Straight outta Japan, つけめんTETSU is the latest Tsukemen noodles joint to open doors in Hong Kong. Although I've only had a handful of different Tsukemens in Hong Kong, this one at Tetsu is decidedly my favourite!

I ordered the standard Tsukemen option, where the noodles are served cold (and dry) while the thick soup on the side is hot. The plain noodles by itself was already pretty outstanding given its perfectly chewy al dente texture. I'd definitely suggest going with the cold ("normal") option as the "hot" noodles option are served in soup and start getting soggy as it cooks itself while you eat. The soup here is also extremely flavourful. Yet at the same time it wasn't too oily or fatty either. I added a half cooked egg (a must!) and some extra spring onions (which are good if you love the strong oniony flavour).

We also ordered the dumplings (HK$29) on the side but they didn't really stand out and were boarderline mediocre. So if you're feeling hungry, you'd probably be better off getting a larger portion of noodles - You can choose between 200g and 300g of noodles when ordering.

Interestingly, if your soup gets cold towards the end (since it does take time to get through that huge bowl of ramen), you can request to add in a hot stone, which is meant to warm the liquids up. That said, I was kind of happy just eating it cold - it actually tastes good that way!

This place seemed popular from my brief research on the web (openrice reviews and Instagram). And indeed it was pretty packed on a Saturday afternoon and the decor was nice. As we sat down, the food on the table next to us looked really stale and mediocre. So we decided to just get drinks. I ordered the green tea latte and it was gross. It looked very nice and green but it tasted like cold water and syrup. My boyfriend got the flat white. It came with some decent looking latte art but tasted milky, tasteless and worse than McCafe's. It's pretty unimaginable to me how this place has so many good reviews.

I read and heard a lot of good things about this place and was excited to venture into this "hidden" alleyway in Sai Kung to try it out. But as we walked to our table at the back of the restaurant, we saw some of the brunch items other people had ordered and it looked a little uninspiring and sloppy...

We decided to just order a creme tea set (3 scones, clotted cream, jam and 1 drink) to try first. To our further disappointment, the scones did not taste like scones at all. The texture was super soft and pretty much exactly like a small bread bun. It didn't taste bad, but it was just nothing like a scone - it was a small bread. The clotted cream and jam was alright, but nothing outstanding either.

The lemonade was served to us with the waitress shaking a fancy silver shaker thing at our table and that seemed cool at first. But the lemonade ultimately tasted like soda water + a few slices of lemon + mint. 

All in all, it feels like this place is overhyped and wasn't really worth my visit. After the creme tea set, we quickly got the bill and went elsewhere. 

Savoury waffles that go with everything

Almost all items on their menu feature waffles (hence the name) – we ordered the Waffles Benedict and All The Best (*must order*) off their weekend brunch offering. Everything on each dish seamlessly matched the waffles, evidence that much effort must have been put into creating a savoury version. I probably preferred the All The Best combo more, just because it was a relatively less common dish found at brunch spots and all the ingredients tasted good.There has definitely been growing Western waffle spots in Hong Kong, but Waffling Beans is one of the few (if not only) that serve Liege waffles which are significantly different in taste and texture to the typical (probably American) style of crunchier and slightly thinner ones. There’s more batter “filling” inside the waffle which is dense and bread-like, which could explain why they pair well with literally everything.We also tried their main course dishes and the underdog that ultimately won our attention was the meatballs (*must order*). They clearly use proper beef and fresh tomato sauce when making these, and there was probably no trace of the floury doughy stuff that makes commercial meatballs taste so fake. Real meat was something we both came to appreciate – and even more so because it mishmash-ed super well with the delicious waffles!One of my favourite coffee spots in Hong Kong
The waffles impressed me much but almost not as much as the coffee did. The coffee here was a pleasant shocker and tasted significantly better than most specialist artisan coffee shops I’ve sampled lately. We tried their flat white and piccolo latte and given that there’s usually a 99% rate of disappointment when ordering piccolos in Hong Kong, their near-perfect piccolo latte was ever more impressive. I almost ordered another – the only restraint coming from the fact that I already had a large cappuccino before arriving.For the Sweet Tooth
They use a different recipe for their sweet waffles, although they are still “Liege” style which are thick and dense. They have a load of options but given how much I had ingested, I decided to go for something relatively refreshing and simple. The 7th Heaven features strawberries, fresh cream and homemade berry jam. It was a safe and delicious combo that I’d easily recommend!

Vietnamese food, specifically pho bo is one of my favourite kinds of comfort food. But coming across a good bowl of beef pho is not the norm when eating Vietnamese in Hong Kong. Usually you get served Chinese ho fun noodles that’s gone just a little too soft with a few slices of uninspiring overcooked beef.

Nha Trang and Bep (featured in my 5 Restaurants Worth Revisiting Again and Again) are probably among the tiny handful of Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong serving pretty decent bowls of pho.

But the best one I’ve had (and it was only as recent as last week) has to be the one from Bun Cha Vietnamese Cafe & Restaurant. I think it’s opened by a Vietnamese woman (who you’ll likely see in there), operated by Vietnamese staff and all this authentic-ness shows in the taste of the food.Beef Pho *must order*
It’s really hard to capture how good this pho bo tasted in a photo. Some telling factual descriptions include: they use actual pho which was still very al dente when served, I think I drank half of the soup base and the beef was medium rare (that you can see) and fatty.
Tastes aside, it’s also a good portion at a very reasonable price of HK$68!Cha Nem (Spring rolls)
One bowl of pho bo each was an instant decision we made before even sitting down. But I always struggle on what else to order at any Vietnamese restaurant. The waitress enthusiastically approved of the Cha Nem (spring rolls wrapped in lettuce) and it turned out to be an excellent recommendation.Banh Mi (Sandwich)
She also said the Banh Mi is very good here so we took her suggestion again. There was some very juicy pork meat in there with a whole bunch of other stuff that made the sandwich very tasty. Though honestly I’ve probably only had Banh Mi one other time in my life, and the beef pho had left me too in awe to judge anything else…

When I first visited Viet Kitchen, I was pumped for the beef pho, having read some good reviews. I was ultimately a tad disappointed because it wasn’t really my kind of pho. While the beef soup base was outstandingly full of flavours, it was the soft pho and beef cuts that I didn’t love too much.
But pho aside, their other dishes, especially some of the new items, turned out to be good surprises. They’re not traditional Vietnamese choices at all, but are delicious and definitely interesting to try.Salmon tartare – HK$108 *must order*
This salmon tartare reminded me not to take authentic-ness too seriously as I’m certain the chef had no intention of serving traditional Vietnamese dishes, rather modern food with influences from different cuisines. With that in mind, this new item on their menu doesn’t taste very Vietnamese-like, but had strong Asian herby tastes to it. I loved the taro chips too! It’s a refreshing dish to kickstart the meal.Caramelised Chicken Wings – HK$88
Our group had many compliments for the caramelised chicken wings in general; the meat was juicy and the skin was a little spicy and very flavourful – much more sophisticated the typical garlic butter wings. That said, I personally was not super wow-ed by the dish and enjoyed the other starters even more.Soft shell crab and coriander tempura – HK$88
Deep fried coriander? A first for me. I love coriander and was excited to hear about this dish. But don’t worry if you’re not a coriander-lover, as the coriander taste is quite mild after being fried in batter. Plus they serve it with Sriracha mayo which neutralises the coriander taste even more. The soft shell crab was pretty good too. Some may complain that there’s too much batter, but if you love fried stuff or tempura like me, it’s a must order!
By the way, that salad on the side of this tempura is not to be missed! It’s crunchy, fish saucily tasty and refreshing.Claypot Caramel Salmon *must order*
New on the menu, this claypot salmon was easily my favourite dish at Viet Kitchen and unexpectedly so. The salmon fillet was cooked perfectly to medium rare, leaving the meat smooth and juicy. It was served atop al dente rice with a very pleasant and complementary sweet sauce. We all agreed the sweet and salty mix was a surprisingly good combo. It’s 100% a must order and my favourite dish here!Basil ice cream – HK$68
Ordering basil ice cream definitely made me feel adventurous and interesting for trying something ‘so different’. The basil flavours are quite strong and are complemented/layered well with a strawberry sauce. Order it if you are curious but it’s also skippable and not the kind of dessert that will force the birth of your second stomach. Instead, they also have a coffee affogato, where they use their own in house Vietnamese coffee – potentially even more interesting!

Ore-no Kappou markets itself to serve Michelin-quality food for the masses. I had just finished my post-work workout at LKF’s Pure and was thinking of casual Japanese food, Sen Ryo? Then I remembered Ore-no Kappou being downstairs and decided to give it a shot.

Worth my money but not “affordable”
Casual is the environment but definitely not the price. At HK$700 per person, it is hardly a meal to be labelled “affordable”. That said, there were cheap items in addition to expensive ones and the latter items were always sufficiently backed by excellent quality, that I would say, justifies the price. So the Michelin-quality part of their marketing proposition, does indeed apply to the ingredients they use.Excellent and fresh quality Assorted Sashimi (small portion) – HK$480 *must order*
The high quality of their food was most evident in the sashimi. Everything on that platter was super fresh and extemely delicious. The toro was so fat that that alone filled up half my stomach. They also had sea urchin as part of this platter that day, but I’m no fan and asked for a swap.
They serve the freshest fish flown from Japan as part of this order and so it was definitely not Michelin-quality service of them to dump it on our table without saying a word about what fish was on the plate.Perfectly battered Eel Tempura – HK$100
I love eel and rarely see it tempura-style. It was a pretty decently sized whole piece of eel, perfectly fried in batter. They serve it with a dark smokey salt that matches the fish very well. Definitely a must-order for eel lovers.Refreshing cold Bukkake Udon – HK$50 *must order*
I don’t actually know what Bukkake Udon is supposed to be like. To describe it in my own childish words, it was cold udon in some light soy sauce-y base and some other accompanying ingredients (including an onsen egg!). The udon quality itself was top notch, super al dente and chewy. The overall dish was a refreshing carbohydrate that sided well with our fatty fish and meat mains. At a better-than-reasonable price tag of just HK$50, it’s a must order.Fatty Wagyu Beef Steak – HK$400
Look at the marbling in the steak! This wagyu beef had a lot of marbling fat which made the meat super tender and flavourful. It was cooked to medium rare (without requesting). With such good quality meat and decent portion (there were about 7 of these slices), it was worth the 400 bucks.Pineapple creme brulee – HK$60 *must order*
We wow-ed out loud when the table next to us ordered this and it was definitely a good decision to follow suit. The creme brulee had a thin cracking crust and smooth pudding-like centre. However, they only had 3 dessert options and this was the only appealing one to me. At HK$60, I thought this was also a pretty good deal.

Good food will bring me back!
One note on the menu is that there were a lot of sea urchin and foie gras items, which are the two foods I can’t stand the taste of. So with those items ruled out, I didn’t feel like I had a whole lot to choose from.

Overall, the bill came up to about HK$1400 for two, including a 300ml sake which was not expensive but too average in taste to mention. The overall meal is definitely much less affordable that I had expected, given the online reviews I read, super casual environment (almost elbow-touchingly crowded) and sub-par service. The items in general are quite high in absolute price (with exceptions, like the udon), but the meal was definitely worth it. All the food we ordered was fresh and impressed. I’d order every single one of those dishes again the next time!

Bistro du Vin is still the casual French restaurant that impresses me most and countless people have revealed the same to me. In fact, I visited on a Monday night and they were fully booked!Scallops carpaccio

The dish was simple and refreshing. Honestly it wasn’t served with much more than the super fresh scallops themselves, so it was really the quality of the seafood that we were amazed by. That means, no fishy taste whatsoever.
Escargots with bone marrow *must order*

I’ve probably had bone marrow five times in my life and I almost swore I would not make a mistake for the sixth time. But I still wanted to try it this time and it was amazing. The taste is a lot more ‘pure’ and easy on the buds than any of the other stinky versions I’ve tried in the past, to be a little hyperbolic. The escargots were delicious as usual – it’s hard to go wrong with this one.French onion soup *must order*

Best onion soup ever. They proudly make it with an overloading amount of cheesiness, while the soup is full of flavour and not too oily either. This would be the number one dish I recommend you to order, no doubt.Slow cooked beef cheek

I was not too optimistic about this one as I’m not a huge fan of beef cheek – I usually strictly like my beef as rib eye or T-bone. But this was clearly executed extremely well. The meat was super soft and tender to the point that it was easily ‘cut’ or separated by spoon.Rum souffle

We went with their recommendation for dessert. The texture was amazing. It’s a must order if you like the taste of rum, because the rum flavour is quite intense. I’d personally prefer it without rum, but I still scraped the pot clean that night!

Great food, service and ambience

The food quality here was impressive. I loved every single dish I ordered here with the escargots with bone marrow and French onion soup being my favourite. Countless people have either recommended this restaurant to me or agreed with me it was great! It’s not fine dining (though not cheap dining either) and has a more bustling ambience which makes it perfect for catching up or medium sized group gatherings.

We spent about HK$600 each with wine and the one dessert, which is not cheap at all, but the taste of food is worth it, I’d say.

Sushi Tokumi is probably the only Japanese restaurant I’ve been to where I feel like I’m getting my bang for buck. They are generous with their portions (see the photos for evidence) and the prices are very reasonable.

Their a la carte menu (for dinner) features a great variety of the typical sushis, as well as hot dishes – the salmon belly sashimi and fried eel rice being the highlights.The salmon belly sashimi was very reasonably priced. I remember it was HK$70 ish and it comes with 6 pieces. It was super fatty like it should be. The fatty tuna warship was full of tuna (as you can see). The tuna quality was quite standard, but for the price I thought it was definitely acceptable.The stone pot fried eel rice is a must order item. They are generous with the eel bits inside and the rice is very flavourful. 

Overall we spent HK$200 per head, but we also ordered a (cheap) bottle of sake. Make sure you make a reservation as they are quite full during dinner times!

French burger chain Big Fernand joins the limited casual dining scene at IFC, Central. Though Asian Twist (its predecessor) was initially sorely missed, there’s nothing sad about the French invasion here, as Big Fernand makes some of the tastiest burgers in town, although at a pretty hefty price too.Juicy burger with delicious sauces and cheese
Their menu is pretty simple – they have a few meat options (lamb included) and a vegetarian option too; you can also build your own burger. I went for the more epic-sounding beef burger, Bartholome. The burger was super juicy and they incorporate their own sauces in there which matches the whole affair quite perfectly. The cheese is also worth mentioning; it was gourmetly delicious – none of that cheap sliced cheese nonsense! The patty is thinner than ideal, but they nevertheless still managed to cook it with a “pink” centre (for “medium”) and the meat was not dry at all.

Pricey for a self-service restaurant
Big Fernand is a casual self-service restaurant; you line up to order and pay for your burger (then wait for it too). The line was a little long (8-10 people) when I visited during lunch hours (1pm) and didn’t move too quickly either. For that reason, HK$135 for the burger alone (+HK$40 for a set with fries and a drink) is a pretty big price tag for what it is. But then again, it’s IFC and it tastes good! So… I’ll probably be back!