New Bangkok: Birmingham, MI 01/2008

Lizz and I took an off-campus lunch(01/16/08), a senior privilege in Cranbrook. In Birmingham, the closest hangout, one of our favorite places is New Bangkok where we can find Thai-style Comfort Food and pleasant servers, including my favorite Kay. The lunch entrees are approximately $2 cheaper than dinner entrees, but enough to fill up. Also served with soup.

Thai Almond Chicken $7.25(L), $10(D)

Breaded chicken breast is fried and then served with yellow brown gravy. Lizz ordered it mild as a non-spicy eater, she finds medium here a little to spicy after a while. However this is a mild dish and she thought it was rather bland. I agree that perhaps things were held a little too back, though I still thought the flavor was there. I personally enjoyed it.

Kra Tiem Prik Tai with Shrimp and Scallops $8.25(L), $9.95(D)

This is one of the "Bangkok Specialty" dish that comes with slightly different "brown sauces." This one's main ingredients are garlic, black pepper and green onions and whatever you choose to go with is served over some lettuce. It has a stronger taste than other dish primarily because of garlic. Previously I had it with pork and thought the sauce was rather pungent, but with seafood which soaks up less of the sauce, it was much better. Surprisingly enough, Lizz, normally not a seafood eater, enjoyed it as well.

Some other pictures from New Bangkok:

Bai Ka Prow with Shrimp

This is another stir-fry dish with bell pepper and basil leaves. I used to get this with beef, but once tried with shrimp for carry out and I liked the combination.

Pri-Khing with Beef and Tofu

This was one of the curry dish at New Bangkok, red curry with string beans but without the usual coconut milk. Therefore it is much stronger and rather salty when the meat hold the sauce in. The dish itself is not bad but it should be less salty or tried with other ingredients, perhaps. Now I know why our server emphasized that, "that one does not have coconut milk in it."

Pad Almond with Beef

Along with Pad Cashew, probably due to its nut contents, Pad Almond is one of the milder brown sauce dish. Though not my favorite, this is a non-risky dish along with Thai Pepper Steak for beef lovers.

Previous New Bangkok:
Nam Mun Hoy, Pad Kana, Sie Sa Hai(Seafood Curry) 09/2007
Fried Rice, Green Curry, Pad Thai, Pad Cashew, Potato Curry 05/11/07

Brio Tuscan Grille: Troy, MI 01/08/08

Three people went to Brio for lunch

The light is rather dim for lunch

Lizz ordered Mezz Lasagna & Insalata $11.95

Her choice of salad was Bistecca, a wedge of lettuce with tomato, gorgonzola, bacon and then parmesan dressing on top.

Lasagna that was pretty good

My choice was also a dish + salad combination for lunch $12.95. Shrimp Arrabbiata risotto was made slightly spicy, made with peperonata. The risotto was nice but the caesar salad was a failure.

Linna's crab cake with citrus pesto $11.95 that was okay, but just that.

I mistook the daily special scallop dish $13.95 as an appetizer and ordered an extra dish. However these sea scallops with lobster bercy sauce, based on olive oil and of course lobster, was good.

Chocolate Panini with strawberry and vanilla cream $4.95

This sweet dessert was very good. I always had a good experience with the friendly servers here, and though my caesar salad was horrible and crab cake was just mediocre, other dish were worth coming. The bill was $60 excluding tip.

Palisades Club: Hong Kong, 01/05/08

It is nice that there is a place so nearby to have lunch


Lunch times they have 38HKD and 48HKD sets, and they do offer dish other than Chinese; my mother likes their club sandwich and my sisters like pasta or beef. They are not super but for the price it is good, even considering that this place is limited to Pacific Palisades residents. Hong Kong people like club culture and many big apartments have such accomodations even though each household may have a limited space. Coming back to the point, I prefer the Chinese dish here.

Beef with Black Bean and Pepper, 52HKD(7USD)

Chicken with Cashew, 52HKD (7USD)

Assorted Mushrooms with XO sauce, 45HKD (6USD)

Scallops with Asparagus, 88HKD (11USD)

Tofu dish, 45HKD (6USD)

Previous Palisades Club: 12/25/07

Miga: Hong Kong, 01/04/08

This is a Korean restaurant in Causeway Bay; three people visited for lunch. They offer lunch menu mostly in 49HKD(6USD), Some closer to 60HKD(8USD). This is a good deal because in Korean meals, you always get banchan(side dish), and banchan here is decent.

So here are the banchan: in the middle raddish, top middle mook(crop powder hardened like tofu)with beef and vegetables, clockwise- kimchi, sweet marinated woo ung(type of vegetable with texture similar to pickeled radish), potato, spinach, and beansprouts.

Also lettuce in Korean style dressing

One of the lunch choice: Hae Jang Gook

Other choice: Galbi JJim, beef stew

Service steamed egg dish: one of our dish was served late

My choice, Je yook Bok eum (spicy pork with kimchi) served with mi yeok gook(seaweed soup). Overall all the dish were satisfactory and with the banchan it is a very nice meal. It opened relatively recently but is becoming known to Korean residents around the area, as well as other locals.

Maxim @ City Hall: Hong Kong, 01/03/08

Four people went to a place called Maxim in City Hall. This is a well-known place and during lunch they serve yamcha(small lunch dish with tea); you always have a line unless you arrive at opening hour, 11AM.

It is a pretty big place and the ladies pull the carts around calling out the name of the items they carry. It is nice if you know several dish names in Chinese, but usually foreigners uncover so that they can see what is in. Sometimes the ladies inform you briefly by saying "shrimp" or "pork" or such.

Some carts looks like this; it is easier to pick out.

Table setting and hot pepper sauce to dip

*

So here is what four people ate:

A pork dish

Shiumai, A type of Shrimp Dumpling, one of the most popular

A Different one with shrimp and other ingredients

With mushrooms and vegetables

Shaorungbao, another popular one: You usually put it on a spoon and eat because this pork dumpling is suppossed to be full of juice- beware, because it can be hot.

Rice dish - not my favorite

With barbequed sweet shredded pork

Rice cooked with leave cover

Fried Squid

Hagau, probably the most popular and my favorite too: the delicate thin outer layer and the chewy whole shrimp inside is simply the best.

Well, chicken feet!

One of the dessert, custard too sweet for my taste

So everytime you order they give you a stamp, and later on they use it for the bill. With the 10%service charage the bill was 510HKD(65USD) for four. Though the individual dish are small, we were quite full. Maxim in Central City Hall is one of the popular yamcha places in Hong Kong and I would say it is pretty good. It is nice to go in group of three or four to try lots of different stuff, though if you are not accustomed to this type of food, it won't be "fantastic." I still say it is worth trying as a tourist, since yamcha is a part of Hong Kong culture.

Rainbow Seafood Restaurant: Hong Kong, 12/30/07

For Sunday family dinner for four, I made a reservation at Rainbow Seafood Restaurant in Lamma Island. There are free ferry pickups at Central and Tsimshatsui; we got a ride at Central Pier 9. There are people in blue jackets with the restaurant name on; you confirm the reservation and they give you a sticker, the ferry ticket.

Here comes the ferry. The upper level is quite open, perhaps a little cold for this time of the year since the wind up there blows strong. The ride is about 30 minutes but on a windy day, those weak to seasickness may have a little bit of trouble, though not big.

I went during lunch time, but you get quite a view, though not extraordinary, with either the island/nature view or the Hong Kong city view. I bet during sunset it is beautiful.

After arriving at Sok Ku Wan, the smaller island of Lamma, you see a series of seafood restaurant, though the Rainbow Restaurant is the most popular- and also relatively pricy.

The pier to be visited later on for returning rides

The road is like a small marketplace

The place was quite crowded with tourists from all over the world, but also Hong Kong/Chinese people. I heard this place is a popular company gathering-meal place because there is a ferry ride from Central, a main business area in Hong Kong. Just a reminder that liquors here are a little pricy for that reason.

You can either use the menu to order or go to the tank and order. The people that help you do speak English and give some advice too. You can control your budget that way; the only part I failed was when I ordered Garoupa that was a little over my budget and gave up the shrimp. But it was okay, because the fish was pretty big, and though Rainbow Restaurant is not the cheapest place, in Hong Kong or in Korea, where I come from, seafood is much more expensive.

Thin slices of beef and peanuts, given as a sort of appetizer

Bamboo Clams with Bean & Chili Sauce, 112HKD(14USD)

The sauce was pretty good and went well with the bamboo clams. The only caution is that come of the red pepper bits are quite spicy and may water your eyes- don't chew on them unless you really intend to.

Steamed Scallops with Garlic Sauce, 100HKD (13USD)

The garlic sauce was very good, and went well with both the scallops and clear noodles. The scallops are not very big but perhaps this is just the right amount when you are having so many other things. The person helping the order usually accommodates the amount depending on how many people are on your table.

Fried Lobster with Butter Sauce, 300HKD (39USD)

One of the signatures of this restaurant: I guess this was everybody's favorite. I was a little worried if this may be too buttery, but it turned out just right. Because it is fried, the little legs are crunchy and edible with ease.

Steamed Garoupa, 350HKD(45USD)

I needed a fish dish for my mother and garoupa happens to be a popular fish in Asia. This was the garoupa I mentioned above, which was a little over what I was aiming for. However it was an enjoyable dish. The server disects(?) the fish so you can eat it easily.

Fried Crab with Honey and Pepper Sauce, 160HKD(21USD)

Gold prize winner of the culinary awards 2001: the sauce was sweet but not just sweet, which was good. However it is not the easiest dish to eat, and though it is a decent dish even if it doesn't fit your personal taste, it was not our favorite. Worth a try, though.

Fried Rice, 55HKD(7USD)

This fried rice was decent. Just the right amount for four people too. We also ordered a side of vegetable that was sauteed, but I think next time I will ask it to be steamed, since many of our other dish uses oil anyway.

So the bill was 1300HKD(167USD) with 10% service charge, which could have been just a little less by substituting Garoupa with shirmp or many other options available. Still everybody was content with the meal, and though maybe not an every weekend event-it does take time to go back and forth, and ferry rides can by tiring for many-it was an interesting experience.