Open Kitchen

There’s been some FB post on people finding cockroaches in their food from Canteen/Maxim lately. I think I’ve been super lucky since I’ve never found anything like this, not even at all the ghetto local places I’ve been to.

Canteen at Prince’s Building used to be one of my favorite spots at my old job since I found the price and quality to be quite fair. Now that I don’t work in that area anymore I don’t really go there anymore. There’s an Open Kitchen near where I work, but I try my best not to go there since I find it pricey and boring. Oh, and Open Kitchen is basically Simply Life, which is part of Maxim Group.

Last Thursday though… was different. I was in a rush to go back to work so I just ran down to Open Kitchen to grab something quick. For $75 you get to choose 3 Asian dishes on top of white rice.

Although I try not to go there, whenever I am there I see the reason why it’s always so packed. Even though $75 is quite a bit, they have a good variety of dishes to choose from (healthy and non-healthy). I like that there are a number of veggie dishes to choose from, so you can make it as healthy as you want your lunch to be.

This day, I chose Chinese cabbage, beef brisket with radish and sweet and sour pork. I really like their sweet and sour pork because it’s so crispy and tasty. The beef was ok but I was more drawn to the radish. Veggies are veggies so not much to say on that. Same goes for the rice.

I wouldn’t recommend this as a go-to lunch spot even if you are in the area, since if you walk an extra 5 minutes you can get something cheaper. But on days when you need every minute you can squeeze out of your day this is a good choice.

Location: IFC
Website: http://www.simplylife.com.hk/open-kitchen/

HH: IFC Deals

I think I always had the misconception that IFC is one of the most baller shopping malls alongside with Pacific Place and Elements, and that good deals would be non-existent. Anyway, I was wrong. IFC actually has fantastic ghetto places like McDonalds, TWO Café deCorals (not to be confused with Café Too at the Shangri-La - AYO!), and my favorite, Maxim fast food. Unlike Pacific Place where I used to work, IFC didn't boot McDonalds out of the mall to preserve its "classiness".

Other than these ghetto food spots, IFC also has a couple of awesome happy hour deals, which is extra awesome if you work here.

Gogyo: By day they are a ramen place, and by night... guess what they are? also a ramen place, but with a buy one get one free happy hour deal until 8pm. I'm not crazy about their cocktails so usually I go for their wine, sake or beer instead. The staff aren't the happiest people on earth but I like to go there since it's super dead at 5:30pm so it's not weird at all to bring a book there to read while waiting for my friends to get off work. Recently I also discovered that they do give out fried chicken skin to their "regular" customers so... that shall be a status I will obtain hopefully sometime in the near future. Can't find this place? because it's a bit hidden. It's on the same floor Tasty Congee, near Fuel and IFC One... and the Watson's Wine Cellar.

French Window: In terms of value, I think French Window and Gogyo come in quite even. French Window has a happy hour drinks menu that's around $40/drink also until 8pm. The vibe is less relaxed compared to Gogyo, get's packed by around 6:30-7pm, and is often booked by companies for private events. I've gone to Gogyo instead at least twice because of these private events (sneaking in didn't work). I've heard that their food is not bad either, but I usually just munch on their popcorn because I am cheap and usually have dinner plans after already.

Blue Bar @ Four Seasons: Is this a good deal? I would say that is quite a controversial subject. The drinks are not cheap, but are interesting and worth it in my opinion. However, as you know, I am cheap, so unless it's a life changing cocktail I wouldn't pay ~$200 for a drink. The only "life changing" cocktail I've had is from Sohofama, but that's based purely on my personal preference. Ok, so what's bringing me back to Blue Bar repeatedly? The FREE GOOD FOOD. I've seen them put xiao long bao, siu mai, satay, chicken wings, ox tongue, nachos and guacamole, sandwiches, assorted veggies with dip on the buffet. Unlike Taz, you don't have to sprint to get the good food. I can't tell if it's because the staff are extremely attentive in refilling, or if it's because the people who go to Blue Bar are too classy (sans me and my crew) to fight over free food. Anyway, it's a great deal and the atmosphere is nice so it does get packed early. You should be there by 5:30pm to grab a table. I've gone at 5:45pm before on a Thu/Fri and it was packed already... hotel guests! Oh yes speaking of hotel guests, they give out $500 vouchers for some guests so... I guess that's why they get packed so early? Anyway, if it's packed you can try leaving your name with them and head to another bar in the mean time. Otherwise what I did once was go to their poolside bar (crappy cocktails, no deals, awesome view) instead which looks amazing at night time. Wouldn't have found the place if Blue Bar wasn't packed that day!

Beer Bay: This actually isn't in IFC, but by the Discovery Bay pier. I've only been there once but they seem to have a variety of beer available at below $40. It's basically just a beer stand outdoors, so I can imagine it being too hot to hang out in during the summer. They have a skewer stand right next to it which I'm actually more curious about and hope to check out one day.

... oh and Happy Lunar New Year!