181 at Fortnum & Mason (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After spending the last few days in the sun (one in the rain), it was time to stay indoor for a change today. We have a full day of activities ahead of us at K11 Musea so to keep things simple by bringing the family for a quick brunch at 181 at Fortnum & Mason.



I had to call a week in advance to get myself a table by the window.



Kudos to the team here for setting us up at the perfect spot to enjoy the magnificent view of the harbour. 

Right underneath us of course the Avenue of Stars. 

We were started off with some homemade country bread.

Black pudding scotch egg with piccalilli (蘇格蘭蛋配黑布丁及英式酸辣醬) - First up, the restaurant's signature dish.

I'm a total sucker for eggs. I'm talking about eggs cooked in any possible way. It's the second time I had these babies and I remained impressed like the first time. The crispy crust and runny yolk combined so well with the black pudding. So gooood~

Scallops with spiced Hollandaise and cauliflower (香煎帶子配椰菜花及荷蘭汁) - Little nugget wanted scallops instead of his favorite prawns this afternoon so we ordered these pan-seared scallops for him.

I would love to have these superbly seared scallops served with some silky smooth cauliflower purée, which would be a really perfect match-up (both the flavor and texture profile) but romanesco broccoli and purple cauliflower weren't bad ideas either.

Middle white pork roast with crackling, apple sauce and Calvados jus (脆皮燒中白豬肉、蘋果醬和蘋果酒汁) - Lastly, a big main course to share between the three of us.

This came with some side dishes including steamed carrots and cabbage.

More cauliflower, this one baked with cheese.

The Middle pork roast was fairly decent. I wasn't so sure about the apple sauce though. There was a fair bit of acidity on top of the fruitiness and sweetness. Yeah, I was never a fan of acidity to begin with.

Looks like my little nugget's new pet is enjoying the brunch.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 022, G/F K11 Atelier Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3916-8181
Website: www.181fortnums.com.hk
Opening Hours: 11:30am - 12:00am (Mon - Sat), 11:30am - 11:30pm (Sun)

Sai Kung Cafeteria 西貢茶記 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Our action-packed Easter holiday schedule took us to Sai Kung this afternoon for another outdoor adventure. It's been a while since we last visited Sai Kung's seafood market and seafood centric restaurants so I was really looking forward to it. However, due to our tight schedule, we were only allowed time for a quick lunch at one of the local cha chaan tian (or tea restaurants) - Sai Kung Cafeteria (西貢茶記).

Lunch started off with a silky smooth iced pantyhose milk tea. I like the fact that the tea wasn't all that strong and they had tons of milk for a great balance.

I've been longing for Yang Zhou fried rice (揚州炒飯) for weeks so it was nice to get my fix today. This didn't have a lot of "wok hei" with it but the fact that it was piping hot still made me a very happy camper. To my pleasant surprise, it came with all kinds of goodness from prawns to barbecued pork, ham, lettuce and chives.

Jelloman had fried noodles with shredded pork (肉絲炒面) and looked like she was pretty happy about her choice too. Judging from the crispiness of the fried noodles, it's a well executed one that should be quite yummy. 

From what we've tasted so far, it's really not surprising that this place was so busy around lunch hours. 

Food Rating: 5.3/10

Price: $$

Address: G/F, 32 Man Nin Street, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: N/A

Tel: +852 6512-1628

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

Celestial Court Chinese Restaurant 天寶閣 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My little nugget is off to another gathering with his schoolmates so I get to enjoy some Me Time this afternoon. Rather than having fun all by myself, I decided to ring mom up to see what she’s up to. Turns out she has no plan for the long weekend so being the good son that I always am, I decide to take her out for dim sum.

It’s Good Friday and not surprisingly, every restaurant was fully booked (at least the ones I called), well except for Celestial Court Chinese Restaurant (天寶閣), a Chinese restaurant at Sheraton Hotel which I haven’t been to my entire life.

Steamed rice flour roll with scallop and crispy squash (翡翠帶子腸粉) - The first dim sum to arrive was steamed rice flour roll with thin slices of scallops and crispy squash.

The rice flour roll was soft and delicate, working well with the scallop, squash and sweet soy. Not bad.

Steamed shrimp dumpling (筍尖鮮蝦餃) - mom can’t possibly do dim sum without her har gou (steamed shrimp dumpling). It was pretty tasty. Nice portion (not too big or too small) too and love the bamboo shoots for the lovely bite.

Steamed pork dumpling with shrimp, mushroom and crab roe (蟹籽燒賣) - Another classic that was done right. Very meaty highlighted by the distinct flavors of pork, shrimp, mushroom and crab roes.

Steamed Alaskan crab meat dumpling (帝皇蟹肉餃) - According to mom, the best dim sum this afternoon and I won’t argue with that.

What made this so attractive other than the Alaskan crab meat sitting on top of the dumpling, was the mixture of goodness in the middle. Very delicate and very delicious.

From this point on, I realized that the chefs here barely put any seasoning on their dim sum. They simply let their premium ingredients shine which really isn’t a bad idea.

Baked crab meat and avocado pastry (牛油果蟹肉批) - I really like the buttery pastry.

Not surprisingly, the pastry combined wonderfully well with the crab meat, avocado and cheese.

Steamed bamboo Thalli roll with abalone and chicken (竹笙鮑魚四寶扎) - Instead of serving it on a plate, this was served on a bowl, almost like a soup (but without the broth). Like the dim sum before it, it was a little bland but there was no denying of the freshness of the ingredients.

Steamed almond cream with Hongy locust fruit (雪蓮子杏仁露) - I thought this would be a safe bet but it turned out to be otherwise. The bitterness from the Hongy locust fruit showed up a little too overpowering for me.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 2/F, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, 20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2369-1111

Opening Hours: 11:30a.m. - 3:00p.m., 6:00p.m. - 11:00p.m. (Mon - Sat), 10:30a.m. - 3:00p.m., 6:00p.m. - 11:00p.m. (Sun, Public Holidays)