All posts tagged: cafe

Cafe at Hyatt Regency: A Seafood Lover’s Buffet

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Dinner buffets are sometimes shunned for their subpar quality of food. But growing up with younger siblings, it was almost a ritual for any of our family celebrations. So no matter how un-classy loving buffets may seem, they do secretly have a place in my heart. They tend to be an especially apt choice when there are kids in your group, but the selection at Cafe 咖啡廳 of Hyatt Regency (K11, Tsim Sha Tsui) will impress adults equally as much, if not even more. They have the most extensive variety of choices I’ve seen in Hong Kong, and more importantly, the quality of their food was impressive. Poached Lobster *must order* With so much on offer at this buffet, it’s impossible to get through even just their seafood offerings. They served chilled crab legs, prawns, crabs and mussels; they also had grilled scallops, oysters and tandoori tiger prawns. But the one thing you can’t miss is their poached lobster. Not only was it fresh and prepared-to-order, it was also cooked perfectly. The texture was crisp …

Unexpected Reasons to Love Chiang Rai, Thailand

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Having accumulated 16 of Thailand’s immigration stamps over the past two or so years, it’s easy to rule that this is my favourite Asian country to visit. But Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Bangkok do get boring, which is why this time I ventured up North to Chiang Rai, when I was looking for an equally convenient destination for a short trip over Christmas (and the weather turned out to be perfect during this period). Where is Chiang Rai? Chiang Rai is further up north from the better-known Chiang Mai, bordering Myanmar and Laos. It is similarly mountainous and host to amazing scenery, cute coffee shops and interesting hill tribe vibes. It’s raw, very natural and relatively underdeveloped in terms of tourism and that’s the charm we enjoyed absorbing during our 5-day stay. Paying a visit to the standard itinerary items like White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), Singha Park and a tea plantation (Choui Feng) is probably a must, but here are some of the unexpected aspects we loved about our trip. 1. Beautiful Laid Back Garden Cafes Wherever …

8 New Restaurants for Weekday Lunch Dates

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It was January 2015 when I came up with a list of 10 restaurants in Central for lunch dates – you know, for when someone is counting on you to make a decision on where to go for that team lunch or catch up. But the Hong Kong dining scene evolves quickly (i.e. restaurants frequently close) and people get bored easily – so here are some of my latest suggestions. This time, the list goes beyond Central and to the wider CBD area of Hong Kong. Leave a comment below and share your favourite lunch spot! For locations, check out the map at the end of the post. 1. Mercato – Italian (Central) I first visited Mercato for dinner (see the full review here). I loved the food and vibes so much that I was eager to return for lunch, especially given the restaurant’s convenient location in California Tower. At HK$198 for two-courses, the set lunch didn’t seem like an amazing deal. But the portions were extremely generous, especially for the salmon tartare starter which I …

9 Coffee Shops to Visit in London

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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

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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 …

Why 50: New Favourite Coffee Shop in Sheung Wan

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Some Friday lunch times, I feel like exploring new places and cafes are my favourite things to discover. Why 50 quickly came to mind because I had seen it on the Foodie website and this new coffee shop discovery phone app, Kawa, also recommended it. It’s located in Sheung Wan, which turned out to be a great location because the vibe was much more chilled out (than the unpleasantly buzzing cafes in Central) and I could enjoy a 15-20 minute walk there from my office. One of my Favourite Coffee Spots The coffee was amazing! And as I posted three snapchats at this place, close friends who had been, were quick to reply and agree with me. The coffee was so good that I also checked if they sell their own coffee beans – since I recently bought an Illy Francis Francis coffee machine at home; they say they may do so in the future. See a list of my other recommended coffee shops in Hong Kong here. Food is an Even Bigger Must The good …

#lollefood Monthly – November & December 2015

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#lollefood is the tag I use on Instagram for all my recommended food items devoured in Hong Kong. Every month I consolidate some of the new food discoveries I’ve made in attempt to give you all a basis for brainstorming your next dinner or snack outing. Lots of new restaurants have opened up this November and December! I was also in Singapore for a short while and got to visit some lovely cafes like Curious Palette. I’m also currently enjoying a short but lovely resort life in Koh Samui – though I’m expecting to be too lazy to get out of my hotel room and explore food this time round! See the previous versions here. New Restaurants Le Garcon Saigon is one of the latest Vietnamese restaurants to join the diverse dining scene in Hong Kong, located near Star Street. They focus on the less mainstream dishes and not at all on beef pho. I loved their Banh Xeo and they also serve amazing desserts. Read the full review here. Tetsu is the newest Japanese tsukemen ramen shop …