Hong Kong: Honolulu Coffee Shop 檀島咖啡餅店 @ Wan Chai

We stayed at Metro Park Hotel (Wan Chai) which was close to quite a few good eateries. Our second stop right after our wanton noodle stop was this place. 

The menus at these HK-style cha chaan teng (tea cafes) can definitely be daunting for people who do not read Chinese characters. An easy way out is to see what other customers are eating and point and say that you would like the same too. What I do sometimes is also to ask them what they are eating, and the locals would gladly point to the menu, or even order for you. This cafe offers what most cha chaan tengs do - from an assortment of drinks, to light bites such as sausages/fries, toasts/sandwiches, curry/baked rice, macaroni etc. We were here at 5 plus in the evening on a Friday and the dinner crowd was slowly streaming in. 

Our main aim for visiting Honolulu Cafe was to try the famous egg tarts, so it didn't take long for us to make our order. 

I seldom take egg tarts in Singapore, because they're usually just so meh. The ones here (HKD8/pc), were flaky on the outside (the crust), and soft as beancurd on the inside. Not too sweet, the crust and custard blended so well together in terms of texture and taste. It was a sweet ending to our earlier meal at Wing Wah. 

We ordered their milk tea (HKD19) and coffee (HKD19) to go along with it. The HK milk tea is essentially what we call teh c siu dai or teh c kosong at our local drinks stalls. I must admit, I still prefer teh tarik, as the carnation milk doesn't sit well with me.  

I had the most wonderful polo bun during my last trip to HK at Kam Wah, and this time, we decided to try a polo bun at another place first in order to have a better comparison. All I can say is, you need not bother with the polo bun here (HKD11).  

Most of the cha chaan teng offer these items to-go as well. 

Address and Directions: 176-178 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai MTR Exit A4 turn right 

灣仔軒尼詩道176-178號地下及閣樓

Opening Hours: 06.00 - 00:00 

Hong Kong: Wing Wah Wanton Noodle Restaurant 永華面家 @ Wan Chai

For the first meal of our recent trip to Hong Kong, we passed by this wanton noodle shop near our hotel. There were some celebrity photos and newspaper articles at the shop front so we thought, it can't be any bad. 

There's a decent variety of dishes to choose from, and being our meal, we decided on wanton noodles and dumpling noodles, one dry and one soup. 

Little did we know this eatery was actually listed in CNN Travel's Top 5 noodle specialists in Hong Kong!  The noodles here are handmade traditionally, kneaded with bamboo. What I couldn't figure out was how come their dry noodles (HKD62; approx. SGD10.30) cost twice as much as their soup version (HKD38)! Their gravy for the dry version is simple - Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce. Perhaps the sauce cost a lot? S$10 for a plate of wanton noodles in HK?! That's more pricey than Crystal Jade. 

The dumplings were filled with real stuff, as you can tell from the photo. The wantons were also pleasing from the first bite. Although the noodles had the springy texture to it, I found the dry version a bit soggy.

 

89 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai 
灣仔軒尼詩道89號地下

Mon - Sun 11.00 - 01.00

          

Restaurant Week Review: Salt Grill & Sky Bar @ Ion Orchard

It so turned out that friend S booked Gaia which I just had a few days before our dinner appointment (I mean, what are the chances?), so we changed to Luke Mangan's Salt Grill & Sky Bar instead, which served modern Australian cuisine (though I can't tell the difference between Australian and normal Western cuisine). 

Some of us may think that Ion Orchard is just 4 or 5 floors of shops, but there's actually a restaurant hidden all the way up at Level 55, accessible from a lift near Level 4 Concierge. There is a counter for Salt Grill there and the receptionist will direct you to the lift. Taking the lift itself, with its astronomical ceiling, is an experience in itself, especially if you go for dinner, and you step into the dark, romantically lit restaurant, with one of the best views of the Singapore skyline. 

Upon arrival, we were pleasantly greeted by the wait staff, who ushered us to our seats. Although we didn't get the window seats, the view was still pretty awesome from where we were. 

We were served with bread first, and interestingly, besides olive oil, they provided dakka/duqqa/dukkah as well, which is an Egyptian side dish consisting of a mixture of herbs and nuts.  

Entree: "glass" Sydney crab omelette, enoki mushroom and herb salad, miso mustard broth (U.P $34) 

You can rarely go wrong with egg, and the crab meat wrapped inside the omelette was sweet and juicy, and enhanced the flavour of the egg. 

Citrus cured salmon, avocado, apple, fennel, with salmon roe 

Then I wished we went for lunch instead of dinner because the lighting was so dim, the photos turned out lousy. We resorted to using a simple trick for the next few photos, which looked marginally better. 

Main: BBQ spiced beef tenderloin, mash, pumpkin puree, red wine jus 

Sad to say, I'm afraid the U.S. Angus Steak served at New Ubin Seafood was much better. 

Grilled barramundi, caramelized witlof, capsicum and sultana  

Dessert: Chocolate delice, salted caramel, honeycomb, and praline ice cream

Lemongrass panna cotta, char grilled pineapple, and ginger beer sorbet 

The ginger beer sorbet and lemongrass panna cotta were refreshing, and the praline ice cream from the other dessert was also very good. Although the place seems pretty atas, once you settle into your space, it's relaxing and comfortable, the wait staff are non-intrusive but readily available, and there's a healthy space between you and your neighbours. 

 2 Orchard Turn, ION Orchard, 

#55-01 & #56-01 

Singapore 238801

Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday

Restaurant

Lunch: 11.00 – 14.00 (Last Order)

Dinner: 18.00 – 22.00 (Last Order)

Sky bar

18.00 – 23.30

(Drink last order at 23.00)

Brunch (Weekend)

11:00-14:00 (Last order)

Afternoon Tea: 14:00-18:00

Dress Code: Smart Casual

http://www.saltgrill.com/ 

New Ubin Seafood @ Sin Ming Road

I was due to have a gathering meal with the ex-classmates, but couldn't make it, and such a coincidence that Pineapple arranged a lunch at this place soon after. 

Nestled within the industrial estate of Sin Ming, this place is quite ulu, but there are a few buses which you can take from either Ang Mo Kio, or Bishan, stop along Marymount Road, and walk in from there. 

We went on a Saturday afternoon and thinking it would be crowded, we made prior booking. However, the place was quite quiet that day, with possibly 3-5 other groups of people there at that time. Still, judging from other reviews, it's better to make reservations. #justincase 

You can find their menu and prices at their website, and read about their history as well. They used to be a restaurant in Pulau Ubin, and moved over to mainland Singapore, and hence the name "New Ubin" seafood :) 

Salted egg squid ($14)

This artery-clogging, calories-laden dish was so, so good. This was undoubtedly my friend SY's favourite, because she almost licked the egg yolk off the plate, if we had not stopped her. The salted egg paste is absolutely addictive. The squid was fresh and juicy and not overly chewy, but just the right texture.

Coffee Ribs ($14) 

The ribs met expectations as well with its tastiness and tenderness, though I thought the coffee flavour could be stronger. 

Sweet Potato Leaves in Sambal 

The highlight of the meal: US Certified Black Angus Ribeye Steak (from $12 per 100g onwards; min. order of 500g) 

We had it medium well as one of us preferred that, although I usually go for medium rare. Even at medium well, the meat was tender, juicy and tasty, even without sauces. We were all really impressed by the standard, as who would have imagined such quality of steak at a zhi char place! Served with potato wedges, this eccentric wasabi mustard sauce, and tomato/chili sauce at the side. 500g is good for sharing amongst 3-5 pax.

With the steak comes the fried rice as well. Fried with beef fats and french butter, the rice really absorbed the essence. This item is not sold separately.

Boss Bee Hoon ($8) 

Another of my favourite dishes that day (actually, which of them did I not like?!). It baffles me how a simple dish of fried bee hoon could be cooked so well. It seemed to have the same "foundation" of taste as the fried rice, so I opine that it was fried in the same wok after the beef rice rice, with the remains of the aromatic fried beef fats.

4 of us ladies ordered 6 dishes, and we did well. There were leftovers of fried rice, which Pineapple happily brought home.

Total damage: Approx. $30 per pax including a pot of chrysanthemum tea
Would I go back again? Definitely.

Ubin Seafood 

Blk 27 Sin Ming Road (Behind Blk 26) #01-174

Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A 

Singapore 575680 

Tel 6466 9558 

Mon - Fri 11am-2pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm Last Order

Sat & Sun 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30pm- 10.30pm Last Order 

http://ubinseafood.com/