黑龍 (灣仔)

I have been lazy! I seriously hope that I can get back into writing these entries! For my first entry of the year, I decided to start with a quick one about this ramen joint. 

The setting of the place was a typcial small, squishy, and cozy place where slerping noodles alone was perfectly normal. 

The service was amazing! Although eating ramen is a quick experience, I could experience THE Japanese service!  The servers were really polite and always smiling! It made loner diners feel a lot better. 

What I got yesterday was the Beef Tendon Ramen ($98)! I was really excited about this since it was my first time having a beef ramen! Woo hoo!  Finally, something for beef-lovers like me.  First thing I did was to taste the broth. It was super thick and rich and just delicious! I don't feel it was too greasy or salty. I liked it! The texture of the ramen was fine and firm like I chose with quite a generous amount, but it looked like they were only generous with their noodles and not anything else.  The tendon was good because it metled right in my mouth, but there were just 4 or 5 very tiny pieces that were the size of my fingernails. The char siu too was good and melted in my mouth too, but again there was only 1 piece. The egg was included, so I was glad I didn't add one. The egg was okay. It kinda had that weird raw taste that I don't really like.  Final Verdict:
The ramen was delicious and the beef option is nice, however, it is rather expensive. Worth a try though!

Assembly (尖沙咀)

I can't believe it is November already! Someone is all ready for Christmas, so I decided to do some window shopping at TST!  I love going to TST, so since that was where I was going with my friend, I decided to look up what to eat there and found Assembly! Environment & Hygiene:
Although Halloween was the day before, the scary decor was still up. Since I worked Halloween night, this was like a post celebration. Ha! The ambience was good, and hygiene was okay. Perfect for a drink and chat. Taste & Value:
Happy Hour is 12pm -8pm! How awesome is that!  I got a pint of Tetley's for less than $50.  A beer is a must when you're about to have greasy food. There were quite a few things that we wanted to try on the menu, but we narrowed it down to these 2 below. 
1. Pulled Pork Poutine ($98) This was one delicious dish! From my experience, the fries to topping ratio is usually around 60:40 or less but this was the other way around, there was way more topping than fries.  Good in a way, but I do like my fries so I think they could have had more! The pulled pork was crispy and not too dry. The sauce was flavourful, thick and cheesy! I loved this dish! I'm gonna have to try their prawn poutine next time! 2. Babyback Pork Ribs ($108)The ribs were bigger than what I was expecting. There were 4 bones with plenty of meat on both sides.  The BBQ sauce was a very sharp, rich one that could have been sweeter. The meat was a little tough, but there were some tender parts. The coleslaw was creamy, and paired nicely with the pork. Service:
Service was pretty good throughout. The staff were friendly and efficient. 

Final Verdict:
Maybe another visit next week? Haha. 

Oldish (上環)

It's not always that I have the weekend off, so the fact that I did this weekend, my sister suggested brunch with my cousin at Oldish, which she saw on instagram! We got there shortly after it opened so we had the whole place to ourselves.  We were greeted by a friendly server. The place was pretty cool wth a lot of vintage decor. Even the chairs we sat on were different looking, and guess what they are for sale if you're interested. There were a total of 5 different brunch sets; all came with tea or coffee or +$10 for a latte, chocolate etc..My sister and cousin got the Oldish Hash Brown ($118) and I got the Carbonara Linguine ($98). I love the idea that the hash brown was served in a skillet. When the skillets were brought to the table, we were reminded that they were very hot and that we had to be careful not to burn ourselves. The skillet had a hashbrown base with eggs, mushrooms, bacon and sourdough bread on top.  It was pretty looking, but probably not something I would go for again. The hash brown had a different taste, which wasn't my favourite, and although it had these spices, it somehow lacked taste. I think something more mild would have been more suitable. For 1 of the skillet, the eggs were completely cooked, and for the other, the eggyolks were runny when we poked them. They arrived at the same time, and there was probably only 20s between the 2 pokings. Not too consistent maybe? The bacon could have been more crispy, but the sourdough bread was perfect. It was my favourite of the dish because the potates, mushrooms and eggs all lacked seasoning in my opinion. The Carbonara was the better dish of the 2.  Interesting that it was available even in the the morning. Haha. Weird that the bread our wasn't toasted though. Anyways, The pasta had taste and wasn't too heavy. The portion was good and we all enjoyed it. I added $10 for a Cappuccino, my sister added $10 for a Mocha, and my cousin added $10 for a Latte. We were expecting some beautiful latte art, but neither one did. You can see the mocha in the picture of the pasta. The coffee all tasted okay, but for some reason they took a long time to come. Final Verdict:
The service was warm and welcoming, and the food was okay. You could give it a try if you're looking for an oldish place to chill. 

Cupping Room Coffee Roasters (上環)

I feel like I haven't seen my friends in a while, so this morning when M suggested to go for breakfast, of course I went. 

Environment & Hygiene:
The decor was simple, yet enough.  Since everybody seemed so chill in the coffee shop, and all were kinda just doing their own thing, the ambience was really laid back and chill.  Hygiene was okay. 

Service:
Friendly staff! 

Taste & Value:
When the server brought us over the menu, she told us the poached egg was not available, but it was okay.  Here is what we got:
Cappuccino($38) for me and Latte($38) for M The coffee was not bad, but I was epexting something more exciting from this award winning barista coffee shop. The taste was quite subtle, but distinguishable from other shops. Again, I still prefer coffee down the street. 

Scrambled eggs with Toast ($48)The eggs were creamy, but a little bland. The toast was fine. I liked that they didn't serve white bread. Omelete Sandwich ($108) 
Inside the perfectly smooth looking omelete was spinach and cheese,  and underneath were a few slices of avocado, 2 slices of bacon, jam and toast. What a party!  M said she could barely taste the avocado, which was good because she doesn't like avocado. Ha! The few bites she let me try I thought were good. The saltiness of the bacon and sweetness of the jam went nicely with the cheesy egg. It is a creative dish that seemed healthy, but still not worth $108 I think.

Final Verdict:
I had quite a nice visit here. 

N1 Coffee & Co. (尖沙咀)

I had some shopping I wanted to do in TST, so I dragged my cousin along with me!  Just shopping would be boring, so before going, we stopped at N1 for some coffee and cake. 

Environment & Hygiene:
A narrow place with squishy tables. Haha. The painting on the back wall made this cafe beautifully unique.  Hygiene was okay I suppose.Service:
Service was okay, but the coffee took forever to come. After the cake arrived, it was about another 15 mins before the drinks came. They were busy, so I understand. 

Taste & Value:
My cousin and I shared the Chocolate Truffle Cake and each had a cup of coffee. I had a Flat White and she had a Latte. The cake was okay, but was a little dry. It wasn't as rich and creamy I had hope. They cutely drew a dog or something with a chocolate sauce on the side of the plate. Our 2 cups of coffee were not bad. Nothing mindblowing as well, but they both had beautiful latte art!

Final Verdict:
Coffee and cake together are always enjoyable.