Life with Finite Cup Kau U Fong 人生有限杯串燒店 九如坊店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Little nugget finally finished his rehearsal in Sheung Wan so we decided to wander around PMQ before heading over to Kau U Fong (九如坊) for dinner. Our dinner venue was Life with Finite Cup (人生有限杯串燒店), a laid-back Japanese skewer joint that’s been quietly expanding on both sides of the harbour.

This isn't your typical yakitori place. Life with Finite Cup takes a modern, almost playful approach to Japanese skewers — not to mention an unbelievable pricing model, with some items starting at just $10 (minimum orders apply, of course). No surprise that by 6:30pm, the place was already buzzing. Thankfully, I had the foresight to call in a last-minute reservation the night before.

Mashed potato salad with onsen egg (流心蛋薯仔沙律) – I had high hopes for this one. Would it be as tasty as the one from my favorite Kushikatsu restaurant in town, Hidden (秀殿)? Well, it landed a little flat with the necessary creamy texture.

 

Iberico pork belly (西班牙五花腩) – Not bad (especially for $10 a piece).

Ox tongue (鹽燒牛舌芯) – I’m a thick-cut ox tongue kind of guy, but this thinner version still delivered — slightly chewy, nicely seasoned and charred.

Grilled razor clams with garlic and black olive (蒜蓉欖角燒蟶子) – The razor clams were a little on the hard side and I won't mind having more diced garlic, black olive and vermicelli on top either.

Pork lychee roll (豚肉荔枝卷) – Star of the night. The charred pork wrapped around sweet lychee was a textural and flavor home run. Sublime.

Chicken wing (鹽燒雞中翼) – A close runner-up. Perfectly grilled, well-balanced seasoning, and just the right amount of crisp on the skin.

Creamy udon with mentaiko (明太子忌廉烏冬) – Something for little nugget to go with his skewers. The udon had a nice chew, but the mentaiko cream was disappointingly muted.

Shrimp toast (蝦多士) – The batter was a little thick but the shrimp mousse held its own with a nice partnership with both the batter and mayonnaise on top.

Thai-style cuttlefish tentacles (泰式墨魚鬚) – Crunchy, spicy, and surprisingly addictive. The chili-fish sauce combo was a nice touch.

Homemade pancake with ox tongue and curry sauce (咖喱牛舌手抓餅) – Now this is how ox tongue should be done — thick, juicy slices wrapped in flaky pancake with a punchy curry drizzle. Solid contender for top three.

Chicken thigh (鹽燒雞腿肉) – Pretty meaty.

That’s a lot of food for under an hour but little nugget was all smiles and honestly, so was I. Sure, a few dishes didn’t quite hit the mark but the highs kind of made up for it. Add to that a genuinely cheerful and attentive team (a rare sight in Hong Kong’s F&B scene these days), and I think we've got ourselves a spot worth visiting again in SoHo.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$

Address: Shop C, G/F, 6-10 Kau U Fong, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Tel: +852 9188-5093

Opening Hours: 6:00pm - 12:00am daily

Snack Baby Gelato & Drinks (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Little nugget’s classes have recently taken us to all sorts of unfamiliar corners around town, and today we found ourselves on the quieter, residential side of Sheung Wan for one of his rehearsals. With time to kill, we decided to wander over to SoHo — a bit of a throwback as it’s been a while since our last visit.

Just as we were approaching PMQ, we spotted a bustling little spot across the street. A quick glance revealed a crowd gathered around a gelateria, and well… who are we to resist?

The place is called Snack Baby Gelato & Drinks, a café and gelateria sharing the same roof. The menu is tight and focused, offering a small selection of sorbets and gelato, along with a few drinks. Judging by the steady stream of customers, most were clearly here for one thing: frosty indulgence.

Here's the menu......

Sichuan Chili Mango — Sorbet made with fresh mango finished off with a nice sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorn dust. I thought the natural sweetness of mango would be complemented nicely by the extra kick but the duo didn't exactly click like I first hoped.

Watermelon Summer Burst — Watermelon sorbet topped with chewy watermelon candies. You can’t go wrong with this on a muggy afternoon like this one.

Just as we were enjoying our sorbets on the seats outside, I got a ping from little nugget’s teacher saying that they had already wrapped up the rehearsal and released the kids early. Time to make a dash back to Sheung Wan and scoop up my little one.

And hey… look who’s here now. 😄

Food Rating: 5.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 93-95 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Website: http://www.snack-baby.com/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:00pm (Sun - Wed), 12:00pm - 12:00am (Thu - Sat)

Thai-ger (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It took me almost a year but I finally managed to drop by Thai-ger, the neighborhood Thai restaurant that used to be tucked away on the first floor of D2 Place Phase 1. Since their move to a street-level space last year, I’ve been looking to swing by — just never quite found the time.

With today being a public holiday, it was no surprise the place was packed. (the photo was taken when we were about to leave at 2).

Thai milk tea – I was curious how this stacked up against the nearly-perfect one at Soi.29. This turned out to be reasonably good but a little more condensed milk would likely strike a better balance. 

Green curry with pork's neck – Pork's neck was all over the menu so I figured it must be one of their signatures. They were certainly not bad. The curry itself was creamy and aromatic, though it didn’t quite hit the same depth of flavor I’ve had elsewhere.

Pad Thai – Packed with tangy flavors, savory, acidic and spicy but maybe a little too intense for my liking. I prefer my Pad Thai on the simpler side: clean, balanced, and unfussy.

This seems to be a decent option for Thai food around here but then, their food menu could use a bit more options to warrant a second visit.

Food Rating: 5.3/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop G03, G/F, D2 Place ONE, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 2702-0228

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 9:00pm (Sun - Thu), 11:30am - 11:30pm (Fri - Sat)