All posts tagged: restaurant

Imperial Treasure, Hong Kong: New Go-to Michelin-Quality Chinese Restaurant

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Even though Imperial Treasure was awarded Two Michelin Stars in Shanghai last year, and has been a household brand name in Singapore for many more years, I admittedly had not heard of this restaurant until it opened in One Peking Road in Tsim Sha Tsui recently. When I mentioned I was coming here to a Singaporean friend visiting town, the familiarity of the name had her burst into excitement. Apparently it’s her go-to Chinese restaurant in Singapore. Over there, they have established many different dining concepts: casual dim sum, hot pot, Peking duck and even congee. Presentable, yet still affordable While Imperial Treasure has a range of different concepts in Singapore, the one in Hong Kong is a higher-end Chinese restaurant – the type you would go to for a nice dim sum lunch or proper extended family dinner or even business meals. In fact, its beautiful views over Victoria Harbour means that it’s also appropriate to treat your colleagues or clients from out of town here. As I inspected the regular a la carte menu, I breathed with relief that it was not …

Uma Nota: As Good As Brazilian-Japanese Sounds

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We were talking about how beautiful Brazilian-Japanese babies are, comparing it to how good this combination would be with food, as we stood around on Peel Street sipping on cocktails and waiting to be seated. Uma Nota opened only about two months ago and has already amassed a crowd waiting outside its doors. I’m definitely guilty of adding to their table wait time, as I was there for the second time in just three days. Apart from their good food, I was eager to come back despite the short time lapse from my first visit (48 hours), because the ambience felt pretty perfect for a small four-person gathering. Cocktails On my second visit, we waited about 30-40mins for our table. But the wait was pretty bearable as we stood around trying out their cocktails. I was initially drawn to their Caipirinhas (HK$90), since they had a dedicated section for it and it’s apparently the ‘official cocktail’ of Brazil. The A Fresca version, made with a fresh fruit of the day (passionfruit) was sweet, fruity and pleasant – albeit a tad …

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 – …

Little Creatures: Spacious Hideaway for Craft Beers in Kennedy Town 

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In Hong Kong, we’re blessed with a lot of things: crazy skyscrapers, beautiful natural landscape, diversity of cuisines and abundance of activities. But I think we could all easily agree on one thing we lack: space. So while there’s no shortage of cute bars for craft beer, Little Creatures really stood out for its large comfortable space. They had high ceilings and plushy sofa seats – for once, two people wouldn’t be told off for wanting to occupy a 4-6 person table. But I was also surprised to learn the lengthy history behind Little Creatures. They’ve been in the craft beer market for many years, originating from Australia, and only recently introduced their passion to Kennedy Town. Some of their signature beers are brewed in-house, while some are imported. Beer Tasting Paddle: 6 x 100ml *must order* As soon as the waiter mentioned a “beer paddle” with six types of beers to try, I wasn’t even interested in seeing the menu anymore. You start with a light one and progress rightwards through the paddle. I genuinely enjoyed all six of the …

Pici: New Cute Italian Pasta Bar in Wan Chai

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I was immediately sold by the description of Pici as a casual pasta bar tucked behind the small streets in the Star Street area of Wan Chai. It seemed like the perfect spot to suggest trying for three girls catching up on a implicitly-agreed chilled out early Friday night. Cozy bustling vibes in a quiet corner Tucked away deep into the quieter alleyways of Wan Chai, this small pasta establishment had curated lively vibes and charm on its own. In fact, given that this restaurant had only opened on 25 January and I was visiting on 3 February, I thought, surely we would be able to get a seat (they don’t take reservations). Thankfully my friends arrived at 6:55pm and grabbed the last three-person seat because when I got there at 7:03pm, a few people were waiting outside already. Vitello Tonnato  – HK$80 I found out about this dish when I was dining at Cochin and absolutely fell in love with all the mesh of flavours. When I saw it on the menu, I thought …

Dragon Noodles Academy: Peking Duck, Lobster Noodles and More

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It’s always been a mission to find good quality Chinese food around Central which offers comfortable seating (to entertain visitors, for example), yet is not extortionately priced, excessively formal or terribly outdated. Dragon Noodles Academy seems to fulfil this particular demand quite perfectly. That said, I actually just came here on a random week night after the gym… so it can be pretty casual too. The Newest Hip Chinese place-to-be The decor of this place makes it a hip spot-to-be, yet the seating wasn’t claustrophobic like many hip restaurants are in Hong Kong these days. It has a good dose of excessive Chinese-y designs: think lion dance heads, wing chun props, golden dragons on the wall etc. At the same time, it still felt casual enough – the overly formal settings at some higher end Chinese restaurants tend to make me feel uncomfortable. They also have two semi-private large round tables, which can accommodate up to 12 people. These spots are perfect for slightly laid back work lunches or dinners. Lobster tail soup noodles (HK$149) They have a whole section of different …

Mamasita’s Cantina: Casual Fun Mexican Food

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I was both excited and nervous when I heard a new Mexican restaurant was coming to Central. Excited because apart from Calimex, Little Burro and Brickhouse, there haven’t been many Mexican spots opening up in the recent few years (have there..?). Nervous because I heard it was under the same group as My Tai Tai – which I honestly feel serves mediocre chain restaurant-like Thai food a few floors down. Ok, My Tai Tai is not that bad, but because we have Kowloon City and a whole lot of other new Thai restaurants flooding the city lately, My Tai Tai just doesn’t live up to Hong Kong Thai food standards. Mamasita’s Cantina is cute and very colourfully decorated – it’s home to the perfect ambience if you’re looking for casual good vibes with a group of friends. In fact, there were at least four big groups dining there when we went on a Thursday night. Guacamole Dip – HK$88 *must order* Starting with some guacamole and chips is an unspoken must if you’re having Mexican food, so I …