Excelsior Hotel (281, Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hongkong)

In a nutshell:

Exceeded my expectations as usually Coffee Shops in Hotels r not the best places to have a memorable meal. Liked it.

Excelsior Hotel, Causeway Bay, Hongkong

Meal for 2: HK$ 300 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Non Vegetarian

Description:

Have been staying in this Hotel for the past two days & have had different kinds of food so far. Here is how it was.

Room service

We asked for Fried seafood noodle – It turned out to be what we know as American Chopsuey in India. Deep fried thin noodles, Hard & crispy in texture, looks like a nest, placed at the base of the plate. Gravy poured on top of that. The gravy soaked noodles tasted better than just the dry crispy ones coz those were different from normal noodles but attained a very interesting texture.
Pok choy was the only green vegetable in the noodle & among the seafood were large prawns, calamari (squid) & some excellent scallops. The scallops were very soft in texture & had a very robust taste. Prawns were soft, mildly juicy & not at all chewy. The calamari was a bit short of optimum in terms of the texture. Overall, a very enjoyable meal.

Fried noodles with seafood

Fried Oyster cake with leek & egg omlette – A deep fried food, this conceptually cud have been a baked dish as well. A bit more oily – the texture initially reminded me of Fish Batter fry that we used to eat around at Benfish Kolkata. However, quite quickly I figured out that it was closer to fish Kabiraji.

oyster omlettes

The inside was deshelled oysters (as it is) bound together by egg & sprinkling of leeks. I found the same dish being served at the traditional Roadside eatery at Temple street night market. Tasty, Enjoyable & interesting dish but a bit too oily for some people. Maybe this one wud have felt much better if it was cooked by any method other than deep frying………… but who am I to comment on traditional dish of this place??………….. just a humble foodie.

fresh fruit platter to end the meal

Breakfast & Lunch spread:

Its got a huge breakfast & lunch spread wth Oriental & Continental sections.

There was a tiny Indian section too. Live stations constantly had queues. Needless to say that the Indian food was just ok. Nothing great.

Special mention to the salmon sashimi at the Japanese counter, Peking duck at the Chinese Counter, a very large dessert & fruit section. The sashimi was outstanding & the wasabi was good at hitting the sinuses. The Peking Duck at China Garden, Hyatt, New Delhi is much better.  The choice of everything was so high that at times I was feeling like a kid in a candy shop.

peking duck, sashimi & honey pork

The coffee shop

Went for Thai Fish cake & salad with Nuoc Cham dressing. The texture reminded me of crab cakes. The fish cake had a slightly thick outer layer & very soft & juicy inside. Tasty & cool – though some people might find it a bit oily since it is deep fried. I liked it & likely to order again.

thai fish cakes

For main course, had ‘fish balls with flat rice noodle soup’ – Though the menu card mentioned fish balls, the dish had fish ‘cuboids’ as well. Loved it so much that had it again next morning at the live food station. So here is how it was made:

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Hongkong Street Food – Tong Tai Seafood Restaurant (Temple Street Night Market, Hongkong)

In a nutshell:

A roadside Chinese Dhaba in which u actually sit on plastic chairs on the road & eat from makeshift tables – some marvelous fresh seafood & other Chinese food. I wud have regretted to have missed this place.

te facade of the shop

Meal for 2 : HKD 200 onwards

people sitting on plastic chairs & tables on the street & eating

How to get there: Get to Kowloon station & take a taxi to ‘Temple Street Night Market’.

live (most of them) seafood on display

Cuisine Type: Predominantly Nonvegetarian, limited but good Vegetarian selection.

live seafood – view 2

Short Description –In case u r in a hurry:

In many years of my regular visits to Hongkong, there has hardly been an occasion when we have not visited the Temple Street Night Market. It is a makeshift market that comes up everyday post sunset, on a place that is a road in the daytime!!!! I guess there are hundred or more stalls in this place & they sell a huge variety of merchandise like – Chinese traditional dresses for adults & kids, very innovative toys, paintings, a plethora of things that u can use for decorating ur home, Hongkong memorabilia, DVDs & fakes of all kinds of brands from clothing to accessories & shoes.

A very common sight in Hongkong – Full roasted birds of all shapes & sizes hung – with their beaks intact

What this market also has is a few roadside eateries that served fresh seafood & other Chinese food. On the display is a host of sea animals of different shapes, colors, textures & sizes. U can choose from them & they will cook it for you in the way you want (u will have to choose from multiple choice questions). U can also order from a printed menu card in which almost every item has a colored picture.

the aquarium section – u choose ur food

We generally used to go to one of these eateries for a long time – The food was great but the service was dramatically poor. They wud not come to take the orders for long, u wud struggle to get a fork (food is usually served with a pair of chopsticks), they might forget serving one of the things that u ordered etc. We always thought that all popular street food joints are like this only. Yesterday it crossed our mind to try out a new joint. To our pleasant surprise, the service was perfect, so was the behavior & the food was awesome. The food was actually better than our earlier joint.

from shelled beings to swimming fishes (background)

What is interesting is that on each table u will get a toilet paper roll – in place of tissue paper, for wiping ur hand!!!
Incase u r a nonvegetarian beyond just boneless Tandoori Chicken, do not miss this place if u happen to be in Hongkong. This is a foodie’s heaven.

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:

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