Down a short candle lit alley, up a flight of stairs and through a heavy door, you'll find this…read more1930's style speakeasy with a "secret" door to a hidden cigar room, and lots of quirky furnishings. Try their signature old fashioned, and a scotch egg. Both excellent. The service is friendly and top notch. Very enjoyable, quiet bar.

My experiences at Ippudo HK have all been a series of surprises. After having experienced hte…read morehooplah that was one of the most reviewed businesses in NYC's Ippudo (https://www.yelp.com/biz/ippudo-ny-new-york), it was only fitting I gave the HK version a fair shot. It's been a few shots now and for the most part, I've been content with all I've sampled. Ippudo might be in a household name in Asia, but the HK version certainly has its own specialties in what seems like a regionalized menu. There were a number of things I've never seen in NY or Japan but I suppose that's the beauty in visiting other franchise locations right? If only all global brands had this much variety. The prices are still $$$, but it's nice enough in here where people will still come rolling in. Firstly, the lobster ramen? This is likely seasonal and even a little weird. The lobster meat is tasty and while the presentation is on point, the broth does not complement the lobster at all. By retaining the shell, it forces the diner to eat both separately (i.e. removing the lobster and eating the noodles). Awkward sure, but HK'ers will definitely bite. Gone are also the hirata pork buns that have garnered a lot of fanfare and in their place, a vastly wimpier charsiu version that is a tad disappointing. They also have a happy hour that includes various skewers / izakaya pieces at discounted prices, along with frozen beer and a number of other items I've not seen in Ippudo before (scotch eggs anyone?). Someone tell the chef to relax on the chives for the gyoza ... they were practically buried in green. I still wouldn't put it past Ippudo to showcase some quality meals. The decor here is modern, the interior is clean, and the place is large enough to accommodate all kinds of party sizes. There is still the semi-cheesy Japanese welcomes from the staff, but I've actually encountered quite a few actual Japanese folks working here. And I've also seen a few of the HK'ers sleeping in the back room. Ippudo Corp: Your employees need a break.

What I Ate: Fresh spring roll, raw beef noodle soup (pho), red bean coconut juice…read more Price I Paid: Shared cost of less than 70 HKD Decor: Old school Cantonese restaurant, basic and bare Service: Average, the waitress misunderstood two of our orders (guess that's what you get for ordering in English) Verdict: Will not be back Still on my search for decent Vietnamese in Hong Kong....and unfortunately this restaurant is going to be added to my growing list of less than average Vietnamese places in Hong Kong. The fresh spring rolls were actually okay (had a nice fresh crunch to it) and it started off promising until I got delivered the pho. Disappointing, flavourless and watered down soup stock. Where were the bean sprouts, fresh herbs, chilli and lime? Noodles were fresh and there was a winter melon in my soup (what???) and which made me think that this place is more influenced by Cantonese than Vietnamese. Did I just order the wrong dishes? How does this restaurant even get a high rating? Am I just spoilt that I've had amazing Vietnamese restaurants up to the point I moved to Hong Kong. Gah! I really wanted to like this.

This is probably one of the last standing, affordable Vietnamese restaurants in Central. Although a…read morelittle bit hidden down an alley way, it's worth the trek if you're looking to fill your pho craving. I've had this place twice now, once for pho and once for curry beef brisket. I really enjoyed both. Although the pho wasn't anything spectacular or wow-ing, it was definitely enough to settle my craving for warm, beefy pho. The beef brisket in the curry was tender and soft, and curry itself was creamy. If you're looking for a quick, dirty, and affordable Vietnamese spot in Central, this is the place to go.

Decent Vietnamese chain spot with consistent food quality. The menu has good selection of salad,…read morepho, bun, drinks and signature dishes. It comes with pictures so you kinda know what you are getting. The food comes out pretty fast and they are appropriately seasoned with Vietnamese spices. I didn't find a need to add fish sauce for my bun (vermicelli). The only downfall is tables are closely placed together to maximize square footage so you know if the next table couple is fighting or having a good time.

BÊP, you have a new devotee to add to your quickly-growing fan club…read more I recently met someone here for a business meeting, as BÊP was suggested as a great spot with its ideal central location on Wellington and plentiful seating. And come on - who doesn't like Vietnamese food? Not me. I'm in the full-on love camp. When I lived in Chicago, neither heavy rain nor snowpocalypse conditions could keep me away from my weekly bowl of pho or bánh mì. Some weeks, my favorite Viet spot saw me two or three times. I know, I know - I'm addicted. Well I'm happy to report that BÊP more than satisfies my craving for legitimately solid Vietnamese fare. Because I couldn't commit to just one item, I decided to go with the 2-course lunch set. For under 100 HKD, you get to try two ample-sized dishes and you can choose a drink as well (for an additional nominal fee). However, I didn't enjoy the lotus root Vietnamese iced tea... it had a very strong, bitter taste that I fought to get down. I later switched to the lime soda and enjoyed that beverage much more! For my first course, I had the mixed green and herb salad with crispy pork belly. Wow - I was surprised by the ample portion of pork belly and it was quite good. Perfectly crispy and not overly fatty. This is my dream version of pork belly; wish it tasted like this every time! By the time our second courses came around, I had already put a nice dent into my appetite. However, the bun vermicelli with lemongrass chicken instantly enticed. The chunks of chicken were plentiful and aesthetically beautiful. Really! And the dish tasted even better so it wasn't just another pretty face. We also decided to split the lone dessert option on the menu - xoi ngot, grilled sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, pandan coconut sauce and roasted peanuts - but this ended up sounding more appealing that it actually tasted. Would be nice to see a few more dessert options on the menu. Still stoked to have found a great spot to indulge in Vietnamese cuisine on the regular. I'll soon be back for a bowl of pho tai now that temps are finally dropping!

Haven't seen this mentioned in other reviews yet, but this place has a Michelin Bib Gourmand (a…read moredistinction given to restaurants that are high quality and affordable, but didn't make the cut for a Michelin star). Well deserved in my opinion! Some of the best pho I've ever had, which is saying something since I'm from Los Angeles and Seattle where quality pho is on every corner. The portions aren't huge, but I still couldn't finish my whole bowl so I'm not complaining. Absolutely the best spring rolls I've ever had. Everything tastes super fresh and clean on the palate. I had a premium beef bowl with spring rolls and a Viet iced coffee for HK$218. Service was quick, polite and to the point. Cash only!

Came here at around 4:30pm for a late lunch/early dinner and there were plenty of seats available…read more I had the lemongrass chicken vermicelli and it was DELICIOUS. The chicken was tender and not over cooked, but still tasted grilled and had a light lemon flavour. The portion is massive. I had trouble finishing it. Lots of vegetables! I realized Vietnamese food is a great way to get your veggies whilst in HK (I have found it hard to get ample greens). Service was prompt. Space was clean and so were the bathroom and sauces(!!) which is a great indication of the cleanliness. I would highly recommend! (Maybe I'll come back to try the pho!)

Some of the best beef noodles you can get. It's a small bowl but really packed and filling.read more

Part of Hong Kong legends are 90 year old noodle shops. When I think of this, I think of Kau Kee…read more When I'm in Sheung Wan (because it's where my hotel is) and I want a casual meal that's no fuss but tasty and comforting, I think of walking 10 minutes to Kau Kee. You might even hear me say it's THE place for beef brisket noodles. Other (likely amateur) things tourists like me say: My favorites are the broth, flat noodles and on occasion, tendon. I think most people would go for the broth or curry. E-Fu noodles seem to be the most popular, often being sold out. Once they even sold out of broth. I'm lucky or an unpunctual eater or very late to the Kau Kee club as I've never waited in a line. Know that long queues have been said to be the welcome. The first time I visited was thanks to its Michelin recommended status. At the time of writing this review it has since been awarded the Bib Gourmand. The experience was quintessentially Asia. The two of us sardined on a table with a family of four who were either local or no stranger to the land and culture. Normally patrons respectfully dine quickly in silence and leave. This group was indeed quick with typical stoic expressions but also gifted us a smidge of their efforts when looking up from their bowls for the slightest seconds, pointing at their drinks: cokes with lemons, wordlessly suggesting we try some and gesturing their hands to show us how to. Lemon first on the ice, coke poured on. Of course we copied and it was the most extravagant part of our meal. ;)

The location of this place is a little hard to find, but just keep walking along the building and…read morecheck if you see a poster of this place on the wall, or an opening where there are stairs with a down escalator next to it. You'd have to take the elevator to the 3rd floor to step foot in this establishment. This restaurant is an all-you-can-eat sushi/teppanyaki place. How you go about this place is that you have papers (listed A-F) that you fill out. All the foods on the papers have english translations, but parts of the papers do not have certain English on it, so you'd have to ask a waiter what it means. You can order as much as you want on the first go, but mind you the amount of space you have on the table. It's also quite cramped here. I didn't think this place was all too bad, but obviously, based on my three stars, you know something isn't amazing. It's great that this place also has all you can drink too! But there are only so much liquids that I can hold in my stomach without needing to use the washroom so much. They have green tea (hot and cold), cream soda, lemon ice tea (in a can), etc. As for the food, I don't remember everything, but the highlights were... -I don't suggest you order the scallops. It's tasteless, and it really tastes as if it came out of the freezer. Sorry. -Don't order the fried strawberry ice cream because it tastes like medicine (yuck). -The mochi ice cream that you can order in the end were melted. -My relatives liked the honey chicken, and I didn't think it was bad. -The sashimi dishes were okay. I think only the salmon and the abalone were the best ones I've tasted out of all the other sashimi dishes. Oh, I think I came here at the best time. Why? There was a customer squealing very loudly that day because the customer and her friend ordered so much food that the table couldn't hold much plates. In the end, the waitress placed one plate on top of a wall platform, and the customer went nuts telling the waitress in a sharp tone of voice, "What are you doing?!" Then the customer wanted to see the manager, and she still squealed. Oh my goodness. The customer and the waitress were both wrong, but of course, that's just from my perspective. Anyway, because of this, there were hardly any waiters around to grab our papers to order. So service for that day was not good. Overall, this place was okay. Sometimes there's a person just outside of the restaurant passing out coupons for 10 HKD off the bill!

We found this place when looking for the sino center arcade. It's a building or two next to it…read more It's on the 3rd floor and we weren't quite sure what to expect. The greeter welcomed us in and saw patiently explained everything to us saying everything is all you can eat and drink. You just need to mark it on the paper. Thankfully they had some English on the menus. Some of the menus were Chinese only but we were able to ask the waitresses for translation. The food was delicious and the selection was great. It even came with a dessert selection. It rounded to be about 187 HKD per person. Not bad at all!

Thai Simple Kitchen has been my go-to Thai restaurant for groups of 5 or more for a few years…read morealready. There are so many options on the menu, it's always great to have more people to share. This place has good value for money. Average spending per person is no more than $250. Besides all the regular Thai food like deep-fried prawn cakes and fish cakes, satay skewers, pad Thai and fried rice, the must-eats here are the Tom Yum Soup or coconut chicken soup and the oyster omelette. The oyster omelette has some of the freshest oysters in it. As for drinks, they're one of the few restaurants in HK that serves Thai iced tea. It's not the best I've tried but it definitely satisfies my occasion craving for it. Thai Simple Kitchen has an outdoor area which is great when the weather is not too hot or too cold. It could have gotten a five-star review but on my recent visit, I felt that they had a shortage of staff and it's often hard to call for a waiter especially when your table is at the back corner of the restaurant. All in all, the food is delicious and of great value. Definitely recommended especially for groups.

Everything smells soooo good. It's on the 2nd flr, take the elevator to "R". We had the curry baby…read morepork legs and pineapple rice are delicious. Pass on the clay pot stewed tofu with mushrooms/vegetables, bland n undercooked.

The pho here is silly good. They have a fun assortment of drinks, and for lunch I got a combo meal…read morethat was served in a birdcage! Beautiful presentation, clean restaurant and excellent food!

I'll start with the not so positive things first: the staff seemed a little inexperienced and the…read morewait time was a little long. We had to flag the staff regularly to get service. I must say that there was a lady who worked there who was slightly older than the other staff who stepped in and helped but she was working her tables quite steadily and efficiently. Positives: the food was quite good and although I was not happy about the service, I'll most likely go back. The shrimp and pork spring rolls were delicious, the chicken with beef broth Pho was tasty, the mango rice with soft crab my husband loved, and the grapefruit berry spritzer( I can't remember the exact name) was refreshing!!! If this restaurant works on their customer service and their timeliness it would be five stars for me!