rbt (causeway bay, other locations)

DISCLAIMER: This entry covers the same amount of material that you'd see in a write up on Pinkberry or In-N-Out. Nonetheless here it is.

It's hardly necessary to write home about a tea shop that lacks any of the mystery or intimidation that I normally try to dissolve, but on this occasion I need to show you that I'm serious about this blog thing. The menu here is straightforward with emphasis on the teas and the bubble teas. Although they offer fried noodles or toast with gnutella, the meal-food isn't very remarkable here. I think they once served Taiwanese desserts, but on my last two visits I wasn't able to find them on the menu. The milk tea here is great, as are most of the fruity drinks they serve; it's the best I've had in HK for Taiwanese drinks.

But really, my favorite thing about this spot (particularly the Causeway Bay/Sogo location) is the glass wall overlooking the street between Sogo and JP Cinema. It's fun just to chill out, drink some milk tea and look at people. This is really one of the things that I miss most about LA; because it's always sunny, it's always fun sitting outside a coffee shop and watching people walk by. You can't do that in too many places in HK. I haven't yet seen a restaurant seat people on the sidewalk in this SAR, but that's because these sidewalks are meant for walking; who would want to eat on a sidewalk in HK anyways? So to me, RBT is the best people watching in the city. You could argue that the LKF bars have plenty of outside seating on walking-only streets too, but that scene gets old faster than I do. The beautiful thing in Causeway is that it feels more local and less like a trading floor in IFC. Well, actually take that back, all of Hong Kong feels like a trading floor.

3 of 5 overall, drinks are worth 4 stars, but food is minus 1

rbt

2/f hong kong mansion

yee wo and great george

causeway bay

2577 2633

about $20/drink

sushi one (causeway bay, tst)

With Sushi One I think it's time to introduce HK's rampant "poor fitting music" disease. In contrast with trendy places in the US, it seems like nearly all restaurants here play music that doesn't really fit their style, if they even try to develop one. Here they softly play top 40 or pop hits on XM, I know it could be worse, but it still bothers me.

This was my third or fourth time to this restaurant now. All three of their locations are essentially the same and feature a conveyor belt and giant, wall-length fish tank. The fish tank and its accompanying wall-length leather sofa are probably the franchise's most defining characteristics. In one of the TST locations they even have a table enclosed in an aviary, which is sexy enough to wonder why Dragon-i didn't think to do the same with their bird cages.

For all the flashiness, I'm actually pretty impressed with the quality of the sushi. The fish is generally pretty fresh and the rice is always well prepared. There are hundreds of middle-range sushi shops in HK, but for the price, this one always seems to be at least a little bit better. I generally don't like the tackiness that comes with conveyor belt sushi shops because of their greenhouse spotlights that make you brighter than the jewelry in Wan Chai windows.

Bottom line: a reliable sushi place for the non-connoisseurs and a sexy enough restaurant to take a date for a quiet bite. Apart from the sometimes random tunes, Sushi One doesn't make most of the tacky ambiance mistakes that other sushi conveyors do.

4 out of 5 possible stars

sushi one

29 leighton rd

causeway bay

3188 0083

$50-$100 per person

Introduction: herbs vietnam (tst)

inauguration

After so many nights spent wandering for food through the crowded streets known better by the shops on their corners than their names on signs, it's time to start keeping track. In my past life I ate only in Los Angeles eateries that were recommended by friends or Yelp.com users, in my current life it's not so simple. Hong Kong is a vertical beast, and its best restaurants are up hidden staircases, down streets that you can only find once and darkened by brighter lights and bigger signs next door.

In a city that sleeps less than New York, is always more crowded, and is (unfortunately) more sober, there's too much eating to be done to waste another meal. I hope that you will learn from my mistakes, as well as my triumphs, so that we can all eat a life more efficient than this old one.

herbs vietnam - tst

I love pho. I have eaten Vietnamese food at every chance in HK, and a good bowl always eludes me. Today I got smart and went safe. I had the bun, my friend had "vietnamese shredded chicken on rice," which was really like a spicy, fishy hainan chicken.

The grilled pork bun was great, the rice vermicelli was perfectly soft and the grilled pork was tender on the inside and slightly charred on the outside. The cut of pork was good too, not crappy tendons or fatty fat. The chicken was surprisingly good too, it tasted like Hainan chicken, but with standard Vietnamese fish & chili sauce, a little spicy and pretty delicious. For starters (yes, I know these usually come before main dishes) we had chicken liver and grilled pork chuck. I'm don't eat many animal organs usually, but the kidney was passable and the grilled pork was not shabby either. It came with a sweet & sour sauce that was probably the worst tasting thing we ate here, it tasted like the kind that you can only buy in the US, and comes only in small, single usage ketchup packages. Since we ordered lunch sets, we also got cheap/free drinks and red bean soup for dessert.

Bottom line: this place was legit. I am often disappointed by cheap HK restaurants that charge you less by giving you shitty meat and lots of iceberg lettuce to take up space in your noodle bowl. It's rare to find a spot with decent ambiance (nice chairs and even a free napkin!), very good prices and great food. I'm happy to start journaling with such a good meal.

4 of 5 possible stars

herbs vietnam

g/f golden mansion

83-85a chatham road

2736 5918