coconut sorbet, mango & lime. This was the perfect end to our meal. Cleanses the palate and so refreshing. Dishes like this truly excite me. The sorbet had a strong coconut flavor but still light, then they had little pulps of lime that were bursts of of tangy citrus and the creamy sweet mango to balance. This dessert was perfect, it was like flavors dancing around in my mouth. 

If you ever are going I would definitely recommend the foie gras burger and coconut sorbet. You won't be disappointed!

22 Ship

22 Ship St., Wan Chai, Hong Kong