Leger Am Dom (Munich, GERMANY) ★★★☆☆

We’re going back to Munich’s Old Town for our second day of action but first thing first, we started things off with breakfast at Leger Am Dom. 

Leger Am Dom is a modern restaurant and bar right in the heart of the old town, adjacent to the top tourist attraction, the Frauenkirche (聖母教堂). 

It offers a casual yet stylish atmosphere that blends regional specialties with international flair. We had a choice between sitting indoors or outside on the terrace. And on a summer morning like this, it was a no-brainer. No surprise the indoor seating was completely empty.

For breakfast, they have a relatively short menu, centered around their omelettes and bagels.

Bagel with smoked salmon (€13.5) — A whole-wheat bagel with smoked salmon, avocado, herb cream, and dill, assembled in the middle like a burger. 

Pretty tasty, but a bit heavy for breakfast, I thought.

Omelette (€9.5) — This was made with three eggs, and you pay extra for additional toppings like tomato, spinach, ham, goat cheese, and smoked salmon. I decided to get diced ham (€2.5) as the only topping, but because the omelette already came cooked with savory butter, the ham made it a little too salty for me.

The space just outside Leger Am Dom seemed like the perfect spot to catch the entirety of the Frauenkirche, so we spent some time snapping a few photos there.

We are going to have an in-depth look at the Old Town today. Hopefully, I get to try a few more pastries.

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: €€€

Address: Kaufingerstraße 24, 80331 München-Altstadt-Lehel, Germany

Closest Metro Station: Marienplatz

Tel: +49 89 2102-0532-0

Website: https://www.legeramdom.de/

Opening Hours: 9:00am - 10:00pm (Sun - Thu), 9:00am - 11:00pm (Fri - Sat)

Cafe de Papa Lai Chi Kok 一樂冰室 荔枝角店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I heard about this new cha chaan teng opening at Hoi Lai Shopping Centre (海麗商場) a couple of weeks ago. It’s a little far for me, but if they have a good iced milk tea, I won’t mind walking a mile for it.

Apparently, this Cafe de Papa (一樂冰室) chain has around ten branches across Hong Kong, mostly in residential areas. I bet it’s great news for people living here but they already have Seasons Cafe (四季餐廳) in the same mall.

Iced milk tea — The tea flavor wasn’t strong or robust, but you wouldn’t know it just from looking at the color. It was creamy and velvety smooth, though — and that’s what matters most.

Macaroni in tomato soup with grilled pork chop — The macaroni and tomato soup were quite decent. I could’ve done without the thick pork chop, which was a little on the hard side. Perhaps they didn't pound it properly on the chopping board?

Scrambled egg and butter toast — The scrambled eggs could've been more runny. The toast was fine.



I don’t see this as an upgrade or a downgrade from Seasons Cafe, which is almost right next to it. I guess it serves as a serviceable alternative.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 5-6, G/F, Hoi Lai Shopping Centre, 100 Sham Mong Road, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 3514-6346

Coffee Kan 珈琲館 Matsuchika店 (Matsuyama, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Coffee Kan (珈琲館) is a Japanese-style coffee shop I became familiar with from my travels in Osaka. It has more than 200 branches across Japan, and some — including its flagship in Osaka — are open 24 hours a day.

I’m not really a morning coffee person, but I love having breakfast while my team is still asleep on my trips. And Coffee Kan is often there exactly when I need it.

That was the case again today. I spotted a Coffee Kan in the underground shopping streets of Matsuchika (directly connected to Matsuyama City Station), just a short walk from my hotel, and decided to get my milk tea fix early. Not surprisingly, the shop wasn’t busy this early.

Royal milk tea — Japanese people are pretty big on Earl Grey, and this was a variation loosely labeled as “Royal Milk tea”. I found the tea a little strong, and at times slightly astringent. As much as I love silky-smooth milk tea, I’m not always in the mood for rich, bold tea flavors especially on an empty stomach in the morning.

Scrambled egg with ham — This breakfast plate came with the usual scrambled eggs, ham, a small bowl of salad, and toast. I figured that would be enough to carry me through the afternoon.

We were supposed to head to Kanonji (觀音市) for an early lunch but obviously, everybody wanted to spend more time in Matsuyama and rightfully so, considering that we only got here at around dinner time last night.

Price: ￥￥

Address: 5-1-1 Minatomachi, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0012, Japan

Closest Train Station: Matsuyama City

Tel: +81 (0)89-945-4908

Website: https://c-united.co.jp/store/detail/087101/

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 8:00pm daily

Cheung Hong Yuen Kai Tak Sports Park 祥香園餐廳 啟德店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We didn’t have much planned for this long weekend since little nugget was down and out after his surgery. For the most part, we’re staying at home, except for this morning when I have an early pickleball game at Kai Tak Sports Park (啟德體育園).

I didn’t know much about the pickleball facility at the sports park until last week, when we had a gathering with our friends here. A friend escorted me around the venue, and after dinner, I even got to visit the outdoor pickleball courts. To my pleasant surprise, the courts are actually cheaper than the private ones at industrial/commercial buildings and better yet, there were open slots even on the weekends. We ended up booking an hour slot to test it out this weekend.

To be brutally honest, I haven’t woken up for a game this early since high school but I have to admit it was a lot of fun despite the tremendous heat. The outdoor courts being under a roof helped a little, but we were still sweating it out within 10 minutes.

After the game, our friend took us to Cheung Hong Yuen (祥香園餐廳), a local cha chaan teng just a short walk from the sports park, for breakfast.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) — I learned from their Lai Chi Kok outpost that Cheung Hong Yuen always has a very strong, robust milk tea. I’ll give them that. The tea was creamy again today. A nice way to start the day for my tummy!

Butter pineapple bun (菠蘿油) — Somehow, I never had the pleasure of trying their pineapple bun. The thick slab of frozen butter was the best companion for the bun and to my surprise, it actually came with some scrambled eggs. Not bad.

Noodle soup with satay beef (沙爹牛肉麵) — The noodles were OK but the broth could have been more flavorful. The beef was a little rubbery today, but with the outstanding iced milk tea, I wasn’t complaining.

I’m starting to like the Kai Tak sports facilities more and more. And the fact that they have a dedicated mobile app for booking makes everything so much easier. Perhaps we should do more pickleball games like this from now on.

Food Rating: 5.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 1, G/F, Kai Yan Court, 6 Muk Lai Street, Kowloon City, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kai Tak

Tel: +852 5975-4011

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

Akita Café Lai Chi Kok 秋田冰室 荔枝角店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

The dining scene in my hood has gotten a little more exciting these days, thanks to the soft opening of Akita Café (秋田冰室) a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t heard of it before, I hadn’t either! But once I finally did a quick background check online, I found out that the café is actually part of the same F&B group as Milk Café (牛奶冰室). Reason for excitement? 🤔🤔

Apparently, my neighbors all thought it’s worth the optimism. And the result was that the place has been full almost every night since opening. After patiently waiting things out for a few days, I finally went for the kill.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) — More on the milky side. Tea flavor wasn’t pronounced but it was just rich enough to balance out the heavy condensed milk, resulting in a smooth finish.

Noodle soup with barbecued pork (叉燒湯麵) — They have a booth dedicated to their barbecued meats so of course, it would be uncivilized not to check it off the list.

I thought the broth and noodles were quite decent. The barbecued pork? Slightly disappointing. While my cut was more on the lean side, but the bigger issue was that the meat was all bunched together and not sliced into individual pieces. Not ideal!

Food Rating: 4.6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 123, 1/F, Liberte Place, Liberte, 833 Lai Chi Kok Road, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 2698-7898

Opening Hours: 6:00am - 11:00pm daily

Yue De Xian AVIC City 悅得閑廣式點心茶樓 中航城店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Yue De Xian (悅得閑) seems to have taken over as our breakfast spot from Tsui Wah lately. At least it was the case this morning. The place operates several locations across Shenzhen in a similar style to Dianduda (點都德). In fact, their décor also feels a bit alike.

One interesting observation about the Yue De Xian branch at AVIC (中航城) is that even though it opens around 8:30am, the crowd doesn’t really show up until about 10:30am. So our plan was to arrive just ahead of the rush.

Assorted meat congee with sliced fish (荔灣艇仔粥) (¥32) — What I like most about breakfast here is the congee. They offer a few different options, and I usually go with this one thanks to the crunchy pork skin (豬皮).

Steamed shrimp dumplings four-ways (四喜蝦餃) (¥37) — Something for little one. To be brutally honest, I can never really tell the difference between the “four,” except for the color. The dumplings with the green wrapper were likely made with parsley. At least one of them does.

Bean curd roll with enoki mushrooms and abalone sauce (鮑汁腐皮金菇卷) (¥28) — 

The Hong Kong version usually comes with minced pork inside but no mushrooms. My teammates said the enoki mushrooms added a really nice crunch, and I can see why they enjoyed it so much.

Three dim sums for three people!? Usually, that wouldn’t be enough, but since we had pickleball a couple hours later, nobody wanted a full stomach while running around on the court.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop L317, Zone A, Level 3 AVIC City Junshang Shopping Centre, Futian district, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区华强北街道华富路1018号中航城君尚购物中心A区L3层L317

Closest Metro Station: Huaquiangbei (华强北)

Tel: +86 (0755) 8256-0812

Opening Hours: 8:30am - 9:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/ca/bDJi

Li's "aluminum-free" Youtiao Kunshan Road 李氏無鋁油條 昆山路店 (Shanghai, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It’s our last day in Shanghai, and it strikes me that we haven’t yet had a proper, authentic local breakfast. Of course, with my luggage half-packed, I wasn’t going to head out for a sit-down breakfast in my pajamas. Instead, I’m calling the ever-reliable Meituan (美團) for delivery.

There weren’t many breakfast spots near the North Bund (北外滩) that offered delivery, but I managed to find one by the name of Li's "aluminum-free" Youtiao (李氏无铝油条 direct translation!!! 😆😆). It had a rating above 4 (out of 5) and delivered right to our hotel. Without hesitation, I clicked on the shop’s name and started ordering.

The “Four Breakfast Warriors” (早餐四大金剛)

A trip to Shanghai is not complete without the city’s “Four Breakfast Warriors (四大金剛)”: youtiao (油條), glutinous rice balls called cifantuan (粢飯糰), sesame pancakes called dabing (大餅), and soy milk (or doujiang 豆漿).

The breakfast set (¥9) includes two of the four warriors — youtiao and savory soy milk plus a tea smoked egg. I ordered a cifantuan separately for another ¥7, but since I was still feeling a little stuffed from last night’s supper, I happily skipped the dabing.

All it took was around 15 minutes for everything to arrive at the hotel lobby. I called reception to make sure they sent the food up before it all cooled off.

Youtiao (油條) — Nice, bouncy texture, slightly chewy in a good way. I swallowed it up after a nice dip into the soy milk.

Cifantuan (粢飯糰) — My aunt is Shanghainese, so I grew up eating this a lot. How I remembered it: the layer of glutinous rice was noticeably thinner, but the center of youtiao and pork floss remained constant. Love this!

Savory soy milk (豆漿) — I’ve never been a fan of this. Isn’t soy milk supposed to be sweet? This one came with vegetables and minced meat.

Tea smoked egg — Little nugget had it so I had no idea how this tasted.

It was nice to finally cross the “Four Breakfast Warriors” off my list. Well — three out of four, at least. Now it’s time to get back to packing and head over to the airport.

P.S.  Yes, you read this right. Li's opens at 4am daily.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ¥

Address: 254-25, Zhapu Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, China

上海市虹口区乍浦路254弄27号

Closest Metro Station: North Sichuan Road (四川北路)

Tel: +86 13661559954

Opening Hours: 4:00am - 12:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/0b/TNiM

Right Tea-rific 威水茶檔 by Flower Drum 鋒膳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Right Tea-rific (威水茶檔) is a modern cha chaan teng in Wan Chai, brought to us by the team behind Flower Drum (鋒膳). I’ve been intrigued by the photos of their egg tarts and pineapple bun with butter (菠蘿油) doing the rounds on social media over the past few months. With an early meeting in Wan Chai this morning, it gave the perfect excuse to drop by for a quick breakfast.

Despite the limited space, I managed to get a seat without having to share a table with a stranger.

A closer look at the menu made it clear their breakfast offering isn’t quite the usual Wan Chai tea restaurant fare. You won’t find classic satay beef noodles or that familiar instant-noodle combo with egg and luncheon meat. Instead, the lineup leans more towards polished, “classy” sandwiches and homemade bakery goods.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) — The tea was pretty strong and it would likely be better off with a little more condensed milk for a smoother, rounder profile. But despite being slightly off balance, I thought I thoroughly enjoyed that tea base (茶底).

Pineapple bun with butter (菠蘿油) — Not exactly how I drew it up. I was looking for a bowl of instant noodles but when that wasn't unavailable, I improvised.

This was quite decent. If the bun was served hotter so the butter could melt a bit more — I think it would taste even better.

Flower Drum is known for its barbecued meats, so I was honestly surprised their menu doesn’t feature a few of its signature items like char siu. Adding those would likely make the fans very happy.

P.S.  There’s no breakfast set served here, ladies and gentlemen. It’s à la carte only.

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop D, G/F, Harvard Commercial Building, 105-111 Thomson Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wan Chai

Tel: +852 6805-1818

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 4:00pm daily

Atelier Plume 鵲羽軒 at Capella Taipei (Taipei, TAIWAN) ★★★★☆

Capella Taipei officially opened its doors last year in the heart of the city. While an overnight stay at this prestigious five-star hotel was well beyond my budget, I figured I could at least indulge in a luxurious breakfast to soak in the ambiance.

Atelier Plume, the hotel’s elegant French patisserie, is known for its fresh-baked pastries from buttery croissants to delicate fruit tartlets. Since I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, a sweet treat felt like the perfect way to start my day.

I quickly found a quiet corner to relax while they get my orders ready.

Chocolate praline cake (巧克力榛果蛋糕) (NT$400) – I’ll admit, this beautifully sculpted, plume-shaped confection was a bit of a decadent choice for breakfast. 

But as the café's namesake dessert, it felt like the most fitting introduction.

And it didn’t disappoint.

Underneath the smooth and rich chocolate mousse exterior was a layer of praline feuilletine, adding a delightful crisp texture to each bite. Elegant, indulgent, and incredibly well crafted.

To round off the experience, I treated myself to a bottle of golden Assam tea. Amidst my hectic schedule, having this quiet moment of calm was truly priceless.



One of the reasons I chose Atelier Plume this morning was its location — just a short 10-minute walk from my lunch reservation at T+T. After this blissful start, I’m looking forward to a leisurely stroll over to my next culinary adventure.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 139 Dunhua North Road, Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan

Closest Metro Station: Taipei Arena

Tel: +886 2-7709-6868

Website: https://capellahotels.com/en/capella-taipei/dining/atelier-plume

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

Cheung Hong Yuen Lai Chi Kok 祥香園餐廳 荔枝角店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Cheung Hong Yuen (祥香園餐廳) is a local cha chaan teng that has been around since 1967. When I first heard about their new branch taking over the space vacated by Swiss Cafe (瑞士咖啡室) in Lai Chi Kok, I was pretty excited about it.

However, after two quick visits last July, I was left a little disappointed.

As a storied local tea restaurant, they offer a decent iced milk tea, which I thought was essential for survival in this business. But the food menu? A bit sad.

It's been almost six months since my last visit so I'm here to check out their satay beef noodle soup, a Hong Kong classic. Perhaps I didn't do it justice by ordering a rich tomato broth to go with the satay beef. But yes, the whole thing was weird.

The runny scrambled eggs and ham were fine.

This was what I really wanted to talk about. Ever since Dubai chocolate was invented a few years ago, many restaurants, cafés, and confectioneries around the world have put their own spin on it. How about this effort by Cheung Hong Yuen? Adding Dubai chocolate to their butter pineapple bun (菠蘿油). I thought this was kind of cool! 😄😄

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, Fast Industrial Building, 658 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 3971-0260

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 6:00pm (Mon - Sat)