Honolulu Coffee Shop Wanchai 檀島咖啡餅店 灣仔總店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I was having my routine visit to Honolulu Coffee Shop (檀島咖啡餅店) in Wanchai and didn't realize that it could very well be my last chance to bid farewell to this 80-year-old café (News on their closure only broke a couple of days after my meal).

They still serve one of my favorite iced milk teas (凍奶茶) in Hong Kong — creamy with robust tea flavors yet not overly rich.

Most lunch sets were already sold out, except for the stir-fried rice noodles with smooth eggs and shrimp (滑蛋蝦仁炒河), which was pretty decent.

This should be my last meal here before they officially close down in March. It's such a pity that our kids won't be able to experience some of these old institutions anymore.

Food Rating: 5.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 176-178 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2575-1823

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 10:00pm daily

Ladies Street Sik Fan Co. Mong Kok 女人街食飯公司 旺角店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Aniram’s back from the UK for Chinese New Year. It’s been four years since she left, and every year, I've told her I might come to visit, but it never materialized. I guess it’s much easier for her to come back.

Prior to our gathering, I sent her three dinner places to choose from, and not surprisingly, she picked Ladies Street Sik Fan Co. (女人街食飯公司). Many of my overseas guests seem to like this place.

Stir-fried pea shoots with garlic (蒜蓉豆苗) ($80) – Surprisingly, our vegetable dish was the first to arrive. This wasn’t bad.

Prawn toast with black truffle (黑松露鮮蝦多士) ($96) – I liked the minced prawn mousse on top of the crispy toast, but the toast itself was a tad too hard for my ailing teeth, which have given me problems all year. Decent but could be better.

Deep-fried squid with salted egg paste (金沙脆鮮魷) ($138) – A meal here always comes with some drama. Before our squid dish arrived, a plate of crispy fish skin (炸魚皮) unexpectedly showed up instead. When we told the server that we didn't order it and that he had mistakenly written down a completely different dish, he tried to sell us on taking this one as well. Too bad my friend and I don’t like fish skin.

So, the real dish did arrive after all. I must admit, nobody I know won't enjoy having deep-fried squid. The salted egg paste was a little more subtle than I initially thought, which wasn’t a bad idea. Sometimes, less is more.

Steamed scallops with garlic (金銀蒜蒸大元貝) ($136) – The big scallops were indeed pretty big. I loved the fact that they came with enough chopped garlic and chives (I won’t mind more of it!), which worked well with my steamed rice.

As usual, we had a nice chat updating each other on what’s happening in our lives. Sometimes, I felt like she never really left Hong Kong at all. We also joked about the past and got a glimpse of our respective futures in the planning. Of course, I wish her all the best in the UK and reiterated my promise that one day, I would really choose to visit the UK rather than the rest of Europe, which is always more appealing considering the number of Michelin restaurants there.😁😁

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Room B, 1/F, Witty Commercial Building, 1A-1L Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Mong Kok

Tel: +852 2685-1618

Opening Hours: 6:00pm - 11:30pm daily

糖水舖甜品 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

With the closing of Amai No Dessert (甘の季節), we all thought we had lost a beloved spot for Cantonese desserts in Tsim Sha Tsui for good. But to our pleasant surprise, a new dessert shop has opened in the very same location — likely run by the same team behind Amai No Dessert.

The new establishment is called 糖水舖甜品 (No English name here). From what we observed during our visit, they are still offering the same dessert menu as the previous tenant.

Mango pomelo cream (楊枝甘露) ($50) – Little nugget’s favorite.

This wasn’t cheap but it tasted nearly as good as before, according to little one.

Peanut, cashew and walnut sweet soup (花生腰果合桃糊) ($40) – A lovely mix of peanut, cashew and walnut flavors.

Well, I dropped a few more bucks for a pair of sweet dumplings. There was no way anyone could beat out Kai Kai Dessert (佳佳甜品) when it comes to tong yuan (湯圓) with its paper-thin wrapper.

Happy to get our Cantonese dessert spot in Tsim sha Tsui back. Judging from the business they were getting from the tourists, they’re here to stay.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 6A Humphreys Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 5419-0634

Opening Hours: 3:00pm - 12:00am daily