Cafe Groucho's, Stanley, Hong Kong

Having read the recent stories of LQ's Editor in Chief's charity walk training regime, I felt inspired to do a bit of walking myself.

My wife and I ended up at Cafe Groucho's after a 2 hour walk (and taxi ride) from our flat to Stanley last Sunday and decided to go to this place for some refreshments.  It's located on the waterfront, along with other restaurants and cafes and all seats are outside. Being the weekend it was busy and we had a five minute wait for our seat. We still had to share a table but that is commonplace in a busy cafe in this densely populated city.

Groucho's has a large selection of burgers but we ordered only side dishes as this was a late lunch. I chose fish fingers and my wife opted for chips with cheese topping. For drinks I decided to go for an iced lemon tea and my wife went for the hot variant.

My lemon tea arrived first in a plastic cup (with separate syrup jug) then the fish fingers in a cardboard bowl later. The former was a bit bland, probably because the tea was weak and not many slices of lemon were served. The latter were a little burnt and very hot. There was a dollop of tartare sauce as a garnish, which added a bit of flavour to an adequate dish.

My fish fingers & iced lemon tea

And that is all we ate as we were still waiting for my wife's order after I had finished my fish fingers. We then decided to get the bill and leave, cancelling the chips and hot tea. One good things was that my tea was served in a plastic cup so I took it away to drink as we left early.

I suppose Groucho's is a waterfront cafe in its relaxed (but friendly) service and that the food is served in paper & plastic. Unfortunately the service was too relaxed and we will be visiting other establishments the next time we go to Stanley.

Scores:

Food: 2/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 2/5
Setting: 3/5
Overall: 10/20

Total bill: $60, so just about £5 a head.

I ate: Fish Fingers (only).

I drank: Iced Lemon Tea (partly take-away).

I wore: New Salomon hiking shoes.

譽滿坊, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Apologies for the lack of blogging activity as I have been fairly busy over the past month. A lot of my time has been taken up moving house so this entry is the first one in Happy Valley, which is where I now reside. We were taking a break from cleaning our new flat and stopped here for lunch with my parents-in-law. The restaurant does not have an English name so the phonetic translation would be 'Yu Moon Fong', which I will abbreviate to YMF. It's on one of the main streets in the area and a few minutes walk from our new abode.

As we entered the restaurant was virtually empty but that is because they were expecting a large party soon. Therefore we were lucky in that there was a spare table for us four diners. We sat down and were advised by staff to order quickly before the party arrived so we duly did so.

As YMF is a Chinese restaurant, they do dim sum for lunch so we ordered nine dishes to share. Here is how we got on:

Clockwise from top left:Siu Mai; Fried Rice in Lotus Leaf; Har Gow; Chive Dumpling; Char Siu Bao. (Top right Corner: Savoury Water Dumpling)

Siu mai: these pork and prawn dumplings were garnished with shark's fin on top. Whilst the dumpling was nice the shredded fin did not really add much, just some exclusivity and controversy.

Fried rice wrapped in lotus leaf. For this dish the rice is first fried then wrapped in the leaf and steamed for extra flavour and a smoother texture, which equates to a nice item.

Har gow with lobster meat. A premium take on the the classic prawn dumpling. Tasty with good pastry but I prefer a whole prawn as opposed to small pieces of meat.

Deep fried dumpling. This spherical dumpling was served very hot and had a chives and pork mixture inside with a light batter to cover everything.

Char siu bao. Barbecued pork bun was tasty, with light, fluffy pastry on the outside and hot sweet pork filling inside.

Ham shui gok, which has the literal translation of 'savoury water dumpling'. This is a deep fried item and had a delicious sweet crispy outside and a pork-based filing inside. Probably the best dish of the lot.

Top:Fried rice in lotus leaf. Bottom: Chicken Rice with Abalone

Chicken rice. This little bamboo steamer that contained rice, which was topped off with nice chicken pieces. Under the chicken were two small slices of abalone to make it more classy (and expensive).

1000 layer cake

1000 layer cake was the only sweet dish we had. There were actually probably only seven layers of sweet glutinous rice and egg yolk sponge. It was ok, but nothing special.

Spring roll (not pictured). Hot and crispy on the outside, packed with a meat filling in the inside. Usually cut in half to make them more bite size but they did not do this but that did not detract me from the lovely taste.

YMF serves some really nice food (albeit at high temperatures) and is a good local restaurant. The decor is clean and functional and not pretentious. The service was friendly, quick and efficient. It is probably a bit pricier than other restaurants in the area but you pay for that bit of quality and Happy Valley is one of the more affluent areas of Hong Kong, so I would recommend this place.

Scores:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5

Overall: 13/20

Total bill: $442, so just under £10 a head.

I ate: All of the above

I drank: Chrysanthemum tea.

I wore: Casual clothes suitable for cleaning.

Delifrance, Sha Tin, Hong Kong

Wednesday was the last day of the Chinese new year public holiday so I popped into Delifrance for some lunch.

The restaurant has a cafeteria style setting in that your order is taken at one counter and you move along to get your food from another, take your cutlery and condiments, then finally find your seat.

Delifrance has a wide choice on their menu and I decided to go for a hot dish, given the current temperature of Hong Kong that day so opted for their Ham and Mushroom Linguine.

It came with a drink so I chose a freshly brewed coffee. I also decided to supplement my pasta dish with a Vegetable Soup.

My Order of Vegetable Soup, Ham & Mushroom Linguine and Coffee

After ordering, my three items were served quickly and in a presentable manner in white crockery. I carried on to collect my cutlery, where I noticed they only have soup spoons so had to use this to eat my pasta. Never mind.

Although the restaurant was busy due to the holiday I found a seat without much difficulty, probably because I was eating a slightly later lunch at 2pm.

I started with the soup. It was thin, similar to a Chinese soup but decent flavour and hot, which kept me very warm. Noticeable vegetables included carrots , onion and tomato.

For my main, the pasta was cooked well enough, the sauce was creamy but could have had more flavour. They also should have included more mushroom than ham slices to give it a bit more balance.

My meal was rounded off with the coffee, which was freshly brewed and a nice accompaniment.

Overall this was satisfactory as the portions were plentiful, service was quick and the restaurant interior is presentable. It provided better value than the lunch I had a few days ago at Triple O's. If you do not mind twirling your pasta in a soup spoon then this place is fine and I would recommend it.

Scores
Food: 3/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5

Overall: 12/20

Total Bill: $52, which is about 4.50GBP.

I ate: Ham and Mushroom Linguine.

I drank: Vegetable Soup and Coffee.

I wore: Zegna Sport jacket, with double layer as it was a Baltic 7 degrees in Hong Kong that day!

Triple O's, Sha Tin, Hong Kong

Kung Hei Fat Choy from Hong Kong, people. I visited this burger chain the day before the lunar new year last Sunday, when I was at a shopping mall. The restaurant is situated on the same floor and food court area as the congee and noodle shop 'Wong Chi Kei' that I have blogged about before. Whilst the rest of the food court outlets were busy, this place had a few empty seats and as I did not have that much time, decided to eat here. The reason for not being as busy as others might be explained later.

They had the standard selection of burgers and meals as offered by most places of this type. I opted for the 'BC Burger' and went for the meal, which came with fries and a soft drink choice. I was served quickly at the counter and after my money was handed over I was asked to sit down and the food would be brought over to me. I therefore anticipated a freshly made burger and did not wait too long until I was presented with my order in all its plastic and paper wrapping goodness, shown below.

My Order

As I took off the paper wrapping of my burger I noticed that there was a gherkin placed on top, which I thought was odd and a error in the plating up of the dish. However, it did not really bother me as I was hungry and proceeded to eat it anyway. Furthermore, after some research on their website, this is a deliberate thing that Triple O's do as part of their presentation. The burger was cut in half as well, as shown in the photograph below, for easier handling and eating.

BC Burger

Taste-wise the burger was average but not that warm. The bacon was ok and hotter than the burger, therefore warm enough to melt the cheese ( which was the processed kind) slightly. The Triple O sauce gave some flavour but it was not spectacular. The bun looked a bit lifeless and was a little bit soggy, probably the tomato and lettuce.

The fries were a lot better. They were chipped to a good size, fried nicely and served at a hot temperature in a paper cup with not too much salt. I added some vinegar to them that was offered on the table.

All this was washed down with a cold Sprite.

So the burger I had at Triple O's was distinctly average. It was likely to have been freshly compiled but the main beef patty component of the burger should have been served warmer. Also at $75 this is expensive stuff for what is food court sustenance. Compare this with a meal at the McDonald's, which on average can cost a third of what I had just paid and you can see why people here (myself included) would rather flock to the Golden Arches if they want some non-Oriental fast food.

I had never heard of Triple O's before until I came to HK, but it's a Canadian brand that has been established since 1928 and has made it to these shores. I am not sure if the chain have invaded Europe for a possible LQ: ED pan-continental comparison, or perhaps the LQ family can extend to North America for a review?

Scores:
Food: 3/5
Presentation: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5

Overall: 11/20

Total bill: HK$75

I ate: Bacon and cheese beef burger; fries.

I drank: Sprite, which came with the meal.

I wore: Usual Sunday best casual clothes.

Sui Xuang, Tianhe, Guangzhou,

On the following day of our trip to Guangzhou, we decided to try this restaurant in the hotel we were staying at out of convenience, as we were checking out and had the rest of the afternoon to spend before heading back to HK.


The Hilton Tianhe is a very nice hotel and Sui Xuang is located on the fifth floor. Fitting with the hotel the restaurant has a very nice setting, as shown in the photograph below.

The Interior

This time we ordered seven items and as a change from the day before, ordered more savouries, so our ratio of savoury to sweet dishes was 5 to 2.

Roasted Chicken Wings; Siu Mai; Chestnut Cake

Here's what we ate.

Roast chicken wings: the skin seemed fried as it was crispy and there was thyme used in the seasoning. It was nice but seemed like a Western dish.


'Siu Mai': this staple of dim sum cuisine was a tasty shrimp and pork meat dumpling, with crab roe topping.


Pan fried water chestnut cake: this was a bit different from the one we ate at Panxi. This one was fried and pleasant enough but not as nice as the one we had the day before.

'Siu Long Bao' dumplings

'Siu Lung Bao': only three dumplings were served, compared to usual four you get in other dim sum restaurants. These were average not as nice as authentic ones in Shanghai. 

Turnip Cake

Turnip cake: a nice pan fried savoury dish that was crisp and not soggy. It had a spicy kick to it due to the XO sauce used as part of the ingredients.

Honey Osmanthus Cake

Honey Osmanthus cake: sweet with a mildly chewy texture and a nice dish  despite it's name. Presented in a cute heart shape.

Vegetable Roll

Steamed mushrooms and vegetable rolls. A little bit bland with the vegetable filling but there was a soy sauce covering it to give it a bit more flavour.

With the restaurant being inside the five star rated Hilton, Sui Xuan is a lovely place to have lunch and I would recommend it. Although I would have to say Panxi had the better food, the food here is reasonably priced for its location, tasty and well presented. 


Scores:
Food: 3/5
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Overall: 14/20


Total Bill: 210RMB, about £10 per head.


We ate: All of the above and finished everything.


We drank: Iron Buddha tea again, although normal serving style.


We wore: Casual Sunday clothes, although the interior of the hotel was a lot warmer than the Panxi restaurant from the day before!

Panxi Restaurant, Liwan District, Guangzhou

This is my first entry of the year and this past weekend my wife and I went for a jolly to Guangzhou, formerly Canton (so in 'greater Hong Kong'). On our itinerary was a visit to Panxi Restaurant for a Dim Sum lunch.

The restaurant is located in a large park area and we were sat overlooking a small lake, which was very pleasant.

We initially ordered seven dishes, which are described below. Of these, three were savoury and the rest were sweet dishes.

Our Order (from left, anticlockwise)- Custard Buns, Custard, Har Gow, Water Chestnut Cake, Congee, Taro Cake

Steamed custard buns had a sweet custard filling that was not too runny (there are different levels of 'runniness' of custard with these buns). As a nice twist there was part of an egg yolk flavour in it to give a slight saltiness.

There was more custard in the form of 'Crystal Dumplings' Here the custard consistency is of higher viscosity and it was wrapped in a translucent pastry hence the crystal in the name, which made this dish very nice. What's more was that they were creatively shaped into little birds, shown in the photographs below.

Crystal Dumplings

Close up of Crystal Dumplinges

'Little boat' congee is the literal translation of this savoury dish but the ingredients of this rice porridge was mostly fishmeat and seafood such as squid. It was all tasty with good flavour and the porridge itself had a smooth texture.

Taro cake was another sweet item, which again contained some custard. The sugar coating to the outside adding to the sweetness.

Taro

The Har Gow (prawn dumplings) consisted of a generous pair of prawns wrapped in pastry, although the pastry was a bit thick for my liking. The reason maybe was that they needed to shape the dumplings into rabbits as the photo shows.

Rabbit Shaped 'Har Gow'

Water Chestnut Cake was another sweet dish, although not too sugary. This was a very nice steamed pudding with a chewy texture that the nuts could be tasted.

Latterly we ordered a vegetable dish to balance our meal out, which was 'Sai Yeung Choi'. This was a large bowl of green vegetables boiled in a flavoursome stock.

Vegetable in Soup

As with having dim sum we drank tea with our meal and we chose the Iron Buddha variety. The gimmick in this restaurant is that they serve it 'Kung Fu' style where there's a pot of hot water, pot of tea leaves, serving pot and small cups, whereby you drink the tea in three sips.

Iron Buddha, 'Kung Fu' style serving

Panxi is quite a famous restaurant in Guangzhou and was quite busy on Saturday but we were able to get a seat without too much trouble. The surroundings are nice and the staff were helpful, given that we were 'tourists'. The food was nice and very presentable and the price made it good value.

Scores:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5

Overall: 14/20

Total bill: 191RMB for two, which is about 10GBP per head.

We ate: all of the above (and had to take some of the sweet dishes away).

We wore: winter garments - it was struggling to hit 10 degrees celsius in Guangzhou!

Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

My visit to Kentucky Fried Chicken happened a few weeks ago but I got sidetracked by going to other restaurants and going on holiday, so I had better post this before the turn of the year.

I went to a branch of KFC that is in the Festival Walk shopping mall. As a global chain they are popular in HK, probably more so then BK, but less than McD, I would say.

Anyway, enough with initials. It was a busy Sunday afternoon so with domestic helpers on their day off there was quite a lot of Indonesian or Filipino being spoken by the other patrons in the restaurant. However there were enough counters to be served quickly.

I ordered from their range the Flava Roast burger. This breaks from the norm of the fried chicken that they traditionally offer and is probably a healthier option. I went for the meal so supplemented my burger with a drink, choosing the localised ice lemon tea and a side dish.

For your side dish you get to choose from a selection instead of the usual fries / chips from its beef burger based competitors. There are at least five options and I went for 'E', Corn on the Cob.

My Order

Everything came wrapped in paper or plastic and laid on the plastic try. This branch has a large number if seats and I was able to find one quite easily but near the door.

Flava Roast Chicken Burger & Bacon

The chicken breast was cold and the bacon slice was not that warm either so maybe this burger had been prepared for a little while and resting away until I purchased it. There was some lettuce and a large slice of tomato. The cheese sauce and mayonnaise dressing tasted OK.

Corn on the Cob was warmer than the burger. It could have done with some butter (which it usually should come with but I forgot to ask).

My drink was cold and refreshing enough.

Ice Lemon Tea

So overall this was not 'finger lickin' good' but it did the job.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Scores:
Food: 2/5
Presentation: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5

Overall: 10/20

Bill came to about less than 3GBP.

I ate: Chicken Flava Roast Chicken Burger with Bacon, Corn on the Cob

I drank: Ice Lemon Tea

I wore: Sunday best t-shirt and jeans