雲貴川 (Yun Gui Chuan)

> Location : 5th Floor, Shing Hing Commercial Bldg.,
21-27 Wing Kut St., Central, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Yunnan & Sichuan Noodle
> Tel. # : (852) 2854-2389
> Website : N/A

Various locations in the Kowloon area, Yun Gui Chuan has landed its first shop in Hong Kong island at Central (boarder of Central and Sheung Wan)! Famous for its infamously spicy Yunnan and Sichuan noodles, Yun Gui Chuan is no kitty cat in the soup noodle market in Hong Kong. My first visit was surprising because I didn't know it was so close to my office! It's on Wing Kut street too, just right down the road! Hidden inside Shing Hing Commercial Building, some spiciness was about to enter my mouth...

Yun Gui Chuan offers various themed soup noodles (inspired by Yunnan and Sichuan cuisines/both of these Chinese provinces are to the North West of Hong Kong) with various different types of noodles to choose from. Besides noodles, their famous chicken wings are great too! Pricing wise, it's an average of $40 HKD (plus or minus a bit on what you specifically ordered) for a bowl (the three main noodle sets). But don't be concerned, ingredients are fills up every inch of it! Whereas, if you want a smaller bowl, you can always ordered the $25 HKD version. Either way, everything on the menu is customizable As for service, the Central shop was friendly overall and I had nothing to complain about. The wait for the food wasn't long at all too! I had the chance to experience three items from this place and i'll discuss about them now.

For every soup noodle set, you will get a cup of fresh lightly sweeten soy milk! So yeah, first up we have the mixed seafood soup noodle. The bowl was huge! I got to choose from three different levels of spiciness. I asked for medium but they warned me about it so I chose little spiciness. You could add more if needed for your information. So little spiciness wasn't too bad but still I definitely was challenged a bit still =D The soup was sweet, a bit sour from the fermented cabbage (in a good way) and perfectly done saltiness level. The bowl came with all sorts of goodies inside. The following is a list of what's inside: Green onion, lettuce, bean sprouts, peanuts, sesame, fish skin dumpling, fermented cabbage, shrimp wrap, crab roll, ja ja diced pork (like ja ja mien), fried cuttle fish ball, fried fish paste, albacore, Sichuan spicy oil (according to my friend), pepper bits, and scallions. Multiply each item by a few to a lot of times and you have a bowl that's extremely busy! It was like a kid in a candy store digging through all the different flavors within the bowl...

Noodle wise, I went with the "sweet potato" noodles. Although it didn't tasted sweet, it was interesting overall. They were like semi-clear thin tubings and extremely slippery. Besides this type of noodle, you can also choose from rice noodle, Shanghai Lai Mien, egg noodle (oil type), elbow macaroni, flat noodle (ho fun) and other types. I personally would have gone with Shanghai Lai Mien or egg noodle if I had to choose again but it's definitely a personal preference.

All the items inside the mixed seafood soup noodle were good. Especially the fish skin dumplig (the skin of the dumpling is made out of fish skin). The taste and texture were just excellent to me. Everything else was fresh, good and as expected. How about the second item? Well, this was the pig soft bone (the part at the pig's middle spine area) meat soup noodle. This is a great choice if you want some red meat in your system. I personally was brought to this place with a friend so this is what she had. I did get a chance to have some of the soft bone pig meat and I mean the taste was just delicious! I can't imagine what it would be like with the whole experience. So I definitely would recommend anyone trying it because I definitely will =D

Lastly, we have the chicken wings. These things are as popular as the noodles I tell you. Each order has six wings. You can divide up the flavors however you want. As for me, I had half spicy Sichuan style and Sinkiang herb seasoned style (Sinkiang is another province in China). Personally, I love the herb seasoned style because of the aroma and the taste that lingers around your senses so much! The spicy Sichaun style was good and your expected spiciness to it. I'll tell you right now, it gives me good memories of this one place called Wingnuts back in Costa Mesa, California (U.S.A.), a restaurant that specializes in check wings and ribs!

So Yun Gui Chuan was all plus' from me. I mean, the environment might not be some fancy grade A place nor is it some dirty "dai pai tong" style, but it's clean, the service is good and of course, most importantly, the food (at least what I had for my first experience) got me raving it! I'm really torn with what score I should give this place. Both good scores but until it somehow disappoints me with my next attempt, I'll keep this nice score up for now =D

< 4.5 out of 5 >

Frontier

> Location : 1/F, Room 101, Cheung's Bldg., 1-3 Wing Lok St.,
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Indian (Southeastern Asian curry)
> Tel. # : (852) 2850-5075
> Website : N/A

Frontier is an Indian restaurant fused with with some Singapore, Malaysia and Thai curry elements to it. As advertised by their business card, there highlights are "kebab, tandoori B.B.Q, satay, spring roll, Indian curry, Thai curry, Malaysian curry and roti channai." Frontier is right across from a fresh fruit juice stand and right next to Pasha (which I did a review on if you're interested in Turkish gyros). Just go inside Cheung's Bldg. and take the elevator up one floor. Kukretti Pawan Kumar, the chef of Frontier, is a very friendly guy who does some great cooking! So if you're interested in Indian food and the alike, please read on!

I've personally gone to Frontier multiple times so I can give you readers a pretty accurate opinion/information. First up is the menu: The menu is vast and have a lot of items to choose from. The sections are as follows: appetizer (ranging in the $20 HKD), side dish, soup, salad, kebab & tandoori B.B.Q., chef special kebab rolled in pita bread, Asian curry specialty, Indian non vegetarian dishes (ranging in the $50+ HKD), Indian vegertarian dishes (ranging in the $40+ HKD), Indian Charred oven baked Indian bread (ranging in the $10+ HKD), rice (pilau, biryani) specialty, desserts. There's also a drink section and even a set meal menu. I told you it's a lot to choose from =D Pretty much the whole menu is Indian cuisine related except for the curry section you have the choice to try some Thai, Malaysian or Singapore curry if you don't feel like having Indian curry.

The environment is just slightly dim and well lit. During the daytime, if you want more light, there's a big window you can choose to sit right next to. The capacity is about 35 so people. The two waiters are both friendly and definitely ready to take any request. You can order using English or Cantonese. The younger waiter is better with Cantonese if you don't know much English.

Before I give one of my specific taste review of what I recently had, I'm going to share some quick information of what I had at Frontier before. (1) Their samosa (India's infamous appetizer item) is very standardized and tastes good. (2) Onion Pakora, which is like onion rings but deep fried using Indian spices to give it a distinct flavor. It's very interesting if you're into onion rings. (3) Masala papadum is a lentil wafer (thin crispy wafer/this comes with set meals F.Y.I.), that's crispy, a bit salty tasting and has some spices to it. Usually, this is served with Frontier's three sauces (mint, sweet medlar and sour lemon). (4) As for Indian curry, their tandoori dish fish tikka masala with thyme seed and butter (the chicken and lamb version that's similar also), are great dishes. The aroma of the curry/spices, the tenderness of the meat (I've personally tried them all and from lamb to fish to chicken, they are all tender, soft and full of goodness =D). (5) Black lentil with tomato butter and herbs is a Indian vegetarian dish. Black lentil or also known as urd bean or black gram is a type of bean that's highly cultivated in India. Black lentil is very nutritious (there's also a white version also), and used often in Punjabi (India) and Pakistan cuisines. The black lentil dish at Frontier has a definite sense of tomato flavoring along with the herbs. A lot of black lentils are added so you'll definitely get use to the taste of it. (6) Next is the cottage cheese and green peas curry. This curry is more mild tasting (not as define or overwhelm by any of the ingredients). The cottage cheese are in little blocks. (7) Cottage cheese with grounded spinach finish with cream and butter is another item I had. this dish is very similar to the previous but using spinach. (8) Their naan (plain, garlic, onion and all of the alike bread items) are all done very well. Their naan isn't too thin, hard and dry but perfectly soft and tastes great especially garlic naan! If you ever went to some other places that serves Indian naan before, it's so dry and sometimes very thin, it's just wrong. But definitely not Frontier's. There might be some plus and minus' once in awhile, but overall, you can be confident about it.

Now onto my recent experience. My prior experience at Frontier is with their set meal for lunch. Their set meal comes with soup of the day, plain naan, rice, some mixed vegetables, a samosa, and your choice of curry (cost varies depending on your choice). The prices range from $39 HKD to $70 HKD for the choices. Drinks are $8 HKD extra (check for what's available). For this section of the review, I've gone with the Indian Vegetable Curry ($39 HKD for the whole set) and the India Chicken Tikka Masala ($55 HKD, whole set). No, I didn't eat both myself =D Though the vegetable curry set is the cheapest of them all, it doesn't lack ingredients at all. The vegetable curry comes with cauliflower, potatoes, cilantro, onion, peas, string beans, carrot, green pepper, broccoli, and cabbage. The curry has a strong vegetable taste to it. It's slightly spicy and tastes like your standardized, good tasting Indian vegetable curry.

India Chicken Tikka Masala is up next. The masala sauce was great (there was some chopped up onions inside, and cilantro sprinkled on top for people who are curious about any other visible ingredients). The sweet, salty and spiciness are all well-balanced together. The chicken was very tender. Along with the masala sauce, it was just marvelous! You can definitely sense the herbs used in this dish along with a lot of similar dishes in their regular menu.

The soup of the day was dried bak choy soup. It had a mild taste to it but you can definitely sense the bak choy used. The samosa served here is always consistently good and the masala papadum (lentil wafer) is always a nice treat with the sauces. The 4 pieces of naan that comes with the meal are good (get garlic naan from the menu, it's good!) and the mixed vegetables are seasoned with a minor vinegar like sauce.

Any other information Simon? Well, to me, the highlight of Frontier is their Indian cuisine choices. Their Southeastern Asian curry dishes are above average but I always preferred the Indian flavors. I really don't have much to complain about this place. If you stick with the main items on their menus with keywords that are listed multiple times, you won't be disappointed. I still have to try their B.B.Q. items to get a full gist of things. I actually seen some people ordering it and it sure looks good! I've mostly touched on their curries and bread for the most part. Their service is friendly and I definitely recommend anybody going if they're in the Sheung Wan, Central area! Anyways, my verdict for Frontier is...

< 4 out of 5 >

Thalassic Thai Restaurant

> Location : Shop C & D, G/F, Chi Ping Building, 38 Hau Wo Street,
Kennedy Town, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Thai
> Tel. # : (852) 3606-3111
> Website : N/A

Yes, we have another Kennedy Town special! But how is it this time? Thalassic Thai Restaurant is in the back streets of Kennedy Town in Hau Wo Street. It's suppose to be a pretty new restaurant. When I first stepped in, the lighting, the decoration (especially around the bar area), are all pleasant looking. The people who served us, attitude wise, were all friendly.

The menu is pretty straight forward. There's a section for curry, salad, appetizers, vegetables and other major categories common to Thai cuisine. I actually got to try quite a few items from this place and I'll share it with you all right away!

Their Tom Yum Kong soup was okay overall. It was more sour than spicy. I was hoping the two could have been more balanced but it's acceptable. Ingredient wise, it's filled with everything that should be there so that's a big plus! Overall, if you're craving some tom yum kong, there's no major low points to prevent you from ordering it here.

Next up, we got the appetizer combo (varies in size/price depending on how many people are eating). There are egg rolls, fried fish (crab?) cake, chicken wrapped in lotus leaf, and other stuff. I had the chance to try the fried fish cake and it had little taste to it. The chicken in lotus leaf was much better. The chicken was marinated and seemed to be fried before being wrapped in the lotus leaf. The rest of the items are what you would imagine them to taste.

I also got half a Hainan Chicken. The chicken came with a similar sauce that a lot of the times, comes with egg rolls in Thai restaurants. This, sweet and sour like sauce. The chicken essentially didn't have much taste to it nor any reminiscence of Hainan chicken flavor. It was more dependent on you to use the sweet and sour sauce which made me felt disappointed. The Hainan chicken Thai style from Lanna Thai (Causeway Bay) was done much better.

Another item i got to try is the pomelo, fried cocunut strip with shrimp salad. This salad is an interesting concept. the pomelo (grapefruit meat) was obvious sweet and maybe just slightly sour. The coconut strips fried would be a little salty with a slight sweetness to it. shrimp would be how shrimp would taste like. What I thought was missing was something "green" to this salad. A salad after all has greens or vegetable related items in it no matter what other non-traditional ingredients are involved. I enjoyed it but after a few tastes, I just thought something green/a bit sour would have perfect this salad.

Next, I had the yellow curry with chicken. Yellow curry in this case would be panang curry (the menu all provided descriptions of the dishes in english and chinese for most of the dishes. only some came with the original Thai name). Panang curry has a sweetish and slightly spicy flavor to it. It's one of the most commonly famous Thai curry around. As for Thalassic, the "yellow curry" had that famous panang taste but not as strong as I would like. The spiciness was strong indeed. My curry came with an ordered of their so-called "pizza." The "pizza" was essentially like a thousand layer pancake (a Northern Chinese delicacy) but fried with more oil, salt and butter added. If you try it, you might have come up with other things that you might have been reminded of (Indian style bread or even Malaysian if you ask me, other than what I said previously).

In the end, I had an alright experience at Thalassic. They had dishes that almost made it to the "finish line" but never quite got there (e.g. the pomelo salad). I actually had this rice dish that I didn't even bother to mention about because it was so bald. The decoration, creativity involved was great but the taste just wasn't there. The environment was festive especially if you get to sit near the bar area because that's where all the jungle-like decorations are. The service was good besides the fact that I just didn't enjoy how the waitress kept asking me to order the most expensive items. The costs justified by the type of item, location but not through the quality as I've described above. If you really want to have some Thai in Kennedy Town, I wouldn't beg you to not go. Overall, it's an average feeling from me.

< 3 out of 5 >

Schiller's Liquor Bar

> Location : 131 Rivington St., New York, N.Y. 10002, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : American
> Tel. # : (1) (212) 260-4555
> Website : http://www.schillersny.com/
> Price Range: $$

We went on a Sunday afternoon for brunch. We arrived at 1-ish and the wait was 45 minutes. We ended up waiting for about 30. The decor was really fun, full of odds and ends. The staff's t-shirts had the NY state choking hazard posters on the back - hilarious.

I had a Blood Orange Mimosa, which was excellent, while my friend had a Chocolate Egg Cream (NY thing, with club soda, milk, and chocolate). They also served water in a little flask. We ordered a myriad of items, which included an order of the Sour Cream and Hazelnut Waffles with mixed berries and bourbon maple syrup, Eggs Hussard, which were poached with ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, Borderlaise, and Hollandaise sauce, classic Steak & Eggs (over medium), with breakfast potatoes, and a Seared Tuna Salad.

The Sour Cream and Hazelnut Waffles were pretty good, but not anything overwhelming. The maple syrup's bourbon was very strong and played well with the mixed berries. The waffle itself was pretty moist due to the sour cream; however, I did not really taste or smell the hazelnut.

Kathleen's Eggs Hussard was excellent. The Borderlaise sauce was nutty and flavorful. Her poached eggs were also perfectly perched on top of her fried toast. The presentation was also beautiful. Not much to say except that it was really good.

The steak and eggs were just okay. My eggs did not come over medium. One was easy and the other was medium. Oh well, can't win them all. I understand that usually steak and eggs comes with either a flank steak or a new york strip. Well, I'm not sure what kind of cut it was, but whatever it was, it was very chewy. The potatoes were really good. They had plenty of sauteed onions over them with great seasoning.

I did not taste the tuna salad, unfortunately, but the vegetables seemed fresh and colorful. I'm not sure if it was ahi tuna or what, but the color of the tuna (inside) was not very red.

Overall, I would say stick to the breakfast foods and you'll be fine. I noticed a few table got their pastry basket which looked very appetizing, especially the fresh sticky bun. By looking around, it seemed that the poached eggs were the best bet at Schiller's. Either the Hussard or the classic Benedict would do you right. A funny thing about the restaurant is the bathroom; it was a little confusing as when you entered, you ended up in a small lounge area with the washing basin that led further to two separate doors. Just be clear on which door you're entering!

< 3 out of 5 >

(but if you get strictly breakfast, probably a 4!)

Eatery

> Location : 798 Ninth Ave (at 53rd St), New York, N.Y., U.S.A.
> Cuisine : American
> Tel. # : (1) (212) 765-7080
> Website : http://www.eaterynyc.com/
> Price Range: $

We decided to try out Eatery's brunch. Though it was sprinkling outside, we decided to brave the cold and rain in lieu of waiting for an hour for a table inside. Once seated, we were served some sort of coffee cake that was delicious. The best way I could describe it is as some sort of spice cake. Whatever it was, it was yummy.

I opted for a Roast Chicken Soup, with Sweet Corn Dumplings. The broth was clear and sweet. The ingredients tasted very fresh and there was plenty of chicken. The soup was a tiny bit bland, but it was okay.

After the soup, I had a special salad of the day, which was a Chopped Chicken Salad with fresh beets, broccoli, cheese, lettuce, and a vinaigrette. There was plenty of chicken and the vegetables were perfectly crisp and fresh. The dressing was also perfect.

My friend Myra had the Sante Fe Sweet Potato Pancake, with scrambled egg whites and mango guacamole. I was assured the guac was good, but I didn't try since I am allergic. However, I did taste the rest of it and it was excellent. It's difficult to mess up eggs though.

From what I can tell, most of the food at this place is excellent. For the amount and price, it was a pretty good deal. Also, the decor was really cute and the wait staff was pretty good. If I weren't in the mood for veggies, the Pulled Pork Tostada with Fried Eggs, Monterey Jack and Poblano Relish was really calling my name.

< 4 out of 5 >

Bar Americain

> Location : 152 W. 52nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10019, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : American
> Tel. # : (1) (212) 265-9700
> Website : http://www.baramericain.com
> Price Range : $$$$

Being in New York, I thought I'd try to go to a real life Iron-Chef-owned restaurant. From his TV shows, I thought I'd like Bobby Flay's restaurants. My friend had already been to Mesa Grill and said she didn't really like it, so Bar Americain it was. It's unfortunate that it was too dark to take any good photos of the food.

The decor of the place was very New York, and classic. The restaurant was quite large, quiet, and had a lofty area. Our table was upstairs on the loft, which we enjoyed because it gave us the opportunity to stay away from the noise and observe the action below. While we waited for our table, we grabbed some drinks at the bar. Well, not really drinks, but two club sodas and an iced tea. To my surprise, we were CHARGED for the club sodas! Hah! That was a minus. But anyway ...

Bobby Flay is known for his creative uses of spice rubs and sauces, so keeping that in mind we perused the menu(warning: it's a pdf). The bread basket that arrived contained some mini baguettes, dinner rolls, and these really yummy fried cornbread things. We didn't know what they were, but they were delicious!

To start off, I had the Gold Corn Johnny Cake, Barbecued Duck, with Cranberry Butter. The duck was very flavorful. The cranberry butter tasted almost like a classic duck sauce (hoisin sauce) but not quite. The johnny cake also provided a lovely sweet balance to the duck's bold taste.

For our entree, Kathleen and I decided to share the Spice-Rubbed Rib-Eye steak. The meat was broiled perfectly (medium); however, we thought the steak would be more "spice-rubbed." That doesn't mean it wasn't good of course. As side dishes, we got Fries Americain with a Smoked Red Pepper Mayonnaise and the Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Gratin. Both were excellent - the fries were perfectly seasoned and went well with the special mayo; the cauliflower dish was perfectly baked with a very mild goat cheese.

Myra got the Wild Salmon with Pinot Noir, Cracked Wheat, Hazelnuts. The cracked wheat "rice-ish" mixture that came with the Salmon was really citrusy and fragrant. Alone, it tasted strange, but with the salmon, it was okay. I was not really a fan of the mixture.

Her companion had the Lamb Porterhouse Chops with the Cranberry-Cabernet Sauce, and Sweet Potato Gratin. I did not taste this, but he ate it all up, so I have the impression that it was excellent.

For dessert, we order two items: a Sticky Toffee Pudding Sundae and a Strawberry Creme Brulee. Being a fan of sticky toffee pudding (Gallagher's at NYNY Hotel and Casino makes a delicious one), I was excited to taste it. I was let down a bit. The pudding was not sticky at all. It was in fact, quite dry. Bleh. The creme brulee was standard. There was indeed a strawberry flavor, but it was overpowered by an orange tinge. I was not impressed by the desserts. However, the cappucino that I ordered was excellent. It's unfortunate that the service staff forgot to bring a coffee that we ordered.

The food was good, but not consistently good. I would rate it 4 stars, but the service really upset me. First we were forgotten about. Then, they did the waiter switch-a-roo on us and that was not cool. Lastly, they forgot one of our coffees and how can you really enjoy dessert without coffee? Perhaps they will get better as they are still pretty new and haven't gotten their act together yet.

< 3.5 out of 5 >

SanQiaoyiyi

> Location : Shops A & B, G/F, Ivy on Belcher's 26 Belcher's street,
Kennedy Town, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Japanese
> Tel. # : (852) 2816-7722
> Website : N/A

SanQiaoyiyi is a well rounded Japanese restaurant serving various items in its respective cuisine. From noodles to rice to fried/grilled dishes to sushi/sashimi and various other things. SanQiaoyiyi has three other locations besides the Hong Kong island one. There's one in Yuen Long, N.T., and two in Kowloon (Sham Shui Po and Tai Po). The Hong Kong location, the one I'm reviewing is in Kennedy Town. The restaurant is split into two shops. There's a residential/business building right in between. For one shop, it's designed for rotary sushi style and for the other, it's for tables and traditional sushi bar.

I had the chance to seat on the table side for my review. The environment was bright with lots of lighting. There are quite a number of seats for both shops. Since SanQiaoyiyi has been recently opened here in Kennedy Town, there have been a lot of customers lining up to try the new place. Make sure you go early if you want to try! Not only because the place is new so people are flocking to go, the prices is noticeably below average so it's bang for the buck! But is it still of good quality?

There are two menus I was provided with. One was the table paper menu which shows most of the cooked items. The other was a pictured menu leaflet that has the following sections: salad, warship sushi, snack, sushi, sashimi, grilled sushi, cocktail sushi, roll, ice cream, drinks and liquor.

I got the chance to try a little of everything from SanQiaoyiyi. Their tempura was nice and crispy. Something that is tough to cooked improperly. Their puffer fish smoked skin was chewy, pleasant with a strong BBQ flavor to it. It's similar to the flavoring from Aji Ichiban's dried fish snacks. I also tried their soft shell crab hand roll and found it great until I tasted some mayo in it. To me, I just don't think a soft shell crab hand roll really matches up with mayo in my opinion. To me, the best hand roll for mayo would be scallop. Next, I tried the smoked/grilled salmon head. It was alright and nothing to be crazy over. If you're into grilled fish Japanese style, I always recommend yellow tail collar! I also heard the udon soup was good. Lastly, I had their daily special which was tamago (egg) filled with cheese. As expected, it was that sweet tamago sushi taste with cheese melted within. Interesting indeed. On the side, their presentation of their dishes are nice which makes your experience more special.

So how was the raw stuff? It's actually quite cheap I must say. That's one large reason why there's so many people lining up. The combination sushi plates give quite a lot for a small price. I tried this $150 HKD so combination plate that had about 25-30 pieces of sushi/rolls. It's actually quite a deal. How was the freshness? Well, to see if there's a difference between the fish served in a combination plate compared to individually ordered, I ordered some yellow tail and tasted the quality. It melted in my mouth somewhat but still preserved a bit of the chewiness. Comparing that to the salmons, white fish and other items on the combination plate, there wasn't much of a difference. Which for me concludes the freshness was adequate but not great. However, we must remember the price they give you justifies the quality! So it's not so bad overall.

How about the service? The service was average. Considering the place is brand new, it seems like some of the waiters and waitress' don't know if certain isn't even served. I ordered a certain item and the lady said "okay" but when I noticed it never came, I asked another waiter and he says they don't serve that item. Considering the situation, it was half excusable to me. Most of the waiter's attitude were fine (except for one) and the manager there was friendly. Overall, it's a pass.

For the price you are asked to pay and what's served to you, SanQiaoyiyi does exactly what it's suppose to do. It would be great if the quality, especially the raw stuff, were a bit more fresh. However, please don't look away because if you're just a casual eater, this is definitely a go. Unless you're looking for some better/top notch quality sushi/sashimi, then a close place would be Oonami (also in Kennedy Town), which I did a short review recently for. Also, if you're looking for cooked items only, I don't see much of an issue not going. Just go early because there's quite a line!

< 3.5 out of 5 >

Divine

> Location : Chungking Mansions, 4/F, Block E, 36-44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : West African / Nigerian
> Tel. # : N/A
> Website : N/A

I'm excited! This is my first time trying any type of African cuisine. However, before I start, I would like to say that Divine is more of a secretive restaurant. There are no advertisements for it of any sort just like another African cuisine restaurant in Chungking Mansions. Anybody is welcome but it's always best if someone take you for your first time =D From what I heard, prices can vary daily.

First of all, Chungking Mansions is a very interesting place (where Divine is located). As elected in the May 7, 2007 issue of Time Magazine (yearly feature: Best of Asia), Chungking Mansions is the best example of "Globalization in Action." Every year, there are at least 120 different nationalities that have passed through this building. It is very culturally diverse in a building that has been around for about 40 years.

Before you attempt to go, if you don't get use to being around a culturally diverse, very old building and physically unattractive environment especially when you go up to any of the floors in any of the blocks, I don't recommend you going. But if you're a open minded person like me, please give it a shot!

Now onto the restaurant facts! First of all, please be patient with me because I've tried my best to ask the chef and do some research on what he served me. First of all, Divine has no menu and the place is very small. It seats about 15 people max, a television for viewing and kind of a dim/old atmosphere. Divine is like a family diner if you want to put it that way. Strictly for the food and not the environment =D

What's served and available each day all depends on the chef so it has come to a point that this "restaurant" review will more be educational than a possible experience for you if you're not one of those desperate, open minded person. So the chef had three notable things I would like to share with you...

The first item is what's considered "rice" to an African person. Especially when it comes to Western and Central Africa. "Semo," or more popularly categorized as "fufu," is a big dome/ball-like starch heavy (carbohydrate) soup/sauce compliment. In Western Africa, semo or fufu is generally made out of a mixture of plantain, yam, potato or even maize. The combination varies depending on what's available for the chef to use. In central Africa, cassava is even used (the root portion is used). The type of semo I had felt almost like mash potatoes but more firm and not easily broken when you hold it in your hands. It doesn't have much taste to it but just very starchy in flavor. Don't worry, it's not not like eating a hand full of wheat flour =D

So what do I get to eat the semo with? The first dish he served was the "egusi soup." This is a native dish to Nigeria. Egusi soup is largely made out of grounded shelled seeds (pumpkin, gourd, melon, squash all could be used depending on which the chef desires) with a mixture of other ingredients such as bitter leaf (or spinach), peanut oil, tomato paste, onions, peppers, and stewed meat (for my case, it was fried fish). I've done a lot of research on egusi soup and most of them used pumpkin seeds over the other types. The finished product is this thick, orange looking dish that is perfect for your semo!

Do you eat with your hands? Yes, it is African culture (at this for our case right now) to eat with your hands. There is a specific method of grabbing your semo. You grab about a handful of semo and shape it into a ball. Afterwards, use your thumb to make an indentation into the middle so your sauce or soup can flow into it. Dip it into the sauce or soup, pick it up, the liquid gets trapped and you place the delicacy into your mouth! There's always a bowl of water for each individual to wash their hands whenever they want with some soup and paper towel.

So how does it taste? Egusi has a semi-salty taste to it a little bit of sweet sensation. It is spicy but not so much you have to be drinking water every 10 seconds =D It is notorious to Western African cuisine to serve some spicy dishes. My egusi was also mixed with some "bitter leaf soup" (which I will discuss next) on the side with a piece of fried fish. The fish was flavorful and most likely have some simple seasoning on it. Tender for the most part. Very interesting indeed.

The next dish is bitter leaf soup. The chef told me it's "Betleev Soup" but as much as I researched the internet, I had no luck finding the same name. The closest from what I could find is "bitter leaf soup" or another dish is called "palaver sauce." From what I can tell, they should all be the same thing. So what is it? It's a dark brownish sauce that's largely made out of "bitter leaf" or a substitute for it would be spinach. Bitter leaf is a scrub or small tree that is used throughout Africa. It can treat and prevent various health issues. As the name tells you, the leaf is bitter. But most of the time, the chef soaks it in water for a few hours to wash away most of the bitterness. The other ingredients to this dish, traditionally speaking (because I'm not sure what I ate is exactly like it), are dried/salted chopped fish in tiny pieces (definitely it was in mine), onions, tomato, pepper, chili and okra (sadly, he didn't have any okra prepared yet that day). The taste was very distinct most likely coming from the bitter leaf. It's saltiness was stronger than the egusi soup but just by a little bit. It was spicy too like the previous. The bitter leaf sauce was served with a huge piece of chicken which was fried and very tender. After eating it for awhile, the bitterness tends to be more obvious to your tongue than initially tasting it. Yet, the unique taste that comes from the bitter leaf is what makes this dish so special.

One little information before I continue is, fish and chicken always tend to be fried and beef and pork are usually stewed when cooked. I'm not very sure of the reason but this is something I was shared with.

Did I get to try anything else? The chef actually gave me a piece of Ox stomach and a piece of beef to try. The ox stomach was actually very good with the bitter leaf sauce and the beef was very stiff. I asked my friend who took me there if it's suppose to be that stiff and she said that every time she tried it, it's stiff. So just something to share.

In the end, I had a great experience with Divine since this is my first time eating any sort of African cuisine. It was definitely interesting and delicious on a different level. Throughout my research before I typed this, I found out there are more famous Western African dishes that are worth trying. Perhaps next time I go there, I can ask if they have it so I can report back here! I had a fun time definitely and was introduced some totally unique cuisine to my life! Pictures from top to bottom: bitter leaf soup with beef, semo/fufu, egusi soup with a little bitter leaf soup on top of fish, and bitter leaf soup with chicken.

< 4 out of 5 >

Ivan The Kozak

> Location : LG/F 46-48 Cochrane Street, Central, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Old Eastern European (Ukrainian, Russian)
> Tel. # : (852) 2851-1193
> Website : www.ivanthekozak.com

Labeled as the "one and only authentic Russian and Ukrainian food in Hong Kong," Ivan the Kozak is a lovely restaurant just slightly hidden to the inner left of Cochrane Street in between two restaurants/bar. Once inside, the environment is cozy like a cottage style home. There are a lot of cultural decorations and lighting all around the restaurant. The overall lighting is a little bit dim but if you want a brighter seating location, there are a few tables right next to the window (for daytime using daylight). There's a bar and from my best judgment, the restaurant can hold about 40-50 so people. There's even the infamous "vodka ice room" where the temperature is negative 15 degrees Celsius (clothing provided to keep you warm) for you to drink up to the various types of vodka in traditional Russian style! For further information about this unique activity, check out their website.

Ivan the Kozak provides a regular menu (in its native language/Chinese) that consist of caviar, soup, salad, hot/cold appetizer, main course, and desserts. For pricing ranges from $20 HKD so for soups, $50-60 HKD so for salads and appetizers, $40 HKD so for desserts and $100 HKD plus for main courses. There's also various types of drinks available such as beer (various types of European beers), wine, hard liquor, and other types of cold/hot drinks. Besides all this, they also have a lunch special that consist of two parts: You can get the all you can eat buffet bar with coffee or tea for $59 HKD. The buffet bar consist mostly of various types of themed salads such as mix vegetable, turnips, mushrooms, eggs, cole slaw, red cabbage, pancake strips and other various types of salads. There's also different types of soups such as fish, vegetable, cabbage and Ukrainian bortch. Some fruits are even provided, bread and other minor items. Overall, a good amount of selections. Just for $20 HKD more, you receive the main course which you get to choose from. Every week, there's a new list of main courses that alternates.

For my experience, I got to try the Ox Tongue stew and the Baked Duck Chest for the main course. For the ox tongue stew, the meat was soft and melts in your mouth almost literally. The sauce is semi-thick with mushrooms inside and the taste is mildly salty and just right. Broccoli and your choice of spaghetti or rice is included. The rice is ordinary just like most places but the spaghetti included was spiced in this semi-curry powder like flavor. It was rather unique and I would definitely try it out if I were you rather than rice! The Baked Duck Chest is tender with every piece and this thick white mushroom /eggplant gravy like sauce is poured on top! The sauce has a little sweet taste to it and well balanced with its saltiness. This also came with broccoli and your choice of rice or spaghetti.

I had a very good time with these set lunch main course and the salad/soup/dessert buffet. I would imagine that the items from the regular menu would be EVEN better! Please check the website for the web's version of the menu. There will definitely be another visit from me soon and an update on it! For now, my verdict is...

< 4 out of 5 >