珍珠雞 (Sticky Rice w Chicken) - What a surprise in presentation! Usually wrapped in lotus leaf, this was presented in an open style like mini sandwiches, with a crispy rice seared top.




天下第一包 (Baked BBQ pork bun with sweet top) - My favorite fusion dim sum - indeed this was very good, soft bun, perfect balance of sweet & savory.

After all these years, a Pepper Lunch inspired restaurant has finally made its way to Markham. Within a week of opening, news traveled fast - everyone must be Pepper Lunch fans! So I made my way here with dad and sis on a Thursday night. We waited for almost an hour for a table - it was packed. While waiting, I thought the white / grey decor looked oddly familiar and turns out I was right - same tables as Dessert Kitchen!



I ordered the Supreme Beef Rice. At first bite, of course it's sizzling hot with peppery taste and I was pleasantly surprised that the sauce was hidden in the middle. But later on, I realized the beef had no taste, only saved a bit by the sweet corn. For $0.50 you can add extra toppings like garlic chips, green onion, corn, cheese, etc. I would suggest them to give more sauce, such as garlic soy sauce, sweet honey sauce, or even hot sauce, or maybe season the beef a bit? As my sister said, for the signature dish, this wasn't memorable enough.

Duck Breast Spaghetti in Tom Yum Sauce

Tried a bit of the Duck Breast Spaghetti in Tom Yum Sauce. I like the creaminess of the sauce, but it was too spicy for me. Now this was more flavorful and special, but probably oily/heavy to finish myself.

For pasta teppan, they have a variety of sauces (cream, tomato, spicy, curry) and protein (chicken, salmon, seafood), as well as topping additions (egg for $1).

Chef's Special Chicken Wings

Cut in half like Greyhound Cafe, these were crispy with a slight sweet honey flavor, but it wasn't spicy. Good :)

After badminton, we were in the area to try this lanzhou noodle place (兰州拉麵 ) for dinner on Saturday. There was a wait but luckily seated quickly. I was already disappointed by the rude service but the food made up for it. 

Sliced Noodle ~ Braised Pork

Wow, the pork is super flavorful. Not sure what spices, it's good but at the same time sort of tastes like the pork is spoiled (?) Broth is also flavorful albeit oily. Noodles are short, thick, chewy and doughy. To my surprise, I liked this more than my own order of hand pulled noodles!

Walking around the oldest/largest(?) Chinatown was like stepping back in time to 1960s... Everything was just so old.

We had dinner at R&G Lounge and then dessert at Souffles Cafe.

My must-eat in Hong Kong - 聖子. with garlic, vermicelli and soy sauce...







Crispy non-oily roast pork.

香芋芝麻卷 ~ Sesame Roll

手工粉

金鴨梨 ~ Gold dayali

I just found out from 18boot's blog that 百家小廚 has closed down :( I actually drove by the other day and noticed the sign was gone. I've only been there twice for their inexpensive and large lobster (波子龍蝦) and soup and wanted to go again soon, only to find out they are no longer in business.


Out of 金沙，油泡, maggi, and rice wine, my favorite was the 金沙 - just the right amount of coating without being overly salty and taking away from the sweetness of the lobster. I also really liked the coconut chicken soup. Now where can I find large marble sized pieces of lobster & tasty homemade MSG-free soup?

Best Bubble Tea @ Yuen Long Not the biggest fan of bubble tea, but this original milk flavor was SO GOOD, really rich flavor.. My mom went back in December and apparently it's closed now. But there's a really good tofu place on the same street.

Abalone @ Lei Yu Mun - size of my palm and so delicious. It's not something I eat frequently, but must say this was so flavorful and tender.

Our whole family went clam digging one day. The clams were so sweet when cooked.

米酒雞 友愛大排檔, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong Blurry because I didn't want to be embarassing and taking a picture of this while others were eating, but this was so good. Glutinous rice soaked in rice wine flavor with tender pieces of chicken. Although it was a 大排檔 environment where we had to sit on plastic stools in a noisy restaurant, the food was authentic and delicious.

egg w almond flavor, egg white with milk, Australia Dairy Co. (澳洲牛奶公司) A long time favorite, must visit in hk each time I go back. This place is always busy at any time of the day, whether people eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. The turnover per table is probably 10-15 minutes. Another shot: Even something as simple as butter on toast or condensed milk toast - you can taste the difference at Australia Milk Co. (cold, hard butter on soft yet crispy toast)

Breakfast in Hong Kong from Fairwood and Cafe de Coral. Even for fast food, the coffee is much better than in Canada because it's freshly ground. Must admit the fried fish (bottom right, from the airport) was so good and crispy.

After seeing the article on Bubble Tea x Dim Sum crossover @ Destiny Tea House (Silver Star Blvd), we decided to go try it the next day. The food in the glossy magazine photos looked so good, but in reality, it didn't meet expecations. It was my first time at this location since renovation; the design is similar to the one in Richmond hill and they have magazines too but not a huge selection. The dishes are modern style: big heavy square teapot, thick square-ish tea cup, flat rectangular plate--nice to look at but not very practical (messy esp with crispy fried foods) There were quite a lot of wait staff at the time (Thursday noon) standing around, yet service wasn't exceptionally fast.

Beef & Enoki Mushroom Rice Roll: Thought it was the fatty beef kind like the one at Jpn AYCE, but turned out to be the minced-beef kind like those beef balls, which we both dislike!!

Deep fried Eggplant & Pumpkin: Pumpkin was good, but a bit too oily.