Premium Ice Room 極上冰室 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I spotted Premium Ice Room (極上冰室) when we were going to Hong Kong Museum of History (香港歷史博物館) over the weekend. Never in my wildest dream, would I imagine that I would be having dinner here three days later.  

Interestingly, my hairstylist has a new "office" location which is just a stone’s throw from here. I was joking with him over the phone that he has probably worked in every corner of Tsim Sha Tsui over the past two decades.

Anyways, I was hoping that the iced milk tea (凍奶茶) here would give me the caffeine fix I desperately needed. It turned out that the tea was pretty strong but there seemed to be a lack of balance between the milk and the tea.

Wok-fried flat rice noodles with beef and vegetables (菜遠牛河) – I didn't expect this but the rice noodles came with very nice "wok hei" which was rare coming out of a cha chaan teng. The beef, assorted mushrooms, choy sum, and rice noodles all came together quite nicely in that rich, thick sauce.

If they manage to fix their milk tea, I might just come back for more.

Food Rating: 5.1/10

Price: $$$

Address: 41-51 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 9791-9195

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

Lady M Festival Walk (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After being treated to a delicious Jiangnan meal this afternoon, I decided to return the favor by treating everybody to dessert. In the past, it would be impossible to get a table at Lady M in Festival Walk usually meant a long wait, but it seems business hasn't been quite the same in recent years.

As a frequent customer here, of course I know exactly what to order for us, the two new members of Lady M's Mille Crêpes series.

Dubai Chocolate Mille Crêpes cake – The paper-thin chocolate crêpes were absolutely filled with fragrant pistachio and silky chocolate pastry cream in between each layer, and sitting on top we have a layer of crispy kataifi drizzling with pistachio spread and tahini. My second time having this and it's just as delicious as the first.

Burnt Cheesecake Mille Crêpes cake – I've been wanting to try this for a long time, but it's only available for dine-in. No take-away.

With this dessert, we got the best of both worlds—the rich, caramelized flavor of a burnt cheesecake combined with the delicate layers of Lady M’s classic mille crêpe cake.

This was complemented by an extra layer of buttery, crumbly crust on top of the creamy cheese mille crêpes, offering some contrasting textures and flavors. And finally, there was the torching on-site on the sugar layer to add some smokiness to the mix.

It was nice to do our part in supporting the local F&B industry over the weekend. Hopefully, they can get over the hump pretty soon.

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop UG-22, UG/F, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kowloon Tong

Tel: +852 2869-1368

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm daily

Modern Shanghai Imperial 御‧ 家上海 Festival Walk (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We’ve scheduled a couple of make-up meals this weekend as part of my birthday celebrations. This one took place at Festival Walk (又一城), a place we haven't visited much since COVID.

Interestingly, Jelloman decided we should have Jiangnan cuisine at Modern Shanghai Imperial (御‧家上海) this afternoon. Maybe she’s missing the food from our Ningbo and Hangzhou trip?

Chef’s special pan-fried xiao long bao (脆煎灌湯小籠包) ($62) – A pan-fried version of the steamed xiao long bao. This was OK.

Traditional braised pork balls in brown sauce (張大千紅燒獅子頭) ($98) – I didn't get the chance to enjoy these braised pork meatballs in Hangzhou so I guess this was a nice consolation. The meatballs were pretty decent, although I thought they were a little heavy-handed with the sugar in the brown sauce. 

Deep-fried sweet and sour mandarin fish with pine nuts (松鼠桂魚) ($248) – We did have this dish in Hangzhou. The moms loved it, but I was always the one who's picky about things and I thought they did a poor job carving the mandarin fish into the ornamental shape of a squirrel, and this dish was all about "knife skills".

Shanghainese stir-fried noodles (上海粗炒) ($102) – Always a must when we have Shanghainese or Jiangnan cuisine. Not bad.

Spicy sautéed vermicelli with OMNI pork (香辣新肉螞蟻上樹) ($108) – Little nugget wanted to know why there's a dish called "ants climbing a tree" so we ordered this dish just for him. 

Little did we know, this was actually a refined version of the original recipe with the minced pork replaced by vegetarian OMNI pork.

It was a pretty decent meal. I hadn’t been to Festival Walk in years, and for a Sunday, the once-popular mall felt surprisingly empty. I guess the stories about Hongkongers fleeing the city on weekends might be true after all.

Food Rating: 5.4/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop L1-20, L1/F, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kowloon Tong

Tel: +852 2151-3262

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 4:30pm, 5:30pm - 10:30pm daily

The Grill Room TST (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I promised little nugget a brand new dining experience tonight and that got him all excited.

It's been a while since he last went out for dinner with us so he was really looking forward to it. Yours truly was just as excited after scoring a magnificent online deal from The Grill Room. A dinner set for two that used to cost $928 was now only $588 thanks to a generous promotion!

Steak tartare, potato mille-feuille – The set began with two starters of our choice and Jelloman wasted no time picking one of her favorites from a steakhouse, steak tartare. This was beautifully presented in a ring shape with dabs of mayo and passion fruit purée as condiments and a crispy potato mille-feuille on the side. Not bad.

Pumpkin soup with seared scallop – Little guy had the other starter, a savory-sweet (more savory than sweet) pumpkin soup.

Look what he found underneath, a seared scallop!

USDA prime beef oyster blade steak – No visit to a steakhouse is complete without some steak on the table. While my boy has never been much of a meat lover, one bite of the USDA oyster blade steak was all it took; he simply couldn’t stop!

The steak was indeed flavorful and tender, and I thought the broccolini, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes paired beautifully with the rich, savory gravy.

Smoked suckling pig – At first glance, the skin could've been a little more golden brown in color.

But overall, this was very good. The meat was succulent, with the perfect balance of crispy skin, fat and meat. And there was a nice smoky flavor with a hint of rosemary.

It came with a side dish of cous cous, tomatoes, walnut and raisins. 

Tiramisu – Dessert was a simple tiramisu. Light and airy with a pleasantly foamy texture, except for the ladyfinger at the bottom, which added a bit more bite to the dessert.

Cheesecake – Pretty decent.

It's been a long long day. Earlier this afternoon, we had the pleasure of visiting the Hong Kong Museum of History (香港歷史博物館) where they were hosting an exhibition, "The Great Unity".

One last picture with the terracotta soldier, okay son!?

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: $$$

Address: 2/F, The Humphreys, 6-6A Humphreys Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2897-6288

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 5:30pm - 11:00pm daily

Lifetastic Patisserie (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

We were on the road when my birthday came around, so I didn’t get the chance to do much of a celebration or make a birthday wish. Thanks to my mobile service provider, I got that chance tonight.

Every year around my birthday, I would get a voucher for a complimentary birthday gift and there was no difference again this year. Since I haven't had the honor to put a knife into a birthday cake this year, I decided to spend the voucher on a watermelon strawberry layer cake from Lifetastic.

I haven't had one of these for years but I could honestly say this, it's still the best watermelon cake in town. The combination of flavors and textures is simply unforgettable. The light, airy sponge layers perfectly complement the refreshing, juicy slices of watermelon nestled within. Each bite offers a delicate balance of sweetness and freshness, with the subtle cream adding a silky richness that ties everything together beautifully.

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop ADM 30B, Admiralty MTR Station, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 3709-6364

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 8:30pm daily

 

Mama Bakery Cheung Sha Wan Plaza (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We've had enough Ningbo glutinous rice balls for snacks in the last little while so I thought I should hop over to my neighborhood bakery shops (and there are a few of them) to see if they have in store for me. Mama Bakery was the first one I stopped by on my way back from work.

Pineapple bagel – Now, that's something new! I have seen a bagel donut hybrid in Osaka before but this has "Made in Hong Kong" written all over it.

I have to admit, I really like the idea behind. It has the crispy, crumbly crust we are all accustomed to from a pineapple bun, yet the texture of the dough (OK, the bagel) was firm and chewy, almost elastic to a certain degree. Very unique and for me, tasty enough that I wanted a second crack at it. 

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop G08, G/F & Shop M07-08, M/F, Cheung Sha Wan Plaza, 833 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 2739-8568

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

Suka 熟客 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We have been away for just five days over Easter holiday but it felt like we were gone for a long long time! The first day back to work is always tough and I have a long day ahead meeting with a vendor starting at 9:00am sharp.

I nearly forgot about the fact that we have a new colleague joining us this morning. So, during lunch break, we decided to venture over to Tsing Yi together for a quick meal.

It's been ages since I last visited Maritime Square and to my pleasant surprise, there were a bunch of new eateries replacing some of the old (and boring) stalwarts. Suka (熟客) is one of those newcomers that immediately caught my eyes. 

I got myself a simple dish of Hainanese chicken. This actually tasted pretty good. And thanks to the good guys in the kitchen, I think they gave me a chicken thigh without me paying the extra. 👍👍

The iced Malaysian pulled tea (or Teh tarik) came with grass jelly on the bottom. Pretty thirst-quenching. I think I am starting to realize just how much I missed my caffeine fix during my time away from Hong Kong.

I think the tea should be strong enough to keep me awake in the afternoon session.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 202, 2/F, Maritime Square 1, 31-33 Tsing King Road, Tsing Yi, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsing Yi

Tel: +852 5209-3034

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm daily

Brilliant Times Lianqiaodi 曦禾時年 蓮橋第店 (Ningbo, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Brilliant Times (曦禾时年) was supposed to be the last item on our agenda tonight. However, since we finished our tour of Ningbo Prefecture City God Temple (寧波府城隍廟) and the pedestrian street of the temple (城隍庙步行街) well ahead of schedule, we ended up shuffling our plans a bit.

Hidden in the labyrinth of narrow streets in historic Lianqiaodi (莲桥第) district, Brilliant Times combines the best of a tea house, coffee shop and dessert café, all within a serene and peaceful setting.

We decided to step into this tranquil space for an hour of mindful retreat.

     

The setting here is designed to evoke a sense of calm and peace, with minimalist décor, soft lighting and natural elements like greenery, wood and stone in play.

For added privacy, private rooms are available on the upper level.

This room will provide the soothing ambience for a welcome escape from the bustling city life for the next hour.

While there was an enticing selection of tea-infused and flower-infused beverages available, we opted to try their Chinese tea instead.



Rock Tea (岩茶) (¥108) – A type of oolong tea grown in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian province, China. It's highly prized for its unique flavor profile, which is influenced by the rocky terrain in which it grows.

This is a type of Da Hong Pao, (or Big Red Robe tea 大红袍) arguably the most famous and expensive type of rock tea. I thought the tea leaves have been roasted but there was no smoky note found. Instead, I found the tone a bit woody, with lingering aftertaste that combines minerality, sweetness, and a unique "rocky" sensation.

Mountain Stroll (山行) (¥58) – Brilliant Times is renowned for its tea-infused and flower-infused desserts, but as it was well past afternoon tea time, only a handful of desserts remained available including this one.

Here we have an almond sponge cake topped by some chantilly cream and a creme brulee stuck in the middle. Interesting combo.

No, we're not somewhere in Kyoto sitting in front of a zen garden.

    

I just think every city needs a place like Brilliant Times for people to unwind. The serene setting and peaceful vibe combine for a nice retreat from urban life, providing a sanctuary where people can slow down, recharge and reconnect with themselves.

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: 15 Maoya Street, Haishu District, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省宁波市海曙区毛衙街15号

Closest Metro Station: Chenghuangmiao (城隍庙)

Tel: +86 15968979478

Opening Hour: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/af/Jxik

Wang Shengda Nantang Old Street 王升大 南塘老街店 (Ningbo, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Nantang Old Street (南塘老街) is likely going to be our last destination of this trip. Located outside the south gate of Ningbo's ancient city, some said it's one of the historical streets of Ningbo while others claimed that it was just a re-creation. Whatever it is, we have decided to come and have a look just before dinner.

One thing was certain. This place was packed with quaint little food stalls selling traditional street food. 

One of the shops I have pinned on my map was Wang Shengda (王升大), a century-old establishment famous for its Ningbo glutinous rice balls with sesame paste. They have been around since the Qing Dynasty.

Off to the first-floor dining area I went.....

While the restaurant offers savory dishes such as dumplings and noodle soup, I am sticking my guns with the signature Ningbo glutinous rice balls (宁波汤圆).

It's nice to sit by the tall window and observe the happenings on the old street.

Ningbo glutinous rice balls with sesame paste (¥18) – While they offer an assorted version with sesame paste, durian and custard (two each), I elected to keep it simple and stick with the traditional flavors.

What I love most about these was its wrapper that was silky, elastic and slightly chewy (in a good way). It was just a perfect match with the filling of black sesame, lard and white sugar.  

These were so gooooood~~~~~

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: ¥

Address: Nantang Old Street, 271 Nanjiao Road, Haishu District, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省宁波市海曙区南郊路271号南塘老街步行街内

Closest Metro Station: Xingningqiao West (兴宁桥西)

Tel: +86 18989303726

Opening Hour: 9:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/51/kHKk