Lee' s Fried Chicken review

Lee's Fried Chicken Shop @ TST

I have heard countless recommendations to try Korean Fried Chicken... everyone claimed that Korean Fried Chicken is the best fried chicken there is... so when I walked by Lee's Fried Chicken store, I decided to give this place a try.

I thought it was super smart of them to put a tray of popcorn chicken on top of the coke... this makes it so much easier to eat... and saves space... especially when you are walking around. Props to the smart container design!

Impressions:

• very crispy
• relies heavily on sauce for flavour

The shopkeeper recommended us to use a secret recipe sweet and spicy sauce. He told us that if we didn't use it, there won't be much taste.

I miss the saltiness of fried chicken when I was eating this, I expected more seasoning as well. There was too much white meat making the meat very tasteless. You really need the Sweet and Spicy sauce to enhance the flavour. 

The store I went to wasn't their flagship store. It was the one located near Kimberly Street near "The One" in Tsim Sha Tsui. I will give you the address once I find it. 

Score: 7.8/10

Website: no website

永樂園茶餐廳 Wing Lok Yuen Restaurant review

Wing Lok Yuen Restaurant

Wing Lok Yuen has been with many generations of Hong Kongers, my parents always recalls this place whenever they talk about working in Central or when they are eating hotdogs. Wing Lok Yuen is known for their hotdogs because of the special secret sauce they use. 

Atmosphere:

• very casual (& no dress code)
• friendly staff
• helpful staff

Different types of people come to this restaurant anyone from people who wear suits and ties (businessmen... since this IS Central) to tourist to those who just want to get food after hangout with friends. There is such diversity!

I was actually scared of talking to the staff/waiters since 茶餐廳s are known to have bad service... but to my surprise, they were very friendly. They also gave good recommendations and were very helpful.

their famous hotdog

Price: $12 HKD (approx. $1.50 USD) - restaurant price

(if you order from their upstairs take out place, price is $10 HKD ($1.29 USD)

impressions:

• the hotdog is very small (especially compared to the bread)
• the sauce is really good...
• this isn't very filling
• take out and restaurant version taste the same

After you take a bite, you can understand why they are so popular... the sauce is really good!

I think the sauce contains: mustard, mayonnaise, sandwich spread, condense milk, ... something else... I tried mixing the sauce myself and it was something "similar" but not exactly what they served... so if you are around Central, definitely give this place a try (prices are certainly reasonable!)

I found the hotdog to be too small... you can hardly taste it (especially when the bread is so much bigger than the hot dog sausage).

Score: 8/10

Cold Lemon Tea

I forgot the exact price, but it was around $10 HKD (approx. $1.29 USD)

Every restaurant's drinks should be easily distinguishable... and I feel that their Iced Lemon Tea was very unique. I liked the blend of different tea leaves they used to create this special heavy tea taste. Just like other Hong Kong cafe's, they had included the standard 4 slices of lemon. It quenches your thirst and it tastes good! I also liked how they used shaved ice, making the ice easier to melt. The amount of sugar added was just perfect too!

Score: 9.5/10

Wing Lok Yuen's HK Milk Tea

after a sip, I could understand why they were given an award for their milk tea... first, it tastes different from the other places and second it is very smooth. You can tell that they made it.

they won HK's best milk tea in 2010

sugar packet with address

The also had their own sugar packets.

I love this place! I do regret not being able to try more menu items though. I would definitely be visiting this place again soon!

Score: 9.5/10
Website: no website

椰汁大王 King of Coconut - Coconut drink review

the one with the yellow sign

The Chinese name is : 椰汁大王

Address: G/F, Hang Shing Building, 42-44 Kwelin Street, Sham Shui Po

深水埗桂林街42-44號恆誠大廈地下

how the shop looks

Their sign reads: uses real ingredients and freshness is guaranteed! Look at all the cans of Black and White evaporated milk on the side.

There is always a long line, so if you are in the area and aren't sure which shop, look for the shop with the long line... 

King of Coconut Signature Coconut drink $16 HKD 

Price: $16 HKD (approx. $2.00 USD)

Impressions

• Extremely filling
• Tasty
• Used lots of coconut to make

I love this drink... the way they blend this drink together makes it very silky and tasty. It is not overly sweet, just right. Keep in mind that it can be quite filling...

So maybe you are probably wondering, how do you know that they used a lot of coconut? 2 ways: 1. I see them prepare the drink 2. I have tried to make this myself and in order to get a similar taste, I had to use 2+ coconuts to make one cup... This stuff is real! Even if you can make it at home... you should get it from this place... they make it extremely tasty and they use fresh ingredients!

How I think they made it and what I did to make it taste like that:

• a bowl of coconut meat
• Black & White evaporated milk (黑白淡奶) 
• small amount of syrup or sugared water

score: 10/10

website: no website

Address: G/F, Hang Shing Building, 42-44 Kwelin Street, Sham Shui Po

深水埗桂林街42-44號恆誠大廈地下

The FaceShop Pomegranate and Collagen Face Lifting Essence review

K

product against container

I am in ASIA! Yes, I am avoiding the cold Canadian weather and am here... I couldn't help feeling sorry for those in Canada while I look at news stories and the highways are still lightly coated in snow. (I am evil).

Because of the lack of time management and disorganization skills I had, I was not able to pack everything... and guess what? I left my precious serums. But luckily, this means I get to try new ones. 

I went to colourmix and one of the sales associates recommended me to try this Pomegranate and Collagen Face Lifting Essence (keep in mind that most Asian skincare companies refer to their serums as essences).

This serum claims that it is:

An anti-aging skin care that increases the skins resilience through the interaction of pomegranate estrogen and marine collagen

And Effects: Brightening and firming skin

serum

Impressions

• Feels very thick
• A moisturizer?
• Light Pomegranate scent
• Feel the slight firming effect
• No brightening effect

There is a light lotion mixed with pomegranate smell that gives you a relaxing feeling... like you are at a spa when you inhale this serum

After using this serum for 4 days I started noticing the firming effect... it doesn't make your skin absolutely firm... but just enough for you to notice... and there is more "bounce" to your skin.

One thing I didn't really like about this serum... (and depending on your preference you might or might not like it) is that it felt like a moisturizer to me... my skin did not absorb it as well as other serums... and it took me a lot of time rubbing this essence into my face before it could fully absorb this thick product and I could move on to applying moisturizer.

I have tried just using this serum... as a serum/moisturizer but it simply does not fulfill what a moisturizer can do (SO REMEMBER TO APPLY MOISTURIZER AFTER!!!)

Score: 7.5/10
Website: http://international.thefaceshop.com/english/product/productView.jsp?ctgr=ctgr&search=ca&prdidx=7160&prdtype=198&pageno=2

please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

Hong Kong McCafe's Crayfish and Egg Mayo Ciabatta review

my meal... I shared it with someone

another McD review! I think I am spending a bit too much time at McD's...

price: +$16 HKD (when you make a purchase of an medium or large drink) approx. $2.00 HKD

close up of Ciabatta

impressions:

• a bit bland (needs more seasoning and salt)
• Ciabatta was very fresh (between waffle and pancake)
• fresh
• lots of lobster (bit chunks of lobster)
• needs more mayonaise

close up of the inside of the Ciabatta

This Ciabatta is much different from the other ones I have had previously... the texture was like a blend between a waffle and a pancake... it wasn't sweet though. I loved this sandwich (?), but it would be so much better if they put in more seasoning... or at least more mayo and salt. 

This is perfect if you are at McD's and want something nicer and sophisticated than your average burgers. Keep in mind that this is only available at the McCafe's.

It certainly seems much healthier too! (compared to their burgers)

source: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

I hope they improve their recipe by adding more mayo and seasoning (or some salt) to make it more flavourful, other than that, a nice Ciabatta.

Score: 7.5/10

Website: 

Dalloyau huge Easter egg collection GOLD 'N EGG [review]

Dalloyau's Gold 'N Egg

In my previous Dalloyau Easter egg review I reviewed the smaller Easter eggs... here comes the larger one!

name: GOLD 'N EGG

consists of: 62% dark chocolate, single origin from Brazil, touch of gold

I was laughing when my cousin gave us this Easter Chocolate egg, it is so big!! I loved the design so much and didn't want to eat it... I love the subtle gold dust and the detail they put into making this egg look so pretty. This egg was sitting in my room for over 3 weeks before we decided it had to be eaten... I was cringing when we had to "smash" it up :'( 

close up of the egg... see how huge it is against my hand

impressions:

• awesome dark chocolate
• authentic French chocolate
• creamy
• bitter sweet

This is the best Chocolate Easter egg out of their collection, it is so chocolately. The dark chocolate is incredibly creamy and rich in cocoa taste. I love how the cocoa gives the chocolate a strong bitter cocoa taste and at the same time, the amount of sugar added was just perfect to balance out the chocolate to make it bitter sweet. Because of this egg... I will definitely be going back to try Dalloyau's other chocolate items!

score: 10/10

website: http://www.dalloyau.hk/seasonal_special.html

Address: Shop 403, Level 4, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

和民 WATAMI Japanese Casual Restaurant [review]

Watami!

I have always wanted to try this place because I see it's advertisement outside my window every day... I asked one of my Japanese friends and turns out, this is a big Japanese Izakaya chain.

Service:

This is actually quite disappointing, I would expect that it would be much easier to grab their attention, but it took too much effort to order or even get "stuff". 

I ordered the set for 2 combo

Price: $278 + $80* (Wagyu Beef upgrade) + 10% service charge = $393.80 HKD (approx. $50.00 USD)

Caesar Salad with Bacon (Half version)

This was a "fixed" item we couldn't choose another option.

impressions:

• fresh veggies
• soft croutons
• Bacon chunks were nicely made
• nicely drizzled amount of Caesar sauce

This was off to a good start... I liked the salad... I found the veggies to be very fresh and "crispy".

Salmon Carpaccio

This was also a "set" item... already fixed... we couldn't choose to have it or not

impression:

• portion was too small
• salmon was very fresh
• lovely black pepper enhanced the flavour

I was also quite happy with the taste, I couldn't tell what sauce they used to make this dish but the black pepper enhanced the sauce's intensity making this a great dish... my only complaint was that the portion was too small.

plum liqueur with soda

We had a choice of choosing Oolong Tea, Hot Honey Ginger Tea, a variety of soft drinks, lemon tea, milk etc. 

Even for Liqueur, we could choose Plum Liqueur on the rocks... we were afraid of the alcohol percentage so we opted for plum liqueur with soda. This was none other than a drink that combined plum liqueur and plain "flavourless" soda.

Impressions:

very tasty

quenches thirst

Deep Fried Chicken Gristle

For those who do not know what Gristles are... they are like knee caps... so these are like Fried chicken knee caps.

Impressions:

• good portion
• nicely fried
• needs more salt and seasoning
• easy to chew

I found these to be slightly plain tasting... although they were fried, I wished they had sprinkled on some salt or powdered herb to make it more flavourful. 

In most places, I find it a bit difficult to chew gristles because the joints tend to be hard, this was not the case for these at Watami, they were easy to bite into!

Rice Cake Au Gratin

This was a fixed item... so we didn't have a choice to get this.

I was looking forward to these the most because I love rice cakes... however this turned out to be the most disappointing dish out of the whole set.

impressions:

• flavourness
• not chewy
• disappointing

If Pot Stickers got their name because they stuck to pots, then these are definitely the most bowl sticking rice cakes ever!... I had to take a knife to ripe them from the pot... they were not flavourful at all and worse, they weren't even chewy. There wasn't even a hint of cheese!

Clams cooked in Stone Pot

This dish was so-so... I was expecting it to be much better... but it didn't turn out as expected. Keep in mind that the picture makes it look much bigger than it really is... 

impressions:

• a good quantity of clams
• there was "sand" in the clams
• soup was nicely made with clams
• soup needed more seasoning

I would suggest that they add some white wine into the soup to make it more flavourful... although the current soup tasted of clams, it was very bland. I was also disappointed that there was "sand" in the clams, they failed to take out the sand making the chewing experience frightful.

Beef rice with Hot Spring Egg Tokyo style

I wasn't looking forward to this but it turned out to be one of the best items on this set.

impressions:

• beef was lovely marinated
• large amount
• extremely tasty

I finally understand why the Japanese love to mix rice with soft egg yolks so much, it really does make a difference in taste, texture and moisture. I will start adding egg yolks to my future rice dishes!

Kagoshima Premium Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki

So, if you were wondering where did the Wagyu beef was... here it is... in the Sukiyaki dish... we had to pay an extra $80 to upgrade to Wagyu beef.

impressions:

love the Wagyu beef

heat was too high

inside the pot: Kagoshima Premium Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki with veggies and mushrooms

To begin with, I was never a big fan of Sukiyaki dishes... I find them to be too sweet. I always think that soup bases should be savoury instead of sweet.

The heat was too high and this made it extremely difficult to cook the beef properly. We had to rush when we were eating the veggies and tofu because they were being overcooked.

I was glad I made the decision of upgrading because the Wagyu beef was delicious!

Verdict:
I found this meal to be slightly pricey, and was disappointed in certain items... I didn't like the service... and was forced to give them 10%. I would come back to try their a la carte, but never their set meals again.


score: 6.0/10
website: http://www.watami.com.hk/menu/menuslide/hkgm_en.html

Hong Kong McCafe's hazelnut coffee Latte review

medium cup of iced Hazelnut Coffee Latte

Here is the loooooOOOOOOOOOooooong anticipated Hazelnut Coffee Latte I mentioned a few months ago... sorry for the lateness... Hong Kong just has too much good stuff to review about that I can't review everything at once.

Luckily for me, this item is in McCafe all the time...

Price for medium cup: $19 HKD (promotion price) reg. $29 HKD (approx. $2.50 USD or $3.75 USD)

I usually prefer getting cold coffee, so it was no doubt that I got their iced/cold version of Hazelnut coffee latte...

They will also ask if you want whipped cream, I tried it without whipped cream and it tasted less creamy (and filling).

Impressions:

• strong McDonald's signature coffee taste
• slight hazelnut taste
• whipped cream makes coffee less "strong"

In order to prove just how good this coffee is... I ordered it over 4 times the past 2 weeks! I love it's slight hazelnut taste against it's just perfect coffee taste.

score: 9.5/10

website: http://www.mcdonalds.com.hk/en/mccafe/menu.html