Tasting Journey #196 - 一凜日式拉麵

一凜日式拉麵
台中市精誠九街23號
04.2329.2992

I saw an article of this restaurant on a travel blog one time, and have wanted to pay this place a visit.  The hype of this restaurant isn't that it is tasty, but that it follows a similar ordering process as many of the popular ramen places in Japan where your order is taken via a vending machine.

Ichirin Ramen is located in a quiet area of Taichung where there are many unique independent shops. The exterior of the restaurant is built with strong Japanese taste. The inside is like all other ramen places - wooden interior.

The menu selection ranges from curry sets to donburi's to ramen. I tried their basic tonkotsu (pork broth) as this is my bench mark against all ramen's.  Nothing jumps out asking for a return visit.

 

 

 

Tasting Journy #178 - Little Fiesta 小墨西哥

Little Fiesta 小墨西哥
台中市五權西四街106號
04.2378.5587

 

Came here for a friend gathering dinner, as I was on a 1-day business trip to the Taichung area.
My collague had given me a coupon for this place as his family visited here not too long ago.  He strongly recommended it for its value - generous portion at generous price.

Mexican food, can't go wrong right?

 

Located on the restaurant street next to the Art Museum, this restaurant has to be decent to survive as it's been there for ages. The exterior looks a bit rundown, but is built and painted in a very latino style.  As soon as you walk in, you are hit by gold and yellow ribbons shouting nothing but fiesta.  It feels like you've walked into a pinata event in action.

 

Knowing that the portions are huge, and that us timid ladies have limited appetite, we ordered their appetizer platter. It was huge and filling, definitely. Well, considering that everything on that dish is deep fried, immersed in grease and splattered with salt and seasoning, we were full quickly.  Every item required mouthfuls of carbonated drinks to flush it down.  It wasn't bad, just not delicate food.  Quality is more similar to a fast food joint. 

My colleague was right.  a restaurant that offers value for its portion.

 

Tasting Journey #133 - HK Trip - 泰昌餅家, 小甜谷, Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店, 東薈城金滬庭

泰昌餅家
香港中環擺花街35號地下
852.2544.3475
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=5522

Busy pastry shop.  We tried their egg tart and preserved-egg pastry:
Egg tart isn't anything special. 
Preservedegg pastry is interesting in the sense that it's a very unique taste - a whole egg wrapped in crispy puff.  You have to really like the taste of preserved egg to enjoy this.  I had one bite and had to give it away.

小甜谷
香港大坑書館街10-11B地下
852.2882.6133
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=26948

Dessert parolour offering asian desserts similar to Hui Lau Shan as well as western ice-cream and slushes.
We abruptly stopped by this place because we were tired, sweaty, and in urgent need of AC.
The dessert's not bad, but slightly pricey.

 

Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店
香港大坑布朗街6號地下
852.2670.0071
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=106775

Ice-cream reinvented.  The new hype in the dessert world where they create different ice-cream flavours by freezing the ingredient with liquid nitrogen while blending.

 

I think it is just a temporary hype, as it is nothing extra-ordinary other than a show, and a nice presentation. 

 

Offering only 4 flavours, the cafe (or reallly, a small shop) is tiny with no 5 seating spaces. People ate while standing as the portion is small, and you can finish it in 5min.

 

東薈城金滬庭
東涌達東路20號東薈城1樓211號舖
852.2625.9008
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=15561

Amazing, amazing Shanghainese food in City Gate Mall.
All the dishes we tried were so rich and flavourful with depth and pleasant surprises.
The garlic green beans are marinated so well that the garlic essentially has been infused into the bean.
The spicey chicken (口水雞) has always been my sister's most favourite, spicey to the taste, but not the buds.
The salted egg tofu (黃金豆腐) was jaw-dropping, saliva dripping good.  Soft tofu deep fried in salted egg yolk.  Such a perfect dish to chow down bowls after bowls of rice.
I don't recommend ordering the jelly fish as it's slightly over cooked.

A definite must-visit place again!!!
 



Tasting Journey #132 - 新記車仔麵

新記車仔麵
香港銅鑼灣登龍街49號地下B舖
852.2573.5438
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=12797

Interesting local HK-style eatery.



Every dish is customized to your favour and taste.  How is this possible?
Everyone grabs an order sheet, and starts circling the topping you would like on your base noodle.  The price is calculated based on your selections.

 

Frankly speaking, to me, it tasted like a luxury version of instant noodle because it is 車仔麵.
Other than that, I didn't find it special.  My coworker says their white radish and chicken wings are must-tries....
 

Service? C'mon, this is local HK eatery. Don't expect any. lol...

Tasting Journey #125 - Smoker 煙燻咖啡

煙燻咖啡
台中市模範街一巷13號
02.2302.0813

Interesting cafe hidden away in a quiet alley a few blocks away from the heart of Taichung.  The waffles are highly recommended by my colleague.  Coffee is OK.  Drinks are decent.  Brunch dishes made with heart. 

The interior is modern and well-lit.

 

Publically affectionate gays... I'm surprised how open Taichung has become. heheee... ;)

 



Tasting Journey #120 - BAFA Cafe

BAFA Cafe
台中市惠來路一段161號
04.2251.7701

This cafe was first introduced to me by my coffee-addict colleague.  He gave me a pack of single bean coffee from Antigua, Guatamela. Amazingly, it tastes sweet when drank black.  Since then, I've fallen in love with this cafe eventhough I've never visited it in person.  Therefore, the first opportunity to visit Taichung, this cafe becomes a must-visit.  The cafe is small with less than 15 seats.  However, it serves a very warm and welcoming ambience, perfect for a group of 2-3.  I heard there's a larger room in the back where you can rent to host meetings and a party for a larger group.

With high expectation, comes high disappointment.  The long awaited bean was out of stock.  Nonetheless, I still got to enjoy a nice afternoon coffee with friends.  We all ordered a drink and dessert.  According to my friend who ordered winter melon lime soda, it was refreshing and perfect for this summer hot weather.  I had of course, black coffee to compliment my pickled apple.  I do have to give their lemon tart a thumbs up. It is sour and perfect.