Simplicity (中環)

在食評多次提到，簡單有很多時候的確是最好的．有變化當然是好，但連基本的也搞不好，怎變也好不了多少．所以簡單為本也真是重要．那當然要做得簡單又做得好又keep到是不容易的．中環開了間名為’Simplicity’的法式薄餅店，是在灣仔La Creperie之前開的．店子地點很不錯，內在環境光猛,但坐的位置不多，Bar枱位置反而比較舒服. 開放式的廚房雖可以看到薄餅(Crepes)的製作過程，但抽風系統不是太理想，人多的時候小店裡是挺熱的．

說到sweet crepes, 其實有個set, $58有一款甜薄餅加咖啡或茶．款式可在menu上選擇．是日想對自己好一點，要另加錢要了雪糕和Cappuccino. 至於款式則要了"Apple and Almond"內有煮過的蘋果，焦糖，甜奶油和微微烤過的杏仁片．上桌的時候時幾surprise的．一塊大而薄的甜薄餅摺疊兩下成了三角，不像日式甜薄餅的淺黃色．質感亦較挺身．雖然是現叫現做的，但薄餅的餘溫竟然不足以令雪糕球溶化.香草雪糕是比較甜了點，餅身是少少脆，圓形邊比較乾身．餡料不多，蘋果經煮過後變軟身，帶一點肉桂香，甜味本身很輕，少量焦糖加上甜奶油也不覺甜膩，反而覺得杏仁不夠脆身．整體加上雪糕一冷一熱還是可以的．

隨餐的Cappuccino奶泡打得不夠滑，是有點'求其’，咖啡本身味道不很濃．加了熱奶更加淡了．但想起做薄餅和沖咖啡的是同一人，在'一腳踢'的時候做到這個水準也算ok,來這裡的時候La Creperie還沒有開業. 但這裡薄餅的質感是有點’實’，而甜的跟鹹的也沒有太大的分別．款式也太多了，反而忽略了薄餅本身的質素. 要吃點好的，還是會去灣仔那處..

Holly Cow (尖沙咀)

有食友看見我寫的食評, 打電話來問: "你怎樣記著寫了什麼? 那麼長, 那麼多細節,(還是)那麼長. 一大篇英文的!"沒多久，最後朋友還是放棄了．

是的，一大篇英文的確是有點難讀的，小弟近來學寫中文了，其實也不是這麼難的，難的有時候在於描寫與’技術性’的名詞方面難於處理．說實在的，英文也有難處．說"Holly Cow"跟"Holy Cow"沒關係是沒有人信的，奈何為何直接叫"Holy Cow"不就行了?　後來才發現有間在銅鑼灣的小店叫holy cow, 賣的也是Froyo. 多了一個L, 也不是太難記，只要不和少L的相題並論就行了!

Holly Cow的Frozen Yogurt在尖東也是挺受歡迎的, 要了大杯的Frozen Yogurt ($32)有兩個topping. 在櫃子這裡看見比較特別的Grapefruit, 於是要了紅色的那款，並要了Aloe．Yogurt是比較挺身的，比同區ROLL的較硬身，但好處是不易溶和”襟吃”點．味道是少了酸味，西柚看得出是慢慢起肉再去皮去衣的．是一點點的紅色果肉，不失應有的苦澀．Aloe是糖水浸的，不怎特別，是貪玩要了.　整體味道還是可以的．

小店的冷氣幾大的，邊吃著Frozen Yogurt在內也會覺涼的. 還是在外邊行邊吃的好．

祥興潮州粉麵 (西環)

當工作需要'周圍走'的時候,很容易忘了吃飯. 是的,連日夜都想著吃的人都會忘了要吃的時候. 一朝到晚做的沒完沒了, 說是煩的,但畢竟是自己喜愛的,再苦的也有樂事. 只是偶爾遇著不快的事情, 想找個朋友訴訴苦,"呻一呻", 又是繼續的搏殺. 這晚收工時已是十一時許, 在西環也沒多少店子肯做生意. 上巴士到銅鑼灣再吃也太晚了, 跟朋友在附近的'祥興'吃吧. 這corner shop經過幾次, 但總沒有進去. 趁天氣不怎麼熱的夜晚去試試.

坐下看看牆上的餐牌, 先要了淨水餃 ($16), 叫了不用5分鐘上桌, 熱騰騰的, 水餃算是大隻的,但薄皮之餘反而是太鬆了. 滾得快爛了.咬開肉汁是有的, 夠味亦不太鹹. 豬肉,冬菇跟蝦肉的份量相約. 但最好吃的反而是下面白白的芽菜, 挺嫩還脆口的. 跟朋友分吃了水餃, 再來一碗麵吧, 要了雙拚的魚餃魚扎河 ($16). 魚皮餃不腥, 但問題跟水餃一樣, 是"半解體"狀. 味道也有點鹹. 這陣子要吃好吃的魚扎難找. 不好吃的比比皆是. 這裡的不算難吃, 但肯定不算好吃的. 在碗內找了半天都找不到魚扎的"餡"...是空心魚扎乎? 魚肉有點鬆, 也不像有魚肉味. 河粉是一堆很腍的粉, 浸腍了, 但碗子的細小裝不下多少湯. 於是有的湯都很快給河粉吸乾了.

吃得飽飽的,才不過半小時, 明天還是要努力, 再衝過...

大力水手炸雞 (赤鱲角)

I always thought that Popeye's Spinach is a smart marketing strategy to get children to eat spinach, or for that matter, any vegetables at all -- There may be some nutritional references lying somewhere. It's a wonder why a store named Popeye has no spinach dishes at all. But for a famous shop that sells Southern (Southern part of the States) food, featuring Fried Chicken and Biscuits, I've had some pretty good chicken pieces there, but not in Hong Kong.

Biscuits, however, remained something dear to my heart. Buttermilk biscuits are supposed to be fluffy and moist inside, with a whiff of buttery aroma exploding into the air as one tears a biscuit apart. On a trip to the airport for work, I walked past Popeyes with equal part of thrill and expectation, to re-enter the realm of biscuit butteriness. I stopped right at the entrance, not sure if I was up for that, or was I setting myself up for some sort of disappointment?

Ordering a box of biscuits was easy -- packing them into a small enough box wasn't. After considerable tucking in, the biscuits all settled in. Popeyes served no jams, only to be replaced by packets of honey. Squeezing the amber gel onto freshly packaged biscuits, the feathery inside of the biscuit was flavored with butter, but ever so light in texture. It's extra sweet with the addition of honey, but frankly it needed no more than a quick bite into the great biscuit. The chicken may not be as good as the ones served in the States, but the biscuits kept the standards on the other side of the world.

So no, there was no disappointment on the biscuits alone, and looking over at some tourists munching into giant pieces of deep-golden crunchy fried chicken and frowned, I felt lucky enough to have just the biscuits, as I considered the better half of Popeyes, at least here in Hong Kong it is.

利小館 (銅鑼灣)

Luxury Brands developing a more affordable line of clothing or accessories seems like a good way to expand its market, or target audience, After all, fashion magazines are becoming more popular among audience at increasingly younger age groups, 'Style at every age' is finally being realized, and while trendsetters may not want to admit, it's great to see that those who think they can create styles, or influence their change with details and trends, are developing variations or alternatives to reach a larger mass. It doesn't just happen in fashion, clearly, to food as well.

Lei Bistro is the latest line for the Lei Garden Restaurant chains. With affordability and casual atmosphere in mind, the first establishment opened in Causeway Bay, right at the basement of Times Square, where the hungry traffic is huge throughout the day. If there is one thing about Lei Bistro that goes hand in hand with its luxury counterparts, it's the need for reservations. You need one to get in, unless you don't mind waiting outside. But then if you don't mind waiting, there are a few things you shouldn't mind when you get there -- the ambience, service, and food quality, three of the most obvious elements in a restaurant's visit.

Without further judgment, Lei Bistro is more laid-back, but that also involves the owners trying to maximize their already narrow dining space with more tables, each closer to each other. The lack of elbow room also evolves into having your next table neighbors eavesdropping into your conversation, or not, because the place is a hub of noise -- you may not be able to hear what the others are talking about, or for that matter, the person right opposite you.

The menu is decidedly mixed -- and much similar to the case in many restaurants trying to be more than they can be, no matter what brand the restaurant's developed from, Lei Bistro is trying very hard to change that. It's signature 冰燒三層肉 can be sold out early afternoon. The quality wasn't bad, but for a signature product to be in such short supply is an alarming fact -- were they trying to make it look more popular than it does? 油炆筍尖 are not very thin bamboo shoots, braised in plenty of brown sauce which is overseasoned and over-glazed. The slim bamboo shoots went from crunchy to soggy, with what may be an overdose of oyster sauce in the marinade they're cooked in. 蜜汁火方 (配蝴蝶包) is a failed attempt for a well established brand to redeem itself. The ham, despite softened through repeated steaming, was soft with bits of fat still clinging on each slice, the honey sauce it's cooked in was truly too sweet, almost like biting into a hunk of ham followed by 10 repeated licks of an artificial-sweetener-laden lollipop. It's so sweet it tasted fake. The "butterfly buns" were soft, and what's up with the deep-fried soybean sheets that went with? Can they be any less generous about it? (despite them being crunchy throughout)

The only thing 'dirty' about 荷香蒸污糟雞 is its name. Bony chunks of marinated chicken steamed inside a lotus leaf parcel with red jujubes, shreds of preserved mustard tubers, and dried shiitaki mushrooms were tender and juicy, with a strong welcoming aroma of lotus leaf in every bite of the chicken, if only the dish could be less oily -- the chicken was sitting in a shallow pool of oil. 故鄉濃茶燻釜米鴨 came from the barbecued department. It fell right into the deadly mistake as the smoky flavour overrode everything else. The duck no longer took on any flavour other than a slightly burnt taste. If you try to tell me the duck was smoked to death, I would've believe you too -- the smokiness truly was too much, even for someone who loves tea dearly!

韭黃炒鱔糊 came in a small portion, but that usually didn't matter, but instead you can find more chives than eel, which came in dark miniature curls that were slightly too tough. The chives were too tough though and grassy to taste. 飄香荷葉飯 is the only dish we couldn't complain -- the full lotus leaf parcel was packed with moist rice granules, while bits of dried shiitaki mushrooms and chicken bits were perfectly diced and moist. The aroma of lotus leaf was strong but not too dominating. If there was anything, the serving portion was way too big for this one, as a group of three each had 2 bowls full. Desserts are not a strong suit here, but claiming originality is Lei Bistro's 楊枝甘露. Being original is one thing, being up to par is another. This concoction was too thin and too sweet. Despite featuring chunks of mangoes with translucent pearls of tapioca, the shreds of pomelo were too tough and bitter to taste. It was truly disappointing to think that the restaurant which created the same dessert could differ so much from the original restaurant, is it what restaurants are trying to do -- toning down the prices by lowering the quality of their food?

Food quality aside, for any brand intending to keep its reputation, a keen eye on the management is important. It took forever for anyone to get their teacups refilled, to a point that diners wanted to refill by themselves. The service staff seemed to be in a rush walking around trying to be accomodating instead of actually doing it. It's equally a pain to see that despite the placemats are artfully designed, some of the plates and bowls were already chipped (please see image) despite the restaurant has opened for no more than a few weeks. To claim that a restaurant group is trying to reach a wider target audience by lowering the prices is fine, but to lower the quality of anything that goes out of the kitchen isn't. The food isn't all bad, but it's the careless bits here and there that makes diners wish that they'd been in the original Lei Garden Restaurants instead, as one couldn't help but wonder, when the new Lei Garden opens later this year in the same building, will the bistro be as popular as now?