Scallops and Asparagus

I made dinner, and not half bad :)

Duke's Deli, TST

I found the most uncrowded lunch spot in Tsim Sha Tsui! Duke's Deli at iSquare.

iSquare is a new mall/shopping/dining/movie watching experience extravaganzaa that opened not too long ago a couple blocks away from my office. I was craving some comforts from home and decided to check it out.

I've been to the Duke's Deli in Central and I liked it. Probably the closest thing you'll get to a real pizza here, and also pizza by the slice, which is virtually non-existent.

I went with their recommendation for the philly cheesesteak, which is probably pretty decent if you like meat... and sometimes I forget I don't so next time I'm sticking to the salad. The bread is the real deal though and probably the best you can get in town.

I hope this place stays alive. It's hard to find a decent salad or bread that's not HONGK'ed up, especially on the Dark Side.

French Toast with Peanut Butter, Cafe de Coral

Tea Time at Cafe de Coral

Cafe de Coral is a local chain that can be found on every other corner. They're everywhere. They consider themselves Chinese fast food, but it's more of a lunchy counter servicey kind of place. Noodles, cutlets... and french toast!

I need to do more research on this phenomenon. I'm not sure why little local restaurants (tons and tons) have french toast on their menu, but I appreciate it. It's often served with condensed milk or jam or something, but I had to go with one of my favorite things on the planet... peanut butter!

While Cafe de Coral has nothing to do with corals, or Spanish, it's super cheap, fast, and the staff wear some kind of costume that's like a blast from the past. Check out the link! The English words Cafe de Coral sound like the Chinese name for the restaurant, which means something like everybody's happy.

Saturday Brekkie: Zaks, Discovery Bay

Zaks, Discovery Bay

Since this was breakfast with my mostly Aussie GFs, I think calling it brekkie is most appropriate.

I have very little experience with Discovery Bay, only having been once before for a baby shower. It's a 30 minute ferry ride from Central, with a very posh pier to boot. There are many piers in Central, but the one to/fro DB stands out. It obviously caters to gwailos. You are greeted with a beer booth, Ben and Jerry's, plenty of comforts from home including a Circle K with English magazines. I can't remember seeing English magazines in any other Circle K or 7-11 in town.

Yes, I took a boat to breakfast and it was spectacular. Zaks is located on the water, and we sat outside... a great way to start the day.

Everything on the menu sounded good, but as I tell people, if there's avocado on the menu, there's a 99.99% chance I will order that dish. Delish. Breakfast is my favorite!

Sack Lunch: Good Ol Turkey

The truth is most of my meals are not as chic as this blog leads you to believe. It's usually fruit for breakfast and veggies for dinner, but that wouldn't make much of a food blog now would it? But in an effort to keep it real...

This morning I packed a lunch. Like for real. Like mom used to do. I often eat at my desk because I'm too busy at work or I'll use my break to run a few errands. So maybe I'll get takeout, or run across the street to the grocery store to pick up something to assemble. But I'm trying to switch it up, and trying to eat more protein.

I'm a carnivore that generally doesn't eat meat. Not that I'm opposed to it, just sometimes it creeps me out. But I'm protein and iron deficient so it's time to step it up. Last week in the office I made a PBJ and it so hit the spot. If only I had a lunchbox.

Taco Truck on Oscar Nite

When a new Mexican joint opens up, people make a lot of noise. For a special occasion such as the Oscars, we picked up takeout from Mr Taco Truck

Off the top of my head I can count like 8 mexican restaurants here, and I'd still rather have Taco Bell.



So here comes Mr. Taco Truck, a little stand in Quarry Bay (kinda out there) and they've got more business than they know what to do with. I guess it's nuts during lunch, their hours for now are limited, and there's no seating. But we can work around that.

For my first Hong Kong Taco Truck meal, I went with fish tacos. Not entirely fair, I know since I've been spoiled with the best on the planet, but it's something I haven't had in a while. And they were ok. The freshly made tortillas were a nice touch but it would have been better if they were corn and not flour. Word on the street is they ran out of stuff for corn tortillas, or maybe they're not making them anymore. From looking at the beef tacos my friends got, I think all around the tacos could use a lot more filler. I look forward to sampling the rest of the menu for the most proper assessment.

But here's where they have you by the cojones. They have horchata. And to our knowledge you can't get it anywhere else. It's the real deal, and it's really good.

I Love Breakfast Burritos

I love breakfast and I love burritos. And we lived happily ever after.

SML revisited for Mexican

SML was revisited for their newest menu items: Mexian!

We started off with a medium plate of nachos. Pretty darn good.

Off of the Mexican menu we ordered some kind of pork, and not pictured, some really really really good mushroom risotto.

Shrimp fajitas

Chicken quesadillas, muy caliente!

Beef fajitas.

A successful S-M-L meeting with the ladies.

Philly Cheesesteaks

The Amuuurrrican kids got a piece of home. F yeah!

The great part about this meal is that I had everything I needed already in my kitchen. Don't you love it when that happens?

The other super duper part about this meal is that it's less than 400 calories per serving. Thanks Cooking Light!

BLT Burger

Newish restaurant on the block

The great burger search is on!

Sunday night, Joel and I grabbed a burger that was tasty and at the right price. Sadly I didn't get a picture of it, so I'll have to return to that soon.

BLT Burger opened near my office a little while back. Even though I knew they served corndogs, I've stayed away until now. The restaurant is ol skool diner-chic, and I was lucky to catch it on a slow lunch day. I ordered the classic burger with cheese and waffle fries. All really really really scrumptious. But for a price. The total came to about $20 USD. Not outrageous, not entirely unwarranted, but definitely not something you can have every day. Unless you wanna be a fat broke American like the rest of us.

Blintzes at The Flying Pan

I have been craving blintzes for weeks. I can't even remember the last time I had some. Maybe college.

After getting spanked by Canada (USA vs Canada hockey), we retreated for comfort food. This 24 hour establishment is not a substitute for Denny's (I want my Moons over my hammy, without the hammy please) but it works in a pinch.

Favorite Things: Mentioned in Lonely Planet!

My all-time favorite taco on the planet (so far) is the chorizo taco at La Taqueria in San Francisco. I stumbled upon this wonder while shooting That's Clever with Sergio. It was recommended by a ceramic artist that we give it a try, and fortunately my travel partner likes to grub as much as I do.

We got the chorizo tacos. With everything on it. Ridiculous. So good we went back a second time.

I'm not the only one who recognized how good this place is. Today this article came out on Lonely Planet.

I was in SF last Christmas and put La Taqueria on my priority list. Sadly, when we got there, they were shut for xmas! I was devastated, as pictured above.

So give it a try when you're in SF, and the other ones in the article too and let me know how it compares. Mmmmmmm. Mmmmmmexican.

Cafe Lavender - Post hike tea

Cang and I earned a midday meal after our Wong Nai Chung gap hike. After much bouncing around (everywhere was crowded! the weather warms up and everybody's out and about in the afternoon) we decided on Cafe Lavender on Prince's Terrace. Decent people watching and even better dog watching.

Like everything else, Cang and I share our bites. We both opted for iced mochas, and split tomato & mozzarella on toast, and a croque monsieur. Really good!

How cute is the dishware? Anyway, points to this place on cuteness, tastiness, and location... just off the escalator. Oh yeah, they got magazines. Bonus!

FCC Appetizer - Thai Shrimpcakes

FCC Dinner - Chicken Curry

With tangy sweetness from pineapple and raisins. Yum!

FCC Dessert - Toffee Pudding

Dinner at FCC!

Hmm, since I'm doing a lot more from my phone, I'll have to figure out how to upload the pics all under one post instead of separately.

I had the great pleasure of being a guest of the FCC on Friday night. Fun, interesting company, good, cheap food, and a great general atmosphere. Yeah!