Seeing that my introduction to The Fine Wine Experience came from the very welcoming, very…read moreknowledgeable team member Francois Tran and also a very interesting wine tasting experience of discovering "2014 German Auction Rieslings"...clearly the bar has been set high on expectations of boutique wine shops. With their small retail front in Sheung Wan and extensive collection housed in their off-sight warehouse, on-line is actually the best way to see and research the wines they have for sale, about the expansive breath of talented staff on their team and also about the long list of events they promote and host. They have just a fraction of their overall wine stock for actual sale in their store, but Francoise could not have been more welcoming when we wandered in to find out what this shop was all about. In this retail location, along with what is for sale, we attended a wine tasting of rieslings. At a small cost of $400 per person (which is then credited back to you if you make a purchase at the tasting of at least $2000). Informative, informal, interesting, engaging, humorous. We had a lovely time and really enjoyed learning more about rieslings in the presence of about 15 or so other attendees. The discussion was held by Linden Wilke, with 20+ years of experience in the wine business. Although we were a touch out of our league in this group with our knowledge of rieslings specifically (truth be told, I am a Pinot drinker of countless years), we could not have been more welcomed and actively encouraged to talk and learn and discover. It was lovely! We look forward to exploring their website, popping in to ask questions and continuing to learn and discover wines of the world with the Fine Wine Experience as a partner in our education.

Along this robust & happening street full of indoor/ outdoor cafes & many other European flairs, a…read moresmall wine shop has been given birth by the nurturing hands of Sommelier Mr. Christophe Bonno. As you hopping on High Street people watching while hunting for good eats, you will found yourself paused by the beautiful store front of Premier Cru. Through the French glass door, you can see and be astonished by the wall to wall collection of French red & white wines. Especially Burgundy & Northern Rhône. Feel free to ponder in this space, let the aroma of the mill work paints a picture of a wine cellar from France inside your head. It's like icing on the cake learning the wine originality and it's journey into the store through words from Mr. Bonno. Just like sniffing coffee beans at a parfumerie while choosing your favorite scents; Premier Cru have great selection of sausages, tarama, salami along with baguette to compliment the wine of your choice. At the back, an oasis awaits. A little secret garden for friends to spend time together enjoying their newly acquired wines. Come to retune your senses and mindfulness at the Premier Cru, I am sure you will enjoy the moment.

Beautiful place to get French wine in Hong Kong. Nice people and good environment. Wonderful place…read moreto sit down and spend a couple of hours sipping the wine you just bought

Moonzen is one of the earlier craft brewers in Hong Kong, and I am glad that they have expanded and…read morenow have a taproom. I was excited that they offer a tour on Fridays from 6-9pm, so I called to book, as requested by the website. Now, to help out all future visitors... this place can be a challenge to find. Presuming your GPS/map takes you to the correct building (which is just a couple of streets off the MTR station), don't circle around looking for a lobby or entrance. Just walk into the loading dock area, where you will see some industrial elevators. They are garage sized, and the doors open up and down instead of sideway. You step inside the monster, trusting that its teeth won't chomp on you midway... Once you get to the 5th floor, you can see the door gods on the doors and you know you have arrived. Moonzen's Chinese name means door gods. It goes without saying that I had a hard time finding the place and arrived late. No worries, the guy collecting my $250 said, the tour starts at 8, now you can just hang around and enjoy our beer. Well, it would be nice if they told me when I called. I could have enjoyed a proper dinner first. Not in the mood to get take outs, I decided to just sit and enjoy some beer. Basically, you pay $250 for all you can drink beer. They have 6 on taps, from lager to porter. I was disappointed that they do not have the same beer as posted on their website, as there was one special release I'd love to try, but turned out their "now on tap" list hasn't been updated for months. I was lucky enough to join an American couple chatting with the master brewer, who moved to HK 5 years ago from New Jersey. It was fun to exchange notes, an American living in HK and a HKer living in America, and hear him talk about missing American Chinese food in a city with 7 million Chinese, spending US$30 to make an American sandwich, or trying in vain to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. The tour was very basic, and I was surprised that less than 10% of the people in the taproom actually participated in the tour. The brewer told us that as there's hardly any bars in the neighborhood, restaurants won't let people stay long on a Friday night, and most houses are too small to entertain guests, many locals enjoy coming to the taproom with some take outs and stay the evening with friends.

Moonzen has always been one of my favorite craft beers in Hong Kong so when I found out that they…read morehave a brewery tour, I had to go check it out. To be quite honest, if you've already done a brewery tour then the educational bit where they tell you about the brewing is mostly all the same. The fun part of the brewery tour is tasting all of their different beers! For $200, it is unlimited pours of all of their 8 beers on top for 4 hours! What a deal. 3 of the 8 flavors were seasonal beers, which included a chestnut winter ale, chocolate stout, and the Jade Rabbit rocket IPA. There is a big open area with different tables where you can hang out while sipping away at the beers. You are also encouraged to bring your own food. I think this would be an awesome and affordable way to host a birthday party. The owners are a husband and wife, and they are both super nice. I've always loved Moonzen because of the way they name their beers and the story behind all of them. Their labels are also super pretty. The tours happen every Friday evening and you can RSVP through their website or Facebook. If you're looking for a fun way to spend a Friday night with the crew, I suggest checking out Moonzen.

It's probably one of the most interesting experience of beers…read more Little did I know that the first time I had Young Master at The Globe about one and a half years ago, it was the time this little local brewery just started. Visiting here and learn about the history and seeing the actually steel barrels that hold the beers I drink are pretty surreal. I wouldn't imagine that a little room in Ap Lei Chau was sufficient to brew all the beers to The Globe / Craft Beer & Co. HK Brewcraft, Roundhouse Taproom, The Ale Project, etc. EVERYDAY, plus all the individual restaurants and customers. Crazy. For $150, you could have a quick tour of the place, plus 5 different beers at tasting size. The Classic pale ale is the all time best sellers (and available all year long). The Fussy peach pumpkin ale is a response to the infamous Budweiser Super Bowel Ad that tried to (unsuccessfully) make fun of the craft beer community (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siHU_9ec94c) (along the lines of "we make beers not to be fussed about; let them drink their peach pumpkin ale". I liked that little story behind, and if I ever see a peach pumpkin ale again at a bar, I'm totally ordering it and tell this badass story. The Rye on Wood and Ashes of Time were very interesting too. Both were oaked, but the Ashes of Time had a trace of chocolate favor too. YES, CHOCOLATE. Sounds like the best of both worlds that people never thought of mixed well together, but they did. (And http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109688/, sick reference bro.) My friends actually liked the last one, 1842 Island Imperial IPA. It's definitely the one that got everything right, but thanks to my big night on Friday, I was trying really hard to finish the last glass of beer here, despite it's just a pot. Definitely worth the trip here, and definitely would come back again with some other friends and try their seasonal brew (if you take note of my pictures and other Yelpers', you can see they change the tasting beers from time to time).

I'm a big fan of what Rohit has done opening a bewery in Ap Lei Chau... The building itself looks…read morelike something out of Bushwick, Brooklyn... a nondescript ageing industrial complex near the infamous furniture outlets. Inside a small tasting room, I first tried a beer cocktail made with his rye beer mixed with rye whiskey orange and grapefruit peel-- what a hit! I really like his IPA, which isn't overly hopped, and has a rounded sweetness that appeals to the masses. My favourite however was the rye... maybe because the first beer I ever brewed was a Roggenbier. Growlers are on offer, he also has a bar in Mong Kok which I really need to get to. Fun afternoon, with a beautiful view of the water right outside his window.

Coffee here will do in a pinch though it definitely smacks of 'average local chain quality'... I…read moreoften walk by with my dog in the morning so I occasionally pop in. But don't expect to be wowed - in terms of quality and selection, Starbucks has a slight edge. Besides all the usual caffeinated players, Pacific Coffee also serves a selection of croissants, muffins, bagels, and savories such as British-inspired sausage rolls. I recently tried the chocolate croissant and it's definitely an underperformer in the pastry sector. I thought it was quite funny when I ordered warm bread pudding as takeaway that they sent me home with the ceramic ramekin as well. Thought that the bag felt kind of heavy! In any case, I'm guessing that item isn't intended to be consumed out of the store, but their good manners meant they didn't have the heart to tell me. The baristas at Pacific Coffee are quite fast, but they're not magicians... understandably, you should expect to wait about 5 minutes for an English Tea latte.

Nice new brewery in Fortress Hill area. Would be a great party spot. The beers were great, the…read morebartender served a cold pint and it was a great place to escape the tourist scene for a bit.

I'm a fan. I like the ambiance, and the food ain't so bad either. But I have deducted 1 star for…read morethe following reasons: For a cafe that's a bit farther out of the way, I think Common Ground's pricing is still pretty expensive. Don't get me wrong, I kinda like the idea that it's a bit farther out, it makes the place a bit less mad and crowded, but for that reason, I think the owners would drop the price a little. I had the smoked salmon open sandwich and a glass of lemongrass tea. Both were delicious! However, for the price that I paid, I think the portions were measly. The smoked salmon sandwich was flavourful and light but I definitely could have had another half portion easily. The lemongrass tea was also very yummy (something that i've never tried before) but for the price you pay for a coffee, I don't think it was worth it. (Esp finding out later how easy this was to make at home!!) I would recommend this place if you want a place where you can chill out forever. (Maybe that's the price you pay for not feeling obligated to rush) Sometimes it gets crowded that people sit on the steps outside, and the area surrounding it is quiet and perfect for it. It's a nice place to bring somebody from out of town and you want to show them a unique place, but for me, it's not a place I would afford to go regularly :(

I had heard really nice things about Common Ground before I decided to give it a go this afternoon…read more It's located in an ultra quiet street right by PMQ and it's just lovely. It's rather small which makes it cozy and when the weather is good, as it was today, you can seat outside at the tables or in some wooden seats stairs-shaped. The atmosphere was great but I couldn't find a free seat outside so decided to take a seat at the common table inside. As I was waiting for someone else I looked around and could tell that things are well taken care of here. The girls seating next to me were having an all day breakfast (or so that was my conclusion by looking at the menu and back to their board) and it was very nicely presented. I only had a green tea, which was nice, but I'll probably try out something else next time as their menu is rather big for a cafe. Next door to Common Ground there's an art jamming place which makes the atmosphere even nicer... Love this newly found hidden cafe!

If you're looking for a general, across the boards review of Oliver's, this won't be of much help…read morebecause there's only one thing I eat at Oliver's - and that's their baked potatoes. Okay, I have tried a little of some of their other stuff - I've had a bit of some kind of pasta which my mother ordered when I was younger, but I've never ordered anything but the potato here myself before. It's not to say that their baked potatoes are amazing - they're actually a hit-or-miss, but when they are a hit, they're pretty good. I usually either go for sour cream baked potato when I'm feeling a little plain Jane, or for the smoked salmon and egg salad one when I feel a little hungrier. When I say that they're a hit or miss, it's because sometimes, the potatoes are served freshly baked and steaming hot, so all is well, but sometimes, it's served just warm, making the taste of the potato quite underwhelming. In my opinion, a baked potato that's eaten just warm is a baked potato that's wasted. There's no fun in eating a baked potato that's only at room temperature. But on the occasions where the stars are all aligned and the universe has decided to cut you a break - i.e. the potato is served hot, it tastes really, really good. The sour cream is cold so it tastes great against the hot potato. The smoked salmon and egg salad one is actually better in my opinion, though they're quite skimpy with the smoked salmon - expect tiny pieces, and not a lot of them too. The egg salad tastes pretty good and there's an even mix between the whites and yolks. Overall, it's hard to say that the potatoes here are amazing because sometimes they're served at room temperature and therefore not so good. I don't have much to say about the other items on the menu, of course, but since this is kind of a fast food place I wouldn't expect things like the pastas and the sandwiches to be fantastic.

The price is kind of expensive since the amount of food was not too much. Oliver's Super Sandwiches…read moreis obviously famous for it's sandwiches. But mine also had a roasted potato with cheese and I even liked it more than its sandwiches...