Main St. Deli (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I wasn't joking when I said lunch at T'ang Court was just a start to a very busy day for my stomach. In fact, I didn't have to venture very far for my next stop.

It's taking me forever to finish my piece on the best cheesecakes in Hong Kong. To get myself one step closer to the finish line, I decided to stop by Main Street Deli for their signature New York Cheesecake. This is a very convenient location considering it's just downstairs from T'ang Court where I just finished lunch.

I thought they were going to bring out the whole New York Cheesecake and cut a slice out for me but when my server reached inside the fridge, there was already a cheesecake in take-away style waiting for me to bring home. How nice!

The price tag looks a little heavy ($118) at first glance but once I saw the generous portion, I thought I got the better end of the deal.

It's been a while since I last had a slice of classic New York style cheesecake. I was really looking forward to this but wait, by the time I came back with my hands washed, it was gone! Where's my New York cheesecake!?

Finally, I got the culprit who's responsible for my missing cheesecake.

A lot of my friends prefer Japanese-style cheesecake which is more airy and fluffy but not me. I like it more dense and it was perfect. Smooth, creamy and rich not at all cheesy. Love the classic shortbread crust too.

Just a word of advice. Do not attempt to finish this all by yourself.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Lower Lobby Level, The Langham Hong Kong, 8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2132-7898
Website: Link

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm (Mon - Fri), 11:00am - 9:00pm (Sat - Sun)

T'ang Court 唐閣 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

This “Work from home” thing is really starting to get on my nerve. With home cooking and delivery food a big part of my life (and everyone's) these days, the occasional dining out is like a needle in a haystack. I have been craving for some decent food all week; in fact to an extent that I decided to take half a day off to accomplish the feat. Since I haven't been out for lunch for a while, I thought I should treat myself to something nice and most importantly, something I haven't had for a long time; and that's Chinese dim sum.

I didn't expect three Michelin starred T'ang Court (唐閣) at Langham Hotel would have a table available for me when I rang them up last night. What a pleasant surprise that was.

It's the first lunch since the government reversed the day-time ban at restaurants. I can imagine restaurants getting scrambly to have their lunch service ready early this morning. But surprisingly, no customers!?

But as soon as I reached the upper level, the place was buzzing (well, sort of. In its compliance to social distancing, the restaurant is still only 50% full).

I was really looking forward to get my hands on their Executive set lunch ($400) (largely because of the double-boiled soup) but sadly, it wasn't available today. Not when the government has just suddenly announced the reversal of lunch ban. From what I've heard from my server, some of the fresh ingredients weren't ready for a number of signature dishes. And to add insult to injury, one fourth of the items from the dim sum menu was also unavailable.

Complimentary freshly squeezed orange juice to start off the meal.

Pan-fried rice flour roll with home made spicy sauce (XO 醬煎腸粉) ($88) - The rice flour rolls were pan-fried resulting with a nice, crispy coating flavored with their homemade spicy sauce. This was very tasty but I certainly won't mind a bit more spicy kick to it.

Steamed shrimp and bamboo shoot dumpling (筍尖鮮蝦餃) ($108) - Very lovely bouncy texture from the shrimps. Pretty nice.

Steamed shrimp, pork and black mushroom dumpling topped with Yunnan ham (金華滑燒賣) ($98) - Very delicate. Would love to have stronger flavors coming from the Yunnan ham though.

Baked pastries filled with wagyu beef, onion and sesame (燒汁和牛酥) ($108) - Not the best looking wagyu beef pastry I've seen in my life but it was perfectly crispy on the outside while moist and flavorful inside.

Very nice and addictive.

Baked pastries filled with fish maw and mushrooms, topped with whole abalone (原隻鮑魚花膠酥) ($100 each) - Really like the buttery tart and the braised abalone was wonderfully prepared while drizzled in the rich and fragrant abalone sauce.

But as a whole, this was one of the most disappointing dish of the afternoon. Why? Cuz the fish maw sitting right underneath the braised abalone hardly did anything to complement the flavors of the abalone. As a matter of fact, they were working individually rather than harmonizing each other. Once again, it proved that throwing premium ingredients together doesn't always work.

Fried rice noodle with Cantonese style barbecued pork, squid, celery, shredded duck and chicken (家鄉炒米粉) ($250) - The rice noodles were tossed with char siu, squid, celery, shredded duck and chicken. It's meant to be dry and obviously the chef doing a nice job keeping it that way.

Very nice dish to wrap up my meal (even when I had the leftover at home the next morning, it was still tasting good).

The way I've looked at today's lunch, the dishes certainly weren't bad (kind of in the same level as Spring Moon in my opinion) but I thought the overall dining experience hardly warrants more than a single star.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 1/F & 2/F Langham Hotels, 8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2132-7898 
Website: www.langhamhotels.com/en/the-langham/hong-kong/dining/tang-court/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Mon - Fri), 11:00am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Monsoon Oriental Cuisine (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

When we had lunch at Tian Tian Plus a couple of weeks ago, I knew we're very likely going to be back at Elements Mall very soon, because of the newly opened Monsoon Oriental Cuisine by Chef Will Meyrick.

We got our first taste of Chef Meyrick's pan-Asian dishes when we were in Bali a few years ago and later at Mama-san, the chef's collaboration project with local F&B giant, Dining Concepts so we're no stranger to his brand of Asian food that embraces the rich tradition and finest ingredients of Asia. Monsoon's kitchen is helmed by his usual deputy Chef Gede Budiana, an expert on Indonesian and Southeast Asian cuisine who has been working under him for over 17 years including stints at Mama-san in Bali and Hong Kong. 

At Monsoon, Chef Meyrick again presents a menu full of authentic comfort dishes from Asia based on his extensive travel in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Of course, they have an Asian inspired décor to match their cuisine. Very warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Some welcome bites to kick off lunch - prawn crackers served with a homemade chili sauce.

Indonesian Wagyu beef rendang ($168) - Lunch got off to a flying start thanks to this wonderfully executed Wagyu beef rendang. I haven't had a beef rendang for years so I was really looking forward to it. The braised beef short ribs cooked in coconut milk with Indonesian spices definitely didn't disappoint. It was soft, tender and moist with that perfect melt-in-the-mouth texture. This dish on its own already warrants a second visit.

Soft shell crab "pad thai" ($138) - But they dropped the ball with one of the easiest and simplest dish in Thai cuisine, the pad thai.

The rice noodles were really really bland, and so were the deep-fried soft shell crab. When I have an authentic pad thai, I'm always impressed with the mix of sweet, acidic and spicy flavors. But this one didn't have any of the promised flavors in the mix. 

They were doing a free-flow of Thai chai tea for $18 only so I took a flyer on it thinking that it would taste like a Thai milk tea but I was totally wrong.

One good and one not-so-good dish from today's meal but it would be a little too early to write them off especially considering that there are so many favorite Asian dishes of mine on the menu. Yes, the results weren't all that good today but I will likely be back for more.

Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 1044-45, 1/F Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Kowloon
Tel: +852 2511-0100
Website: www.monsoonoriental.com.hk
Opening Hours: 11:00pm - 2:30pm, 5:30pm - 10:30pm daily

Lifetastic Patisserie at The ONE (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Since the rise of COVID-19 earlier this year, one of the things I started looking forward to, are the meetings with my hair stylist. It's one of the few reasons I give myself for leaving the house (except for work). 

As usual, my hair stylist finished things up in about an hour so I got myself some spare time to walk around Tsim Sha Tsui. Not surprisingly, there're a few more vacant "shops" around with the "To Let" signs hanging on the wall. I got myself some mooncakes from Wing Wah and then took off for The One, where I started looking for some desserts for my family. There's really not much choice there except Lifetastic. I thought my little nugget would love their strawberry watermelon cake.

After my shower, I got a can of coke to wash down my dessert. But wait, time to grab my camera first.

Strawberry watermelon cake - The winning formula of almond dacquoise, rose-scented cream, watermelon, and toppings of fresh strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals never fails to impress. This is always a nice treat. Little nugget seems to like it too. Mission accomplished.

Lychee watermelon cake - A slightly different version with lychee replacing the fresh strawberries.

It's my first time having this cake and honestly, it was no match for its strawberry sibling. There's way too much sweetness in there and not enough acidity (missing from the strawberries) to balance things out.

Here's the verdict, Strawberry watermelon cake > Lychee watermelon cake. Just for the record here. Was there ever any doubt?

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop L406, 4/F, The ONE, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2564-8533
Website: www.lifetastichk.com
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm daily

Bayfare Social at Rosewood Hong Kong (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Located on the fifth floor of Rosewood Hong Kong Victoria Dockside, Bayfare Social is a new gastronomic concept that combines Spanish culinary traditions with an Asian twist. I like the comments from a number of online reviews with one headline describing the experience as “5-star hotel dining without breaking the bank”. That sounds like something I’m definitely interested in.

I did a very stupid (and rare) thing this morning by not going for an online booking so with social distancing in full swing at every single restaurant in town, we had to wait a good 45 minutes (50% capacity maximum). Thankfully, this lunch was well worth the long waiting time.

There were a lot of things that caught our watchful eyes apart for the affordable prices. For me, my first wow came from the decorations. It was an inspiration from a grand food hall. Think the Harrod’s food hall without the crowd.

I decided to do a quick tour of the place. Apart from Chaat (Indian restaurant) and Henry (Steakhouse), there are also different stations around serving specialty dishes.

A seafood section serving seafood ceviche and tapas...

 

Paella freshly made from the frying pan…

 

And a small terrace area just outside Chaat with a very peaceful view of the harbour.   

Kale salad ($115) – When I finally wrapped up my tour, a couple of our dishes have already been served. I couldn’t wait to get started and I’m going to start with something healthy first.

First up, a detox salad with kale, brussels sprout, charred broccolini, avocado, ricotta and crushed pistachio. Not a bad way to kick off the meal.

 

Rigatoni ($125) – Little nugget’s dish with a rich and cheesy Alfredo sauce, served with parma ham, mushroom and peas. Simple but pretty tasty.

 

Paella of the day ($160) – The large portion serves 3 to 4 people according to our server but I was a little skeptic considering the very generous price. Turns out she was right. This came with prawns and pork, while the rice was a little soupy. Not bad (I haven’t had Spanish paella for a long time!).

 

Rotisserie chicken ($160) – We had to wait a while for this to come but it was worth it. The roasted chicken was really tender and the hint of rosemary was a real nice icing on the cake. I love the bell peppers too. The texture was a little funny, likely done with some dehydration technique.

 

I ordered a vanilla milkshake to share with my little one. After my parade of milkshakes at Five Guys and Shake Shack last week, I can’t say I’m impressed with this one at all. Way too foamy for me.

 

Everyone was too full for dessert so we quickly settled the bill and let little guy start working on his toys downstairs.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: 5/F Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui / Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3891-8732
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 6:00pm daily

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice 天天海南雞飯 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

For months, Jelloman has been bugging me for not bringing her and little nugget to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (天天海南雞飯). I tried pledging my case telling her that the food just wasn't good enough to warrant a second visit but she wasn't listening. Since we were going to be at Elements Shopping Mall this weekend, I thought I should let her try it out by herself. Turns out the place was fairly full and we had to wait for a good 15-20 minutes.

I was too drawn into my conversation with V last time I was here so I really didn't read too much into their food menu. Now I know this is a "Tian Tian Plus", an upgraded version of Tian Tian Hainanese chicken rice we heard so much about from the social media.

Milk tea with tofu pudding, never had that one before. This wasn't bad but I was more interested in my other dishes. It's almost 2pm so all of us were starving.

Tian Tian Wenchang Chicken (天天文昌雞) ($188) - V and I had the Hainanese chicken where they put the super flavorful gravy on top last time around so I decided to check out their other chicken dish. This was, in my opinion, way better. The gravy was provided separately so it's your choice whether to have the chicken with or without seasoning. For me, less is more!

Braised pork cartilage and white radish in stone pot (軟骨大根) ($108) - Very tender and the red miso sauce was spot on without going over the top.

Pan-fried oyster cake (黃金蠔烙) ($108) - Jelloman's favorite dish and it certainly didn't disappoint. The pancakes were very crispy on the crust but soft and pillowy inside. I wasn't much of a fan of scallion and coriander herb but they were very nice additions to the dish, especially to balance the briny flavors from the baby oysters. 

This was a much better showing than last time. Now, I'm really getting an earful on why I didn't bring everyone here earlier.

Just when we were waiting for our table to be ready, I walked around the mall and saw Monsoon in its soft opening mode. It's celebrity chef Will Meyrick's second venture in Hong Kong. The first was of course his famed Asian eatery in Soho, Mama-san which I heard had recently shuttered. I had dinner there once after visiting its flagship restaurant in Bali many years ago. So, it was good to see the chef back in action in Hong Kong.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 1050A, 1/F, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Kowloon
Tel: +852 3108-2182
Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:45pm, 5:30pm - 9:45pm daily