Hong Kong: What to save your calories on



Okay finally decided to stop being a sloth and update abt my HK trip!

 

So I visited HK in early June with Ronald. We flew in frm Bangkok and I had high expectations for the food since everyone always says that the food in HK is to die for. BUT sad to say, the food in HK SUXXX. And shopping sucks too, everything is so expensive esp since I came straight frm Bangkok (lol land of cheap shopping) The people in HK are so unbelievably rude??? It's not just one or two who are like that, but most of the shop owners aren't friendly or helpful in general. And worst thing is that, Ronald and I can't speak Cantonese so there was this language barrier frm the start. FYI, Chinese and Cantonese are damn different and I really cannot understand Cantonese at all (I'm Hakka btw) I got scolded almost everyday becos of my inability to comprehend Cantonese. So lame. And even though I'm pretty good in Chinese, I honestly didn't expect all the menu to be in Chinese lol fml. I had to read the whole menu out to Ronald each time we visited a restaurant.

 

I really regretted visiting HK becos it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be! I shld have visited Seoul or Taiwan instead. And we spent 5 full days in HK which was honestly TOO LONG. If you wanna visit HK (lol just don't, go to Bangkok or Seoul instead haha), you shld go for 3-4 days. There really isn't much to do in HK unless you're thinking of sight-seeing in Lantau Island or visiting Ocean Park etc. For this trip, we spent most of our time eating and shopping (but then again, there's nothing much to shop for since everything's so pricey!!!!)

 

Before this trip, my last visit to HK was at least 10 yrs ago. So I really googled loads of stuff prior to my visit, including where to go for good food etc. I did so much research and I had high expectations for all the restaurants BUT sadly, I wasn't impressed with any of them. So cui, I'd rather spend the money and eat like a king in Spore....

 

But anyway here's the list of places I visited! I read so many reviews online regarding these restaurants but really, sometimes I wonder if bloggers are paid to write untrue stuff cos really, the food at some places are like wtf. I'm okay with wasting money or time trying out stuff but one thing I cannot tolerate is wasting my precious calories intake on lousy food!!!!!!!! Not gonna develop a belly cos of a disgusting piece of siew mai or horrible har gow!!!! Zzz~*~*~

 

Tim Ho Wan
添好運

4 outlets including:

Shop G72A & B, Ground floor

Olympian City 2

18 Hoi Ting Road, Mongkok

Nearest MTR: Olympic

 

Of cos a trip to HK wouldn't be complete without a visit to Tim Ho Wan. Well, it was my first time trying the dim sum in Tim Ho Wan, I haven't tried the one in Spore yet but everyone's been raving abt their baked bun with BBQ pork. If you didn't knw, Tim Ho Wan is the world's cheapest one Michelin star restaurant.

 

Ronald decided to visit the outlet at Olympian City becos he said it's the least crowded branch and nicest (or sth along those lines haha I can't rmb) We arrived at arnd 12pm and it wasn't that crowded! We didn't even have to wait to get a seat!!!

 





 

 

Baked bun with BBQ pork

Glutinous rice

 

Their other outlets

We ordered quite a bit of food and we didn't manage to finish everything. Haha I think Ronald wanted to kill me cos I ate very little during our time in HK. But the food wasn't great and I really didn't wanna waste calories on mediocre food!!!!

So what's good in Tim Ho Wan? In my honest opinion, ONLY the baked bun with BBQ pork is worth ordering. The harsh truth. I'm not even a fan of char siew baos, but I guess the baked bun with BBQ pork was quite nice. I wouldn't cry or die over it but I didn't mind it. It's sth unique since most dim sum places only offer steamed char siew baos.

Their har gow was average, not fantastic, I've tasted better ones in Spore, haha so ironic since HK is supposed to be the land of dim sums! Their chee cheong fun was okay, I was kinda full by then so I didn't really eat that much. But really the BEST chee cheong fun I've ever had would be the one frm Old Airport Road hawker centre, the lady makes it on the spot and it is so smooth, it actually melts in your mouth (NOT exaggerating!!!!!)
The glutinous rice wasn't remarkable either, I don't think we finished it all. It's huge btw, do not attempt to finish one by yourself. I think we ordered century egg porridge also but I can't rmb much abt it aka must have been average since it didn't leave a lasting impression. And moving on to their siew mai... Tim Ho Wan has successfully produced the worst tasting siew mai I've ever eaten in my entire life? I'm not even lying. There were CHUNKS of meat within the siew mai and it was gross. Even the coffee shop across the Indian temple in Potong Pasir (near my JC) sold better siew mai than Tim Ho Wan, fo shizzle.

Overall, I was VERY disappointed with the food in Tim Ho Wan. I mean let's face it, it's a one Michelin star restaurant, but so what??? It didn't taste like the best dim sum I've ever had in my life. And throughout the entire lunch, I kept telling Ronald that I can get better dim sum in Spore. I really think that Peach Garden or Fortunate Restaurant or even Swee Choon in Spore can serve better dim sum. Only plus point was that the food was really cheap! We spent below SGD$15 per person for our dim sum lunch.

 

One Dim Sum
一點心

Shop 1 & 2, Kenwood Mansion

15 Playing Field Rd, Prince Edward

Nearest MTR: Prince Edward

 

Directions from Prince Edward MTR:

Exit A, turn right, walk down Playing Field Rd

On the right hand side is Mongkok police station

Take your 2nd left into Tung Choi St

 

So One Dim Sum is another Michelin star restaurant. Ronald and I visited this place at arnd 12pm too and there wasn't a queue when we arrived.

 

 

Ma lie gao and har gow in the back ground

 

I liked the dim sum here better than Tim Ho Wan's but Ronald thinks otherwise. The har gow wasn't that fantastic either. The skin was slightly on the thick side. I don't knw why these places can't make the perfect har gow -- thin skin dumplings with juicy big shrimps.

Read online that the ma lie gao was a must try. So I ordered it and in all honesty, it was nice and fluffy BUT wtf I can buy sth similar frm the hawker centres in Spore??? It was my first time trying ma lie gao but I really wasn't expecting sth like a fluffy sponge cake!!! We ordered some other dim sums which I can't quite rmb but they were just average too. I'm really starting to lose faith in the Michelin star dim sum places.......

 

Honolulu Café
檀島咖啡餅店

176-178 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai

Nearest MTR: Wan Chai

OR

33 Stanley St, Central

Nearest MTR: Central

 

 

This was the first restaurant we visited when we landed in HK. Honolulu Café is a popular cha chaan teng in HK. Basically cha chaan teng means tea restaurant, and you can find most HK dishes and HK-style Western dishes here at an affordable price.

 

Becos Honolulu Café was the first place we visited, we were shocked to find that the menu was all in Chinese. We didn't have time to read through the entire menu so we just ordered whatever that caught our attention. Read online that this place is famous for their bo luo buns and egg tarts. I was nvr a fan of egg tarts until I tried the legendary Portuguese egg tarts in Belem, Lisbon (omg so freaking good) I shld have known that Portuguese egg tarts aren't the same as Chinese egg tarts. Their egg tarts may be really fantastic but I'm just not a Chinese egg tarts kinda person...

On the other hand, their bo luo buns are super yummy! Ronald has nvr tried bo luo buns before and it was his first time trying them and he really liked it!

 

As for our mains, I ordered beef brisket noodles soup and Ronald had diced beef with crispy noodles (I've no idea???) My dish was okay, kinda oily though and I didn't finish it. I don't think Ronald liked his dish alot either. But I think it's cos we ordered the "wrong thing" since most of the people there were eating Jap curry (lol like omg who would have guessed that Jap curry is THE thing to eat in a HK Chinese café???) or chicken chop with Maggie noodles.

 

Tsui Wah Restaurant

翠華餐廳

Many outlets all over HK including:

2 Carnarvon Road

Tsim Sha Tsui

Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui, Exit D2

 

Champagne milk tea

Crispy bun served with sweet condensed milk

Tsui Wah is another popular cha chaan teng joint you can find all over HK. Read online that this place is famous for their crispy bun with sweet condensed milk so I ordered that to try. And once again, I was left disappointed. Sure, it was nice but it wasn't fantastic. I mean HAVE YOU TRIED THE KAYA BUTTER TOAST IN SINGAPORE??? That's like 1000 times more orgasmic than this!!! (Sorry but in all honesty, Spore food >>>>> HK food)

The champagne milk tea was kinda wtf. My friend recommended the drink to me and I said I HAVE TO try it when I visit HK. But it tasted like normal milk tea to me? Don't bother wasting your money on this, really. I didn't order anything else frm this place cos I was pretty stuffed alr but frm what I read online, this place is also famous for their Hainanese chicken rice and fish balls and sliced fish cakes with rice noodles in fish soup.

Australian Dairy Company
澳洲牛奶公司
47 Parkes St, Jordan
Nearest MTR: Jordan
(Closed on Thurs)

 

If you ever visit HK, you MUST TRY this place. I actually really like the food here!!!!! Heard so much abt their legendary scrambled eggs and I must say, for once, all the food bloggers are being honest.

Ronald and I went down at abt 10am and the queue was pretty long alr! But thankfully, the queue moved pretty fast and we got a table within 30 min! Of cos, we ordered their breakfast set which included their legendary scrambled eggs with toast, macaroni soup and a drink. I LOVE their macaroni!!!! It's somewhat salty but super tasty! Their scrambled eggs were nicely done too but the macaroni stole my heart first.

Australian Dairy Company is also famous for its steamed egg white pudding with milk but we didn't order it when we were there cos I don't quite like that dessert.

Sham Tseng Chan Kee Roasted Goose
深井陳記燒鵝茶餐廳
427-427A Reclamation Street, Mongkok
Nearest MTR: Mongkok

 

 

I think this must be my first time in a long while having goose meat. I couldn't even rmb how goose meat taste like before this meal. So basically in my opinion, goose tastes just like duck except the goose meat is slightly more tender and 100 times more oily. In fact, it was so oily, I had so much difficulties eating it! I can't say that I love goose meat and I enjoyed my meal here becos honestly, I didn't. It was too oily for my liking! I'd rather have duck anyday! But Ronald enjoyed his meal alot and he wanted to strangle me when he saw how I ate (I'd take like one bite and conclude that it's too oily and just discard that piece of meat lol) But well, if you've nvr tried goose meat before, you shld definitely try it at least once!

 

Chee Kee

池記

84 Percival St, Causeway Bay

Nearest MTR: Causeway Bay, Exit A

 

 

 

 

 

Chee Kee is famous for their wonton noodles. Ronald and I visited Chee Kee at abt 12pm and it wasn't crowded then. Ordered a wonton mee noodles set which came with a side dish. I had fried wonton and Ronald chose vegs. The noodles were crunchy and I must say they were pretty legit. The soup was tasty and different frm what you'd usually get in Spore. The wontons were much better than the ones I've tried in Spore. They had 1.5 prawns in each of them and were pretty crunchy too! I'd recommend this place to wonton mee lovers.

 

Star Café
星座冰室

Shop 36, Basement

16 Kimberly Road

Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui

 

To get there:

 Enter Champagne Court B at 16 Kimberly Road.

Walk to the end and go down the stairs.

 

 

This café is in a hidden location. I only found out abt this café while googling abt places I must visit when in HK. It's located in the basement of a rather dodgy looking building. So glad that we managed to locate this place after searching for it for abt 10 mins. Ronald and I went to Kimberly St instead of Kimberly Rd and we couldn't find the restaurant lol.

 

This café looks like a typical old school kinda coffee shop. The waitresses and waiters were really friendly and helpful! I ordered their famous tomato soup with sliced beef and egg noodles and Ronald had their tomato soup with fried egg noodles. I knw frm the pics, my bowl of noodles looks like puke but I can assure you that this bowl is the best thing I had during my 5 days stay in HK (apart frm the wonderful macaroni at Australian Dairy Company) It's so damn yummy!!!!

 

Also, we ordered hot cola with lemon to try. I really wanted to try this drink and even though I read online that you can find this in any cha chaan teng etc but I swear I couldn't find a place which serves it. So glad that Star Café offers this drink!!! I was expecting it to be sth different but it just tastes like hot cola -___-

 

Plz do try to visit this place if you go to HK and try their tomato soup noodles!!!

 

Yuk Yip Dessert
玉葉甜品

2 Elgin St

Soho, Central

Nearest MTR: Central

 

 

 

This old school dessert stall serves limited desserts. I was craving for tang yuan (rice dumpling) but they didn't have it. So Ronald and I ordered their coconut sago. I'm not a fan of coconut as mentioned previously in my Bangkok post, but this bowl of dessert wasn't too bad! Ronald loves coconuts and he enjoyed this bowl of coconut sago alot.

Apart frm coconut sago, I think they serve green bean and red bean soup too. I can't rmb what else there were on the menu.

 

Tai Cheong Bakery
泰昌餅家

35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
Nearest MTR: Central
 

 

This is the famous egg tarts shop in HK. I bought an egg tart to try and sad to say, I still prefer Portuguese egg tarts. Chinese egg tarts just aren't my thing. And really, once you've tried the Portuguese egg tarts frm Belem, all other egg tarts just pale in comparison. Ronald really liked their egg tarts though!

 

Besides egg tarts, they also sell other pastries. I bought a box of packaged dragon beard candy to bring back to Spore and it's the worst dragon beard candy I've ever tried. I shld knw that nothing beats freshly handmade dragon beard candy.

 

Agnès b. Café LPG

Many outlets including:

Shop 2402K, Second floor

Gateway Arcade, Harbour City

17 Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui

Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui

 

 

 

A wide variety of cakes to choose frm. Each cake costs approximately SGD$5-7 and they're pretty yummy. Nice place to chill and enjoy a cup of latte after a long day of shopping. Plus points cos they offer free wifi to their patrons! Woohoo!!!

 

So that's all the food places I visited during my 5 days in HK! Hopefully I gave an accurate view of what to expect and how I really felt abt my trip! Would love to write abt places to shop in HK even though there aren't many places (lol the sad truth!!!) but I'm so lazy!!! Really wanna share abt this secret gem I found though but I guess that would have to wait!

 

In the meantime, look forward to my nxt entry on my birthday celebration in Dublin and the restaurants I visited and my review on them! I can't wait to share abt my awesome 22nd birthday! X

 

Singapore: High Tea at Brasserie Les Saveurs

Hi guys, my summer holidays are over and I'm back in Dublin now! Was looking through some of the photos I took over summer and decided to write an entry abt my high tea session at Brasserie Les Saveurs in St Regis Hotel!

 

Brasserie Les Saveurs

29 Tanglin Road
St Regis Singapore
Nearest MRT: Orchard

So I visited Brasserie Les Saveurs with my girlfriends during the National Day holiday.

 

 

Scones heaven: Truffle scones, Cranberry pistachio scones, Smoked duck scones etc.

 

 

My plate from round 1.



Our tier which includes mushroom soup, chicken pie, quiche and some sandwiches.

Crepe!!!

 

 

Me, Qixuan, Sammy and Xuanz!

I really like the ambience at Brasserie Les Saveurs. It's like the perfect place for an afternoon tea! Food wise, hmmm in my opinion I thought it was okay only? At approx SGD$54 per person, you get a tier and you can help yourself to the spread on the buffet table which includes a wide selection of scones, cakes, nyonya kuehs, fondue, crepes, ice cream, bread and butter pudding, apple crumble and sushi (Hopefully I didn't miss anything out!)

The food was nice but it wasn't like WOW FANTASTIC BABY. The scones weren't that good, it was quite dry and crumbly. The cakes were okay, I didn't try all of them but none stood out for me. I didn't even touch any of the sandwiches frm the tier becos I was too full and honestly, they didn't look very appetizing to me. BUT I did enjoy the crepe alot! You get to pick what you want to put in your crepe, and I went for blueberry and strawberry! It was soooo yummy!!!! The chocolate bread and butter pudding and apple crumble were pretty yummy too!

As for the drinks, you can pick between coffee or tea. But if you select coffee, you can't get it topped up. As for the tea, you get to pick from a selection of TWG tea and they can add water to your tea pot but you cannot change your tea. Was pretty annoyed by this cos I've been to a few high tea places and most places would allow you to change your tea at any point. Cannot believe that we can't do that in Brasserie Les Saveurs.

Overall, the high tea wasn't too bad. I enjoyed the company and the service was good. But given the option, I'd rather spend my SGD$54 elsewhere.

I WILL write abt Hong Kong soon!!!!! I am too lazy to get down to it sigh~ Okay bye!!! X

Singapore: High Tea at Woobar



Apologies for being so inactive on my site! I knw I'm supposed to be writing abt trip to Hong Kong but I'm just so lazy! Promise to get that done soon! But for now, I'd like to share my high tea experience at Woobar with everyone!

 

Woobar

21 Ocean Way, Sentosa Cove

W Hotel Singapore

Nearest MRT: Harbourfront

 

My girlfriends and I really like having high tea tgt and today, we decided to visit Woobar at W Hotel! Located in Sentosa Cove, W Hotel isn't the most convenient place to visit in Singapore. To get there, we met up at Harbourfront station and took a cab down and it costs us abt SGD$8.40. It was my first time to Sentosa Cove and I must say that it's a really nice place albeit slightly inaccessible via public transport (But then again, all the rich people live there, so I guess transport wouldn't be an issue for them)

 

Woobar is kinda like a lounge area with sofa seats and low coffee tables, and it gives off a super chill/ laid-back vibe. At SGD$58 for 2 pax, I must say that the tea set is really affordable! My friends and I got 2 tea sets and it was only SGD$34 per person after GST and service charge!

 

The food was served in a silver bird cage and the whole set up looked so pretty! In addition to that, we had a platter of savory bites!

 

From L-R: Some cheese tart topped with tomatoes, Shrimp burger, Chocolate foie gras ganache tart with port wine jelly, Smoked salmon puff (Sorry I can't rmb the exact names!!!)



 

Raspberry and chocolate macarons!

Cranberry scones and chocolate chip scones with passionfruit jam and clotted cream.

Clockwise: Rice krispies, Lamington cake, Custard tart, Meringue topped with mango, Mille-feuille.

Complimentary chilled drip tea -- Not quite sure what this drink is except that it contains elderflower???

Me, Qixuan, Sam and Weixuan!

 

 

 

Overall, I'd say that high tea at Woobar isn't too bad! Service was excellent, apart frm the fact that the waiter thought that Sam and Weixuan were twins cos he said that they look alike??? ARE YOU SERIOUS........ But no, the servers were very helpful and attentive to our needs!

 

There is free flow of Fine Dilmah tea and you can change the drinks whenever you want! Pity becos there wasn't a wide selection and I prefer tea frm TWG! If I didn't rmb wrongly, there were 9 types for you to choose frm ranging frm black tea to oolong tea.

 

The savory bites weren't too bad! I really liked the smoked salmon puff thingy! The shrimp burger was okay, a little dry. And the cheese tart tasted like quiche. The worst of the lot had to be the chocolate foie gras ganache tart! When the waitress was introducing the items, she kept stressing that the chocolate foie gras ganache tart was her favourite and that it's simply delicious! But all of us thought otherwise. Qixuan couldn't even swallow it! It just tasted super weird, like it was kinda salty? Sorry, not my kinda thing~

 

All of us really liked the macarons! But their scones were a little too dry. The lamington cake wasn't too bad, it was fluffy and nice but I was too full then and didn't manage to finish it! The rest of the sweets weren't really impressive. The meringue and mille-feuille were just too sweet for my liking!

 

But I guess for only SGD$34 per person, it's really value for money and affordable! And there's an additional 15% discount if you're a SPG member!

 

All in all, definitely a lovely afternoon spent with my favourite girls!



Outfit theme for the day was peplum!

Okay promise to update abt my Hong Kong trip soon haha bye! X

Bangkok: Shopping Paradise

Been too lazy to continue writing abt my Bangkok trip! Oops...

Well since I've been to Bangkok so many times, during the last visit, I didn't do any touristy things at all but only focused on shopping and eating (I'm a typical Singaporean!) Bangkok is indeed a shopping heaven. Things there are so ridiculously cheap!! I went crazy shopping in Korea last yr, thinking clothes there were really cheap but omg Bangkok is really the ultimate.

Platinum Mall
Nearest BTS: Ratchatewi
Opening hours: 9am- 8pm
(But I think most shops close at 7.30pm)

If you're a Singaporean, this place probably needs no introduction. It's somewhat like a wholesale shopping mall. Buy 2 pieces or more from the same shop and you'll get a discounted price. Most clothings are priced between 200-300 baht (SGD$8-12) So cheap, I wanna buy the whole shopping mall lol. I'm really bad at bargaining but I think bargaining is allowed in here (Ronald managed to convince the shop owner to give him a discount for his graphic t-shirts!)
There's also Platinum mall 2, which isn't as big as Platinum mall 1. Both malls are situated side by side.

To get there, simply take the BTS to Ratchatewi (Exit towards Pratunam) and you can either get a cab or walk for abt 10-15min. Ronald and I chose to walk and it really isn't that far!

Siam Paragon/ Siam Centre
Nearest BTS: Siam

Siam Paragon would probably be the most popular shopping centre in Bangkok. You can find most international and luxury brands there.
Siam Centre is right beside Siam Paragon and it has many designer boutiques worth visiting.

Siam Square
Nearest BTS: Siam

Located just opposite Siam Centre, this place resembles Bugis Village in Singapore. Things are cheap and you can bargain.

Asiatique

Nearest BTS: Saphan Taksin (Exit 2)
Opening hours: 5pm- 11pm

 

Crazy queue for the shuttle ferry to Asiatique!

  

It's not that convenient to get to this place but nonetheless, it is worth the visit. You can take the BTS to Saphan Taksin station and take the free shuttle ferry to Asiatique. Plz note that the queue for the ferry can be pretty long in the evening, so be prepared!

 

There are many small shops at Asiatique, selling a variety of things ranging from fairy lights to clothes and local snacks. I wouldn't say that the things there are very cheap/ worth buying but it's worth checking this place out if you haven't been there before.

Terminal 21

Nearest BTS: Asok
Opening hours: 10am- 10pm

 

A pretty new shopping mall with an interesting concept! Each floor is designed to look like a different country! Plus points that this shopping mall offers free wifi when you present your passport or ID at the information counter!
Terminal 21 has many small shops but things aren't as cheap as Platinum mall. Still worth the visit though!

 

Level 1: Tokyo!

 

 

Even their toilet is decorated to fit the theme!

UK!

 

  

USA!

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Nearest BTS: Mo Chit OR
Nearest MRT: Chatuchak Park
Opening hours: Sat and Sun, 10am- 8pm

Definitely a must go when you're in Bangkok for the weekend! It's my second time to Chatuchak Market! I went there once when I was younger and all I rmb was that after 10mins, I was soaked in sweat. I'd say go prepared, wear sleeveless tops and shorts and expect to leave the place sweaty and sticky!

There's loads of shops in Chatuchak, selling various stuffs ranging from clothes to pets. For clothes, visit Section 5 and 6. Things are cheap and you can bargain! And plz try the coconut ice cream at Chatuchak while you're there (OMG BEST THING ON EARTH!!!)

Union Mall
Nearest MRT: Phahon Yothin

Situated near Chatuchak weekend market, this air conditioned shopping mall is the place to go when you're all sticky and tired frm shopping at Chatuchak! There are cheap clothes here and you can find some nice stuffs! Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area!

There's so many shopping centres in Bangkok but these are the few I'd visit if I'm only there for a short holiday!

Tip: Things in Bangkok are so cheap, hence when in doubt, JUST BUY. I really regretted not buying some stuffs! And always trust your own taste -- Ronald refused to let me buy a top I had my eyes on and now I can't stop thinking abt that top! And I can't even find a similar piece in Hong Kong/ Singapore. Sobz.

Okay promise to update abt my visit to Hong Kong nxt!!!