Category Archives: Wan Chai

The One With He Jiang – Dual Hot Pot Goodness

12 February, 2015 10:00 am | Leave a Comment |

I think I have a slight addiction to the hot pot at He Jiang. When I saw this deal on Groupon, I just couldn’t resist. It was a hotpot set for four, plus a bottle of Spanish wine, all for some $500+.

Quite a steal, right? And knowing He Jiang, I knew the deal will be limited, so I went ahead and bought the Groupon without even thinking about who will go with me.

It was a decision I don’t regret.

He Jiang

The dual hot pot of Chengdu hot & spicy pot and fish pot with Chinese herbs sets the tone for the night. There were rich and aromatic, which gets us going all night long.

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Posted in: Hotpot, Sichuan, Wan Chai | Tagged: , , , ,

The One With Koh Thai – Great Alfresco At Wan Chai

4 February, 2015 10:00 am | Leave a Comment |

Sometimes it is hard to find a decent, reasonable alfresco places on Hong Kong Island. Therefore I often keep a few places close to my heart and Koh Thai at Wan Chai is one of them. One early evening I was at a bit of a loose end so decided to head there for a work-cum-leisure dinner.

Koh Thai Wan Chai

The restaurant is located one level above ground, so you are spared from the usual dust and noise from the street. You walk into the terrace after climbing a flight of stairs, and pass those Buddha statues, it is like stepping into another world.

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Posted in: Thai, Wan Chai | Tagged: , , ,

The One With Old Bazaar Kitchen – Timeless Oldie Favourites

22 July, 2014 9:49 pm | Leave a Comment |

There is good food, and then then there is really good food.

I can’t remember the last time I gushed this much over a meal. It was completely unexpected and a gem of a find really. Upon some research, I discovered that Old Bazaar Kitchen has a long history with a prior location in Tin Hau that shuttered its door in 2012, only to re-emerged in Wanchai. The waitstaff was unfailingly polite and extreme helpful, and the boss, Angel Cheung was quick to help us with the menu. Since there were only two of us, we decided to go for three dishes. And lucky we did, for the portion is nothing short of enormous.

Old Bazaar Kitchen

Cold squid – I greeted this dish with an unmanly gasp. The squid was easily the length of my arm! Skillfully cut and plated, this simple squid was fresh, crunchy and succulent. I though I had good squid but this blew everything else before out of the water. Served with a choice of either wasabi or chilli sauce, I reckon this gorgeous baby serves at least four.

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Posted in: Chinese, Wan Chai

The One With The Butchers Club Burgers – It’s No Place For A Diet

16 June, 2014 9:03 pm | Leave a Comment |

I couldn’t remember the last time I had burger this good.

The Butchers Club Burgers

Imagine this – a packed corner shop with hard, tall stools and sharp edged tables. A roaring kitchen doing a brisk trade and a bustling crew of waiters serving trays of burgers and fries. I was eating standing up – partly because I figured I would use less space that way, and because I expect my waistline to dangerously expand after some serious burger-guzzling.

Which I did. And it did.

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Posted in: Australian, Wan Chai

The One With Shanghai Lo – Surprising Restaurant Packing Quite A Punch

10 June, 2014 8:00 am | Leave a Comment |

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight.

As we stepped into the restaurant, the somewhat gloomy interior and dark furnishing reminded me strongly (for some strange reasons) of a karaoke lounge. Granted, Shanghai Lo is probably very new, and the deco – contemporary Chinese with hard straight lines exuded a vibe of privacy and seclusion. The cubicle tables comfortably seats four though most were used by couples, and I saw some very promising private rooms perfect for a small group gatherings. It was buzzy without being too noisy.

The One With Shanghai Lo

But I wasn’t there to comment on its interior. The tasting menu ($368 per pax) looked very pretty good, so we went for those.

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Posted in: Shanghainese, Wan Chai

The One With The Pawn – Modern British Fare

9 October, 2013 8:30 am | Leave a Comment |

Unless you are really in-the-know, one seldom associate The Pawn with food. The British establishment, housed within a historical building in Wan Chai that was previously (surprise!) a pawnshop, is better known for being a good spot for drinks, what with its spacious bar area that occupies the second floor of the building.

In fact, it wasn’t until I was invited to The Pawn for a tasting dinner that I realised this place serve food. Great British food, at that. We were blessed with some very fair weather the night we visited, so the four of us were seated at the balcony on the third floor, which was cosy and rustic with a laid-back feel. It was one of those rare finds in Hong Kong where the restaurant has plenty of space – great for privacy and personal space – right smack in the middle of town.

The Pawn’s 5th Anniversary Menu

To commemorate its fifth year anniversary, the good folks at The Pawn came up with a great, reasonably priced menu of modern British fare that serves four. To add more feel-good factor to their celebration, an optional $10 is added to every dinner bill (and $5 for lunch) to be donated to the local charity St. James’ Settlement.

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Posted in: British, Wan Chai

The One With Han Kook Gwan – Affordable Korean In Wanchai

9 September, 2013 9:43 pm | Leave a Comment |

Had it not been for my colleagues, I would have never found the place.

Han Gook Kwan is one of those restaurant tucked away in a little back alley that few venture in. Only those in the knows would brave those steep slope, past some dodgy looking stalls looking for the popular Korean restaurant famous for its affordable lunch set and and hence packed with office crowd every day of the week.

With set lunches ranging from HK$68 – HK$98, these deals are hard to beat. Especially when you start off your meals with those little plates of Korean appetisers. You get eight different variety regardless of the size of your group.

There were two of us that afternoon.

Han Kook Gwan Korean Restaurant

I didn’t want to eat too much, but then again didn’t want my colleague to miss out. So I quickly recommended what seems to be the more popular dish of Han Gook Kwan – a bowl spicy, sour kimchi soup with seafood and beancurd. The broth is always appetising though the seafood portion was a tad too small, even for a lady. Perhaps more mussels, please?

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Korean, Wan Chai

The One With Maureen – Wan Chai Chinese Noodles Bar With Slow Cooked Food

14 May, 2013 9:47 pm | 1 Comment |

It was a noodle bar with a name that was hard to resist. Especially when you have a friend whose name is also Maureen and you wanted to try a new place for your first dinner gathering in the new year.

Maureen's Noodles

Finding Maureen (that’s the name of the restaurant, short and sweet) has been more than a challenge. At least three cab drivers claimed not to know the street, and on my fourth attempt, I demanded the driver to look at my map and to get me there. Tip: To get to Hing Wan Street, you are better off looking for Stone Nullah Lane (石水渠街). That’s where the famous Blue House of Hong Kong is located at. A few doors down from Maureen is the Wanchai Visual Archive. You can’t miss it, with its patron spilling out from the bar onto the sidewalk with their merrymaking while the entire street was eerily silent.

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Posted in: Chinese, Wan Chai

The One With Fullka Cantonese Cuisine – The Unsung Hero In Causeway Bay / Wanchai

25 April, 2013 10:03 pm | Leave a Comment |

Once in a while you need to break out from your normal routine to discover new experience and enjoy different food. Thanks to my relentless colleagues who were out to get me for lunch every Friday (I swear, they timed it with their calendar), I found myself surrounded by the lovely ladies from the marketing department for some great Cantonese fare at the Fullka Restaurant.

Never heard of Fullka before? Well, neither did I, until that afternoon. Apparently this place was off-radar for most foodies, which was apparent by how not full it was during lunchtime on a working weekday. Further investigation revealed that this restaurant was previously named Home Wanchai (does that sound familiar?) and was helmed by Chef Lee Yue Ching of ‘Ah Yat Abalone’ fame. The set lunch was a steal at HK$88, where you get soup, one main course with rice, and a dessert. Since the main course is rather large in portion, you can go with a few friends so that you can mix and match from its extensive menu of true Cantonese food.

And so on to the lunch.

Pig Stomach Soup

Fullka Cantonese Cuisine

Hand’s down, the best starter soup I have ever tried in Hong Kong (and that’s saying something). The soup was intense with peppery taste and was well balanced with the meaty goodness of the excellent pig stomach. The soup burns down as you drink it, in a very comforting way. It was such a perfect, fiery soup for a cold winter day.

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Chinese, Wan Chai

The One With Ming Kei Restaurant – A Lesson In Chinese Soup

30 January, 2013 12:17 am | 1 Comment |

It is customary for the Chinese to start their meal with a hearty bowl of soup. When I say hearty, I mean delicious, often healthy and detoxifying, bowl of goodness usually made with some serious herbs, greens and meats.

Ming Kei Restaurant may not the best place for soup in Hong Kong, but I have been to this place often enough in the past to know that their soup is decent, served in a large claypot pot. You can usually order one large pot if your table has at least four diners. If you are unsure of what soup to order, ask for “lei tong“, which is kind of the term to use for “soup of the day”.

Ming Kei Seafood Restaurant

There are many reasons why the Chinese like to have soup with their meal. Even if the typical soup you can get from a restaurant does not usually have healing powers, a bowl of lovingly prepared Chinese soup will make us feel better, a definite comfort after a long day at work. The Chinese also believe that soup is the perfect food when your ying is out of balance of the yang. Just ask the Chinese grandma painstakingly brew endless pots of chicken soup for their ailing grandchildren. It’s a tried and tested tradition that medical sciences have only begin to understand.

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Posted in: Chinese, Wan Chai