As there was  an art gallery nearby, we decided to grab a quick bite in this building. Deciding to try something different than the usual Cafe de Coral, we came across Fragrant Leaf Bay. Serving Thai food at super cheap prices.
When we were there, they had afternoon tea sets. Menu is in English and Chinese. There is no 10% service charge and you pay on your way out. Sets include  a drink.
Boyfriend had the Thai Fried Noodle with Seafood ($43). This was spicy. The noodles were soggy and super oily. Seafood was basically small canned clam meat.
I had the Thai Noodle Soup Set ($35). You can choose two items and I chose Thai Pork Jowl and Chicken Wing. The soup was basically MSG and not much else in terms of flavour. Noodles were soggy and clumped together. It seemed they pre-cooked the noodles and poured soup on top, thus being all clumped together. The pork jowl was at leastgood and juicy. But the chicken wing was tough, overcooked and oily.
Food was pretty terrible though fairly cheap. Will definitely not be back.

Spending the weekend in the Shatin area, we were wondering what to have for dinner. It was here we found a crowd of people at Meet Cute. It seemed to serve Taiwanese food and it was new. As every where people were waiting for a table, we just got a number and waited.

Menu is in English and Chinese. Ordering is done by scanning the QR code and you pay on your way out. There is no 10% service charge. With any order of mains, you can get a discount price on drinks.

Boyfriend had the Taro Milk Tea With Taro Mash ($12 if order main). This was basically tasted like taro powder. A strong chalky consistency. There was a bit of mash but not much. I had the Night Market Pineapple Fruit Tea ($12 if order a main). This wasn't very good. No actual pineapple flavour at all. It wasn't sweet, bordering in bland.I ordered the Traditional Drunken Chicken Roll with Handmade Noodle Soup ($68).  Noodles were chewy and not soggy. But the soup was very salty. Generous portion size. They also gave you a bit of bok choy.The drunken chicken rolls were terrible. Super salty and no wine taste at all.Boyfriend had the Honey Glazed Ribs With Scallion And Ginger Rice ($62). Portion of rice was  a lot. There was also a lot of ginger. So much ginger, boyfriend took most of it out. The ribs were at least juicy and they were extremely sweet. Half a marinaded egg was provided with a good runny yolk. 
It also came with a bowl of seaweed and pork ball soup. It was ok and was decent enough.
Service was a bit slow. I think it being new and they weren't prepared. Food wasn't good and we most likely won't come back.

Meeting up with boyfriend and three other guy friends after an event, we decided to go somewhere nearby and casual for dinner. And yes, lots of beer. One of them led us to 616客香邨. 616 is more known for hot pot but this place is a Hakka restaurant. For some reason, 616 took over this place and is the only one from the group that serves Hakka food and dim sum. The place is two floors with not too fancy decor.

Menu is in English and Chinese. You order by scanning the QR code provided which is also where the menu is. You then pay on your way out.

We ordered the Fried Mix ($98). It appeared everyone ordered this. Chives, cashews, dried shrimp. It was also a bit spicy.  Poached Chicken (half for $128) looked a bit sad and it appeared portions were also small. It did taste good. The meat was tender and moist. The seasoning was on point. Deep Fried Cuttlefish with Pepper Salt ($98) was perfect with beer. The cuttlefish was soft and not over cooked. Very heavily seasoned, the coating was thin and crunchy without falling apart. Braised Eggplant ($68) was well seasoned. The eggplant soaked up all the sauce and very soft. You hardly needed to chew.Stewed Sweet and Sour Pork ($98) was a bit more on the sweet side than sour. They also had canned peaches instead of the usual pineapple. Pork was tender.Braised Pig Small Intestine ($68) was well seasoned. The instestines were cleaned well so you didn't get any strange after taste. 
Food here was well seasoned and went well with beer. I guess that is their goal and we had a few rounds of that. Price not overly expensive but portions were smaller than expected. Food also comes out very fast.

Mochi buns seem to be very popular lately. And the most recent opening is FW Shop. Located in Wanchai, there was absolutely not line. Unlike other shops where there is always a line of people waiting, this place was very quiet. 
All the buns were on display.  Menu is in English and Chinese. It's a takeaway shop so there is no 10% service charge. They seemed to have the regular mochi bun and ones with a crispy topping like the pineapple bun.
They also sell cookies.
We decided to try one as we thought maybe there weren't that many people because it's new and no one knew about them. We chose the crispy pork floss ($8). It looked quite nice.
But it didn't taste good at all. It wasn't crisp. Pork floss was scant. VERY scant.
From the places I've tried this bun in the city, this one is the worst. No wonder there was no one in line.

Boyfriend was hungry so we decided to go to the nearest cha chaan teng. Called Denmark Cafe, it was near Southern Playground. A tea set menu is available during tea time. Menu is in Chinese and there is no 10% service charge. Everything comes with a standard hot drink. Boyfriend ordered the beef brisket curry with rice ($43). The curry was extremely spicy with lots of potatoes. Not that much brisket could be found.
I had the fried chicken thigh with salad ($42). The chicken was very juicy and the skin was really crunchy. So crunchy, it was alost hard. It was also very salty. The salad was a bit too watery.
Food wasn't that good but at least prices weren't expensive. Probably won't be back.

魚一壽司 (English name: Sakarya Ichi Sushi) is a very popular sushi restaurant from Yuen Long. It seems every time we are in that area, there is a long crowd of people waiting for a table. Now, they have opened a branch in Causeway Bay. Located in the basement where Yoshinoya once stood, it's not very wheelchair accessible as they have blocked the elevator access so you must use the stairs.

The area is a decent size though the table spacing is a bit tight. There are quirky drawings on the walls as decor.
We came for lunch and had a lunch menu. Menu is in English and Chinese. Ordering is done by scanning a QR code that is in English and Chinese but upon switching to the English, the words were still in Chinese. But at least they had photos so that was good enough for me to figure out. There is no 10% service charge except for weekends and public holidays. You pay on your way out. Lunch sets include a daily appetizer, miso soup and chawanmushi.
The daily appetizer today was salad. A decent size portion. The greens were fresh and I did like the slices of apple added. The dressing was a Japanese sesame dressing.
The chawanmushi was terrible. Over cooked and hard. This is the first time I've encountered an over cooked one.
The miso soup had a piece of salmon in it. A very small size compared to many in the surrounding area. It was very concentrated in flavour and much more oil that usual. Probably from the addition of salmon?
I had the 9 piece deluxe sushi set ($178). This included Peony Shrimp, Toro, White Travelly, Yellow Tail, Seasonal Fish (hamachi), Urchin, Salmon Roe, Egg and  Tuna Leek. The items were fresh and I was quite impressed. I guess I had low expectations after the starters. But this was clearly quite good. Though the egg was a bit too sweet. But other than that, the rest was decent quality.
Boyfriend had the 9 piece seared sushi set  ($118). This included Seared Salmon, Seared Anago, Seared Shrimp, Seared Crab Stick, Seared Olive Flounder Muscle, Seared Scallop, Seared Steak Tartare, Egg and California Roll. Quality here was also good especially for the price.
Food was quite good. Price was competitive with the surrounding area. The only thing was the service was not that great. We were seated and not given a menu. When asked, they said scan the QR code to order. When we said we weren't provided one, they then gave it to us. Shouldn't this be automatic when you sit down? Tea was given until we asked. When we asked for a refill, they said the pot was on our table. It wasn't and when we pointed that out, we were left with out any aknowledgement. Leading us to think we weren't going to get a refill. But then almost 10 minutes later a pot was placed in front of us without explanation. Also, the tables were so close together, the staff had to squeeze through to serve other tables, almost knocking over things trying to get there. Perhaps due to this, I am wary to return.

Originally we were headed elsewhere for lunch but on our way there, we noticed a lunch menu at this place. Wagyu Yakiniku Ichiro is an all you can eat yakiniku place. But for lunch, they offer amazingly cheap lunch sets.

Menu is in English and Chinese. They offer three different types of rice bowls involving beef. It also includes a bowl of miso soup. For an additional $20 you get access to the unlimited drinks bar and salad bar. For $30, you get unlimited dessert.
The buffet area was all labelled in English and Chinese. They had a decent enough selection. Though nothing was refilled. I guess due to a total of 3 diners, they didn't bother.
Dessert was not interesting at all so we skipped that and only went for the drinks and salad option.
The salad was decent enough. Items were fresh and there were a few interesting choices. The drinks from the drink fountains, on the other hand, were horrible. Just tasted like colored water.
The lunch sets come with a miso soup. Was nothing to write home about. It was just salty water.
I had the Wagyu Tricolor Beef Donburi with Onsen Egg ($38).  A lot of rice and it tasted ok. The onsen egg was a bit overcooked. But everything else was fine. I liked the sesame spinach.
Boyfriend had the Ichiro's Special Beef Donburi ($38). This wasn't as good. The beef was a bit chewy and there just wasn't enough sauce. Though they did give you a lot of rice to fill you up.
The prices were extremely cheap but they didn't have hardly any business. I have no idea why. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad.

Exploring the Shau Kei Wan area, we decided to try out 一家 (English name: Yi Jia) as it had recently garnered a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Located inside a shopping center, it was rather quiet during lunch period.
The interior was a bit retro with hip decor.
During lunch, they have a lunch set menu. Menu is in English and Chinese. They have noodles or you can order a main with a bowl of rice. The rice sets come with an appetizer and soup. For the rice, you can upgrade to Shanghai vegetable rice for $5 but they had run out that day. We both decided to order two mains  from the rice sets to share.
The soup of the day was a lotus root, pork and purple rice. It was extremely salty.
The first main was Deep Fried Fish and Pineapple with Sweet and Sour Sauce ($68). The sauce was a bit on the sour side. I don't mind as I do like it a bit more sour. The fish was perfectly cooked with the coating super crunchy. Not that much pineapple was found but there was plenty of capsicums.
The other main was the Braised Minced Pork with Soya ($68). The pork balls was a lot smaller than most places. However, there was a lot of softly braised vegetables. A few slices of bamboo shoots and one shitake mushroom was found. The mince pork balls was super fluffy and it was mixed with chunks of shitake mushrooms. I've never had one that mixed that in before. This was also on the salty side.
Food is a bit too salty. Service was fine but not really Michelin worthy in my opinion. Now that I write this and look back at the menu, I realize we never got our appetizer! We didn't notice we were to get one but we should have. And this was never explained to us why they didn't give this to us. Was it they forgot or they ran out? Never explained and we'll never know. 

A new restaurant opened in the Haven Street area of Causeway Bay. I decided to give it a try for lunch and glad I had gotten there early as it started to fill up quickly. There are a few tables and a bar seat area. But otherwise, not that much seating.

Menu is in English and Chinese. There is no 10% service charge. You order and pay at the cashier and they will bring the food to you. What they offer is Japanese style western food. Mains include a salad, appetizer and drink with possible drink upgrades for $10. They also offer dessert and other lighter items.As I was here for lunch, I ordered the Omurice with Chicken Nanban ($83). Everything arrived on a tray along with my ice cold barley tea.The salad was fresh and they added items like cucumber and radish to make it extra crunchy and refreshing. Cherry tomatoes and corn niblets were also found among the greens. A simple sesame dressing was used.The chicken was well seasoned. Meat was juicy and the coating was super crunchy. A fairly generous portion was given. The nanban sauce was just tartar sauce and not really the nanban sauce used in chicken nanban. But I generally forgive this as most places here don't offer that sauce.The appetizer was just some store bought pickles. Nothing much to talk about here.The omurice was the tornado style. It did rip a bit on one side. The egg was a bit over cooked. The rice was a small amount so good for light eaters. May not be enough food for people who eat a lot more.
The food was fine. It wasn't perfect but it was good. Price was definitely not expensive. Service was friendly and I noticed the chef really take the time to plate up the meals instead of slapping eveything together. I noticed students get a student menu so that is perhaps why there were so many students eating here. Nice addition to the area.

A coworker recommended a really good place for Japanese near his home. As we were in the area, we decided to to find it. Niju was a lot smaller than I expected. A simple blue exterior and not much else to go by.The inside was only bar seats facing the open kitchen area where two chefs worked. It was tight and felt like any small Japanese izakaya. And that is exactly what this place was. Serving an izakaya experience.Menu is in English nd Chinese. They offer a variety of dishes including donburi, ramen and yakitori. They also offer sets. We decided to share a few items to see why my coworker raved over it.We ordered two drinks because I was curious about the taste of one of them. Boyfriend had the Melon ($25, on the left) and I had the Tomato Soda ($25, on the right). This is a brand I've had on numerous occasions but this is the first time I've ever had tomato flavour. I liked it a lot! It was like a bubbly tomato juice. It was very nice. If I see it in stores I'd definitely stock up. The melon was nice with the taste of melon but the tomato ... just fantastic.We shared a couple of snacks. This is the Deep Fried Volcano Shrimp Balls ($30). The coating was crispy and not too thick. The shrimp meat was firm with a strong taste of shrimp.But the most surprising element? A runny custard made from salted egg yolk. A very common ingredient used in Singaporean dishes was used here. I liked this combination and reminded me a bit of the banquet type starters you get with the salted egg yolk deep fried shrimp or crab balls.We ordered two Grilled Chicken Wings ($48 each). Lightly grilled and super juicy. The sauce was sweet and sticky.We tried a ramen and upon recommendation, we had the Spanish White Pork Ramen in Chicken Broth ($78). The ramen wasn't your traditonal Japanese. It wasn't heavy and oily. It was also toppe with clearly Western ingredients: cherry tomatoes, yellow zucchini, asparagus. Rosemary also scented the soup.The broth though not oily was a rich chicken soup with a hint of shellfish taste. Giving it an wonderful umami layer to the soup.The noodles used were thin and chewy. It clung to soup well.

On every table there was a bottle of vinegar with dried fish soaking in it. The chef told us to add a bit of it to the noodles. This was interesting because after adding it, it gave it a more refreshing layer that oddly complimented it. Bringing out the taste of the shellfish even more.The pork was sliced in thin pieces and felt more like a pork chop than the usual pork belly used in charshu Very tender with a subtle hint of miso. We also shared a Grilled Beef Tongue Rice ($86). At first we wanted another bowl of ramen, but after chatting with the chef, he suggested we try this instead. A good recommendation. The beef tongue was thickly cut into cubes. It was perfectly grilled so it was still tender yet with the wonderul crisp exterior I love about beef tongue. A generous slater of sweet sauce was layered so you get enough to flavour the rice as well. Western ingredients like cherry tomatoes, yellow and green zucchini were added as toppings. But the most surprising was the carrot. It was pickled! I didn't expect that until I bit into it. A wonderful balance from all the meat.

Definitely see why my coworker suggested this place. A Japanese restaurant with a Western twist that didn't seem too far out. The place is small and cozy where you can chat with the chef. Just like a tiny izakaya in Japan.  It does get busy as there was also someone waiting for a table.