The Qiantang Tidal 錢塘潮 COCO Park (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Before this trip to Futian, I have heard through the grapevines that 星河 COCO Park boasts a total of over 100 restaurants in the premise. I didn't count myself but I thought I saw about half of that amount here this afternoon. Jelloman was counting on the fact we would find a Chiu Chow restaurant for lunch as there were at least a few of them out here. However, as we all know, even the most perfect plan doesn't always pan out. So, I was tasked with finding an alternative, in a spacious shopping mall that I've never been before. That sounds like a plan to me.

I managed to find The Qiantang Tidal (錢塘潮) on the top level of the shopping complex. It was an upscale Shanghainese restaurant with a really dark interior.

I'd imagine it's impossible to read in such dark surroundings but no problem for this little kid right there.

Glutinous rice lotus root (西湖藕韵) – The first starter for us was a cold dish of lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice and finished off with a sweet and tangy sauce made with osmanthus (桂花). I like the crunchiness of the lotus root but thought it was a tad too sweet for a starter to kick off the meal (dessert okay).

Vegetarian goose (靈隱素齋鵝) – The crispy bean curd skins were pretty nice, working well with the strips of carrots in the middle.

Ham duck soup with dried bamboo shoot (火腿筍干老鴨湯) – This was really rich in flavor and I like the dried bamboo shoot that was both crunchy and chewy at the same time. Even after three bowls of this, I was still thinking about getting my fourth.

Crispy chicken with black truffle (黑松露脆皮雞) – A little small in size, almost like a spring chicken but everyone was happy about the fact that it's already deboned. Little nugget was so happy with the crispy skins and for his old man, the flesh was the star thanks to its nice, tender texture.

Steamed meat balls (黑金獅子頭) – I was the one in favor of ordering this because of its unusual color of black.

I was under the impression that its black color came from squid ink but the flavors certainly didn't suggest that was the case. 

Fried shrimps with tea (龍井蝦仁) – Pretty decent but I thought it arrived a little late when everybody was ready to throw in the white towel already.

Colorful glutinous rice with nuts (堅果多彩糯米飯) – I thought this was a dessert but our server reminded us that it was just another main dish like fried rice. I love the mild sweetness in this one and the fact that each layer got its own distinctive flavor (and texture when it comes to the base of purple rice).

Fried rice with beef (和牛炒飯) – This came really really late and I already threw in my towel. Did enjoy a small bowl of it just for the heck of it and thought it was a tad too salty for my liking.

There were some pretty nicely decorated dishes served up here this afternoon. The duck soup and glutinous rice tower were the clear winners here, while other dishes like the black lion's head also warranted an encore if we ever come back for another meal. The total damage, you ask? Well, it worked out to be around 125RMB per head. The price line was fair for a typical meal in Hong Kong for six but it certainly doesn't match what people have been saying about Shenzhen's dining scene. Perhaps, we've been looking at the wrong places. Should've gone to the street vendors instead.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ¥¥¥¥

Address: Level 4, COCO Park, 268 Fuhua Road 3, Futian, Shenzhen, China

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 (755) 8359-2526

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/57/lMXJ

BAMU Boulangerie Macau 八目烘焙 COCO Park (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We were aiming to hit a home run with a last-minute trip to Shanghai over the long weekend but the tickets from our mileage claim didn't provide very good value (due to poor departure and return time). At the end, we decided to back pedal a bit and switch to Plan B – a day trip to Shenzhen, or more especially Futian (福田).  

It's been a long time since we last visited Futian and news had it that it has become one of the most modernized cities in Mainland China just behind Beijing and Shanghai. And now with the rapid train, it's going to be a whole new experience not only for us but our folks and little nugget alike. 

 

We didn't want to venture too far away from the rapid train station in central Futian so we were happy to make 福田星河 COCO Park our first and perhaps only destination of this trip.

Interestingly, the first shop we stopped by at COCO Park was BAMU Boulangerie Macau (八目烘焙咖啡), a bakery and coffee shop originated from Macau. It was on my radar screen for our last Macau trip but due to the tight schedule, we were unable to squeeze it in. This time around, I was all too happy to scratch this itch.

The bakery shop was advertised as a French boulangerie with signature items including croissants (in different flavors), danish pastries and financiers. 

For a bakery shop from Macau, of course they won't miss their pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tarts for the world.

Jelloman had her sight set on these croissants with truffle/mushroom or cheese/ham.

Pastel de nata (焦糖酥皮蛋撻) (¥12) – The egg custard was fine but I expected the crust to be a lot more flaky and buttery.

Croissant with truffle and mushrooms (黑松露蘑菇可頌) (¥20) – To the contrary, the croissant was way too flaky according to Jelloman, and the thick slab of truffle cream was a little over the top.

Pecan cream cinnamon roll (碧根果奶油肉桂卷) (¥20) – Mom loves pecans so this was a no-brainer for her. Thought the roasted pecans provided some nice, crunchy texture to the cinnamon roll.

Everybody was thrilled to get this first official meal out of the way quickly. Okay, it's not really a meal but more like a snack; nevertheless it was a solid experience and we were all feeling good about the bright start to our first journey to Shenzhen together.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Level L1S, Shop 106-107, COCO Park, 268 Fuhua Road 3, Futian, Shenzhen, China

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/02/ADMJ

Lady M IFC (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

It's been a while since I last found something I like from Lady M Hong Kong's newest creations. A couple of weeks ago, I read about their recent launch of a new Pistachio Mille Crêpes cake and decided to jump all over it this afternoon.



Pistachio Mille Crêpes – I'm an absolute freak when it comes to the love for pistachio or anything with pistachio in it. 

 

Judging from its light green color, I knew this would come with rich, deep flavors from the pistachio and I was right.

The fragrant pistachio cream was matched perfectly with the layers of delicate homemade crepes, and finished off nicely with a sprinkle of crunchy crushed pistachio crumbs on top. A very nice addition to the Mille Crêpes family.

As much as I love this Mille Crêpes flavor, I have to admit that it wasn't enough to beat my all-time favorites including the Earl Grey, rose and marron. Well, fourth overall wasn't bad. 

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 2096A, 2/F, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2865-1099
Website: www.ladymhk.com
Opening Hours: 10:00am - 9:00pm (Mon - Sat), 10:00am - 8:00pm (Sun)