*** Morton's of Chicago

4/F, Sheraton Hotel
20 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, HK
尖沙咀彌敦道20號香港喜來登酒店4樓
Ph: 27322343
Mondays-Saturdays 5:30pm-11pm; Sundays 5pm-10pm

excellent
sauteed button mushrooms
USDA rib eye

good
onion bread
"slightly smaller" sirloin
hash brown for two
apple martini

average
-

poor
-

price: 800-900pp (steak + side + 1 alcoholic beverage)

value for money: 2 1/2 $$$

onion bread

sauteed button mushrooms

hash brown for two

"slightly smaller" sirloin

USDA rib eye

comments
really good steaks here! very meaty so not really for lovers of the wagyu variety. massive portions. b could barely finish half of the "slightly smaller" (12oz) steak. the sauteed mushrooms were super juicy and delicious. mmm. hash brown also quite special - and they had sour cream & bacon bits which is a bonus in hk. onion bread also nice. it was warm and soft inside and not too onion-y. pricey but worth the visit for steak lovers. steaks are better than ruth chris. sides are good, on par or almost as good as lawry's.

*** Ippei-An Ramen & Bar - 麵屋一平安

Shop 1030, 1/F
Elements
1 Austin Road West
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, HK
尖沙咀柯士甸道西1號圓方1樓1030號舖
Ph: 21968208
12noon-11pm (closed 4:30pm-6pm on Mon-Fri)

excellent
higomonzu ramen (什錦豬骨湯拉麵)

good
curry ramen (咖哩拉麵)

average
-

poor
-

price: standard size ramen varies from 52 to 77 per bowl

value for money: 3 1/2 $$$

什錦豬骨湯拉麵

什錦豬骨湯拉麵 close up

咖哩拉麵

comments
very good! we think this place is better than the famous Domon (札幌拉麵) ramen place in TST. ramen of the proper consistency (japanese al dente). soup nice and tasty. good portions. r very impressed with his higomonzu ramen. curry ramen not bad, but perhaps not a must-try. will return to assess whether it's worth 4 stars.

b's kitchen - angel cake

b's first cooking class was at jam bakery at tin hau. b's never been much of a cake-maker, so fortunately angel cakes aren't too difficult to make. plus there were professionals on hand to help out...

the cake

1. using an electric mixer, beat 1 x whole egg and 1 x egg white until creamy. this is the "yolk mix"
2. separately beat 2 x egg whites with 50g sugar until just creamy. don't over beat. this is the "egg white mix"
3. mix in a bit of the egg white mix with the yolk mix
4. sift about 15g plain flour into the mixture. lightly mix. repeat another 2 times.
5. lightly fold in remainder of egg white mix. add 10 vegetable oil and 10g water. make sure you fold in the base as the water and oil will settle there.
6. pour mixture into mould.
7. bake in oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. when you see that it has risen, turn cake around in oven so it is baked evenly.

the cream

1. beat 250g 談 cream with 18g sugar until about 80% done
2. refrigerate
3. mix in 2-5g gelatine powder (or 1 gelatine strip already melted)

fresh out of the oven

remove layer at top, bottom and sides of the cake. eat - the top's delicious!
then slice cake in half.

cream it

decorate it.

admire it.

cut it.

eat it.
best served with honeycomb

we were also taught to make honeycomb. it's not really that difficult (sugar, honey, glucose, water & baking soda is all you need), but it can be quite dangerous. rather than risk burning your face and kitchen, b suggests that you just buy fresh honeycomb from your local bee farm.

*** The Big Bite

Shop U12, Fitfort

560 King's Road
North Point, HK

北角英皇道560號健威坊U12號
Ph: 21551066
11am-11pm

excellent
-

good
poutine chips
juicy mushroom burger + cheese
crispy bacon cheeseburger

average
-

poor
onion rings

price: less than 100pp for burger, side & drink

value for money: 3$$$

poutine chips

poutine chips

onion rings

juicy mushroom burger + cheese

crispy bacon cheeseburger

comments
not bad. the patties are very good here, quite juicy, perhaps almost as good as shake 'em buns. poutine chips are a must try. lots of gravy. only criticism is that it could be a bit cheesier. mushrooms in juicy mushroom burger are very juicy. mmm. unfortunately onion rings, although they looked good, were not nice at all. batter wasn't really too thick, but you couldn't taste the onion for some reason. no "wow" overall but not bad not bad. worth a visit if you're in the area.

**** Favorite THAI - 泰式生香

Shop J, G/F, Kimberley Mansion
15 Austin Avenue
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, HK
尖沙咀柯士甸路15號金巴利大廈地下J舖
Ph: 23674388
Until 3am daily

excellent
泰式生蝦刺身
咖哩蟹 + 公仔麵
醬爆芝士蝦丸
燒豬頸肉
蒜蓉包

good
pad thai
椰青

average
臘腸炒西蘭花
咸豬肉炒芥蘭
雞腎

poor
-

price: 120pp (incl. drinks). no service charge.

value for money: 4 $$$

椰青

泰式生蝦刺身

醬爆芝士蝦丸

燒豬頸肉

pad thai

咖哩蟹+ 公仔麵

comments
what a surprise. we had always suspected that this place must be quite decent as it's often packed. r said that the 椰青 was very good, the coconut flesh sweet and fresh. 泰式生蝦刺身 was really hot. really really really hot. if we had chilli icons here, we'd give it 5. but it was really good, the shrimp extremely fresh. mmm. 醬爆芝士蝦丸 also very nice. the cheese really does 爆出來, so be careful. contents very hot. proper shrimps are used to make this, not just bits of left-over shrimp. excellent! 豬頸肉 also fantastic. mmm. pad thai very good for hk standards, but still quite some way off from the ones you find in sydney which are loaded with tofu, 牙菜 etc. the noodle here is quite nice, not too oily. general flavour of pad thai quite good - slightly sweet. we will be back to try the chilli mud crab with extra 公仔麵!

edit we came back for the 咖哩蟹 with 公仔麵. it was extremely good. definitely a must-have over and over again. garlic bread was excellent too - with or without the 咖哩蟹 sauce. it has bits of garlic on it, so trumps the spaghetti house garlic bread. 臘腸炒西蘭花 and 雞腎 quite ordinary. 咸豬肉炒芥蘭 ok, the 咸豬肉 was good.

* Le Goûter Bernardaud (LGB)

Shop 2009
Elements
1 Austin Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, HK
尖沙咀柯士甸道西1號九龍站圓方2009 號鋪
Ph: 21968488
10am-10pm

excellent
-

good
-

average
salami & avocado bruschetta
garden salad
rib eye

poor
tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms & eggplant topped with shaved parmesan cheese

price: 170pp for 2-course set dinner with coffee/tea

value for money: 1 $

salami & avocado bruschetta

garden salad

tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms & eggplant topped with shaved parmesan cheese

rib eye

comments
had no expectations really, but was still disappointed. perhaps the macaroons & high tea set are what keep the customers coming back? dinner here is definitely not recommended. the tagliatelle had virtually no flavour to it, there was hardly any porcini mushrooms and eggplant, and what there was of the porcini mushrooms did not taste any good. rib eye wasn't bad, but lacked the nice "beef" flavour that good steaks should have. in france, it's really hard to come across restaurants serving bad food. i guess that rule does not apply to "french" restaurants in hk.

*** Xi Yan Sweets - 囍宴 甜‧藝

G/F, 8 Wing Fung Street
Wanchai, HK
灣仔永豐西街8號
Ph: 28336299
12noon-11pm

excellent
rocher chocolate ice-cream crêpe (金莎朱古力雪糕 + 班戟)
apple crisp with milk ice-cream (蘋果香酥伴牛奶雪糕)

good
lychee ice-cream crêpe (私房雪糕班戟)
Okinawa black sugar ice-cream with coffee jelly (沖繩黑糖牛奶雪糕配咖啡凍)
banana ice-cream with banana fritter (印尼炸香蕉伴私房香蕉雪糕)

average
-

poor
-

price: less than 50pp (dessert only)

value for money: 3 1/2 $$$

lychee ice-cream crêpe

rocher chocolate ice-cream crêpe

Okinawa black sugar ice-cream with coffee jelly

banana ice-cream with banana fritter

comments
extensive dessert menu. the rocher chocolate ice-cream was very very good with nutty "rocher" bits. $38 on its own, add $6 for crêpe. apple crisp with milk ice-cream delicious! apple crisp bits are very cruncy, apple flavour very 香. not necessary to have milk ice-cream since the milk flavour doesn't really stand out, and a good vanilla ice-cream would be just as good. other items also quite good. coffee jelly had a very very strong coffee flavour - great for coffee lovers. banana fritter took quite some time to be made, but was quite good. batter not too thick. flavour of banana ice cream a bit lost if eaten with the fritter.

*** 再興燒臘飯店

Shop C, G/F, 265-267 Hennessy Road
(entrance on Stewart Road)
Wanchai, HK
灣仔軒尼詩道265-267號地下C座
Ph: 25196639
10am-10:30pm (closed Sundays & public holidays)

excellent
-

good
三寶飯

average
雞腎

poor
-

price: less than 50pp

value for money: 3 $$$

三寶飯

叉燒 + 雞腎

comments
would recommend going early - we were disappointed that the famous 雞肝 and 燒肉 had sold out. 雞腎 was ordinary but the 叉燒 was certainly very good, though b & poon agreed that yixin's

叉燒 was better. 油雞 and 燒鴨 good, but not spectacular.

** The Lobby - Peninsula Hotel

G/F, The Peninsula Hotel
19-21 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, HK
尖沙咀彌敦道19-21號半島酒店大堂
Ph: 29202888
breakfast 7am-11am; lunch 11am-2:30pm; afternoon tea 2pm-7pm; dinner 6:30pm-10:30pm (11:30pm on Fri & Sat)
note: no bookings taken

excellent
-

good
-

average
afternoon tea set

poor
-

price: 225pp

value for money: 2 1/2 $$$


comments
very average, disappointed. not worth the 30 minute wait. would expect a much higher standard from the peninsula. four seasons high tea is definitely better. raisin scones, clotted cream and jam were below average compared to what is offered at fortnum & mason in london. cucumber sandwiches had too much butter. chicken sandwich (with mayo) was also very ordinary. sausage pastry was not nice, the sausage was "so" but not in a nice way. the little chocolate topped profiterole looking items were not nice. b was not quite sure what it was, but it had a raspberry/cherry cough medicine flavour to it. the apple pastry and lychee pannacotta were both very good. good selection of teas (the black lychee was v good).