Da Ping Huo @ Hollywood Road

Da Ping Huo is one of the first private kitchens I have been to when I first came 2 years ago...today, the food is still good ( I think it has gotten better), and the singing is still the same. It is a great place for parties with a Chinese theme...not a bad selection of wine as well.....

First appetizer - shredded carrots, cucumbers and bean sprouts in a fine fresh spciy sauce

2nd Appetizer - Cucumber in sweet soya sauce with sesame paste

口水鸡 with a twist , they added lots of peanuts and sesame seeds, so the chilli oil actually is flavourful..with a nutty taste.

Soup 1 - because the chicken was so spicy, a soup was served to manage the tempo...this is cabbage soup with mushrooms and chicken was deliciously home-made, and the minced chicken on top was a nice smooth texture.

Prawns with chilli and parsley, still spicy but very good

Beef brisket in spicy sauce

I think this MaPo Tofu..but its not the usual sweet and slightly spicy mapo tofu, it is very strong, very spicy and very very tasty......best with rice.

Sweet potato braised pork ribs.....unusually not spicy....but rather sweet..it pales in comparison to the other hot dishes.

Soup 2- a spinach soup to cool off from the deluge of spicy dishes

Final dish - dumplings in chilli sauce

The China Beach Club @ Mui Wo

This is en route from Discovery Bay to Mui Wo. Outside of Discovery Bay ( which I endearingly named as Toa Payoh in HK), the island is actually pretty quaint and charming..other than the fact there is too much rubbish on the beaches..after about a 3 hr walk, we came upon The China Beach Club, and their best food..home made fries with beer.......

Lime soda with strawberry table cloth

The famous fries with garlic mayonaise- Yum!

Hummus - the hummus is delicious, but the vegetables sticks looks a bit sad.

NZ lamb chops withh fries.this is very good, and I like the big bunch of salad next to it

The Manchurian Candidate ( Winner's Building @ LKF)

When I got into the elevator of this private kitchen, which is tucked between two very rowdy bars in LKF, I thought I was going into an alternate universe - where the LKF strip is posh and full of expats, and this building above is filled with local, raw and rough Sham Shui Po-ish ambience.

Anyway, I was glad that the private kitchen was way better..... It is very unpretentious and rather raw in their furnishings, but its a real experience, of a real private kitchen. It was probably 2 small apartments converted into a single eating zone...and you can still see the beams and walls of the "bedroom"..very interesting. Food was fabulous, and they did not overdo the spiciness at all. The dishes was flavourful, and the chilli and peppers enhanced the flavours of the dish...yeah!

Chicken in spicy sauce- I really dunno the name, just that it taste really good...theres the traditional Szechuan peppercorns, chillis and peanuts...

cucumber in chilli oil

凉拌粉皮- the fen pi's texture is actually Q.

this 干扁四季豆 is wonderfully fresh and spicy

the only non-spicy dish in the entire set - it is a stif-fried potatoes ( very old-school :)..) with eggplants and some other funky veges

This is a rather interesting twist to Gwei-Lo Chicken. They use Shrimp here, and they are sweet!

回锅肉- it doesn't seem to look too good in the photos, but the spicy cabbage with meat thingy actually does taste pretty good.

The Grand Finale - 口水鸡

The anti-spiciness cure-all dessert, no more tongue numbing feeling afterwards..

SHIOK at Peel Street (Singaporean/Malaysian food)

I have been a regular at SHIOK for a long time, reason being it offers not too bad Singaporean food with reasonable prices, and it is really close to my place. There are a few dishes which are my perennial favourites and others which I find so so...i still find it a good place to go to, where you can afford it...
anyway, I will update this blog soon, and bring you the full selection as time goes on.

They cooked their own barley drink here- which means good stuff

Black fried carrot cake - my favourite

Kon Lo Mee - Malaysian Style Wan Tan noodle, I like the chilli and loved the fried wan tans!!

Otak - the picture is blur...but I will replace it the minute I can get a better picture..this is very very very good. A must-order if you eat here..

桥底辣蟹 (under the bridge Chilli Crab)

This is probably the best 避风塘 crabs in Hong Kong. The Crabs are fresh and juicy, and the scampis are big and juicy, and their signature deep fried garlic bits with chilli is just divine.... Of course, it different from Chilli crab/black pepper crab singaporean style...
So unfortunately, I am not allowed to eat too much crab and shrimps :( I definately want to go there again!

look out for this signboard

spinach with conpoy - a tad salty, but they always do it so well in Hong Kong

Shell blanched with chinese wine - we call them Gong-Gong back home, and these should be eaten with a spicy, sour and sweet sauce, preferably with chilli and lime.

The Famous crabs - its big and juicy!! and the garlic fritters on top is just delicious..

Mega scampis ( they are from Malaysian farms) - deep fried with garlic and shallot bits...divine..

正斗记 ( Tasty Noodle House) at IFC

Tasty noodle has 1 Michelin Star , this is pretty impressive, and I think the noodles are quite good...even though I always thought the Singaporean /Malaysian Wan tan noodle is way better. But I have to say, the noodle texture here is pretty good, and the beef hor fun ( cannot compare to Geylang) but is quite good too. Dim Sum dishes there are so so... but it's a good place to bring friends that can't stand the dodgy cha can teng ....

The Michelin star studded menu

The noodle- small sized is really small..texture is really good though

Beef hor fun - Sauce is really nice...but a tad too much MSG.Beef is smooth and good

Radish cake - so so

cha siew cheung Fan - I am a big fan of cheung fan anyway...

Orange Tree

A Dutch friend told me that this place serves Dutch fare, and me never knowing what is real dutch fare, went to try it.Another friend told me that Dutch food is all about croquettes, but I loveee croquettes..Anyway, other than being a little pricy, the food is wholesome, fresh and hearty and a bit quirky, like all things Dutch. It should be a refreshing change from all the Italian/Spanish/English food you find so often in Soho area.

home-made whole wheat bread , and the butter is actually very good

Bitter Ballen - beef with mash potatoes croquettes

Lamb shank in puff pastry - love the lamb

Dutch Farmer Stew - boiled sausage ( i dun like too much) with Chouchroute mash potatoes ( weird but I like it) and brown sauce ( like)

Chicken with stuffed mushrooms filling - this is fabulous

Santouka Ramen, I Square

I love ramen, and consider myself a sort of expert on them. Ramen should be judged by the texture of noodles and the depth of the broth , mainly... The one from Santouka seems to have the right base and the texture of the noodle is chewy yet firm ( which I like a lot too), the broth is rich and very garlicky( which I like), but I think they put a tad too much MSG, and there wasn't the amazing after taste of soup base ( whether it is Pork Bone soup,Kelp etc) in your mouth after the bowl has been finished. It is tasty, but not that great. The gyoza is not bad, and probably would suffice for a quick dinner. I guess for Hong Kong, it is already not bad...

Gyoza - the skin is thin, and the meat inside fresh

Miso ramen

Spicy Miso Ramen

Nha Trang ( central)

Nha Trang have been around since I moved here. In my opinion, they serve a good value Vietnamese food, with the fresh vegetables and herbs, and very very delicious Pho....I think they might be better than RicePaper or even Pho 24...but I need to re-try them to be double sure...
Items are inexpensive, and the wholesome goodness of the Vietnamese soup broth, the wonderful dishes will definately please everyone in the table...only peeve...size of tables are a bit small though...so you can't really relax so much... well I will add more photos when I eat there again!

Pho Tai- Beef noodle soup with raw sliced beef ( beef could be better)- but I love the soup. But I like the Pho Ga ( chicken noodle soup) better.

Cafe Sua - frankly, I don't drink too much coffee, so I can't really tell whether it is good.

Lotus Stem salad - I totally recommend this dish for vege-lovers. The texture of lotus stem is amazing..

Vietnamese crepe - I once had this crepe in Hue, but this didn't taste the same, it was not better or worse, but different, but still it is very good, kinda crepe a la asian.

I have added more pictures!! fillet of sole salad rolls - this is very good, a non so authentic vietnamese dish, but it is good

traditional vietnamese spring rolls, I love the fact they give you tons of veggies and herbs to eat with the deep fried spring rolls, but it is kinda messy to eat this way, and ended up with the sauce dripping everywhere...how did the vietnamese do it?

Dun order the dessert, it ain't that good....dessert can be best enjoyed at PB patissier or Sift, just a few minutes walk from Nha Trang.