All posts tagged: noodles

Lee Lo Mei: Creative Hong Kong Food with Quality Ingredients

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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 – …

Fujiyama 55: Japanese Sea Urchin Tsukemen

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Ever since 三田製麵所 Tsukemen Mitaseimenjo and Tetsu opened up in Causeway Bay, I’ve been hooked onto Japanese tsukemen noodles. But what is tsukemen? Unlike the more prevalent type of soup ramen, Japanese tsukemen noodles are much thicker and are not served in a soup broth. Instead, a smaller bowl of thick broth is served on the side, which is usually extremely dense and flavourful. You’re meant to pick up a few strands of the noodles then dip it in the sauce before slurping. Quick lunch in Tsim Sha Tsui East A flavourful broth and al dente noodles are a must for my bowl of tsukemen noodles. But when I was walking around Tsim Sha Tsui East for a quick lunch to kill some time, I came across this quaint-looking Japanese storefront and saw that they sell sea urchin tsukemen. I was instantly sold. Sea urchin? A surprisingly good fit for ramen From the menu photos, I wasn’t sure if sea urchin would be a good match for ramen noodles, or if this was just one of those places trying …

3 Casual Spots for a Satisfying Bowl of Beef Pho

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A hot bowl of beef pho is the best kind of comfort food. Even with the sometimes unbearably hot weather in Hong Kong, I still crave sipping on the flavourful broth of a good bowl of these Vietnamese soup noodles. I used to go to Bep a lot; their food in general is pretty good. However, in the past year or so, a number of Vietnamese restaurants have opened up and they’re definitely good competition. Le Garcon Saigon and Viet Kitchen pop up to my mind to be the delicious new(ish) ones. But when it comes to beef pho, the super casual spots seem to do it right. Maybe it’s because they invest all their efforts perfecting the broth, rather than inventing interesting new menu items. There’s a place in my stomach for both, but let’s talk about the beef pho here! 1. Le Pho: All-Rounded Le Pho is the latest teeny pho spot to catch my eye on Lyndhurst Terrace. Most of the seats are by the bar (high stools), so it’s very very casual. It’s …

Tetsu: New Japanese Tsukemen Ramen in Causeway Bay

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Straight outta Japan, つけめんTETSU is the latest Tsukemen noodles joint to open doors in Hong Kong (5 November 2015). What is Tsukemen (沾麵)? Tsukemen is a specific type of Japanese ramen noodle where you dip each strand of noodles into a thick flavourful soup/sauce before taking each bite. After finishing your noodles, a separate hot light broth is usually poured into the thick sauce and you can have the mixture as soup. Although I’ve only had a handful of different Tsukemens in Hong Kong, this one at Tetsu is decidedly my favourite! Extremely Al Dente I ordered the standard Tsukemen option, where the noodles are served cold (and dry) while the thick soup on the side is hot. The plain noodles by itself was already pretty outstanding given its perfectly chewy al dente texture. I’d definitely suggest going with the cold (“normal”) option as the “hot” noodles option are served in soup and start getting soggy as it cooks itself while you eat. The soup here is also extremely flavourful. Yet at the same time …

Bun Cha Vietnamese: Best Beef Pho in Hong Kong

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See also: 3 Casual Spots for a Satisfying Bowl of Beef Pho Vietnamese food, specifically pho bo is one of my favourite kinds of comfort food. But coming across a good bowl of beef pho is not the norm when eating Vietnamese in Hong Kong. Usually you get served Chinese ho fun noodles that’s gone just a little too soft with a few slices of uninspiring overcooked beef. Nha Trang and Bep (featured in 5 Restaurants Worth Revisiting Again and Again) are probably among the tiny handful of Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong serving pretty decent bowls of pho. But the best one I’ve had (and it was only as recent as last week) has to be the one from Bun Cha Vietnamese Cafe & Restaurant. I think it’s opened by a Vietnamese woman (who you’ll likely see in there), operated by Vietnamese staff and all this authentic-ness shows in the taste of the food. Beef Pho *must order* It’s really hard to capture how good this pho bo tasted in a photo. Some telling factual descriptions include: they …

Ore-no Kappou: Michelin quality inevitably still comes with a price

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Ore-no Kappou markets itself to serve Michelin-quality food for the masses. I had just finished my post-work workout at LKF’s Pure and was thinking of casual Japanese food, Sen Ryo? Then I remembered Ore-no Kappou being downstairs and decided to give it a shot. Worth my money but not “affordable” Casual is the environment but definitely not the price. At HK$700 per person, it is hardly a meal to be labelled “affordable”. That said, there were cheap items in addition to expensive ones and the latter items were always sufficiently backed by excellent quality, that I would say, justifies the price. So the Michelin-quality part of their marketing proposition, does indeed apply to the ingredients they use. Excellent and fresh quality Assorted Sashimi (small portion) – HK$480 *must order* The high quality of their food was most evident in the sashimi. Everything on that platter was super fresh and extemely delicious. The toro was so fat that that alone filled up half my stomach. They also had sea urchin as part of this platter that day, but I’m no fan and …

Guide to Hong Kong Local Food

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Do you ever have visitors in town but struggle to recommend a good and truly local Hong Kong restaurant? I do and it’s probably because the last 10 meals I had before that would’ve been Italian, Thai, steaks, xiao long bao, Spanish, French, fusion and some other fusion. While there’s an abundance in variety of excellent quality international food in Hong Kong, there’s of course an even better offering of local cuisine. But here’s at least a concise starting point with places which cook truly local food, is affordable and accessible. 1. Dim Sum (go “yum cha”) Most signature to Hong Kong cuisine, dim sum is usually eaten for breakfast or lunch and hence is usually served til 2:30-3pm. Most five-star hotels surely do it right (and amazingly), but it also costs an unreasonable fortune and you know that’s not where true locals go on a regular basis. The truth is, we hesitate to recommend our actual local spots because they are usually dirty, serviced by rude staff and inconveniently located near our homes. One of …