Lobster Bar and Grill (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Agent-I and I have been trying to match our schedule to find an available time slot for our dinner gathering this month. As it has been happening all year, most "noteworthy" restaurants in town were already fully booked for the next couple of months; which left us scrambling for a place now that we have settled on a day. Just when we thought we ran out of ideas, she suddenly brought up Lobster Bar and Grill at the Island Shangrila. It's been at least a decade since my last visit to Lobster Bar but now that it has one of my favorite chefs, Chef Cary Docherty (formerly of Gough on Gough) at the helm, I thought why not.

It's nice to see a bunch of friendly faces from the service team around here. Looks like they were having a lot of fun.

I was a little surprised to find the restaurant at full capacity on a Tuesday night. I know everyone (myself included) is itching to travel for food but that's not happening for at least another year. So, obviously we all decide to splurge on the local F&B market instead.

Gee....I wonder what to get myself tonight. Perhaps something from the sea, that comes in a red shell with claws and legs.

I thought the bread was very good tonight. 

Artichoke salad – I'm a huge fan of Jerusalem artichokes so my eyes immediately lit up when I saw this on the menu. This is a very busy dish with both roasted and raw baby artichokes, matched up against flavorful ingredients like black truffle, frisée (endive?), Iberico ham, soy and oyster mayonnaise.

There were all kinds of flavors in the dish from acidic, savory to bitter (presumably from the endive) but to my surprise, it was the soy and oyster mayonnaise which was the most dominating of the bunch.

Grilled Whole Lobster – Both Agent-I and I went with their signature lobster thermidor but only one showed up. The other one turned into a grilled whole lobster. I must admit, I should share the blame with our server cuz I didn't say thermidor (I think) but I said exactly the same words as Agent-I and I thought our server would realize we're ordering the same thing. Obviously, he didn't.

But this was a blessing in disguise. I haven't had a perfected grilled whole lobster for a while and it was so delicious. The lobster meat was really springy and tender. Compared to Agent-I who was having the lobster thermidor, well she was complaining how heavy the dish was.

Equally yummy was the freshly made French fries. We couldn't stop eating them with the ketchup and garlic butter, which was actually meant for my grilled lobster.

Tarte tatin to share – Our server was still thinking about the little "mistake" he made with my grilled lobster and he was kind enough to send us a free apple tart on the house. I was never a fan of apple pie or tart myself but Agent-I re-assured me that it's one of the nicest dessert I could ever find in town.

And true to her words it was! The puff pastry was so flaky and delicious combining well with the caramelized apples on top.

And the vanilla ice-cream was the perfect icing on the cake. It was working so well with the melt-in-the-mouth apples and crispy pastry!

We were both quite happy with our meal tonight and service was just excellent as well. My special thanks to our server who deserved a big pat on his back for his wonderful work.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 6/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 2820-8560

Website: www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/islandshangrila/dining/restaurants/lobster-bar-grill/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 11:00pm daily

I-O-N Café Bistro at Central Market (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I didn't get the chance to visit the revitalized Central Market (中環街市) when it soft-opened in late August following its three-year renovation and preservation work. The site is now home to many local lifestyle brands, bars and restaurants, and boutique shops. So while I was in Central tonight, I thought I should pay this heritage spot a much anticipated visit.  

One of the two grand staircases at either side of the structure, one of the hot spots for bloggers and casual visitors alike.

There was a couple of these balconies in the building with the night scene of Central.

A number of eateries and bars caught my eyes almost instantly, but none more than the sushi bar by Wako. But I wasn't craving for sushi tonight so I will leave it for another day. 

I was looking for something casual and I-O-N Café Bistro fits the bill perfectly.

Like many restaurants, bars and shops around here, I-O-N is operated by Nina Hospitality, the F&B business arm of the Chinachem group who is jointly managing this revitalization project with the Urban Renewal Authority.

There were some really interesting East-meets-west dishes in I-O-N's food menu including typhoon shelter's fish and chips, and Tai O Caesar salad among others.

But I was less adventurous than my usual self tonight. I opted to start my meal with a simple quinoa salad served with cherry tomatoes, avocado and okra. 

My main dish was spring chicken roasted with honey mustard. It came with even more seasonal vegetables including a variety of cauliflower, beetroot, carrot and mashed potatoes. The chicken was really tender and flavorful. Not bad. 

I really enjoyed the vibe of Central Market as a whole. In fact, I'm already planning a return visit and by the time, I will definitely bring Jelloman and little nugget along with me.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 124-125, 1/F, Central Market, 93 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station

Tel: +852 9141-5863

Opening Hours: 7:30am - 10:00pm (Mon - Thu), 7:30am - 12:00am (Fri), 9:00am - 12:00am (Sat - Sun)

Sift Patisserie Prince's Building (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

The nurse here asked me to take a slow walk downstairs as I was early for my appointment (early for a change). While I was taking that slow and deliberate walk, I managed to bump into something awfully familiar at Sift Patisserie - their tong yuen dessert series. Oh yeah, it's that time of the year again. Mid-autumn festival is fast approaching!

Black Sesame Tong Yuen – I had the pleasure of having both of their tong yuen pastries (peanut butter and black sesame) last year. Which one was better, you ask? Well, I am going to say the peanut butter version cuz I am such a sucker for peanut butter.

They had the same mooncake decoration like last year. In the middle was the silky vanilla mousse again with a black sesame paste centre, covered by an exterior of white glaze. The base was a combination of a crispy crumble flavored with white sesame and then a square-shaped mochi. The mochi really gave the dessert the mouthfeel reminiscing of a "real" Chinese sweet dumpling.

A really well-designed dessert with an East-meets-West theme. The only blemish was perhaps the black sesame paste, which wasn't as runny as it was a year ago.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 240 - 241, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2147-2968
Website: https://www.siftdesserts.com/
Opening Hours: 10:00am - 7:30pm (Mon - Fri), 11:00am - 7:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Da Filippo Trattoria (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Following another hard-fought day at the office including a ramen noodle making experience with little nugget at the Cup Noodle Museum (合味道紀念館), we were finally at the finish line. Since most of us were already too tired to think of a place for dinner, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Though my first two choices (for dinner venue) didn't materialize, I was able to find a Plan C at Harbour City before we all collapsed.

A lot of us were curious on why Da Filippo Trattoria was so popular (and packed) when it first opened a few months ago at the buzzy Harbour City. Wasn't there better food served in the same mall? We were about to find out more.

Double Oreo Milkshake – This tasted more like a smoothie than milkshake. Not nearly thick and milky enough and way too icy to be considered a milkshake. 

Lobster bisque – Little nugget woke up early for his interview this morning and I was hoping I could reward him for his effort. When I asked what kind of soup he wanted, he wasted no time yelling "lobster soup!". I was hoping he said French onion soup (as I was longing for one).

We all knew who won that battle. This was actually pretty decent with a fair amount of lobster meat on the bottom. Little one was expecting something more creamy and rich like a velouté though. 

Boston Lobster risotto – The risotto was very creamy and tender, and there was the sauce that was rich in flavors. I like the ripe cherry tomatoes there for a bit of different texture. Easily the best dish of the night.

Crispy Octopus – I had no idea how our lone starter ended up arriving after the risotto. But this was a really sad dish. The octopus was so rubbery and bland. And most of the "crispy" batter already came off by the time the dish hit the table.

Hokkaido uni and salmon roe with snow crab pasta – Obviously, this wasn't my call. Jelloman said she's had a rough week so she wanted her favorite pasta (actually it was the sea urchin and salmon roes that she's after) to make her feel a little better. 

I thought this wasn't bad but I would love a little more uni and salmon roes in there. And there's a bit of pesto flavors in the pasta I wonder why (not really matched?). 



To answer my own question at the beginning of this post, was the food that good? Well, not really. So, I am still scratching my head trying to understand the hype about this place. And judging by the price tags on some of these dishes, I would imagine there are tons of other options out there under the same roof.

P.S. I'm really proud of my boy today. He did what he had to do in the morning at his class and interview. After all that, he still had enough left in his little body to make his own ramen noodles.

That was a lot of fun doing it together as a father-son team!!!

And he was so happy about the noodles he made for himself. Look at that big smile behind the mask.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 3203-3204A, 3/F, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, 21 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui / East Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2117-1984

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 11:00am - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Mui Kee Cookfood Stall 妹記大排檔 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I miss going to the food stall (大排檔) a lot during the pandemic so when I saw Mui Kee Cookfood Stall (妹記大排檔) having a new address in Tsim Sha Tsui, I decided it was a good time for a quick visit.

They have all kinds of lunch set here, all reasonably priced at around 50 bucks. 



I'm expecting a lot of wok hei (鑊氣) from my stir-fried rice noodles with chicken (時菜雞球炒河) and that's exactly what I got.

Very flavorful and definitely a lot better than those coming from a typical cha chaan teng. I'm impressed!

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: 3/F, Tern Plaza, 5 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2721-2123

Lucciola Restaurant and Bar at The Hari (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Our morning meeting dragged on a little longer than I thought. By the time I finally took off, it was already noon time (still early for lunch I thought) but I still managed to show up early for my lunch at Lucciola Restaurant and Bar at The Hari.

I was supposed to be here when the luxurious boutique hotel first opened but one thing led to another (including something called COVID-19 cropped up) and I ended up almost 2 years later for this lunch.

Lucciola is one of the two restaurants at The Hari with the other being modern Japanese restaurant Zoku on a separate floor.

They said they were fully booked today so I was escorted to The Lounge in the hotel lounge just outside the restaurant instead. I wonder why they keep on taking online reservations when the restaurant already reached its maximum capacity.

Anyways, I started camping at this corner of the lounge while I waited for someone to serve me.

Well, service was a little slow (but I gotta enjoy the scenic view of Wanchai during the wait) but once they got it going, things arrived in a hurry.

The focaccia was pretty good.

Citrus marinated Scottish salmon, red radish and pomegranate – The marinated salmon came with this rich and buttery texture and the touch of citrus was just right on the money. Nice start!

Spring chicken roll, cotto ham, sage, Asiago – The spring chicken roll was served with grilled broccolini and mashed potatoes.

This was slightly disappointing. I thought the ham and Asiago cheese brought some nice contrasting textures and flavors to the dish but there was a little too much sage in the stuffing (and I'm not a huge fan of sage).

The signature tiramisu looked really good at this point but too bad I was due back at my office as there was more work to tackle after the morning meeting. 

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: 1/F The Hari, 330 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2129-0333

Website: www.thehari.com/hong-kong/the-hari-hotel-hong-kong-eat-drink/lucciola/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm daily

Lim Kee Bing Sutt 廉記冰室 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

The last time I was at Lim Kee Bing Sutt (廉記冰室) having breakfast, it was nearly two years ago when the pandemic started to get worse.



This is a cha chaan teng that always attracts a crowd, whether it's their homemade bakery goods or breakfast set. But those days seemed to be long gone.

I still have an hour before my meeting so I decided to drop by for a quick breakfast. As a solo diner, I was escorted into the deepest part of the dining area, seated right underneath the "menu".

The milk tea was a little strong this morning. In fact, it was a little bitter and not nearly creamy and smooth enough.

My breakfast set came with a homemade pineapple bun with butter. Disappointingly with my first bite, the crispy crust all came off instantly.  



And there's the noodle with fried egg and hamburger steak.

There must be a reason why the crowd disappeared in front of this once-popular tea cafe in Wanchai. And food quality could be a huge part of it.

Food Rating: 3.5/10

Price: $$$
Address: G/F, 13 Spring Garden Lane, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 3468-2971
Opening Hours: 7:00am - 10:30pm daily