Champs Bar and Restaurant - The Happy Hour Bar

Price: $$

Cravingness: ★★★☆☆

(Restaurant Tasting)

There was once when I wanted to try every single burger place in Hong Kong, The Champs was on my to try list. The Champs is located at the Charter House, somewhere I wouldn't say is at the heart of Wanchai. It is quite a coincident that it falls into one of my walking route from work, where I spotted its huge poster advertising their burger and know about it's existence.

The Champs is a bar restaurant in American settings. The place is spacious, with an open bar table at the front door and lots of stools and booth seatings further inside.  There is two big TV screens in the middle and at the end of the pub restaurant, playing sports channel that apparently drawing many guys here. The ambiance is quite lively with suitable noise level which is perfect for happy hour and also for big party, which happened to accommodated one the night I went.

[Osaka] Rikuro Ojisan no Mise - Moist & Dense Cheesecake

Price: $
Cravingness: ★★★☆☆1/2

Rikuro cheese cake is a traditional cheesecake shop with more than 50 years of history. It is famous for its spongy cheesy cheese cake (焼きたてチーズケー). If you happens to pass by Rikuro, you will never miss the shop, because there is always a constant queue at the door front.

Mist (Closed Down) - Pricey But Delish Ramen

★★★★★

$$$

*** Restaurant was closed on May, 2013 for Renovation ***

I had my first Mist ramen around 2 years ago, but I did not find it amazing. Gastronomer brought it up in a conversation recently and urged me to try it again as she thinks it's really good. I finished work late today, so I decided to revisit Mist again for their pricey bowl of ramen.

Ingredients and service here are topnotch. They even have a information sheet about the source for their ingredients. There was also an information sheet on Mist's ramen. They offer ramen in 3 sizes - 18, 22 or 26. Size 18 is the thickest which retains less soup and pairs well with strong robust broth such as Soya or Miso. While Size 26 is the thinnest for more refined and depth flavour broth.

Tak Cheong Noodle 德昌魚蛋粉 - My Favourite Fish Ball Bowl

★★★★★

$

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 Noodles 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.

Cova Ristorante & Caffe - Where goes my Apricot Cream?

★★☆☆☆

$

I came over to Cova today since my sister gave me a $200 Cova coupon to spend. I wanted to get the blueberry cheesecake but it was sold out again, so I opt for other cakes.

Chestnut Cake $36 (2/10)

Chestnut puree was smooth, thick and sweet with strong chestnut taste. The sponge cake was fine itself but the combining taste of the sponge cake and the chestnut puree was very weird. The puree didn't really match with the sponge cake for some reason. I also think the paste was a bit too sweet overall. I only like the marrons glacés on top.

Grand Central Bar & Grill - Degust The 1912 Titanic Menu

★★★☆☆

$$$

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.

Linguini Fini - Music, Art and Linguine

Price: $$
Cravingness: ★★★★☆

I have been to Linguini Fini for dinner twice and quite like the place. I had been thinking about bringing my family over, but was held back because they didn't accept reservation before. Now that they do, I had to bring them there.

Linguini Fini extended to the ground floor where Cantopop was before, possibly due to the high demand at rush hour. The manager said they are still seeking a location for Cantopop. The reception also moved to the ground floor, so approach the receptionist on the ground floor for your table instead! (So you won't end up like me bringing my whole family into the lift and came back out since we did not have access to the floor. *blush)

Nanhai No. 1 - Retro Dim Sum Elegancy

★★★★★

$$$

2012 is all about RETRO. Retro Fashion, Retro Hair, even Chinese restaurant Nanhai No. 1 followed this trend and offer a range of retro dim sum! Dim sum nowadays is all about creativity and packaging, Nanhai decided to bring back some truly traditional but left behind dim sum to us, and how could we not pay a visit?

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.

iCaramba - Best Chipotle Substitute in Hong Kong

★★★★☆

$$

Being in US for a few months, I have grown to love Mexican food. Many might find the taste of black beans unacceptable, I found it irresistible.  

When people told me about Chipotle, I thought they were over the top about it. I thought, 'How could a chain restaurant be nice anyway?'. The answer is clear if you ever had Chiptole. There are for sure places in US that offer better Mexican food, but I just couldn't find one in Hong Kong yet.

Chicken Chimichanga

Coming back to HK, I went to iCaramba again to refresh my memory as I once thought it is really good. As usual we came here on a Monday Night, once a restaurant is listed on Super Monday list, you wouldn't want to come here on another day.

Cafe Grouchos - Nice Burger & Cute Sliders

★★★★☆

$

We came to Stanley today planning to spend the afternoon on the beach. My friend asked me to find a place for brunch beforehand, and so we went to Cafe Grouchos.

Cafe Grouchos is an outdoor cafe located at Stanley Waterfront Mart, especialises in fast food such as hotdogs and burgers. Right next to Grouchos, there is a rival cafe which serves similar food, so look carefully if you want to pay a visit here (I heard next door wasn't that good). Tables come and go quite quickly within 10 minutes, so its worthwhile for those minutes of wait.

Crystal Lotus 晶荷軒 - Disney Dim Sum

★★★★★

$$$

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.

Pudding - YUCK! Frozen Toast!

☆☆☆☆☆

$

Pudding is a dessert shop in Tai Hang that I had been wanting to try for long. I went there today with my friends and was hugely disappointed.

The shop was small but furnished in cosy simplicity. The ambiance was nice with relaxing music playing in the background. The menu was simple and we had no clue what the desserts look like from the picture. The staff was friendly and eager to serve, they passed us his iPhone and showed us the pictures of their desserts. (Shouldn't it be iPad serving this function nowadays?) Anyway, we ordered the following...

Home made Cherry New York Cheesecake!

My family loves the previous Blueberry Cheesecake that I made and kept requesting for another one. The previous cheesecake did not require any baking, so this time I made one that requires.

I found this amazing looking New York Cheesecake in Smitten Kitchen and followed with slight adjustment. Smitten Kitchen is my best cake source for baking, as their cakes are usually tasteful with clear instruction and baking tips! I have tried making New York Cheesecake for many times without fail, but I never tried making one with any fruit sauce as topping as suggested by Smitten Kitchen.

Mostaccioli Brothers - Italian Hidden Gem

★★★★★

$$$

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 Press Room - Fancy Ambiance

★★★★☆

$$$

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)

Sun Tung Lok - "French Style" Chinese Cuisine

★★★★★

$$$

I was elated about tonight's dinner because first I had not seen my friends for a long time and second I wanted to try Sun Tung Lok for ages. Last year in 2011, Sun Tung Lok was rated 3-star Michelin, this year the rating went down to 2-star. Nonetheless Michelin is only a reference, it's always better to try and judge it yourself. :)

Although we dined on a Tuesday, the restaurant was quite empty given its fame. The decor was classy, so was the utensils on the table. The ivory chopsticks definitely signifies the status of this restaurant, but its different shape and coloured chopsticks did not seem to be appreciated by the younger generation. Anyhow, it is good to experience a real pair of ivory chopsticks as I don't think I have ever seen one before? Hm...not sure.