[HONG KONG] Udon with Tomato Soup

Like many other Asian moms, my mother isn't quite adventurous when it comes to food. When she likes some kind, then she sticks with it. One of her favorite food in Indonesia is  Japanese noodle called udon, especially Marugame Udon. One day in the middle of holiday in Hong Kong, she was craving for Marugame Udon, she didn't stop talking about it and mentioned how she misses that. To satisfy my mother's craving, I googled and surprisingly found Marugame Udon in Hong Kong! It is also located just near by our hotel. So we went there at lunch.

For the ambience, not so much difference like its branch in Jakarta. It is also self service, you have to take your own cart, then queue, order what you want, wait for just about 1-2 minutes as they serve it, choose the tempura, soda, and at the end of the line, you have to pay for what you just ordered. There are some menus that we already familiar with, such as Kake Udon (udon with skin tofu), Ontama Udon (udon with boiled egg on top), and Beef Curry Udon. Unfortunately, my mom's favorite in Jakarta, is not available in Hong Kong, so she tried Udon in Bonito Broth with regular size (32 HKD), meanwhile I chose Beef Tomato Udon regular size (47 HKD). For the tempura, we took Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken / 14 HKD) and Fried Cod (13 HKD). 

It was the first time for me to eat udon in tomato soup. The soup was not that soupy, it was thick, almost saucy. There were so many tomato chunks, but unfortunately there were not generously beefs there. Their udon is still the best, chewy, and fulfilling even I just ordered the regular size. Overall, the taste was unique, they are being creative to combine tomato soup with udon, but it was really not that great which will keep me coming back for. On the contrary, I like my mom's choice better. The bonito broth was clear and a little bit salty which you might find it is very classic, but sometimes the classic one is still the winner.

I like their chicken karaage so much! It was tender, crispy, and the size was quite big. I think it was quite cheap compared to the price and what we got. Moreover, I like to dipped the karaage to their tempura sauce. Too bad, they didn't have chicken karaage in Jakarta. To wash down our mouth, there is water in the corner for free which you can take as much as you want, hot or cold. Do not forget to take your dish and glass after you finish.

Location: Marugame Udon

Address: 6th Floor iSquare, Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Business Hour: not sure, but typically follows the mall business hour around 9.00 am - 11.00 pm

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[HONG KONG] Tai Cheong Bakery

To spend the Chinese New Year holiday, I went to Hong Kong with my mom for 7 days. This was the second time I went to HK and the second time holiday with my mom. What keeps us coming back to HK is of course their delicious food! Say it from noodle, macaroni soup, their cheap branded chocolate, and so on. One of our must-eat food when in HK is egg tart. We both love egg tart very muchhhhh and we just go crazy if we found bakery selling egg tart, whenever and wherever.

While strolling around Wan Chai area, I saw one small bakery in an alley and the name was pretty familiar with me, because I remember that many food bloggers recommend this place to try the egg tart. It's Tai Cheong Bakery! Soon I told my mom and she was eager just like me. At the front store, they already display their babies and it just got me excited. There were so many selections, original egg tart, caramel egg tart, cheese tart, and another pies like chicken pie, pork pie, etc. But we just wanted to try the egg tart. The size of the store is not really big, and beside the fresh pastry, they also sell another kind of breads, biscuits, and Hong Kong cookies.

The price for the original egg tart (7 HKD) is cheaper than another bakeries I've ever tried both in Hong Kong and Macau, so I was a little bit excited and curious about the taste. The egg tart was sold warm and fresh. One piece of the egg tart is pretty much like the same with another one sold in Hong Kong in term of the size. The surface of the egg tart was so shiny, smooth, and flawless. Moreover, it was beautifully shaped.

At the first bite, I didn't get much of the egg filling itself because of the thickness of the pie shell which kind of turned me off a bit. Actually I'm not really a fan of that kind of pie crust shell. But when I have reached to the main star, I'm reminded to the egg filling of my favorite back in Taiwan, which was silky smooth and eggy. But this Tai Cheong Bakery version is not so sweet, almost reaching bland IMO. My mom and I both agree that this one is still not the best egg tart we've ever tried. Maybe in the next chance, I should try their caramel egg tart.

Location: Tai Cheong Bakery

Address: 106 Wan Chai Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Business Hour: not sure, but typically around 7.30 am - 9.30 pm

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[TAIPEI] Favorite Egg Tarts in Taiwan!

Ni Hao! 新年快乐! Xīnnián kuàilè! Happy Lunar New Year! May you guys who read this will be showered by joyous and prosperous for this dog year ahead~

This time, I'm a little bit excited to write this post, because I will talk about one of my favorite food here in Taipei, and I also already promised you guys to write about it at the previous post. Yap, it's egg tart from KFC!

Actually, I'm not really like going to fastfood chain, because I'm trying to avoid those kind of junk food when I should have get the purer and fresher kind of food. But, KFC in Taiwan is so driving me a little crazy, because here they have a better version of junk food. They sell grilled BBQ Chicken which could be accepted, and hey don't forget about these little angels right here! Up until this post, they sell 2 kinds of egg tarts, the original and the other one with raisins on top. But since, I hate raisins, go for the original one. This baby just costs you 35 NTD. If you buy 6, you will get a nice box to handle all of those carefully.

What I like about this egg tart, of course is their egg filling. So eggy, milky, and the sweetness level is just on the right amount, not so overwhelming but standing out! It is also bouncy and smooth and the texture is pretty much like the same with egg pudding. The layered pastry shell is buttery, flaky, yet a little bit crunchy. I love smelling the scent of it, because they sell it fresh from the oven, still hot, so be careful when you bite the tart.

Oh fudge, now I'm suddenly craving for it!!!

Location: KFC

Address: You can find the branches all over Taipei

Business Hour: depends

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