Cookies Quartet 曲奇4重奏

Firstly, I think this Mandarin name is awesome. Cookies somehow sound a little like 曲奇 (to me) and the cookies here are special so 奇 is quite appropriate. If you are hungry/cheap skate, this place would be heaven to you because you can stuff your face with free samples.

I have tried their Cinnamon Twists, Palmier, Macadamia, Butter Stick, Five Grain and Almond Butter. All are generally nice, though of course, some are nicer than others. I particularly like the cinnamon twists, almond butter and butter stick more.

Yay or Nay? Yay.

But? The expiration date is really short. Mine was only 2 weeks. This could be a good thing though because it means they don't use much preservative.

To try? Up to you. Try as many as you want at the store first! Prices are here.

Address? Shop 1B Central Mansion, 8-14 Cannon Street, CWB (2 more branches available)

Nearest MTR? CWB Exist D4. It intersects with Jaffee Road so it's hard to miss the street. BUT it's easy to miss the shop because the shopfront is so non-descript.

Lin Heung Tea House 蓮香樓

Apparently Anthony Bourdain recommended this place so it is pretty packed. Locals (usually middle aged to elderly) go there for their usual cup of tea (refilled numerous times), 1 or 2 dishes of dim sum, armed with their daily newspaper and park themselves there for hours. Tourists just flock there because it's highly recommended. I recommend it too, only because there's so much hype about the place. The interior is so authentically Hong Kong and the old people who sit there alone or in pairs, literally just sit there and read. Sharing tables is a norm, as per all HK eating places. But here, they tend to cram pple together and a table can be shared by 3 or more groups. 


The place is bustling with life, with grumpy old ladies pushing the dim sum carts around. Most are unfriendly and unhelpful, especially if you cannot speak Cantonese. Some make good recommendations and try to help. Be prepared to deal with those who grumble when you open every single cover to look and decide not to choose any from their carts. Be prepared, also, to deal with patrons who accost the carts once they are pushed out from the kitchen because by the time the old ladies make their way to your side of the restaurant, most favourite dishes would be gone. Just be smart, quick and nice.


If you noticed, I've mentioned "old ladies" repeatedly as the cart-pushers. Well, gender segregation is very obvious here. The old men show you the way to your seat, write the slip with the number of people, refill tea and clear dishes. Basically, anything that requires more strength (they refill your tea with a huge kettle and their aiming is not bad) is the men's job. To each according to his/her abilities.


Another thing that I found interesting about this place is, conversations like this will take place:
Old lady approaching with her cart: XXX, YYY, ZZZ (whatever dishes she has on her cart)
Me (not understanding their heavily accented Cantonese): Do you have AAA?
Old lady: XXX, YYY, ZZZ.


Basically, they don't reply your questions and repeat XXX, YYY, ZZZ like a broken record player. Customer service is actually quite rare in HK.


 Okay, done with my very lengthy introduction. I did say it's an interesting place.

Yay or Nay? Yay. 

But? I think the standard of the dim sum is so-so only.

To try? Chicken glutinous rice. The 糯米雞 never goes wrong in HK. 

Address? G/F, 160-164 Wellington Street, Central

Nearest MTR? Sheung Wan Exit E2. Cross Wing Lok Street and walk through some kinda piazza looking thing. Walk towards the right until you see a Fitness First. Cross the road somewhere in front to a little concrete islet in the middle of the road. You should be at the intersection of many, many roads. Cross the road on your left to get to the correct side and you should be at the start of Wellington Street. Do not end up on the wrong side! Just keep walking down Wellington Street until you see the green 蓮香 signboard hanging overhead on the right. Yes, it's not that straightforward to find this place. 


Think this is my wordiest entry to date.

五代同糖 (Dessert Stall)

I love the play on the word 糖/堂. If you don't understand then, too bad. Anyway, this dessert stall doesn't seem to have an English name. I have tried a few items but the vanilla custard pudding is to die for! You can get them in a set of 6 eggs (seriously, they are contained in egg shells) or one bigger transparent plastic egg shell. They use vanilla pods and it's so smooth and creamy. Everybody should just try it, heh.

Yay or Nay? Yay!

But? I heard it's just the vanilla custard egg that's really good. I don't remember much about the other items which means they are not very outstanding or I was just too obsessed over the vanilla custard pudding.

To try? Vanilla custard pudding, of course! 

Address? Shop 2, G/F, 38 Plaza, 38 Shan Tung Street, Mong Kok (other branches available)

Nearest MTR? Mongkok Exit E1

Chee Kee 池記

A chain store selling noodle dishes. I have been here 3 times because it's a presentable place to bring people to try not-bad wantan noodles. On my first visit, I remember the soup to taste really good. But somehow, after being spoilt by Mak Mun Kee, it kinda lost its appeal to me. Nonetheless, it's competitively priced (I mean, you gotta pay a premium for good cutlery right?) with good ambience and above-average food. 

Yay or Nay? Yay if you are picky about presentation and all that jazz.

But? Don't let presentation blind you from other better options out there.

To Try? Wantan noodles

Address? 37 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui or Shop 10, Level 4, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, amongst many other branches

Nearest MTR? TST Exit A1 or Mongkok Exit C3 (it links directly to Langham Place/Langham Place Hotel.

Macau Restaurant 澳门茶餐厅

This place is frequented by locals and tourists alike. It was recommended to me by 2 locals on separate occasion but honestly, it's just slightly above average. They sell Portuguese eggtarts so if you don't have time to hope over to Macau or don't quite fancy the Tai Cheong version, this should suffice. I have not tried it myself. Another much raved about item is their pork chop bun. Seriously, I don't quite see the big deal. I have tried many pork chop buns in HK and Macau but they are just, normal tasting. Nothing spectacular, y'know what I mean? I think a McPork is slightly more flavourful actually. I quite like their tomato-based macaroni though. I'm partial towards tomato-anything, I should add. The combination of sweetness and sourness whets the appetite!

Yay or Nay? Yay. 

But? It's like a Tsui Wah, with some Macau dishes thrown in.

To try? Anything that catches your fancy since they sell almost everything. Cold honey lemon drink (冻檸蜜).

Address? 25-27 Lock Street, Tsim Tsa Tsui

Nearest MTR? TST Exit A1.

Tai Cheong Bakery 泰昌餅家

Nobody comes to HK without a visit to Tai Cheong. Their egg tarts are FAMOUS. Something related to the 1997 handover. Some British bigshot paid this place a visit and it has since shot to fame and rightly deserved so, I should add! I've tried their wives biscuit and eggrolls as well. Both lose to Hang Heung IMO. Tai Cheong should remain synonymous with egg tarts and that's about it.

Yay or Nay? Yay.

But? Some people prefer the Portuguese kind.

To try? Egg tarts. That's all.

Address? 35 Lyndhurst Terrace (They have other branches)

Nearest MTR? Central either D2 and walk a long way or B and take the mid levels escalator

Lan Fong Yuen 蘭芳園

Fancy seeing the "2 stools at the shopfront that have been there since 1952"? Well, another touristy place, another disappointment. This cha caan teng is so... blah. Going for historical reasons is so not a good reason.

Yay or Nay? Nay

But? Go if you are keen to see the legendary 2 stools.

To Try? I didn't have anything good there worth recommending.

Address? G/F, 2 Gage Street, Central, Hong Kong

Nearest MTR? Central Exit B and take the midlevels escalator.

Yee Shun Milk Company 義順牛奶公司

I read about this place while researching for my Macau trip. Turns out, I didn't manage to try it at Macau and instead, tried the Mongkok one. I thought I wouldn't like it because somehow, milk puddings remind me of babies and the smell of burped up milk doesn't really appeal to me. Plus I assumed they all serve with ginger which I'm not crazy about. Boy was I wrong! The cold double skin boiled milk pudding was smooth and yummy! The milk taste/smell was not overpowering at all. Apparently they rear their own cows or something so quality control of their milk supplies are ensured.

Yay or Nay? Yay.

But? My friend told me it's smoother in Macau.

To try? Steamed milk in two films - 馳名雙皮燉奶 (this is the official name) $22 for either hot or chilled.

Address? 513 Nathan Road (They have other branches)

Nearest MTR? Yau Ma Tei Exit D but cross to the other side of Nathan Road after getting out. 

Yung Kee Restaurant 镛记酒家

People rave about this restaurant. I've been there twice and it's always packed. But seriously, I'm not too crazy about this place. The goose is supposed to be great but it's too tough for me. It's over-rated and I cannot understand why it is so crowded and popular.

Yay or Nay? Nay

But? People still flock there.

To try? Roast goose, I guess.

Address? 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Nearest MTR? Central D2 Exit

The brevity of this post shows how unenthused I am about this place. Totally underwhelmed. 

Felix

Felix is in The Peninsula. It oozes classiness and charm. I didn't have the time and money to drink at this place back in 2007 but I have finally been there recently. One word? Underwhelmed. The place is tiny. The view is not too bad (I've found a place with better drinks and better view) but there aren't many proper seats by the window. In the end, we sat on the inside, behind the bar. I guess you can only choose view or seats, eh? The washroom, on the other hand, is a totally different story. The sink is uber cool. The toilet is classier than the bar, me thinks. It is, no doubt, designed by some famed architect.

Yay or Nay? Yay if you have the time and money.

But? Limited drinks selection.

To try? Heineken Ito has the coolest aluminum beer bottle.

Address? The Peninsula, Salisbury Road

Nearest MTR? Tsim Sha Tsui Exit E or East Tsim Sha Tsui Exit L3

Hang Heung 恆香老餅家

Wife Biscuits, egg rolls, pumpkin seed cookies are some of the really nice things this little shop sells. Well, I say "little" because I've only been to the branch in Mongkok and it is little. This is the go-to place for lopor peng. The filling is refreshing and not too sweet. It is light in texture so you won't feel sick eating all the sweet stuff.

Yay or Nay? Yay!

But? I've only tried the mini wife biscuits so I cannot say for the normal sized wife biscuits.

To try? You have to! Buy home as souvenirs maybe. The 老婆饼 can last 1 week.

Address? 579 Nathan Road, near Dundas Road/Nathan Road intersection, opposite a Chow Tai Fook branch (yes, there are many, many Chow Tai Fooks but this is quite big). There is a wrong address floating online. It is not at 605A Nathan Road. Somebody actually asked me (near unit 605) where it was when I was seen carrying Hang Heung's big, red plastic bag so I presume they got the wrong address. There are other branches around (the original is at Yuen Long) but I have never been there.

Nearest MTR? Mongkok E1 Exit or Yau Ma Tei A1 Exit

Mak Mun Kee Noodle House 麥文記麵家

This is the best wanton noodles I have tasted. Seriously. The noodles may seem a little hard at first but let it soak for a while and let the soup cool a little (unless you wanna scald your own tongue) and it will be just nice. The wantons are flavourful and the shrimps are fresh. However, I'm slightly allergic to shrimps so I kinda OD-ed on shrimps after ordering wanton soup (sans noodles) once. The clear soup broth has no ghee taste which is a major winning point for me. Their beef brisket noodles are fantastic as well. The vegetables (kailan or choi sum) are fresh and crunchy and it's a rare dose of fibre in protein/carbs rich HK. The oyster sauce is supposed to be something to shout about and it's charged separately.

Yay or Nay? Yay, for sure!

But? The servings are pretty small so it's not really value for money.

To Try? Wanton noodles, kailan, beef brisket

Address? 51 Parkes Street. Remember it's Mak Mun Kee (not the neighbouring Mak's Noodles which I think is not as good)

Nearest MTR? Jordan Exit C2