Taku

Brunch used to be a big thing for me until another one of my interests started taking up my weekends. Since I want Saturday to be sleep in day and Sunday to be activity day, there really is no day for brunch on a normal week unless it's brunch for a special occasion. In any case, since this week we get a massive 5 day super duper long weekend, I accepted a colleague's invite to brunch at Taku on Saturday.

The last time I went to Taku was quite late at night and friends and I were craving yakimono in Central. I thought it was ok but recall the price being quite steep (well either it really was expensive day or I was having a Grinch day). In any case, this time I thought the brunch was a really good deal since it was $308 (+10%) which includes all you can eat sashimi, rolls, yakimono, fried food, noodles, dessert and alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks (beer, sangria, soft drinks).

The food came really fast at the beginning and kinda tapered off towards the end, perhaps because it was a quiet day and they were expecting to end earlier and didn't prep extra food. Other than that small hiccup I would say I enjoyed the overall experience.

In comparison to Zuma which is I think more than double the price, I would prefer coming here since I actually find the food more fresh as it's "made to order" rather than a buffet style like Zuma. I've never been a fan of champagne (except for the times when I was drunk and demanded a glass of champagne for god knows what reason), so the Zuma brunch appeals to me even less. The thing that does appeal to me about Zuma actually has nothing to do with the food - it's the natural daylight. Taku is a bit dark if you are sitting further inside the restaurant. When I think of the perfect brunch, I'm thinking of a bright sunny happy day, probably because I feel like if I'm waking up early on a weekend to go out and eat, there really should be a lot of sunlight.

Anyway, for around $350 I would recommend you trying this place out. I really think it's a good deal.

Website: http://www.taku.com.hk/
Location: 35 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central

Sohofama

Is Sohofama trendy? I guess somewhat since it's co-opened with G.O.D., the store that sells trendy local  nick nacks. Their main selling point is that they do organic, no MSG, healthy Chinese food.
I've never given a crap about organic food (though I hear it's less fattening), but the no MSG appeals to me since it would mean I won't die of thirst by the evening. This is basically my go-to restaurant now for dinners so I can go on and on about it. I also apologize for this pictureless post as there is really no time for me to whip out my phone for pictures once the food lands on the table. In any case, let's point form it shall we?

Lunch or dinner: both but I would recommend lunch for your first time and then dinner for second if you liked the lunch so you can try more other dishes and the cocktails with a larger group. Since it's Chinese food served family style, I suggest going in at least a party of 3.

Price point: dinner is around $250-300 / head with no drinks. Lunch is around $140 with a soup, choice of side dish and choice of a main.

Alcohol: I believe they do do regular standard drinks but one of the reasons why I love this place so much is because the head bartender (is that a real term?) makes delicious cocktails with Chinese alcohol as the base. Keep in mind I am not a cocktails person, but I always order their warm 花雕 cocktail that is off menu (I think). Drinks can be $168 so it is by no means cheap (I mean, that's almost the same price as Blue Bar), but I think it's worth it if I cannot get it elsewhere.

Dishes I really liked there...

• xiao long bao 小籠包 (I've tried with truffle (when boss was paying ;)) and without, and to be honest it's perfectly fine without)
• sheng jian bao 生煎包 (sorry dad, they make it better than you.... Though yours are special in their own way)
• drunken shrimps 醉蝦 (they tasted super fresh and totally got all our appetites going)
• ma po tofu 麻婆豆腐 (ask for less spicy if spice ain't your thang)
• sweet and sour pork 咕嚕肉 (not a big fan of the kiwis but the meat is great)
• Warm hua diao cocktail (no idea what the real name of this cocktail is)

Below dishes were aight so not on my must try list:

• Crab meat with egg whites 賽螃蟹 (nothing special, tasted just like the ones at Crystal Jade which is probably a cheaper)
• Drunken chicken 醉雞 (the chicken was a bit too drunk to be tasty I guess)
• Chinese cabbage with iberico ham 黑毛豬奶油津白 (I think regular veggies without the blingin ham would be fine already)
• Stir fried organic beef 沖爆有機牛肉 (the most regular dish I had there)

I would definitely not get the fen pei (clear noodle sheets)  because it tasted a bit funky and not in a good way.

In general I think one of the main reasons why I like this place is because I find their dishes to be quite down to earth with surprising flavours compared to all the other hip new Chinese restaurants I have been too. Fu Lu Shou for instance has a great warm cocktail called the Dai Leng Lok, but their dishes are just too MSG and salt heavy which left me dying of thirst for the rest of the night. Ho Lee Fook was aight but there isn't really anything there that would lure me back except maybe for their lu rou fan 滷肉飯 which I can just get in Taiwan on my next visit. Plus they don't take reservations for small parties which is extremely irritating for someone OCD like me.

Location: Right next to G.O.D. in PMQ on the Staunton Street side, kind of across from Little Bao
Website: http://www.sohofama.com/

Edit: I found photos! of the cocktails :)