New York, New York @ Citylink Mall, Singapore

This is one of those places which you can't find in little Penang. Love the ambience of the restaurant, from the cute retro booths to the graffiti filled walls, everything just screams Big Apple. There's even a pool table and a foosball table if you're into those kinda games. 

I ordered the Salmon Toast. Very, very cheesy. A little too much for my liking, to be honest. Not really a cheese enthusiast. Heh. There was plenty of salmon though, which was a big plus for me as I didn't expect there to be much salmon. I like that they use thick cut fries, a rarity nowadays. The side salad's pretty good too, they're very generous with the dressing. Love it. 

Sister's beef burger. With the works: cheese, pickles, onions, your magic sauces, and a heap of fries. Thick cut again! Forget Macdonalds. Just come here for their amazing fries! Haha.

And finally, though we were extremely full by the end, we just couldn't leave without dessert! Come on, waffles! My happy food. We ordered the one with ice cream, bananas and chocolate sauce. Oh my, what a wonderful way to end our meal. Calories were definitely not on my mind. Who in their right mind would even give up these heavenly waffles for that? ;)

Permai Village Cafe Vegetarian Delights @ Tanjung Bungah

Sorry for the extra long absence. I'm in university now! Aha. Anyways, time to update this rusty food blog of mine. Went to this quaint little vegetarian place at Tanjung Bungah. Located near Blue Reef Fish and Chips, you shouldn't have a problem finding it. I forgot to take pictures of the main dishes, but I managed to sneak some shots of the wonderful desserts!

 

First off, the tiramisu. Heaven in a cup, seriously. 

Next, the banana trifle. A caffeine-infused dessert loaded with coffee cream, cake, mousse and of course the yummy bananas. 

Lastly, the lime jelly. Topped with a dollop of cream on top, this is ideal for those with little space left in their tummies. Sister thought this was very good. But let me tell you, she's a sucker for anything with lime in it. Haha.

Hong Kong Food Trip Part IX : Dessert at Novotel Citygate

Chocolate cake. Ooh la la. Totally worth the 30 minute wait. Yep, we had to wait that long for a piece of cake. I mean, should be a piece of cake, right? Heh, I'm lame like that.

Tiramisu! Our all time favourite too. Just the right amount of sweet with a hint of chocolatey goodness. People you can drool all you want.

And finally, the creme brulee. Smelled absolutely delicious when it arrived. Torched on the surface, it gives an amazingly crisp texture which is similar to icing sugar. Yummy. But definitely not recommended for diabetics ;) The inside is also just as nice, very eggy composition but light and fluffy at the same time. A great end my first Hong Kong trip.

Hong Kong Food Trip Part VIII : Breakfast at Delifrance

I know what you're thinking.
 "Delifrance in Hong Kong?! That's ridiculous! Why would I want to have breakfast there when I should be having a traditional dimsum meal or something?"
Well, sometimes you just crave your Western breakfast. And this was one of those times.
Above is the Apple Strudel I ordered. Being the sugar lover I am, I thoroughly enjoyed this. The puff pastry may have been a little too flaky ( I hate it when everything just falls apart and all you're left with is the inner layer) but the sweet apple filling was delish! Not sour at all.

Sisters ordered the same set, their breakfast sandwich. Served toasted and crispy, this is without a doubt one of the best meals to start your day.

Cheese, ham and eggs. What more can you ask for in a breakfast sandwich? :)

Hong Kong Food Trip Part VII : Random HK Fare in Mongkok

Okay, I decided to sort of combine the food we had in Mongkok into one post, for a more enjoyable (smoother?)  reading experience. We went to the bustling Mongkok area at night for dinner and chanced upon this packed eatery. Forgot the name, as it was not particularly unique. Just assumed that the food would be good, judging from the number of patrons. 

The first dish was simple, ham and mixed vegetables fried rice. Humble dish, yet the whole family couldn't resist from taking seconds. The aromatic smell vaguely resembled our hawker style fare, but somehow I tasted very little oil in this dish. 

 

Next we ordered the kailan. Which is one of the most ordered dishes in Hong Kong, apparently. Due to its amazing crunchiness. Seriously, you could actually hear the stalk breaking as you munch your way through.

And then we ordered the sweet and sour fish and pork. Two separate dishes, but the same style. The highlight of the dish : pineapples. If you're a pineapple lover like me, you would definitely enjoy this dish to the last bit. The sauce is not starchy, just the way I like my sweet and sour.

 

After some last minute shopping within the vicinity, we headed to the famous Hui Lao Shan for dessert. Above is the drink my sister ordered. Something fruity, I've forgotten the name.

I had the cold red bean soup. Not bad, but a little too thick for my liking. I'm used to the more dilute version my mom always makes. Had a lot of red beans and lotus seeds, so it's worth the price.

Lastly, we ordered the mango mochi. Or glutinous rice balls, as some call it. Very good texture with a substantial amount of mango-ey goodness tucked inside. 

Hong Kong Food Part VI : Honeymoon Dessert

Typical HK dessert cafe; just what I was looking for! Was walking around a mall in Tsim Sha Tsui area when we happened to notice this famous dessert chain. I was in the mood for something warm, so I ordered the sweet potato soup with glutinous rice balls (above).

Then, we ordered another glutinous rice ball dish - but this time with crushed peanuts! Muar chee in Hong Kong. Yummy.

We also ordered the mango pancakes which were absolutely delish! As usual, I was too fascinated by them to take a picture. Next time, then.

You can browse more of their menu here.

Hong Kong Food Part V : Tsui Wah (again!)

Returned to Tsui Wah for lunch on the same day! Ha. We just couldn't decide where to eat and there it was, right smack in the middle of bustling Causeway Bay. I swear the huge signboard called out to us.

Jokes aside, I ordered the soup noodles with vegetable dumplings.  Great choice, it smelled amazing when it arrived and the dumplings were absolutely delightful. There actually were XXXXL sized prawns in them! And four humongous dumplings for you to enjoy.

And this was my parents' choice. Same thing, but with beancurd and fish balls. I especially loved the noodles they used, white and slightly thicker than usual, it reminded me of Vietnamese pho.

And the little sister ordered the crispy pork buns. She being a crispy pork lover, finished her plate ahead of all of us. I mean, just look at that. The bread is fluffy and soft on the inside, yet it still had a crisp exterior, and the pork patty is without a doubt, great. Who wouldn't enjoy a simple meal like that?

Finally, my other sister ordered the crispy fried noodles. One of their signature dishes, so you wouldn't go wrong with that.

Came with plenty of bean sprouts (they actually removed the heads!), mushrooms and seafood.

One of the most satisfying meals we had in Hong Kong, I would say.

Hong Kong Food Part IV : Tsui Wah

Ah. The much loved char chan teng. Or just our regular kopitiam. We hopped into Tsui Wah for breakfast, as we returned to Central the next morning for more exploring. 

An homage to Michael Jackson, perhaps?

They offer a wide array of breakfast items, from western platters to 'chinaman' style breakfasts. Three of us ordered the same thing: Crispy milk bun, as pictured above. And boy, were we satisfied! The bun was huge, imagine the size of a kid's hand, and double it. The condensed milk was generously drizzled over the top, so there was no need for butter at all.

Western Platter. The bacon was extremely crispy, not a hint of the 'chew toy' texture in there.

And the buns! They could give Mcdonald's a run for their money.

They have numerous branches all over Hong Kong, but you can check it out for yourself here.

Hong Kong Food Part III : Yung Kee Restaurant

For dinner on the first night, we opted for the Central area. Mom did her research and came across this place, which apparently had the best Roast Goose in Hong Kong. Presenting, the Yung Kee Restaurant, in all of its four-levelled glory.

Superior soup with seafood, winter melon and celery. Very tasty, though you couldn't really taste much salt in it. The winter melon was surprisingly 'kut' or solid, different from how my mom would cook hers, which becomes very soft upon simmering in the soup. There was plenty of fresh seafood, from prawns to scallops. It was amazing that you couldn't see a hint of oil on the surface too.

They even served it in the winter melon itself. Now won't you take a look at the size of that!

The highlight of the meal: Roast goose. Or siew ngoh, as the locals call it. Anthony Bourdain once raved about this on No Reservations. Forget about your roast pork or even Peking duck, this is the real deal. Don't be fooled by the seemingly large portion, you'll find yourself licking the whole plate clean.

I swear the glistening skin could compete with Edward Cullen's non-existent abs and win, hands down.

And lastly, we have the most expensive dish of the night : The steamed garoupa fish. After we ordered, a waiter came out holding a plastic bag containing the fish. Yes, that is how fresh the fish is here.

The damage in total: 17** HKD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
 But as my Dad gladly announces after that 'fit for a king' meal, it was worth it.

Don't say I didn't warn you though.

Website

Tel: (852) 2522 1624
Fax: (852) 2840 0888
Email: info@yungkee.com.hk
Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Food Part II : Starbucks

OK, I know this is not exactly what you call your typical Hong Kong style food, but hey, Starbucks anywhere is just too hard to resist, for me anyway. Plus, they always have different stuff overseas!

Dropped by for a tea break on the first day. Immediate thought upon entering : order the cakes which aren't available in Penang! And that is what we did. Above was the Butterscotch Vanilla cake. Overly sweet, better share this with someone (or someones) to avoid getting that sugar overdose.

Check out the huge heap of caramel crunchies on top! Well, it's really nothing more than your average butter sponge topped with loads of cream and caramel. 

Forgot the fancy name of this chocolate cake. Had many layers, not bad according to the sisters. Looked a little too rich for me, though.

Hong Kong Food Part I : Lei Garden

Did a whole lot of research on Hong Kong before going on the short trip two weeks ago. Wanted to make the most out of it since it was our first family trip there. Plus, there are so many good places to eat and too little time to try all of them. Read about Lei Garden on the net and it seemed to be pretty popular among the locals for my fave - dim sum! And how lucky we were to have stayed in a hotel which was directly opposite! I swear I didn't know about this. My eyes seriously bulged when I saw the restaurant right across the street. So off we went for our first (and only) dimsum meal in Hong Kong.

Of course, the egg tarts were amazing. Freshly made each time you order, took around 15 minutes for our second, (yes second, one's definitely not enough) order to arrive.  

The first bite is so warm and heavenly you can't resist having another one. The best part, wait there is NO best part, everything from the crumbly pastry to the egg custard is just great. 

Next were the Siew Mai and chicken feet. Dad enjoyed the chicken feet, though he was a bit stunned by the pale appearance at first, not like the reddish 'Ge Ka' you can find usually.

The siew mai were good as well, very authentic. You could tell from the texture of the skin which wasn't sticky like the ones you get in some coffee shops here. The fresh prawns were a plus too. Our only gripe however, was there wasn't any sweet chili sauce available! So we were kinda bummed, having to eat dimsum on its own! We Malaysians sure do love our chili sauce.

The customary Char Siew Bao. Or BBQ pork buns. Come to think of it, I suppose all the aforementioned dimsum are indeed customary! Ordered this twice, as the little sister loved it.

Wow, can you see how steaming hot it is? That's the steamed rice rolls with pork. Again, the above dish appeared bland without any seasoning, but it tasted not too bad. Something like our chee cheong fun. Without the sauce.

The same dish, but with prawn instead or pork. Forgot to mention they do provide the soy sauce in a little condiment bowl, so you can still dip away if you find it too bland for your liking. They use very big prawns, I must say.

Finally, we asked the waiter whether they had Lor Mai Kai, but they offered us this instead. This is their version of the Bak Chang (glutinous rice dumpling). Don't let the picture above fool you, the chang was HUGE! We were struggling to finish it, but we still did in the end. Heh.

Tsim Sha Tsui Lei Garden Restaurant (website)

Address : B-2, Houston Centre, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel.NO. : (852) 2722 1636

Opening Hours:

Monday to Saturday & Public Holidays
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Dinner: 6:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Sunday
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Dinner: 6:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

So that's it for Part I. Part II will be up soon!