KiKi Noodle Bar at IFC Mall (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

There’s no secret that more and more celebrities are finding their ways in the F&B industry. After launching her own instant noodle brand a couple of years ago, Taiwanese superstar Shu Qi (舒淇) finally opened her first restaurant, KiKi Noodle Bar (KiKi Tea) in Taipei last year. This month, the trendy noodle bar made its first foray into Hong Kong. The first outlet of KiKi Noodle Bar is situated in the IFC Mall, near the airport check-in terminal.



I have to honestly admit, I’m not much of a fan when it comes to Taiwanese noodles and duck blood. So, I hardly knew what I’m up against (I do know about KiKi Tea though, as they already have a branch at Pacific Place).



Stir-fried minced pork, mixed noodle, chive flowers, fermented black bean (蒼蠅頭拌麵) ($98) - The name certainly caught my eyes. I was determined to find out more about this “flies’ head” thing. 

It turned out to be a mixture of minced pork, chive flowers and fermented black bean. I didn’t expect such a strong kick from the chili oil but it was a welcome addition to an otherwise bland (and boring) dish, despite its highly entertaining name.



Sichuan spicy tofu noodle in soup, duck blood, sliced pork (麻辣肉片紅白麵) ($98) - One of the signature dish here and if you love spicy, you’ll fall in love with it instantly.

This looked like a nicely decorated Taiwanese ramen bowl. On top of the noodles, there were goodies like marinated tofu, egg, sliced pork and of course duck blood pudding.



I found this much tastier than the “flies’ head” noodle. Yes, the level of spiciness more than doubled the previous dish but for the ultimate Taiwanese street food experience (blood pudding, marinated egg etc), this was a no-brainer.



Black truffle steamed rice roll, assorted mushrooms (松露雜菌撈腸粉) ($78) - I didn’t expect such a delicious steamed rice roll from a Taiwanese noodle joint. Soft, tender and moist; the assorted mushrooms in the middle providing some lovely bite. Just a bit of sweet soy already made it very tasty.



Chestnut Mont Blanc (栗子蒙布朗) ($38) - Like the rice rolls arrived before it, I didn’t expect such a lovely Mont Blanc as well. Heck, we didn’t expect Mont Blanc cake on their menu to begin with, so that made mom a real happy camper.

The Chestnut Mont Blanc wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it probably tasted better than a lot of those served at western style cafes or restaurants, if you ask me (And for only $38!).



And of course, some bubble milk tea with brown sugar to wash everything down.



What irritated me a little was the final damage printed on the bill, which came to $600 for 4 adults and one child. I know this is the heart of Central but $100 for a bowl of Taiwanese noodles is just very poor value for money in my opinion.

Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 2017, 2/F, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2114-3426