My Personal Comfort Food Choices Around Hong Kong & Macau

This post will cover my food journey on my latest Hong Kong-Macau short trip a few months ago. Yeah, it's been a while since my last Hong Kong trip, 5 years exactly. This post will be useful for those who are not too ambitious about trying new and hype food, and cherish comfort food more than anything. Well, that's me as I am getting older. Fiuh.

-------

1. Dim Dim Sum

Of course you can't miss dim sum out of your Hong Kong must eat food list. There are so many good dim sum restaurants all around Hong Kong. You might want to choose one based on your budget, location and time. I chose Dim Dim Sum since the Jordan branch opens until 1 AM in the morning. Dim Dim Sum is one of the moderate priced dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong that has several branches all around the town. Besides its opening time, I chose this place because it's located around 15 minutes walk from where I stayed in Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok area. 

Lots of dim sum selections are available here, and English menu is available. We tried around 10 kinds of dim sum to share between 4 people, and the taste of the food did not disappoint us. Speaking about the price, I just realised on this trip that food in Hong Kong is relatively more expensive compared to food in other countries in Asia, even from Japan and South Korea. So when I said that the price is moderate, expect to spend around HKD 100 (HKD 1 = ± IDR 1800) per meal per person.

-------

2. Butao Ramen

As a noodle lover, I couldn't miss a visit to this very well-known ramen restaurant. Some famous foodies named Butao Ramen as their favorite ramen restaurant, well I guest it has been one of my favourite too. They got several ramen menu to offer, but I always choose Tonkotsu Ramen every time I pay my first visit to a ramen restaurant.

The broth was perfect for my liking. It got just the right amount of thickness, and savouriness as I expected. Butao Ramen also has several branches around Hong Kong, so you could choose to visit the branch that is closest to you. I visited the one in Tsim Sha Tsui area on a fine Sunday noon, maybe around 2 PM, at it was not too crowded. Just perfect!

And I had to say that their pickled beansprout was so good! I kept eating them even after I finished my ramen.

-------

3. Shake Shack

Since my first visit to Shake Shack back in Tokyo, I kept wanting to taste their burger again. And I was so glad when I knew that they had opened their branch in Hong Kong. Since it was just a few months after their opening, a long queue was welcoming me at their outlet in IFC Mall. 

If you're a first timer, try their ShackBurger®. I got myself a Double ShackBurger® (HKD 76) since I've been craving for a while. I really love their patty, so juicy and tasty! Other than burger, Shake Shack is also famous for their milkshake, they even has a Hong Kong special edition milkshake, the Milk Tea Shack. But this time I skipped the milkshake and enjoyed my Double ShackBurger® with fries (HKD 27).

My friend had a 'Shroom Burger that was also good! I think fried portobello mushroom could hardly go wrong. On my next visit to Shake Shack, I think I'm going to have Shack Stack, the combination of two.

-------

4. % Arabica

Yeah, I also had their coffee back in Kyoto, and since they have a branch nearby Harbour City - a mall that I visited, I paid a visit to their humble outlet on the ferry terminal to have a cup of latte. Actually there are many other worth visiting coffee store all around Hong Kong that I could opt to visit, but maybe I will visit them next time. And yeah, expect to spend around HKD 40-50 for a cup of coffee here in Hong Kong.

-------

 5. Ca Tu Ya

I randomly visited this place on a rainy Sunday night in Hong Kong since it was very close to our staying neighbourhood. Ca-Tu-Ya is a Japanese family restaurant that serves varieties of katsu. It has quite many branches in Hong Kong.  I had their shrimp and pork set meal that was served with rice and miso soup. It was overall decent. The shrimp and pork was well battered and fried, the soup was warm and pretty tasty and the rice was good.

-------

6. Hong Kong Disneyland

Well, here's an extra tip for you who is going to Hong Kong  Disneyland. To make your visit more efficient, don't just buy the park ticket, but opt for the park+meal ticket. It will be cheaper than just buying the park ticket and purchasing the meal at the park's restaurants later. The meal ticket can be used at most of the restaurants in the theme park with extra 1 popcorn or 1 Mickey waffle ticket that you can redeemed at the food cart around the park. You could buy this package and the park official website or other website like Klook.

My meal look tempting right? I got this Royal Mixed Grill at Royal Banquet Hall. The portion was great, though I was still able to finish it but my friend couldn't. Taste wise, well nothing special, just a plate full of protein and fat that will energised you during your Disneyland day. 

-------

7. Nampeng Cafe - Macau

In this short Hong Kong trip, I took a day out of Hong Kong to visit Macau which is only an hour ferry ride away. I started my day in Macau by visiting this famous cha chaan teng called Nam Peng Cafe. We took taxi from the ferry terminal to this place. We couldn't stop in front of the store since it was on the road where no car is allowed, so we stop nearby and walked there.

Their signature meals were Nam Peng Macaroni and Nam Peng Sandwich. We ordered both, sandwich for each of us, and the macaroni to share.

Both the macaroni and sandwich is filled with ham, pork, and egg. It was a heartwarming and decent breakfast, but I must say it was not that special. Nothing beats bubur ayam and bakmi in the morning.

------- 

8. Lord's Stow Bakery

The pride of Macau is this Portugese Egg Tarts from Lord's Stow Bakery. Your trip to Macau would not be complete without tasting these sweet and lovely tarts. You know that sometimes you got your egg tart too sweet, too buttery, or maybe to dry, but Lord Stow's tars were just perfect. I got my tarts from their store in The Venetian Hotel. There was quite a queue on our visit but it was all worth it.

Well since it was such a short trip I don't really have much to share. Feel free to recommend me your favourite pick in Hong Kong or Macau so I could try it on my next visit here. 

JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Autumn in Kyoto

Kyoto has been one of my favourite city to visit since the first time I stepped my feet there, and I was so excited to re-visit this city. Since I visited some of the top spot on my previous visit like Kiyomizu-Dera, Fushimi Inari Shrine, which I'm sure are also beautiful in autumn, I decided to pay a visit to different spots this time.

Kyoto on 20th November 2017 noon was cloudy and a bit freezing. As I remembered, it was below 10°C that day, and I was wearing three layers clothing inside - well I'm not really good with cold weather. 

We stayed in a hostel located within 10 minutes walk from JR Kyoto Station. After dropping our luggage, we walked towards Kyoto Station and spotted this Katsugyu restaurant with a queue of people in front of it. Apparently this place is quite famous, so we decided to have our lunch there.

Katsu Set - JPY 1,598

It was a good lunch, not bad at all, but not as good as we expected since we were still awed with the deliciousness of Gyukatsu Motomura and comparing this one to it.

Before this trip, I did some research on places to visit in Autumn in Kyoto and Tofukuji appeared on the list. And so we head to this place after lunch.

Tofukuji is one of the most well-known zen temple in Kyoto. Quite many people were visiting this place on Monday afternoon. Let me show you some parts of this temple, and don't miss the Tsuntenkyo bridge like I did, which is actually the best autumn viewing spot there.

Taking picture with Kyoto's autumn foliage mission accomplished! 

From Tofukuji, we were heading to Ninenzaka area with bus. Oh yeah, this is a good tip, do buy Kyoto bus pass, it is super worth it. It was only JPY 500 - FYI each bus trip cost JPY 230 in Kyoto. Why Ninenzaka? Actually because my friend wanted to visit the traditional Japan styled-Starbucks there.

The walk towards Ninenzaka was captivating. You could spot the beautiful Yasaka Shrine there. And if you love coffee, you could spot % Arabica shop on this lane, and yes people were queuing for their cup of coffee. But I skipped this one for the Arashiyama shop.

I remembered it was still 5 PM something but the sky got dark so early. We should've gotten here earlier to enjoy the afternoon charm of this captivating narrow lane with traditional wooden styled shops on the sides of the street.  

You could find from traditional souvenir shops to Ghibli & Hello Kitty shops here which some Hello Kitty merchandise were only available exclusively here. I did not take so many beautiful pictures here since my main camera battery died just right after we reached this lane.

After considering on where should we had our dinner, we left this area and rode the 202 bus to a ramen restaurant called Fire Ramen Menbakaichidai. And talking about the weather, can you guess how much more freezing it would be later in the night? It was much colder, yet we had to wait outside the restaurant after taking our queue number. Yep, we were on the waiting list since the shop didn't have much seat and there were already people queueing before us.

I consider myself quite lucky since I could still enter the waiting 'camp' with heater in it. People who were coming after me had to wait outside, since it was only a small waiting booth. After maybe, almost an hour or less, we finally entered the shop.

There were only maybe 8-10 seats inside the shop, and they were dividing the guest into two batch. The other batch was already enjoying their ramen, and our batch was waiting for our turn. 

If you could see the hanging things in the kitchen, guess what? They were selfie sticks. So here, we couldn't put anything on the table since it was dangerous, so the restaurant provide selfie sticks to place our phones in order to record this blazing experience which you could view on the video below. Something that didn't always happen when I'm having my ramen.

Well it was only a one second firing ramen experience, but it was still amazing. Now, how about the ramen itself?

Fire Ramen - JPY 1,250

The ramen was covered with green onions, that you might called it green onions with ramen not vice versa but I loved it! The after taste of the green onion was sweet. The broth was also clean and fresh. And the chasiu was also good.

The next day, we were planning to visit Arashiyama with bus. We got lost for riding the wrong bus, but thank God we managed to get down and wait for the right bus to Arashiyama.

We know that we had arrived in Arashiyama when we saw this Togetsukyo bridge.

It was cloudy that morning, but soon after the sky was getting clearer and we were reaching for our first destination.

And this was our first destination.

The % Arabica Shop!

There was a queue of course, but I heard from my friend who visited this place two days before my visit, the queue was super crazy. But on the day of my visit, the queue was tolerable, so I happily queued for my one cup of coffee.

Don't expect to have a cafe-experience here since there's only one table inside and you have to pay a certain amount to sit there. 

I love this small and simple coffee shop theme, where people just visit this place to enjoy their coffee rather than just taking pictures of their coffee. Believe me, I've witnessed local food instagrammer ordering coffee just to take picture of it and left it, without drinking it at all.

Bonus: good looking barista!

Latte - JPY 500

After a while, I finally got to enjoy my cup of latte. It was all worth it, the wait and the view where I enjoyed my coffee. 

From % Arabica, we headed to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, passing by several temples with beautiful autumn foliage around. 

And finally the bamboo grove. This is a place for you who enjoy zen moment, and on the other side I think this place might be boring fod the other some. Me? I think I'm in between the two sides. I still enjoyed the walk between the bamboo trees but not for so long.

Meanwhile taking beauty shots here was quite hard since it was pretty crowded with people.

And if you are walking the same direction with me, you might spot Nonomiya Shrine, which is small, but beautiful.

From Arashiyama, we went back using train to Kyoto Station and got ready for Tokyo! 

See you on my next post. Anw, should I write a post regarding my JR Pass experience?

-------
JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2019
Furano-Biei Day Trip: Farm Tomita, Shikisai No Oka, Blue Pond
Sapporo: The Food Journal
Sapporo: The Vibrant City of Hokkaido (And Where to Stay)
Falling in Love with Yokohama's Charm
Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo
Reasons to Stay Around Asakusa (or not)
My Third Japan Trip - The Intro

JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2017
Konnichiwa! I'm back!
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Preparation and Cost
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Back to Dotonbori
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Fall Foliage at Minoo Park and Quick Visit to Kuromon Market
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Autumn in Kyoto
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: A Day In Takayama
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: November Snow at Shirakawa-Go

JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2015

Hello JAPAN!

JAPAN TRIP: Preparation and Cost (Visa, Accommodation, Transportation, etc)

JAPAN TRIP: 20 Random Facts about Japan
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 1 Welcome to Osaka - Umeda!
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 2 Universal Studios Japan
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 3 Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium) & Osaka Castle
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 4 Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Shibuya, Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 5 Sensoji, Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 6 Gotemba Premium Outlet
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 7 Tokyo Disneyland
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 8 Tokyo DisneySea
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 9 Fujio F. Fujio Museum & Yanaka Ginza
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 10 Kyoto - Kiyomizu Dera, Nishiki Market, Tsujiri Honten, Gion
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 11 Half Day Trip to Nara, Smile Burger - Kyoto
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 12 Fushimi Inari Taisha & Ichiran Ramen - Kyoto
JAPAN TRIP: DAY 13 & 14 Osaka Shopping Heaven - Shinsaibashi Suji & Dotonbori

Ramen Craving Satisfied at Marutama Ramen (Traveloka Eats)

Gara-gara balik nulis lagi soal trip ke Jepang, saya jadi kangen sama Jepang dan segala jenis makanan Jepang. Iseng-iseng deh ngecek apps Traveloka di smartphone buat sekedar liat-liat tiket, dan ternyata di apps traveloka ada fitur baru yaitu Kuliner! Ya udah deh, jadi salah fokus buat liat-liat apa sih yang ditawarkan fitur kuliner ini. Rupanya fitur kuliner ini semacam direktori restoran-restoran yang ada di sekitar saya. Terus apa bedanya sama apps direktori restoran serupa, nah ini nih yang saya mau share di post kali ini.

Jadi saya iseng-iseng nyoba masukin keyword 'ramen' di search bar, karena memang lagi ngidam ramen, lalu seperti direktori lainnya, muncullah beberapa restoran ramen di Jakarta, salah satunya Marutama Ramen. Udah lama juga nih ga mampir ke sana, lalu saya kliklah Marutama Ramen, sekalian ingin melihat apa sih keunikan fitur apps direktori kuliner Traveloka ini. 

Dan ternyata saudara-saudara! Ada tulisan special offer di Marutama Ramen ini. Yah namanya special offer kan bikin penasaran yah, jadilah saya scroll isi special offernya.

Rupanya, special offer set meal di Marutama Ramen ini, bisa saya dapatkan kalau beli vouchernya via apps. Wah lucu juga nih pikir saya, dulu-dulu sih saya lumayan suka beli voucher diskon makanan. Cuma karena sudah kebanyakan apps di smartphone, jadinya saya uninstall aplikasinya. Nah kalau gini kan enak, dari apps yang sama, selain saya bisa booking tiket pesawat, kereta, hotel, dan lainnya untuk travelling, saya juga bisa nemu voucher makan enak yang pastinya lebih hemat. Jadilah saya beli voucher di atas buat saya dan teman saya. Lumayan banget, dengan harga IDR 89,751 nett, saya bisa makan ramen, dessert, dan sudah termasuk minuman juga.

Marutama Ramen tentunya sudah tidak asing buat saya sebagai seorang pecinta ramen. Pertama kali saya mencoba brand ramen ini mungkin sekitar 5 tahun lalu, dan dulu saya suka mampir di outlet EX lalu Plaza Indonesia yang sekarang sudah tidak ada. Terakhir saya mampir ke Marutama Ramen - Sentral Senayan ini kalau tidak salah sekitar 2 tahun lalu, dan ternyata masih ramai sampai sekarang. Berarti Marutama Ramen ini masih menjadi salah satu pilihan utama bagi pecinta ramen di Jakarta yah. 

Sesampainya di sini saya bilang ke waitress kalau saya pakai voucher dari Traveloka dan langsung dibantu untuk redeem. Ternyata paket Set Meal ini juga memang bisa dipesan di Marutama Ramen tanpa menggunakan voucher, tapi yang pasti jadi rugi kalau gak beli vouchernya di Traveloka, karena kalau pesan tanpa voucher harganya IDR 99,000 ++, jadi kira-kira nettnya IDR 120,000 sedangkan harga promo di Traveloka IDR 89,751 nett!

Untuk menu utamanya saya pilih Marutama Ramen yang spicy. Ramen-nya gak usah ditanya lagi lah yah rasanya. Masih konsisten dari dulu sampai sekarang. Walau saya pesan yang spicy, rasanya tidak terlalu spicy sih, masih harus saya tambahkan chili oil lagi baru rasanya pedasnya pas dengan standar lidah saya.

Yaki Gyoza-nya juga masih sama enaknya dari dulu sampai sekarang. Juicy fillings, crispy thin skin.

Menu ini gak termasuk set meal yah, tapi menurut saya wajib coba juga.

Untuk pilihan minuman dari set meal ini ada hot dan cold ocha. 

Kalau buat kalian ramen dan ocha belum cukup memuaskan tenang, masih ada dessert!

Untuk pilihan dessert dari set meal ini ada Matcha Parfait, Matcha Brulee dan Mochi. Saya memilih Matcha Brulee dan teman saya memilih Matcha Parfait, tapi karena ice-cream matchanya kosong jadinya diganti dengan vanilla ice cream. Dulu saya sudah pernah coba parfaitnya, oleh karena itu kali ini saya memilih untuk nyobain Matcha Brulee.

Dan pilihan saya gak salah, Matcha Brulee-nya Marutama Ramen enak banget! Bitter dari matcha-nya terasa, manisnya pas, gak terlalu manis sesuai selera saya, dan tekstur creamynya pas banget, gak terlalu keras ataupun lembek. Kalau kalian matcha lovers, wajib  banget nyobain dessert satu ini.

Mau makan enak dan hemat juga di Marutama Ramen? Langsung saja beli vouchernya di https://m.traveloka.com/restaurants/indonesia/detail/marutama-ramen-sentral-senayan-57211 (4 Juni-18 Juni 2018). Jangan lupa cek juga special offer lainnya di Traveloka Eats.