Hu Tong vs Din Tai Fung

Hi Guys!!

Finally the last part of my food adventures in Hong Kong is finally here...7 months late...i guess its better late then never right?

While in Hong Kong, we had the opportunity to indulge in two of the most well known and highly rated, not to mention a must dining place for all new and old to Hong Kong, Din Tai Fung and Hu Tong.

I will start with our experience at Din Tai Fung since we ate there first. Located at Silvercord, 30 Canton Road,  Hong Kong, it had a simple and clean ambiance, very different from the many other local restaurants we ate whilst in Hong Kong, there was a huge selection of dumplings and main dishes, including a few dishes served with their special secret chilli sauce, which you definitely have to try!! Correct me if I'm wrong but this place currently holds one Michelin Star! Didn't know that until now :)

There was about 10 of us there so we were able to order alot of different dishes to try. The price was quite high compared to food in Hong Kong, but the quality and standard of food was very good also, in comparison. Staff was friendly, though it was hard to get their attention to order anything else, after you already place the initial order, understandable since the place was super packed and busy! Overall, it was an amazing dining experience. I was very satisfied with the flavours of the food, all the dumplings were made with care, our food came out nicely presented, simple and clean, everything was so yummy and delicious!! Standout dishes would be the Xiao Long Bao, Noodles serve with Special Sauce, Prawn dumplings in special sauce!! The flavours of the special sauce were simply amazing...makes me drool just thinking about it haha and the Xiao Long Bao were absolutely perfect, the skins were the right thickness, flavours of the filling were delicious with burst of the steamy and super flavoursome soupy goodness inside, balance with the right amount of soy sauce, vinegar and finely slice ginger  ....mmmmmmmmmm

From top left: Serving arrangements at Din Tai Fung, Tea, Crispy fried pork, Spring Rolls, Xiao Long Bao (mmmm :D), some green veggie stir fried with garlic :P, Noodle in Special Chilli Sauce, Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai, Cha Jiang Noodle with Mince Pork, Shrimp Wonton with Special Chilli Aauce, Crispy fried pork with fried rice, Spicy Sesame Noodles, Prawn and Pork Wonton with Moodles, Special Shallot sauce Noodles, Black Truffle dumplings, and Cantaloupe dessert.

I will definitely return to Din Tai Fung, just for their Xiao Long Bao's and Special Sauce (of which I did on my last day in Hong Kong hehe).

I would rate Din Tai Fung as follows:

Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value: 8/10

Hu Tong was located at level 28, One Peking Road, Hong Kong. Upon arriving at this restaurant after going up 28 levels and stepping out of the lifts, I was blown away by the beautiful interior design of the restaurant. It was beautifully traditional yet very contemporary/modern at the same time.

The ambience is amazing, and the decoration and view of the city was stunning! We were lucky enough to be seated in one of the private booths, absolutely beautiful, I just love the traditional feel this place has! I haven't even started eating and already this restaurant has left me nodding and speechless in appreciation :) The service by the staff was exceptional, they were attentive, yet weren't pushy and seemed to know exactly when you needed to ask them for something. We mainly order dumplings because it was only lunch time, but there was only 5 of us this time and we were more then happy to just order dumplings to share (nope still not sick of dumplings...yet :P). The prices of dumplings were much higher then Din Tai Fung, or anywhere else we ate in Hong Kong, same price as Australian Yum Cha, in terms of quantity. The cutlery and dining ware they had were absolutely gorgeous, I wouldn't mind having these in my home. The dumplings were beautiful presented on unique plates, each one beautifully crafted! The food was of very high quality, almost fine dining like experience. Not to mention the tea we had was a very unique blend....i consider myself a tea nut and this is not one I've tried before, not the usual Jasmine or Chrysanthemum tea you get in Chinese restaurants. Flavours of the dumplings were amazing and of very high standard, and overall the dining experience was exceptional. Obviously we had to try the Xiao Long Bao also and make the comparison on this popular dumpling dish, they tasted just as good as Din Tai Fung and I couldn't decide which one I liked more hehe I was very happy that I did not miss the opportunity to try out this place before we left Hong Kong, one place I would be visiting again if I went back to Hong Kong and try out the many other main dishes they offered.

From top left: Tea served in a beautiful tea pot, more awesome cutlery, Lamb and Scallion Dumplings, Prawn in Tofu roll, Xiao Long Bao, Fried Dumpling, Bean and preserve vegetables appetizer dish, our lunch, Pork Dumpling. To be honest I don't quite remember which dumpling is which on the menu, its been over 6 months and the menu doesn't have pictures so I just had to guess them hehe

I would rate Hu Tong as follows:

Food: 9.5/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Value: 8/10

I guess you can tell which place I enjoyed more from my ratings?...hehe not really, though I rated Hu Tong's higher, I enjoyed both places almost equally and for different reasons.  They both lived up to the hype and good ratings that I have read all other the internet! I couldn't ask for more in this short trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong was an awesome way to finish off my Asia trip. In short, Hong Kong has left its mark on my taste buds, and I do hope that someday soon, I will return there to explore more of what this amazing country has to offer. If you ask me which of the two restaurants I would recommend more?  I say try both :D

Lots of Love,
Fat Pom Pom

Hong Kong!

                                                 YUM CHA!!!!

Hi everyone,

Hong Kong is finally here. To end my wonderful holiday in Asia, our last stop was Hong Kong. The land of Yum Cha, shopping and the TVB series that I grew up watching. Hong Kong was somewhere my family and I have always wanted to go, it was holiday trip 6 years in the making : ) Not until my youngest sister finished year 12 last year did we finally make the family trip there! Well we've got one younger brother left who can't wait to grow up fast enough so that he could come with us on our next trip. He has only started year 7 so lets see if we could make the exception so we don't have to wait another 6 years for another family trip. hehe

Anyways, first night we landed in Hong Kong...what do we eat? it was 11pm and we headed for KFC...lol
I know what you are thinking...yes, it was crappy and unsatisfying but it was the closest place to our hotel that was still open besides the 7/11 and we were all starving and dead tired from the flight.

Our real adventure in Hong Kong began the next morning. Hong Kong was everything we thought it to be, everything we saw in the TVB series and Hong Kong movies, the streets, the buildings, the taxis, the people, everything was there. I could cry from excitement. There was so much to do and so little time hehe

Well where do I start..oh yes YUM CHA for brunch of course!!!! We didn't bother to research where was the best Yum Cha place in Hong Kong for obvious reasons...we were in Hong Kong, the land of Yum Cha, I don't think you can really go wrong hehe

We went into the first restaurant we saw, the Shamrock Seafood Restaurant which offered Yum Cha up until 11am (I think). We went overboard with the amount of dumplings that we ordered LOL: )
They had everything a normal Yum Cha restaurant would have in Australia, best thing was the price, at about $1-$3 AUD per dish. We were in food paradise!!! All the dishes tasted awesome but the best part would have to be it came up to about $7 per person. You can't get better then that!

From then on, the food just kept getting better!

Another neat little place that we spent alot of time at was Toast Box. Its a bakery / Cafe that serves really neat sweet and savory food!

Some sweets we had.....

Strawberry Danish....mmmm

Milo Dinosaur....LOL very satisfying

Hong Kong milk tea...

Hainamese Chicken lunch at Toast Box...mmmm

Noodles with eggs and luncheon meat...

Oh we also had to try the desserts and icecream on offer at the Haagan Daz cafe...mmmm sooo yummy and satisfying...

Another dessert place offering awesome strawberry sweets...called Strawberry Forever Dessert Cafe! mmm

Along with a whole heap of cool franchise restaurants including, New York Fries, Mos Burgers and heaps more but I can't remember! haha

Just some New York fries...

The Mos Fish burger and The Mos burger

 The Yakiniku burger

We also ate at a whole heap of local Hong Kong restaurants including all the traditional Chinese food and banquets, Hong Kong breakfast which consists of lots of variety of dishes that includes Luncheon meat (similar to spam), the occasional Mcdonalds, lots of street food and random restaurants, Yakult, 2 minutes noodles and loads of snacks from 7eleven,  Milk tea and more milk tea and of course lots of bubble tea, and lots and lots of asian desserts!!

Peking duck banquet with Peking duck and Duck San Choy Bow....yummo!!

Soy Chicken...have to eat this when in Hong Kong! Yummmm

Apparently this restaurant below... lots of famous Hong Kong stars eat here...we had a few of their signature dishes...quite yummy!

How could I forget about the awesome desserts in Hong Kong...makes me cry thinking about it...:(

Oh and the street food....the wonderful aromas of the street food at night...

Boy do I miss Hong Kong. Everyday I would hear my family complain about how much they wanted to go back! Hong Kong was awesome and everything that we hoped it to be...including being jib on taxi fair haha Hong Kong to me is a food and shopping paradise, so if you love both, you will definitely love it!!

 The best part about Hong Kong...game machines...human vs machine...human-1

 Hersheys for the WIN!!!!

Celebrating the victory with more junk food!!

Next time I have a very special posts about two of the most popular Yum Cha places that you must try while in Hong Kong which I had the privilege to eat at both! Until then, eat well and sleep well my friends...winter is coming! haha

Lots of Love,
Fat Pom Pom

Malaysia!!!

The Nasi Lemak I had at the White Rajah....mmmm

Hi everyone,

I hope you guys enjoy reading about my food adventures in Vietnam! I definitely miss Vietnam hehe

Malaysia was the next destination on our itinerary! I have one word to describe the food in Malaysia....awesome!!! I was only there for 2 days so even though I didn't get to try street food from the street Vendors, there was plenty of delicious and cheap food around!

What hit me first in Malaysia was the mugginess...it sure was humid there...the air was thick, but somehow it didn't bother me as much after being in Vietnam hehe

OMG did I tell you how many different asian desserts and cakes there were...I was crying tears of joy when I saw how many variety of desserts there were...too bad we didn't have enough time or room in my stomach to try everything...oh and did I mention there was Pandan Chiffon cakes everywhere....it was food paradise for me...I'm such a sucker when it comes to asian desserts or any desserts for that matter hehe

We stayed at JW Marriot, right opposite to the Pavillion Centre where there was heaps of shopping and food around. On the first day, we decided to play it safe and eat in the food court Pavillion (my stomach was still unstable from being in Vietnam lol)

Below are the many varieties of food you can get from the food court:

So much variety to choose from...all of which tasted as delicious as they looked in the bain marie! mmmm if food in the food court tasted this good, what will the ones in local restaurants taste like?!?!

We did manage to eat at one small restaurant called White Rajah.

 Beef Satay sticks

 Chicken Rendang

Laksa

Food was amazing there, everything we ordered was awesome....authentic or not I don't know but it tasted delicious hehe

Oh I love being in Asia!!

Keep following my blog as I will soon be posting about the many awesome Yum Cha places to eat in Hong Kong!!!!


Lots of Love,
Fat Pom Pom

Cumulus Inc

My boyfriend took me to Cumulus Inc a few weeks ago to celebrate the earnings of his interest in his savings account. After years of my rambling nonsense about putting his savings into a free interest earning account, my boyfriend finally decided to open the account...a month later, he realised how much interest he had earnt in that one month. We decided to go to Cumulus Inc to celebrate.

Situated on 45 Flinders Lane, Cumulus Inc was a short walk from the main hustle and bustle of the cbd.

The interior was very contemporary and had unique decoration. I thought it had a very warm and friendly feel. We were seated at the bar table which faced the open kitchen. Being the foodie that I am, it was an awesome experience to be able to see the chefs at work. We got to spy on what they were making, and in a way, saw our meals being prepped and cooked before our eyes!

We started the night with a Slow Cooked Octopus with Aioli and Dehydrated olives (picture above). Absolutely delicious :)

Oh did I mention we had free bread also hehe

Foie Gras parfait with Toasted Brioche

Fried Soft Shell Crab and School Prawns, shredded cabage, honey and chardonnay vinegar

Grilled Yabbies, Aioli and Lemon

Mustard Crumbed pigs tail, Celeriac Remoulade and Caper berries

We finished the night on a sweet note with the Lemon Tart, blood oranges, home made icecream with meringue. Mmmmm fresh and deliciously balanced.

All the dishes were delicious, my favourites would have to be the Octopus, the Yabbies and the Lemon Tart dessert!!!
Overall, Cumulus Inc lived up to all its hype! I left with a happy and satisfied tummy :)

Fat Pom Pom rates Cumulus Inc:

Food:                     9/10
Atmosphere:      9/10
Price:                    $15 entrees, $30-$60 mains, $15 desserts
Service:                8/10

Happy Eating!

Fat Pom Pom

The Hardware Societe

Goodmorning my fellow brunch lovers!

I myself am not a morning person. I like sleeping in and staying up late. I don't function very well when I have to wake up really early, and I take twice as long to do anything if its earlier then 10am. hehe

I usually skip breakfast (which is a really bad thing) but like I said, my body doesn't work very well too early in the morning, and that also includes my appetite : )

Thats why I love the idea of Brunch! I love the different kinds of food they have available for breakfast. From the big breakfast which included eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns to the simple cereal and milk. And with all the different restaurants and cafe's in Melbourne that serves brunch on the weekends....well I feel like I'm not missing out that much during the week!

Tea pot cosies at The Hardware Societe.....so adorable!

Well on one warm winters weekend, me and my boyfriend headed to The Hardware Societe at 120 Hardware Street, Melbourne. I was very excited about this little place as I've heard alot of good things about it : ) the places opens from 8.30am to 2.00pm on a Saturday and Sunday, so we headed out about 11.00am.

It was a cute little place, with quirky decorations, little yellow chairs, and cool wallpaper! Their menu offered a neat selection of seasonal produce and specialties. I heard that the menu changes with the seasons, so we didn't see any duck on the menu this time....: ( but I wasn't sad for long because there was loads of other awesome things to choose from!

In the end we pick a few to share....

Bircher - with Vanilla & Rosewater pears, raspberries and macadamias......mmmmmmmmmm

Baked Eggs - with Chorizo, Sofrito, and Manchego......yummy!!!!

Croque Madame - with Smoked Salmon, Gruyere, Horseradish creme fraiche, and fried duck eggs

......yummmooooo!!!

All three tasted super delicious and awesome mmmmm....making me hungry again now just thinking about it hehe the flavours and texture combinations are amazing! So much going on yet the balance is perfect, definitely a tasty and satisfying brunch session hehe

I will definitely would be returning here some day soon and trying out the other items on the menu!!!!! I definitely recommend this place for Brunch anyday : )

There's only a 2 weeks left of winter, YAY! Can't wait for the sunshine to return : )

Keep warm and happy eating!

Fat Pom Pom