This review is for the main branch at Jaffe Road.

As the name suggest, this seafood specialist has been in business for 20 years under a bridge (a vehicle bridge). Over the years, the seafood specialist flourished from a road side stall to a restaurant, still near the bridge, and with several branches around the Wan Chai district.

We had several dishes but the "名不虛傳" (directly translated as : a name that is indeed credible) dish is the Spicy Crab with Chilli and Garlic. When the plate of crabs was dished out, there was the obvious fragrance of the fried garlic. The crabs were buried under the generous heap of fried chilli and garlic bits.

Ade who claimed that she had a sore throat still went ahead to scoop several little spoonfuls of the fried chilli and garlic and pop right into her mouth. Great stuff! We decided to order a bowl of white rice to go with these fabulous bits of chilli and garlic. Even without the crab, the fried chilli and garlic went well with just white rice.

There was a photo of Anthony Boudain posing in a photo with the restaurant boss. Having watch Anthony Boudain's No Reservations, if he bothered to pose a photo with a 'thumbs up', it's an indication that 橋底辣蟹 Under Bridge Spicy Crab Restaurant is definitely worth the visit.

For more details and photos - http://4-the-love-of-food-overseas.blogspot.com/2010/03/under-bridge-spicy-crab-wan-chai-hong.html

This restaurant is done up as a Swiss cabin. I loved the wood panelled walls and ceiling. Food here is fantastic. I had rack of lamb which was succulent and full of flavour. Service is absolutely impeccable. Dessert was really special - a little swiss model chalet made of chocolate, cream and ice-cream. The only downside is that the restaurant is rather small, and so when it is full, the air can get a bit stuffy. Best if possible to have an early dinner and leave just before 9pm, when it is at its most crowded.

The pub here is extremely famous and extremely crowded. People usually spill out onto the street. Great for people watching.

Food here was excellent. I loved the prawns which were seasoned with a very fragrant herb (though I am not sure what that herb was).

The server was informative about the various courses.

Price seems very reasonable for the quality of food.

Atmosphere is cosy but not grand. It can also be a little noisy as it is a small confined space.

All in all, this is a good home kitchen that seems to provide value for money.

The meals here represent the best of Chinese fine dining that I have tasted so far. The flavours are fresh and subtle, and the presentation is beautiful. Service is wonderful.

I have to resort to writing reviews on HK's food places just to seek comfort in the old hgw's layout. Hee hee. While it is not difficult to find good porridge in Singapore. Somehow having porridge for breakfast in hk is an experience worth remembering. I had the century egg porridge (HK$18) which was smooth and tasty. The shredded pork was a bit too heavy in flavour though. People with a hearty appetite may want to try the Ocean Empire Special Porridge (HK$23), which they basically dump all the ingredients in. Zha Chang (HK$13) is another common tim sum in our cantonese restaurant. Ocean's version is good but not the best mainly due to the rather soggy fried fritters. Thank goodness we have Imperial Treasure and Kam Boat at home to dish out better version of this Zha Chang. I like my Zha Chang with loads of peanut butter just to confuse my tastebuds with both sweet and savoury ha! Finally, soya bean drink (HK$7, came with a packet of sugar for us to sweeten the drink ourselves) was quite alright too. While dishes are just average but ocean empire is really comfortable enough (and much more sanitised than other char chan tengs) to have a leisurely breakfast.

Opia closed at the end of 2008 and has since been replaced by The Drawing Room

Yellow Door Kitchen ranks quite highly as one of Hong Kong's top private kitchens. As one of the forerunners of private kitchen dining in the late ’90s, the one-Michelin starred Yellow Door Kitchen apparently attracts a star studded following which includes luminaries like movie mogul Sir Run Run Shaw, Japanese actress Takako Tokiwa and Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.



We were fortunate to secure a dinner reservation on our first night in Hong Kong. The restaurant's dinner sets are pocket friendly, costing HKD 298 (or about SGD55) per pax excluding drinks. The restaurant does not impose service charge so tipping is encouraged.



Locating the restaurant was very challenging. Nobody knows where the restaurant is located and the notorious Lan Kwai Fong slopes seemed bent on torturing our pampered tubby feet.

After what seemed like eternity, we finally spotted a dimly lit sign beside a 7 eleven store which led us to our final destination.



Contrary to our perception of private kitchens, Yellow Door Kitchen is modern, swanky and highly westernized, complete with servers in crisp white uniforms.

The chef draws much inspiration from Sichuan and Beijing cuisine so be prepared to douse the spiciness with lots of water or tea (The water dispenser was mysteriously "faulty" that night so we had to separately order bottled water and tea). I strongly recommend the eight treasures tea which leaves a fragrant pleasurable aftertaste in the palate and complements all the food items beautifully.



Our dinner menu for that evening comprised 8 entrees, 6 main dishes, a dim sum and dessert:



Entrees: Pickled cucumber, sliced pork with spicy garlic sauce, fried slices of eel with orange peel, boiled edamame in distilled liquor, stir fried beef fillet with soya bean topping, slice bittergourd, corn kernels with lemongrass and seaweed salad with spicy sauce.



Mains: Soup of porcini and chicken, chicken and shredded leek with spicy sauce, smoked pork ribs with honey and tea leaves, fried prawns in sichuan hot and spicy sauce, stir fried chinese asparagus, shanghai stuffed duck.



Dim Sum: Dan dan noodles



Dessert: Black Sesame dumplings



The entrees were in minute portions and we were ravenously hungry. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the exquisite and clean flavors, our favorites being the addictively crunchy pickled cucumbers and spicy morsels of unagi accentuated with shavings of orange peel. We were also highly amused by the liquor infused edamame pods and lemon grass spiked corn kernels.



With our appetites suitably revved up, we dug into the main courses with gusto. The clear chicken broth was nourishing and full of deep flavor.

However, what really upped the ante were the subsequent courses of spicy saliva chicken and smoked pork. The pairing of meat and marinade was sublime, as was the play of textures and flavors.

Hubby especially adored the smoked honey crusted pork rib, which effortlessly slid off the bone and crumbled in our mouths like a Cadbury honeycomb.



The next course comprised of battered prawns doused in a piquant Sichuan peppercorn sauce with diced peppers, garlic and dried chili. Here was another unforgettable dish- but in a different way. The prawns were big and juicy but the small peppercorns hidden within were also wickedly spicy. Our tongues were momentarily stung for a good ten minutes- but it was worth it.



Our meal took a downhill slide from here...the subsequent dish of stuffed duck (purportedly the restaurant's specialty) was interesting but paled in comparison to the earlier meat dishes.It tasted like a glitzier version of the lotus leaf wrapped glutinous rice dish commonly served at Chinese wedding banquets in Singapore. Equally lack lustre were the dan dan noodles, which were simply doused in chili oil and sprinkled with some sesame seeds. Tasty but underwhelming.



Dessert was wholesome, homely and highly satisfying. The chewy exterior of the dumpling burst forth with just the right balance of creamy black sesame goodness, resulting in a gooey mess which could only be described as heaven.



All in all, it was an enjoyable meal. However, with so many other interesting private dining kitchens in Hong Kong yet to be explored, I doubt I'll be coming back to Yellow Door anytime soon.



Check out my blog for pics: =)
http://waragaw.blogspot.com/2010/01/private-kitchen-dining-in-hong-kong.html

I was recommended this noodle place by a friend who was trying to enforce the point of wontons being really much larger over here in Hong Kong. It turned out to be a place that sells only noodles with only modest options of toppings and true enough, the king prawn wonton noodle which looked to be sitting on almost everyone else's table, had wontons the size of a plum. This steaming bowl of noodles was in short, satisfyingly impressive. Apart from those tasty dumplings which had, I counted, three shrimps with minced meat, it was also a bowl laden with a very hearty portion of thin chewy noodles that that was coupled with excellent texture and bite. My type of noodles. Certainly one of the simple comforts to head out for in the cool evenings of winter.

The side of vegetables in oyster sauce was commendably soft yet crunchy without being the least fibrous. I was so taken in by this place that I headed back out here the following evening for dinner which wasn't so remarkable by their three topping noodle which included sliced beef and a fishball that was textured like a meatloaf of sorts. Stick to the wonton noodles.

pictures here

The premium of real estate must have really driven old time stall owners with limited physical business space to resort to a semi regimental seat allocation system where the owners dictate where one seats and if they may be seated if not all of the group has arrived. This was kinda what happened down at Kau Kee which was another one of the numerous noodle restaurants that dot the neighbourhood I was staying at in Central. One should not expect genteel service and should order quickly and shortly depart the premise after eating to avoid scowls.

Apparently, Kau Kee is supposed to be known for their ngau lam mee and in honesty, it wasn't really what I was expecting out of beef brisket noodles. Firstly, the soup wasn't a beef broth as I had expected and was really just the same soup base for wonton noodles. It took a helping of their home made shrimp paste chilli sauce to get things to the point where it was really drinkable. The accompanying beef briskets were decent, not exceptional by any means. In the end, it was a passable bowl of beef noodles which was made enjoyable by the cool weather, very decent noodles and not much else.

see your beef noodles here