新香園 Sun Heung Yuen

Awesome, a local place again! This is also located in Tit Hong Lane in Central, and probably the last restaurant from this alley I will talk about since I have no intentions of visiting Danish Bakery (I can't justify paying over $50 at a local cha tsan tang in an alley).

I believe this place is famous for its Hong Kong style milk tea and the satay beef. Can't remember which day this was but I wasn't feeling particularly hungry so I wanted to get something tasty and soupy. Satay beef on anything is one of my favorite foods so I opted for the satay beef on macaroni that particular day.

If you are the type who doesn't like the thick satay sauce then you might like this place. I was expecting it to be a really thick layer of satay sauce with beef over my macaroni, but it turns out it's the very runny soupy type. Though the taste was on the light side, I quite liked it because I was having a crappy no appetite day. It was good acting as the bit of fuel to keep me going until the end of the day.

I'll probably be back one day to try the milk tea. In the meantime, check this out when you are also having a crappy no appetite day.

Website: NA
Location: Tit Hong Lane

斗記燒味之家 Dau Ji Roast Expert

Can't remember if this was my second or third visit to this place. Anyway, the first time I was here I was definitely not impressed. Though this was a couple years ago when they first opened in Central, I still remember that the BBQ pork I had was very salty and costs the same if not more than Canteen in Prince's Building (literally 5 minutes away from my old office and tastes much better).

While I still had doubts about this place, their lunch deals appealed to me since it was really cheap. It was $32 for a single dish on rice, and they had my favorite beef briskets with turnip as one of the options. I decided to give it a try and got the veggies as well ($18 - a little pricey in my opinion).

I didn't have to wait for long (since all the dishes are pre-made), and when I got the food I was a little shocked - the box was huge. When I was back in the office at my desk, I opened my lunch box and thought, um, where should I start? In any case, after a little over an hour I finally finished the food. I quite liked the beef briskets as it wasn't too chewy, and the turnip was very tasty. I usually love sauce but didn't enjoy it this time because it was very starchy in a bad way. I saved all my drowning pieces of beef and turnip and put them on my rice, leaving a large pool of sauce behind. The veggies - well it's pretty standard, but then it tasted a bit funky. I'm guessing they cooked it in goose broth or something so there's that... gamey goosey taste to it.

In conclusion I liked my lunch even though it was ginormous (maybe I can be one of those girls who ask for "less rice"). Just kinda funny that I do not recommended their BBQ stuff... Regarding the veggies, I would rather go to Nam Kee to get them if I wasn't in a rush. Cheaper ($12) and tastes better.

Location: No. 15-25 Chiu Lung Street, Central
Website: NA

新興美食 Sun Hing Fast Food

This is a very very local place that I quite like going to because it's fast (food is mostly pre-made), cheap (under $40 for their lunch deals), and has a big menu (they even have a separate Thai menu).

My favorite Thai chicken feet salad

Every day, they usually have around 10 or so lunch deals which ranges from baked spaghetti to beef curry on rice or random Chinese dishes on rice, and includes a hot drink or their daily Chinese soup. If you can't find anything you like on the lunch deals, you can also check out their other menu which includes fried noodles, fried rice, soup noodles, baked rice, and a small but interesting Thai menu.

Given that I'm quite local and that the there's a wide variety to choose from for the lunch deals (keep in mind I usually go for lunch early), I can usually find something I like on that menu (by the way, it's right outside so you don't even need to walk in to decide). My personal favorites are their sweet and sour pork on rice or the beef curry on rice. On the a la cart menu, my favorite has got to be their Thai chicken feet salad. it's only $30 and they give you a freaking full box of it. It tastes so good and makes me so happy. I introduced it to my friend and she sometimes brings it home for her husband too (yes I am talking about you, S), as he too is a Thai chicken feet salad fan.


One of my ex-colleagues commented on this place before and said that it wasn't that hygienic, but I personally haven't found any issues with it. Their kitchen is basically open, so you can see everything that goes on in there while you are waiting for your food. So far I haven't seen anything crazy that turned my appetite off . I've also seen expats coming into this place (though rare like unicorns) before too so I really don't think it can be that bad.

In summary, I really think this is a great place to get takeout food (I wouldn't want to eat there since the place is so small, I don't know how people do it) for those days where you just want to eat alone at your desk and read Yahoo news (which is most days for me).

Location: No. 9 Chiu Lung Street
Website: NA



I like this dish even though it looks kinda gross

HH: Taz + Wagyu Lounge

Ever since I started working, I've preferred happy hour over regular late night drinking. There is something liberating about finally being off work and having a drink with your friends or colleagues, or in the rare case, yourself :) Plus, you are already out so there is no getting ready to go out factor. For me it's extremely tough to go out on Saturday nights because there simply just isn't enough "momentum". I'm either coming from home which means I got to change and take a 45 minute bus ride out, or I am coming from my sister's place which is still about 30 minutes away from Central. In the latter case I am also usually suffering from food coma since I like to stuff my face when I'm eating at my sisters. Fun fact, did you know that you eat more as you are dining with more people? The amount of food you eat is correlated to how many people you are eating with. In other words, if you would like to eat less, it's a good idea to dine solo.

Back to the topic, I'm trying to think of the place that got me excited about the idea of happy hour. It was either Taz or Wagyu Lounge, so why don't I just talk about them both today.

Taz (Tasmania Ballroom)

• The deal is buy one get one free from their happy hour menu from 6-8pm. I usually get the Riesling which is around $100. Beers are around $70-80 I believe, so when you divide that by 2 I would say that's a pretty awesome deal. The best part about this deal is that is comes with FREE FOOD. Free good food. They have dimsum, sometimes sushi, and some other delicious items on the buffet that is totally worth going for. Added bonus: they have ping pong and pool tables if you're interested.
• Location: In the LKF Hotel... second or third floor? anyway, not hard to figure out once you are in the elevator or on Wyndham Street
• Downsides: given the awesome deal you can imagine that the place get's packed by around 7pm. Next "problem" is the crowd. I'm not a fan of hardcore bankers, and this place is usually in excess of this population. Also, you've got to be super quick to the ha gao and siu mai, otherwise it's usually all gone by the time they are on the buffet!
• http://www.tazmaniaballroom.com/main.html#/philosophy

Wagyu Lounge

• Last time I was there, the happy hour menu had drinks for around $30-40. Food menu was mostly below $50 for amazing mini burgers and hot wings. I like the vibe there since there is much less hardcore bankers there and the crowd is much more chillaxed than Taz.
• Location: LG/F, Hollywood Commercial House, 3-5 Old Bailey Street, Central, Hong Kong (next to the Flying Pan)
• Downside: Oh! there are quite a bit! First of, the deal is only until 7pm. Second of all, it's hella far for most people working near the Landmark area. It's far even for those in the IFC area. Third of all, they keep bumping up their prices! I get that rent prices are rising... but seriously...?
• http://www.casteloconcepts.com/our-venues/wagyu-lounge/wagyu-lounge-hong-kong-menus?locations/hong-kong/wagyu-lounge-hong-kong/wagyu-lounge-hong-kong-menus