Tao Heung 稻香

We are not getting any hotel breakfast package and decided to walk out to somewhere nearby (about 5 minutes)  to fix our stomach. It was actually recommended by one of the colleagues that had been there a number of times.

Tao Heung 

Interior was similar to any other chinese restaurant filled with round tables and chairs in a carpeted dining area. Being in Hong Kong, having Dim Sum for meal is quite common and a kind of must have. Comparing to Singapore, their Dim Sum place are always packed of elderly folks in the morning even though its on weekdays.

Tao Heung Interior

Menu of Dim Sum at finger tips! We just order the mainstream kind of Dim Sum Items and soon, trays by trays were being dished out.

Dim Sum in Trays

If you ask me, I still prefer the kind of Liu Sa Bao with bursting fillings once bitten on. The fillings did not much amaze me as I felt that there was not enough lava to go with the bun. Nevertheless, the salted egg grainy texture did complement the smooth fluffy bun very well.

Liu Sa Bao

Flaky crust at the exterior with a fluffy bites. Fragrant and tasted not too bad.

Polo Buns

Simply love the Cantonese style of Congee, smooth and stomach warming. Lean meat came in shredded form mixed with Century egg.

Century Egg & Lean Meat Congee

Thin rice roll was flexible and smooth drenched with light soy sauce adding some taste to its plainness. Although it was thin, the fillings inside were well cradled. By having a cut on it, fillings were still in tact and not falling off easily.

Chee Cheong Fun

Siew Mai was awesome! Springy prawns topped with some fish roes and refreshing bite without being too greasy.

Siew Mai

It was a good recommendation and I wasn't disappointed at all. With so many outlets around, I guess it will be easy as a returning customer in Hong Kong.

Tao Heung 稻香
Location:  Restaurant 3, Podium Level 1, Coastal Skyline, 12 Tung Chung Waterfront Road, Tung Chung, Lantau Island.  東涌東涌海濱路12號藍天海岸平台1樓3號

Novotel Citygate

Novotel Citygate is the only Airport Hotel that brings a New Hong Kong Experience. Strategically located with only 5 minutes away from Hong Kong International Airport with their shuttle bus service.

The Hotel is link to Citygate Outlets shopping Mall with more than 80 units of merchandise running on year round discount. On top of that with direct access to the Mass Transit Railway ( MTR ) it is only 2 stops away to Hong Kong Disney Land and approximately 28 minutes to Hong Kong City Centre. Not only that, with a 5 minutes walk away you wcan get to Ngong Ping cable Car and enjoy your journey across the greeneries to Big Buddha and Wisdom Path which is also close to Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo, Tai O Fishing Village and Discovery Bay.

 

The Standard room is about 28sqm which I felt is already very spacious, modernly equipped with Wireless Connection and LCD Flat Screen.

Interior

Interior design was compact yet catering all the needs with half open concept kind of washroom with Mirror and washing basin on the outside. I love the cozy environment in the room and Internet Stability services (at least my video calls won't disconnect intermittently as compared to other hotels I had stayed over the past few days).

Toiletries

Washing Area

Queen Size bed is clean and comfortable.

Queen Size Bed

And out of my Window views, I get to see Aeroplanes flying and landing down at intervals without having much noise pollution as the windows were well insulated.

Overall, it was an enjoyable stay with convenience, I won't hesitate to recommend such a comfortable environment to anyone who will be in Hong Kong.

Looking out of my window

Novotel Citygate

Location: Citygate, 51 Man Tung Rd, Tung Chung, Hong Kong
Website

Pezzi Bistro 柏斯意大利餐廳

Was a little bit surprise that my colleagues had brought me here for the first meal of the week. I thought we will be having some main street Cha Chang Ting Hong Kong Lunch but guess what. They brought us to some nearby bistro in Fanling. To be honest, for so many trips that I have been to Hong Kong, I have never known of such place. Perhaps I would say, when you work overseas, you get to explore places from a different angle than being a tourist.

Facade of Pezzi Bistro

What? Italian Cuisine in Hong Kong? That made me kind of excited!

Pezzi Bistro

Promotion

Interior was chic settings laid with vintage style furniture and brick walls. I have never been to any Italian eateries in Hong Kong and this was an eye opener to me. It looked as though during the night the entire place will be turned into a pub upon seeing the number of hard liquor and wines on the shelving.

Interior

Set meals come with soup of the day as well as beverage that can be served together with the food or at the last course. Soup of the day of cream of brocolli and was well executed with a dash of olive oil and some garnishing. It was tasty and not too creamy for a start. For Italian Cuisine, there was also a plate of bread and olive oil for dipping while waiting for our meals.

Soup of the day - Cream of Broccoli

Handcrafted Pizza was thin crust topped with cheese, tomatoes, anchovy and arugula (rocket). Those who enjoy pizza but not wanting to full the stomach full of carbohydrates will definitely enjoy this 8 slices of thin crusted pizza.

Handcrafted Pizza with Anchovy & Arugula - $138 HKD

Fettucine was prepared to Al Dente perfection together with Marsala Wine Braised  AUS Beef Cheek with some pieces of cheese. By the look at it, my tummy already groaning. Yum Yum!

Marsala Wine Braised AUS Beef Cheek Fettucine - 128

I was looking for a light meal and decided on a piece of Halibut Fillet. The dish caught me off guard with a thin crispy layer of its skin letting off a slight crunch with the ever soft tender fresh fish meat. Halibut fillet was complimented by a bed of vegetables with tomatoes and potatoes.

Pan Seared Grassland Halibut Fillet - $148 HKD

Another noteworthy item on the lunch menu will be this 80g of US Black Angus Rib Eye that was well prepared to customer's preference of doneness for beef. Meat was tendered and delivered as per request for criss cross lines from the charcoal grilled.

Charcoal Grilled US Black Angus Rib Eye (80g) - $158 HKD

Ending our meal with Tea or Coffee. I had chosen lemon tea and it was a tepot of Lipton Yellow Label tea with 2 slices of fresh lemon in my cup.

Lemon Tea

Staff were forthcoming and attentive. It makes such a good environment to dine in on top of their more than decent quality food served. I don't mind coming back given the chance. 

Pezzi Bistro 柏斯意大利餐廳
Location: Fu Kwai Building, G/F, 1 , Luen Wo Rd, Luen Wo Hui, Fanling, Hong Kong

Shatin Chicken Congee 沙田強記雞粥

Upon hearing my colleagues taking us for porridge, I was elated as most of the time in Hong Kong, we wont get to eat porridge besides those orders from a Dim Sum Breakfast, what's more its a local recommendation and this won't go any wrong.

沙田強記雞粥

Through my colleagues, this is the famous Chicken Congee place in Shatin. As usual, out of curiosity, I walked down the street and was surprised by the number of shop units Shatin Chicken Congee has occupied. I took a look into their open kitchen, and came to realized such scene on street is quite common and unlike Singapore, most of us won't get to see this nowadays.

Preparation of porridge in the Kitchen

Congee was served in a big pot to share among 4 of us. The type of serving in stainless steel pot with a familar design ladle brings memory back of home cook food at home. Not only that, it packed full of homely aroma as the entire pot was placed in front of my eyes.

Congee

Cantonese is known for their watery type of porridge which we call it congee. The rice is being boiled and simmered under the heat for long hours thus the texture of the porridge.

Congee with Meat

With the nature sweet taste of the chicken, the congee just taste better than plain.

Chicken

Lala was tasty and cooked among ginger, fried garlic in reducing of the seafood stench. Broth was sweet with nature taste from the Lala and light. It makes it simple to just drink the broth.

清酒煮

I'm not too much of pigeon fan as they have a distinct gamey taste that somehow is much stronger than the roast duck. Though skin is pretty crispy and best part it was not too oily. For those who enjoy roasted pigeon, this should be something that suits you.

Roasted Pigeon

The comfort food from the greens. It was kind of milky in taste and totally different from what I had eaten all along. The bite was crunchy like Gang Kong but the way it was prepared was good I thought.

Vegetables

Wonderful and fresh preparation of the prawns. These prawns were steamed on a bed of vermicelli topped with alot of garlic, spring onions and celery.
 

Steamed Garlic Prawns

Entire experience was quite pleasant. No doubt that we are in Hong Kong, the kind of service here was totally different from what I had experienced in my previous trips as an identity of tourist. At least over here, service crews were not arrogant and chase us off after dinner to clear the seats. They gave us all the time to chit chat and clear the empty dishes politely. I won't mind being back here if there is a chance.

Shatin Chicken Congee 沙田強記雞粥

Location: 大圍積存街12號地下

                 G/F, 6-12 Chik Chuen Street, Tai Wai, Hong Kong

Butao King

A night without the local colleagues had let us here... just a few minutes walk away from our Hotel in Shatin. By words of mouth and the look of its crowd into the restaurant, the choice of our dinner looked quite promising enough although it maybe just some boring Japanese Ramen for some.

Butao King aims to bring out the most authentic Japanese Ramen to Hong Kong ramen lovers and have a few outlets in Hong Kong. Their Signature bowl is Tonkotsu ramen and to maintain the quality and services like what Japan does, they have invited Japanese consultants to mange it.

Butao King

There was a queue but we were quite lucky to be seated in quickly however, like any Hong Kong eateries, we were used to their table sharing culture. They do have Ramen Bar counters for you to sit at and you can enjoy the busy movements of their chef through the open concept kitchen.

Open Concept Kitchen

I thought of seeing some extensive menu but do not expect much from here as food items in there were pretty limited as they are very specialized in making their ramen.

Menu

Ordering process in its simplicity with a slip that you can circle your choice of
(1) Flavour of Noodles from Original, Black, Red and Green

And best of all, every items in the bowl can be tailored to the amount that you want.

• Soy Sauce Ranging from Less to More
• Fragrant Oil
• Garlic
• Char Siew Meat ( Lean or fatty Meat)
• Vegetables type
• Spicy Level
• Thickness of Noodle
• Hardness of Noodle

Order Chit

I'm feeling abit of adventurous and tried out their Green King. Fancied about this fusion in its basic signature creamy pork soup stock, infused with olive oil and fresh basil leaves. The Parmesan cheese powder that topped the ramen gave a good punch and brings out the flavour of the Green King! Its kind of Italian Inspired like having your pasta in Pesto sauce.

Green King - HKD $96

Fairly consistent texture from the Ramen and we were quite please to be serve rather quickly despite of the uncomfortable and cramped surroundings. You can see the strands of Ramen coated with the fat-slicked broth, glistering and says "come eat me".

Type of Noodle - Thin

Thinly sliced and tucked by the side of the bowl, these pieces of Char Siew gave the melt-in-the-mouth bite. It was tender and easily tears and fell into the soup. I bet that you will savour every bite of it!

Lean Meat

There are choices for add on like seaweed, black fungus, add soup and we had added one Onsen Egg each.

Add on - Onsen Eggs

Lovely Onsen egg that looked so runny and yummy. At the look of it, I could not wait to have a good bite on it. It's undeniably awesome to have an Add On like this!

Yummy and Happy Tummy

You may want to skip the crowd by going before peak hours. Too bad Butao King isn't available in Singapore but if I have the chance to be back in Hong Kong, I will like to try out their other types of Ramen Flavours.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Butao King
Location:  沙田新城市廣場第一期L1,167號舖
                  Shop 167, New Town Plaza, Shatin
Website

Sham Tseng Chan Kee Roasted Goose Garden Restaurant

Thanks to the colleague who brought us here for Hong Kong Famous Goose. Apparently after so many trips to Hong Kong, I have never visited such place and I guess without having a local to drive and introduce you around, its hard to even come to such a wonderful place. By words of the local, Chan Kee is arguably the most famous few restaurants in Sham Tseng and ah ha! that's why we were there!

Sham Tseng Chan Kee Roasted Goose Garden Restaurant

Being featured in one of the local programs in Singapore, Sham Tseng is actually an area in Hong Kong famous for its goose and along the streets, you can see a number of goose shops around. Business is rather competitive there I would say. Valet Parking is provided too.

Facade

The place is very traditional Hong Kong Chinese restaurant with rowdy environment, bustling with families and groups of people gathering over the table for dinner.

Winter melon soup was pretty cut in shape with jaws around its cirumference, topped with some seafood like prawns and crabsticks.

Winter Melon Soup

Being in the North Side for Hong Kong almost a week, I felt that the general behavior of restaurant staff was different from the central. However, I was wrong when I saw their culture surfacing in this restaurant. Servers tend to be frustrated and impatient but not to the extend of chasing us off after a meal.

Assistant

Portioning out the soup into bowls with similar and equal amount of ingredients, there is no doubt to say Cantonese are good in cooking soup. It was nutritiously good and refreshing to kick start a good dinner.

Bowl of Yummy Soup

This should be the best roast goose that we ever had in the week. It had a great flavour, crispy in skin and fatty parts were chewy. Best part that there was not any gamey flavour. Really to die for!

驰名烧鹅皇 （半只）

I dont really like prawns but this is exceptional. These prawns were plump and freshly steamed.

白海生虾

The only dish with more vegetables like broccoli and tasty shrooms. It was quite a simple dish without too much gravy.

北菇鲍螺扣掌翼

A Chinese meal will not be completed without rice or noodles and here's their Signature fried rice. Fragrant and each mouthful contained generous amount of ingredients, making it irresistible even with other dishes.

招牌炒饭

Loving this freshly steamed Hong Kong Style Grouper topped with scallion and coriander. Meat was soft and tender, soaked in soy sauce.

清蒸海石斑

Guess what is this? Some of us will be looking for this usually after a meal. I took this because it was so cute with Nissin instant noodle packaging on the tooth pick container.

Looking for Toothpick?

It was a gastronomic experience having tried the Goose at this popular area and I was rather thankful to be there. I dont mind to be back at the same place for such wonderful spread of food again.

Sham Tseng Chan Kee Roasted Goose Garden Restaurant

Location: 新界深井青山公路道48号陈记商业中心地下A铺（惠康楼下）