Shake Shack at IFC (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I have another medical appointment in Central this early afternoon. By the time we finished things up, it was already 2pm and little nugget and the rest of my family were already off to the AIA Carnival. So, some "Me Time" for me I guess?

It's been a while since I last visited Shake Shack at IFC so I thought I should pay them a visit while I was on my way to pick up my family.



On a Saturday afternoon, I was expecting huge lineups but to my pleasant surprise, I was second in line. Not bad.

Chick 'n Shack ($56) - Every time I came to Shake Shack, it's always for their beef burgers and hot dogs. Time for some poultry?



This came with a thick slab of crispy chicken breast, lettuce, pickles and buttermilk mayo. I thought the chicken breast would be tough and dry but it was surprisingly tender and juicy. The thin batter was really crispy adding to the lovely bite.



Of course, a trip to Shake Shack is not complete without their milk tea shake. Guys at Shake Shack, whatever you do, please don't replace this with any other flavors.



This must be the one burger restaurant with the best view in Hong Kong.




Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 4018, 4/F, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2522-5611
Website: www.shakeshack.com.hk
Opening Hours: 11:00am to 11:00pm daily

Sweets & Deli at Palace Hotel Tokyo (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★☆☆☆

After a quick lunch at Grand Kitchen on the ground level of Palace Hotel Tokyo, I turned my attention downstairs, to the hotel's French patisserie - Sweets & Deli.



Like any good hotel deli, Sweets & Deli offers a wide range of freshly baked bread, homemade pastries and chocolate. A very nice place for one-stop shopping.



We got ourselves some bread for tomorrow since we will very likely be coping with our post-trip blues at home.



Needless to say, I won't pass up the chance to check out their sweet treats which offer a nice mix of western (basque style burnt cheesecake, chocolate mousse) and Japanese (cream puff, strawberry shortcake) inspired flavors.



Marron Chantilly (680 yen) - It's mom's last chance for a chestnut dessert before we had to the airport. And being the good son that I'm, I decided to get her this Marron Chantilly cake.



I thought it was going to be more sophisticated but it turned out to be just a simple cake with small chunks of chestnut, topped by a layer of chantilly cream. Pretty old-school and definitely not much creativity there. For a pastry shop inside a 5-star hotel, I certainly expected a lot more (especially in Tokyo where fancy desserts are never in shortage!).





Food Rating: 4/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: B1F Palace Hotel Tokyo, 1-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Otemachi
Tel: +81 3-3211-5315
Website: en.palacehoteltokyo.com/restaurants-bars/pastry-shop
Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm daily

Grand Kitchen at Palace Hotel Tokyo (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

It was a gorgeous day to kick off a fresh new year. The ladies would probably tell you there's no better place on earth to spend the first day of the year than Tokyo. Yes, but there's a catch - expect every shop in the city to be closed on New Year's day (malls, underground shopping streets etc.). If you're looking for a place to eat, your best bet would be hotel restaurants which are open 365 days a year. That was exactly our game plan when we took a slow trot towards 5-star Palace Hotel Tokyo.

I would love to sit at the terrace to soak up the sun while I enjoy the view of the Imperial Palace from across the street if not for the freezing temperature (about 3 degrees).

My little nugget was all smiles this morning. I guess he didn't know we would be catching a plane back to Hong Kong late this afternoon.

Once we figured out that it would be impossible to dine on the terrace, we quickly moved inside the main dining room of Grand Kitchen, the all-day dining restaurant located on the ground level of Palace Hotel Tokyo.

Grand Kitchen serves up an eclectic array of American, French, Spanish and Italian fare with a Japanese twist. 

Clam chowder with saffron foam (1,400 yen) - It's been a while since I last had clam chowder for lunch. This was such a soul warming dish to start off a chilly day. Love the creaminess of the chowder which was matched up perfectly with the sweetness of the clams and the extra kick from the saffron foam.



Bacon rolled scallops (3,600 yen) - Picture-perfect pan-seared scallops which have been wrapped with thin slices of bacon were served with Jerusalem artichoke chips.



A truffle flavored bouillon provided the finishing touch to this dish. Not bad.

Spaghetti Pescatora (2,400 yen) - Some homemade pasta for my little nugget. It was tossed in a light tomato and garlic sauce.

The parade of fresh seafood including shrimp, scallop, squid, clams and blue mussels was pretty nice but the pasta would be much tastier if the sauce was a little more soupy.

Chicken fricassee (3,600 yen) - I am a huge fan of Japanese chicken and this dish again reminded me why. The Japanese chicken fillet was absolutely mouthwatering thanks to the remarkably tender texture. Just a bit of butter cream sauce, maitake mushrooms and jasmine rice already made this dish very delicious.



It was the simple, relaxing meal we were looking for to start off the year. Nothing really fancy. Now, hopefully we would save ourselves enough time for a quick visit to the Imperial Palace.





Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 1/F Palace Hotel Tokyo, 1-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Otemachi
Tel: +81 3-3211-5364
Website: en.palacehoteltokyo.com/restaurant/grand-kitchen
Opening Hours: 6:00am - 11:00pm daily