Photos: Top Gelato in Venice

Given that it's summer and I just returned from a trip to Venice, here's a list in my humble opinion of the best gelato we tried in Venice.

#1 - Pear



#2 - Chocolate



Both from:
Gelati Nico
Dorsoduro, 922 - Zattere

Hands down the best gelateria in Venice that we tried and if you do a quick search for best Venice gelateria, it will be on the list and rightfully so. The pear gelato just tastes like you're biting into a real pear. The chocolate was a close second as it also tastes incredibly like a smooth bar of chocolate. If you can only make one stop in Venice for gelato, this is it. (In fact, we stopped by here every day we were in Venice....)

#3 - Watermelon



Gelateria Alaska
Santa Croce 1159, Calle Larga dei Bari

Alaska is known for the fact that they use fresh ingredients in their gelato. While for the most part we could tell that the actual ingredients were used, the flavors weren't as rich or deep as Nico. For example, the ginger had strings of real ginger, but it wasn't quite "spicy" enough for me. I did, however, quite enjoyed the watermelon gelato (in case you're wondering, Nico didn't have watermelon). One taste of that gelato made you think about warm summer afternoons lounging around biting into the deep flesh of a watermelon.

#4 - Dark Chocolate



Grom
Campo San Barnaba
30123 Venice - Italy

We stumbled across this gelateria on our meanderings through Venice and really liked their dark chocolate gelato. There was a good balance of the sweet and bitter that is dark chocolate.

#5 - Lemon



Gelateria Paolin S. Stefano
Campo Santo Stefano 2962, San Marc

We weren't too enthralled with the gelato here. M described the strawberry as "melted Starbursts" and reluctantly I have to agree as it has that overly sweet and fake taste to it. However, the lemon flavor was quite good. It tasted sweet and light, and except for the scoops that were tainted be the strawberry, quite enjoyable.

Okay, as you can tell, I won't be a food critic any time soon, but maybe the photos themselves will give you a good sense of what it might taste like. Or just make your mouth water. =) -- more --

Food: 香港的台灣小吃 (Taiwanese Food in Hong Kong)

Two for one today; I've been looking for some good Taiwanese food and have finally found them... in Mongkok!

毓民私房牛肉麵
花園街3-5號地下9號舖 (3 Fa Yuen St)
旺角 (Mong Kok)
Phone: +852 2377-3013





輕鬆飲 (Easy Drink - Easy Go)
登打士街43H登打士廣場地下1號 (Shop 1, G/F, Dundas Square, 43H Dundas Street)
旺角 (Mong Kok)
Phone: N/A



Yummy enough to get one now to drink, and one to go for later!


How good are these? I've been to each of them almost a half dozen times since Ivy recommended 毓民私房牛肉麵 to me earlier this month (and promptly stumbled across the 珍珠奶茶 stall) and I still want to go back. The line at 輕鬆飲 actually gets quite long - stretching into the street and past the neighboring stores at night (but luckily still moves fairly quickly). For only 10 HKD for 700CC it's quite a bargain. And even better, both the 珍珠 and noodles are very QQ. Mmm.

For 毓民私房牛肉麵, they actually aren't that crowded for lunch, but gets quite packed in the evening (probably for all the shoppers at the Ladies' Market. Give them a try if you're up there. Doesn't quite beat a trip to 台灣, but in a pinch they do quite nicely.

Other food recommendations to-date:

- とん吉 (Tonkichi) [香港 (Hong Kong)]
- Maxwell Food Centre [新加坡 (Singapore)]
- 清真牛肉館 (Islam Food) [九龍城 (Kowloon City)]
- 建興亞婆豆腐花 (Kin Hing Tofu Dessert) [南丫島 (Lamma Island)]
- 小杨生煎馆 (Yang's Fry Dumpling) [上海 (Shanghai)] -- more --

Food: とん吉 (Tonkichi)

とん吉 (Tonkichi)
告士打道280號世貿中心412室 (280 Gloucester Road, World Trade Centre, Fourth Floor)
銅鑼灣 (Causeway Bay)
Phone: +852 2577 6617

Second location:
廣東道100號彩星集團大廈B/F B室 (100 Canton Road, Basement)
尖沙咀 (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Phone: +852 2314 2998




This Singapore import is quite popular. The wait can get up to two hours even on a weekday to the point where they stop giving out numbers at 8 pm. Reservations are available for the weekdays, but are full for the next couple of months. However, the reason for the wait is an authentic tonkatsu experience that rivals anything you would find even in Japan.

To start, after you order, the waitress hands you a mortar and pestle with sesame seeds to grind your own sauce.


After it gets to the consistency you like, you reach over and grab the tall container that contains トンカツソース (tonkatsu sōsu) to mix with your sesame seed puree. The other two containers contain dressing for the shredded cabbage - here you have a choice of yuzu- (guess that makes it ponzu) or seaweed-flavor.



The primary dish of course is the tonkatsu:


You can get either the pork loin:


Or pork fillet:


Your order comes with miso soup and rice


Lastly, to finish off the meal, you get watermelon slices for dessert (although you can order a proper dessert if you're still hungry)


If you get a seat against the window, you can see Victoria Harbour


Other food recommendations to-date:

- Maxwell Food Centre [新加坡 (Singapore)]
- 清真牛肉館 (Islam Food) [九龍城 (Kowloon City)]
- 建興亞婆豆腐花 (Kin Hing Tofu Dessert) [南丫島 (Lamma Island)]
- 小杨生煎馆 (Yang's Fry Dumpling) [上海 (Shanghai)] -- more --

Food: Maxwell Food Centre

Maxwell Food Centre
At Maxwell Road and South Bridge Road

How to Get There
By MRT : Tanjong Pagar (EW15) and Chinatown (NE4)
By Bus : 2, 12, 61, 80, 143, 145, 166, 197, 608, 851, 961



As I previously mentioned, some of the best foods in Singapore are found at the Hawker Centres. One in particular that I like is the one at Maxwell. Here are some of the stalls I would recommend:

興興雞飯 (Heng Heng Chicken Rice)


Their specialty is, of course, 海南雞飯 (Hainanese chicken rice) and it's better than the more famous stall that is also at this Hawker Centre, 天天海南雞飯 (more below).




For drinks, there are two places that are pretty good.

清涼小站 (Cool Station)


I get the 珍珠奶茶 (pearl milk tea) here, where the pearls are pretty QQ and the tea isn't too bitter or sweet.


麥士威 (Maxwell)


The 甘蔗汁 (sugarcane juice) is fairly sweet and doesn't taste too pulpy or sour.


賭間口油條
You can get the 油條 fresh if you get there in the mornings (they were done before noon) and are really, really good (as good as getting them in Taiwan even!).



The more famous place for 海南雞飯 is 天天海南雞飯. There is usually a long, long line whenever they are open. (They were not open on Monday when I was there.) You're likely not to go wrong with them as they're good, however, I find that they leave a lot more bone on the chicken.


Here is what their 海南雞飯 looks like (yum!):


However, this is how much bones are left:


In comparison, with 興興雞飯 there isn't as much:


If you really get the chance, try both. =)

Other food recommendations to-date:

- 清真牛肉館 (Islam Food) [九龍城 (Kowloon City)]
- 建興亞婆豆腐花 (Kin Hing Tofu Dessert) [南丫島 (Lamma Island)]
- 小杨生煎馆 (Yang's Fry Dumpling) [上海 (Shanghai)] -- more --

Food: 清真牛肉館 (Islam Food)

清真牛肉館
Main location:
九龍城龍崗道1號地下 (G/F, No. 1 Lung Kong Rd, Kowloon City)
電話 (phone): (852) 2382 2822 / 2382 8928
Open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Second location:
九龍城打鼓嶺道33-35號地下 (G/F, No. 33-35 Tak Ku Ling Rd, Kowloon City)
電話 (phone): (852) 2382 1882
Open 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

More info:
- Official website





This local treat is located near the old Hong Kong airport. There is no MTR stop nearby so your best bet to get there is by bus (1A, 9, 101, and 111 stop nearby - see map) or by taxi.

This is one of the dishes they're famous for - 牛肉餡餅:




Other dishes to consider are:
咖喱羊腩


三絲粉皮








蔥油餅


If you get a chance try it. If you're interested, you can take a look at some other recommendations:

- 建興亞婆豆腐花 (Kin Hing Tofu Dessert) [南丫島 (Lamma Island)]
- 小杨生煎馆 (Yang's Fry Dumpling) [上海 (Shanghai)]
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Photos: The Fugu Experiment

Have you ever wondered what fugu (a.k.a blowfish) looks like? (I would have also added tastes like, but it's hard to convey that in pictures). Here is what fugu sashimi looks like:



Click the fish for more pictures of the different preparations:
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Food: 建興亞婆豆腐花 (Kin Hing Tofu Dessert)

建興亞婆豆腐花
榕樹灣後街 (Back Street, Yung Shue Wan)
南丫島

More info:
- Openrice





This is the famous "Grandma" douhua stall on Lamma Island. Make sure you aren't duped by the other stores - look for the sign or better yet, grandma.


Scooping out the delicious tofu


Adding in the melted yellow sugar


Now they're ready to eat!


If you need more sugar, help yourself.
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