Saint's Alp Teahouse

> Location : Shop 221, 2/F, The Westwood, 8 Belcher's St,
Sai Wan, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Taiwanese and various types of drinks
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.saints-alp.com.hk/index.html

As the title tells you, this place is all about tea. from milk tea, green tea, frothy tea, black tea, oolong tea to much more, saint's alp teahouse provides plenty of different types of tea, juices, coffee and desserts. oatmeal cereal flakes, nata de coco, pearl tapioca, chocolate chips, yogurt, ice cream, agar of various coffee flavors are all compliments to all of their great drinks. the environment is more base on refreshment primarily with food on the side. yet, the food has caught a great deal of attention therefore making it more like a normal restaurant. location wise, saint's alp is located throughout hong kong island, kowloon and the new territories.

drinks isn't the only thing that drives saint's alp teahouse. their line of food also does a lot of damage. mostly base on taiwanese cuisine, they offer various siu sik, noodle soup, rice dishes, pizza, and toast. i would say, the two biggest things that drives this place is their marinated minced pork with steamed rice and their five different selection of toasts.

so what did i order? well, obviously the two things i just mentioned! besides what i ordered, taiwanese style rice wise, they also have shredded chicken in chia yi sauce and succulent piece of chicken. okay, back to what i ordered. taiwanese cuisine isn't famous for anything that seems to "colorful" (taiwanese style porkchop with rice, fried oyaster, etc) however, don't let those things and marinated minched pork, seemingly such a simple dish fool you. it is cooked and marinated in a flavorful (kinda salty) sauce. unlike a lot of minced meat dishes with rice in a lot of hong kong style diners which are starchy, taiwanese style stays away from that and is very dependent on the actual sauce. to some extent, the minced pork taste is similar to chinese style ja ja mien if that helps you think what it taste like. so saint's alp was good? i would concur for the most part! besides the minced pork, it also comes with some peanuts, and half an egg. marinated eggs is a very common compliments in taiwanese rice dishes. the only thing that i complain about is the amount of the minced pork. judging from the ratio between the amount of rice and minced pork, it was somewhat unbalanced. by the time i finished the minced pork, there was about 1/3 of the rice left. by then, you're craving for more of that minced pork which isn't there anymore =*( if they just give about another spoon full, it would be great. don't worry, it is not an inconsistency problem, i know that for a fact. but please don't let the portion problem fool you, if you want more, just order more! haha, 'cause it is still good.

secondly, taiwanese style toast. coming in five different flavors: pork patty toast with cheese, honeyed ham toast with cheese, coconut butter & toasted almond, garlic butler and blueberry filings. with all non meat versions, you can request condensed milk as a dipping sauce. so, just toast eh? no, not at all. these are thick (like two and a half to three slices of regular bread size) and starchy white toast. the outside texture especially the crust is firm and starchy making it very unique in taste and texture. the inside is soft and slightly cripsy kinda like toasted garlic bread that comes with pasta. when it comes, the toast is cut into four pieces. with my experience, i tried the garlic butler. the taste is very much like any restaurant base garlic bread but what made it a neat experience is the texture as i've mentioned multiple times. something kind of hard to explain you just have to experience yourself! next time, i'm definitely going with coconut butler since my sister in law told me it's good.

drink wise, i went with the dragon honey tea which is made out of an iced roasted oolong tea. a very simple drink. the combination of roasted oolong and mild taste of honey gave it a nice and refreshing taste. the slight foam ontop of the drink is a nice final touch for looks and the first taste's feel. overall, a good simple drink.

in the end, saint's alp teahouse is a nice place if you want to sit down and have a drink or even have a snack or light meal. i really wish they gave a little bit more of the minced pork. the pork was definitely good just not the portion, haha. environment wise, don't treat this place like a full time restaurant. if you're really hungry, make sure you order some sides to keep you filled. don't let this discourage you from visiting this place. the nature of this place is built base on drinks. food afterall is still a side thing but definitely not a non-highlight. anyhow, so i give this place combining both food and drinks...

< 3 1/2 out of 5 >

Chili N Spice

> Location : Shop 117, Podium Level 1, The Westwood,
8 Belcher's St., Sai Wan, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Thai fused with Singaporian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese
> Tel. # : (852) 2542-7777
> Website : http://kingparrot.com/eng/theme_chilli1_hk.php

Sorry it has been awhile, haha. but i gotta apologize again! since these two restaurants were unexpected visits, i didn't bring my camera with me =( however, i managed to take pictures with my camera phone with one place but the other i had to use my brother's which is low res. anyhow, i'll be visiting this place more times in the near future anyways so i'll surely replace them with better quality ones!

chili n spice is part of the king parrot group, which comprises of all sorts of cuisines from russian to shanghainese. chili n spice alone has four other branches: causeway bay, stanley, shatin, and tseung kwan o. when i first stepped into this place, there were a lot of nice decorations all around. the place is fairly big with a lower level and a higher level of seating. when i say higher level, it doesn't mean second story, but just a few steps higher up. the waitress' i had contact with all seem to be of thai or indonesian decent and their attitudes and service were overall very positive.

i ordered three things. firstly, i went with the tom yum gong as a soup starter. like thai simple kitchen which i reviewed the other week, they added some prawns in the soup. ingredient wise, it was pretty much the same (the usual coconut milk, basil leafs, mushrooms, etc). taste wise, there certainly is a difference. while simple thai had a more sour taste, chili n spice was a bit less sour yet you can sense a sweeter sensation. seriously, i wish to know what exactly is the standard for this thai soup. but judging it in a more artistic sense, chili n spice's tom yum gong is certainly in its own position because of the sweeter taste. note, the sweetness is not so much where it overwhelms the sourness. after all, the sour taste is the highlight of this and many thai soups. in the end, i definitely give this soup a go for ordering.

the second thing i ordered is the sauteed thai baby cabbage with black mushrooms. baby cabbage is a less common vegetable so check with your waiter before ordering! according to my brother, they don't always have this dish because of the baby cabbage. the reason for this (i believe) is because cabbages are a seasonal vegetable. they tend to do better in cooler weather and since it's still consider summer time right now, the heat won't help most of the cabbage crops. the base sauce of this dish is very much like a lot of thai sauteed style vegetable (e.g. morning glory). a bit salty but the baby cabbage's sweetness blends in well. the slices of carrots added into the dish also helped balance the taste. the black mushrooms were also very good. they were nice and juicy and easily bite into. i must say, besides morning glory, if you ever get a chance to order thai style baby cabbage, do it! yes, i know it's just vege, but this is vege that will make your mouth water!

on the side i want to discuss about presentation. this place doesn't give up on anything when it comes to presentation from what i see. the menu is very colorful and i could tell from it the plates and platters they use to hold their food are all very creative and unique. looking around the other tables definitely tell me so.

to connect this thought, our final dish is the chicken green curry with pumpkin and coconut milk. they also have a similar dish next to this one called duck green curry with lychee and coconut milk. both sounded very tempting but i had to go with the pumpkin since i have a lot of experience with thai curry and fruits before. first of all, presentation wise, they used this clay pot made into a shape of a chicken. obviously very unique. yes, chicken holding chicken, haha. this dish definitely is not mild at all. it is not super spicy but still enough where you need to drink some of the ice water here and there. besides the title of the dish, other known used ingredients are eggplants, basil leafs and this one round/green vegetable is used (i really want to figure out what this round green thing is! it's like the size of a cherry tomato but it's green and not as sour as a tomato). the chicken was cooked just right. not a minute more in fact. it seemingly had a raw texture to it but it is cooked of course. so it had a chewy texture when bite into. the green curry was spicy and sweet due to the coconut milk and probably some from the pumpkin. the eggplant, pumpkin and other vegetable were very soft and hold most of its taste from the cooking process. i think the overall combination of these ingredients are done very well. however, i personally would like to see this dish having a stronger taste to it. perhaps a little bit more sweeter in the green curry would do the job right. the green curry i had at central is the perfect example of what i think is green curry done right. however, take nothing away from chili n spice's green curry. the presentation and combination of ingredients is certainly a boost. taste is good but like i said sweeter would make it more memorable in my opinion.

in the end, chili n spice gave me a overall good first impression. there are still a lot i need to try from this place! the green curry just didn't quite get me going. so i couldn't give this place that extra half a point. the dish is still good! but not in the excellent status. for now, i give this place...

< 3 1/2 out of 5 >

Illy Expresso-Lord Stow's Bakery

> Location : 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Coffee, other refreshments and bakery
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.lordstow.com/

Within the excelsior hotel lies a tasty secret. a small coffee shop, illy expresso, on the ground floor features lisbon's finest egg tarts. on a side note, illy expresso carrys illy espresso coffee, which is the leader of premium espresso coffee from italy. for more information on this, please check here. so egg tarts! yes, besides macau restaurant, this place by far carries the best egg tarts you can taste in hong kong! so lisbon's finest eh? so what exactly is lord stow's bakery? let me quote directly from the website :

"Englishman, Andrew Stow opened Lord Stow's Bakery on Coloane Island, Macau in 1989. It was a modest affair, in a small village shop, in an area he loved. Local people quickly took to his European produce - a phenomenon in an area with no strong tradition of bread eating.

Andrew's philosophy was to ensure his produce was always fresh, healthy, natural and of the highest possible quality. He refused to allow his range to include the additives and preservatives so common in other bakeries. A year later, it was decided to add another item to his product range.

During a trip to Portugal in the mid-80s, Andrew had become familiar with their popular Pasteis de Nata - a kind of egg tart, which, centuries ago, had its orgins in the Lisbon waterfront area of Belem. Andrew decided he could improve on the traditional recipe and turn it into his own specialty. His Pharmaceutical background made him no stranger to experimentation and Andrew set forth. He began experimenting with his own version, dispening with the conventional ingredients of pork fat, flour and water and introducing some English touches. By doing so, he introduced these egg tarts to the Asian region in the form that they are now known."

"The Secret of the Egg Tart : The delight of a Lord Stow's egg tart is all in the crispness of the flaky pastry set up in contrast with the rich creamy filling.

Caramelized sugar gives the tart its slightly burnt appearance, which has become synonymous with Lord Stow's egg tarts.

Many people enjoy the added pleasure of a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top, a traditional Portuguese condiment to the egg tart."

so what did it taste like? the caramelized sugar on top of the egg tart along with the mostly egg white filling gives the egg tart a very delightful sweet taste! the sweetness isn't too sweet where it'll give you a sweet tooth. it is perfectly baked for a oh-so-yummy-taste! things like this is kinda hard to explain but the flaky pastry also gives the bite its finishing touch. it's kind of like eating pie. most of the time, people enjoying eating the crust more than the filling. but in this case, the filling and the pastry go hand in hand. just unbelievable!

besides the one in excelsior hong kong, lord stow's bakery can be found in thailand, japan, taiwan, philippines, korea and the original home, macau. all this information is listed on the official website! yeah, asia exclusive, haha. i have to say, this is the best egg tart i have ever eaten in my life! take nothing away from macau restaurant's egg tarts since they have the option of ordering egg white only ones. so yeah, that's all folks. carrying the world's best chain espresso coffee and the world's best egg tart deserves a good score. both i now know are of good quality. can things change? of course with further experiences. but for now, what's my take?

< 5 out of 5 >

Lamma Island Pizza Milano

> Location : 9/F, Cheung Hing Comm. Bldg., 37-43 Cochrane St.,
Central, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Italian pizza, calzone, pasta, salad, tiramisu
> Tel. # : (852) 2581-2848
> Website : N/A

Lamma island pizza milano's original home is, like the name of the restaurant, at lamma island. lamma island belongs on the new territory side of hong kong. located directly across from pizza express on the 9th floor, lamma island pizza milano is pretty hidden except for the big sign telling you where it is right above the 7-eleven. so after a creepy elevator ride (the elevator is fairly old making weird sounds kind of like in a video game or scary movie), haha, we got into the restaurant.

the restaurant isn't too big as guessed since most of these upper story lots of old buildings are usually like this. the restaurant can hold about 35-40 ish people max. the decoration and the colors used are all very traditional italian restaurant base / italy flag colors (green, white, red). it seems to me this restaurant is family base. the cook was chinese and knew cantonese and the waitress was filippino and she was the cook's husband. it was around peak lunch time and there was nobody to be seen except for us! so of course we were skeptical. however, it is somewhat hidden and on the 9th floor so they have the benefit of the doubt.

so there were two menus. the first menu is the original menu with salad, soup, bread, calzone, pizza, pasta and any type of usual italian flavors you can think of. the second menu is the lunch special menu (labelled as limited time), which features a set lunch with pasta or pizza to choose from. the pizza would give you an 8 inch size one. every set comes with a drink and also soup or salad. their version of a salad is a bruschetta like dish. it is four fresh slices of tomatoes with garlic and black pepper on top along with parsley sprinkled all over the dish. a little garnish for decoration in the middle. pricing ranges around the 50 hkd to 70 hkd. it might seem a lot but an 8 inch pizza is about 5 slices. they aren't fat slices but more like sicilian pizza crust. still, 5 for one person is a lot. i had 2-3 and i almost passed out, haha.

so of course, the restaurant name has the word pizza in it, i have to give pizza a try! so i went with what the waitress recommended, #14, italia: tomato, mozzarella, onion, mushrooms, pancetta bacon and garlic. all those ingredients seem understandable enough except for what? pancetta? well, pancetta bacon is an italian bacon made from rolled cured pork belly that is seasoned with cayenne, salt, garlic and other spices. yes, it must be good when cooked right? haha. so the pizza comes and the first thing i noticed was, "man, toppings are loaded!" you don't have to worry about the lack of ingredients and just all cheese and tomato sauce. lamma island pizza milano packs every inch of the pizza with toppings and that certainly won't disappoint you! the bacon certainly was very flavorful and every bite is just great. saltiness wise, it wasn't very salty like a lot of chain pizza places, it wasn't tasteness either of course. to me, it was done just right, right in the middle but a little bit over around the 65-70% mark of saltiness. the crust is a thin type like sicilian style. it was very crispy and consistent that way throughout the edge. they also provided tabasco sauce for the pizza which i actually tried a little. you know, it actually works out! haha. i don't think it's the greatest combination, a meaty pizza and tabasco sauce, however, i think it is still very unique and deserves an experience. i can certainly say for now, this pizza beats out the two i've tried at pizza express. not by a far amount, but right above it. enough said, i enjoyed it a lot!

so the second thing ordered was the tagliatella al salmone (smoked salmon in creamy curry sauce) set lunch pasta. first came the "salad." as described earlier, it was four slices of tomato. they were fairly fresh and the combination of the raw chopped garlic and parsley over the tomatoes was a nice touch. certainly, it was a simple salad but to me i think it's presented nicely and very healthy too. tomatoes give a lot of vitamin c and also garlic especially when raw helps the immune system a lot. taste wise, it kind of reminds you of a bruschetta but not as sour and lacking the garlic taste. very unique indeed. so on with the pasta. what caught my attention with this set lunch is the word "curry." italian food and curry don't quite match in my usual experiences. so i went with it. when it came, the pasta used is wheat or corn flour ciriole. the sauce on the pasta is rich but not super rich. most of the sauce sank to the bottom when it came. but when compared to t.e., it was a lot creamier. the taste of the sauce had a mild curry taste to it. the curry taste is of a curry powder like taste. the combination of the curry pasta with the smoked salmon is quite an interesting couple. ciriole is a heavy thick pasta so along with the creamy sauce, it is one heavy dish! the dish is very dependent on the smoked salmon. every bite should contain some. without it, it is still good but the taste is just a bit mild. overall, good and interesting but not as exciting as the pizza.

unexpected yet good, lamma island pizza milano's first experience was very good. i want to note that normal ordering of pizza is by 8 1/2 inch, 10 inch or 14 inch. 10 inch being medium sized with 6 topping filled slices. prices range from $65 hkd to $105 hkd for 10 inch and $105 hkd to $148 hkd for 14 inch. anyways, like always, things can change with further experiences, but for now, i'm giving it a great score of...

< 4 out of 5 >