Two Greens Tsim Sha Tsui 兩草 尖沙咀 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I have a rare Saturday off with little nugget tied up at school for various school activities all day. Excited about my newfound 'Me time', I decided to start things off with a hearty breakfast, followed by a meeting with my hair stylist. By the time I stepped out of the hair salon, it was already 3pm.

Thankfully, I was in Tsim Sha Tsui so finding a lunch spot was never in doubt. Without hesitation, I headed over to Minden Avenue (棉登徑) for a quick late lunch at Two Greens (兩草).

Two Greens, a cafe specialized in local Chinese and Asian flavors, has long been on my radar screen and this I thought would be the perfect chance for me to check it off my list.

Rice with pork patty and crispy fried egg (香煎脆邊蛋肉餅飯) ($42) – Obviously, one of the most popular dishes around here.

I love that the pork patty came with this lovely golden brown color. The crispy crust really added some extra crunch to the rice.

Kaya toast (咖央多士) ($25) – Not bad but...

They may have cut the toast a little too thin.

Minden Avenue has been undergoing a transformation as a dining destination in recent years. Gone were some of the old stalwarts and in came new additions like Ladies’ Street Sik Fan Co., Christly Cafe (華星冰室), and Alice Pizza. This can be the beginning of something interesting.

Food Rating: 6.2/10

Price: $$

Address: 7 Minden Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 5784-2908

Opening Hours: 8:30am - 9:30pm daily

Café Cabin (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Work has taken me to many different places in the past, and this week, I get to visit two destinations I rarely set foot in. Earlier this week, it was Tai Wai, unfamiliar territory for me and this afternoon, I'll be heading to another place in Shau Kei Wan.

But first, it’s time for a relaxing lunch at Café Cabin, located on Shau Kei Wan’s “eat street” — Shau Kei Wan Main Street East.

Linguine with homemade pesto, smoked salmon – The linguine was finished with a creamy, homemade pesto, nicely crowned by sheets of smoked salmon, lightly torched for an extra touch of smokiness.. Not bad.

I got to enjoy a cup of English breakfast tea before our meeting too. 

I enjoy supporting these small neighborhood cafés as they always bring a unique charm and warmth to the community. It's especially rewarding to see passionate owners pouring their heart into what they do.

Food Rating: 5.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 3A, G/F, Tung Po Mansion, 4-10 Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Shau Kei Wan

Tel: +852 6418-0635

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 6:00pm (Mon - Fri), 9:00am - 6:00pm (Sat - Sun)

GoodDay Langham Place (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It's been more than six months since J.E.R.K. last met up for a gathering. As always, Master shifu did the magic trick of finding a dinner spot that was close to everyone. This time around, it was GoodDay, a coffee shop and café serving light meals, comfort food, drinks and desserts.

Spaghetti with mushroom and chicken in cream sauce ($118) – I wasn't particularly hungry so I went with this simple pasta dish with mushroom and chicken. It was surprisingly delicious, thanks to the smoky, creamy sauce that drizzled all over the spaghetti. So good~!

The homemade tiramisu was supposedly another strong suit here but too bad, everyone was so full after our main dish. We will just leave it until next time then.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 25, 11/F Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Mongkok

Tel: +852 9145-2465

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 9:30pm daily

Ladies' Street Sik Fan Co. Tsim Sha Tsui 女人街食飯公司 尖沙咀店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

The Three Musketeers have not met up since my two buddies moved back to Vancouver a few years ago with our last gathering dating back to 2019. They have separately been back for short stints and we have enjoyed some quality time chatting about parenthood and early retirement. This week, it was S’s turn to visit Hong Kong and I have duly arranged dinner with S and his teenage daughter joining us altogether.

I had the honor of picking our dinner venue tonight and it was going to be Ladies' Street Sik Fan Co. (女人街食飯公司) all the way. It was going to be my first dining experience at the restaurant but I am already aware of their indifferent service which can sometimes overshadow their appealing nostalgic vibe and reasonable prices. 

This Tsim Sha Tsui branch of Ladies' Street Sik Fan Co. is situated in the basement level of what looks like a commercial building on Minden Avenue.

I have to admit, I really enjoy the colorful neon-light signs and throw-back decorations, so reminiscent of the traditional Hong Kong dai pai dong.

Crispy tofu with eight spices (八味脆豆腐) ($68) – Our lone starter tonight. The tofu was really soft and moist, same for the crust which was a little surprising. But I thought the tofu cubes were pretty tasty (and you gotta love the generous portion!).

Chicken in scallion oil (秘製蔥油雞) ($168) – Another dish that surprised me a little in a pleasant way. The chicken was pretty meaty and tender at the same time, and doing a great job absorbing the flavors from the scallion oil and soy sauce.

Stir-fried flat noodles with beef (乾炒牛河) ($108) – S and his daughter were loving this but I thought it could have come with a bit more “wok hei” (鑊氣).

Mixed rice with Chinese preserved meat and lard in clay pot (砂鍋臘味豬油撈飯) ($88) – Who doesn’t like lard, raise your hand. The rice, which has been cooked with lard was silky smooth and flavorful. A little more Chinese preserved meat would have sent us home with very happy tummies (but this wasn’t bad at all).

Apart from the indifferent (but not rude) service, I thought tonight’s meal passed all my scoring metrics (some better than others), so I will have no problem coming back again for more. Their dessert menu does need some reinforcement though. As they didn’t have much of a dessert menu in store, we decided to take it elsewhere.

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop A, B/F, The Pinnacle, 8 Minden Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2388-6111

Opening Hours: 5:30pm - 11:30pm daily

 

Tai Wai Dining Room 大圍小館 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

We have a meeting in Tai Wai scheduled this afternoon and as usual, I took the lead in finding ourselves a lunch spot before the meeting. Wait, I only knew one place in Tai Wai; that was easy!!! 🤣🤣

A couple of years ago, it would be impossible to get a table at Tai Wai Dining Room (大圍小館) with such short notice but we managed to get one for their noon session. I couldn't believe my luck!

Bean curd roll with shrimp roes (蝦籽札蹄) ($38) – The bean curd sheets were tightly rolled with shrimp roes and a special homemade sauce nestled in between. Not bad.

Steamed shrimp dumpling with bamboo shoots (鮮筍蝦餃) ($36) – Very nice and delicate. Almost as tasty as the one at Tao Tao Ju but these came in smaller packages (a little bigger than bite-size).

Traditional steamed dumpling with pig’s stomach (懷舊鮮豬肚燒賣) ($44) – I’m a sucker for anything with pork’s stomach so this was a no-brainer.

I thought it would be minced pork and pork's stomach hidden underneath that thin sheet of wrapper but as it turned out, there were also chicken and shrimp in play. Yum~!

Steamed chicken bundles with fresh yam (淮山雞扎) ($53) – There were the usual suspects of mushroom, chicken leg, fish maw (魚肚) and.....pork's stomach!

Fried rice rolls with minced pork (魚香陳村粉) ($78) – The fried rice rolls were drizzled in a sauce made with minced pork, fresh chives, chili and garlic. Pretty tasty.

Signature black sesame rolls (特濃芝麻卷) ($48) – We tried their signature fried sugar egg puffs (Sa Yong 沙翁) last time around so it was time to check our their other signature dessert, black sesame rolls.

These came with rich and deep black sesame flavors. A sesame fan’s dream for sure!

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 92 Chik Fuk Street, Tai Wai, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Train Station: Tai Wan

Tel: +852 2339-0189

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 3:30pm, 5:45pm - 10:30pm daily

Supreme Chicken Pot Tin Shui Wai 至尊雲吞麵雞煲 天水圍 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I wasn’t sure what sparked Jelloman’s idea to visit the Hong Kong Wetland Park (香港濕地公園) in Tin Shui Wai this afternoon. We had a late start and didn't get there until 1pm. By the time we finished hitting all our spots, it was already 3:30pm and we still haven't had our lunch yet. There were only a few dining options near the edge of the park and we picked Supreme Chicken Pot (至尊雲吞麵雞煲) for no particular reason other than the fact that it was the first restaurant we saw coming out of the park.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) – The tea was often the make-or-break for me and it was a pretty underwhelming one to say the least. It wasn't nearly fragrant enough and I thought the balance between the milk and tea was off.

Yangzhou fried rice (楊州炒飯) – Not nearly enough "wok hei" but I thought pretty decent.

Stir-fried beef noodles (乾炒牛河) – The best dish of the afternoon by a country mile. Not surprisingly, everyone was quietly fighting for a few more strips of noodles.

Deep-fried chicken thigh with fries (炸雞髀薯條) – One of the very few times that the fries actually tasted better than the deep-fried chicken thigh (But good thing that the chicken thigh wasn't over-seasoned like most cafes in town tend to do).

We had a nice time walking around the Wetland Park. Jelloman reminded me that it was our first time here. We missed bringing little nugget over in 2022 cuz we both caught COVID on our way back to Hong Kong from Australia.

To the contrary,, this guy has been here a few times already. A couple of times with his schoolmates and his grandparents brought him in 2022 while we were recovering from COVID.

Food Rating: 4.3/10

Price: $$$

Address: 1 Wetland Park Road, Tin Shui Wai, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Light Rail Station: Wetland Park

Tel: +852 3622-2500

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 11:00pm daily

Two Soon Cafe (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

It’s been two weeks since I last checked in on mom so I decided to give her a ping on Friday to see what she’s been up to during my time in Taiwan. Not surprisingly, she’s been busy with her favorite soap opera from China. To get her out of the house, I thought I should date her for lunch on Saturday.

I was looking for a place near her and the striving restaurant scene there certainly didn’t disappoint. Two Soon Cafe was the first restaurant I spotted on my research thanks to its elegant exterior.

It’s apparently a cafe and restaurant in the afternoon and bar at night.

The dessert menu was certainly an interesting one but I would leave it for another day.

Vodka rigatoni with crab meat ($138) – It took more than 30 minutes to arrive (I wonder why as we were one of the only three tables there). I thought this would remind me of the spicy vodka rigatoni I had at Carbone a while ago but it didn't close. The rigatoni here was noticeably overcooked and to make matters worse, the tomato-based sauce mixed with vodka had nearly dried up.

Food Rating: 4.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 324 Sai Yeung Choi Street North, Prince Edward, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Prince Edward

Tel: +852 6591-6201

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Sun)

Bakehouse Causeway Bay (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I was trying so hard to fight the temptation of stopping by Bakehouse on the way back to my office following an amazing lunch at the newly reopened Roganic. 

But eventually, I gave in!

Apart from my favorite egg tarts and chocolate hazelnut doughnuts, I am hoping to find something new to bring back home for Jelloman and little one tonight.

Anyone who loves egg tarts needs no introduction to Bakehouse’s amazing sourdough egg tarts.

There’s this tiramisu danish that I have never had the pleasure of trying before. Would it be as tasty as the one from Vission Bakery? I am really looking forward to find out.

Tiramisu danish ($55) – The pastry crust was a little on the hard side but the tiramisu cream was so incredibly addictive.

The tiramisu danish wasn’t bad but it was a tad too sweet even for me. The one from Vission Bakery was more up my alley.

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 16 Kai Chiu Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Website: https://bakehouse.hk/

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 9:00pm daily

 

Roganic (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

For months, I have patiently waited for news on the reopening of one of my favorite restaurants in town. One Michelin-starred Roganic closed its operation at Sino Plaza back in September 2024 and immediately kicked off its relocation plan to the heart of Causeway Bay. More than six months later, there was finally news that they were ready for a soft opening at its new digs in Lee Garden One.

Roganic has welcomed back its entire kitchen team to this warm and woody space they now call home. While the food menu is considered new, there are still traces of the past if you dig a little deeper.

Mackerel, beetroot, hawthorn, dill – This came with two different servings (I later found that most dishes did).

The first serving had the cured Japanese mackerel from Hainan served as a sashimi. It was marinated with spices and hawthorn, and had this wonderfully crunchy texture to it.

The second featured cured mackerel tartare nestled within a beetroot wafer, garnished with hawthorn and dill. This came with clean, fresh sweetness which was wonderfully enhanced by the fruity notes of the beetroot.

Pumpkin nickel bread was next and it was accompanied by Roganic’s signature cultured butter. Apparently, the butter has taken a refreshed look after the restaurant’s relocation. This version boasts very rich and deep onion flavors. Very nice! 👍🏻

Farmhouse tomatoes, fermented pistachio, winter shoots – The dish showcased a nice blend of local tomatoes, both fresh and dried, all ripe and juicy. Not surprisingly, they paired up incredibly well with the fermented pistachio purée and tomato water. 

The tomato water was particularly impressive with its burst of freshness and sharp acidity.

Hokkaido scallop, asparagus, nasturtium, smoked dashi – An additional dish I have added ($100) since I love the way they handle their scallop dish so much.

The thin disk of raw Hokkaido scallop was served with chopped green asparagus thus some grassy notes, paired with some nice smokiness from the smoked dashi.



Dry aged duck from Guangdong, 100 flower honey – The duck fillet glazed with 100 flower honey, was served with two different condiments, a beetroot purée which was more on the fruity side (and sweet) and a squash purée which offered a mix of savory, sweet and bitter notes all at the same time.

This again came with the perfect balance of crispy skin, fat and tender flesh. Very succulent and as expected, the beetroot was a much much better match with the duck than the squash.

The second serving of the dish came in a ragout made with the duck leg. There were also roasted walnuts, Boltardy beetroot smoked and salt-baked, Yarlington cheese from Kobe and toasted seeds in play for a nice symphony of textures and flavors.

I am assuming that I should be eating this (what I thought was made with duck fat?) and the foamy ragout with the winter leaves. 🍁

Strawberry tartlet, hibiscus, Earl Grey, frozen sheep’s yoghurt – The first of the two desserts was a beautifully crafted Earl Grey tea tart, topped with fresh strawberries which were dressed in its own juice. It was crowned with a sorbet made with frozen sheep’s yoghurt for some refreshing acidity on top of the tea and fruity notes.

Roganic waffles, passion fruit, yoghurt – The waffles made with wagyu fat and flour (thus the savory-sweet flavors) were matched with a dip made by passion fruit curd and yoghurt. I didn’t think I could handle more food at this point.

I love this version of Roganic (Roganic 2.0 as I called it)! The refreshed menu was a step up from the previous one which was already very very good. The fact that there was always a dish within a dish (or side dish) added a sense of anticipation and excitement to the entire dining experience. My only complaint was that the dining room felt a little smaller than before and thus, it was a little noisier now due to the more cramped space.

Food Rating: 7.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 402 & 403, 4/F, LEE GARDEN ONE, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 2817-8383

Website: www.roganic.com.hk

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm, 6:00pm - 9:00pm (Wed - Sun)