新景園咖喱小廚 (灣仔)

趣事:老闆娘十年如一之外，還有一班十年都唔變樣的伙計
9 /10 plates emptied!
[Written by Carly]不經不覺，原來已經光顧新景園已超過八年。第一次吃的時候，當年是個黃毛丫頭大學一年級在灣仔會計師樓做intern，不記得是誰說這間咖喱豬好食。不得了，一食就食到依家，在中環上班的日子，feel like super guilty food的話就會來吃新景園。十二點半後到，一定要等齊人才可就坐。
某日晚上，剛好在新景園附近跳Zumba，我與Lorling就走黎食少少野先去跳舞。點了兩道小菜，夜晚無咩人黎，慢慢吃著。
「ehh? 你頭先有無見個侍應？！」我邊吃邊問。
「邊個侍應？」Lorling正吃著粟米斑塊。
「好似啤啤熊樣個個啊。」
「哈哈，你點解成日都覺得人地似啤啤熊？」
「唔知啊，chub chub地就似架啦。」
「嗯。無留意喎。」
「佢好似唔同徂髮型。」Lorling轉身一望。
「咦，好似係喎。」
「但係同我地平時見個個咁似樣嘅…」
未幾，就見兩個樣子極似的啤啤熊侍應走出來。
「！？」
「孖生兄弟？」我驚奇問道。
「係喎！好似樣！」
「哈哈。我次次都黎食lunch，所以無見過另外個個！嚇死人咩，我仲以為我有幻覺可以咁快轉髮型。入一入去，出返黎有好似唔同徂。」
「哈。兩個好似熊啤啤恁既侍應。」新景園的員工全部好像吃了防腐劑，十年如一。難道哩度既咖喱豬有神奇魔法，越食越後生？！（給自己多一個藉口來吃comfort food，實情係食一餐咖喱豬，唔跑返幾粒鐘都搞唔掂）講徂好多開場白了，實情哩到既咖喱豬真係無得輸！
每一次黎食都保持一貫的水準，食到撐住肚皮超滿足恁走。好，黎介紹一下先！馬拉盞炒通菜：超有鑊氣，而且通菜好新鮮，睼得出炒出黎既顏色好翠綠！細通菜好食過大通菜，誠意推介哩碟小菜俾大家，午飯時間都可以點。蕃茄斑腩飯：
淡淡的茄汁味道很港式風格，好唔好食就見人見智啦。但大大件魚柳炸得不錯，夠脆不油膩，粉漿不太厚所以每一啖食落去都係魚柳，味道不錯幾好。
[Written by Gobay]主角出場啦！
咖喱豬扒飯:
炸豬扒，一般都覺得外酥裡嫩就是好的。我一直疑惑為什麽厚切炸豬扒一直都是宣傳的璩頭，直到看過一部日本漫畫，裡面提到把厚豬扒先在高溫油裡快炸，再在低溫油裡慢炸，就能外層酥脆，裡面還能肉汁多多。厚切炸豬扒很難做，也沒有漫畫說得簡單。反觀這裡的炸豬扒，很務實，它就係將大塊豬里脊肉拍鬆拍薄，直至將肉筋拍斷，再裹上脆漿(曾聽說有用淮山粉或薯粉混入脆漿中能使外皮更鬆脆，沒試過，呵呵)高溫炸幾分鐘就出鍋，薄薄熱熱脆脆的，味道非常好，甚至不需要蘸任何咖喱都可以一口氣吃完。咖喱味道也不錯，如果四川麻辣火鍋是10分辣，它也有3-4分辣度。咖喱的精華在於辣中帶甜，形成味覺平衡，這裡做得不過不失，似是偏印度的咖喱風格。米飯是香港普遍受歡迎的尖仔米，顆粒分明，乾乾的正好配濕潤咖喱，口感一流，加上粉嫩的薯仔一起食，簡直像在口中響起交響樂。雖然一個咖喱飯要價近HKD70, 但確實值得!乾炒牛河：
雖然哩度乾炒牛河出名，但算是中規中矩吧，碟上的油不算多，牛肉片也嫩。但感覺還是正斗的炒牛河比較好吃。

Passion (灣仔)

Recommended dishes: Passion Fruit Mont Blanc, Milles Feuilles, Salmon & Herbs Quiche
8/10 plates emptied![Written by Carly]
All I can say about this place is – one word: mind-soothing. And why is that? My first time visiting this corner shop of Passion was after a day of tiring work, crashed system, and non-stop blabbering client meetings. Dragging a worn-down body on the road of Wanchai, skimming through the streets, and aiming to grab a quick bite before dance class, turned around the corner and this little bright shimmering store stood in front of me, I ended up not wanting to leave this blissful place as the evening vibe with a sweet kick of desserts completed my day.Ate salad first so as to feel less guilty about the desserts later on. Daily specials include 8 different options for you to choose for your green portions. Mandarin Beetroot Salad, California Shell Salad, Apple Celery Salad, Moroccan Couscous Salad, Tomatoes and Mozzarella, Fruity Turkey Salad, Bounty of Eden. I will have to say my all-time-favorites are California Shell Salad, Apple Celery Salad, and Fruity Turkey Salad.California Shell Salad
The salad dressing of California Shell Salad is creamy and rich in flavor which seemingly has a base of thousand island dressing to it – the shell pasta are filled with the rich dressing mixed with the herb scent.Apply Celery Salad
A lighter choice with chunky fresh red and green apples and streaks of celery, loved the natural taste to it without too much dressing or cream sauce.
Fruity Turkey Salad
Liked how the turkey salad is mixed with dried cranberries, walnuts, and healthier choice of meat – turkey. Turkey contains less fat than other meats like chicken, beef or poultry. Some would think that these salads are often too oily with too much salad dressing. Well, I would say – if you are going for an extreme diet, this is the last place you want to step foot in, even the salad tastes too delicious to be healthy!
Tomatoes and Mozzarella Salad
Not bad, slightly oily on the pesto oil yet the cheese was surprisingly decent for a non-cheese fan as it didn’t have the strong scent and was chewy for its texture.
The rest of the salads were not bad. Bounty of Eden was slightly oily for all the boiled veggies, Mandarin Beetroot Salad was a bit too citrusy, and the Couscous salad a bit too much of the curry-taste spices in it and I am definitely not a fan of chicken peas *ha*
Quiches. In other context, it is basically baked egg custard with various combinations of meat, seafood, or veggies in open-faced crust. A classic French cuisine served in savory hot or cold dish, Passion nailed this dish with a delightful note. You definitely do not find them all around in Hong Kong!Mushroom & Parmesan Quiche
Mini shiitake mushrooms were used instead of the regular white button mushrooms, guess this was to prevent the quiche from turning soggy as white mushrooms will certainly do so more than shiitake. The crust was most fluffy and flaky out of all quiches.Quiche Lorraine
One of the classic ones as it includes bits of bacon, onions, and custard in it. This was my favourite savory quiche of the day. Not just that it is down to earth with its modest flavor, the custard is smooth and light as a snack on the side as a meal, bits of onions were critical to balance out the classic quiche.Salmon & Herbs Quiche
Compared to other quiches, the Salmon one was not bad as well. The Salmon flavor stood out more than bacon and really liked the savory combination of fish and eggs. The herbs highlighted this dish to make it purely enjoyable.
Okay. Finally, dessert time that I am sure all of you must be longing for!Milles Feuilles
I am totally in love with Passion’s own modification to Milles Feuilles, another French pastry worth trying. The pastry is flaky with a baked crunch to it. The combination of vanilla cream and dulce de leche (cooked in milk, sugar, and toffee) cream complements each other. Vanilla cream not too sweet while the toffee one hits you as a side kick for its milky sweet taste. Classic napoleon pastry well-done!Passion Fruit Mont Blanc
Summer special – try this before it is gone. As a chestnut fan, I was absolutely satisfied with the creaminess and smooth texture of the chestnut mousse even better than my regular cake place – Harlan in Tsim Sha Tsui. I initially hesitated whether passion fruit is going to go well with chestnut yet I danced a little when I tried this (okay, not literally ha*) It also surprised me a little with milk chocolate filling at the bottom, really liked how Gerard chose different fruit and sweets for its pastry – just cannot settle for the regular Mont Blanc anymore.La Boule Chocolat|Pistache
Chocolate bomb! Was not as sweet as I imagined – for a dark chocolate fan, this is the dessert to go for.
Loved how there is plain cream in the filling so that it doesn’t get overly sweet and the extremely crunchy bottom part which is dipped in rich dark chocolate sauce was fab.Tarte au Citron
Something was missing in this tart – I was looking for more acidity and smoothness from the lemon custard. This was not bad but definitely not the best in town. I’ve always thought that by trying one place’s lemon tart, you will be able to tell whether the chefs are good at handling custard cooking (basic technique for desserts!)Trilogy – Raspberry Ganache
Liked the raspberry and dark chocolate ganache (chocolate and cream cooked into a sauce/glaze/icing, in this case is used as a filling), the slight acidity balanced out the sweetness. The only thing to complain is about the pastry crust which could be crunchier.
On a side note, I do not know why the SCONES are gone now but I had them once and it was absolutely TERRIFIC – loved the buttery, moist regular scones they offer but will have to catch them with luck!
Passion by Gerard Dubois has officially become my hideout place for lunch or evening chillout, whenever you are up for “healthy” salad and mouth-drooling desserts, you know where to go.

HABITŪ table (中環)

Recommended Dishes : Cappuccino Brulee, Thick-Cut French Fries, Italian Gem
Emptyplates score: 8/10 plates emptied!
[Written by Carly]
之前一直對Cafe Habitu印象很差，因為去過Bank of America tower的快食cafe Habitu三次，兩次意粉裡皆發現頭髮，我心想，______！？這是甚麼一回事，哩間cafe究竟係邊個員工壓力恁大係到猛恁甩頭髮-_-‘’ 。一度blacklist Café Habitu 好一段時間。
豈料中環蘭桂坊的Caffé Habitu卻讓我驚喜甚大，瓷杯裝的Specialty coffee跟Daily Set lunch水準甚高，價錢亦不太貴，Lunch平均每人大概一百三十元。可惜午飯時段只有11:30-1:00，1:00-2:30兩個選擇，不能夠用盡時間好好享受咖啡。想舒適的坐久一點，可以去銅鑼灣Sasa Flagship store裡非常隱祕的Café Habitu，永遠不用等位之餘，且坐得比一般細細的鋪位舒適得多。Thick-cut French Fries with Truffle Mayo
全城最好吃的薯條居然在這裡找到，實在太感動了！本身是超級薯仔迷的我（點樣煮法既薯仔都好鐘意食），遇上這道Truffle fries真心覺得是太evil啦！Truffle mayo有濃香的truffle 味之餘，厚切薯條炸到外脆內軟且不會太oily，薯味亦不俗。平時daily lunch的時段沒有供應，就只能夜晚或weekend去tea一tea的時候偶然放縱下。
Spaghetti Carbonara
蛋黃醬做得香不會太milky夠creamy，麵身亦剛好。喜歡Carbonara醬汁比較濃稠的可以一試。喜歡angel hair，醬汁milky點，則可以試試Holly Brown的意粉味道亦不錯。Italian Gem – Egg Benedict/Parma Ham/Fragrant Black Truffles
Egg Benedict水準相當不錯，最緊要English muffin夠脆，poached egg上碟的時候蛋黃依然流心，hollandaise sauce要creamy不soggy，還有陣陣的Black truffle香飄過，配上咸香的parma ham，倘若其中一部份煮不好的時候，就不能名為一道真正的Egg benedict。在加拿大回港後，一直努力尋找一間滿意的Egg benedict，至今除了18 grams成為top choice後，Café Habitu的亦值得一試！The Tsar’s Choice – Egg Benedict/Smoked Salmon & Dill/Spoonful of caviar
不及Italian Gem好吃，但因我本身不太喜歡煙三文魚的關係，所以是有點biased的。喜歡Smoked Salmon的朋友會喜歡這一道配上魚子醬的Egg Benedict，整體味道是不俗的。All Day Luxury Breakfast
All day breakfast普通，不及Bricklane的好吃但大份點，但隨多士配上的果占不太甜且果味重，食得出不是普通超市一樽樽買返黎膚衍你就算，恁都ok啦。Green Salad & Pea Soup
Salad dressing不太多，略嫌帶酸。Pea soup豆蓉味重，且帶少許微酸青檸味，夏天清新一點吧。Suprema Pizza – Parma Ham/Rocket/Colorful peppers
Pizza薄薄的焗出脆脆的餅底口感與味道亦不錯，放久一點餅身亦不會soggy。Parma Ham與Rocket的配塔很難挑剔啦。Tiger Prawn Linguine in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Linguine口感有嚼勁，大大隻Tiger Prawn無偷工減料同埋煮得好爽，有驚喜！醬汁蕃茄味濃且帶有微辣，好開胃。Cappuccino Brulee
這無疑是我對Café Habitu重拾信心的最大原因，因為這裡的Speciality Coffee真是百喝不厭。焦糖面脆脆的，不會太甜。Capuccino香滑，在別處喝不到把甜品和咖啡結合的「焦糖燉蛋咖啡」。Masala Spiced Latte
對這個有點失望因spice的香味不太出之餘，Latte味道也不太出色。Oolong Tea Latte
味道較淡身的烏龍Latte，不太特別。
最後都係想講，無諗過哩間Cafe原來唔錯，有時候，俾人一個second chance都未嘗不是好事。

Trattoria Doppio Zero (上環)

Italian, Michelin, Celebration
Recommended Dishes: Truffled Fried Oysters, Chitarra, Ying Yang Affogato
Emptyplates score 評分: 9/10 plates emptied![Written by Carly]
Rated this 9 Emptyplates as Doppio Zero is one of my favorite restaurants in town for modern Italian cuisine. Been here a couple of times with friends for celebration and casual dining occasions, Doppio Zero never fails me for what is offered - consistent quality of appetizer & pasta and indulging desserts. The uniqueness of pasta and Italian dishes are highly recommended for anyone who is a pasta lover. The service is welcoming and the environment is relaxing. Great for any cozy gatherings or celebrations, or simply you feel like rich pasta for the night. Doppio Zero stands for “double zero” in Italian and is the finest grade of flour made in Italy. Rest assured that the pasta here is made by good hands. Okay, enough with the intro. Let’s start with the appetizers.Truffled Fried Oysters – Unbeatable oysters! I would order these every time. The oysters are deep fried yet not oily at all, the texture is still creamy. Truffle sauce was amazing with the rich taste lingering around and complementing the creamy texture of the oysters. The dish is balanced with the spinach cream sauce to add that extra flavor to the unbeatable appetizer that wows your taste buds. I was scrapping the cream spinach sauce with bread in order to get every bit of it!Prime Beef Carpaccio – Not the best I had so far. The best Beef Carpaccio in town is offered at Harlan Gold. The sea urchin offered on top of the Carpaccio was not to the best combination in terms of flavor but did add an extra dimension of texture to the whole dish.
Fried Prosciutto Balls – Tapas-like dish. The combination of ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino was not as creamy and rich as expected but the dipping sauce of honey melon dew sauce was surprisingly good and flavorful.Burrata – One of the restaurant’s recommended dishes for a reason. Combined with eggplant jam, picked red onion, arugula, and 15 year aged balsamic vinegar. The eggplant jam highlighted the dish with its unique sweetness that tastes different from regular sugar sweetness; you can briefly taste the eggplant flavor which unexpectedly blends with the slightly elastic and chewy cheese.Beetroot Ravioli – Not as impressed as other dishes in terms of flavor yet admired the chef’s bold choice of using beetroot as the filling for ravioli. It is definitely difficult to cook beetroot into a smoothened texture. The filling tasted like Chinese hawthorn（山渣）which was definitely not a personal fav. Not a big fan of this but vegetarians will be interested in trying this for sure.Tagliatelle – The savory and ham flavor of the pasta was optimal. Given the unique texture of chewiness of the pasta itself, this seems to be a common dish as it offers the classic Bolognese sauce and parmigiano cheese. I love the whole combination as the pasta was a bit softer than Chitarra yet utterly classic and delicious in its own way.
Spagehetti Neri –Baby Cuttlefish/ Thai Chilies/Scallion/Tomato. If you are a seafood lover, this pasta is worth a try. I was surprised by how the baby cuttlefish blends well with the slightly spicy flavor of thai chilies.Ricotta Gnocchi – The gnocchi was not bad, chewy not too crumble. I was fairly satisfied with the red wine braised beef cheeks and salted duck egg as the beef cheeks were so tender and rich in flavor.Chitarra – I am a sea urchin fan and this absolutely killed my cravings! Doppio Zero brings modern pasta dishes to a next level with its creativity, uniqueness, and evolutional ambition. The sea urchin sauce was creamy and rich, pasta texture was slightly too chewy and hard yet I wouldn’t complain for crab roe on top which makes the dish dimensional.
The time that I’ve been looking forward to! Dessert! *nomnomnom* Doppio Zero used to have the BEST CHOCOLATE SUNDAE in town but then they modify their dessert menu from time to time and it’s no longer offered. I am going to demand this to come back!Ying Yang Affogato – Milk Tea Gelato/Espresso Shot/Peanut Butter Cookie. Milk tea gelato was creamy and not too sweet. One of my regular desserts on my list if I visit Doppio Zero. The peanut butter was a bit soft and could be crunchier yet nonetheless, one of the best in town.Olive Oil Gelato Float – Salted Caramel Cookie Bar/Whipped Cream/Lambrusco Sparkling Red Wine. The wine combined with olive oil gelato was a bit heavy and the wine was a bit too strong for the gelato. I had to taste a few spoons before realizing the light olive oil taste to it. The cookie bar was awesome though, sweet & a bit salty – all you need.
Assorted Gelati – Ginger, Oolong tea, Olive oil. Oolong was the most refreshing and my favourite as it was a fusion of Chinese tea and western dessert. You can end your night with a light note with three small mini gelatos.
 

添好運點心專門店 (中環)

必食推介: 酥皮焗叉燒包、蘿蔔糕
趣事: 快快趣趣食完好走，如果唔係熱到流汗仲辛苦過做gym！
Emptyplates score : 7 /10 plates emptied!
[Written by Carly]
「先生，我一早就同你講左哩到唔可以自己換杯碟！」
「咁你周圍都無人，又唔夠人手，點解我唔可以自己去攞？！仲有，你無講過我地唔可以咁做。」
「我頭時已經講左…」
「無，你無講過。」
已就坐的顧客與侍應爭吵不休，Emptyplates Gang一行四人已在IFC添好運門外等到天昏地暗，只求吃一頓午飯。撞佢個鬼，IFC多人到連冷氣都feel唔到，如果唔係因為添好運的酥皮焗叉燒包，一早就去隔離間四海遊龍好過。愛投訴的香港人還是不肯放過「做好份工」的阿姐，唔該，俾我地坐入去先慢慢鬧好嗎？其實都只係想食餐飯，西裝友你又何
「先生，我地出邊個牌寫晒係到架。」
「咁多人我又會睇到你個牌寫咩！」
阿姐一直與西裝友鬧交，我就一直的看著她手上拿著我們的點心紙。其實大家都只是想食個叉燒包，香港人，唔使咁大壓力嘅。添好運的酥包叉燒包正就人人都知，平民食堂米芝蓮一星喎，你點敢話佢唔好食。講真你知佢好味，但點解好食就未必講得出。首先要做到叉燒包的價錢大眾化。不是每一個酒樓都有酥包叉燒包，要做到菠蘿皮脆內軟，叉燒醬與叉燒的比例剛好，不可以太多肥膏。其次，就是添好運有一個取勝之道，酥包叉燒包一定是即叫即焗。有很多酒樓的叉燒包送上餐桌時只是微暖，吃的時候就欠缺了剛出爐的那種新鮮，麵包何時都是一出爐都最好食。坐著一邊吃點心，汗就不停的流，因為點心熱哄哄的，加上冷氣似有還無，想吃飯吃得健康點的朋友，（流多尐汗好似會減到肥。哈），可以賞試大熱天時來吃添好運的點心。值得一提的是這裡的蝦餃，雖然個人不是太喜歡吃蝦，但蝦餃的size剛剛好，不太大粒，皮薄，幾粒細蝦，一啖一隻，味道亦不錯。還有大大個的珍珠雞，內有多種餡料，最喜歡吃到的有雞翼（係！大大隻雞翼！），雞肉同潤腸。味道不錯但略嫌糯米質素不高，吃得出很多碎米且質感不夠軟熟。個人很喜歡吃的蘿蔔糕水準也不錯，有吃得出的白蘿蔔之外，味遠還拍得住另一間自己常光顧的利苑，同樣是米芝蓮一星。其他點心如魚茸蒸芋頭糕、豆豉蒸排骨與馬拉糕的味道均一般，中規中距。有點失望的是這碟豬潤腸，豬潤不夠新鮮而且切得太大塊，不及上環的聚點坊好食！有機會的一定給大家介紹，聚點坊的點心水準絕不遜於添好運。
Gobay food knowledge corner食乜你要知：
點心的名字相傳在古時候有將軍打勝仗，村民自發做糕點去犒軍，表達「點點心意」而來的。