Bites: Hometown Kitchen @ Parkwood

While I have been eating in many places, travelling beyond the city is typically outside the boundary of my comfort zone.  Nevertheless, a little travelling can sometimes payoff quite well.  A couple of km’s out of city lies a quality restaurant which serves homestyle Malaysian food.  It list of impressive menu has common Malaysian food like herbal chicken, curry fish head, and other things which revolves about the delicious sambal.  For this dinner of mine, my ambitious crew of three decided to bite more than we can chew.

 

Some of the food we ordered includes:

Claypot Eggplant with minced pork and chilli!  This dish was probably the least favourite of the night.  While its sauce was thick and tasty, it seemed to lack the typical Malaysian touch which for me is a more well fried brinjal cooked in a sauce which uses a little bit more “tau cheong” or preserved bean sauce.  Nevertheless, its good dish to have with rice!

 

Next was the fried king prawn in two sauce.

This dish despite its simplicity sticks to a faultless formula which some might critic it for being to simple or unenthusiastic.  But seriously, a teenage eater can’t complain when its mayonnaise with fried prawns!  Hometown Kitchen adds its own touch with some cut fruits to mix with their prawn salad.  On the other end of the plate is the prawns with Thai chilli sauce which was pretty good as well!

 

Fish head curry.

Despite serving strong dishes like the king prawn and other dishes which I have tried before like the homemade bean curd, nothing quite satisfies my taste buds like Hometown Kitchen’s Curry Fish served in Claypot.  With a delectable sauce with heaps of spices, this was one dish that had me eating many bowls of rice.  Not to mention, some of the deep fried fish pieces were actually still crispy making it extremely pleasurable to bite into!  More importantly, the fish used does not have the fishy stench which usually keeps me away from such dishes! For this dish, I would definitely score it a 8/10!  This is strongly recommended by my friends as well!

 

Overall, Hometown Kitchen serves quality food at decent prices.  What its eggplant dish lacked off was made up the prawns and the curry fish dish.  Service here was fair.  It was not attentive like fine dining but neither was it bitchy.  Judging from the satisfaction I had, a next visit is not too far away!

 

WenY

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Taiwan: Din Tai Fung!

After almost a week in Taipei, we were finally settling in for the world’s most popular dumpling chain, Din Tai Fung.  With its stores ever so popular around the globe, we headed back to its humble roots which now spans 4 storeys towards the sky.  Queues are long even in the night.  Grab a number and you can go shopping because you know your turn isn’t until an hour’s wait is over.  But when its your turn, I guess there is a lot to drool about.  Its menu is impressive which definitely changes the initial thoughts that they only serve dumplings!

To start our meal, we ordered the drunken chicken!With a subtle taste of rice wine, it had a very pleasant fragrant.  Its chicken was cooked to near perfection and was really easy to eat.  I would not normally eat dishes which have lots of alcohol but this was really quite nice!

 

Pork Xiao Long Bao!Juicy pork dumplings were all the hype in Din Tai Fung.  Was it deserving or did the hype kill it?  Unfortunately, the later has prevailed as perfect skin and pork mince were marred by mediocre soup.  Could have done with a little more salt definitely!  For me what is the point of biting into a soup dumpling if the soup tastes bland @@!? 

 

Next was the prawn dumpling!While presentation counts, its not edible. With me having near perfect prawn dumplings from HK, Din Tai Fung definitely needed to up its game if it were to make me sway.  Unfortunately, back to my previous complains, prefect ingredients but too little seasoning.  What a waste of juicy prawns to be honest.  With that being said, Din Tai Fung is NOT HORRIBLE or BAD.  It just did not deserve the hype/craze that has been surrounding it.  Seriously, talk about hype :(!

 

 

In addition to the dumplings we also called a fried rice to share.  This was probably one of the best dishes that night! Perfect fried rice with no ingredients being spared. Generous bits of egg and prawns nestling among perfect grains of rice were definitely something worth mentioning!Additionally, we called the chicken version of the Xiao Long Bao which was almost impossible to differentiate between it and the pork one.  The only thing that gave it away was probably how one mince was darker than the other! Also, we ordered a bowl of beef stew and herbal chicken soup which to me was another blend failure. 

 

There was a stark contrast between the Taipei food culture which I have been experiencing up until now compared to Din Tai Fung.  In the night markets, we get stinky tofu, massive chunks of seasoned fried chicken, juicy pork buns and so many other strong flavoured foods.  Where as, in this crowned jewel of Taiwan, I felt cheated or fazed by the lack of taste.  Like I mentioned before, it was not horrible to the extent of disgust but rather a feeling of disappointment. 

 

WenY

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Taipei: Just a little bread dessert!

Being the talk of the town for over a year now, Dazzling Cafe is a one of a kind cafe where simple things are made magical.  Bread desserts are its main specialties with ingredients freshly flown from France every day.  For that day, we ordered 5 loaf of honey toast!

Dazzling Cafe’s Mont Blanc Honey Toast!  With an outer crust filled with carefully sliced toast with a butter and honey glazing this was yummy! Mont Blanc or chestnut flavoured cream tasted sweet and refreshing.  With some ice cream and fruits.  It was lovely! A really good dessert if you do not mind the calories!

 

Classic Honey Toast!Similar to the Mont Blanc toast, it was similar  with the exception of the chestnut cream.  Nevertheless, it has all the essentials that makes it special.  I guess this is all that counts? :)!

 

Overall, the hype is not for nothing.  It was good, different and over the 5 bread desserts we ordered, they were consistent.  Unfortunately, being consistent also means tasting the same.  And I guess 5 loaves of honey toast  for 7 people are just way too much!  Anyways, this is definitely worth a try if you are in Taipei!  A little warning before hand, make your reservations early as the little darling made the booking a month before we flew off to our holidays!

 

WenY

Taiwan Trip: The story of 2 cows!

A meal of beef noodles has always been a great dining option.  Despite being such a common food in many Asian countries, many things can possibly go wrong.  Sucky noodles, tasteless broth, and chewy beef just to name a few.  Nevertheless, coming to Taiwan could possibly be a beef noodles lover paradise!  With so many different stalls to choose from, one would be held back only by price and stomach space.  From the little darling who watched a lot of Taiwanese host shows, the price of beef noodles can range from the low hundreds up until 1000 TWD.  Of the two which I had, the noodles which tasted best came from a shop in Ximending!

While I cannot read/speak Mandarin, the pair of red horns have easily made a strong impression!  This restaurant was rated as the top 10 best beef noodles in Taiwan and it was a lucky day for us that we stumbled upon it on that day when we were clueless about our food!

 

As good as it gets, popular eateries means having to queue up for a meal.

Hungry folks! But fortunately for us, the wait took little more than just 10 minutes as we were there past lunch time at about 2 in the afternoon!

Condiments for the day was cold stewed bean curd, bamboo shoots, beans and braised taufu pok! Most were pretty good with the exception of the bamboo shoots! I could have easily had another one of the braised taufu pok with rice. It was really delicious! Tasted something like the ones accompanying traditional Chinese Herbal Pork but even tastier! Slurps!

 

The main meal that day was the braised beef noodles.  With a choice of thin/thick handmade lai mien (pulled noodles), we all went for thin considering the thick one had already finished selling.  Unfortunately, I am never a fan of lai mien as I often found that it was rather thick (despite having the thinner one) and failed to absorb any of the delicious broth.  As for the soup, I had the spicy one which was a big FAIL compared to my peers who had the classic broth.  I’d have to say, the classic broth was rich and flavourful! Everything a soup base should be!  And now, for the beef, it was decadent.  Despite looking dry and cut too thick, it is everything I did not expect! It was moist with melt in your mouth bits. Really surprising!  If I had to guess, it was the translucent swirly parts of the meat that made it taste so good!

 

Overall, this had to be the best beef noodles I have had in Taiwan only to be spoilt by a poor choice of soup and noodles.  If I had the original soup base, this meal would have been close to perfection!  Nevertheless, a good eat!

 

Regards,

WenY

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Taiwan Trip: Having Breakfast the Taiwanese Way!

Finishing a good trip to HK, the little darling and I flew to Taipei using EVA Airlines.  That is a seriously good airline company to travel by.  Our seats were business class size and treatment on-board were first class! Our holiday to Taipei was a new experience to me.  With no knowledge of speaking mandarin whatsoever, this means I am pretty much handicapped in a country renown for its night markets and glorious food.  But hey?  We have fingers for a reason is it not? xD!  In the next few post I will put up pictures of some of the many places that I have eaten which I believe deserve recognition :)! It’s purely subjective but yeah! Just feast your eyes :)!Taipei unlike HK felt rather old.  Everything thing here runs in alleys which gives it quite a nice feel.  And even though I am from Malaysia, the number of scooters in Taiwan is by far the most I have ever seen. 

 

Our breakfast just minutes from our service apartment located in Q Square!Juicy Pork Dumplings! Xiao Long Bao!

 

Super Crispy Youtiao! 

 

One shall not forget the delicious soya milk which is almost customary in the Taiwanese society! Its a really good drink which I enjoy almost everyday!

 

While this might not be your average Malaysian or Aussie breakfast, this sort of meal despite feeling bland at times is really quite satisfying  The taste of juicy pork dumplings is simply delicious; add it to the awesome feeling of tasty hot soup gushing out in the first bite? Smashing!  Crispy Yuetiao despite being and oily start to the morning is always easily washed away with the warm soy milk!  It was really good!

 

WenY

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CNY 2012: A Chinese New Year at home!

The moment of festivity is almost at its end for the Chinese!  Despite leaving home for almost a week now, the thoughts of how Chinese New Year used to be is not all that distant. From late night firecrackers to early morning prayers followed by a scrumptious all day vegetarian meal, its one childhood memory that will never be lost.  This year the celebration was a little smaller than it used to be, but mom did not hold back on her cooking for the reunion dinner! We had so much to eat that night, to start:

Yee Sang! The prosperity toss!

 

Next came mom’s superb sharks fin soup!

Unlike most places which would put less ingredients, there was no holding back from mom! Fresh crabs steamed and peeled, superior broth, dried scallops and pure sharks fin! Now, that is what I call a New Year delicacy!

 

After having all those appetizers we had the mains with rice:

Mom’s fried pomfret with fried garlic and herb garnishing!  Something which is not available fresh in Perth! I wonder why? Pomfrets are so good!

 

Mom’s baked crabs because steam crabs are too mainstream :P!

This was really yummy! It has been a long time since I have had this! Probably almost non-existent in Perth!

 

My contribution for the night:

Salt Pepper Prawns hehe! Luckily it turned out ok even though the batter has already lost its crunchiness when the relatives arrived!

 

This was for the Sang Choi Bow!  Mom made a special meat mixture with carrots, chestnuts and spring onions to be wrapped in lettuce! YUMS!

 

Arrow head with sliced pork and cilantro in fermented bean curd sauce!

This is one of mom’s specialty which took me ages to like! Now its like omagawd every time she makes this! Probably one of the dishes I look forward to the most each festival!

 

After having all the yummy food we did not just stop there.  We continued with tea and all the lovely CNY cookies which mom got! Also present was the Mochi which I brought back from my trip to Taiwan!  So next up on my blog? Taiwan ;)!

 

Also, Happy CNY to all my readers :)!

 

WenY

HK Trip: L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

After many days of nice if not superb local food, the little darling and I opted for something a little bit classier and sophisticated.  Taking on the recommendation of a popular Singaporean blogger and fellow UWA mate Glenn, we visited the L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon located in Landmark, Central.   L’Atelier is one of the more casual restaurants by Robuchon who already owns a string of 3 star restaurants around the globe.  At the restaurant, we were given seats at the bar counter facing the group of chefs preparing our food and to  be honest, it was a splendid show we had seeing the busy kitchen coming together.  Especially when the chefs kept shouting words of acknowledgement to the captain!

Staircase to great food! 

 

The Amuse Bouche that day was a chestnut soup served warm with drizzle of truffle oil and chestnut crisps.

The Amuse Bouche was simplicity at its best and the way it was presented before us by a Frenchman with an equally French moustache! I’d have to say, it was quite a sight!  The Amuse Bouche was really good.  I started of with that top bit that felt somewhat ‘foam like’ followed by a warm liquid and crispy bits of chestnut.  The taste was no more than saltiness with the sweetness of chestnuts but it was good!

 

Bread Basket

The bread basket at L’Atelier is one of insane choices.  Someone have probably mentioned it before that you would probably want to hold back on eating the bread but you know you cannot resist!  Between darling and I, we shared each of every pastry.  Out of the 8 or so choices, the mini croissant, sundried tomato twist and the fruit bun was the best.  Each were exceptionally tasty and  with the butter, it was even nicer!

 

For our appetizer, darling had the classic Landes Foie Gras:

Unlike the warm Foie Gras she has had so far, this one was served cold as a sort of spread on toast rather than warm with caviar.  Rather unfortunate, the delicious Foie Gras did not quite turn out as delectable as it felt lacking in creaminess/richness.  Its taste without a doubt was class act, but still it felt somewhat unfulfilling.

 

For my appetizer, I had the fresh crab meat and citrus jelly with fennel cream, crispy crab meat waffle .

The appetizer was quite a handful when it arrived.  Was I supposed to go from left to right or the other way around.  But being curious I had the toast first.  As classy as it looks, it taste and feels like I am eating one of those classic Chinese favourites, the prawn toast but with a slightly better flavouring of course.  Crab cake on the left was OK but was too little to enjoy.

 

The fresh crab meat and citrus jelly with fennel cream was probably one of the tastiest things that afternoon.  Consisting crab meat and bits of citrus jelly, it really did not taste as weird as I expected it to.  The crab meat was sweet and all that acidity from the jelly helped the crab mix with the fennel cream giving it that really distinct yet delightful taste.

 

Next came the soup. The soup was way better than the one we had previously at a Japanese restaurant. It did not feel overly rich from the cheese despite having lots of it. The pepper was just spot on to give you that spicy taste that makes it all taste so yummy! Even for onion haters, the onion here is cook so well to the extent that it is no longer pungent but instead is sweet.

Traditional French onion soup with Beaufort cheese gratin.  On its side is a tuile which is a thin piece of wafer topped with red onion paste and crispy white onions. This again was was another good initiative putting significant attention to details.

 

Cheese?!

 

Once we were done with our soup, the waiter promptly asked us whether we were finished before removing the plates. Out came darling’s main the  pan fried Wagyu beef flap with shallots and crunchy green beans, black pepper sauce.

Done in medium, it came out a little redder than expected. Fortunately, the meat was well rested and was still moist and juicy.  However, it is still a less fatty and slightly thin steak which means no bits of layers of tantalising fat as expected if you had a scotch fillet instead! Nevertheless it was still good although the little darling was a little put off by the redness of the meat!  It’s condiments once again used onions which was ok but at this stage was starting to get a little boring.  However, underneath those pieces of steak though is a caramelised balsamic onion which I though tasted quite special when eaten together with the beef.

 

My main was the deer stew.  With sprinkles of parsley and truffle bits along with some cone shaped puree on a thin piece of pastry, I found my main quite ambitious and artsy.  So many things for a simple dish really had me wondering what to expect.

Artsy!!

 

My main was an absolute delight from the start till the end. Everything seems faultless.  If there is a fault with the main that day, it was that the little darling refused to try any perhaps because eating a deer seemed too cruel ahaha.

Stew was tasty and moist without any stringy bits of meat that happens from time to time.  Also, the seasoning was lovely and there was not gamey smell at all. Mash was spot on and all the taste from the herbs and truffles along with the crisp bits made this whole dish an exceptional standout that day.  No wonder the waiter said “Excellent choice!” when I ordered.

 

Feeling a bit stuffed at this point, we were confronted with the appetizer course.  One which no level of fatness/fullness will resist!

Le Paris Brest which was a praline crème mousse stuffed into pastries which resembled mini profiteroles served with poached pear and pear sorbet.  Every aspect of this dish screams joy!  From the well flavoured praline to the lightness of the airy profiteroles. WOW!  Having every individual profiteroles with a slice of poached pear and a spoonful of pear sorbet tasted exquisite! Even little darling who had second thoughts about ordering the dessert was praising the dessert for its taste and freshness.  Magic and .. gold!

 

Lastly we were served hot tea and ‘things’ to put our meal to rest.

Consisting of lemon macaron, fruit jubes and crusted cocoa.  It was a sweet ending to both our meal and trip.  Jubes were jam packed in fruitiness that words cannot describe.  Darling was keen to buy a box but I am pretty sure they were not for sale.  Cocoa had subtle bitterness which calmed our heightened senses for sugar.  Macarons were sweet but lemon did its damage control!  At the end, we were so full we literally just let the escalator carry us down.  For $60 a head, it is not exactly what one would call great bargain.  But in comparison with general food prices in Perth, this was a steal!

 

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon really lives up to its hype and world recognition.  With heaps of other quality Robuchon restaurants around the world, one would not be too far from a food coma.  This meal easily comes in closely behind my trip to Jackson’s on my birthday!  Nevertheless, this restaurant had me leaving Hong Kong elated.  A good meal to start a good (hopefully) year! Hehe ;)

 

WenY

HK Trip: Central favourites!

After spending much time on Kowloon, we finally decided to cross over to Central to look around.  Typically, tourists would visit places like Lan Kwai Fong which is a drinking hole famous for people watching.  IMHO?  Overrated! Perhaps that its coming from a non-drinker, my argument is invalid :P! The other attraction would be the Peak which is a great place to catch the skyline at night:

Been here a couple times now! Still captivated by it!  The only bad thing about this place is that its freezing and extremely windy.  Coming at night in winter is crazy! Add that to the long queue to take the tram down and @@!

 

After awhile we headed back down to the CBD to find some stuff to eat.  We started with two scrumptious egg tarts which were fresh from the oven! 

I have to say, short crust pastry has never tasted better!  The Tai Cheong bakery one was so moist yet crumbly! Kick ass! As for the custard, it was good but not mind blowing!  Nevertheless, with a crust that is to die for, this was really good! Imagine a hot egg tarts and you are hungry on a cold night!  No wonder this bakery is often frequented by a men who once used to be the Premier of HK!

 

After having our egg tarts, we were looking to have noodles!  Instead of slurping down delicious serves of wanton noodles at the famous Mak’s place, we ate at a rival store just opposite the road as the former was closed. 

Among the locals, Tsim Chai Kee is often preferred as the noodles here are cheaper and tastier.  According to my sister and friends, Mak’s place is 50% more expensive and is served in a bowl no bigger than the small Ikea soup bowls but its yummy! The serving size would not have been an issue because Kau Kee which served the “best braised beef noodles” is just down the road! But oh well!

 

Disappointed as anyone could be, this turned out very much to be a blessing in disguise as the wanton noodles here were kick ass no doubt! 

My first spoon full was pure satisfaction as the hot broth tasted very delicious.  It was slightly oily so as to complement the smoothness of the noodles which were good itself!  Springy and more importantly, it does not carry that raw flour flavour.  Wantons were great as well.  So definitely no complains from me! Satisfaction achieved!  But in all honesty so as to no discriminate, I find that all the top wanton noodles as voted by the locals always have good prawn wantons. It is good the people here do not take crap because that is the way it should be!

 

Darling who is allergic to prawns opted for the sliced beef and fresh minced fish ball noodles:

Served with the exact same broth and noodles, the only difference here would be the condiments.  Seeing how tender those slices were, I really could not resist but pick bits and pieces of darling’s food!  It was good as well.  The tender beef slices could easily rival the king prawn wanton as the best condiment!  The fish ball too was good but little darling did not quite like the seasoning of the fish ball.  There was this sort of taste which I thought was fine but she disliked it.  So I willingly helped myself to both the fish balls :P!

 

I could not be happier after our meal.  With our stomachs filled, it was a great feeling compared to when we were starving up at the peak.  The meal as Tsim Chai Kee might be accidental but it was a great eat! Is this what the call serendipity? However, the next time I come, I will order the noodles with all three condiments! The wantons, the beef slices and the fish ball!  Why?  Because it is only 10 HKD more at most :)!

 

WenY

HK Trip: Desserts @ Paul Lafayet, Tsim Sha Tsui

On day 3, we enjoyed a scrumptious dim sim meal at Tim Ho Wan which I blogged before here.  Soon after, we decided to check out the Tsim Sha Tsui district which is well-known for its high end fashion and hotels where Bentleys and high powered German limousines are ‘normal’.  Of course I did not pick up anything for myself but I would have loved too if I could afford it :P!  But we did not leave empty handed as we picked up a little gift for the darling’s little brother sponsored by her sister xD! 

 

At night a light setup is used to showcase the beauty of the Central district from the Avenue of Stars.  I would not say that the show is mind blowing but it was worth the experience considering it is free to watch anyways!

The view of Central from Tsim Sha Tsui!

 

After visiting all the touristy stuff in the area, it was time to get serious! Fooooooooooooooood!  And since we already had our dinner, we were looking for some dessert in the area.  There we searched for a Paul Lafayet branch which is a French dessert shop with various outlets around HK. Seeing how lovely the desserts looked when we reached, we could hardly contain ourselves!

Crème Brulee is something so good that it has consistently topped my charts for favourite dessert year after year.  With the perfect consistency and crust, this dessert can easily make anyone crave for seconds.  And believe it or not, the one at Paul Lafayet delivers superbly.  The creaminess and sweetness was just spot on.  It does not leave that creamy taste and neither is it so sweet that it becomes cloying.  The texture was just right, silky smooth and extremely light.  Air bubbles were non-existent. To finish it all, the burnt crust was delicious despite being done by the waitresses at the store which seemed rather inexperienced at first.  I have to say, darling and I was really impressed.   What more could you ask for?

 

Macaron tart with wild berries.  A pastry filled with custard and decorated with berries before being finish by a Vanilla macaron.  While this dessert was good, I found that it tended to be something that was rather difficult to enjoy politely.  Its a dessert where one needs to take a bit of macaron and a little bit of berry along with the custard to get the right chemistry of sweetness and freshness.  When the berries were eaten alone with the custard, it tended to carry too much acidity making the whole dessert too sour and if you go with the custard and macaron alone, you’d probably complain of its sweetness.  Either way its a tough call.  But when messy fingers come in, nom nom nom! :)!

 

Classic Blueberry Cheesecake.  A simple cheesecake with the right amount of cheese in the mixture always leads to an orgasmic sensation.  Too much too brittle, too little too soft.  Its really an art which I have to say many have perfected and flopped.  I have eaten many good cheesecakes and despite having a large variation in prices, the quality of good or bad depends solely on the shop itself.  At Paul Lafayet, I would rate it somewhere between ok and good.  Probably nothing above but definitely nothing below.  But after having so many decadent desserts halfway through the trip, it was a hard call especially after having the awesome Crème Brulee!

 

Once we were done ordering, a friendly men approached us and started talking about the restaurant.  He was actually the owner of the franchise in HK and he was really friendly.  He told us about how the restaurant came by and its key effort to increase customer satisfaction lies in the core ingredients which are fresh with absolutely no preservatives or flavouring.  I think he mentioned imported from France too?  I guess that explains the fairly pricey price tag of the desserts there!  When we finished our little chatter he offered us free macarons! Nom nom nom! But to be honest, I never quite understood macarons.  They are always too sweet for my liking with the exception of flavours like Jasmine and Lavender.  Those are really special!

 

Having stuffed our face, darling and I were all smiles.  I guess having good desserts to reward ourselves after a long day of walking is well earned!   Would I recommend Paul Lafayet to my friends? Heck yes! Despite being labelled as factory food by some, it taste nothing like it.  In fact, I was actually surprised with the quality of the desserts despite them being made in large quantities.  Kudos!

 

WenY

HK Trip: Desserts @ Luk Lam!

After an obviously mediocre meal of wanton noodles, the little darling and I decided to drown our disappointment by enjoying desserts in the Sam Shui Po area.  One thing I have learned from all my previous trips to HK, is that the desserts here are truly amazing and they clearly part of the HK dining culture.  Dessert shops here are mostly filled with people of all ages especially at night.  Luk Lam clearly was not lacking in fans that day.  There was a queue for takeaways and the tables inside were packed.  In fact, they  even have an established Facebook fan page!  And from what I have seen, lots of check-ins and a good amount of fans on it too!

 

Like?

 

My usual dessert :

The dessert which I ordered was a mix of mango, sago and pomelo fruit! Generous servings of mango paired with a sure win combination made this dessert a winner for me.  Always is!

 

As for darling…

Dinner sucked? No worries! EAT ALL THE DESSERT! Yeap that’s right, the mango pudding, durian pancake and a red bean soup mixed with tau fu fah!   Even the couple who shared table with us thought we were nuts when they saw what we ordered!

 

By the time we were done, the mango pudding came out the obvious winner out of the three with their pudding having the right amount of sweetness and taste.  The additional milk was spot on as it went really well with the flavours of the pudding!  As for the durian pancake, the generosity of Luk Lam in putting the fruit in did help make this dessert worth the money but as a person familiar with the king of fruits, the quality of durian used was deplorable.  Instead of being creamy and rich, it was unripe and crunchy.  Could have been a lot better! And the worse one that night was the red bean soup with tau fu fah!  Red bean soup was unenthusiastic.  Bitter orange peel was horrible. Not to mention their tau fu fah (bean curd dessert) was rough in comparison to the ones we had before.  Honestly, I would never eat that dessert ever again! I guess it just was not my type! 

 

Overall, this is the right place for mango type desserts like the one pudding and soup I ordered.  But I was also told that their black sesame desserts are delicious as well. Regardless, I would never come here for either the red bean soup or tau fu fah again.  Definitely have them written off my list!

 

Stuffed to the brim? Checked!  Satisfied? Checked! 

 

WenY

HK Trip: Wanton Adventure @ Lau Sham Kee

If you have tried looking for the best Wanton noodles in Hong Kong through the internet, you will realise that this is a never ending debate involving both tourists and locals.  Finishing our day at the big Buddha, darling and I got off the train a few stops earlier at Sam Shui Po.  There, we dined at a highly rated Wanton Noodles shop call Lau Sham Kee which has been dishing out quality noodles for many decades now.  On top of its list is the Ha Chi Lou Meen or in English the dry wanton noodles with dried shrimp roe.  Darling despite being allergic to prawns ordered that despite being allergic to it while I conservatively picked the traditional wanton noodles. 

 

The classic dry wanton noodles!

 

The famous dry noodles with dried shrimp roe.

 

Each of the noodles came with a serve of wanton soup as well:

 

Over all, I have to insist that we came here expecting more.  The prawn noodles instantly scared the little darling off and instead she had mine.  In all honestly, the noodles were sufficiently bouncy and tasty but having that much hyped roe is an acquired taste rather than anything else.  For me, I love seafood but found that the roe left me with a gritty feel which I dislike.  Instead, I am more seasoned to slurping smooth textured noodles!  Hence, I felt that this was nothing special.  However, I must insist that the wanton soup tasted yummy and with the added freshness of the prawns, what can I say?  It was yummilicious!   In fact I happily enjoyed darling’s bowl of soup as she was allergic to prawns.  Double win!   But do not be put off from giving this restaurant a try.  In fact this might be for you considering this place is packed from lunch till midnight proving that some people really enjoy the shrimp roe noodles.  Hence, do give it a shot as its really near the train station at 82 Fuk Wing Street,Sham Shui Po, Kowloon H.K.

 

WenY