Applegreen, Mongkok

Had lunch with some friends at Applegreen in Grand Century Plaza the other day. What I like the most about the interior are the colorful contemporary paintings which give a lively touch to the restaurant.

Flavorful tomato soup

The carbonara was good! Al dente spaghetti, tasty bacon and the amount of sauce was just right. The portion is quite big and very filling, you'll have to swim the calories off later ^^.

Cheese Turkey Panini

Coffee is usually served with a jug of fresh milk so I was pretty surprised to see these UCC fresh milk in capsules which I use @ home as well when I make coffee :)

Opera Patisserie (part 2)

Yup, my mum went to Opera again today and bought some freshly baked bread and cakes. The multi grain bread and rolls were very crunchy and filling! I was already full after 2 slices ^o^. As for the cake, it had a very fluffy texture but tasted not buttery enough.

Again, the egg rolls were all sold out, hopefully more luck next week!

"Perfect" Cappuccino @ McCafe

New Hong Kong McCafe TV commercials:

Cova @ Festival Walk

A while ago, a friend recommended me Cova's Blueberry Cheesecake and knowing my cousin's fondness for blueberry cheesecake, I invited her for high tea at Cova at Festival Walk.

Mocha

Latte

Indeed, the Blueberry Cheese cake was delightful! The best I've ever tried so far! Generous dollop of blueberries on top and the texture was so soft, smooth and creamyyyyy. Fruity yet not too sweet ^_^ I'm going back for sure!

However, my cousin didn't really like the texture which was too soft for her. She prefers the firmer ones from Pacific Coffee.

The Chestnut Cream was soft in texture but a bit too sweet for my liking.

Opera Patisserie, To Kwa Wan

If you miss those creamy and smooth birthday cakes topped with fresh fruits from Holland and Belgium, you must try Opera Patisserie's b-day cakes, the texture and taste are very similar to those we had back in BeNe (short for Belgium and Netherlands ^.^).

Besides freshly made cakes, they sell a wide range of pastries, cookies and bread as well. I told my mum (who's a sweet tooth too!) about this bakery 2 weeks ago and guess what? Last Tuesday, after her fitness classes in To Kwa Wan, she came back home with a Opera cake box stuffed with 6pcs of cakes!

Don't they look fresh and yummlicious? ^^

From left to right: Blueberry cheesecake, Tiger cheesecake, Tiramisu, New York cheesecake, Chestnut cake and Chocolate Marble cake which is my most favorite one (luscious, creamy, smooth and light :)

Tomorrow she's gonna hop in Opera again and this time she hopes she can buy some of their signature fresh egg rolls which were sold out last time.

Coffee course @ Barista Caffe, Wanchai

Since myself and my 3 gal friends enjoy drinking coffee a lot and wanted to learn more about our favorite beverage, we decided to enroll ourselves to a coffee course in April. This 8hrs course (spread over 4 weeks) covers a basic understanding of coffee (history, culture and cultivation) and coffee brewing methods (manual drip, siphon and espresso machine). During these weeks, we got to make coffee using the different brewing methods and analyzed the taste (aroma, acidity, sweetness, bitterness, body and aftertaste) of our self-made coffees and those of other attendees.

The classes were interesting and enjoyable. We had a great time and had some hilarious moments too! :) (like forgetting or skipping a step cos we were simply nervous ^^ or clumsy me who nearly placed the top container of the siphon in the coffee grinder instead of the stand! How embarrassing! >.<)
Our tutor, we call him "coffee sir" is a nice guy and very experienced. Last lesson, each of us got to order our favorite coffee beverage on the house! Among the 4 (latte, caramel macchiato, cappuccino and mocha) caramel macchiato tasted the best! The top was very foamy and smooth, the flavor of coffee and caramel was well-balanced and most importantly not too sweet! Though the course has come to an end, I'll definitely drop by Barista Caffe for more cups of yummy caramel macchiato! ^_^

For info on the coffee basics course, as well as the advanced course and coffee tasting class, contact HKFTU.

Crystal Jade, Shatin

Went shopping with my parents in Shatin and had lunch at Crystal Jade, a well-known restaurant chain that serve a wide variety of Shanghai food. One of their signature Shanghai dishes is xiao long bao.

Longan & snow pear drink, very healthy and nourishing~

Shredded chicken mixed with green bean sheet and cucumber in sesame sauce

Dry-fried string bean with minced pork has always been one of my favorite Shanghai dishes!

Chewy fried Shanghai rice cake

Fried rice with shrimp and snow cabbage

Triple O's, Wanchai

My favorite burger, fries and blueberry milkshake at Triple O's!

Juicy & meaty Mushroom Burger with beef~

Chicken Burger

Fat Kee Lucky Dessert, Causeway Bay

Fat Kee Lucky Dessert are famous for their durian desserts. If you're a durian lover, try their signature Durian Pancakes and Durian tong sui. Since me and my friends don't like durian, we ordered some traditional tong sui.

Coconut milk yellow bean pudding

Lotus seed and clear dumpling (ching sum yuen) in ginger juice

Rock sugar papaya dessert with snow fungus and lotus seed, very nutritious~

Watami, Causeway Bay

Dinner with some friends at Watami in Causeway Bay

Signature dish Watami salad

Stir-fried udon with seafood

My favorite deep-fried springroll filled with rice cake and shredded bacon

Assorted deluxe sushi: grilled eel, salmon & seafood and grilled scallop

Seafood cream hot pot

The soup base is made with fresh milk~