It is always me who have the desire to seek and try nice food, but for my parents, all they want might just be a simple yet delicious meal. Tak Cheong Noodle is one of those simple but nice little restaurant that my family and I like alot. Tin Hau actually has a lot of those restaurants, we usually dine there twice a week for quickie but nice dinners.

The fish ball here is always one of my favourite! They are very bouncy and meaty. However what is best about XX is not the fish ball, but the noodle broth itself. The milky broth was very aromatic with a strong fish taste but with no fishiness. i love it a lot. The noodles are generally average, nothing special really.

If you happened walking by Tin Hau and was thinking to have a quick meal, I would recommend XX for you. At least I am contented every time after my fish ball bowl.

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• How much did you spend?
  30
• Overall Rating
  Good

It's been a century since the tragic accident of the world's biggest and luxurious ship Titanic. The media is all about the Titanic, and so are the restaurants in Hong Kong. The Titanic menu is definitely a gimmick to attract customers, but I am interested to know what is on the Titanic Menu in 1912. So I brought my friend to Grand Central Bar and Grill tonight to degust the once luxurious menu on the Titanic.

Grand Central Bar and Grill (GC) is located on the far end of the Civic Square at the Element, I have been to the area for quite a few times and the ambiance is guaranteed nice in there.

There are two floors in the GC, where the ground floor is a bar area and the first floor is the proper dinning area. There is al fresco tables on the ground floor, but it is less preferred under HK's boiling summer, so just forget it. The furnishing was very modern with dark brown furnitures and bright lighting. There were intimates two person bar tables near the window and fancy floral sofa booths on the inside.

I was surprised there was no explicit promotions of the Titanic menu either through the table stand or the waitress. I had to ask the waitress myself to confirm if GC is really doing the Titanic Menu and requested for the menu. GC is currently serving two entrée from each of Titanic's first class and second class menu back in 1912. The highlighted courses in the picture below are the four entrée they are serving until May.

We ordered some beer, oysters and appetisers before the anticipated Titanic entrée.

Young's Double Chocolate Strout $75 (7/10)
Easy to drink UK beer with light beer taste with 5.2% alcohol content. The beer had a lovely chocolate aroma and a light chocolate taste. Love it.

Tasmanian Oysters $180/6 (6/10)
The 6 Tasmanian oysters varied a lot in sizes and fatness. They were generally small, mildy sweet and not fishy at all. They tasted nice with a bit of lemon, cocktail sauce and vinegar, but was overall average.

Crab Cake with Pineapple Salsa $138 (10/10)
GC's crab cake looked like Japanese's croquette which also had a crispy outside. Instead of a creamy filling, the crabcake had crab meats which was fresh and moist. The Pineapple Salsa was very nice which add extra flavours to the crab cake. Although it tasted different from the usual crab cakes that I have had, I like this deep fries version too.

Sautéed Calamari with Chilli Marinara Sauce (6/10)
The Marinara Sauce (Italian tomato sauce with garlic and basil) was delicious and savoury. The Calamari had absorded the essence totally and was very flavourful. The texture of the Calamari was sadly on the soft side and not chewy enough. The portion was quite small even for the two of us.

On The Titanic First Class Menu -
Fillet Mignon with Organic White Bean Mash and Sautéed Greens $298 (3/10)
I burst into laugher when I saw the cabbage layered on my friends's supposingly Titanic First Class Fillet Mignon. I am sure there could be a nicer way to present the "greens" lol. The fillet mignon was as disappointing as its look, It was well cooked in medium rare but was full of tendons which was pretty hard to chew. There wasn't much beef flavour in the mignon too. The filler mignon was real bad, the only thing I like on the dish was the white bean mash which was mushy and flavourful.

On The Titanic Second Class Menu -
Chargrilled Lamb Chop with Ratatouille and Mint Sauce $248 (3/10)
My Second Class dish was definitely presented much nicer than my friends's First Class mignon lol. The char-grilled lamp chop was placed nicely on a pool of ratatouille. I always expected ratatouille to be presented in a layered way as Julia Child did, but I have never actually seen one in restaurant myself yet. Anyhow, the ratatouille was nicely sautéed, savoury and not too soft in texture. The Lamp Chop on the other hand was quite some bad meat. It was slightly over burnt with bitter char taste and tasted bland. The texture was rather dry and there was also a lot of tendons in the meats making it hard to chew. There was no "Mint Sauce" on the plate, I had to take the lamp chop with the ratatouille sauce.

On The Chocolate Menu Ended in May -
Chocolate and Banana Toffee Tart with Chardonnay Passion Fruit Sauce $68 (10/10)
OMG, this dessert was heavenly scrumptious! Smooth fluffy whipped cream sprinkled with shaved chocolate, layered on sugary halved bananas and rich chocolate tart with a swirl of sour Chardonnay passion fruit sauce on the side, how lovely did it look! The sweetness of the chocolate tart and the sugary banana were well balanced with the lovely sourness from the passion fruit sauce. Imagine all those individual flavours lingered vividly on your palate, it was just too good! I want to give a 100 points out of 10 to honor this lovely tart.

Our Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake $75 (8/10)
The Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake was actually delicious too. The chocolate cake was moist and fluffy, the chocolate taste was not overly rich with a mild bitter taste, which balanced well with the sweet creamy vanilla ice-cream on top. However once the vanilla ice-cream was gone, I just left whatever amount of chocolate cake in the pot, it was pretty bitter to be taken by itself.

FINAL COMMENTS...
I would be pretty furious if I was the Titanic's chef a decade ago, knowing some chef in the modern days trying to replicate my menu, but making a total mess on the taste, texture and the presentation. Despite the 1912 Titanic menu, the appetisers and the desserts were actually not bad. I know I should not judge Grand Central Bar and Grill solely on the Titanic Menu, but I reckon a restaurant that screwed up the entrée could not be that nice a restaurant. I am not sure if I want to come back for dinner again since I don't think the Titanic Menu was that hard to manage, but I would definitely come back for desserts! Yummmm... Chocolate and Banana Toffee Tart!

DISHES RECOMMENDED
- Young Double Chocolate Strout
- Crab Cake with Pineapple Salsa
- Chocolate and Banana Toffee Tart with Chardonnay Passion Fruit Sauce
- Our Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake $75 (8/10)

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• How much did you spend?
  700
• Overall Rating
  OK

Nanhai No.1 is located at isquare 26/F, a prime location to overlook the magnificent view of the Victoria Harbour. Upon arriving the reception of the restaurant, I saw the receptionist wearing a stripe tee shirt. "How casual." was my immediate thought. Turns out every staff except the managers was wearing the very same stripe tee shirt to align with the cruising theme. The theme is implemented from huge dinning room decoration to small individual utensils such as chopsticks holder.

The tea was something worthwhile to mention. The tea is called Nanhai Tea, which is a house-mixed of two tea leaves. The combining taste was very refreshing and sweet in the throat.

There was also complimentary crackers on each table before meal. The crackers were very crispy and flavourful with strong shrimp taste. We would love to have another basket but there was no refill. :(

Not everything on the retro menu was interesting, so we only ordered 6 of them. They did not have the english translation, so I am just listing the ingredients here. The english names might be a bit putting off but the chinese name was poetic.

1) Chicken Shaped Liver Dim Sum (蔥油風肝酥) $20 e.a. (10/10)
Very scrumptious dim sum. The dim sum shaped like a little chicken to imply that it holds a liver in it, which is cute. The liver taste was strong, it tasted like foie gras but a bit drier. The puff was very light and thin, it was mostly filled with the liver.

2) Fried Duck Brian Cake (窩燒鴨腦餅) $30 e.a. (7/10)
Sounding disgusting, the dim sum actually tasted nice. There was no fishiness or any sort of disgusting taste or texture in it. It tasted just like minced pork cake but much saltier. i guess the saltiness was to kick the fishiness away? Interesting dim sum.

3) Shrimp with Quail Egg (彩鳳隱籠懷) $30 e.a. (9/10)
4) Pork Belly Bun with Shredded Pomelo (柚皮火腩夾) $20 e.a. (5/10)
5) Deep Fried Banana Roll with Red Bean Paste (脫衣換錦袍) $48/3pcs (8/10)
>> Can be read on www.foodcraver.hk

Crispy Rice in Lobster Soup (龍蝦湯泡貴妃飯) $168 (8/10)
The crispy rice was delivered on a separate dish, so they could make the impressive cooking scene and "wow" us lol. There were also cooked rice in the bowl but the crispy rice sure enhanced the overall texture of the bowl. The soup was delicious, it had a vivid lobster taste but the meats inside the bowl was shrimp...Who moved my lobster? lol

Nanhai Oyster Cake (南海前蠔餅) $148 (5/10)
The oyster cake had a crispy golden breading but a moist inside. The amount of oyster was generous and tasted fresh in the cake. However the cake went soggy very fast half way of the meal, the Chinese dai Pai Dong in Causeway Bay definitely did a better job than them.

FINAL COMMENTS...
It was interesting to taste traditional dim sum that cannot be found easily in Hong Kong nowadays due to popularity and a switch in taste. I love how nicely Nanhai shaped their dim sum, I bet no girls could resist the cute little birdie (while my dad once refused to try at first due to its look but love the taste after his first bite lol.) Nanhai did a great job in offering scrumptious dim sum and dishes, my family were interested in dinning here at night and we are definitely coming back again.

• How much did you spend?
  300
• Overall Rating
  Good

Disneyland is a dream world for all kids and adults. Even when it comes to food, Disney still does a spectacular job too.

Crystal lotus is a Chinese Restaurant located in Disney which serves dim sum shaped in popular Disney characters. However the popular dim sum do not offer daily, so it is better if you book them in advance.

1) Three Eyes Alien - Vegetable Pork Bun $78/3 (6/10)
The Three Eyes Alien did look very much like the one in the cartoon, it was such a pity that I had to bite half of his head off. The bun was pretty soft and moist. The filling was nice too, but the portion seemed not enough.

2) Chicken Little - Lotus Bun $68/2 (2/10)
The Chicken Little Bun was the cuttiest among the four but sadly tasted the worst too. There were only a few lotus in the bun, it's mostly bread. The bread texture was quite bad too, very rubbery and dry.

3) Duffy - Mashed Red Bean Bun $60/2 (3/10)
This looked nothing like Duffy, I think Minnie would be furious seeing this pirated duffy lol. The mashed red bean wasn't smooth enough and was rather sweet. The bread was on the hard side as well. The taste was just as disappointing as its look.

4) Piglet - Barbecue Pork Bun $78/3 (8/10)
I can not link pig to any Disney's character in mind, so the closest assumption I could make is Piglet. The pig bun actually looked very cute and i think putting barbecue pork in it was quite a smart choice. The bun was soft and moist, and the barbecue pork bites were at situable fatness. The piggy bun tasted the best out of the four creative dim sum.

5) Mickey Pancake $58/4 (10/10)
The pancake was well fried to give a crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. It was very savoury and surprisingly scrumptious! I kind of lost expectation after trying those cute buns.

6) Osmanthus Honey Fillet of Eels with Crispy bread (桂花燒鱔脆金磚) $128 (9/10)
We chose the dish because of its beautiful Chinese name, that's one thing about Chinese that I love alot. The eel fillet was tender and nicely grilled to give a char taste. It was very sweet with a strong osmanthus taste. The crispy bread at the bottom was said to be taken with the eel fillet, even it could not bring down the sweetness of the fillet, it enhanced the texture's overall complexity. The bread was only slightly crispy but more on the chewy side, like gelatinous chewy. We generally liked it a lot.

7) The Swan Taro $48/4 (6/10)
We ordered this as we thought the appearance would be special and it was! The body was deep fried to give a crispy and fluffy breading. However there wasn't much taro paste in the dim sum, so it could only delivery a mild taste overall.

8) Shrimp Dumplings with Bamboo Shoots $58/4 (7/10)
The shrimp dumpling had a thin wrapping and tasted very fresh with the bamboo shoots! It was nice but not really special.

9) Pan-fried Minced Pork Bun (10/10)
The pan-fried minced pork bun was the best dish for the afternoon. It was extremely hot when delivered and had a strong sesame aroma. The filling was filled with LOADS of broth which was crazily hot but extremely delicious! You have to taste it to know how great it is!

10) Seafood Ricecake $98 (9/10)
The Seafood Stir-fry Ricecake was a very flavourable dish. There were plenty of scallop, shrimp and calamary in it. I particularly love the bean sprouts which absorbed the essence of the seasoning. The Ricecake itself tasted smooth and savoury too!

11) Double boiled Whole Chinese Pear Topped with Aged Mandatin Peel $48 (6/10)
The plating was once again very pretty, I liked how they de-seeded the pear for us. The broth had a strong aged mandarin peel taste which I liked but it was too sweet even without adding any additional honey into it. The pear was boiled til very soft and tasted light and great on the palate.

TO CONCLUDE...
I found the cute dim sum aren't that tasty at all, but the other normal dishes were scrumptious! If you are coming here for the first time or if you are bringing some kids with you, I would highly recommend you to get those cute dim sum, as it will sure bring lots of happiness on the table. If you are coming for a casual dinning, skip the cute dim sum and straight to their delicious dishes! Crystal Lotus is definitely worth trying!

DISHES RECOMMENDED:
- Barbecue Pork Bun
- Mickey Pancake
- Osmanthus Honey Fillet of Eels with Crispy bread
- Pan-fried Minced Pork Bun
- Double boiled Whole Chinese Pear Topped with Aged Mandatin Peel

• How much did you spend?
  300
• Overall Rating
  OK

After reading Jason's review on The Press Room, it had been on my to try list for quite sometime but its only today that I went. The drive was originally for the frites, but I forgot to order it until I became full lol. Even so, I pretty much enjoyed my visit there and perhaps next time I could try it.

The Press Room is under the Press Room Group who also owns restaurants like The Pawn and The Classified. The Press Room is the first restaurant that the group founded, the idea behind the restaurant and the group name was from the fact that the location was once the offices of the Overseas Chinese Daily Newspaper back in the 1920s. I generally enjoy dinning in the restaurants of the Press Room Group, the nice and chilling ambiance is probably the main reason I love spending time there. It is always nice spending time in their restaurants with intimate friends and my loved one. (Remark: Please omit SML from the list though)

They have a really good deal on the two courses diner, so we each ordered one and added a salad on top.

1) Rare Peppered Beef Salad $98 (8/10)
Well balanced salad leaves (Palm Hearts & Watercress) with halved juicy cherry tomatoes and lightly spicy beef topped with shredded parmesan and truffle oil, which indeed was a lovable and appetising salad choice. Portion was generous to share between two.

2) French Onion Soup (6/10)
French Onion Soup is no doubt my favourite, I can't resist ordering one if the restaurant has it. The cheese was nicely baked with a decent aroma and tasted the best at the rim where the cheese was crusty and strong. However the soup itself was flat, so I didn't like it too much.

3) Duck Confit (8/10)
I think it's difficult to make nice duck as their meat is rougher in general. I had tried restaurants that messed up duck confit, but it's still one of my favourite dish.

There were two parts of the duck on the plate, offering two different textures. The duck breast on the right was tender, juicy and savoury, where as the duck leg on the left had a slightly rougher texture but very crispy skin. The wild berry jus was surprisingly overly salty, and hence ruined the spinach which was soaked in the sauce. The whole dish would be much better without the sauce. I enjoyed my duck confit in generally.

4) Slow Braised Lamb Shank ($239) (3/10)
The lamb shank was nicely presented, I bet the big chunk would immediately make a guy smile. I am a lamb lover but this lamb's taste was very strong in an unpleasant way. The only thing nice on the plate was the buttered potato. My friend and I were hugely disappointed.

Final Comments...
The food was fine in general, it is the ambiance that I like about this restaurant. Just as I said at the beginning, I would definitely go back sometimes to try out their other dishes as well as the frites. :)

DISHES RECOMMENDED:
- Rare Peppered Beef Salad
- Duck Confit

• How much did you spend?
  300
• Overall Rating
  OK

We were originally going to Ricks for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday, but Ricks cancelled our booking without calling us because we were 15 minutes late. Great, no one ever informed us about the reservation conditions. So we changed our plan and went to Mostaccioli Brothers instead.

Mostaccioli Brothers is a hidden gem along Elgin Street, the entrance was not easy to find. Walking down the dark walkway with flickering candle lights, you will reach a romantic outdoor terrace. Further down the pavement, you will see an indoor restaurant with a more cosy setting.

The wine list was a pain in the ass, I am not familiar to Italian wine. Fortunately the birthday boy did regconise one type grape that taste nice! Actually even if you are not familiar with the wine, you can always ask the waiter for advice, they are very friendly.

We were hungry to the max, so we decided to order some cold cuts first.

Meat On A Board, 3 items (90g) $98 (9/10)
I am no expert in meat cold cut but I think they were all generally nice.
Salami Milano - Savoury but not overly much, the texture was a bit rubbery though.
Prosciutto, aged 18 months - The taste was less savoury than the salami and soft in texture. It was the best of the three!
Bresaola - Cured italian beef, savoury and tender but tasted the simplest among the three.

Grilled Salmon $165 (10/10)
The salmon was cooked perfectly with crisped edge and raw middle. It was so smooth that it nearly melted on the palate. The side salad was exceptional too! The Rocket leaves were fresh and the cherry tomatos were sweet and juicy.

Veal Scaloppine al Marsala $165 (4/10)
Most disappointing dish of the evening, the veal was in bad shape and texture. The taste was rather bland and the sauce was not good neither.

Spaghetti Bresaola $100 (7/10)
The Spaghetti was cooked al dente. The tomato sauce was not too strong, so the overall taste was brought up by the Bresaola, which went very well with the pasta I personally reckon. The dish was alright, but was not the kind of pasta that could wow you.

Cannoli (9/10)
Most of us had never tried Cannoli before so we decided to order one even though we were pretty full. Turned out Cannoli was a tube-shaped fried pastry, drizzled with almond bits and filled with smooth whipped cream and juicy grapes. The sweet grapes was a good pair with the cream and gave a great complex taste. My friend said it was usually filled with ricotta but not whipped cream. I could imagine it would tasted slightly better with the ricotta, but we were all contented with the smooth whipped cream too.

Tiramisu (7/10)
The tiramisu had a strong coffee aroma as well as taste. The liqueur was on the other hand disappointedly unevenly distributed, only 1/6 of the tiramisu got a wine taste in it. The funny thing was that 1/6 piece was taken by our only non-alocoholic friend in the table lol. The cake was fluffy and not too sweet. It was quite nice.

FINAL COMMENTS...
We had an enjoyable evening at the Mostaccioli Brothers. I actually feel thankful now for Rick's kicking us out earlier tonight, so we could spend the night here! The food is nice, the people were friendly and the ambiance was chill and lively. I really like this place!

DISHES RECOMMENDED
- Prosciutto, aged 18 months
- Grilled Salmon
- Cannoli

• How much did you spend?
  250
• Overall Rating
  OK