Chiu Chow style Lo-Shui Goose

Probably the best Chiu Chow style Lo-Shui Goose in town. Not only with great flavor, the goose meat was tender and juicy, came with a thin layer of fat underneath the skin. If you like Western style of grilled meat, which is more dry in texture, this traditional Lo-Shui may not be your cup of tea. But if you like classic Chinese style, you'll LOVE IT!

Lo-Shui is a traditional Chinese stock Marinade mixed by soya sauce and five spices. It is somewhat similar to the term braised yet different by far. Lo-Shui can be used to cook various types of food, eg. tofu, eggs, goose meat, goose liver, goose intestine, squid, and other things.

The restaurant is small, only had a few tables where you'll need to share table with strangers. There's always a queue at the door wait for seating during lunch and dinner hour. I've eaten here many times over the years, and great that they keep up with the consistency without dropping a bit. You can order an assorted plate to try out a bit of everything.

Goose Meat with Rice HK$35

Lo Pak Restaurant (鹵八鵝店)
Address: Shop C, 20 Spring Garden Lane, Wan Chai. [MAP]
How to Get there: Wanchai MTR Station Exit A3, cross the main road (Johnston Road), it's in the market.
Phone: +852 2838 7635
Opening Hour: 10:00-20:00

New Century Soya Bean

Old Hong Kong flavour. Besides Soyabean Milk and Soya Pudding, I also love the Mochi（燸米稵） and Green-Bean Jelly Cake there.

Located in a small alley right next to the flyover. People queued up to buy dessert and soya drinks. You'll not miss it when you see the queue.

Soyabean Pudding with Red Beans. HK$5/cup.

Lovely & Big Round Mochi. Four flavour available: red bean, green bean, sasemi & custard. HK$10/4pcs. Indeed, mochi is not from Japan, although it's a very popular Japanese snack, it's originated from China.

Various flavour of jelly pudding, HK$10/4pcs. Must try!


New Century Soya Bean (時代豆業)
Address: No. 1 Canal Road, Causeway Bay. [MAP]
How to get there: Causeway Bay MTR Station, take the Times Square Exit, walk straight towards the big flyover, turn right before flyover.
Phone: +852 2151 1332
Opening Hour: 08:30-23:30 (Closed during Chinese New Year)

Ming Court: Michelin-Starred Cantonese Restaurant

Luxurious in the middle of noisy & crowded Mongkok streets. When I walked in the Ming Court, I felt the peace of mind. Simply confortable! Contemporary table settings with antique Chinese decorations.

Below is one of the signature dish which won "Gold Award in 2003 best of the best culinary awards" by Hong Kong Tourism Board. Stir-fried sliced garoupa with assorted mushrooms and dried shrimp roe. HK$398/8 portion.


It's like a masterpiece of art. Lots of fish roe sprinkle on top of the fish, mushrooms, and tofu. The fish roe succeffuly brought out the freshest taste of fish. Assorted Fungus and fresh, even the tofu taste great! SUPER! Thumbs up!!

Ming Court also serve a good selection of dim sum for lunch. Check it out!

Signature Dishes:

• Stir-fried sliced garoupa with assorted mushrooms and dried shrimp roe. HK$398/8 portion.
• Deep-fried lobster with cheese and simmered abalone with vinegar, accopanied with angel hair. HK$318.
• Stir-fried fresh shrimp with egg white. HK$178.
• Marinated pig's knuckles in loh-sui sauce. HK$78.
  

Ming Court (明閣)
Address: 6/F, Langham Place Hotel, 555 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok. [MAP]
How to get there: 2 mins walk from Mongkok MTR Station.
Phone: +852 3552 3300
Opening Hour: 11:00-14:30；18:00-22:30

Shatin Roasted Pigeon & Chicken Congee

This old restaurant is famous for Roasted Pigeon and Chicken Congee. A group of 8 people, we went there last night for a feast. We ordered a couple of signature dishes: Roasted Pigeon (燒乳鴿), Soya Sauce Pigeon (鼓油皇乳鴿), Chicken Congee (雞粥), Baked Fish Intestines with Eggs (焗魚腸), Spicy Spiral Shells (辣酒煮螺), and so on.

Re roasted pigeon, I prefer eating young baby pigeon. The pigeons here are big. Although they're meaty and juicy, but skin was not crispy enough. I did love the Soya Sauce Pigeon, the Soya Sauce had a mellow spices flavor and a unique fragrance.



Chicken Congee (top left) is the MUST-EAT signature here. I think they put beancurd in the congee, as it has a very nice fragrance and smooth texture. One bowl enough to feed 6-8 people.

Baked Fish Intestines (top right) was heavenly done. Fish Intestines were baked in traditional earthenware with eggs & fluffy dough sticks, very crispy on top. Eggs absorbed all the fatty taste of the intestines, yummy! This traiditonal old dish need lots of time to prepare, especially in cleaning the intestines. That's why no many restaurants make it these days.

The spicy spiral shells with wine was also a delight. Highly recommended.

The bill ended up each person approximately HK$60, super value-for-money!








Shatin Chicken Congee
Address: G/F, 6-12 Chik Chuen Street, Shatin. [MAP]
How to get there: Tai Wai MTR Station Exit A, cross the traffic light and walk straight, turn right on Chik Chuen Street. Walking time about 5 minutes.
Phone: +852 2697 9818

What the PHO?

Pho-natic (pronounce as fa-nat-ik), one who loves to eat Pho.

What is Pho?
Pho is a traditional Vietnamese thinly sliced meat and rice-noodle soup dish. It normally served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations featuring tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, or other chicken organs (heart, liver, tongue, etc.) are also available. It is garnished with fresh herbs such as green onions, white onions, coriander leaves, Thai basil, lemon or lime wedges, and bean sprouts. The herbs are usually provided on a separate plate, which allows customers to adjust the soup's flavor as they like. Fish sauce and hot sauce are popular additions as well.

Promotion @ Cafe Annam (for dinner only):
SUNDAY: Order a PHO and get a bottle of FREE SAIGON BEER!
TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY: Order a 'Street-Style' combination appetizer and get a FREE BOWL OF PHO!

Cafe Annam
Address: 35 Elgin Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong. [MAP]
Phone: +(852) 2545 9966

Best Wanton (Prawn Dumplings) Noodle

Among the thousands of local dishes that remain deeply rooted in Hongkongers' daily life, some make it to international fame, and others stick to lowkey popularity, eaten in local circles.

Wanton (Prawn Dumplings) Noodles, is one of the nation's flavorful plate. With a maximum capacity of 48 seatings, this small noodle outlet is probably the best wanton noodle in Hong Kong.

The prices are unbelievable cheap even with Michelin recommendation: HK$16 for a bowl of soup noodles! The menu only have 3 choices. You can only choose between 1) Prawn Wanton Noodles; 2) Fishball Noodles; or 3) Beef Noodles. The wantons and fishballs are huge. Wantons are filled with a few big fresh prawns, and enveloped in a thin, translucent dumpling skin. Fishballs are flavor with dried Mandarin peel. And the egg noodles are fresh and springy, cooked perfectly al dente with an alkaline aftertaste. A little bit of venigar can reduce the alkaline taste. The Beef are not particularly good in taste though.

Be prepared to share table with strangers. It is definately NOT a romantic dinner place, as everyone just sat, ordered, ate and left within a span of minutes.

Tsim Chai Kee
Address: 98 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong. [MAP]
Phone: +(852) 2850 6471
Opening Hours: 09:00-22:00

Directions: Central MTR station, exit B1, turn right. Turn right again on Queen's Road Central. Turn left on Cochrane Street, walk uphill. It's near the mid-level escalators. About 5 mins walk from Central MTR station.

Michelin guide Hong Kong Macau 2009

"Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau 2009" is the first bilingual Michelin guide. Hong Kong has become one of the first Michelin cities in China. It includes 202 establishments in Hong Kong, with 22 of them receiving one or more Michelin stars.

There were 12 Michelin inspectors (2 of them were Chinese) who examined a pre-selected 1,200 of the 15,000 restaurants. 200 restaurants were chosen to appear in the guide. Among the 200 restaurants, 33 of them belongs to hotels' restaurant.

3 STARS *** (the top Michelin grade for "exceptional cuisine worth a special journey.")

• Lung King Heen 龍景軒 (Four Seasons Hotel)
  

2 STARS ** (excellent cooking worth a detour)

• Amber (Mandarin Oriental Hotel)
  
• Bo Innovation
• Caprice (Four Seasons Hotel)
• L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
• Shang Palace 香宮 (Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel)
  
• Summer Palace夏宮 (Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel)
  
• T'ang Court唐閣 (Langham Hotel)
  

1 STAR * (a very good restaurant in its category)

• Fook Lam Moon (Wanchai) 福臨門（灣仔）
• Forum 富臨
• Hutong 胡同
• Lei Garden (IFC) 利苑酒家（國際金融中心）
• Lei Garden (Tsim Sha Tsui) 利苑酒家（尖沙咀）
• Ming Court 明閣 (Langham Place)
  
• Petrus (Island Shari-La Hotel)
  
• Pierre (Mandarin Oriental Hotel)
  
• Regal Palace 富豪金殿 (Regal Hongkong Hotel)
  
• Shanghai Garden 紫玉蘭
• The Golden Leaf 金葉庭
• The Square 翠玉軒
• Tim's Kitchen 桃花源小廚
• Yung Kee 鏞記

Special Recommendation (no star but recommended)

• Café Siam
• Cheung Kee 祥記飯店
• Crystal Jade (Tsimshatsui) 翡翠拉麵小籠包（尖沙咀）
• Farm House 農圃飯店
• Golden Bauhinia 金紫荊
• Gunga Din's 金家美食
• Ho Hung Kee 何洪記
• Jashan
• Kin's Kitchen 留家廚房
• Lei Garden (Elements) 利苑酒家（圓方）
• Lei Garden (Mong Kok) 利苑酒家（旺角）
• Le Soleil (The Royal Garden Hong Kong)
• Lian 蓮
• Luk Yu Tea House 陸羽茶室
• Naozen なお膳
• 1/5 Nuevo
• Tandoor
• Tasty (Happy Valley) 正斗粥麵專家（跑馬地）
• Tasty (Hung Hom) 正斗粥麵專家（九龍）
• Tasty (IFC) 正斗粥麵專家（國際金融中心）
• West Villa 西苑酒家
• Yee Tung Heen 怡東軒 (Excelsior Hotel)
• Yè Shanghai (Admiralty) 夜上海（金鐘）
• Yunyan 雲陽閣

Many local gastronomes & gourmets doubt the Michelin judges ratings were fair. For example Yung Kee 鏞記 serves the best roasted goose in the world (Hong Kong has the best roasted goose in the world, while Yung Kee 鏞記 offers the best roasted goose in town.), should deserve at least 2 stars instead of 1 star.

What did the local gourmets say about "Michelin guide Hong Kong Macau 2009"?

李純恩: I will not follow this guide to eat. Western people do not understand the pith of Chinese cooking and food culture. They only appreciate restaurants in luxury hotels. Hongkongers no need to boarder.

劉健威: Michelin judges' standards are typical tourists' standards, which are very different from the locals. With a limited time tasting pre-selected restaurants from luxury locations. You are very safe at 5-star hotels, you don't normally find bad food there, however, also hard to get surprise. They should spend more time investigating and understanding Chinese food culture.

Chow Chung: Chinese have their own standard of good food. As you don't trust Chinese people's rating s and comments on Western food. This guide used a Western perspective to rate the restaurants, I doubt any local will follow their culinary map.

Nothern China Whole Lamb Feast

A new Shandong Restaurant which specialised in lamb dishes. Claimed to hire 2 top chefs from Shangdong, though the food they offer doesn't look like Shandongnese cuisine at all, but food was good for Hongkongers taste.

Angus Beef Hot Pot Buffet
Mon-Fri HK$88/pax / Sat, Saun & Holiday HK$98/pax
late dinner after 8:30pm: HK$20 cheaper per person


Whole Lamb Feast
HK$1,180/12 persons
HK$630/6 persons

A festival type 13-Course full dinner, lamb / meat lovers cannot miss.

• Jasmine Smoke Vegetarian Goose
• Sesame Celery
• Garlic Cucumber & Tomatoes Salad
• Amber Lamb
• Fried Fish & Lamb with Spring Onion, Shangdong style
• Lamb Soup
• Grilled King Prawn
• Stewed Lamb Hot Pot
• Mushroom with mixed Vegetables
• Steamed Lamb Dumplings (2 styles)
• Dessert: Double Boiled White Fungus & Pear with Rock Sugar
  

Star of Shandong Restaurant
Address: Shop No 23, L9 Megabox, Enterprise Square Five, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. [MAP]
Phone: +(852) 2359 0188

Best Moroccan food in Town

Restaurant Name: Sahara Mezz Bar

Independently owned, serving Egyptian & Moroccan food, this cocktail restaurant was for people to relax and enjoy good time with friends over quality food & drinks. I love this place very much. Indeed, I shall not call it "restaurant" as it doesn't have proper restaurant setting. This is more like a bar / lounge that serve food. However, many people come here to eat because the food is good. Decorations & music are trendy and colorful Middle Eastern theme. Staff services depends on weather the owner Dodi is there. He really know how to work the crowd. But if he's not there, other staff may not be so attending.

Price: HK$150-200 per person including drinks. Shisha (water pipe) with fruit flavoured tobacco for HK$100 per serving (pipe) and you can share among 2-4 friends.

Favourite dish: Pigeon Pastella is a must-eat every time I visit here.

Food Review: Appetiser platter is a good start to try out many different items on the menu, including pita bread, egg plant mud (bread spread), pea mud (bread spread), felafel, green salad, cheese, spring rolls, etc. The portion is big enough for 2-4 persons. There are a few different Tangine dishes here, I love the meat balls and the fish. Although a bit too salty for my taste, but they goes very well with pita bread or cous cous. Cous Cous were cooked with fish stock (I guess) the flavour is so nice that I can eat it alone without accompany.

Phone: +852 2291 6060
Address: Gound Floor, No. 11 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong [MAP]
How to get there: 10 mins walk up hill from Central MTR

Sweet Shanghainese Cuisine

Restaurant Name: King's Lodge

I am not a fan of this restaurant, but if you craze for Shanghai Xiao Lung Bao and love wine chicken, and is looking for food in Tsimshatsui area, you can check this place out. Do not expect any good service or nice settings. The environment is noisy and a bit crowded. Suitable for lunch or a quick dinner. Typical Shanghainese taste, food here are a bit too sweet and oily for my tastebud.

Price: HK$50 - 150 per person

Food Review: Shanghai Xiao Lung Bao (小籠包) was one of the two dish that worth a try. It came in 4 buns in a bamboo steam basket, hot & juicy when biting. Another worht-trying dish is Wine Chicken (醉雞), It served cold, with chicken soaked in good quality yellow Chinese wine. The flavour of wine was strong, love it. However, the taste was a bit too sweet. too much bones in the chicken, with some cold white fat attached to the skin, not very tempting. Fried River Shrimps (清炒河蝦仁) had no taste at all, only crunchy. Fried Rice (霸王炒飯) only have eggs & spinr onion, very simple ingredients which is easy for one to do at home. It was very dry, if you like it dry, you'll love it. Deep Fried Shrimp Toast (蝦多士), very oily, not chrunchy enough, again the shrimps were tasteless. Cold Eggplant Salad (涼拌茄子) was OK, nice, though a bit too sweet for my taste.

Phone: +852 2723 1003

Address: G/F, Oriental Centre 67-71 Chatham Road South, TsimShaTsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. [MAP]

How to get there: 5 mins walk from Tsimshatsui MTR

Local Cheap Eat 2

Restaurant Name: Macau Restaurant

My 2 favourites "Char Chan Tang" (HK style eating house) are Tsui Wah and this one, Macau Restaurant. Selling points of this place are: Fast, Good, Cheap! Besides serving high quality of food, they always change their menu and launch some new dishes. It is not a decent place to take your date for fine dinning as noisy and crowded, expect to share tables with strangers. Do not expect good service here, and you probably have to queue up outside the restaurant during peak hour.

Price: Less than HK$50 per person

Favourite dish: Pork Chop Bun is a must try here. Taste & texture like French baguette, very crunchy, sandwich in the middle was a juicy & steaming pork chop and some fried onion, HK$17. Only limited to sell 200 buns per day. First come first serve.

Food Review: Another signature dish is the Roasted Pigeon, HK$28. Custard Tard, HK$6, very crispy but also oily, sugar was a little burn on purpose so it looks dark brownish. I love the Iced Coffee here, served in cold stainless steel cup with some chocolate power sprinkled on top, HK$12.

Phone: +852 2366 8148

Address: G/F, 25-27 Lock Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong (MAP)

How to get there: 5 mins walk from Tsimshatsui MTR

Local Cheap Eat

Restaurant Name: Tsui Wah Restaurant


This is one of my favourite local eating house (Char Chan Tang). How to tell if a restaurant is good? A good indication is that this 24-hour restaurant is always packed with people. Food served faster then you can imagine. The menu is so diverse that you can find almost anything... from local style fish ball / wonton noodles, porridge, Indian curry, Singaporean Hainan chicken rice, Japanese noodles, Chinese Char-Siew (roasted pork) Rice, fried rice, Western pasta, sandwiches, Western roasted spring chicken, etc. Be prepared to share table with strangers. Do not expect any customer service. Definitely not a romantic dine out but, it's the place to go when you truly need to grub!

Price: Less than HK$50 per person.

Favourite dish: Soup Noodles with Stewed Pork Rib, pork rib was cooked until very soft and well flavoured, with a bit fat & soft bone tissue attached, rich in collagen :) Noodles were crunchy, not over cooked.

Food Review: Fish Broth Fish Ball with Tofu Noodles is my other favourite.

Phone: +852 2525 2624
Address: 15-19 Wellington street, Central, Hong Kong (MAP)
Website: http://www.tsuiwahrestaurant.com/
How to get there: 5 mins walk from Central MTR

Best Roast Goose in Town

Restaurant Name: Yung Kee Restaurant

Yung Kee has been in business for decades and has the awards to prove it. Recently been selected as one of the ten best restaurants in Hong Kong. It's famous for it's roast goose, probably the best in town. This is authentic upper class Cantonese cusine. They may need to dust off the English menu, but they do have one.

Price: HK$150-300 per person

Favourite dish: Roast goose of course! The meat was so tender and juicy, not too oily, not too dry, just nice. Skin was a little crispy... almost perfect!

Food Review: Pluck up your courage and give one of their famous Pi-Dan (Thousand Year Eggs) a try. Egg white was black and transperant jelly like. Egg york was like pudding not as hard as normal Pi-Dan. Best to eat with sour ginger. Fried Milk was good too

Phone: +852 2522 1624

Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong [MAP]

How to get there: 5 mins walk from Central MTR

Fresh Seafood in Lamma Island

Restaurant Name: Rainbow Seafood Resturant

What is the best way to treat your friends? "Enjoy seafood and Go cruising" can well be an illustration to the wonderful moment if you are visiting Hong Kong - the Gourmet Paradise. This restaurant provides a very original way for eating fresh seafood by the natural country side and a free boat ride to enojoy the scenery of Hong Kong's nature. And you'll discover Hong Kong actually have something nice to offer besides the skyscrapers. Good quality, moderate priced. Rainbow Seafood Restaurant was among the first batch of restaurants to be awarded the "Quality Tourism Services Decal" in 2000. This award reconfirms our assurance both in the quality of food and service. You can pick swimming seafood from the tank, restaurnat will catch it and cook it in anyway you want.

Price: HK$80-200 per person

Favourite dish: Steam Bamboo Clam with Garlic. The clam was as big as 6-7 inches, and you can eat it with fork & knife!

Food Review: Deep Fried Sliced Squids (Calamari) is easy to eat with you don't prefer a whole animal with head lying on your table. Boiled Prawns in water filled with rice wine & ginger is another good choice, prawns tasted crunchy & sweet, dip it lightly with soya sauce and it's all I need for a nice evening. Best to go with beer!

Phone: +852 2982 8100

Address: Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island

Website: www.rainbowrest.com.hk

How to get there: Located at Lamma Island. The restaurant provide free ferry services to and from Central or TsimShaTsui public pier to Lamma Island.

French Private Kitchen

Restaurant Name: Voyager

A family style cozy & small French bistro in Soho, only can seat around 16 guests. Run by 2 French guys from Brittany, serving their hometown food. You will find Brittany flag all over the place... postcards & flag hang up on the wall, old map, there's even a small Brittany flag on the dessert! Not many choices from the menu though. Very friendly service, reasonable price, good quality of food are th selling points.

Price: HK$270 for a 3-course set dinner including starter, main course and dessert, good deal!

Favourite dish: The Veal Steak with Mushroom Mustard Gravy was FANTASTIC! The steak was very juicy & tender, no need to chew hard, felt like melt in the mouth!

Food Review: I love the complementary rose water they serve, lovely! Bread was freshly baked, crispy and warm! Starter (Voyager's signature dish) was Brittany Mussels & Clams baked with butter, garlic & lots of pasley, served hot on plate. It was a little bit too salty fo me, but fresh & juicy & well spiced. Duck Breast was good too, I love it medium rare, a little bit raw, nicely cooked, the gravy goes very well with the meat, just nice! Fish Fillet was not impressive, you can skip that, dry & overcooked, still prefer Catonese style of fish cooking. For desserts I tried the Hot Apple Cake, nice & special!

Phone: +852 2525 2624
Address: G/F, 49 Graham Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong [MAP]
How to get there: 10 mins walk up hill from Central MTRwww.rainbowrest.com.hk

Classic Itaian Restaurant in Soho

Restaurant Name: Cenacolo Steak & Pasta

A classic-type Italian restaurant, this newly opened branch restaurant of the famous "Al Dente" is a good go for Italian food. Good quality of food, reasonable price, nicely decorated and comfortable environment, however, the restaurant manager was very pushy when ordering. I didn't feel comfortable on this one as I want to take my time in deciding. Chinese community love to share food, the staff here understand and they'd serve plates accordingly if you tell them food ordered are for sharing. But the Italian manager obviously didn't like his customers to do so. I like the serving speed, not typical fast speed in most Hong Kong restaurant. Good place to spend 2 hours with friends for the dinner.

Price: HK$200-400 per person

Favourite dish: It must be the warm pudding, it was AWESOME. Served with wild berries, berries were cooked with rum served warm surrounding the pudding. While pudding was super creamy, smooth & rich. Must try!

Food Review: Appetier was Parma Ham with Honey Melon. This is an easy-to-do dish, with high quality parma ham imported from Italy (or Spain?) and sweet juicy melon, it's hard to go wrong. Beef Steak Steloin was very good, very juicy & tender, and nicely done. Although I still like the veal steak better at "Voyager", it's difficult to compare them as different texture. Steak served on top of potato mash, grilled vegetables (broccoli, red pepper, pumpkin, carrot and 2 green beans), big portion. HK$148 for 300g, good deal. The signature pasta dish and risotto were good too.

Phone: +852 2525 2624
Address: G/F, 49 Graham Street, Soho, Hong Kong [MAP]
How to get there: 10 mins walk up hill from Central MTR

www.rainbowrest.com.hk