Gongau Cha 港究茶 Wongtee Plaza 皇庭廣場店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I have promised myself to come back for the butter toast at Gongau Cha Wongtee Plaza (港究茶  皇庭廣場店) after my first visit and finally, I got to keep my promise. 

I had a very nice time here enjoying their silk stocking milk tea tremendously last week. The only thing I didn't like was the long waiting time. It was again the case this afternoon as I waited more than 15 minutes for my kaya toast with butter.

This came in a very small packet. Once I broke the package wide open, there it was, the kaya toast divided into four tiny pieces.

I have very high standard for kaya toast and this was clearly a fail any way I looked at it. The toast wasn't very nicely done and the amount of kaya jam was disappointingly far and few. 

Yes, I better stick with their milk tea from now on.

Price: ¥¥

Address: Shop No.66, Level 1 Wongtee Plaza, 118 Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华三路118号皇庭广场 L1-66铺

Closest Metro Station: Convention & Exhibition Centre (會展中心)

Tel: +86 (755) 18718325762

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/cd/02Ki

 

Harbourside at Regent Hong Kong (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After a few years of not really celebrating my birthday (during the pandemic), this year felt a little different already. I was greeted with my first birthday wish early in the morning by little nugget. It was nice to have my birthday on a Saturday for a change and although I still needed to go to my office, I finally gotta enjoy a birthday dinner set up by none other than Jelloman herself. Unlike the previous years, she's the one picking tonight’s dinner venue and not surprisingly, she decided to check Harbourside at Regent Hong Kong off her list.

As one of the most luxurious buffet restaurant in all of Hong Kong, Harbourside had a facelift during the hotel's year-long renovation and came back with an equally luxurious price tag. Though its name consistently came up, I have never had the urge to try this place out myself cuz I’ve never been a buffet kind of guy. I always prefer quality over quantity so to speak but since someone is picking up the bill tonight, I’m just going to enjoy the food and view this time.

Little nugget led us to our table which was hidden at the back of the restaurant. 

It didn’t have a harbour view, not even a partial one (we were kind of facing the museum) but at least we were not sitting next to the food counters like a few others. Let’s just say that the restaurant was a little cramped.

Like everybody else, we started things off at the seafood counter first. There were prawns, tourteau crabs and Japanese sashimi highlighted by the fresh scallops which were huge in size. 

I also liked the salmon gravlax which was absolutely dusted with dill (hidden behind the crab there).

The uni sushi was so small! And I thought the tuna with all those tendons was also disappointing. Only the scallop was worth an encore.

I didn’t really spend much time at the “Hot dish” counter myself. The braised abalone with cabbage and fish maw highlighted a few noteworthy Chinese dishes but none was good enough for a second dip.

Of course the highlight of the meal were the “made-to-order” lobsters. They're always a crowd pleaser in a buffet. 

There were also “made-to-order” Peking duck and we didn't even need to get our hands dirty. The chef did it all for you by diligently placing the duck skin and condiments onto the pancake, spray it with hoisin and wrap it up nice and clean. This was OK.

Like most upscale buffets, there’s a small section reserved for roasted beef and ham. I had the ham myself and it was pretty chewy. Not great.

Dessert probably deserves a bit of love. I decided to pass on all the nice looking pastries including tiramisu and matcha chiffon cakes, and put all my money on the mango pudding, egg tart and macarons. Sadly, the mango pudding was a little bland; the egg tart had a pretty nice, custardy egg custard but the pastry wasn’t nearly flaky enough.

As it turned out, my birthday chocolate tart was the best sweet treat of the evening.

It was rich in dark chocolate flavors with the raspberry ganache in the middle doing a nice job cutting through the richness.

When they said “Hong Kong style milk tea” on the drink menu, my first reaction was “Really?”. But after taking a flyer on it, I could now confirm that it’s indeed as strong and silky smooth as any pantyhose milk tea out there. I’m glad I made the right choice.

I had just enough room for one single item before calling it the night and decided to get myself some pan seared foie gras. This came with a ton of balsamic reduction on top. Pretty nice.

Many thanks to Jelloman for organizing this and special thanks to my little boy for singing the birthday song again for his old man. I would say, this was a pretty good birthday dinner albeit the poor value-for-money. 

   

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$$

Address: G/F, Regent Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

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

Tel: +852 2313-2313

Opening Hours: 12:00pm – 2:30 pm, 5:30pm – 11:00 pm daily

Nishiki Yakitori 錦 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I had Friday afternoon off to catch little nugget's live performance at his school play. It's his last performance and I was all too happy to attend it following a turbulent week at work.



With an hour and a half left before the show, I decided to come back to Nishiki Yakitori (錦) for lunch just for nostalgia's sake. Nishiki Yakitori came to the rescue of Hongkongers when the city was without an authentic Japanese yakitori restaurants decades ago. There has been some staff turnover in their kitchen over the past years and as seen today, it is now run by a couple of Asian chefs.

I was first started off with a small salad and pickled burdock.

As I often like to do here, I ordered a bowl of udon soup with seaweed and egg. This always mesh well with the skewers.

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs) – A little smaller in size comparing to the hay days but the flavors remained the same. The meatball was very delicate and I could still taste the soft bones inside which was a very nice touch.

Chicken wing – I've always enjoyed the wings here. This was very tender with some nice smoky flavors. 

Bacon oyster roll – My last skewer before settling the bill. 

This was again nicely executed with the crispy bacon hugging around the oyster that was slightly charred outside but remained soft and fresh in the middle. The briny flavors were well matched with the savory bacon and salt. Having tried three of my favorite skewers here, I can honestly say that they are still a very reliable option when it comes to Japanese skewers in Hong Kong, despite all the changes personnel-wise.

I managed to arrive at the play a little ahead of schedule. What I like most about this theatre was that we couldn't get any phone signals around. That means no phone calls or messages from my office! I could finally sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Little nugget didn't expect to see me this afternoon. In fact, he rarely saw me this past two weeks with all the trouble from work so he was overjoyed to find me in attendance. That moment when he ran up to me and gave me a bug hug, it was priceless! Of course, I was proud of the little kid who used to have butterflies in his stomach whenever he stepped on the stage. Now, he looks like a seasoned veteran to me.

The last two weeks of work had me thinking a lot. Maybe I've worked this job well too long that I have worn out my welcome. Yes, I have high expectations on myself so naturally, I have the same hefty expectations for people surrounding me. With all the things happening in the office, I expected everyone to step their work up a notch (maybe two). I don't exactly know what happens after this year. I really don't. There are a lot of sacrifices that comes with our duties. I don't really get to see my son much. I don't get to celebrate my birthday cuz it's always in the middle of our peak season. And I don't get to spend a long summer holiday with my family except the last two weeks in August. At this moment, I'm just confused. 

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: 1/F, Regal Kowloon Hotel, 71 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2723-8660

Opening Hours: 12:00pm – 2:30 pm, 6:00pm – 10:30 pm daily

Chao Hao Wei 潮好味 金獎豬腳飯 連城新天地店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★☆☆☆☆

As they always said, it's good to have an end to a journey and after spending 5 hours in Futian, we were ready to get back home. Just when we were making our slow walk back to the rapid train station, little nugget decided to tell us that he was hungry. I don't really blame him cuz last time we ate, it was three hours ago so there's a small chance that the growing boy needed some extra following hours of arcade games. It could also be the fact that he secretly wanted to extend our stay a bit further. Anyways, we were glad that we were still at City Link (連城新天地) so there were more than a few food options available with Chao Hao Wei (潮好味 金獎豬腳飯) getting the final nod.

Little guy had the steamed rice with pig's trotters (金獎豬腳飯). This looked really fatty and full of sweet soy  flavors.

Jelloman and I weren't all that hungry so we ended up sharing a bowl of barbecued pork and fried egg over rice. Some thirty years ago, I would have loved these char siu because there was more fat than meat but not now. The luncheon meat hidden underneath the egg didn't look very inviting.

It's really time to go now, son~!

At least you have a bunch of these game cards to hang onto on your way back.

Food Rating: 3.5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop B33, City Link, Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华路连城新天地一期 B33

Closest Metro Station: Convention & Exhibition Centre (會展中心)

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/9c/Tski

Jingwei Zhang Roast Duck Restaurant Wongtee Plaza 京味張烤鴨店 皇庭廣場 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Dubbed as one of the top eight roast duck restaurants in Shenzhen, I was eager to check Jingwei Zhang Roast Duck Restaurant (京味張烤鴨店) off my list this weekend. Thankfully, they have a branch at Wongtee Plaza (皇庭廣場) where little nugget and I would be spending a ton of time at for our arcade games.

One of the things about Jingwei Zhang that immediately caught my eyes was the mix of modern and traditional decorations.

They have a no-reservation policy so we have to arrive a little after 3:30pm for our ticket. Once we got our table secured (with the ticket), we were asked to come back in about an hour where dinner officially starts.

A little early for dinner at 4:30pm? Not according to this kid....

Chinese bok choy with cracklings (油渣奶白菜) (¥32) – Not a bad way to start off the meal with some veggies, especially when we have the Peking duck coming up shortly.

Roast Duck (精品烤鴨) (¥128) – This was what we came here for, baby! Of course, we had to wait for the chef to do all the hard work first before our indulgence.

The usual condiments for Peking duck including cucumber, scallions, sugar, melon, hawthorn (山楂) and hoisin sauce.

I thought one of the things that set Jingwei Zhang apart from their competition was the details to their Chun Bing (春饼). They did a great job preserving the warmth of those pancakes and even went as far as to have a staff come separate them one by one so they didn't stick together.

Little nugget was equally impressed with the venue and the Peking duck in front of him. He kept saying to us that this looked upscale and top-notch.

I am a purist when it comes to Peking duck. No scallion, sugar....

And I like having some duck meat to go with the crispy skins. 

Second round....

To me, this was a little better than what we had at Duck de King (金鴨季). There was a little more smokiness in the skin and we could really taste and smell the aroma of apple wood. The super tender chun bing also played a key role in delivering a very nice mouthfeel.

Deep-fried shrimp balls (貴妃荔枝蝦球) (¥98) – Talk about making an entrance...

     

These came in the shape of a lychee hanging beautifully on a tree with special effects from the frozen ice. That was impressive especially considering the price. We would never have this kind of presentation and "entertainment" for that price tag in Hong Kong.

I had these kind of lychee-shaped balls as a dessert before but not in a savory dish.

The accompanying chili sauce was mildly spicy. I could live with that!

This was OK. Not surprisingly, it was one of those dishes that looked much better than it tasted.

Stir-fried pig's kidney Traditional Beijing-style (老北京溜腰花) (¥68) – By now, I am kind of used to this dish cuz it was the third time that Jelloman ordered while visiting Shenzhen. I thought the pig's kidney, bamboo shoots, black fungus and cucumber worked very nicely together; and the spicy kick and numbing effects from the sauce was a reasonably good touch.



We didn't order desserts cuz we had all the time in the world to do so later tonight. It's time to get our feet wet with the arcade games next.

A lot of friends were asking why we were so hooked to Shenzhen these days. I can honestly say it's not the price cuz unlike what people are saying, dining-out in Shenzhen isn't really all that cheap. It might be about 20% less than what we are paying in Hong Kong but factoring in the transportation (rapid train tickets) and other stuff, it's hard to justify it solely on the price tag.  For me, what impressed me most about dining in Shenzhen was the service. I have never come across a restaurant where I'm badly treated or having some staff with poor attitude. In fact, some of those restaurant staff were willing to go the extra mile just to get us back for the second time (Just look at the photo of the staff with little nugget. See the smile on his face). That was really the difference maker. Back in Hong Kong, we got poor attitude from restaurant staff all the time. These guys should never be in the hospitality industry. They are the ones forcing the locals to spend it elsewhere, with Shenzhen getting the biggest bite of the pie.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop No.29, Level 1 Wongtee Plaza, 118 Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华三路118号皇庭广场 L1-29铺

Closest Metro Station: Convention & Exhibition Centre (會展中心)

Tel: +86 (755) 83224833

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/de/Ppgh

Gongau Cha 港究茶 Wongtee Plaza 皇庭廣場店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

The clock was down to about half an hour left before our dinner table's ready. With another 30 minutes of Me Time, I decided to swing by Gongau Cha (港究茶) for a sip of my favorite Hong Kong style milk tea.

Gongau Cha is a collaboration between 7 Hong Kong-style milk tea champions who decided to join forces to offer some of the best "silk stocking" milk tea (港式絲襪奶茶) in the market.

Even for milk tea, Gongau Cha offers a number of options with different formulas. I was also curious of the "ice fire" toast served with thick slabs of frozen butter.

Champion Silk stocking milk tea (冠軍絲襪奶茶) – The most popular brand of Hong Kong style milk tea developed together by the 7 champions. This was a milk tea lover's dream.

The tea exuded a delightful fragrance and richness (can tell by its color) accompanied by tremendous velvety thickness. I am impressed!

With my Peking duck dinner coming up shortly, I finally decided to pass on the butter toast for now. Until next time then...

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop No.66, Level 1 Wongtee Plaza, 118 Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华三路118号皇庭广场 L1-66铺

Closest Metro Station: Convention & Exhibition Centre (會展中心)

Tel: +86 (755) 18718325762

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/cd/02Ki

 

NiNi’s Cake Wongtee Plaza 皇庭廣場店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

There wasn’t much happening for us this weekend. Little nugget had a number of classes scheduled on Saturday and Sunday; and the plan was to lay low for the rest of the day. When it comes to food, we’ll simply grab something quick in our hood. Nothing fancy. But things were about to heat up when Jelloman popped the question, “don’t think there will be train tickets available to Futian this late right?”.

That got the ball rolling and the next thing I knew, we were already on a taxi on our way to West Kowloon. It was already 2pm.

As planned, we arrived at Futian’s Wongtee Plaza (皇庭廣場) a little after 3pm. Since we already decided to have Peking duck dinner tonight, there was no point for us to have another late lunch at this stage. So, we hurried up to get ourselves a ticket at Jingwei Zhang Roast Duck Restsurant (京味張烤鴨店) and before returning for an early dinner there at 4:30pm, we headed off to NiNi’s Cake for a round of sweet treats to kill some time off the clock.

NiNi’s Cake is a French patisserie and cafe I spotted on my last visit to Wongting around CNY. They have some amazing cakes on display including one that looked like a fire cracker (炮仗). Very eye catching. 🧨

Strawberry passion fruit (莓果慕斯) (¥43) – Inside the crust made with strawberry flavored white chocolate was a layer of strawberry mousse.

This came with a sponge cake base and a centre of strawberry ganache. I didn’t get the chance to try it myself but I assumed that’s also where the passion fruit was hiding, right in the middle of the sponge.

Peach, cream cheese, earl grey (桃礼) (¥43) – Here we have a slice of peach 🍑 sitting on top of some cream cheese. The base was a crepe pouch filled with peach and cream. OK.

Hazelnut praline, dulce, coffee (香草榛果) (¥48) – I am an absolute sucker for hazelnut praline (榛果帕林內) so this should be right up my alley.

I thought it was by far the best out of the three we tried this afternoon. Yes, the hazelnut praline could have been richer in flavors, especially the nuttiness part (It was more creamy than nutty) but all in all, the hazelnut praline, crushed hazelnuts and caramel (menu did say coffee) worked well together as a team.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop L2-6, Level 2 Wongtee Plaza Exit C, 118 Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华三路118号皇庭广场西門 L2-6铺

Closest Metro Station: Convention & Exhibition Centre (會展中心)

Tel: +86 (755) 13570811368

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/6e/Q4ii