Butao King and Ikea Food - Hong Kong

On my second day in Hong Kong, Kim and I woke up a little late since we were really tired from that whirlwind of a first day. We decided to just have brunch at Butao King which was a quick 5min walk from Kim's flat. We missed out eating there during my first night as the line was really long, but this time we were their first customers for the day.

 

Butao King is the same as Ramen Nagi in the Philippines. The food and the ordering system is the same. But in Hong Kong, Butao is just a small spot in a sidestreet (read: eskinita) flanked by a laundry shop and apartment complex and fronted by a hardware store, accessible and affordable for most. But in the Philippines, Ramen Nagi is a geared a little more for the upscale. The quality of the food and service is the same though -- great. It is also nice to note that Butao King is has been voted Best Restaurant in Causeway Bay, as proudly displayed in the storefront.

The place was really small, there were about 5 round tables which sat about 5-6 people. So if you come during peak hours and in a group, be prepared to eat separately as it is almost impossible to wait for a whole table to clear out at the same time. The place might seem like an open air restaurant from the outside because it is lacking any door, but surprisingly it had A/C inside and was really cold! Like in Ramen Nagi, they give you a piece of paper where you could select and fill out your order.

We ordered the original Butao since I didn't try that out in Ramen Nagi, and just played it safe for the selecting 'Normal' for most of the choices on the order slip. Usually, you can choose between Pork Belly or Pork Butt, but the former wasn't available that day so we had no choice but to settle for the latter.

We love how rich it was in flavor even though we only put out 'Normal.' Everything just went well together, and we were really full at the end of our meal. The serving was really big and more than enough to satisfy a hungry person's appetite. Kim as usual had a hard time finishing her bowl, so I gladly ate what she couldn't finish.

After eating at Butao King, we went around Ikea which was really tiring! So we needed a snack after shopping. Good thing, Ikea had a little snack bar/ cafe.

We ordered their famous meatballs, a hotdog sandwich and a glass of refillable Pepsi.

With a full stomach, we were ready for the next adventure for that day... more walking and eating! Wait for our next post to find out where we went to next and where we ate!

Butao King
G/F, 40 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

IKEA
Upper Basement, Parklane Hotel, 310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Sandwicheese!

August 30, 2012. Thursday.

In the last few years, Katipunan has developed into foodie heaven. And I'm talking about Katipunan extending all the way to White Plains, not just the part in front of Ateneo and Miriam. Sandwicheese is one of those food places that now occupy the busy stretch of Katips right after Qurino Memorial Hospital. We wanted to deviate from our normal Eastwood/ Bonifacio High Street food choices, so we went to Sandwicheese last Thursday. It is also from the people that put up Bannapple. It located right next to the original and smaller Bannapple. If you like and love your sandwich and cheese, then this place is definitely right up your alley.

The place has this homey deli vibe going for it. We loved the quirkiness of the design of the small space. It had checkerboard tiles, cute little ceiling fans, bread decors on the wall, and half of the place is under a big sunroof! The sunroof made sure that the place was very well lit, but I'm thinking that on hot sunny days that could also be an issue.

I ordered the Chili Frankfurter Sandwicheese.

Chili Frankfurter Sandwicheese. 150php.

The moment it was served in front of us, I knew it was good! The bun and frank was overflowing with a combination of garlic cream cheese, parmesan, mozarella and chili!  You know how to gauge if you got good cooked hotdogs/franks? There should be a certain snap when you bite off it. And this one snapped! I was surprised that the cornmeal bun they served their sandwiches in held really well from all the cheese and oil.

Kim got the Cheesy Roast Beef.

Cheesy Roast Beef. 160php.

This one was almost the same as my order, except it had pimiento cream cheese and roast beef instead of garlic cream cheese and frankfurter. Kim found the roast beef was seasoned well and tender. It was also juicy enough that you had this pool of oil, cheese, caramelized onions inside the serving box.

We got Chili and Cheese Nachos to share.

Chili and Cheese Nachos. 90php.

The nachos tasted like.. nachos. I don't ever think you can make bad nachos. It's so basic. It's always a good partner to any snack.

We also got a couple of Bannaple Home Made Brewed Iced Tea. 60php each

Iced Tea. 60php each.

Kim found the Iced Tea to be too sweet for her taste even after diluting it with water. I found it just right. Weird, 'cause I'm the one who doesn't like sweets. Different preferences, I guess.

Overall, it was a pretty great dining experience for both of us. We happily traded bites of our sandwiches with each other, and we were satisfied with both our orders. For heavy rice eaters like us, we found the sandwich and nachos combo was pretty filling enough. I thought I needed to get two sandwiches just to get my fill, but I was wrong big time. Good thing, Kim stopped me from ordering two sandwiches for myself. It might be a little pricey just for some sandwiches, but take into account that these are freshly made sandwiches from top notch ingredients. If you want to get a heavy snack, Sandwicheese and its affordable menu is your stop.

Sandwicheese!
225 Katipunan Ave.,
1109 Quezon City, Philippines
https://www.facebook.com/Sandwicheese
sandwicheese@bannapplekitchen.com