Shoot First Eat Later

Hotshots Burgers

For me Hotshots flame-grilled burgers is the best fast food burger I’ve ever eaten in Manila or the USA. I like it even better than In-n-Out and Five Guys. It’a definitely better than Sango burger.

Their burgers are all beef and are well seasoned. I like putting Knorr liquid seasoning on my cooked burger if it lacks flavor. With Hotshots I don’t need to put anything except some catsup. Plus it’s flame grilled and I can really taste the charred flavor. Another thing I like is the burger patty isn’t greasy.

I usually order the burger deluxe (P105) which has one patty and no cheese. But since it was 2:oo pm and I haven’t had lunch I ordered the ultimate burger with 2 patties, lettuce and tomato. I don’t eat the top bun and hold the mayo.

The patties weren’t round and looked weird but I like that it extends out of the bun. It’s definitely not photogenic. It was a bit dry and a tad overcooked but I still love it! I think it’s dry because the meat is lean. So I don’t mind if it’s dry.

ultimate burger P175

I tried to make it look better by putting catsup and some mayonnaise (just to make it look pretty) and here is the outcome.

burgers, salad pasta & chicken, potatoes & drinks

Hotshots Burgers
Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
telephone: 637-9378

Hong Kong Food Finds – Mochi Cream

I discovered Mochi Cream when I was wandering around Sogo. Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice. Mochi cream takes the regular mochi to another level by adding several Western and Asian flavors to its line-up.

all their flavors

These are only for display. When you order a mochi they take it from the chiller. I bought 2 pieces to try. I chose Cafe Au Lait and Chocolate. If you’ve never tried Mochi they are dense, sticky and a bit chewy confection with a filling inside. Fillings range from fruit purees to ice cream.

Mochi in gift boxes

The first bite brought ooohhs and ahhhs from my mouth. The filling is cold while the mochi not as cold. It tasted like ice cream inside but it’s not. There was a multi-dimensional taste with each bite. I stopped analyzing the taste and finished the mochi. One is enough for dessert. It was a bit filling.

cafe au lait mochi

So if you’re in Hong Kong do go to Sogo and try mochi cream. It’s a different treat that you will enjoy. Next time I’ll try caramel pudding and peach yogurt. I hope someone brings this chain to Manila since Royce chocolates, another Japanese brand, are a big hit here.

Mochi Cream (now closed)
Basement of Sogo Department Store
555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, HK
telephone: 2833-8338

New York Fries in Hong Kong

I won’t make any apologies. I love french fries. I didn’t use to love fries until my nephew Ethan came to Manila and introduced me to fries. Ethan LOVED fries and had to have it everyday. So everytime he had fries from the fast food, restaurants and hotels I’d take a few pieces to help him finish it. Not that he needed any help. Sometimes he’d give me the evil eye when I got too much. So when Ethan went back to USA I missed him and his fries.

When I saw New York Fries in Harbour City mall in Hong Kong I knew I had to try it. The problem was when to eat it. If you’ve been following this blog you’ll know I’ve eaten my way through Hong Kong. There wasn’t any time to get hungry. I never ate afternoon snacks or merienda the whole trip. Except after lunch at Hutong. I wasn’t hungry when we ate at Hutong and most of the food at lunch was veggies so I ate very little. So around 4 pm I happened to be at Harbour City and felt the initial growling of my stomach. I headed straight to New York Fries.

New York Fries is actually a Canadian franchise. Their first store in Asia is in Hong Kong. As the sign says their fries are cooked in sunflower and olive oil.

potatoes from the USA

This is the seasoning station. They had the usual salt, catsup, mustard, pickles, onions, tabasco and the more unusual malt vinegar.

They have 3 varieties of toppings. Small fries cost HK$30 while regular cost HK$37. Plain fries cost the same but the containers are bigger. For the veggie works and the works pictures I just took pictures of other peoples food. You don’t think I’d eat 3 varieties at once! All the pictures below are the small size except for the works which is regular size.

veggie works
cheese sauce, sour cream, green onions & tomatoes

the works
chili, sour cream, cheese sauce, green onions & bacon

I ordered the poutine. Ever since I saw Anthony Bourdain, from the tv show No Reservations, rave over the poutine he ate in Quebec, Canada I knew I had to try them. These fries don’t contain any fat or calories. I kept repeating that in my head while i enjoyed each and every bite.

poutine
premium cheese curds and signature beef gravy

At first bite I found it strange eating fries with gravy and cheese. The cheese didn’t have any taste. It just added texture to the mix. It did melt a bit and became stretchy and gooey like mozarella. The gravy was good and didn’t have the floury taste of some fast food gravy. It had a very beefy taste.

The fries were awesome. They were crisp and had no oily taste at all. The poutine wasn’t bad but next time I’ll just get plain fries and eat it with malt vinegar and salt. That way I’ll enjoy the wonderful fries without any goop to mask the flavor of the potatoes. Ethan will agree.

The restaurant only had 3 tables but it had the huge bonus of being located right next to an outdoor deck. This has the best seats in the house with the view of cruise ships docked at port and Hong Kong Harbour. Some people ate their fries here while enjoying the cool weather. When you need rest from all that shopping head on to this area and take a load off. There’s another deck down the hall but no restaurant beside it.

New York Fries
Shop 2602, Level 2
Gateway Arcade, Harbour City
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
telephone: 3106-4686

Pal food HKG to MNL

This is the food served on our return flight from Hong Kong to Manila on Philippine Airlines. I’m happy to report it was very good. For the Manila to Hong Kong meal click here.

smoked salmon w/ potato & cucumber salad

Notice the fried garlic slices in the aluminum cup. It was a nice touch that added extra dimension to an already flavorful fish. The fish was cooked just right but the rice was a bit dry and hard but still edible.

marinated bangus (milkfish)
w/ adobo butter & garlic
served w/ tomato rice

The pièce de résistance – dessert! When I first looked at it I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it was going to be watery soup with mangoes & macapuno (coconut sport).

pearl soup w/ mango & melon balls

But when I stirred it I discovered the tapioca was the tiny, sticky kind and the coconut soup was thick. This dessert reminded me of a deconstructed Thai sticky rice and mango dessert or a modern take on guinataan. It was delectable.

Another thumbs up to PAL for that terrific dinner!

Last meal in Hong Kong at Chuk Yuen

After nearly 2 weeks in Hong Kong it was time to go back home to Manila. We will miss the cool weather and the fantastic food. Time to diet and hit the gym full blast.
There’s was no question where we would eat lunch and our last meal in Hong Kong. We wanted to eat the yummiest dim sum so we headed to Chuk Yuen Seafood restaurant. We took care to order different things from out last visit.

steamed chicken

fried rice rolls w/ peanut sauce & hoisin sauce

This is the first time we ordered this baked seafood rice. When I took my first bite the first thing that came to my mind was, “Wow! It tastes like lobster thermidor.” It was that good. It didn’t taste too rich and creamy. This is a small dish. Maybe one cup of rice for the whole plate.

baked rice w/ seafood & cream sauce HK$22

baked barbecued pork bun HK$13

I heard this tripe was super soft and tasty. I didn’t try it because I don’t care for tripe.

steamed tripe

steamed rice flour roll w/ barbecued pork HK$16

This is the only repeat order. Just because it’s so good.

steamed shark’s fin dumpling in soup HK$22

chilled mango pudding HK$16

for the dim sum & a la carte menu click here

Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant
Basement, Hong Kong Pacific centre
28 Hankow Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
telephone 2722-0633

Dinner at Wu Kong

We previously had a dim sum lunch at Wu Kong. This night we had dinner to continue Elizabeth’s birthday celebration. Take note all the food below fed 8 people and the servings weren’t very big. Everything was so good it was all devoured to the last bit.

The first four dishes are popular hot and cold Shanghai appetizers.

spiced cold pork (Cheung Kong style) HK$58

supreme jelly fish HK$80

This fish was everyone’s favorite. It’s fried and crispy. The bones are edible.

spiced smoked fish HK$50

deep fried bean curd rolls (stuffed w/ mushroom) HK$50

We loved this Chinese style sandwich. Instead of bread siopao dough was used and the filling was crunchy bean curd sheet and sweet honey ham. How unique was that? And oh so good! The play of textures between soft, crispy and chewy was a delight.

honey ham & crispy bean curd sheet in bread HK$120

double boiled tien-tsin cabbage w/
chicken & ham soup HK$48/bowl

sauteed fresh shrimps HK$120

braised beef w/ scallion HK$70

deep fried spiced boneless chicken HK$70

Mandarin fish w/ sweet & sour sauce HK$140

braised bamboo shoots in soya sauce HK$62

steamed vegetable dumplings

deep fried mashed red bean pancake HK$48

cold dishes, shark’s fin & abalone, seafood,
soup, poultry, vegetables, veg 2, casseroles,
pork beef & mutton, rice & noodles,
dimsum & desserts

Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant
Basement, Alpha House,
27 Nathan Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
telephone: 2366 7244

Lunch at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon 2

We celebrated Elizabeth’s birthday at our favorite French restaurant in Hong Kong. The last time we ate here I was so impressed with the food. Again I wasn’t dissapointed. I dedicate this entry to my cousin, Yaj who dreams of eating at Robuchon.

This restaurant has the best selection of bread ever! I don’t normally eat bread because Oprah said not to. But here I can’t help it since they’re all so good. But each one of us had our own favorite bread. All the bread came to our table warm and imho none of them needed butter. They have several choices like mini baguette, bacon twist, mini croissant, walnut & apricot roll and my favorite the cheese roll. I must have eaten 7 pieces of the cheese roll.
I was so busy eating bread that I forgot to take a picture of the bread basket.

small cheese roll

You eat with your eyes first and the chefs at Robuchon are masters in the art of presentation. I tried my best to give justice to the food with these pictures. Believe me everything tastes as good as it looks.

lobster veloute

white asparagus “veloute” with old mimolette crisp

thin sliced veal w/ capers & tuna sauce

This is my appetizer and I loved it. Aren’t the foie gras shavings beautiful? Underneath the foie gras are the thinly sliced marinated mushrooms from Japan.

mushroom salad w/ foie gras shavings and chives

Everyone loved this sea urchin dish. It tasted like crab fat. It was so sinful.

sea urchins “royale” with a fennel emulsion

sea urchin under the foam

This beef dish was what most of us ate this time and the last time. The beef is from Japan and it melts in your mouth. I think it’s very expensive beef since they only gave us about 2 ounces each. Talk about portion control.

Elizabeth wanted to order something different so she chose the this sea bass. She said it was good. I was already too full to try it.

grilled fillet of sea bass w/ aromatic red wine sauce

The desserts were all heavenly. And look how nice the presentation is.

pineapple compote w/ rum chantilly & coconut cream

My brown dessert. You can never have too much chocoalate.

trilogy of chocolate w/ caramelized walnuts

Excellent macaroons

perfect ending – cafe mocha

tasting menu, our lunch menu

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Shop 401, 4/F, The Landmark, Hong Kong
telephone: (852) 2166-9000

Dinner at Hang Heung 2

We love Hang Heung so much that when our friends came to Hong Kong we had to eat there again. And since there were 7 of us we were able to order more food. Needless to say everything was yummy.

combination of roasted goose
& honeyed barbecued pork HK$78

This giant pot of congee is the house specialty and contains abalone, scallops, kidney and fish.

hang heung’s special congee HK$168

You can’t eat congee without dunking these crispy fritters in your congee and wait for a few seconds then eating them exactly when it’s a bit crisp and a bit soggy.

deep fried crispy dough HK$13

fried fish w/ mango sauce

kailan w/ oyster sauce

house special baby pigeon HK$45@

spare ribs w/ pumpkin & taro hot pot HK$65

fried rice w/ shrimp, scallop & egg white HK$68

Hang Heung’s Kitchen (branch closed)
18-24 Salisbury Road
Shop 303, 3/F New World Centre
Tsim Sha Tsui
telephone: 2366-8628

Lunch at Caprice 2

The last time we ate at Caprice at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong was last January and it was the 1st entry in my blog. So hopefully you can see an improvement in the pictures.

Caprice is one of the best French restaurants in Hong Kong. But for us it’s always a hit or miss. The appetizers and desserts are always good. But it’s the main course that’s sometimes not so good. For this lunch there were 7 of us. We basically ordered only 3 different dishes.

the open kitchen

the view from our table

wild mushroom tart w/ young herbs &
shiitake coulis in aged sherry vinegar

Alaskan crab w/ tomato gazpacho jelly,
avocado mousse & oriental mozarella

This was my 1st main course. Why 1st? It’s because after one bite of the steak I decided I couldn’t risk my new tooth. I ordered the steak to be cooked medium so I was flabbergasted when it tasted like a Michelin tire. And it was supposed to be wagyu beef! So I complained and the nice waiter agreed to change my order.

On their site it says that Caprice is “One of only seven restaurants in Hong Kong to receive two Michelin stars”. Hmm I don’t think they should be serving a Michelin tire right?

wagyu beef flank & cauliflower gratin
in red wine sauce

This is my 2nd main course. I’m was so happy I chose this. The fish was soooooo good. It was thick and tender and perfectly cooked. The sesame crust added a nice crunch and slight nutty taste. If I can eat this fish everyday I would. I’d skip the green sauce though.

Chilean seabass w/ sweet spices &
charlotte potatoes in leek veloute

Elizabeth had these scallop raviolis and she said they weren’t good. She has bad luck with scallops in Caprice. The last time she ordered scallops they were so tough and rubbery I bet if she threw it against the window it would bounce all the way to the chef in the open kitchen. And yes there were only 3 pieces to an order.

Japanese scallop raviolis w/
seasonal vegetables & exotic nage

Lyn had the duck leg. It doesn’t look like much but she said it was good. I agree since she let me try a small bite. And it was soft and juicy unlike the tire- I mean the steak.

duck leg confit w/ paysanne potatoes &
spinach in natual jus

Caprice makes dessert look like art and taste heavenly. Their homemade sorbet and ice cream were extraordinary.

Of course I chose the brownest dessert. It was a perfect way to end lunch. The brownie was dense, the apricot confit was tart and the ice cream was smooth and creamy.

chocolate brownie w/ apricot confit
& cocoa ice cream

salted caramel macaroon w/ macerated
blood orange and carambar ice cream

exotic fruit napoleon w/ tropical vanilla
and pina colada sorbet

They also gave us free petit fours. Lemon macaroons and chocolate raspberry tarts. They were both fantastic.

only one of each kind per person pls!

set lunch menu

Caprice
The Four Seasons Hotel
8 Finance Street
Central, Hong Kong, China
telephone: (852) 3196-8888

Dinner at Moon Chiu Restaurant

We trekked over to Whampoa Garden to have dinner w/ Tisay at Moon Chiu restaurant which serves Chiuchow cuisine. Chiuchow or Teochew cuisine isn’t as popular in Hong Kong as it is in Singapore or Taiwan. There aren’t that many that I know of in Hong Kong.