Shake Shack Elements (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I've got some unfinished business at Shake Shack Elements before heading back to my office this afternoon. I knew I had to hurry a bit as I have another important meeting to catch at 2:30pm so only a 2-hour gap in between meetings.

Chicken Shack – I missed breakfast this morning so my hands were still shaking a bit when I got my first bite of this Chicken Shack. The crispy chicken breast was again very nice, working well with the lettuce and buttermilk herb mayo. I had to drop the pickles off. I don't think my empty stomach could take any additional acidity at this time. 

Lava custard milkshake – This is the unfinished business I was talking about. I knew I had to come and have this for the second time before they took it off the menu.

The "mooncake" shake as we all called it, came with lava custard, vanilla ice-cream, pomelo and grapefruit, finished off nicely with crispy mooncake bits on top. It's a little thicker than other shakes we found at Shake Shack but I like the unique combination of flavors.

This delicious festive shake is really perfect for the Mid-Autumn festival. I hope they bring it back next year. 

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 1005-1006, 1/F, Fire Zone, ELEMENTS, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kowloon Station

Tel: +852 2719-8282

Website: www.shakeshack.com.hk

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 8:30pm (Mon - Thu), 11:00am - 10:00pm (Fri - Sun)

Bakehouse Wanchai (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Everyone's favorite bakery shop in Wanchai, Bakehouse, has temporarily closed to undergo a small construction but they're back on their feet this week. Needless to say, I have to swing by to grab a few things since I haven't been to for quite some time.

It was good to see some familiar faces. Of course, I'm referring to Bakehouse's sourdough egg tarts, cookies and doughnuts!

Here we go!

Sourdough egg tart – The more I have this, the more I think it tastes like a refined version of the Portuguese pastel de nata. Very tasty as usual.

Vanilla custard doughnut – One of little nugget's favorite. Look at the size of the vanilla custard. Decadent!

It was too convenient for me to go to their Wanchai outpost since it's just a stone's throw from office. But I know I have a mission to check out their new Causeway Bay one since they have an exclusive tiramisu danish.

Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: G14 Tai Wong Street East, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Website: https://bakehouse.hk/

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

Lobster Bar and Grill (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

In a perfect world, we should have already celebrated Jelloman's birthday by now. But the poor thing had a really busy week last week so we ended up postponing our celebration dinner to the weekend after. To make sure that we have a place to celebrate, I've already made plans a couple of months ago with a booking at Lobster Bar and Grill at Island Shangrila. Everything was all set to go.

I thought they had a very nice selection of bread here to start off the meal with. Perhaps better than Petrus. The presentation wasn't the best but I couldn't stop eating them, especially the crispy ones on the right.  

Oyster – We didn't waste any time going through the food menu. Instead, we dived straight into the tasting menu which got us off to a fast start thanks to this very first course, poached oyster.

They went with a pretty safe bet here going with beurre blanc and caviar on top, and not surprisingly, they melded well with the briny flavors of the poached oyster.

Scallop tartare – Less successful was the marinated raw scallop served with dashi jelly, green apple, chili, garlic cucumber and shiso.

The dashi jelly (like a soy sauce jelly) and shiso were both very overpowering so we didn't really get to enjoy the sweetness of the scallops. The hint of lime and chili were kind of there but not having much effect on the dish at all.

All this happening while little nugget was enjoying his lobster bisque.

Lobster vol au vent – They did a great job trying to stuff the poached lobster, roasted sweetbreads, morel mushrooms, artichoke, baby carrots, tomato and pickled shallot, all inside that puff pastry.

You really can't go wrong with seafood and sauce Nantua, a Béchamel-based creamy seafood sauce together. 

Lobster Thermidor – My food buddy, Agent-I had this when we were here last year and she distinctly told me that this dish was very very filling. Tonight, I decided to accept this challenge! 

This was done with Lobster Bar's secret recipe of cheesy and creamy Mornay sauce, also featuring a whole Boston lobster baked with ratte potatoes, button mushrooms and pickled shallots in an ion stew pot.

I have to admit, it was pretty heavy but I thought the thick Mornay sauce really meshed well with all the ingredients so I will give it a slight edge over the Lobster vol au vent (also, I am not a fan of a thick savory puff pastry).

Baked Alaska – I was hoping we could get ourselves some sticky toffee pudding for dessert but it was Baked Alaska that was included in the set. 

Of course, they had to make it a little more dramatic by pouring alcohol on top for the flambé finish. Little nugget seems to like it a lot!

It's been a long time since I last had a Baked Alaska. 

Everyone has a slightly different version of Baked Alaska. This one had lemon, honey, smoked almonds, sponge cake and of course meringue which was lightly toasted after the torch. Okay, I'm not really a fan.

Petite four was a mix of East and West. Chinese mooncake (a little surprised to see it here!) and citrus jelly.

Little one seems overjoyed with his first experience at Lobster Bar and Grill. In fact, he keeps mentioning "Lobster Bar" on his way home. I am guessing it won't be long before we come back for more.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 6/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 2820-8560

Website: www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/islandshangrila/dining/restaurants/lobster-bar-grill/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 11:00pm daily