Ice Restaurant 綠冰室 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I've heard some ringing endorsements about Ice Restaurant (綠冰室) ever since their opening more than a year ago but it was impossible to get in before until most recently. Perhaps some diners have opted for the nearby Red Tea Cafe (紅茶冰室) instead.



But I was keen to have this place checked out this afternoon. Let's see if it's as good as people claimed.

Pantyhose milk tea (港式奶茶)– A bit too watery and not nearly fragrant enough.

Beef stir-fried with noodles (干炒牛河) – The noodles were warm (not hot) and I would say it was just OK but there wasn't much wok hei there. The slices of beef was pretty tender but it was really bland. Normally in this case, they would try to cover it up with a lot of peppers or seasoning but on this occasion, they didn't.

This looks like an one and done for me. Not that I really care cuz Tsim Sha Tsui has plenty more to offer.

Food Rating: 4/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 3-7A Prat Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui / East Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 6995-4409

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 12:00am daily

Deer Kitchen (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

Deer Kitchen is my first official dine-out experience since returning from Osaka a couple of days ago. I am still singing my post-trip blues so I am not going to be too picky about where to have my lunch this afternoon.



I walked past this little restaurant in Tsuen Wan West a few times already but it was completely empty back then. But this afternoon, they were having a pretty decent lunch crowd so I decided to give it a go. 

Starting things off was a small salad with a Japanese style sesame dressing.

The main event was linguine tossed in a creamy mentaiko sauce with chicken and mushrooms (wordings directly from the menu). I thought the pink sauce was a little too thick and gluey making it hard for me to navigate with my fork. 

I normally have pretty high standards for a creamy mentaiko pasta simply because it's one of my signature dishes that I liked to cook for my family. This one probably didn't come close to being on par with my mentaiko pasta and that's not quite good enough from a professional kitchen. 

Food Rating: 4/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop G06-07, G/F, City Walk, 1 Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsuen Wan West

Tel: +852 2561-0016

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm daily

Kagunomi-dou カグノミ堂 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

I thought I was done exploring the dining scene of Osaka following my highly anticipated lunch at Harijyu Dotonbori Honten (はり重 道頓堀本店) but deep down, I knew there was still enough left in the tank (and enough time) for one more adventure. So, rather than heading back to the hotel and wait for our ride to Kansai International Airport, I decided to ask mom to go back on her own.

And I headed straight down the tunnel to the subway station.

The good news was, my final destination wasn’t too far off. Situated just two stations from Nagahoribashi (長崛橋), Kagunomi-dou  (カグノミ堂) would be a fitting end to a wonderful journey spanning Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. It would also be a nice way to cap off the trip on a sweet note.

Once I emerged from Nishi-Ohashi station (西大橋駅), I took a couple of turns before finally arriving at the front of the little dessert café. Didn't even break a sweat.

I found this quiet little place while having lunch with mom a couple of hours ago. It's a modern French patisserie serving bite-sized sweet treats in the mold of UN GRAIN, a bona fide favorite of mine in Aoyama.

A cup of coffee to start things off.

I ended up picking six of these migrandise-style mini-tarts.

Grapefruit jelly – Nice crispy tartlet topped by a wobbly grapefruit jelly. I was hoping for a little more "explosiveness" coming from the jelly. 

Fig – Fresh fig with fig purée, very sweet and refreshing. Pretty nice.

 
Pistachio – Shaved pistachio with rich pistachio cream. The base was a sponge cake with a dab of raspberry compote hidden inside for a nice balance of sweetness and acidity.

By far the best of the bunch.

Mandarin – Nice zesty flavors from the mandarin-flavored "cloud" on top. The melon compote centre did a nice job to offset the citrusy flavors of the mandarin with its natural sweetness. Not bad.

Chocolate – Mini chocolate tart with a chocolate biscuit base, 72% dark chocolate cream and cocoa nibs. Not much surprise there.

 
Cassis – Not surprisingly, this came with a burst of rich fruity (berry) flavor. The base was kind of a sponge cake which I thought was made with pistachio.

I am a happy camper now! Much of this trip has been about little nugget getting his time at Disneyland (Tokyo), USJ (Osaka) and Pokemon Center (everywhere), while the old folks embarked on a journey of unchartered waters (Fujikawaguchiko, Arashiyama etc.) with their beloved grandson. Did I do anything special on this trip? As a foodie, other than the meal at L'Osier, I didn't really do much. But I was happy to see others happy and this sweet ending sent me home on a positive note. That's all it matters.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1-27-17 Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka, 550-0013 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Nishi-Ohashi

Tel: +81 (0)6 7506-8706

Website: www.instagram.com/kagunomidou/?hl=ja

Opening Hours: 2:00pm - 10:00pm (Mon - Wed, Fri), 12:00pm - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Harijyu Dotonbori Honten はり重 道頓堀本店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

When it comes to traditional Japanese dining, Dōtonbori (道頓堀) offers a number of well-seasoned stalwarts including Harijyu Dotonbori Honten (はり重 道頓堀本店), a beef restaurant that was first established in 1924 and moved to the present location in 1948 and Imai Honten (道頓堀 今井 本店), the flagship of a popular udon restaurant founded back in 1946.

As a fan of Japanese wagyu beef, I decided to pay Harijyu Dotonbori Honten a visit on my last day in Osaka.

While the restaurant offers a style of western cuisine or yōshoku (洋食) including hamburger steaks on the ground floor of the building, the upper levels are reserved for sukiyaki (壽喜燒) and shabu-shabu with high-quality Japanese black beef or wagyu.

I love the traditional Japanese vibe here with the tatami tables and vintage decor.

I have already made online bookings for two sukiyaki sets.



Some small nibbles to kick things off before our hot pot is ready.

While mom and I were enjoying the snacks, our server came over and set the table up with the vegetables.

And wagyu beef.

Next, she began getting the broth up to boiling temperature.

And slowly put the wagyu into the sweet broth one by one.

When she finally signaled us to take over, it was time to enjoy the well-marbled beef and vegetables.

As always, I let my wagyu shower in the thick sauce made with the egg yolk.

Then mixed it with the steamed rice. This was so heavenly! The succulent beef matched so well with the sweetness of the broth and richness of the yolk.

After enjoying a couple rounds of beef, we slided the tofu, leeks, mushrooms, vegetables and glass noodles into the broth. The glass noodles were definitely the highlight of the meal right behind the beef simply cuz it clung to the soup so well.

I was really happy to have the chance to close out this trip with a meal at the century-old Harijyu Dotonbori Honten. It was an itch I was more than happy to scratch and an experience mom and I would never forget.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 2/F 1-9-17 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0071 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi

Tel: +81 (0)6 6211-7777

Website: www.harijyu.co.jp/english/

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:30pm daily

Ramen Saba 6 Shinsaibashi らぁ麺鯖六 心齋橋本店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

For our dinner venue tonight, I have entrusted little nugget to call the shots for me and to no one's particular surprise, the ramen-loving kid decided that we should be having ramen noodles. He even had a ramen shop in mind and it was a place we walked by everyday during our current stay, Ramen Saba 6 Shinsaibashi (らぁ麺鯖六 心齋橋本店).

Ramen Saba 6 Shinsaibashi is a small ramen shop located on the basement level of Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street that specializes in chicken paitan ramen (鶏白湯拉麵) which is of course little guy's favorite.

It was almost 7pm on a Saturday evening but not a single soul here. Am I missing something here?

Chicken paitan ramen (980 yen) – This came with some chicken shoulder loin, purple onion, scallion and bamboo shoot. The broth was rich and flavorful (a bit salty too), a stark contrast to the umami-rich one we had Mugi to Tori (麦×鶏) a few days ago. I like the thick and eggy noodles working well with the powerful broth.

The name Saba (or mackerel) refers to another signature ramen at the shop, featuring a special broth made with the unique blend of six different flavors including mackerel and chicken. But I guess I would have to wait for our next visit to find out more.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: B1F Sakura Shinsaibashi, 3-5-22 Minamisenba, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0081 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi

Tel: +81 (0)6 4256-3383

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 11:00pm daily

Délices tarte & café at Links Umeda (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★☆☆☆

I think I finally found the quickest way to travel from Osaka to the heart of Arashiyama (or vice versa). There were so many different paths to take and different websites offer different suggestions so I got all confused before the trip. At the end, I decided to take the safe route by going through Kyoto Station which proved to be a rather painful experience. I didn't have anything bad to say about Kyoto Station but it's always so crowded not to mention the waiting time for trains.

On our way back, we accidentally discovered the Keifuku Randen Tram Line (嵐電 京福電鐵). Having the tram line's Arashiyama Station situated right in the heart of Arashiyama's shopping strip, it was easily the most efficient transportation route from/to Osaka. The tram took us back to Karasuma Station (烏丸駅) in 20 minutes and there we could transfer onto the Hankyu-Kyoto Line (阪急京都線). I thought the whole journey didn't take more than an hour.

Upon our arrival back in Osaka, Jelloman was all fired up for some last-minute shopping in Umeda. I, for one, didn't care much about shopping as I already met my quota for this trip. The plan, then, was to split into two teams. Those who wanted to do shopping left for Hep Five while mom and I decided to sit down for a drink.

When I think about sitting down for a drink in Umeda, my favorite afternoon spot at Ritz Carlton Osaka immediately came to mind. But as there was still a 10 to 15 minute walk that set us apart (from Umeda Station), we agreed to simply grab something quick at Délices tarte & café.

Located on the ground level of Links Umeda, Délices tarte & café is a café and cake shop focused primarily on fruit tarts. There were also other offerings including mom's favorite Mont Blanc cakes which was the main reason we ended up sitting down here.

Japanese Mont-Blanc aux marrons – This looked close enough to the picture shown in the poster, but without the gold foil on top.

I didn't care much about getting myself a dessert. I wasn't much of a fan for fruit tarts so just a cup of black tea with milk did the trick for me. I needed my caffeine fix. 

So, this is really IT. My last full day in Osaka. Tomorrow, mom and I will be flying back to Hong Kong while the rest of the crew stay for another couple of days. I have waited almost a year for this trip but it felt like it has ended before it even got started. 

Food Rating: 4/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1/F Links Umeda, 1−1 Ofukacho, Kita-ku, Osaka, 530-0011 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda

Tel: +81 (0)6 4256-5161

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm daily

Kumonocha Cafe Arashiyama 雲ノ茶 嵐山店 (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We missed out on the chance to try the matcha cloud cakes from Kumonocha Cafe (雲ノ茶) while we were paying a visit to Sannenzaka two days ago. But after bumping into their café on Arashiyama's shopping strip again this afternoon, we knew it was our last chance to take action. 

Because the café was decorated predominantly in white and blue color, we almost got a feeling that we were having our heads in the cloud. 😉



I got mom and little guy all settled down before queuing up for my order. This was when the bad news arrived. The matcha cloud cakes were ALL sold out! Tough luck...

I eventually ordered something for little nugget although he was disappointed not to sink his teeth into the cloud cake. But if there's any consolation, I did get the special drink served in a gold fish tank for him. It's also in the same blue color! 

Since I wasn't a fan of gold fish, I got myself an iced matcha latte instead.

It was disappointing for all of us that we never get to taste the cloud but at least we do have something to look forward to on our next trip to Arashiyama.

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 20-13 Sagatenryuji Susukinobabacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, 616-8384, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Arashiyama

Tel: +81 (0)75 748-0304

Website: www.kumonocha.com

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 5:30pm (Mon - Fri), 10:00am - 6:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Donut Stand Arashiyama (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Nobody really wanted to walk all the way back to the JR Sagano Line after spending time strolling Arashiyama's shopping strip so I was asked to explore other options for our return to Osaka. As Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Randen Tram Line (嵐電 京福電鐵) was just a stone's throw from the shopping strip, I figured I should find a way to utilize the electric tram. 

But before I could locate the map of the tram line, I happened to run into Donut Stand Arashiyama which was situated right next to the platform.

I am a sucker for doughnuts so of course, I needed to stop for a quick look.

And these weren't your typical doughnuts. They were crème brûlée doughnuts with soft, pillowy fried dough, and a creamy custard centre. 

They came in different flavors but as a purist (when it comes to doughnuts), I decided to skip the fancy stuff (such as matcha) and simply go with their original flavor.

A crunchy caramel glaze on top, nice!

I thought the mouthfeel was pretty interesting. It felt more like having a Basque cheesecake (with runny custard in the middle) than a doughnut to me. But I guess nobody would say no to a fried dough which has just come out of the fryer. 

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: Hannari Hokkori Square (next to the tram platform), 20 Sagatenryuji Susukinobabacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, 616-8384, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Arashiyama

Tel: +81 50-1133-2180

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 6:00pm daily

Oimatsu Arashiyama 老松 嵐山店 (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Some of us had a harder time than others with the hike but we all made it back from Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (嵐山竹林) safe and sound. Life has come full cycle for us as we were back at where we got started almost four hours ago, just around the corner of Yojiya Café. Interestingly, no one seemed to be interested in going back to the café run by the famous Kyoto cosmetics brand. They would rather embark on a new (culinary) journey at Oimatsu Arashiyama (老松 嵐山店).



Founded in 1908, the century-old confectionery offers Japanese sweets made from Miyazaki prefecture-sourced bracken starch, best known for their soft yet chewy texture.

This branch of Oimatsu has a small tea salon right behind their confectionery shop and we decided to come in for some refreshment.

Everybody just loves the traditional Japanese vibe. 

As far as desserts go, not having their signature Bankantou (晚柑糖) would be uncivilized.

Agar was gelled on top of the lightly sweetened grapefruit skin creating this jelly with a nice, refreshing taste.

It came with this deep citrusy and zesty flavor. Not bad.

Iced matcha, very sweet and thirst-quenching.

Shaved ice with matcha flavor and red beans on top, another popular item at Oimatsu especially in the summer.

Mom had this little dessert with agar, mochi and chestnut served in red bean paste. And as if she needed more sweetness, there was a small jar of brown sugar that was served on the side with the dessert.

Rewind back to our time at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. It was little nugget's first-ever visit and he kept asking me about pandas. That was the first thing that came to his mind when he saw all the bamboo trees!

Of course, we did some selfies together while the old folks (including Jelloman) were still trying to catch up. That was fun.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 20 Sagatenryuji Susukinobabacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, 616-8385, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Saga-Arashiyama / Arashiyama

Tel: +81 (0)75 881-9033

Website: www.oimatu.co.jp

Opening Hours: 9:00am - 5:00pm daily