Yuet Lai Shun (粵來順), Dundas Street, Mong Kok

I've had this old school Cantonese restaurant (2 Dundas Street, Mong Kok, tel : +852 2788 3078) in my radar for a few years now. It has nothing to do with the fact that they're Bib Gourmand in the Michelin guide but they are. I've also stopped wondering why I keep overlooking places for obvious reasons and started feeling glad that I eventually made the visits.

We got ourselves a nice strong pot of jasmine tea in preparation of the food to come.

This was pig lung and almond milk soup. Pretty awesome. Could understand why so many people come here for this.

There're also a bunch of other ingredients that went into making this delicious soup. Like pork, chicken parts and water chestnuts.

Carbs came in the form of noodles stir fried in soy sauce and squid tentacles. Those squid tentacles didn't taste like they were stir fried. They look like they were boiled separately, added to the noodles and tossed. Pity cuz it would have been much tastier if they had that squid char aroma.

There was a plate of mixed braised parts which included goose, pork belly and some tofu. The braising broth was spiced and sweet like they should be. With that flavourful broth, no sauces were necessary for the sliced meats.

That's steamed tofu with scallops and preserved/fermented black bean....salsa? That black bean thing had a strong and awesome flavour. It also reminded me of dried mandarin peel for some reasons. Couldn't get past the stalks of kailan on the side which were superb. They were so tender, sweet and didn't have any chewy fibres.

Am definitely considering a return in the future.

Shake Shack, Pacific Place, Admiralty

I was wondering if it was worth the time against the crowd at Shake Shack at IFC for this trip under the assumption that there would be a crowd because it was Shake Shack and this was Hong Kong. But by happenstance we came across a newer outlet at Pacific Place (Shop 105A, L1 Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, tel : +852 2810 8928).

So we came for lunch with the works. A pair of doubles for the ShackBurger and SmokeShack along with cheese fries, the ShackMeister ale and the milk tea shake that's exclusive to Hong Kong. That ale was a light and smooth brew from Brooklyn Brewery. Tasted like their Brooklyn Lager. 

Burgers were nice. But these didn't have the smashed patty look with the crusty caramelized edges one would expect coming from them. It seemed that they're new and still failing to achieve consistency with their product. Which led me to wonder if the beef was the same blend that they do in NYC.

I'm a sucker for exclusives. I mean real exclusives like this one because I don't think anywhere else would go for a nai cha (奶茶) shake. I could be wrong. 

It's not bad. Not as good as the actual milk tea since this was a lot milkier but I suppose there's enough flavour in there to be recognizeable. A stronger tea flavour - perhaps one that would even introduce a bit of astringency have be awesome though.

The other vegetarian meal at Po Lin Monastery's

The last time we were here at Po Lin Monastery Vegetarian Restaurant, we had bought the tickets for the deluxe vegetarian meal. This time round, it wasn't available for some reasons so we tried the regular vegetarian meal instead.

I liked this soup better than the one we were served the last time. The flavour was oddly very similar to sweet potatoes with a hint of dried mandarin peel and there were some hairy gourd in it. Along with a side of reflection from the fluorescent lights from the ceiling.

Their tofu with preserved olive and green peas was delicious. The flavour from the tofu itself was outstanding. My favourite dish from this meal.

There was stir fried capsicums, celery and more pressed bean curd things. Not too shabby.

My second favourite item was their deep fried spring rolls. I had some reservations initially because they were deep fried and I'm not exactly a big fan of deep fried spring rolls. After having them, I came to the conclusion that they were well stuffed and the fried batter was pretty tasty. Well worth the grease that went into them.

Some obligatory leafy stir fried vegetables with mushrooms were part of the menu as well. Never been much of a fan for these Chinese mushrooms.

Big Bang Don (爆丼屋), Soy Street, Mongkok

This shop that specializes in donburi was a surprising find in the heart of Mongkok (G/F 50 Soy Street, tel : +852 2332 2918). Surprising only for us since it was packed to the brim with locals.

We had some gyutan from the grilled skewers section of the menu. The liberally salted tongue was cut pretty thick and was a little chewy from the thickness. They was still pretty delicious though.

We got sucked by a bowl with 3 types of uni. The sea urchin was torched briefly after the bowl was assembled. This was actually pretty good.

The other kickass don they had featured botan ebi, crab legs, some funky looking turquoise roe and lobster tomalley. Sounded awesome? It was. The sweetness from the crab legs and botan ebi paired with even more intense crustacean sweetness from the creamy tomalley over vinegared rice - need I say more?

Honbo - the burger joint on elevated ground behind a tree in Wan Chai

I seldom use Google Maps in Hong Kong but I did for Honbo (G/F New Sun House, 6-7 Sun Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong, tel : +852 2567 8970). That and that I had to exercise a little instinctual navigation in spite of the app. After we found it, we realized that it wasn't so hidden. It's just on elevated grounds behind a tree.

Words like homegrown, grassroots and perhaps indirectly - a touch of locavore-ism is being hinted at for their food which showcases what can be done from local farmers and brewers. Vegetables that are harvested from Yuen Long, milk buns that are supposedly baked 15 minutes away and maybe that USDA beef doesn't quite count here.   

That's that Honbo burger, 2 X 2oz smashed looking beef patties with more surface ratio for the flavour from char and crust. There's onions which I thought was nicely done with a sharpness cutting through the meat and cheese along with house brined bread and butter pickles. We asked for less sauce and less sauce was actually perfect. Buns held up well.

Cheese burger featured 1 X 4oz patty. There's lettuce and as far as I can tell, those and the single patty was the major difference with this and the Honbo. An ounce or two more of that beef would be nice-r but I think I can live with their balance. Flavours weren't unnecessarily complicated and I thought these guys did a good job with being straight forward.

I even liked their crisp shoestring fries.

Found a nice local brew by Coco Espresso and Carbon Brews. It's a stout as far as I'm concerned with hints of coffee - a chocolate-y bitter aroma with the malt which I enjoyed. Been a while since I've had beer from a can and thought well of it.

Cafe Seasons (四季常餐), Wellington Street, Hong Kong Central

This cafe (Shop C, G/F Sunwise Mansion, 112-114 Wellington Street, Central, tel : +852 3594 6612) was relatively new but they've gotten their marketing game on with social media. That was how we found out about them.

Their menu doesn't have very much. We were here at breakfast for their bun with corned beef, scrambled eggs and cheese. That sandwich was much lighter and easier to inhale than appearances belied. It had the prerequisite fat and salt along with energy providing carbs that made breakfasts and yes, I'd come back just for this again.

There's regular toast with scrambled eggs and luncheon meat as well. Those were also as delicious as they looked.

Note to self, there's no 茶走 here. Only regular milk tea.