Like I said I have loads of backlogs but I have lined them up to write on them. This one is a cafe worth mentioning as they hire the deaf & mute as service staff. This cafe works with the association in HK for the Deaf & Mute for this trial project of getting the physically impaired locals to be hired in the F&B environment. I was fortunate to be introduced to the boss of the cafe who apparently also owns GoFun Rewards in HK & China (http://www.gofun.com/hk/index.php).
The cafe is situated at the mall beside the Hung Hom train station that goes direct to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Located at a corner on the 7th floor, the cafe didn’t look like a good place for meals. But when I got seated, I was in awe for the fact that the service staff were all deaf & mute. And the cafe was catered for the ease of ordering by their customers and food is served piping hot and up to standard. I truly respect organizations giving back to society in anyway and this cafe has won my respect truly.
A little signage on every table telling patrons what kind of cafe they are in.Table sheets indicating what the customer may require.Order chit made friendly for the impaired.Asparagus soup that comes with hot buns as part of the set mealFriend’s order of spaghettiMy order of steakCooked to perfectionSuper crowded during weekday lunchAddress and number for reservations.
Rating: 5/5.
Taste: My steak was cooked to perfection and served hot. Really good and value for money.
Portion: Average
Service: Excellent although it takes a little getting use to using finger pointing and keeping quiet when ordering.
Ambience: Quite a cosy setting. You don’t smell like the cafe after you leave too.
Price: Can’t remember the price but I know it was very affordable.
Apart from the Japanese food restaurant, I was also brought to this bubble milk tea shop COMEBUY which is located just across the street of Citimall, which is a landmark shopping mall in Yuen Long.
Citimall... lights up nicely at night.You have to cross the super crowded traffic light in order to get to the bubble milk tea place.
I was bitching about the silly name COMEBUY… but after thinking for a while, it’s actually a very strategic name. Reason is, this bubble milk tea chain is originated in Taipei, Taiwan. This stall is a prolly a franchise. So back in the year 2002 when it started, that was the boom of bubble milk tea then. Then as most of us understand the fact that not many Taiwanese speak English back then… even now… so this catchy name is actually quite easy to remember. Another reason is prolly the owners also wants their customers to COME & BUY if they are COMING BY. So I thought that was quite cute. Haha…
So we were at the shop, got queue there, so I tried the original thing of course. HKD$12 for normal cup size or a large cup size for their Double Q Milk Tea. Of course I took the large cup size lah then they printed out a receipt with your queue number. After printing out our receipt, another printer also prints out the order number in a smaller piece of sticker for the girls to stick to the cups for processing. 2 cups ordered = 2 stickers. Very systematic… so no quarrels of who came first and all that crap. Check out the pics below:
The stall... with a large queue number display.Our orders. See the black pearls and the transparent strips inside. It's very chewy and nice with the milk tea. An excellent blend of taste and great for after meals.
Rating: 5/5
Taste: This bubble tea chain has many years of choosing the right tea leaves and blending that perfect cup. The rich smoothness of this bubble milk tea I have never tried before in Singapore. I was looking around behind if they had a cow there for milking after my first sip. Super nice!
Portion: Above average.
Price: HKD$12 (SGD $2.18)
RTE: Definite yes!
Location: Opposite Citimall. Once you are there, just ask around. Hong Kongers love to tell you if you just ask. For more information, can check out http://www.comebuy2002.com.
Was invited for a press lunch the other day at Lei Garden @ CHIJMES. As we all might know that Lei Garden group of restaurants started from Hong Kong and expanded to Singapore and China. Of late, I’ve been reading a lot of complains and bad reviews online about their service and food at the outlet at Orchard Shoppping Centre. Hence this invitation came timely to taste t for myself.
Lei Garden @ CHIJMES underwent a brand new S$5m renovation and to top it off, another S$2m was spent on furnishings. The whole restaurant has a very Victorian (On Victoria Street!) ambience and very relaxing and comfy while you dine on their revamped menu! Check them out below:
Private Dining Suites. Check out the Victorian paintings on the wall matched with the lovely furnishings. Open Hall Dining - Dining in comfortOpen Hall DiningReception Counter - Every ready waiting attendants are always there to open the doors for you. Stairs leading up to the private dining suitesNostalgic pictures of the old towns all around Singapore. Press lunch menuMy cuppa orange juice with very nice table floral deco in the backgroundA special concoction of grape juice, lemon, lime and something else... sour is the word but interesting though.Speech given by the Chairman of Lei Garden Restaurant Group, Mr SK ChanThe meaning of 2 pairs of chopsticks. The outer pair is for taking food from the dishes from the centre of the table. The inner ones are used for your personal consumption. I suspect the ends are gold plated... and yes, pretty heavy...Appetisers (From left to right) - Sea Blubber in vinegar sauce and sesame sauce, Chilled Sea Whelk with wasabi and sour sauce, Beancurd with seaweed and Chilled shredded Chicken in spicy sauce. Very good, but they are not good measures of what is to come next... 🙂
Double Boiled Dried Abalone With Fish MAw In Deluxe Clear Soup - When I first sipped the soup, I almost shouted WAH LAU!!!! It's really damn good and the whole piece of abalone made it better! ;P I emptied the whole mini claypot of soup...but of course. 🙂 Other stuff found in the soup - Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw & Cordycep!Live Alaskan King Crab - Steamed Crab with chinese wine and Baked Claw with salt and butter. A lot of people thought the one on the right is You Tiao... When bite down, the shell of the crab will shock them... hehe 🙂The steamed portion of the crab. Yummy!The baked part... It was nice but portion is a little though.To prove that it's LIVE, they brought out the crab model... 🙂Stir Fried Shark's Fin with Fresh Crab Meat Served With Superior Stock - Portioning for this one is a lot. The art of eating this is to put the fin on the spoon, then dip it into the soup stock that comes with it, and then put the whole spoon in your mouth... It's a total different dining experience... very very tasty.Braised Sea Whelk With Abalone Sauce - Instead of the usual abalone, the chefs tried on this sea whelk braised to perfect tenderness, topped with thick abalone sauce. Big portion but it's so good that anyone would finish it.Steamed Sea Grouper Fillet With Preserved Vegetable and Egg White - The fish is really tender, not fishy, fresh tasting, topped with 'Chye Por' and finely shredded ginger. Lovely. The egg white at the bottom, is so well done, I thought it was soya bean curd! Very interesting dish and kids now will take fish because of the egg white 'pudding'!Braised Ox Tongue With Red Wine - At first, I thought this is a deep fried dish with the deep fried netting. But I was wrong...There it is... very tender and didn't feel like the tongue...
Poached 2 Kinds of Veg with Drumstick & Silver Mushroom. The white pieces are beancurds. Very nice as they are made in-house.Dessert - Deep Fried Pastry with Fresh Crab Meat, Bacon & Onion in Black Pepper and Soft Pastry with Strawberry Paste. Both desserts are really nice... Chilled Guava Juice With Water Chestnut Cubes - This dessert is so refreshing! The fragrance from the young guavas make this dessert a popular one!Fresh Fruits Platter ended our exquisite lunch.Followed by a shot of pure lemon juice which is good for digestion and detoxification.Bidding our farewells to the man who hosted us to such a priviledge lunch.A signage shot before I left. 🙂
Rating: 5/5. After trying the food and experiencing the service, I realise that we can only believe 50% of the feedbacks you read online. the other 50% is to try it for yourself. As competition is tough out there among restaurants and eateries, there are many malicious people who would just wanna bring you down just because of 1 bad experience. I felt the staff eager to please and serve while I was there, nothing fake.
Portion: Portioning is good throughout except the Alaskan Crab… I reckon it’s expensive. 🙂
Taste: One of the freshest tasting food I’ve ever tried. MSG very minimal ‘cos you won’t feel thirsty after that. Food quality is excellent. Soup stocks are made daily from 5am.
RTE: If I’m feeling rich, I definitely would!!!
Location: 30 Victoria Street #01-24 CHIJMES
1.295144103.852319
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Foodophile Who Blogs & Vlogs To Help Small Businesses
