Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Souhonten is a chain of sushi restaurants in Japan known for its low cost yet value for money meals. But boyfriend told me it was a lot more expensive here and he heard it wasn't as good.

Well ... as I have long realized, restaurants in Hong Kong are more expensive than their counterparts in other parts of the world and the quality is never as good. With extreme low expectations and as I was by myself, I decided to just give it a try and see for myself.

Located in Mong Kok, the restaurant was  fairly quiet for lunch time. Seating was spacious.They had a lunch set menu. Menu is in English, Japanese and Chinese.  Ordering is done by scanning the QR code that is in English and Chinese.Sets include a chawanmushi and miso soup. The chawanmushi was ok. There was a slice of shitake mushroom and some chicken meat. The miso soup was alright and just your typical miso soup.I ordered the chirashi rice bowl and udon set ($108). The udon was a decent portion and not over cooked.. The soup was not too salty and rich in taste.For the rice bowl, you have three choices. I chose the Crab and Scallop. Though the bowl was small, they didn't skimp on the toppings. Lots of crab meat and there was a fairly fresh scallop sashimi with some salmon roe on top.  The rice was seasoned with sushi vinegar as well.
Digging inside, the middle portion had pieces of chopped tamagoyaki. I didn't expect that as all the places I've had chirashi it's just rice with the topping and nothing else.
Over all, the food was not as bad as people say. Is it more expensive that Japan? Yes. But for Hong Kong, it's fairly reasonable and not that expensive for Japanese. Service is both good and  bad. The person at the front was a bit nonchalent and bored. But the woman who brought me my meal was wonderfully nice and constantly refilled my tea. Nonstop. I guess some staff care and some ... don't. I'd be back.

Happy Cafe opened a while ago. A basic cha chaan teng but a joint venture between 快樂餅店 Happy Cake Shop (an old school bakery from Wanchai) and 顺景茶餐厅 Shun King Tea Restaurant, an old school cha chaan teng from Wanchai that had closed down. Both decided to combine their forces and create a cha chaan teng with a bakery outside in Causeway Bay.
Menu is in English and Chinese. There is no 10% service charge and you pay on your way out. They offer basic cha chaan teng classics.
I decided to get the regular set with a Chicken Leg in Swiss Sauce and Stirred Instant Noodles ($58). Set includes a drink, scrambled egg, slice of ham and a daily bread. The daily bread was a mini pineapple bun which was actually the best item. Buttery and soft. Not dry. The egg on the other hand was  a bit dry. The ham was just regular ham.
The noodles didnt have enough sauce so it was a bit on the dry side. The leg also a bit over cooked and the meat was dry. It didn't have enough flavour as well.
It seemed the best item was the bread but I don't think I'd be back. There are far better cha chaan tengs in the area.

Sushi Ten is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant we had never heard of until we came across it in Shatin. There was a crowd of people waiting so we decied to get a ticket.

Ordering is done by a tablet. The menu is in English and Chinese. Along with typical sushi items, they had a few that were a bit different like grilled prawn with butter garlic.

The sushi quality actually looked better than the takeaway counter. Items were fresh and not slapped together.
This was actually not that good. The crab was dry.
This was interesting. They seemed to have a lot of these creative sushi items. 
This didn't look that good but it tasted good.
The chicken wings were the best. Lots of flavour. Super juicy.
Ended with a cheesecake but lots of people ordered waffles.  Perhaps next time?
It was better than expected. Boyfriend went in all ready to hate but we both ended up ordering a number of dishes and liking it.

Boyfriend was watching a youtube program where they were introducing various places that served really good fried chicken thigh. One place was Restaurant Awesome. It was located in Tuen Mun. Open very late at night, it had a huge following among motorbikers. But as Tuen Mun was very far, he filed it as a place that he'll probably never try.

Much to his surprise when he found a branch in Tai Kwok Tsui.

It's geared for takeaway but there is a lone table if you wish to dine in.

Menu is in Chinese only. There is no English and no 10% service charge. They serve other items other than fried chicken.
On one side there are a variety of seasonings.
We got one fried chicken thigh ($34). It was pretty big! Very crispy as they used panko crumbs to give it an extra boost of crunch. Extremely juicy as well. Everything is made to order so there is a bit of a wait.

It was late and we noticed this place that served simple bowl of noodles with some people ordering a whole stick of fishcake. We found it a bit weird and decided to give it a try.Menu is in Chinese only. There is no English and not 10% service charge. Noodles are basically $40 and you can have two choices of ingredients for an additional charge.
But this was the odd thing we saw a few tables eating. A whole fish cake, sliced.  On the menu it is $50-65 depending on weight. Ours came to $70. Personall, I think a bit over rated. It was ok. A bit too soft for my liking. There wasn't a lot of fish taste and it was over powered by the taste of pepper.
Boyfriend ordered the beef brisket noodles ($40). A lot of tendon was given but there wasn't a lot of flavour. The brisket was a bit tough and chewy.
I had the fish balls and fish dumplings noodles ($44). The fish balls were too soft and mushy. It also was over powered by too much pepper so you couldn't taste much fish. The fish dumplings, on the other hand, were really good. Skin had a good amount of bounch and it didn't taste too floury. 
For a fish ball noodle place, I have better places. It was too mushy for my liking. I like my balls to be more firm and bouncy. There was also too much pepper as well. Portions were a bit stingy as well. I definitely won't  be back as there are better places in the area.

Shau Kei Wan on weekends is very busy with a lot of hikers and people heading to the beach who also decide to stop here for a bite to eat. Usually they choose the two famous beef brisket noodle places. But the other restaurants? Often over looked.

We decided to try one that is not on the radar.  Kam Tung Kitchen is a Chinese restaurant serving a lot of dishes often found in nicer Chinese restaurants. Things like abalone and that type of thing. But at lunch they have a lunch menu.
The menu changes daily. Menu is in English and Chinese and comes with a drink. Cost? $60 and there is no 10% service charge.

We shared two dishes. This is the Rice Served  in Shrimp and Chicken Soup. The soup was had a rich umami taste. Lots of fresh shrimp were found along with some tofu puffs that soaked up the soup flavour. 
Claypot Fried Rice with Shrimp and Shrimp Paste was hot and bubbling. The rice wasn't oily and it had some shrimp taste but it wasn't too salty. It smelled fantastic as well.
A decent price with good portions. It was enough to share between the two of us.  Service is fast and it seemed this place had more of the residents in this area dining.

Recently a coworker told me about a Korean takeaway shop that opened in the Canal Road wet market area. She loved it and said the kimbap was made to order. I was curious but a bit wary because it also sold frozen food. But then after a chat with my hair stylist who also said she loved this place for the made to order food, I decided to give it a try.
The shop does sell frozen food. But it's neatly separated on one side of the shop, far away from the cooked food items.
Menu is in Korean, English and Chinese. As it's takeaway only, there is no 10% service charge. Some items  (the seasoned and kimchi items) are pre-made but seemed fresh and placed in well conditioned refrigerators. The rest is made to order.
Boyfriend came over and we ordered in. Everything was placed in sturdy containers and we experienced no spillage.
They had a number of fried chicken but we decided on the Original Baby Boneless KFC ($42, small size). For a small size, you still get 8 pieces. This is made to order so it was piping hot even when we got home. The skin was well seasoned and crispy. The meat was juicy and tender.
The Fried Pork Kalbi Dumpling ($48) were also made to order. You get a total of 6 pieces and came with a tangy dipping sauce. I really liked these. Not too oily and the skin was very crispy.
The filling was packed with a very savory pork meat.
The Eggroll ($55) tasted as good as it looked. Fluffy and soft, there were a good assortment of vegetables and nori. This was a bigger portion than expected as it was quite large in size.
Seasoned Bean Sprout ($25, small size) were well seasoned and generous portions for a small size.
Seasoned Spinach ($25, small size) was also generous in portion. There was a  nice fragrant taste of sesame and garlic.
Beef Kimbap ($53) was made to order. This is rare as most places always sells these pre-made. Portions as a lot as well. The beef was well seasoned. The vegetables were fresh and crisp.
Definitely would be back and order more takeaway next time to try something else.

M&C Duck is Maxim's more mid price range Chinese restaurant. This is their more modern version of Peking Garden. Offering sets and prices at a more reasonable cost. We had never tried it before  but it's often quite busy. As I had a craving for Peking duck, we decided to give it a try.
Menu is in English and Chinese. You order by scanning a QR code that is also bilingual. They also have a pre-meal snack that will be added to your bill. This was tofu puffs, peanuts and cucumbers and extremely spicy.The Steamed Minced Pork Dumplings Stuffed with Supreme Soup ($78) was good. The skin was very thin and didn't break. Lots of soup and the meat filling was juicy. A smaller version of the Mandarin Fish is offered here. They used a smaller fish (I think a croaker?). The meat was moist. The sauce was a bit more on the sour side and there was plenty of it.Pan Fried Minced Beef Cakes ($25 each) were larger in size than expected. The meat filling was juicy and just spilled out when you bite into it. The outside was crisp and firm.Finally the Peking Duck came! We ordered half for $198. It comes with spring onion and cucumbers and a sweet hoisin sauce that was way too thick and gluey.The duck skin was crisp and thin. Some meat was also provided as well.The wrappers were also very thin and not too delicate. It held everything together so nothing fell apart.
Food was ok though the Peking duck does take a while to be served. I think we finished everything and was still waiting for the duck. Prices are reasonable enough. I just wasn't a fan of the pre-meal snack that was forced upon you.

Belly Boys is a burger place that we sometimes go to. It was located in Wanchai and was a small tiny restaurant. Serving smash burgers, they had reall good combo deals. But then they closed. Or so I thought! In fact, they had moved to Causeway Bay. Taking over the old After You Dessert location. Oddly, it didn't seem that they renovated much because most of the decor looked the same as the cafe before it. They did decoate the place with a few items from their old shop (like the Pulp Fiction posters).Menu is in English and Chinese. They now have expanded their menu with more burgers and sides along with the addition of milk shakes. They also now charge 10% service charge. Ordering is done by scanning  a QR code. They also do no offer combos execpt during lunch time.Boyfriend ordered his usual order when it was still located in Wanchai. The Belly's Smash Cheeseburger ($75). It looked good. The cheese was nicely melted. The bun was a soft buttery brioche. The patty was juicy. The only problem? Lack of seasoning. The patty tasted bland. Did they forget to season it?

I tried a new burger of theirs: Codfather Burger ($85). A bit slice of fried fish fillet. So big, I had to take more than a few bites! The fish was not over cooked, The coating was crisp. But again ... no seasoning. It tasted bland.
The place became fancier and much larger. Plenty of room with a expanded menu. They moved on up but somehow forgot the taste. The food lacked seasoning. I wonder if it was an off day because the old shop, the burgers tasted great. That's probably why I will give it another chance and try again to see if it was just a one day thing.

I love Taiwanese food so I'm always on the lookout for any new restaurants that have popped up. This place was one of them. Located in one of many industrial buildings in Kwun Tong, this place caught my attention because I saw a photos of Tainan''s fried shrimp rolls. Something I had on Tainan and LOVED a lot.
The restaurant was very large and spacious.



Menu is in Chinese only. There is no 10% service charge. Ordering is done by scanning  a QR code which is in Chinese only. They serve many familiar Taiwanese items but there were a few that was not commonly found in Hong Kong's Taiwanese restaurants. The staff are Taiwanese and speak Mandarin only.


We ordered drinks. Boyfriend had the Lemon Wintermelon Tea ($23, on the right) and I had the Passion Fruit Oolong ($25, on the left). Drinks were a bit on the sweet side. But for Taiwanese standards, this is normal amount of sweetness.


Tainan Shrimp Rolls ($32) is why we searched out this place. A recent trip to Tainan, we had these and loved them. The ones here were just as good. The skin was a lot crispier which I liked. The filling was a nice mix of pork and shrimp. Not too oily. The only thing missing was the brown sauce that was found throughout Tainan.


Boyfriend ordered the Beef Tripe, Beef Shank, Beef Tendon Noodles ($88). The soup was a bit spicy but had a rich beef taste. The beef shank was braised so long, it literally melted away. The tendon was soft and gelatinous. The tripe was a heavily marinaded.  The noodles were the thick kind and was not overcooked. It came with half a hard boiled egg with a nice soft yolk.

I had the Cuttlefish Seaweed Rice ($75) because not many Taiwanese restaurants in Hong Kong serve this as well. Lots of seaweed and the rice was drizzled with some soy sauce. The cuttlefish was a ball shaped patty.  Very firm chunks of cuttlefish mixed with the ground meat. Half a boiled egg was also included.


Food was good and some items not found in most Taiwanese restaurants in Hong Kong. Portions were decent and the service was very nice. Would definitely come back.