Lei Garden ♥ ♥

 

Quick lunch with Shirley at Lei Garden in Times Square

 

 

You can sit in the quieter section of the restaurant like we did if you plan to eat more food
than just dimsum (...but Shirley insisted!!!) 

 

 

Crispy Roasted Pork and Barbecued Pork

 

 

IMO, Lei Garden's crispy pork belly is the best in Hong Kong. My only problem with it
is that the cubes get tinier and tinier each visit! Sad.

 

 

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - always good and reliable

 

 

Xiao Long Bao - skin too thick, soup too sweet :(

 

 

Taro and Pumpkin Cake - a new discovery and new favorite at Lei Garden!

 

 

My old flame, Fried Oysters in Lettuce

 

 

Still as huge and creamy as before!

 

 

Braised Goose Web with Sea Cucumber. Like the pork, this gets thinner and thinner.
I miss fatty geese with fatty feet. 

 

 

Salt and Pepper Bombay Duck Fish (九吐鱼) - too oily for me

 

 

Crispy Custard Buns

 

 

Custard bun innards

 

 

Almond Cream with Egg White - my favorite hot dessert soup

 

 

 Always happy to eat with Shirley! :)

 

Lei Garden: Shop 1003, 10/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2506 3828

Lei Garden Website

 

Ronin ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Behind this unassuming gray door is where I had THE BESTEST meal of my most recent
Hong Kong trip. Interestingly, my bestest meal last trip was at its sister restaurant Yardbird.
Read about it here. 

 

 

On the left are bar seats, on the right are standing stations. Come for the 6:30pm seating.
8:30's too crowded, unless you're into that body-bumping sorta thing. ;)

 

 

I just wanted to have my own space and eat in peace

 

  

With my butt stuck to a chair, of course :)

 

 

Welcome snack was okra wrapped in shiso and wrapped again in pickled lotus root 
then sprinkled with sesame pepper. Such a pretty sight!

 

 

 Shigoku Oysters, red shiso vinegar, sudachi. First dish and I surrendered completely to Ronin.
Cheap date, I know, but these babies were so fresh, plump, briny and creamy!

 

 

This bartender was extremely earnest and tender with his drinks...

 

  

That I could not resist ordering a Japanese Cocktail for myself! Lol! :)
Asbach Uralt brandy, orgeat, nakano honey umeshu, angostura bitters 

 

 

Every dish at Ronin was so well-curated I was 300% sure that whoever came up with the menu had a very severe case of OCD.

Whoever that freak is, he brought excessive amounts of joy and rapture into my otherwise stale life.

Marry me, Freak!!!

 

Katso bonito sashimi, tosa shoyu, white onion

 

 

Uni, fresh nori, aonori panko

 

 

Flower crab, mitsuba, uni

 

 

I marveled at the beauty of the flower crab's backside

 

  

Razor clams, spring onion, ginger, crispy rice

 

  

 White ale battered kisu, kimchi mayo, and shots of the beer used for the batter

 

 

 Triggerfish, honey, kyoto shichimi, chestnut chips

 

 

Unagi, kinome, chirashi, rice

 

 

Kagoshima beef, maitake, egg yolk.
OH GOD!!! This dish gave me compulsive eating disorder! I lost all my manners and ate more
than my share. 

 

 

Just look at that beauty! It obliterated my highest expectations and raised the bar so high
that I will never look at any sliced beef the same way again. YOU MUST.

 

 

And then there he goes again… Sigh...

 

 

Therefore, another round of drinks!
 Maple Old Fashioned (Nikka "The Barrel", maple syrup, baked apple bitters), and
Cocoa Nib Old Fashioned (Yardbird cocoa nib shochu, pampero anejo, chocolate bitters, gomme) 

 

 

Body-bumpin' activity building up just as we were leaving 

 

 

 This pretty boy. He handed me the menu. *swoons* :P

 

Ronin: 8 On Wo Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2547 5263

Ronin Website

Il Milione ♥ ♥ ♥

 

If you ask me to describe it in only one word, I will say Il Milione is so… GOLD. 

Look.

 

The Door

 

 

The Bar

 

 

The Lounge

 

 

The Private Room

 

 

The Main Dining Room

 

 

The Molton Brown Hand Wash and Lotion. Lol! :)

 

 

I suddenly felt out of place in my green shorts and FitFlops, but the nice staff walked me to my table and welcomed me warmly with a drink.

 

Apple and celery juice. So refreshing in this Hong Kong heat!

 

 

I couldn't resist crusty breads when served with olive oil this good.
I think I finished all of it - bread and oil.

 

 

My appetizer was a warm salad of buffalo mozzarella and breaded tomato puree.
This was such a simple dish but it tasted so divine that I couldn't stop moaning and groaning
with each bite of the creamy and flavorful cheese. The tomato was a perfect balance between
sweetness and acidity. This stuff I can eat forever.

 

 

Main course was a simple grilled black cod with sautéed vegetables

 

 

Beautiful char marks on the outside and unbelievably moist and creamy inside

 

 

It would have been a perfect lunch if the tiramisu were more… tiramisu.
This one was more chocolate without a hint of coffee.

 

 

And I needed my coffee. I also prefer it strong and black.

 

 

Little cookies all lined up for me to eat

 

 

On my way out, the bar manager named  "Rush" handed me the drinks menu.
It looked very interesting. I also found out that the owners of Il Milione are the
same owners of Las Flores in Manila! I will have to come back for a drink.

 

 

Il Milione: G16-21, G/F, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2481 1120

Il Milione Website