Hong Kong Street @ Novena

Been to this place a few times. Sometimes for lunch, sometimes for dinner. But almost with some certainty, there are just that few dishes that we ordered, over and over again. And, this place was always busy and bustling with diners.

signboard

utensils and chillies (not very spicy)

a glass of cold barley while waiting for the food

As usual, we ordered a large 'san lao he fen' or 'sam lou hor fun', 'har jiong gai' or prawn paste chicken and a fried fish noodle soup (small).

san lao he fen

closer view

San Lao He Fen, a pale white looking dish consisting of 'hor fun' (flat kway teow noodles), lots of beansprouts, and fish slices (non-fried) that doesn't score any points in the looks department, but tasted yummy! It has a good dose of 'wok-hei' (that smokey charred smell/taste of the strong wok fire). Unfortunately, the fish slices does taste quite bland.

'har jiong gai' (prawn paste chicken)

deep fried goodness

Prawn paste chicken doesn't taste very strong, served piping hot with crispy skin but inside was still moist, tender and juicy. Not overly salted, so can be eaten on its own. Smear it with some of the sambal chili and it's addictive.

In my haste to devour the food (was hungry!), realised that I didn't take any pictures of the fish bee-hoon soup. That dish is a favourite of another friend. It has milky soup base, with ginger and vegetables in it. The fried fish was chunky and meaty. Comfort food.

This meal fed 3 girls and 1 guy comfortably. Total cost was about $13 per pax.

Sashimi House SAKURAYA @ Anchorpoint, Alexandra Road

Went on a weekday during lunch hour. Did not make any reservations, hence we were asked if we mind the counter seats. Nope. Not at all. The counter top/table surface/width was quite spacious. There is a daily set lunch that changes everyday and there is also a ladies lunch set (~@18++).

counter seats table setting

We ordered a Bara Chirashi and a salmon butter set and the food took some 15 minutes to arrive. Prior to that, the lady beside us who came much earlier than me, was asking the waitress the whereabouts of her lunch!

salmon butter set

tasty salmon butter

Tried my friend's salmon butter and the fish was nicely moist. Good choice! The salmon butter set was the cheaper one amongst our two lunches.

bara chirashi

My chirashi came in a nice lacquer bowl. So pretty.

full of goodness!

closer view

Plenty of fish in my bowl. There were the usual maguro, sake, white fish, tamago, cucumber and crabstick. The rice was nicely vinegared. First bite, the tangy sourness crept onto the tastebud and after chewing the rice, gradually it tasted of sweetness. The fish were fresh but don't really fancy the crabstick though.

seaweed layered ontop of the rice

The meal costs about $33 for two pax, and no charge for green tea.

Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei @ Taipa, Macau

We had a hearty lunch at Fernando's. Yes. But the quest for pork chop buns MUST NOT be forgotten. So we took a bus from Hac Sa beach and headed back to Taipa village. This place is near the Olympic swimming pool, and about 10-15 minutes walking distance from Venetian Hotel.

notice the red tentage? That's where we're headed

brisk business

coke seemed popular

menu

We were still very very full from lunch, so ordered just 2 pork chop buns to share.

good sized meat

pork chop bun, different angle

with bone

nice and tender

As all reviewers would tell you, it is just the bun and the pork chop. Nothing else in between. One bun is MOP20. Reasonable price for the meat.

Only managed a few bites from the pork chop bun. The bread was chewy and a little bit dry but luckily the meat was tender and flavourful and not too salty. There was still a nice buzz going in my head after all the sangria earlier from lunch...