Zelo (Hong Kong)

As a mall, Pacific Place seems to be on the downturn. It's lights have dimmed and the crowds have dwindled. However, it is still home to oldies but goodies like Dan Ryan's and Peking Garden. I also recently discovered Spanish/Mediterranean restaurant Zelo. This is a pretty restaurant - tables covered in crisp, white cloth lie beneath domes that look like they are constructed from branches (this is the best description I can muster, unfortunately). The look of the restaurant and its exciting menu consisting of tapas, paellas, and delicious sounding desserts gave me incredibly high hopes.

We ended up ordering calamari with squid aioli (in the words of Masterchef, this was the dish of the day), clams, fish cakes (pretty yum, too), and garlic prawns. I had scallop and mushroom paella for mains, while the others had salmon and steak. We ended with chocolate cake and panna cotta. Before I go on, I must say Zelo has amazing deals. The mains on special were all priced at around $150HKD, and glasses of wine went for about $30. Needless to say, plenty of wine went around.

However, despite the good prices and beautiful interior, the food itself was a let down. The paella was bland and overpowered by mushroom. It lacked the colour and texture that other ingredients, like peas or peppers, could have added. Considering paella should be their specialty, I was sorely disappointed with this. No one else was particularly raving about their mains either. When we expressed our disappointment to the waiter at the end of the meal, he reacted defensively and was downright rude. It ended the meal on a sour note.

To conclude, perhaps the cheap price was too good to be true and simply reflected the quality of the restaurant's food.

Appetizers: Calamari, Clams, and Prawns

Fish cakes

Paella

Dessert

Food: C

Ambience/Deco: A
Service: C (Waiters were rude, even obnoxious. Sigh, 'fancy' places)
Price: $$$ (The offers are good but the food would not be worth it full price)

Soho Spice (Hong Kong)

Soho Spice is a good old Thai/Vietnamese restaurant in Soho. The food I've had there, while not the most amaaazing, has never been a miss. The prices are well worth it, especially if you go during lunch hour when they serve lunch sets at a great value. The restaurant is nicely decorated and unlike most places in Hong Kong, it is never too crowded or noisy. On top of this, Soho Spice has a nice outdoor area, making this place a gem in the busy, bustling city.

Pad Thai. I would definitely recommend ordering this.

Food: A-

Ambience/Deco: A
Service: B
Price: $$

Pino Resto Bar (Manila)

Sorry for the lack of updates! I promise this will all change when I return to Hong Kong (next week!) for my summer holiday. After all, I will be spending a vast majority of my time there eating. I've missed HK food and HK restaurants so much. Anyway, let's get straight onto the review.

Pino is a very small, hole-in-the-wall type restaurant that is not striking from the outside, even on the inside, by any means. Upon opening the menu, however, I was pleasantly surprised. The choices are not the typical fried, oily, meat-heavy dishes that you would find in most small, Filipino restaurants. Instead, they offered an array of healthy and vegetarian options.

I ended up ordering calamari to start and the pancit (a common Filipino noodle dish) with tofu. The former was average, but the pancit was delicious! The dessert here also really stood out. I had leche flan and turon (deep fried banana wrapped in spring roll paper), and oh my goodness, if I wasn't supposed to be 'eating healthy' I would be back for this over and over. Another plus? This place is really cheap for the quality offered.


Pancit with tofu.

Leche flan.


Turon.

Food: A-
Ambience/Deco: C
Service: B
Price: A

Pino Resto Bar
39 Malingap, Quezon City 1101, Philippines

Local Snacks (Hong Kong)

With Easter holidays coming up, my Facebook newsfeed has been flooded with statuses declaring everyone's excitement at being able to go home (Hong Kong) soon. Since I'm not going back this Easter, I thought I could instead reminisce some of my favourite local HK snacks on this blog.

I sorely, sorely miss bubble tea and curry fish balls.

(Pictured here at one of the local snack stands in the Mong Kok district.)