My all time favourite place for breakfast, brunch and lunch . It is a company under the giant…read morefranchise Maxim. (Excuse the nerd in me). Since its opening, simply life has always been strategically located near the buzzing commercial districts. Be it central or quarry bay, It has forever been in the proximity of my work. Each branch may differ in the food that they offer, being either a "salad bar" and "restaurant" stream or both. I mostly feast on their salad, bakery and coffee. In my opinion , simply life offers relatively high quality food for the price that you pay. salad bar choice is relatively unique and tasty ! If you opt for a small salad (~55hkd) you can choose up to 4 types of salad from the bar ( large salad you can choose up to six choice , ~hkd75) Most common salad choice include : corn, cucumber salad, quinoa with mixed fruits, mixed green, beets , Caesar salad, pesto pasta, tomato mix, garlic mushroom. In case you pass by during breakfasts time on weekdays , simply life offers a special breakfast set (27 for a choice of bakery with small coffee). Coffee is strong and very decent . Now you know why there is always a queue 8 am in the morning ....

Carbonara is one of the most popular pasta dishes. The traditional Italian version omits the…read morecream, because Italians believe that Carbonara's delicate taste of egg would be ruined with cream, lots of Parmigiani cheese, bacon, garlic and egg. There's good reason pasta is high on nearly everyone's list of favorites. Pasta is versatile, healthy, tasty and easy to work with; or just served plain with a fine glass of red wine at home, this simple food can be great for your heart after the crazy working hour after home during weekday. However I tried the carbonara in Simplylife and I felt the challenge on how to describe the taste here, yes it as tasteless and flavorless! I wont order again here!

The Coffee Academics seems to be popping up around town…read more This is one of their newest location. Hidden away in a semi commercial residential area. It is more relax and chill than the Wanchai location I had been to on this trip. All Day Breakfast is the way to go and probably the best deal if you want to have a flat white and something to eat. For me, coffee though is the star. Piccolo Latte ($36+10% SC) is not something I would indulge myself daily at this price point. But the barista pulled a perfect shot and made beautiful latte art in this small glassware with nicely frothed milk.

This opening of this location of the Coffee Academïcs was something I was anticipating for a while…read more Really convenient for me to grab a cup of coffee on my way to work. They have a outside facing counter top designed for getting your coffee to go. My rating is based on the following: Coffee: 4.5 stars Food: 3.5 stars Experience: 4 stars Recommend: the Istanbul (seasonal drink), & iced cappuccino The coffee here is one of the better coffees in town. They have some unique offerings here where you can have coffees flavored with various different sweeteners (agave, Manuka honey, Okinawa sugar). They also offer seasonal drinks which change periodically. My favorite drink here is the Istanbul. The pour over options are done by a machine. The barista claims that it makes a more consistent cup of coffee but it really detracts from the experience and really makes me question the high cost if this isn't done by hand. I buy my beans for use at home here and the offerings they have from Indonesia are my favorite (West Java or blue roca). Price is bit cheaper than other shops especially if you use the prepaid charge card. One complaint is that their beans are not always recently roasted and can be over a month old. The food here is pretty good if you grade on a scale of cafe food. A bit on the pricey end but still nothing crazy. I wouldn't come here for the food but wouldn't mind eating here. The baked goods are ok and not something I would order.

Feast is a bit expensive but really is a great option for a nice drink in Taikoo. Their cocktail…read moreand wine list is extensive, but their draft beers are limited to Heineken (not my personal favorite but at least they have something on tap). I can say that my friend was fully satisfied by their wine selection, and he knows what he is drinking. In general it is a good place for a quiet after-work drink if you work in the area. I've been here separately for lunch and had a fantastic (surprisingly so) burger. The service was nicely attentive and didn't let our drinks sit empty for long. It's a place that I return to for a fancier lunch if I'm in the mood and drinks when it works after a day at the office. For drinks inside it suits the plan for a nice quiet conversation and for lunch it's an excellent treat!

I brought a colleague here when she came for business…read more We had dinner. The decor and ambience is nice, more on the romantic side , definitely relaxing. I saw that the semi-buffet seemed quite popular with the other diners (plates and plates of crab legs!) We just ordered a la carte, each a soup and a main. I had the french onion and she the lobster bisque. Both were meh, I've definitely had better. The lobster bisque was definitely on the watery side, I'm used to mine with a punch more flavor. My main though! I had a rack of lamb (or maybe they called it lamb steak) and it was so well done. Australian lamb was cooked very tender and still juicy, almost medium rare, just the way I like my meats. The sauce it came with ( 2 types) was just enough of a drizzle and a contrast to bring out the flavors of the lamb. I would have this more often if I can!! I though the staff could be more attentive, although I think they looked understaffed. I would come back for the ambiance and to try out other dishes. They have dishes to cover most cuisines to satisfy even bigger groups of people!

Pret A Manger is a UK chain that serves salads and sandwiches that are pre-made for a quick grab…read moreand go lunch. They also serve coffee and have a variety of fruit juices and drinks. When we have an all day workshop or am working lunch, Pret is often provided as a lunch. I've gotten so sick of their food that I would often skip the free meal and either not eat or buy something else. Their sandwiches are really not any good. The crawfish sandwich at this point is the only one I can tolerate. The beat root quinoa salad is probably the only item I like and would be willing to pay money for out of my own pocket. Their cookies are also pretty good. These two things are the only reason why I don't give this place one star.

Pret a Manger hardly needs an introduction, the British sandwich and coffee chain that's ubiquitous…read morein working areas and has become a favorite among HK white collars. 'Pret a Manger' means 'Ready to eat' in French, but of course, my mom loves to tell me that she's at 'Pret a MANAGER'. The sell here is freshly made, no additive, soups, sandwiches and, salads that can be plucked straight off their shelves and consumed. There are 4 types of each food category (e.g. 4 different types of wraps - meatball, chicken tikka, pulled pork, falafel) every day, with one being a meatless choice. The quality of everything is decent, price is a bit higher than average (A salad costs HKD 5X and a hot wrap is HKD 4X). It is worthy to note that they bake everything in the morning and their cookies are surprisingly good - you can smell them if you pass by in the morning. Everything is sold same-day, everything left at day-closing is donated to Feeding Hong Kong, a charity that picks up their foods to serve the lesser privileged in the city. Not all stores do this though, but you can help, according to their site - "Tragically a few of our shops have no regular charities able to collect from them. If you are a Hong Kong registered charity and interested in collecting unsold sandwiches on a long term basis, please contact Gabrielle Kirstein at Feeding Hong Kong on Tel: 2205 6568" Pret checks all the boxes to become a go-to lunch spot: convenient location (the Quarry Bay one is INSIDE Taikoo Place, no need to even go outdoors), quick service, fresh ingredients, decent flavor, reliability and a conscience (CSR is all the rage among young professionals). With just one drawback being the lack of variety - 4 choices of salad means you can only go so many times before repeating yourself - Quarry Bay Pret has become a canteen of sorts for the Taikoo Place workers, expect a bustling Monday to Thursday lunch, and emptiness during Friday (people actually eat 'out') and all dinnertimes.

Very nice atmosphere but be prepared to wait in queue as it is a very popular place for both…read moretourists and local. This branch is bigger than the one in wan chai but they don't have their famous crab omelette in this branch. Over all really tasty food. we have just came back from a trip from Thailand and we still gave this a 5 star.

@samsenhk one of my favourite Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. While I wouldn't call it…read morefusion, it's not quite "traditional" but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The crab fried rice was great. Pad see ewe was average. The fried pork skin in the larb was a nice twist. The cherry on top was the Khao Soi as I've rarely seen this dish outside of northern Thailand. A bit expensive for Thai food but the quality is there. The service and ambiance are solid. It's bustling and lively without feeling too crowded. Taste: **** Service: *** Ambiance: *** ------------------------------ Samsen Sheung Wan G/F, 23 Jervois St, Sheung Wan ------------------------------

Higher end Thai place close to being big plate little food place. But not quite. At HK$400+ per…read moreperson, it's not cheap. But the food is both great & very much Thai, not HK Thai or American Thai. Can't eat here everyday but it should be a regular.

This is one of the best Thai restaurant bistro in hOng Kong island, it located at Pacific Place,…read morewhere in Admiralty which is very closed to Central HOng Kong!! It's inside in a high end plaza... I only ordered Jumbo Tiger Shrimp with Coconut Curry eggs sauce with scallions onion n pepper!! Pluse a spicy sauce sautéed vegetable and a few Roti !!! It was so delicious to dip the Roti into those Curry sauce with Shrimps!!! Service was great n efficient, people are polite and groomed!!!

neat and tidy restaurant, slightly disadvantaged due to no harbor view compared to nearby…read morecompetitors. food is quite good quality, and prices quite attractive with discounts and promotions

Happiness Cuisine Restaurant. Family style dinner in evening. Less crowds and easier parking than…read moredowntown HK. Clean and quiet. Usual Chinese foods. This is a lesser known restaurant in this high tech university area.

When I asked for good coffee in Quarry Bay after our lunch, my friend brought me straight to here…read more Zaifé is not some fancy French or Spanish name.. it's actually 齋啡, the Chinese name for Long Black or Americano. Hey, Touché. The place was pretty cozy, but they had literally 6 seats altogether, so if you weren't going to take away your coffee, you had to be a bit lucky to get a seat. I got a piccolo and my friend got salty caramel. My evolution of choices of coffee is probably similar to a lot of people - getting more coffee and less milk over time. Started with mocha, it soon got too sweet (even for a "chocolate person" like me), then latte, and it got too milky a few years later. Thanks for the Aussies I moved to flat white, but not until after I found piccolo I really feel like settled. It's basically a small latte, but with same amount of espresso. In that case, I drink far less water, enjoy more about the taste of the coffee, and far less likely to let half of the coffee gone cold on my table. Anyway, the piccolo was good here. Something I don't mind having lunch time, if I worked in Quarry Bay. And then I learned about the shop on Wyndham Street, so I'd definitely try that one too. I tried a sip of the salty caramel too, not too sweet nor salty (in a good way), but it wouldn't be my daily choice. Rumor had that some of the people would come here just to visit the manager... I wasn't lucky enough to meet her (yet).