Adventure #214: 棟篤食 Stand Up Eating

Saturday again and we had to wait for the older one to finish her class. So we wandered along the streets just off Leighton Road, near St. Paul Hospital.  It is a very interesting area, right next to the prosperous CWB area, all these old buildings just waiting to be redeveloped.  But in the mean time, the bottom floors are occupied by many interesting eateries. 

There is a Japanese green tea ice cream/dessert shop, a waffle shop serving sweet and savory (???) waffles, a bakery which looks like it has been there since the buildings were built.  Also newly opened is a Hello Kitty noodle shop and the queue for that bowl of noodle went all the way round the corner!  Well, Hello Kitty is not our thing, so we went to try a more traditional looking noodle shop with a highly amusing English name!

The decor on the wall is old Hong Kong, very tastefully done.

The restaurant itself looks a bit tired. And the floor (likely due to the materials used) is highly slippery......walk very slowly!

The pork neck dry flat noodle with chilly oil.  Very tasty and the bowl of accompanying soup is rather interesting.

Dry scrimp powder (I think that is the translation of what it is) noodle.  Rather good but not as good as the one we had in Macau. One day we must make it back there again. The hour ferry ride just seemed so far away these days.

Deep friend tofu. Very light and interesting. Worth a try.

Various type of dumpling in your choose of sauce. We had pork and veggy dumpling in chilli oil. Nice.

An interesting restaurant.  Decor a bit old and some of the dishes are better than others.  For a quick and simple meal in CWB, a good place to go.

Stand Up Eating
G/F Haven Court (Entrance on Haven Street)
128-138 Leighton Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel: 2390 9090

Adventure #206: Niseko Ramen (Hirafu)

We were skiing in Niseko the week before CNY.  We tried some really good restaurants last time we were there and we will be revisiting some of them.  But today after our first skiing lessons, we strolled into the village for a late lunch and decided on Niseko Ramen.

Deep fried dumplings. Different, prefer the usual pan-fried ones.

Spicy miso ramen.  Not too spicy but enough to warm the body up for the sub-zero temperature!

G had the normal miso ramen - with only 1 piece of meat.  Didn't know we could order extra meat till half way through the meal.

G's favourite - onsen eggs.

Noodles were delicious but personally still prefer the noodles at Tozanken.

Adventure #198: Ippodu

The Japanese ramen joint at Queensway, Ippudo is always pack at weekday lunch. So I never bothered to try.  Today is Saturday, we were just back from a wonderful break in Tokyo and there was no queue, so it was a great opportunity for us!

G ordered a standard white ramen.  It was good.  Noodle texture good and soup base tasty. Bowl was a bit small for G and he had to order extra noodles.

I had the red ramen - spicy one. No complaints there.

We also had some dumplings with lunch.

Good quality Japanese ramen though a bit pricey for lunch.

Ippodu
Queensway Plaza
Admiralty

Adventure #196: 班鳩 (Tokyo)

Last day in Tokyo.  Went for a stroll in Tokyo Station before we leave.  And while we were there, we had ramen for lunch.  There were a couple of recommended ramen restaurants there but we chose 班鳩. 

Before 12 and already a queue.

Restaurant is small but well equipped.  And everyone is there just to eat, people moved like a factory line!

Look good, taste good!

Adventure #191: Suzuran Ramen すずらん (Tokyo)

Arrived in Tokyo late last night. Hungry upon arrival but most things were closed. Fortunately we stumbled upon a quaint noodle cart outside Suidobashi train station (cannot imagine going to bed with a hungry G). Great atmosphere but pretty average noodles. Regardless, the hunger and ambiance overcame its mediocrity and tasted wonderful neverthless. 

The next day we went in search for some real Japanese ramen. G’s sister recommended Suzuran Ramen. So on our way to our destination for the day, Daikanyama, we stopped by Shibuya to look for this ramen shop.

We were told that there is usually a long queue for the ramen. Luckily, it was a Saturday morning and we got there just before opening time (11.30am). We were the first customers!

The owner came out personally to take our order. Suzuran specialises in tsuke-men (dipping noodles), i.e. noodles and meat served separately from the sauce. We had to try their signature dishes.

We ordered one of its famous dishes, Kagoshima style pork belly (buta kakuni), tsuke-men style of course.

We also ordered what looked like a seasonal dish, tomato soup noodle.

The restaurant is small, at most 10-12 counter seats only. Everything was made fresh right in front of us (except the noodles of course). The homemade noodles, whether it was the flat noodle or the ramen, were excellent. Cooked just right and have that slight chewy bouncing texture when eaten.

This is the Kagoshima style pork belly (buta kakuni). The belly pork was excellent, soft and tasty, although a bit too salty for our taste. The noodle dipped in sauce was heavenly.

This is the tomato soup noodle. Tomatoes freshly cut and veggies freshly stirred fried right in front of us. The tomatoes and veggies were very fresh and the soup base very good. This help balance out the saltiness of the pork belly. Great combination!

I was told they also make a mean dan dan noodle and hot ramen. Maybe next trip!

Suzuran Ramen
3-7-5 Shibuya, Tokyo

Directions: It's on the east side of the station, not Hachiko or Dogenzaka side. It's behind the huge, rather new, Shibuya police station. Come out Shibuya Station East Exit and take the pedestrian overpass across Meiji Dori, on the right. Head toward the police station, which you can't miss. When you get to the other side, walk uphill on Roppongi Dori just past the station (on your right) and take the second right and it is on the right side of the street. It is literally 5 minutes from the station. Best time to go, before lunch crowd or in the evenings.

Adventure #166: 羅富記粥麵專家

羅富記粥麵專家 has 3 branches in Central.  G used to frequent the one on Lynhurst Terrace as it is across the street from where he used to work.  My mum prefers the one on Queen's Road Central, no particular reason, I think she just doesn't fancy walking uphill.

Today, we popped into the one on Queen's Road Central.  It closed for a while a few months back for renovation.  So, post renovation......looked the same to me.  The cooking area and the seating area looked exactly the same.  Put in some new industrial size air-conditioners - freezing!

The standard wonton noodle.  Noodle chewy, wonton delicious. No disappointment there.

The dumplings 水餃 were also delicious with sufficient fillings and not too thick dumpling skin.

The 皮蛋鹹瘦肉粥 is G's favourite.  Not many places does this properly anymore.  The pork is supposed to be salty and in this case, it was. And yet it didn't overwhelmed the porridge. 

Another of G's favourite is 牛肉鱼片粥 which he ordered to share with the little one. The beef was soft and the fish slices just cooked. The only complaint which the little one had on this dish was that sometimes there were little bones on the fish slices. 

魚腩粥 is my favourite. They always run out but today I am in lucky and I get to have it. This is actually a better dish for the little one as the bones on the fish belly are large and easy to remove - less chance of a fish bone accident!

G/F, 142 Queen's Road Central
Central
Or
G/F, 50 Lynhurst Terrance
Central

Adventure #152: 冠記 (Petaling Street)

Next stop, dry wanton noodle at 冠記 (Koon Kee) which has been in the area for over 50 years. And it has the decor to prove it!

My must have - pickled green chili!

My favourite - the standard cha chiu wanton noodle.

Another popular dish - the mushroom and chicken feet wanton noodle.

Koon Kee
Jalan Hang Lekir
Kuala Lumpur

Adventure #139: Wing Lai Yuen Sichuan Noodle Restaurant

G bought a new car and wanted to go check out new wheels and body kits.  The only shop we know is at Wong Tai Sin.  So, on a sunny Saturday morning, we were over at Wong Tia Sin.  Just a street away from the Wong Tai Sin Temple is a Sichuan restaurant famous for its Dan Dan noodle.

Really old style - got to rinse utensils in hot water.

The fried 四季豆 was very good but a little too spicy for the kids.

The little one's favourite.  They were good but she liked it coz they were the only things she could eat!

口水雞 very well done. Meat soft. More 麻 than 辣. Nice!

螞蟻上樹 fried vermicelli with mince meat.  Only average.

Finally, THE noodle.  Came in spicy or non-spicy. Of course we had to have the spicy one and just look at the chilli oil! G said this is by far the best dan dan noodle he had.

Will be back again soon when G brings his new car in for fitting.  I am just going to have the dan dan noodle!

Wing Lai Yuen Sze Chuen Noodles Restaurant
G/F, 15-17 Fung Tak Road
Wong Tai Sin
Kowloon
Tel: 2726-3818