First Bite: Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung. Those three syllables are music to foodies’ ears and eyes when they found out that this famous chain is finally opening its doors in Manila, thanks to Moment Group of Restaurants. I couldn’t really join or understand the hype as I have never been to one but I was told that it was very similar to Tim Ho Wan which I was not really crazy about. But then I had the opportunity to try this well-loved Chinese restaurant when I visited Hong Kong a few weeks back.

Hello, Din Tai Fung.

We visited the Din Tai Fung Miramar Mall branch since it was the one nearest our hotel. And it sure was a good call as when we arrived, there was no line at all. The mall, which was renovated in 2008, was pretty empty except for this restaurant with a massive floor area.

The first thing I noticed was that there’s a time limit for dining. I forgot to take note though up to how long we could stay. But the French way of dining is definitely out.

We settled with the following dishes: Steamed Pork Dumplings/Xiao Long Bao (HK$58), Braised Beef Noodle Soup (HK$82) and Steamed Taro Paste Dumplings (HK$43) for dessert.

While waiting, we enjoyed our warm house tea (which apparently not the house tea we are used to as we had to pay HK$9 per person for this and water is more expensive).

First served was our xiao long bao which were pretty good. It was juicy and flavorful and dipping it in the black vinegar sauce made it even more delectable. It was also served piping hot so we had to wait a bit to let it cool. However, Lugang Café’s xiao long bao wasn’t far from Din Tai Fung’s. I could settle for Lugang anytime.

The braised beef noodle soup was something else though. It was probably one of the best noodle soups I’ve tasted. The noodles were cooked just right, not too hard nor too soft and the broth had this lovely sweet yet salty flavor. It wasn’t oily too. And the braised beef… it was so soft and flavorful too. (Waaah!  I am drooling now.)

McCafé Macarons

I don’t know why McDonald’s is so irresistible. I always find myself attracted to it whenever I travel or simply cross the street. The bright M makes me forget the horrifying tale of Supersize Me. Anyway, one of the reasons why I visit McDonald’s in other countries is to find out how different these are from the ones in Manila. We all know that there’s the squid ink bun and taro pie. But I never thought that Mcdonald’s could be so fancy.

Hello, McDonald’s Hong Kong!

While looking for a place for lunch (which eventually became Sushi One), we spotted McDonald’s. The signage promoting its Salted Caramel and Tiramisu Latte caught our attention and skipped Sushi One’s tempting chocolate lava cake to try the latte.

 

We decided to stop by the famous clown’s place and ordered Iced Tiramisu Latte (HK$32, Grande) and added HK$10 to avail one Salted Caramel… MACARON.

When in Hong Kong: Charlie Brown Café

I have lived in Seoul, South Korea for a few months and I never had a chance to visit a cute café throughout my whole stay. Vending machine was my friend, companion, and favorite barista. And the 250 Won price tag on coffee was hard to resist. And so when I saw my friends post photos of their visits in Hello Kitty Café or Charlie Brown Café, the foodie in me bawled in the ugliest way possible. I remember that I saw Hello Kitty Café and Charlie Brown Cafe in Incheon Airport on my way to LA. I wanted to take photos with the adorable merchandise. But since I travelled alone, I wasn’t able to take a selfie with the cafés. (I was also too shy to ask since I had no plans of buying.) Then again, during my recent Hong Kong trip, I got to visit one of the cute cafés and this time, I have someone to share the experience with!

Hello, Charlie Brown Café!

I was hesitant at first to try this place since the food’s quite pricey for its serving size. But I guess R sensed that I really want to visit this place so we stopped here before heading to Ocean Terminal for our cruise.

The place is adorable!!!

The stairs alone already made me stop to take quick snapshots of the mini statues of Snoopy and friends.

When we went to the third floor, we were greeted by a mini fountain adorned by Peanuts merchandise.

The ceiling too is worth mentioning as it is beautiful.

We decided to get a glass of Caramel Coffee Frappa (HK$41, grande) and Tiramisu Cup (HK$40).

The Tiramisu was fluffy and light. It goes well with a flavorful drink. But as is, it might be a bit bland for those with sweet tooth. It was hard to eat this though. 

I mean it has Charlie Brown’s face on it. Plus the price kinda hurts (given it’s such a small cake).

I enjoyed the caramel coffee frappa a lot! It was a great drink to cool us down. (It was quite hot in Hong Kong when we visited.) It was sweet yet not too sweet and you could definitely taste the coffee flavor. There were also small bits of ice you get to munch on for texture.

Hong Kong Food Stop: Sushi One

It’s been a while since I last visited Hong Kong. I remember that I had a hard time there as I was not an adventurous foodie then. I was stuck with Yoshinoya and McDonald’s. But things change. I am now game to eat anything as long as it will most likely not make me sick and Hong Kong evolved into a foodie paradise.

R and I were not exactly famished yet when we arrived in Hong Kong but since we wanted to maximize our trip, we walked around Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui) and entered small alleys near it. That was when we saw this Japanese restaurant with a sushi conveyor belt. And as a sucker for these sushi conveyor belt or sushi-go-round, we went in.

Konnichiwa, Sushi One!

I was thrilled to dine at Sushi One. And I waited for some sushi to be placed on the belt for me to take some photos and videos. Sadly, the place wasn’t packed so there were not as many sushi on the belt. (The foodie in me holding a camera cried a puddle.)

To order, we had to accomplish several checklists depending on what we fancy. We went with Seared Salmon (HK$17), Seared Fatty Salmon with Sauce (HK$19), Shrimp Tempura (HK$29), Grilled New Zealand Mussels with Mayo and Cheese (HK$36), and Dancing Spider Roll (HK$36).

First served were the two kinds of salmon sushi.

The seared salmon was your usual salmon sushi. What was notable here was the fresh salmon cut. It was the type that melts in your mouth. Delightful!

I preferred the seared salmon with sauce though as it had more flavor to it. It was slightly sweet. This was sooo good that there were fireworks in my mouth to celebrate such taste.

The shrimp tempura was nothing special but it helped fill the tummy. I would have preferred to order more salmon instead of this one though.

R loved the grilled mussels. It went really well with mayo and cheese. The mussels, just like salmon, were undeniably fresh. And for the price, it wasn’t bad at all. 

The silky smooth texture of the mussels with its faint sweet taste with the slight tanginess of the cheese and richness of the mayo was a killer combo.