L.D.K. by Ufufu Café Metroplaza (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Little nugget turns 8 today. When I brought him to school this morning, he asked me to promise him one thing – to come pick him up from school this afternoon. It's not too much to ask for on a birthday so I decided to make his wish come true.



I had a bit of spare time for a long (and late) lunch and it was the perfect moment I have been waiting for. Kumachan Onsen's teddy bear hot pot at L.D.K. by Ufufu Café! Not every L.D.K. by Ufufu Café offers this cute melting bear soup but I was told that their Metroplaza location in Kwai Fong has it on their special menu.

There are a total of 9 Kumachan Onsen's teddy bear hot pot sets to choose from and this one I ordered was called "Classic Kumachan Set" ($168).

After dropping off a large bowl of vegetables in front of me, my server returned with the meat platter that came with thin slices of beef (shoulder loin) and pork, chicken and minced pork balls.

I also got a choice between six different broths (chicken, spicy dan dan noodle, bonito dashi, soya milk, sukiyaki and Korean kimchi). After going with the dashi broth, it was time for the yellow teddy to show up with the hot pot. 

Once I fired up the hot pot, the cute little teddy bear began its onsen experience and slowly, melted into a warm pot of savory broth.

I had to make sure that I finished cooking my raw food before the broth dried up, starting with the beef and pork.

What an exciting experience! I am sure Jelloman and little nugget would enjoy this much more than I did but it was nice to finally check out this popular teddy bear hot pot originated from Japan.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 345A, 3/F, Metroplaza, 223 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Fong, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kwai Fong

Tel: +852 3586-3899

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:00pm daily

Star Fifteen 星十五 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

A few weeks ago, I have spotted this new Cantonese dessert shop called Star Fifteen (星十五) right across the street from my hair stylist. They were handing out flyers on the streets just in front of the shop but I was in a hurry to get home.

Today not such a problem as I have all the time in the world.

Supreme walnut soup with lotus seed (特製蓮子合桃露王) ($62) – Obviously this is one of their specialties and judging by its color, the walnut soup should be very rich in flavors.



This was really thick. A very filling and comforting dessert soup (albeit with a bit of bitterness). 

But what I like more than the dessert soup itself were the delectable black sesame dumplings (黑芝麻湯圓). I love the paper-thin wrapper and how the black sesame paste oozes out following the first bite. It was as perfect as those from Kai Kai Dessert (佳佳甜品).

$62 is a little on the high side even for Tsim Sha Tsui. It could be a while before I consider coming back for a return visit.

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: $$$$

Address: G/F, 26A Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 9518-9202

Opening Hours: 1:30pm - 11:30pm daily

Ganso Tsukemen 元祖沾麵專門店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

As one of the highest ranked ramen shops in Tsim Sha Shui, Ganso Tsukemen (元祖沾麵專門店) has been on my radar screen for a number of years now. I have been looking forward to the opportunity to check it off my list and today, I finally did!

The ramen shop has this really weird-looking floor plan that is long and narrow. And the end result? All the tables and seats are very narrow and tight. One simple word to describe my experience of sitting at my table facing the wall (i.e. my posture) was "uncomfortable".

Lobster tsukemen with BBQ pork (元祖龍蝦沾麵) – From the long list of ramens available on the menu, I ended up picking this one with lobster broth.



When I tried to clarify the difference between their Lobster tsukemen with BBQ pork (元祖龍蝦沾麵) and Lobster tsukemen (龍蝦沾麵), my server reluctantly replied that the "original" (元祖) version came with a bit of sea urchin in it but then she added that she wasn't entirely sure. OK.

The noodles of course came separately with the rest of the ingredients including barbecued pork, soft-boiled egg, seaweed, bamboo shoot and green onions.

I never thought I would say this but the soft-boiled egg was......too runny.

The "flame-seared" pork looked pretty good but there was no smokiness in the flavors. I wonder why.

I tried dipping the chewy udon noodles into the broth little by little but disappointingly, it was missing the usual umami-rich flavors from a lobster broth. That was the last nail to the coffin for this place. Subpar food, followed by poor service and uncomfortable seating. 

Food Rating: 4.1/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 5, G/F, Dorfu Court, 5-6 Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 6799-9663

Opening Hours: 11:40am - 12:00am (Mon - Fri), 11:15am - 12:00am (Sat - Sun)