Ichimoto Restaurant 一本冰室 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Work has brought me to a lot of interesting places (or districts) over the years and today, I got a tour on the quiet side of Hunghom district around Wuhu Street (蕪湖街). Also got the chance to circle around a handful of important landmarks in the area (not many of them to be honest) including Kwun Yam Temple (紅磡觀音廟), a temple built in 1873 during the Qing Dynasty.

Afterwards, I went looking for a place to sit down for a drink. I was expecting a ton of cha chaan tengs (local tea restaurants) in such an old neighbourhood but surprisingly, there weren't many available. At the end, I was happy to find Ichimoto Restaurant (一本冰室) near Exit B1 of Homantin Station (何文田站).

Pantyhose milk tea (絲襪奶茶) – To my pleasant surprise, the tea was strong and aromatic, enough to stand up to the rich flavor of the condensed milk. Pretty nice.

Hong Kong Style French Toast (懷舊西多士) – I was offered some butter without maple syrup so I immediately signaled for assistance. My server came over to check things out with me and replied that their version of French toast had condensed milk in the middle so supposingly, nothing except butter would be needed. But after I insisted having maple syrup on top of the condensed milk, he brought me a small bag of syrup at last.

This was OK. I thought the texture of the toast could be a little more pillowy but I would take this anytime (with the tea making up for it). 

This was the Kwun Yam Temple (觀音廟) I was talking about. It was home to the famous event of Kwun Yam Je Fu (觀音借庫), which Kwun Yam was supposed to be lending treasure (富) to ordinary people.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$

Address: G/F, 185-187 Wuhu Street, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Homantin

Tel: +852 2627-0608

Opening Hours: 6:30am - 10:00pm daily