All posts filed under: Hipster

Lee Lo Mei: Creative Hong Kong Food with Quality Ingredients

Published by

Learning that a plate of rice rolls (cheung fan/腸粉) at Lee Lo Mei would cost HK$138 initially made me roll my eyes at a potentially overpriced gimmicky spot. I was skeptical as to whether foie gras and truffle would actually be a meaningful upgrade to the traditional cheung fan, which is already delicious with simple char siu or minced beef. I mentioned these feelings while having brunch at Mamasita’s Cantina five floors up (same restaurant group) one day, and a friend insisted that the food was genuinely really good, while acknowledging the slightly high prices. So I finally checked it out for myself, and could not agree more with the summary that it’s pricey but it’s good. Charmingly Colourful Dai Pai Dong Decor Lee Lo Mei’s use of the Hong Kong dai pai dong theme is hipster-ish borderline cliche, though perfectly in line with their menu offering. They used better quality foldable tables and stools to recreate that local street vibe, but the consequence of uncomfortable seating is admittedly a questionable compromise for cute decor. That said, half of the tables had better chairs – …

Pacamara: Hipster Brunch Cafe in Singapore

Published by

When work life back at home starts to overwhelm you, taking a long weekend trip to Singapore to eat brunch for three consecutive days with your bff of 16 years could not be more rejuvenating. Well it was more about having great company and nothing but Singapore’s amazing hipster brunches on my agenda for three days. 3 Brunches in One Long Weekend I visit Singapore quite often, and it’s hardly ever been for work. Apart from the hawker centres, my favourite part is the excellent selection and quality of hipster cafes. Hong Kong may be known for good food, but Singapore beats it for its brunch scene hands down. See also: List of my favourite cafes in Hong Kong Last year, I paid a visit to Curious Palette, but the choices I covered this time were even better. Over my three day weekend, we went to Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters, Common Man Coffee Roasters and Artichoke. I think I equally loved each one for different reasons. Pacamara’s location is a bit random but Uber-ing around Singapore …

9 Coffee Shops to Visit in London

Published by

I honestly love coffee exploring as much as I love food exploring. There’s something so necessary about smelling those beans and sipping a hot drink when the sun is out, no matter where in the world I am. Plus I love how it doesn’t compromise the number of meals I can intake in the day. So when I’m on holiday, in a city, I always make it a mission to try out as many good coffee shops as I can. I briefly attempted during my trip last year from London, Nottingham to Edinburgh. I also came up with a list of 5 Coffee Shops to Visit in Taipei earlier this year. Now here’s a proper one for London! (Addresses are all in the Google map at the end of this post) 1. Timberyard Let me say it upfront, Timberyard was my favourite coffee shop in London this time. Ok, the coffee is good but perhaps wasn’t necessarily the most outstanding one we had, but I just loved the feeling of being in this cafe. We went to …

Cafe Greenprint: New Green-Conscious “Realistically Healthy” Spot

Published by

Comfortable light green shades, wooden furniture and quotes dotted on the walls – I was already sensing that this would be a cafe worth writing about when I saw the entrance. Of course the “healthy” concept was the selling point which attracted me here in the first place, but it’s the, I would say “realistically healthy” or “sustainably healthy” food, that left me impressed in the end. What I mean is that, they don’t exactly serve organic-only food, nor do they focus on superfood salads, raw diets or any of those detox fads that have become so popular in magazines and the internet these days. They added a bit of imagination to real food, and made sure every meal is nutritious. And the food was delicious. Set lunch is served from 11:00am-2:30pm and includes an appetiser, main course, quinoa & red rice and hojicha. The price tag of HK$100-140 is definitely not super appealing, but for the quality and taste of the food, this would definitely be my regular lunch spot if I worked near Taikoo. Tofu Coconut …

Infographic on How to Use the Chemex

Published by

When I was first served coffee from the Chemex, it looked scarily unfamiliar and even complicated. But the coffee was great and it turns out it’s not as complicated as its name would suggest. It’s essentially a pourover and this infographic from Camano Island Coffee explains how you can do it at home. You can also sample some of Camano Island Roasters’ beans. I loved the Papua New Guinea coffee beans. They were medium roast, well balanced in taste and perfect for all types of coffee drinkers, i.e. not too bitter and not at all acidic/sour. Those who sign up to their coffee club can also try a pound for free (applicable to US residents only). Check out the infographic below and share your experience!

Elephant Grounds: Ice Cream Sandwich and K11 Pop-up

Published by

Elephant grounds may or may not be pioneers of the ice cream sandwich trend in Hong Kong, but they’ve definitely created a league of their own with their perfectly structured and beautifully decorated mini frozen creations. Each new flavour looks meticulously crafted, but its taste is always equally impressive. It’s no wonder they always sell out before 1pm on weekends! …or so I heard! In fact, I don’t frequent as often as I’d like to because they’re hidden at the back of their woaw store all the way in Sheung Wan and their larger store is all the way in Wong Chuk Hang. But the great news for Kowloon people like me is that they now have a pop-up store in K11 (until 31 August 2015), serving coffee and ice creams! The “Terror Richer” is the ice cream flavour exclusive to this pop-up store (and the only ice cream sandwich sold there) and features a DELICIOUS crunchy cookie and hazelnuts surrounding the ice cream. They also have a handful of other interesting ice cream flavours …

Unique fusion at more-than-ever hipster Mrs. Pound

Published by

If you’ve already heard of this recent hipster addition to the Sheung Wan dining scene, then you probably know the curious story about Mrs. Pound being hidden behind the façade of Mr. Ming’s Chinese stamp shop. Unique and tastefully fused The fact that you can’t tell that this is a restaurant from the outside (and that you need to push a mysterious stamp to open the door), is probably what makes this place kind of cool. But the selling point for a non-hipster (like me), is that the food is unique and tastefully fused, while not being uncomfortably creative. Lousy service The only disappointment of the night was the lousy service as the waiters/waitresses had gotten our order wrong, but refused to replace it unless we paid extra. Then on another occasion had forgotten our order altogether. There were also some funny excuses of “feng shui” being the reason the stereo volume could not be turned down. Nonetheless, the consensus from our group of five girls, after some contemplating, was that we would still come back for …