Yonghe King Xiasha 永和大王 下沙店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I didn’t get the chance to check out Yonghe’s signature soy milk and breakfast sets when I was in Taipei a few months ago but there’s a chance for redemption this morning when Jelloman and I visit Xiasha (下沙).

With Yonghe King Xiasha (永和大王 下沙店) just across the street from KK One Shopping Mall, we decided to go there and grab a quick breakfast before engaging in the next order of business.

Originated from Taiwan, Yonghe is a fast-food joint specializing in noodles but their signature soy milk and scallion pancake (蔥油餅) often served with scrambled eggs and youtiao (油條) often get their much deserved spotlight during breakfast.

Iced soy milk – We got a nice refreshing start with a glass of thirst-quenching soy milk. Not bad.

Scallion pancake with scrambled eggs – The scallion pancake was folded with scrambled eggs in the middle. I have never been much of a fan for scallion pancakes and this was pretty chewy if I want to be picky and…..

Scallion pancake with scrambled eggs and youtiao – A deluxe version of the previous scallion pancake with both scrambled eggs and youtiao wrapped inside, finished off with a homemade gravy. 

I had high hopes for the youtiao but came back really disappointed because it was so soggy.

I think both Jelloman and I agreed with the fact that only the soy milk passed our test  and there wasn’t much on the breakfast menu here that we would like to explore any further.

Food Rating: 3.2/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: G/F, 121 Binhe Road South, Xiasha Village Huahao Garden, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区滨河路南121号下沙村花好园裙楼C栋首层

Closest Metro Station: Xiasha (下沙)

Tel: +86 (755) 8254-5109

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 11:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/39/SEb

Patisserie Mellowdays 沐曦 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

A number of French patisseries have tackled the idea of incorporating elements of Chinese desserts into French pastries over the years but very few (if any) were able to make it fully work. Patisserie Mellowdays (沐曦) was the latest to experiment what they called "Chinese x French Fusion Pastry (中法融合甜品)" and while they are doing a pop-up at the basement of Hysan Place, I decided to come over for a look.

They had some really interesting pastries out there on display including their double-boiled coconut egg white mousse cake (椰皇燉蛋白慕斯蛋糕) and Ginger milk pudding / curd mousse cake (薑汁撞奶慕斯蛋糕).

All of these were beautifully decorated creating a visual presentation that was out right eye- catching.

I ended up getting a couple of these home for little nugget's mid-night munchies.

Ginger milk pudding / curd mousse cake (薑汁撞奶慕斯蛋糕) – The cloud-shaped desserts came with a combination of a base of pâte sablée and ladyfinger sponge and a centre of ginger crémeux and vanilla mousse, finished off with a crispy white chocolate crust.

This really tasted like having double skin milk (雙皮奶) with some serious heat of ginger. 

Lychee Oolong tea mousse cake (荔枝烏龍慕斯蛋糕) – Underneath the red-colored crust made with white chocolate, there were confit lychee and Oolong tea mousse with a bit of Oolong tea dacquoise and strawberry chocolate crisps providing some extra crunch. 

This wasn't bad but I like the ginger milk pudding one a little more.

Little nugget and I both love the fusion dessert concept but like everything else in life, there's room for improvement.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop B117B, B1F Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 6760-0257

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

Seventh Son Restaurant 家全七福酒家 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

V and I have been trying to organize a lunch gathering with our parents for a while and it finally came to fruition this weekend. Mom and V’s mom had just recently re-connected after a break of almost 15 years and needless to say, they’ve got a lot to talk over lunch.

For the second straight time, V is making the call for our dining venue and it’s going to be Seventh Son Restaurant (家全七福) at Wharney Hotel, a restaurant I know very little about.

Apparently, V’s family has already made most of the arrangements for food and kicking off our meal was a suckling pig with some perfectly crunchy skin. I couldn’t think of a better way to start off the meal!

Turns out the meat was served separately from the skin. This was very very tasty and even without any hoisin sauce, it was already full of flavors.

After the suckling pig and a parade of dim sum, we fast forward to our desserts and it’s always my favorite part of the meal.

First, we have some deep-fried dumplings with red bean paste (豆沙角). This was very delicate and the texture very much reminded me of the crispy dumplings (角仔) we had during Chinese New Year.

Another dessert that rocked was the steamed sesame seed buns (麻蓉包). I always have a thing for a piping hot steamed bun and this was just the perfect way to end the meal on a sweet note. Pillowy with fillings of sesame seeds that is sweet but not too sweet (not like lotus seed paste).

It was great to finally meet V’s parents after almost two decades. We used to see each every weekend when I was a kid and they were such a huge part of my childhood. I couldn’t imagine what my life (and my family’s) would be if we didn’t cross paths with them. 

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 3/F, Wharney Hotel, 57-73 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2892-2888

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