New Chinese, Ramen and Yakitori, and Indian Restaurants and Awfully Good to Go Cookies
Watch Out For…
Food critic Lau Kin-wai and his son, Lau Chun, are expanding their culinary portfolio with a second Kin’s Kitchen (W Square, 5/F, 314 Hennessy Rd., Wan Chai, 2571-0913) in Wan Chai. The original Kin’s Kitchen has a Michelin star under its belt, and, as is the case with many of the entrepreneurial-minded restauranteurs in our city, this type of recognition is like a golden ticket to open another identical establishment—rightly so, too. (Ah Hung’s Delicacies and Tim Ho Wan come to mind.) Known for its delectable Cantonese fare, the resto is particularly big on chicken dishes as well. Traditional salt-baked chicken, smoked chicken and the more Macanese-sounding African chicken are all specialties at Kin’s.
Torimen (Shop 1-2, 1-5 Elgin St., Central, 2546-8008) is the latest ramen and yakitori joint to join the already saturated scene in Central. Opened by the same folks who own Edo & Bibo—one of the cutest and yummiest steak and oyster venues in CWB—Torimen will be mainly serving slurpy noodles during the day, and grilled goods at night.
New Indian restaurant in Central! The Great Indian Kebab Factory (19/F, Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington St., Central, 2810-7000) is the second branch of a fine-diner that offers 11-course tasting menus as well as a whole bunch of a la carte options. Kebabs (natch), tikka dishes, tandoori specialties, samosas and lassis are all on offer—paired with a glass of wine, if you so please.
Talk of the Town
Hotel Icon will shortly be hosting a Singaporean Food Festival at its buffet restaurant, The Market (2/F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui East, 3410-1000), headed by Singaporean chef Raymond Yim—he’s worked for hotels like Hyatt Regency, Miramar and Shangri-La in various cities around the world. Enjoy sweet-spicy rojak salads, the ever-popular Singaporean chili crab, fish head curry, laksas and fried noodles of all shapes and sizes in an all-you-can-eat spread from February 25 to March 17—just remember to call ahead!
Speaking of Singapore, I was making an office snack run at the International in Sheung Wan the other day, when I came upon the beautifully packaged Awfully Good to Go chocochip crumbles cookie box, made by none other than popular Singaporean cake and ice-cream shop Awfully Chocolate. I’m a fan of the brand and had no doubt I would be getting a delicious product, but it really was that signature minimalist packaging—clean white box with clean black text and four neatly lined cookies on top—that caught my attention and won me over first. The cookies aren’t cheap, coming at $117.90 per box of 20—but they are pretty darn good for something that’s wrapped and sold on supermarket shelves. With two flavors to choose from—double chocochip crumble and milk chocochip crumble—the cookies are light, airy and crisp, with a generous scattering of tiny chocolate chips throughout. Found my new teatime snack!
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