Ser Wong Fun

Have you visited the longest stretch of escalators in Hong Kong? If you have not, dont worry, you are not alone as I have been to Hong Kong more than 5 times but never know they have the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system that is over 800 meters long and rising 135 meters through the streets of a steep hillside linking the districts.

In any case if you feel hungry after walking down the slopes, do check out for Ser Wong Fun as they were strongly advocated not only for their Snake delicacies but as well as roasted delights.

Ser Wong Fun

Interior was decent, well kept with semi modern Chinese style furnishing. As it was still early for dinner hours, we were the first group in the restaurant and we observed the quiet timing at the hour. It wasn't bad either as we could still observe staff gathered around a table enjoying their in-house cooked meals. Menu is printed in Chinese and

It's not yet dinner hours thus the empty seating

It's time to "eat snake", not literally but physically. :)  In traditional Chinese medicine, they believe that eating snake soup aids in warming / heating up the body, chasing away the wind and dampness in the body. And in this cooling weather right in Hong Kong, if you are feeling a little "weak" or cold, trying this thick and generous serving of snake meat topped with fried wanton skins is an absolute good choice!

Though snake meat taste like chicken, many do still have the thought on mind that they do have a snake taste. Fret not, this portion had been well taken care with shredded Kaffir lime leaves added.

Snake Soup - 95 HKD

For those who felt squeamish about eating snakes, do not worry about that as they do serve other Chinese cooked dishes and Hong Kong Style Roasted Delights!

As a Singaporean in Hong Kong, having roasted goose is a luxury and I just could skip myself with one on the plate. We could not agree more on the crispy roasted skin of the goose and soon our plates were polished clean.

Char Siew & Roasted Goose Rice - 130 HKD

Amount of gravy was given sparingly which was not really my style as I'm one who likes gravy covering my whole plate. However, on they other hand this gave a perfect hit on the immaculate fragrant white rice, thus it did not deter me from liking them.

Another View of my dinner

Just take a closer look at the delicious slice of Char Siew. The perfect ratio of meat to fat is something we won't feel sinful after eating slices of them!

Tasty Slice of Char Siew

Also known for their typical Cantonese Style Sausages here, this is something that you may not want to miss out. We bought 2 types to share among us and texture were great with excellent flavours.

Chinese Sausage - 20 HKD

The pork liver sausage was perfectly infused with rose wine. It was of a darker color and texture was more pate than the original sausage.

Chinese Sausage - Pork Liver - 20 HKD

Overall, it was a good bet that we actually went into the right shop base on writings on the internet. Food was better than expectation and I won't mind a return trip for other food!

Ser Wong Fun
Location: G/F, 30 Cochrane Street, Central, Hong Kong 中環閣麟街30號地舖

Monochrome Fusion Bistro

Making this Valentine's day special, we had our lunch over in Monochrome Fusion Bistro which is quaintly nestled among the row of shop houses at the Chinatown district, directly opposite the Buddha Relic Temple. As photography hobbyists ourselves, the word Monochrome speaks close to our heart and somehow we found ourselves closely related in there.

Store front

Interior is modernly design to taste, with colors making up of black and white which is in line with their Monochrome theme. The dining area is a long walkway from the entrance and all the way to their cashier counter.

Interior

In fact it is divided to two section, the one nearer to the entrance has dining on bar counters too. However, the temperature is much more cooler if you were to have the inner seating.

Seating near the entrance

As we were ahead of our reservation timing, there were Keeping our order to a convenient way, we took up the Valentine's time day set at $68 ++ for 2 pax. The package comes with a choice of salad and soup of the day with 2 main courses (mains or pasta) and a dessert for 2.

Menu

With Mushroom Soup as their soup of the day to start our Valentine's Day Meal. Soup was not too thick and was quite hearty with mushrooms bits. Looks like it had short of some toast to go along.

Soup of the day

Perhaps one would say "Ah, not just another Caesar Salad again!". Indeed it is but a modified version with warm slices of healthy sliced chicken breasts apart from the usual ingredients like fresh greens, roasted olive, hard boiled egg, croutons and bacon bits.

Mr. Cardini's Salad - $11

Starting our main course with this truffle infused Squid Ink Risotto and this was absolute stomach grabbing. The pan-seared scallops were nothing out of ordinary and was rather tasteless, not even giving a sweet bite. However the winning focus all went to the crunchy quinoa, parmesan cheese, edamame beans and alfalfa sprouts that had accompanied by every grain of creamy black ink coated risotto. Yums!

Squid Ink Risotto - $24

As they were dishing out the order, I thought they were serving some spaghetti with fried chicken stips from far and was kind of interested. Who knows, they actually walked up to our table and placed the order in front of us, thus we realised it was the chilli Crab Linguini we had ordered.

Chilli Crab Linguini - $22

Spicy not? Well, i was quite adaptive to the level of spice and I would rate a level of 1 out of 3. Linguini had perfect texture and coated with Singapore's favourite - Chilli Crab Sauce with hints of stir-fried crab meat. Just alone with the pasta is good enough as a recommendation even without the deep fried soft shell crab that looked like fried chicken to me initially.

Recommended!

Ending the 3 course meal with sweet note by this in house dessert created solely just for Valentine's Day. The platter is make up of a fruit cake and 2 scoops of ice cream.

Desserts

The fruit cake was decorated in according to the color theme of the bistro, black and white and was lovely done in heart shape showered with raisins, almonds and cashew nuts. Cake was quite dry and collapse into even smaller portions easily when we cut into bite size.

Fruit Cake

Not sure if the ice cream suppose to come in the shape of roses. Chocolate ice creamed is showered with romantic heart shapes of icing and oreo crumbs were added to enhance the chocolate flavors.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Zig Zag patterns using chocolate syrup had also elevated the presentation of desserts.

Vanilla Ice Cream

What I like about monochrome is the way that food was prepared even in a festive day. Instead of serving and cook in by mass order to save the amount of time used, they chose to served their customers base dish by dish ensuring that the standard of food maintains without compromising any factor. Unlike my past experiences during Valentine's day, waiting time was long with food came in a rush and dining period was limited. Monochrome was well organised with prompt service from servers and situation was more in control. The overall experience was great and left a good impression in me. A return visit is definite.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Monochrome Fusion Bistro
Location: 291 South Bridge Road Singapore 058836

Lady M

Lady M has been on my mind for a while and I had never got the chance to taste their crepe cakes when they were in Marina Square. Luckily, they came closer to the West and there is no reason skipping the cafe now.

Lady M

Cafe is conveniently located in Westgate at the same level of Jurong East MRT station control exit. Interior of Lady M give a comfortable feeling to diners with its white theme color and spacious environment.

Lady M Interior

Menu

Menu

Dusted with the earthy green fine matcha powder on each and every layer of the paper thin crepe with the natural bitter aftertaste. I'm pretty impress by the thin crepe layers spread with Japanese style pastry cream on every layers and was so grateful that the texture was so good that it literally melts in my mouth.

Green Tea Mille Crepes - $9

The boutique exclusive, only available in West Gate! The twenty thin layers of handmade crepes and refreshingly light chestnut-kissed pastry cream sandwiched in between the layers with . Topped with powdered sugar and with good notes of roasted chestnuts, this is indeed a rare find!

Marron Mille Crepes - $9

Skipping the cold beverages, I opted for Chamomile Dream in a pot at $5.50. It was indeed good drink for me to keep my stomach warm as I was having stomach upset. Tea is plain and Sweetness can be adjusted with the sugar cubes given.

Chamomile Dream - $5.50

My friend order the caffe latte to pair along with the crepes. To be frank, with just crepes and drinks, we were really done for the night, skipping the dinner.

Caffe Latte

Mille Crepe cakes are my favorite and with the choices of flavour chosen, I would say the sweetness was at right amount. I dont mind visiting again for other flavours of cakes or even their pastries.

Our "Meal"

Rating: 3 / 5

Lady M
Location: Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive #02-25/26 Singapore 608532

Restaurante Tai Lei Loi Kei

After hearing the media raving about the authentic Pork Chop Burger in Macau and having visited Macau a few times, I am quite determined to have them in my stomach and I promise myself that I won't leave Macau without having them.

Tai Lei Lok Lei is located in Taipa and even though we have maps on our hand, we could not recognize the shop despite walking up and down in the location, perhaps the facade was misleading as it was quiet and looked more like a shop to us than an eatery.

Facade

Though the streets were a little quiet outside, we were surprised to see the Restaurant pack full of people. Servers were quick to welcome us as we stepped in looking blankly at the menu that was plastered on the door, just right in front of the entrance.

Inside the Restaurant

We took a "take away" as we are running short of time detouring the route from our group of friends. Service was quick and shortly we packed 2 delicious Pork Chop Buns and hurried back to the meeting point. Converting the rate into SGD, it was not cheap at all but for the sake of experiencing it and after missing it all these while, I would say it worth the money and time spend finding Tai Lei Loi Kei!

In a paper bag

Finally, I'm holding on to the Macanese pork chop buns that we were all looking for! The meat was indeed unique in its taste as compared to the usual ones we had. Meat was charred on the edges and deep fried. These pork chop was remarkably good with its special marinate and was sandwiched between the bun. Consume it while its moist and juicy. Spot on!

Macanese Pork Chop Bun - 35 HKD

澳門大利來記豬扒包 Tai Lei Loi Kei
Location: 新馬路大三巴街鳳凰大廈1樓23號舖

Gim Tim

Gim Tim is a reputable name and has always been flocked by families who want to enjoy a decent and authentic cuisine in the heartland of Ang Mo Kio. Opening its door since 1975 and serving quality food to her customer, Gim Tim has been seen popular with many. Gim Tim is located in rather humble air-conditioned restaurant below the HDB Blocks, for those who is not very familar with Ang Mo Kio area, the landmark to spot may be the Market & Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. Growing from this into establishing a group of resaturants with 3 outlets serving finest Hokkien, Sze Chuan and Cantonese cuisine.

Gim Tim

Cooridoors

Wet Tissue

For weekends, its hardly that you will get a table without a reservation as it is usually fully booked with tables of happy family. Fortunately, we walked in early and got ourselves a table and was served by friendly staff. One good point to note was that you can see that Gim Tim employs senior citizens around as servers I felt very comfortable with.

Gim Tim

I must say that I was not very hungry but I had an impressive start with their deeply fried golden brown Xia Zao (Prawn Dumplings). Dipping into its sweet and savoury sauce was truly heavenly. The taste of it was indescribable and definitely unique on its own. I haven't tasted such different Xia Zao anywhere else!

Deep Fried Xia Zao - $12 / $18 / $24

Vegetables were not stated on their menu somehow and we had ordered the stirred fried Kai Lan with garlic. Nothing extra special about the dish, its quite standard.

Kai Lan with Garlic - $10

Replacing the bowls of rice, we had the fried traditional tapioca roll. If you enjoy the Hakka Abacus Beads / Seeds, I bet you would pretty much enjoy this dish! Ingredients were almost or identical to the Hakka dish with dried shrimp, spring onions, bean sprouts and tapioca. The catch in the dish is none other than the thin and springy slices of Tapioca Roll complemented by the sweet tasty sauce as well as the fragrant of fried dried shrimp. Yummy!

Fried Traditional Tapioca Roll - $12 / $18

The true blue classic Hokkien dish that I'm waiting for! Since everywhere is emphasizing on healthier food, I guess this is why Kong Bah has become lean nowadays! Slices of "Bui Bui" (Fatty translated from dialect) meat has gone lean!You can still see the distinctive layers on each and every piece of the Kong Bah though it was deeply coated in its toothsome braised sauce. Sandwich this good stuff in the fluffy smooth pau with a portion of lettuce and enjoy the absolute juicy-ness that comes to your mind as you sink your teeth into the meat! It was ever-so-satisfying!

Steamed Preserved Meat Served with Bao (Kong Bah Bao) - $12 / $18 / $24

Kong Bah

Here comes the Teochew's Favourite, Or Nee aka Yam Paste! Marvelous, suiting the taste buds! With mashed Taro mixed with Gingko nuts and corn kernels, its naturally sweet with minimal use of sugar and coconut milk. I thought it was good as they had given good consideration to older folks who enjoy the desserts!

Sweetened Taro Paste with Gingko Nut (Or Nee) - $4 / $15 / $30

Taro

Nothing fanciful spotted from the Mango Puree with Pamelo, perhaps the way they served in a cup got our eyes wider? It was something running of the mill and not much comments about it.

Mango Puree with Pamelo & Ice Cream - $4 / $15 / $30

Gim Tim, I have always wanted to visit them many years back after hearing pleasant things about them via words of mouth and I was very pleased to visit them!  The spirit of their stuff and atmosphere of dining is something I'm looking forward to and you can see happy faces enjoying meals with their families of generations. It's a good place for family gathering and also if you enjoy such cuisine.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Gim Tim
Location: Blk 157 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #01-546 Singapore 560157

Asam Laksa

Asam Laksa has taken its spot over the Western Stall in West Coast Square. It was kind of mix feelings as on one hand I was sad to hear that there are only 1 option left for western food but on the other hand I was quite happy to see this unique stall out there.

Asam Laksa

Asam Laksa is a chain stalls with staff in uniform. Hygiene is well taken care of over here with friendly servers wearing hair net.

Asam Laksa - $3.50

Noodles were thick and springy, soaking up the delicious gravy and made the bowl of Asam Laksa so appetizing. Ingredients like pineapple and large chunks of fish were given in the serving. Apparently, there is only 1 standard size served at $3.50.

Closer Shot

Serving was small and it will be better if it was served in bigger size at the same cost.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Asam Laksa
Location: Blk 726 Clementi West Street 2 #01-138 Singapore 120726

Mak's Noodle 麥奀雲吞麵世家

While flipping through the newspaper in Hong Kong, we spotted an article recommending the top 10 Wanton Noodles in Hong Kong and different branches of Mak's Noodle had secured a few rankings in the list. Even knowing that back in Singapore we have Mak's Noodle in a few shopping malls, we still decided to go ahead for our dinner / supper after our trip from Macau (Apprently, there was not much eateries opening at the hour).

Mak's Noodle

Our stomachs were all shouting for food as we still did not have our dinner yet. While waiting, we had some soy milk to keep our stomach warm and fill. Soy milk was fresh and level of sweetness is moderate.

Fresh Soy Milk - 10 HKD

We all know that the palm size bowl portion is the signature's of Mak's Noodle and no complains about it, not even the masculine who tends to eat more. Perhaps they know that this is Hong Kong and finding of supper / food around our accommodation is definitely not an issue to them.

Wanton Noodle in Soup - 38 HKD

Standards of their noodle was pretty well maintain, springy and fine with tasty soup and spring onions as garnishing just like what we had in Singapore. Wanton was plump and generously filled with prawns. Though dish is straight forward with just noodles and dumplings, I would say that they were doing well enough to maintain its reputation and even in overseas. Price on the other hand is more of less similar to what we had in singapore.

Close up

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Mak's Noodle
Location: 19 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui  尖沙咀樂道十九號