Sushi Ketsu, Tin Hau, Hong Kong

There’s never a shortage of Japanese restaurant in Tin Hau. I thought I have tried all of them but obviously not. We originally wanted to have yakitori but with no reservations on a Saturday night, chances are very slim. So we went to Sushi Ketsu which is located on Tsing Fung Street in Tin Hau

The place was relatively busy for a Saturday night, all the restaurants that evening was full to be honest so we were grateful to have gotten a table without a reservation. I love Japanese food but am still very limited to what I can eat. ‘The Mother’ started with some king fish – unfortunately they weren’t as fresh as he had hoped. It was still icy cold he thought.

I ordered the beef with mushrooms for Dragon, unfortunately she didn’t really like this. I thought it was quite good and relatively healthy! I did ask for no sauce as I was afraid it would be some sort of seafood sauce.

‘The Mother’ ordered the sashimi bowl – different types of sashimi on top of a bed of rice. It looked pretty decent, but again ‘The Mother’ didn’t enjoy it. He thought the sashimi was not as fresh as it could be.

My cousin IR had the tempura which he enjoyed. I stole a couple of the vegetable tempura and batter was light and it wasn’t overly oily.

Poor Dragon refused to eat anything, and when I noticed another table ordering the chicken wings yakitori, I couldn’t help but order. 3 chicken wings, it was crispy, tender and oh so yummy. Unfortunately I only had a tiny piece, as Dragon ate all 3 of them.

Service was polite and the staff really knew the menu. It was a shame that ‘The Mother’ didn’t enjoy his food, however, IR and I thought the food wasn’t too bad. Definitely have had better, but it wasn’t too bad.

GA’s ratings: 6 / 10

Sushi Ketsu

G/F Tsing Fung Building

12 Tsin Fung Street

Tin Hau, Hong Kong

Ph: +852 2887 2983

Silly Boo, Tin Hau, Hong Kong

I have been to Silly Boo a number of times now. This place used to be a froyo shop and one that i went too quite frequently. Silly Boo serves all day breakfast, casual lunches including sandwiches, coffees and yogurt – the range for yogurt is not vast but if you are craving yogurt and coffee, then this is the place to be.

The restaurant is quite small, service can be a tad slow at times depending on how busy they are. The menu are written on the black board above, you order at the counter, pay and food will be delivered to your table. We were here one weekend, after the lunch hour and the service wasn’t too bad.

I was craving breakfast – eggs, mushroom, bacon you name it. Scrambled eggs, you would think that would be easy, but sometimes they just make it too dry. It was pretty good at Silly Boo, I do still prefer it a little more fluffier and creamy like at Bills. The bacon and mushroom a wonderful complement.

‘The Mother’ ordered turkey, tomato, lettuce and mayo on focaccia bread and he said it was ‘more than good’. He loves a good simple sandwich whereas I prefer something more substantial. It wasn’t too bad I have to admit but my breakfast was definitely better.

‘The Mother’ ordered coffee and said it was excellent, the yogurt which I have had a number of times wasn’t bad. Plain with real fruits on top which Dragon loved. I keep forgetting about this place, it’s just that the place is SO small, that getting a table for more than 2 people can be a hassle. Service is a bit of a hit and miss too but food is pretty consistent which I like.

GA’s ratings: 7 / 10

Silly Boo

G/F, 96 Electric Road

Tin Hau, Hong Kong

Ph: +852 2570 8030

Hot in a Pot, Tin Hau, Hong Kong

I really do miss Tin Hau. There is always good food and my favourite desserts place Auntie Sweet is there. ‘The Mother’ and I were trying to decide where to eat and thought of Tin Hau. We didn’t really have a place in mind, just thought we would walk along Electric Road and pick somewhere. Stumbled across Hot in a Pot! It is actually a hot pot place, but they also do Dim Sum here which is a little fancy than norm but surprisingly ok!

The menu is in Chinese, however, they have pictures next to it so you have an idea of what it is. Thankfully I recognise the important characters of fish, beef, chicken, pork so think we ordered ok. It’s not your typical dim sum, as there are no carts (not a lot of places in Hong Kong has carts these days), you fill out the form which has boxes next to the pictures.

We started with the steamed rice roll with beancurd skin crackers and prawn. I really loved the silky steamed rice roll, so did Dragon. The beancurd skin cracker was crunchy giving the whole thing a nice ‘crunch’.

The siu mai, I didn’t have, but was informed that it wasn’t too bad. It was actually quite plump and juicy.

The chicken feet I adored. Think I ate most of this, but I am a huge fan!

Dragon and I both enjoyed the soft bun, the pork and vegetables were a wonderful complement.

I enjoyed the beef siu mai more than the fish. Thought the fish had a little bit of a fishy taste.

It was a slightly fancier dim sum, it didn’t have the ‘usual’ dim sum that I would order but had most of it which was nice. From memory there also had burgers on the menu which I thought was a little weird. You know me, I prefer the good old, simple dim sum! The more old school the better, but this wasn’t too bad. I wouldn’t mind going back to try their hot pot though.

Service I thought was fine, I have heard that it was a bit of a hit and miss but we had no problems that day. We had Dragon who kept dropping chopsticks and bowls and they weren’t annoyed with us – well at least I don’t think so!

GA’s ratings: 7 / 10

Hot in a Pot

Shop C, Sing Kung Lau,

80-86 Electric Road,

Tin Hau, Hong Kong

Ph: +852 2929 4999

Sister Wah, Tin Hau

I have been to Sister Wah many times now but have never really blogged about it. One of my favourite places for beef brisket and tendons. This used to be my go to place whilst we lived in Fortress Hill, however, now that I work in the city, I go to Ngau Kee. It was one evening after our trip to Disney Land and we thought we would go and grab a quick bite at Sister Wah, which can be found at Tin Hau – another suburb I love – lots of good food!

I always without fail order the same thing, tendons soup. I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I do love the texture and without fail, the tendons soup is always good.

‘The Mother’ opt for his usual, beef brisket with noodles. The beef brisket was tender and delicious – the serving was a little small though, he definitely could have eaten more beef brisket.

Service efficient, you never really have to wait more than 15 minutes, and if not, take away is always an option. They do have curry tendons from memory but I have yet to try it.

GA’s rating: 7.5 / 10

Sister Wah

G/F, 13A, Electric Road

Tin Hau, Hong Kong

Ph: +852 2807 0181

Royal Legend, Tin Hau, Hong Kong

I’m not quite sure why I don’t go dim sum very often in Hong Kong – it IS the place for it! I can count the number of times I have been on one hand, including Royal Legend. My cousin was in town, she now lives in the US, San Fran to be precise and thought we should catch up! I think the last time we caught up was about 4 years ago, when ‘The Mother’ and I were in New York and she happened to be there at the same time.

We left all the ordering to my aunt, and she did not disappoint. Unfortunately with Hong Kong, due to the lack of space, there are no trolleys – there are a few places that still have it but only a few. We started with our favourite, suckling pig – the skin was absolutely beautiful, the crackle was crunchy and delicious. This tiny serving was not enough for five pork lovers!

I know a lot of people don’t like chicken feet, but I am a HUGE fan!

How can you say no to fluffy, warm bbq pork buns?

Beef balls are definitely my favourite and a must order.

Bite size deep fried tofu was definitely a favourite of mine.

I don’t know the name of this, but these were absolutely delicious that we had to order two servings of it. The exterior is cheung fan but can’t remember what’s inside! whoops!

These black sesame desserts were excellent, mochi style but not quite.

And last but not least, I love these custard oozy buns!

Everyone has their favourite dim sum dish and must order dish. For me, dim sum is not complete if we don’t have har gaw (prawn dumplings), siu may (beef and prawn dumplings) and lots of other steamed dumplings that I like. Chicken feet are another must order for me, so is the beef balls and tripe. Even though it was a good meal, I didn’t feel ‘satisfied’ as I didn’t order my ‘staples’!

I am going again sometimes soon so will definitely order the dim sum mentioned above. Otherwise, it will be unsatisfying yet again!

What are your must orders at dim sum?

GA’s ratings: 7 / 10

Royal Legend

1/F, Golden Court, 22-52 Electric Road

Tin Hau, Hong Kong

Ph: +852 2578 9983