The Pawn (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It's been a while since I last visited The Pawn, one of my go-to restaurants in Wanchai (for my quick meals). I was pleasantly surprised how well their business has been of late. With their dining room fully occupied, I was offered a table on the terrace.  

I haven't sat outdoor for quite some time here so I gladly took the offer. 

On a humid day like this, I was lucky enough to be sitting next to this giant fan. 



I was able to enjoy a very nice view over Johnston Road and Southorn Park right from my table.

Like I said, I always come here for my quick meals in Wanchai cuz their kitchen does their work pretty efficiently. Just a few minutes after I placed my order, here comes my salad with poached prawns, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. I have asked them not to mix in the yuzu vinaigrette and they did exactly that (they actually serve me olive oil on the side instead). 

For my main dish, I elected to have scorched salmon with pesto risotto and sun-dried tomatoes.

By scorched salmon, I thought they meant a thick slab of salmon fillet that was charred but I certainly didn't expect these thin slices of salmon!

The pesto risotto was actually pretty decent, meshing well with the acidity from the sun-dried tomatoes. But yeah, I definitely would like a little more salmon to go with my risotto.

With their quick work, I was finally afforded time to enjoy a cup of tea.

Dessert was banana cake topped with whipped cream and banana tuile. It was served on a pool of vanilla sauce, that was luckily not too sweet.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 2/F, 62 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 2866-3444
Website: www.thepawn.com.hk
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 1:00am (Mon - Sat), 11:30am - 1:00am (Sun)

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

Of course, my collection of posts on local tea restaurants won't be complete without writing about Honolulu Coffee Shop (檀島咖啡餅店), one of the grand-daddy of all local tea restaurants in Hong Kong. I didn't know exactly when they first opened door but my research showed that they actually started way back in the 1940's. That's more than 70 years ago!

While their food will never be their calling card, their bakery goods and pantyhose milk tea are two fan favorites over the past decades.

I thought my steamed minced pork with preserved vegetables wasn't bad today. Of course, I won't leave without a cup of hot milk tea. There's my caffeine fix right there!

My quest to write about 100 local tea restaurants is still a long way from finishing but it was nice to finally get this iconic one on my list.

Price: $$

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

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2575-1823

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

Oma's Kitchen at Ma Wan (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I've been regularly complaining about our super busy weekend schedule which has always been packed with little nugget’s indoor and outdoor activities but to no prevail. We are back at it again this Sunday with a visit to Noak’s Ark at Ma Wan. This one starts at a very early hour and needless to say, it wasn’t fun waking up that early on a Sunday.

I was here when Noah’s Ark was first opened (on a company event) and to be brutally honest, I wasn’t impressed with the facilities that were offered but I noticed that things have changed considerably. It's much more kids friendly. We started things off with some Formula One car racing...

Fun Fun Playland – a 9.5-meter-tall rocket themed playground. Little nugget was too scared to come down from the top!

The Nature Garden with the perfect view of the Ark and animals.

Little guy got the chance to show off his painting skills too.

Despite the nasty heat, we managed to spend 2+ hours outdoor and another one and a half inside the ark. By the time we were feeling a little hungry, it was already 3pm! Unfortunately, there was no restaurant open inside the park so we had to venture out for our late lunch.

After a short walk from the side entrance, we finally reached Oma’s Kitchen, a small German restaurant facing the Ma Wan Beach.

Traditional German décor, I love it…

The staff here was surprisingly friendly, which was really nice to see. 

Angel hair with scallops and prawns, tossed in a rich prawn sauce – I thought the pasta was pretty well cooked (slightly overcooked to fit our local appetite). It was a little more soupy than I expected but that wasn't bad.

Grilled ox’s tongue with homemade rösti – The plating was a little bit off (from a professional kitchen) but to my pleasant surprise, the ox's tongue was crispy on the outside and tender inside. But I ordered this dish mainly cuz of the homemade rösti and it was a bit of a disaster.

Most of us have been dehydrated under the heat up to this point so it was nice to get some much needed rest in the well air-conditioned dining room. Now, time to get back to where it got started again...

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: 1/F, Beach Commercial Complex, Park Island, Ma Wan, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: N/A

Tel: +852 3446-1116

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:30pm (Wed - Mon)

Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel H Queen's 當文歷餅店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the newly opened flagship bakery of Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel (當文歷餅店) at H Queen's though it only lasted for a mere minute. I knew I would eventually get the chance to check out the 3,000 square feet space again soon but what I didn’t know was that the chance would come as early as this week. 

The new Sea salt croissant toast, with a total of 81 layers and baked in a rectangular shape, as well as Maple croissant toast, in a cylindrical shape with a crisp and flaky croissant exterior and a soft, light and airy centre have quickly emerged as fan favorites during the bakery’s opening weeks but there were obviously other special treats that caught my eyes.

First, there’s the chef’s signature Frozen S’more. For a limited time only, the beloved treat becomes a H Queens exclusive! I miss this so much since I last laid my hands on one in Tokyo! 

Then, the exclusive Hong Kong Satay Beef Waffle. Inspired by the Hong Kong classic satay beef, this new savory snack combines a peanut-shaped waffle with tender satay beef inside, topped with a homemade peanut sauce.

Frozen S’more — The perfect marriage of smoked marshmallow and vanilla ice-cream.

And of course, there’s the extra crunch thanks to the crispy chocolate feuilletine. I got the perfect drink to go with my sweet treat too – a cup of hot chocolate (be warned, it’s very strong).

The contrasting temperature and textures caught me by surprise every time. Also love the smokiness of the marshmallow.

Satay Beef Waffle — I wasn’t done after the Frozen S’more. After all, it’s going to be my lunch today.

The peanut-shaped waffle was too cute to eat. Served on the side was a glass of intensely rich satay sauce.

After carefully cutting open the waffle, there it was, tender satay beef sitting inside.

I slowly poured the satay sauce on top to make sure that the entire waffle was covered with the fragrant sauce. I thought the combination of sweet (waffle, peanut butter) and savory (beef tender) flavors was a little weird at first but my palate slowly adjusted to it. Not bad (but a little heavy for me to be honest).  

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 2, G/F H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station

Tel: +852 3482-7735

Website: https://dangwenli.com/

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 8:30pm (Mon - Fri), 9:00am - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Mon Kee Cafe 旺記冰室 Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I didn't want to wake up early on a Saturday morning to get my hair done so inspite of the fact that I was super beat up after work, I decided to drag my tired body down to TST. Luckily, I got there 15 minutes earlier than schedule, and just enough time to visit my favorite cha chaan teng on Ashley Road - Mon Kee Cafe (旺記冰室).

All the egg dishes here are made with fresh eggs from Hokkaido. I was all geared up for their monthly special, scrambled eggs tossed with bitter melon from Okinawa and luncheon meat but they were already sold out.



So, I had to settle for scrambled eggs with prawns and beef. This came with their signature sweet soy. Not bad.

Of course, I didn't miss out on the chance for a cup of silky pantyhose milk tea. This should give me enough caffeine to get through my haircut session.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$
Address: G/F, Kowloon Centre, 29-39 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2617-2616
Opening Hours: 7:00am - 10:00pm daily

LUMI French-Japanese Cuisine (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I have been trying to go back to LUMI following two pretty impressive lunch in a roll during their first month of operation. Little that I knew, their name has now been revised from LUMI Borderless Cuisine to LUMI French- Japanese Cuisine. I think this is more indicative of what their cuisine is all about, French cuisine with a modern Japanese twist. From what I’ve read from their website, they are still collaborating with Chef Kihachi Kumagai like they used to when they first started a couple of years ago.

It was impossible to do walk-ins here. I tried to make advance booking a number of times over the last two weeks but they never picked up the phone. One time I actually walked over to Pacific Place and tried to make an in-person booking. That wasn’t a lot of fun. At the end, the hostess told me I could’ve made an online reservation via Openrice. I would’ve never guessed that.

LUMI has always been billed as a casual eatery that is capable of delivering fine-dining caliber dishes since Day One. We all knew they are part of the Maxim’s Group but to put LUMI’s name next to Café Landmark, I am not sure it’s such a good idea. To me, LUMI should be positioned a bit higher (I know some people are quite high on Café Landmark but why?).

Their collection of bread was probably the only thing I had no complaints about today (not that it was great).

Garlic jumbo scallops – Between mushroom soup and grilled jumbo scallop, I thought it was a no-brainer.

The first thing I noticed about this dish was the subpar presentation. I distinctly remembered that their presentation used to be “fine-dining” like the last two times I was here but it wasn’t the case this afternoon. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that the “jumbo” scallop wasn’t jumbo sized. I was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

Turned out the grilled mushrooms and asparagus tempura were fine but what happened to my half-cooked scallop? It was very very well-done.

It wasn’t an awful dish but it would have tasted (or looked) a lot better if they were doing it right in the kitchen.

Grilled US Petite tender with sakura and Toyama shrimp – I decided to get myself some red meat after my seafood starter.

This was another dish that was poorly plated, perhaps more so than the previous dish.

 

I have asked my beef tender to be cooked a little bit more than their “average medium” and look what I’ve got in return. Every slice of my beef was completely well done. There was not a bit of pink in any of the slices. That was not what I have requested for! The seasoning also left something to be desired. The bacon, marinated shallot and garlic combined for a flavor and texture profile that fully reminded me of our Chinese XO Sauce. To me, it’s just a waste of the US beef fillet.

Food Rating: 4/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 301, 3/F, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2918-1313
Website: www.lumi.com.hk

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:00am - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Island Gourmet (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Back in September last year, Island Shangrila announced the appointment of Chef Julien Gourmelon as the hotel’s Executive Pastry Chef. Chef Gourmelon held a similar position at Kerry Hotel (also under the Shangrila group umbrellla) for three and a half years and prior to that, at Cafe Deco for about a year so he's no stranger to the city's dessert scene.

I have to admit, I was never a fan of Island Gourmet (the place was way too cramped for the enjoyment of sweets) nor their traditional desserts but with a new sheriff in town, I thought it was time for a return trip, my first since 2015.

Doughnut with raspberry jam - Not everyone would agree with this but it's always hard to find a tasty doughnut in the city's retail network. Some online stores offer really good ones but you're required to order half a dozen or more. 

This was really spongy with the centre full of raspberry jam. Definitely won't mind having it again.

Frou Frou - Island Gourmet’s signature creation coated with a glossy mirror glaze. 

It is made up of rich chocolate mousse using 70% Valrhona dark chocolate, with almond dacquoise and crunchy almond praline.  

The silky smooth chocolate mousse was really delicate, combining well with the lovely crunch provided by the almond dacquoise and almond praline.  

Mango Coconut - A delightful treat with a combination of coconut and mango. The aromatic mango jelly and coconut mousse were matched with a layer of exotic curd on top of the fragrant coconut dacquoise. Not bad but Frou Frou was easily the winner here by a country mile.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 5/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 2820-8550

Website: www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/islandshangrila/dining/restaurants/island-gourmet/

Opening Hours: 9:00am - 7:30pm daily