Classified

C and I were craving for some quality cheese before our movie date to see The Dictator. We decided to head over to Classified to satisfy our cravings. Classified has a number of branches around Hong Kong and we decided to go to the one in Exchange Square since it was convenient to where we were watching the movie. I have also heard that the lasagna there is the best in town so I definitely was very excited to sink my teeth into that. The atmosphere was very cozy and intimate while service was friendly and prompt.

We got a bottle of Argentinian white wine which was very fruity and refreshing. 

Organic beef lasagne al fornoMmmm mmm this lasagna was absolutely dreamy. It came out on this sizzling skillet with its meaty juices bubbly and its cheese melted to a gooey perfection. The ratio of meat sauce, cheese, and pasta was absolutely perfect. Each bite was rich and luscious. The tomato sauce was very sweet and the meat was incorporated perfected. The cheese was creamy and the entire dish was just divine.

True love?

Medium cheese platter with 5 cheeses served with quince paste 
We told the waitress to be in charge of the selection of cheeses and to choose one from each category. The one cheese we did request was Comté. Unfortunately the waitress picked a lot of cheeses that we already knew of because the original plan was for her to pick us some novel cheeses that we have not tried. Luckily the cheeses were still very enjoyable. Apart from the Comté we also had brie, stilton, gouda, and manchego. We suspected that the gouda was not actually gouda because the texture was very different, therefore next time we will try to find the real identity of the cheese because we enjoyed it very much. The manchego was our least favorite. The stilton was very pungent and strong but that's just how we like it. We were very stuffed by the end of the meal and had a very decent amount of leftovers. 

Overall the meal was very enjoyable and I would definitely love to come again!

Classified 

Shop 313

3/F

The Forum

8 Connaught Road

Central

Hong Kong

Sensyu

Sensyu is my parent's go to japanese restaurant. Once they find something they like, it is unlikely that they will try other places and instead come back again and again. The food here is really excellent though so I have no complaints. The sushi is always very fresh and the price is also very reasonable for the quality of food. The owner is always very friendly and ensures that the dining experience is enjoyable.

Mixed sashimi 
I know, I know, salmon is not the fish of choice for sushi snobs but I must admit I actually love eating salmon. We usually get a bigger platter but decided to leave room for other food because the owner told us there were a lot of fresh imports today. The sashimi was super fresh and sweet. Yum! My parents also love to eat the hand sliced radish but I am not a big fan of that. 

池魚 Japanese mackerel sashimi
This was one of the specials of the day. This is not a type of fish that I eat as sashimi very often. It was very delicious and had a very special flavor. The ginger and scallions also went perfectly well with the flavor and texture of the fish. A special sauce was also provided that heightened the freshness of the fish. 

Uni sushi and toro and scallion roll
Yum yum yum yum yum. The toro melts in your mouth and the rice/toro/scallion ratio is perfect. The uni is to die for. It's so fresh and sweet, thinking about it makes me want to pop 10 pieces in my mouth right now. 

Akagai (ark shell) sushi
Once again, fresh and delicious. The texture was perfect and the amount of rice was also perfect. You can tell that the sushi chefs know what they are doing. And yes, there is more salmon :) 

Cheese mochi
I am obsessed with this dish. I never used to order it until I caught a glimpse of these goodies at the table next to us once, and then I'm hooked. The mochi layer is the perfect thickness and it is soft and chewy. The cheese is well flavored and perfectly melty and gooey. The outside is crispy and not too oily. My good friends L and S love the cheese mochi at Nan Tei, I really want her to try this one! 

More more more :D

Grilled kinki 
Kinki fish is a highly prized seasonal fish from Hokkaido. Apparently it is quite rare and there are special fishermen who are trained just to catch them. The owner was really excited about this shipment of kinki and we were also very keen on trying this dish after hearing many good things. The fish definitely did not disappoint. The meat had a lovely texture and the skin was charred perfectly. The kinki was flavored perfectly where the seasonings brought out the freshness and original taste of the kinki without masking it. My parents and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and I would definitely get it again next time!

Sensyu Japanese Restaurant 

28/F

L'Hart 

489 Lockhart Road

Causeway Bay 

Hong Kong

東寶小館 Tung Bo Restaurant

I've been hearing a lot about Tung Bo but never got around to trying it until a couple weeks ago. It is located above the North Point wet market and is famous for its yummy food, boisterous atmosphere, and its beer drinking bowls. Tung Bo is a type of "dai pai dong" restaurant which is very traditional of Hong Kong and a great thing about Tung Bo is that it is located indoors so we did not have to sweat it out outside which would happen at many other dai pai dongs since many are located outdoors. Another plus of Tung Bo is that they allowed us to play music from our ipods which only furthermore intensified the loud and bustling atmosphere. I was doing a pretty good job taking photos of each dish but unfortunately got a bit too drunk and went off doing other things. Hopefully I will be able to document it in a more complete manner on my next visit! Also... I don't really know the actual names of all the dishes so will just be winging it. Overall, the dinner was super fun and the food was very enjoyable. Definitely a great place to go with a bunch of friends for a rowdy night - but watch out for the escalators when you leave!

Raw shrimp with garlic
Mmmm this was delicious. The shrimp was very fresh and sweet with the thin slice of garlic being a great bust of flavor. I felt that perhaps the slice of garlic could be slightly smaller because it was a bit powerful but overall it was a great dish! A tangy and spicy sauce was also provided which definitely whetted our appetites. 

The infamous beer bowls
The words 戰鬥碗 means "battle bowl" which turns a plain bowl into a great drinking game where you can be obnoxious and challenge your friends to finish their beer quickly :) Apart from beer, they also serve a very yummy shot mixture that we drank like water. 

The bottle of the bowl means "victory", indicating that you win after you finish all the alcohol in the bowl. I definitely felt a bit too victorious then fell on the escalators. Whoops. 

Liver sausage with broccoli
I actually did not get to try this because I was busy eating something else. 

Clams in lotus leaf
This dish was very fragrant and the clams were sweet and well flavored. 

Dancing around with the lobsters before they were in our bellies

Crispy skinned chicken (sorry -_-)
The chicken was very tender and the skin was crispy and not too fatty. I don't remember what was the stuff sprinkled on top but I do know that this dish was good. As you can see this dinner was a bit blurry. Apologies. 

Reservations are definitely a must because this place is very popular and has a very loyal following. Am definitely looking forward to my next visit and I promise the review will be much more comprehensive!

東寶小館 Tung Bo Restaurant 

2/F

Java Road Municipal Services Building

99 Java Road

North Point

Hong Kong

Oyster C

Oyster C is definitely one of my new favorites in Hong Kong. This is the second time I've been here with Y and each time the food is good and I leave full and tipsy. I took photos the first time I came as well but that was when I got too intoxicated thanks to the BYOB policy and lost my bag after at the club. The atmosphere is really laid back and the staff are all very friendly. The walls are covered with writings and signatures of customers and naturally I took the biggest marker and left my mark there as well. The restaurant is always bustling with customers so make sure to make a reservation. It is also opened til 2 am so keep Oyster C in mind next time you want a midnight munch excursion!

Selection of oysters
The owner came over and asked us what type of oysters we liked: salty sea water, creamy, or sweet. We decided to have a selection of all three. All the oysters were of high quality but our favorite was definitely the Walvis Bay oyster (bottom right). It was incredibly creamy and sweet - just heavenly. It was as if all the best things the ocean had to offer were condensed into one oyster shell. I could definitely eat a dozen of these glorious oysters any day. 

Our selection of oysters

Shrimp scampi
The scampi was very fresh and sweet, it had a great crunch and bite to it but I felt that I would rather eat this at a japanese restaurant as ebi sashimi. It was good, but it wasn't something I would specifically get here because they make other dishes better. 

Deep fried shrimps heads from our shrimp scampi
The shrimp heads were flavored very well and it was fried to a crispy perfection. Shrimp heads are one of my favorite little snacks to munch on and this did not disappoint. 

Obviously the biggest writing there :)

Clams in a sake parsley sauce
The clams were very juicy and meaty, the sake sauce was not my favorite and I usually hate parsley but this was acceptable. It was a good dish but I think I will try the cream sauce next time. 

Crab meat and black truffle linguine
The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and the sauce was very creamy and infused with the incredibly aromatic truffle flavor. There was also a very generous amount of crab meat throughout the pasta. The servings are very big and we were very very stuffed. I was not the biggest fan of the salad on the top but overall the pasta was very good and scrumptious.

Oyster C

98-104 Hing Fat Street

Tin Hau

Hong Kong

Sea salt and parmesan fries with garlic aioli

Mmm happy hour indeed

Coco Ichibanya

Coco Ichibanya is the top curry rice restaurant in Japan and has outlets in mainland China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and California to name a few. I unfortunately did not know the existence of this glorious eatery until Y introduced me to it. I was just about to whine about how there are only 3 outlets in Hong Kong and that they are all on the Kowloon side BUT I just found out on openrice that there is a Causeway Bay branch now! AM VERY VERY HAPPY. Apart from loving the food, I also love saying the name of the restaurant, it's so cute and has a nice ring to it. Coco ichibanyaaa~

Pork cutlet "tonkatsu" with egg omelette rice and spicy curry
The pork cutlet was crispy and well done. The meat is definitely not as tender and thick as the tonkatsu at Tokichi but the price is also much lower so this is understandable. Coco is also famous for it's curry over its tonkatsu quality. The egg is creamy and soft, the amount is very generous and there is enough egg for every bite of rice. The only complaint I have about this dish is that you can only choose between spicy or non spicy for the curry when you order the omelette rice. When you order other dishes you can choose from a couple levels of spiciness (1-5?). I like my curry to be spicier but I could not do that since I got the omelette rice. It seems silly impose such a restriction on the customers because I can't possibly see why they can't just ladle over the spicy curry onto the omelette rice! My curry was not spicy enough for me but it was still yummy. If it was spicy then this dish would have been perfect!

I love egg :)

C got a level 2 spicy curry with shrimp. I much preferred the spice level of her curry so I shamelessly took a number of spoonfuls to smother over my own rice. The waitress was a bit slow and seemed to be in a constant state of daze but overall the service was fine and it's not something I would be picky about in a casual restaurant like this. If you come here for lunch I recommend coming at 12 or 12:20 latest because once you pass that time the place gets completely filled up with workers on their lunch break. Coco Ichibanya is definitely one of my new favorites and with the new branch in Causeway I can see a lot of japanese curry goodness in my future :) I just really hope it doesn't turn into those 1+ hour wait restaurants...

Coco Ichibanya 

Shop 302

3/F

Silvercord Plaza

30 Canton Road

Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong

Sunday brunch at Zuma

Zuma's brunch is one of Hong Kong's most popular brunch options and is always booked full. Therefore make sure you call ahead of time to secure a spot! For around 600+ hkd you can enjoy an array of high quality sashimi, sushi, tofu, soba noodles, and yakitori options from the buffet spread, then you can order a main course before being presented with a decadent dessert platter. But wait! There is also free flow wine, champagne, and cocktails such as bloody marys and bellinis. Glorious! I met up with C, B, and M, all good friends from high school, for a boozy brunch. It was so nice to grab a meal with old friends, it felt like high school - but upgraded.

Slow cooked egg with tobiko, scallions, and soba dressing
This slow cooked egg was delicious with all the garnishes. All the flavors worked and there was a dance of textures in your mouth. I should have mixed some soba with this because the egg itself was almost impossible to eat with chopsticks. 

Fresh oysters
The oysters were of good quality but there was a japanese dressing instead of the regular vinaigrette and tobasco sauce which I prefer

Assorted sashimi and sushi rolls 
The sashimi was of very good quality and the rolls were also yummy. They had a great selection with choices such as eel and soft shell crab. I feel that buffets tend to have low quality sushi selections because it is usually very popular so restaurants churn out a large amount while disregarding the quality. 

Yummy yummy with lots of alcohol 

Grilled sirloin with crispy garlic chips
The garlic chips were fragrant and crispy, the meat was mediocre. It was not too tough but not super tender either. It was a pretty good dish but I guess we were all pretty stuffed by then. 

Mentaiko udon
I really enjoyed this dish. C commented that a version she had in Vancouver was the best but I thought this was pretty delicious as well. The mentaiko had a nice rich savory flavor and the udon was chewy and had a nice bite to it. It was slightly warm and was just very comforting and tasty.

Dessert platter
The ice cream was ok, our group suspected that it was dreyers as it was not as creamy as Haagendaz but also didn't taste like Movenpick. The apple and custard dessert was so delicious, the apples were slightly sweet and cooked until tender. The custard was wonderfully creamy and rich. The chocolate pudding was also amazing. At this point we were all in food comas.

The brunch was definitely one of the best I've had in Hong Kong. I can definitely see why it is so popular! I think it is smart to have a buffet spread of sushi and other dishes but have ala cart style ordering for the main course. Many times buffet brunches forget about the quality of each dish and opt for quantity and variety over quality. Zuma definitely did not disappoint!

Zuma 

Levels 5 and 6 

Landmark

15 Queen's Road

Central

Hong Kong