Raw Vegetarian Meal

Dinner


No awards for guessing that it would be.. well...raw vegetables and fruit. Cucumbers in both the main and appetizer were crisp and fresh tasting. In the main, the bell peppers also held up to standard. Tomato slices slimy, flavorless and lacking anything redeemable. We still can't seem to get tomatoes right in America... Fruit platter of mixed quality. Grapes plump and ripe, but melon and canteloupe not ripe, cut way too early. Pineapple was ok.

 Breakfast 

Fruit plate same as dinner. Okra pieces sadly tasted of some sort of chemicals, (or is that how unflavored/unripe stuff tastes?). Celery was crispy and fresh other bed of veggies likewise. Although not ideal, a step up from dinner. Creme de la creme of the course was a dessert of applesauce. Glorious memories of being a grade school kid...

Date of travel:  December 2014

Flight: CX 899 EWR (Newark) - HKG (Hong Kong)

Vegetarian Vegan Meal

Lunch

Very solid. Baked beans tasty, almost like one would have at a hotel breakfast. Mixed well with mashed potatoes, which were decent. steamed carrots and zucchini still somewhat crisp. All pretty plain, as expected (no salt/pepper etc). No salt/pepper was provided. Cucumber and tomato salad was fresh, accented nicely with lemon wedge squeeze. Standard grain roll with imitation veggie spread/margarine. Dessert tofu (lower right side) standard packaged sweet stuff.

Dinner

A repeat of lunch's quality - very impressed. No idea why I was given OJ and AJ as beverages, never asked for them. Note the two green tags. One says Vegan, the other says Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo (includes dairy and eggs), so not complimentary... hmm. A word of caution for the strict Vegans, perhaps? Main also lacked salt/pepper or added flavors. Fritatta/quiche/ whatever nicely balanced with mushrooms and spinach. Good texture. Grilled squash and eggplant a nice compliment with porridge/cream of wheat and red pepper. Fruit salad fresh and crisp. Cantaloupe and water melon pieces better than melon pieces. Standard roll and imitation vegetable spread or margarine as in lunch, ditto sweet tofu. Didn't touch either.

Date of travel:  November 2014

Flight: CX 806 HKG (Hong Kong) - ORD (Chicago O'Hare)

Pausa

New take-out place with limited seating in Wanchai where BeautiFood used to be. Go for gelato (pictured below). Best I've had in Hong Kong, and soft serve. Co-founder Francesco gave me a small sample when I was trying pizza and got me hooked. Flavors change daily. At HKD 53 for a small cup (cone is HKD 40), not cheap, but worth it and time it takes to prepare. Gelato creamy, flavorful, not too heavy. Bottom of cup had some biscuit-like crumbles, with gelato layered on top, then a layer of honey/syrup and cornflakes, then another layer of gelato, topped with some mixed nuts (peanuts and pistachios?) and a chunk of strawberry. Epic stuff. Like OMG.

Otherwise, mainly does take out foods, Italian-style "pizza al taglio" (essentially by the slice), focaccia, pasta (made ready in 5 minutes). Pizza crust bread-y almost Sicilian in thickness, quality of the sauce and cheese good. Ok, and for a snack and friendly enough on the wallet. Have not had pasta or focaccia.  

Cash/Octopus, Credit Cards accepted (V/MC - I think) 
HKD 30 - HKD 100 per person 

G/F, J Senses 60 Johnston Road, Wanchai (Across from Ham & Sherry)
灣仔莊士敦道60號J Sense 地下3號舖(船街入口)
2523 4168

http://www.pausa.com

Vegetarian Oriental Meal

Dinner

What is Vegetarian Oriental? Well I figured it would be East Asian food but with no meat. Apparently Cathay takes a more strict definition: "Vegetarian food prepared in Chinese style, along with fruits and vegetables.  No meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy products, roots or bulbous vegetables including ginger, garlic, onion, spring onions, etc." - Seems more strict that the Jain Meal.

 

We have a winner for the 3rd best airline special meal (a tie with BA's Kosher Meal). Main of imitation Char Siu (HK-style Roast Pork) on top of fried bee hoon (rice vermicilli). Tofu Char Siu tasted nothing of pork, but not objectionable, bee hoon almost al dente and nice to the bite, Chinese veggie soaked in sauce nothing special. Thoroughly enjoyable bee hoon. Veggie salad of mushrooms and baby corn, latter being nice and crisp and seemed heavily flavored of ginger (despite restriction?). Mushrooms better than corn. Dessert was the treat. Sort of Pandan tapioca pudding with coconut cream on top. Awesome dessert all around.

 

 

 

 

 

Date of travel: 21 September 2014

Flight: CX 734 SIN (Singapore) - HKG (Hong Kong

Vegetarian Lacto Ovo Meal

Breakfast

What is Vegetarian Lacto Ovo? Cathay Pacific defines the meal as having:  food high in protein, iron and calcium, along with dairy products, eggs and vegetarian-type of cheese (without rennet).

 

Eggs clearly the powder-mix stuff meh. Steamed veggies on right side pretty nice some added salt did the. The potatoes on the left were soggy. Fruit up top was ripe and crisp. Nothing too special overall, but nothing to really complain about.

 

 

Date of travel: 17 September 2014

Flight: CX 691 HKG (Hong Kong) - SIN (Singapore)

炊豕店

So this place has no English name. Even if I made one up, it would be of no use. To those who don't speak Chinese - best to find the address and do some copy-pasting.

Kudos to my friend, MW, for taking me here for lunch. Simple hole in the wall joint that seats about 20. Menu completely in Chinese. Not much variety. One can choose a fried pork cutlet, a fried pork cutlet, or a friend pork cutlet... Can choose a number of carbs to accompany the main. I went with thicker egg noodles, added a side of curry sauce and a sunny side up egg on top. Cutlet tender, noodles perfectly al dente. Mixed well with curry, which was not too strong but flavorful. Egg added texture and color to the dish. Well worth a visit but be ready for lines.

Cash only 
HKD 50 - HKD 75 per person (Lunch)
 
G/F, 122 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣禮頓道122號地下
2806 6665

Vegetarian Jain / Strict Indian Vegetarian Meal

Note: Some clarity to differentiate Indian Vegetarian and Jain Vegetarian. CX defines Jain Vegetarian as "No meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, root or bulbous vegetables, dairy products and mushrooms"

Dinner

Second-best airline meal tasted to date for this blog. Spinach thick and stodgy, but edible, rice relatively moist, and okra quite tasty. Not too salty, went well with slightly soggy roti. Vegetable "salad" (ok, 4 pieces) was fine and the pineapple/grape fruit dish was nothing to scream home about (ie. just fine). Probably best to stick to regular Indian vegetarian for more variety (I like dairy and mushrooms, happy to skip meat on flights...)

Date of travel: 3 August 2014

Flight: CX 831 JFK (New York) - HKG (Hong Kong)

Insen - Japanese Yakitori - 隱泉串燒

Was taken here on a random Wednesday night by someone very familiar with Tai Hang. A solid 'hood. One I need to explore more often. Cozy Izakaya, very limited seating, warm atmosphere and friendly staff. Joint sticks to the cooked stuff, with emphasis on grilled stuff, mostly in skewer or near skewer form. Beef skewer was tender and perfectly cooked, eggplant very slightly salted, tender and used bonito flakes for flavor. Bacon wrapped tomatoes as expected (yum). Highlight was the "adventure" dish of erm "chicken testes." Yeah I ate chicken balls. They were soft and super tasty (pictured below). Not a cheap place, but worth going on a date or with 1-3 friends for an intimate dinner.

Credit Cards accepted. 
HKD 250 - HKD 400 per person (Dinner)
 
6/F, Ormsby Street, Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang
大坑安庶庇街6號地下
2203 4288

Indian Vegetarian Meal

Dinner

Might have a new winner for best airline meal. Spiced curried chickpeas tender-enough and spicy enough, not overly salty. Rice not dry. Saag Paneer more than edible. Roti a tad soggy, but at 35,000 feet,  more than serviceable. Salad, like in Indian meals had a cut of lime to it, making it seem fresher than it probably was. Most welcome. Fruit standard. Curd/yogurt on right side perfectly spiced and made for nice ending to the meal.

Breakfast

Nowhere near as good as dinner but on the right track - hit and miss... Idly (in yellow) dry and crusty, advice to CX - drop it. Sambar decent, better than in some restaurants. Upma (porridge-like South Indian dish) maintained flavor and texture - could have eaten anywhere. Rice-y crepe on left (not a dosa...) much like Idly... Coconut Chutney (in container on right) a bit weird tasting (frozen too many times?). Roll untouched, fruit standard.

Date of travel: 23 July 2014

Flight: CX 251 HKG (Hong Kong) - LHR (London Heathrow)

Wu Nam Yun - Hunan Restaurant 湖南苑湘菜馆

Long overdue post. Had some friends visiting and for one of their first nights in HK decided to go Chinese. Place of choice had a line too long and we wandered about Jaffe Road. Luckily came across this joint. Not sure Hunan authenticity but food fresh and tasty. Surprise star of show was first dish to arrive, spiced lotus root (pic below). Just enough snap to bite, some kick, some garlic touch. Other very solid dishes were an eggplant and bean dish (pictured below), seemed more Northeastern Chinese in its style but tasty, and a sort of somewhat spicy chicken with chilies and scallions. Overall, very tasty and pretty easy on the wallet. Closer to Causeway Bay than Wanchai.

Credit Cards accepted. 
HKD 125 - HKD 200 per person (Dinner)
 
G/F, Paul Yee Mansion, 340-344 Jaffe Road, Wanchai
灣仔謝斐道340-344號保如大廈地下  
2558 9066 / 2558 9177

Mamasan

The second place in Central where I've beaten expat publications and blogs. Not of my own doing, of course. A good friend who has been to the original in Bali, made the booking. Only been open for 3 weeks or so. Lunch limited to 3 sets. We each picked a different one and went family style, were too full for dessert...

Menu is a journey through Southeast Asia, with some India thrown in. Working from right to left (see below photo). Crispy Salmon Salad - fresh tasty salmon with fresh veggie, flavorful, balanced, with a little kick. Very Yum. Bok Choy and Mixed Vegetable Salads both pedestrian. Not good. Not bad. Pork Belly Salad, loved the balance of the veggies and some kick, but maybe was just a tad overcooked and not soft enough. Fried Shrimp - crispy, good balance with underlying veggies. Curries were the big hit and why I'd come back. The Duck Curry was fiery spicy but full of flavor, seemed to be of Thai origin. Fish Curry was very South Indian - I'd venture Tamil. Perfectly spiced, authentic tasting, fish was tender and soft. 

Have not seen the dinner menu but very reasonable and filling lunch full of variety and taste. 

Credit Cards accepted. 

HKD 200 - HKD 300 per person (Lunch)

1/F, 46 Wyndham Street, Central
中環雲咸街46號
2881 8901

Cafe La Vita

 *Full disclosure - a very good friend took me here. Place is owned by one of his relatives and they knew we were coming. I tried to pay my share but was not permitted to... A nice way to end 2013.

A bit out of the way and hidden but very close to Yuen Long’s MTR station. Well worth for a relaxing, unfussy night out with friends to get away from the typical HK-expat scene. Pizza was more of a flatbread with lovely balance of sauce, cheese and parma ham. Very thin crust, crispy to the bite matched well with ham, sauce and cheese. Mixed mushroom appetizer was fresh and not too heavily spiced, so flavors and textures of the mushrooms were readily apparent. A strong start to the meal. Piece de resistance was Ribeye steak on a bed of vegetables and a side of mashed potato. Mash tasty but could have been lighter in texture and feel. Steak cooked perfectly medium rare, soft and a delight to eat with accompanying vegetables.

Credit Cards accepted. Closed Wednesdays. Possible to BYO. 

HKD 175 - HKD 300 per person 

Shop 37, G/F, Shun Fung Building 5-7, Fung Yau Street North, Yuen Long 
元朗鳳攸北街5-7號順豐大廈地下37號鋪
2887 5585

Low Lactose Meal

Dinner

Roll/muffin tasted like it looks. Could not eat it. Dry, hard, crusty. Ugh. Worst thing eaten yet on CX. Too bad because main was pretty good. Rice a bit dry, but fish crispy on top and moist enough to the bite and decently spiced, green pea or some sort of mashed potato mix was a lovely accompaniment. Fruit relatively fresh and crisp. One of the much better meals, save for the roll/muffin. Ugh.

Date of travel: 12 February 2014

Flight: CX 312 HKG (Hong Kong) - PEK (Beijing)

Low Fat Low Cholestrol Meal

Dinner  

Pretty basic as expected, not sure what difference is between this and just "low calorie" but if CX says they are different... Flavorless steamed broccoli, dry-ish plain chicken, but moist and easy to eat carrots. Fruit was quite crispy, delicious and ripe. Salad was tasteless but crispy and made nice due to a lime or lime juice being lightly squeezed on it during the preparation stage. Yes I know that’s a lemon on the side, I didn’t squeeze it. Roll the standard multi-grainish thing that is omnipresent in these “healthy” meals. 

Date of travel: 3 January 2014

Flight: CX 631 HKG (Hong Kong) - MAA (Chennai)

Low Calorie Meal

Lunch

Flavorless slices of cool chicken on limp “salad” with a little tomato that was not too bad. Main of baked chicken with eatable bell pepper slices. Rice relatively moist and not bad. Chicken dry, though nice texture (comparatively) due its being baked rather than boiled. Steamed cauliflower and broccoli limp as expected. Roll was a heavier, brown grain thing. Enjoyable. Fruit was heavy on the pineapple and was probably just past its prime (ie. Not rotten but getting there).

Dinner

Second meal was much better. Fish (Salmon?) was moist and nicely cooked and greatly helped by some added salt. Asparagus had some snap. Potatoes soft and complimentary to the rest of the dish. Little carrot garnish on top a nice touch. Dessert of mixed berry compote standard (ie all meals on the flight had it). Tasty enough, and healthy, not too sweet. Would eat again. Fruit ok. Bread similar to previous meal but a little less heavy. Overall, quite enjoyable.

Date of travel:  December 2013

Flight: CX 831 JFK (New York) - HKG (Hong Kong