Baked Pork Chop Rice at Cafe de Coral, HK

Dine in at Cafe de Coral at least once every trip.

That's the compromise we agreed on every time we go to Hongkong. Scroll down to find out why.

Cafe de Coral (CdC) is one of Hongkong's leading and largest fast-food chain offering Asian fusion cuisine at value for money prices. Even if you don't speak the language, most restaurants now in Hongkong like CdC are very much tourist and service oriented with an English menu and corresponding photos to help you decide which ones to order. But whenever we dine in Cafe de Coral, there's no way I'm missing out on my favorite order -- Baked Pork Chop Rice!

Baked Pork Chop Rice

Imagine this in front of you: Fried rice topped with thick-cut pork chop then covered with rich Italian sauce of fresh tomatoes, celery, onions, pineapple and egg served piping hot straight from the oven. May seem simple but I promise you, once you get to taste even a spoonful of this, you'll wish you can stay and live in Hongkong so you can eat this awesome dish every single day.

For the refreshments, we chose Red Bean Ice (red bean, sugar syrup and milk) and Iced Lemon Tea (black tea with honey or sugar syrup and slices of lemon). Both are popular drinks among Hongkongese people next to Milk Tea which is literally found everywhere.

Red Bean Ice

Iced Lemon Tea

~o~o~o~

Cafe de Coral
Shop 2307, Level 2
Gateway Arcade City, Kowloon
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hongkong
Website: www.cafedecoralfastfood.com

Sweet Escape to the Skyscraper City

There's never a bad time to travel to Hongkong. It's one of those places that you can visit anytime of the year. But if you love shopping and an avid bargain hunter like myself, July to September is the best time to go because of the summer season sale. So for the nth time, I chose to travel to the Skyscraper City to take sometime off my busy schedule. You see, I've been to several Asian cities in the past few months but nothing compares to the feeling of going back to your first love.

You'll never go hungry when in Hongkong because of the wide variety of food shops scattered everywhere! Convenient, delicious and reasonably priced options of sandwiches, sushi and sashimi, cakes, pastries, chocolates and candies can be found in the MTR stations.

One of my favorite things to do here is looking for great finds in the local supermarkets. I make sure I don't miss an aisle when I do my window shopping as I like going and checking out new items to try and bring home to my family and friends. Oh and yes, almost everything is on sale!

I always equate the afternoon tea with the classic British style of serving scones, macarons, muffins and elegant cakes in 3-tier stands while sipping English Breakfast tea served in beautifully-crafted teapot and cup. But in Hongkong, people wait for tea time not for the sugar rush but to take advantage of the promotional offers of various restaurants including the popular Japanese joint, Genki Sushi. Taking photos inside is prohibited but to give you an idea, sushi and sashimi lovers can head to Genki from 230pm to 530pm on Mondays to Fridays to avail of the Genki Tea Set that comes with a 4-piece sushi set, a side dish (choice of Crab Stick and Corn Salad, Whelk Tops, Hokkaido Corn Croquette or Japanese Hotspring Egg) and light food (choice of Steamed Egg Custard, Cold Inaniwa Udon or Mini Puffs) for as low as Hkd48.00 (approx Php288.00).

Now this is one place I never fail to visit whenever I go to Hongkong. The former headquarters of the Hongkong Marine Police until 1996, 1881 Heritage now features a hotel, several luxury shops, fine dining options, bars and an exhibition hall. The elegant Victorian architecture is also a favored location for photo shoots especially at night when it is fully illuminated.

Stay tuned for more Hongkong posts soon!

Bee Cheng Hiang, HK

The market leader in the Bakkwa (Chinese sweet dried meat) industry, Bee Cheng Hiang is a Singaporean brand that made its way to 7 more countries across Asia including China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hongkong, South Korea and the Philippines. I have never been to their only branch in the Philippines located in Robinson's Place Malate but I made sure to make a detour in one of their shops in Hongkong before taking the MTR to our destination. This gooey, tender and tasty treat is my favorite snack whenever I travel abroad especially the Mini Ez Pork (bite sized vacuumed pack Sliced Pork), which I can just put in my bag for those quick energy boosting moments.

Aside from Bee Cheng Hiang's signature Sliced Pork, you can also opt to try the Golden Coin Chicken which is more on the chewy side and the Chili Pork if you're into spicy food. Friends also swear by their Crispy Pork Floss and Prawn Roll King which I have yet to try soon.

Project Pie: Home of Delicious Personalized Pizza

Fifteen minutes in line and another 10 to get a table, that's how my first time in Project Pie was like in hopes of trying it out on the first few weeks when they opened a branch in Blue Bay Walk. I wasn't up for that kind of waiting anymore so it took me months before I decided to come back.

Fast forward to last week, the line was easy moving, the chaos was gone and you can get a table right away. Now this is my kind of dining experience! We were too hungry and tired to build our own pizza so we ordered more or less, the same Italian favorites like the first time.

On the table

Classic Caesar Salad - Php165.00

Pizza No. 8 (Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Corn Kernels, Prosciutto, Parmesan,
Olive Oil, Mozzarella and Red Onion) - Php285.00

Pizza No. 7 (Prosciutto, Caramelized Onions, Mozzarella and Parmesan) - Php285.00

As I've mentioned before, I'm not much of pizza lover but for those rare moments that I'm craving for a slice, Project Pie is definitely on the top of the list. Extra Prosciutto please!

~o~o~o~

Project Pie

G/F Blue Bay Walk
Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City
Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel.: (632) 463-7122 / 887-5452

Sarsa Kitchen+Bar

For my birthday this year, I decided to bring my family to Sarsa Kitchen+Bar at their MOA branch, Chef JP Anglo's popular restaurant offering Filipino food with a delicious and interesting twist. My first dining experience in Sarsa with friends was extraordinary so I figured I'd bring my love ones for them to try it too. Besides, this is after all a Pinoy restaurant so convincing them to check it out is really a no-brainer. We arrived early for dinner which was a good thing because we had no reservations and dining with a big group is quite difficult for a restaurant as popular as Sarsa.

A variety of condiments and sauces are placed on each table to give additional flavor to an already delicious meal. But the few times I've been to Sarsa, not once did a need to use any of these condiments arose as everything I tried were good enough for me as it is.

What we ordered

Complimentary Cornick

Tanigue Kinilaw - Php330.00

Crispy Pata Negrense Style - Php495.00

Bugtaw-Bugtaw (Gising-Gising) - Php190.00

Sarsa Kare-Kare - Php340.00

Sizzling Kansi (Sizzling Bulalo) - Php380.00

Roasted Kalabasa with Green Beans - Php210.00

We also ordered Pakpak Inasal (Php175.00) and Sinigang Fried Chicken (Php420.00) but it was hard to take a decent photo with so many forks reaching out to get a piece of it. Also not on the photo are Plain Rice (Php35.00 per cup) and Garlic Rice (Php50.00 per cup).

Ginamos Fried Rice - Php60.00 per cup

We loved everything at Sarsa! I never heard not a tiny complain from my hard-to-please family but only compliments that the food we had were exemplary, delectable and unforgettable. Even my grandmother who is a great cook thought that Sarsa's play on these classic and distinct Filipino dishes was a brilliant idea and worth the wait and certainly worth trying out.

~o~o~o

Sarsa Kitchen+Bar
2F South Veranda Entertainment Mall
Mall of Asia, Pasay City
Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel.: (63915) 307-1426