Lucullus Cacao D2 Place (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I obviously needed to head out more. There's a lot going on from both Kowloon and Hong Kong side. I was just reading about the new cafes and coffee shops on the island side the other day; today I bumped into Lucullus Cacao. A confectionery brand specializing in their chocolate and dessert since 1976, I always thought they were a one-trick pony but not anymore as they opened their first concept store at D2 Place in Lai Chi Kok, by the name of Lucullus Cacao.

It's a bakery cafe and coffee shop under one single roof.

I was checking out their dessert when I saw these cruffins, hybrids of croissant and muffin. These came in three different flavors, chocolate, matcha and strawberry. Of course I didn't think twice before going straight to their cashier.

Strawberry Cruffin ($32) - This looks pretty amazing. Let's see if it tastes good as well. 

I thought it was pretty delicious. It could have been a little more flaky on the outside but the wonderfully spongy muffin texture was definitely there and at the centre of this, was the glorious strawberry custard filling. I am thinking about going back for more already!

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop V1, G/F, D2 Place One, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 3481-7750

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:00am - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Ichitora Ramen Wanchai 一虎拉麵 灣仔 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I just had time for a quick lunch before my afternoon meeting today. Rather than going to The Pawn which I usually do, I decided to visit Ichitora Ramen (一虎拉麵) for a bowl of my favorite tonkotsu ramen.

Close my eyes and imagine myself somewhere in Japan waiting for my ramen noodles. It's working!

As always, I'm getting their namesake Ichitora Ramen with their signature pork bone broth, chives, black fungus, char siu and soft-boiled egg.

The barbecued pork was very very tender (and juicy!). I chose the thin noodles thinking it would work a bit better with the flavorful broth.

The soft-boiled egg was also spot on. Look at the runny yolk. Gorgeous! But take a look at the pork bone broth. See all the fat (some were garlics) floating in the broth; they should have done a much better job removing them from the soup.

Ichitora Ramen is one of my go-to ramen shops in Wanchai but I will have to think twice about going there again cuz I can't remember the pork bone broth with so much fat last time I visited. In fact, I thought it was creamy with lovely beige color.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 23 Amoy Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2808-0635

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm daily

Simplicity 簡·味 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I heard about this little restaurant inside Panda Hotel in Tsuen Wan called Simplicity (簡·味) a while ago from a couple of friends. It's about a year new (I think) but I had no real intention to try it out myself. A few weeks ago, I came across its name again while I was going thru the list of participating restaurants for French GourMay 2021. They actually have a menu designed for the festivity. Well, I thought perhaps it's worth a visit?

Simplicity turned out to be a lot bigger than I originally thought. Tables are comfortably spaced from one another. However, problems started creeping up the moment I decided to sit down.

First, they gave me a table right in the middle of the dining area in no-man's land. I asked if I could sit at the corner (it's probably better since I was a solo diner so I could use some privacy) but the server would give me some hard times claiming that I didn't have advance booking (but look at the empty tables!). I guess what she meant was that if you didn't have advance booking, you're doomed to have shitty tables. Instead of the table that was offered to me, I asked for another shitty table but this one at the corner. She reluctantly checked with the hostess to see if it was okay (not happy about me asking for another table obviously). Eventually, I was granted my wish.

As there was no set menu available, I had to dip into the all-day menu but I did like what I saw. A small but nice selection of pasta, risotto, burgers and pizza. I went with this pasta with pan-seared scallop, drizzled in a green sauce made with kale. There was a bitter aftertaste with the pasta thanks to the intense kale sauce but I appreciate the creativity behind the design of the dish.

The sweet potato fries, which came at $48 only, was pretty decent.

Just when I was finishing up my dishes, I saw the same server serving up some iced water to the new customers sitting next to me. Then, I realized my iced water was missing in action. Not that I really needed a drink but I just had to make sure that she knew her table service was lousy, so I waved for her attention and let her know that I didn't have water, which was supposed to be there when I sat down an hour ago. Of course, she really didn't care so she turned away and asked another server to serve up some water for me. I think she's having a tough time keeping up with her work at a hotel restaurant. Perhaps, she's better off working for a cha chaan teng. I'm sure she would fit in rather well.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: 3/F Panda Hotel, 3 Tsuen Wah Street, Tsuen Wan, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsuen Wan

Tel: +852 2409-3226

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm daily