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