Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After a whirlwind July and August (at least the first half of August), things are finally settling down a bit at work. I still have an unbelievable number of meetings to attend every month, but at least there are fewer high-pressure situations than during our peak months. After an early-morning training session, I decided to stop by Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司) for a quick lunch. I thought I haven't eaten there in years.

To my pleasant surprise, there were only two people in line at the famous Jordan cha chaan teng. Today must be my lucky day.

Fried egg, ham and buttered toast — Simple, but always satisfying. It arrived at my table less than a minute after I ordered. How cool is that?

Macaroni with barbecued pork — I wasn’t particularly hungry this afternoon, so something simple like this did the trick.

Iced milk tea — And, of course, one of my favorite milk teas in town to wash it all down. This is usually the first item to arrive, but I guess the drinks counter was especially busy during the lunch rush.

That was a quick 15-minute lunch. Time to head back to the office and finish up some work, cuz I’m flying out solo to Seoul tomorrow. Yeah finally, some me time in one of my favorite cities in the world. Looking forward to it!

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Jordan
Tel: +852 2730-1356
Opening Hours: 7:30am - 10:00pm (Fri - Wed)

GYU + bar by Miyoshi (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I first noticed GYU + bar by Miyoshi during its soft opening at Hysan Place a few months ago. Now that the Kyoto-based wood-fire-grilled wagyu specialist has officially opened doors in September, I thought it was time to pay it a long-overdue visit.

With its open kitchen and charcoal grills right at the heart of the action, I asked for a seat at the bar so I could get a closer look behind the scenes. 

Interestingly, my neighbors who were initially seated right next to me, found it too hot near the grill and asked to move elsewhere.

Wagyu tartare, egg yolk, smoked mayo, burdock — The three-course set started off with a small serving of wagyu tartare topped with egg yolk gel, smoked mayo and crispy burdock. I was instructed to mix everything together so that each bite would include a bit of every ingredient.

This wasn’t bad at all. The crispy burdock noodles paired reasonably well with the raw wagyu, but a little more smoked mayo (or perhaps some sort of jelly?) to bring it all together would have made it even more delicious.

A5 Wagyu rump, mashed potato, baby spinach — This was the sole reason I came here, baby! As always, the aroma of charred beef smelt so good.

My server didn’t even ask how I wanted my A5 wagyu rump cooked, so I trusted that they knew exactly what they were doing. And they sure did.

The four slices of well-marbled wagyu were charcoal-grilled to perfection (around medium) giving them a lovely smoky finish. The juicy, meltingly tender beef was served on a bed of baby spinach, alongside a thick slab of silky-smooth mashed potatoes, with a spiced sauce au poivre providing the finishing touch. For me, the succulent chargrilled wagyu alone was well worth the price tag.

Pain perdu — Dessert was brioche French toast served with a little black sugar and strawberry sorbet. A lovely sweet ending to lunch.

I’ve got some catching up to do at work this afternoon, so it’s time to head back to the office and suck it up.

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 401-404, 4/F, Lee Garden One, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 2116-0593

Website: https://www.gyubar.com.hk/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:30pm, 5:00pm - 11:00pm (Sun - Thu), 11:30am - 3:30pm, 5:00pm - 11:30pm (Fri - Sat)

Jus (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I had a leisurely walk around Central and Sheung Wan and almost missed lunch completely. By the time I finally stopped to take stock, it was already around 4 pm, and I found myself pretty fairly close to PMQ. That’s when a certain noodle bar suddenly came to mind.

Brought to us by the folks behind Big JJ Seafood Hotpot (珍姐海鮮火鍋飯店), Jus is a sleek, minimalist noodle bar on the corner of Staunton Street and Aberdeen Street, especially known for its dan dan noodles and noodles mixed with beef fat and sweet soy sauce (牛油拌麵).

Noodles mixed with beef fat and soy sauce (牛油拌麵) ($168) — The dish name literally translates to “butter beef noodles,” but what you get here is beef fat — not butter.

The set came with a small bowl of cold bean sprouts.

And a small bowl of beef consommé, which I saved for after I finished the noodles for a final sip.

The housemade noodles were known for their elastic texture, and it showed. I liked the buttery noodles although the sweetness from the soy sauce wasn’t quite as pronounced as I expected based on the color alone.

The beef char siu (牛叉燒) was an interesting touch. The slices were meltingly tender, and for a moment I actually thought it might be pork. But to me, it had a deeper and richer flavor than typical pork char siu.

For me, though, the real star was the thin-sliced beef tongue (牛舌). It was exceptionally tender, buttery, and melt-in-your-mouth soft delivering a gentle, satisfying bite. I do wonder if it would taste even better with a thicker cut.

Lastly, the beef tendon (牛筋凍). The jelly was likely made with beef consommé but the flavors were very light, with the tendon tucked inside. This was OK.

After the meal, I spent some time walking around Soho. This part of Soho is one of my favorite corners of the city. There are so many picture-worthy spots.

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: $$$$

Address: G/F, 60 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm (Wed - Sun)