Thomas Haas

In the Miramar Shopping Plaza in Hong Kong’s Kawloon district, you can find a little sweet shop Thomas Haas.  Their macaroons looked tasty, and with a few Hong Kong Dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I picked up pistachio, licorice and vanilla, and coconut cream and passion fruit ones.

They were good renditions, though the inside was a bit pasty.  The crust was right on the mark, which I understand is the most challenging part of making macaroons.  Overall, if you are in the area and the mood, you won’t be wasting your hard earned money if you throw a few dollars down on some macaroons. 

Thomas Haas
Shop 1001, Miramar Shopping Centre
132 Nathan Road
Tsim ShaTsui, Kowloon 
尖沙咀美麗華商場1001店
Tel: (852) 2992 0799
Email: enquiry@thomashaas.com.hk
Hong Kong, China
3 of 5

Serious Pie - Westlake

Serious Pie had a lot going for it. We loved our Westlake experience, which was less hustle and bustle, accommodating, and laid back. Unfortunately, Serious Pie also hit a few sour notes. This is the problem with going somewhere that has a reputation that not only precedes it, but precedes it by blocks. And blocks. And blocks.  (Because it's a Tom Douglas restaurant)

Let's jump right into it. Serious Pie's duck prosciutto appetizer was phenomenal. Slap your mamma good. Write home about it. The prosciutto was arguably the best I've ever eaten. The beets were nicely done and seasoned, and the pistachios added a delightful crunch. 


On the other side, my friend told me the bread soup was under-seasoned and a bit bland - really too bad because it looked so good. Hit, and miss.

The party I was with ordered a number of pizzas amongst the group. If you are a light eater, you might decide to split a pie with a loved one, but generally you need one pie per person. We ordered so many, the waitress got an order wrong. This wouldn't be a problem, if not for how ravenous you are by the time your pizza actually lands in front of you (aka, the wait is a bit long). The waitress thought my friend had ordered a mushroom pizza, which most assuredly she had not because she hates (hate hates) mushrooms. That was boxed, and comped, and her actual order was put in, but it was still 10-15 minutes later until it was delivered.  So that was a miss, and then a hit (because I consider this good customer service).

The Pizza in Question...

The pizzas were good, some even great. For example, the fennel sausage and soft egg with arugula pizzas were great. 

Delicious Fennel Sausage

Delicious Arugula and Over Easy Egg

The buffalo mozzarella pizza was good. 

Good - Meat added

The vegetarian offerings, the squash and a pear special, were also good, even very good. 

Special, Squash and Pear - and YES, these ingredients belong on Pizza!

The Penn Cove clams pizza, however, was only ok. It had a substantial amount of promise, but with the pancetta and clams, along with what seasoning was added, it was almost inedibly-salty. Also, maybe because of the thin crust, maybe because of neglect, a few of the pies had singed sides (read: burnt). This was another round of some hits, and misses.

Over-salty Clam Miss

The desserts were all hit. The budino, coconut cream pie, and ice cream were decadent and delicious. I would call in and take just their desserts on the road with me, and I am a savory man, no sweet.  In my opinion, this is high praise.  My wife still talks about the coconut cream pie...

The final verdict... at the price Serious Pie commands, it must not just be good, or very good, it must be great all the time. You expect orders to be correct, wait time to be reasonable, and dishes to be correctly seasoned. Because of this, I have to say it only merits 3.5 of 5. With proper seasoning and uniform doneness, Serious Pie would sit at a 4, and if everything were as delicious as the prosciutto (about which I still talk and think, and dream), it would be a 5 all the way!

Serous Pie
401 Westlake Avenue North
(206) 436-0050
Seattle, WA 98109
3.5 of 5

my wife's recent obsession - molly moon's ice cream sandwich

this pretty much sums it up.  my wife is obsessed with molly moon's ice cream sandwiches.  the other day she surprised me, by picking me up and driving me to get them (for her).  very kind of her.  she's been talking about them for weeks.  weeks.

they have what appear to be homemade chewy cookies on the outside, both sweet and salty, with their homemade vanilla bean ice cream.  the cost is steep, at about $4 a piece, but they are very good.

the great thing about molly moon's is that they're not afraid of strong flavors in ice cream.  sour.  sweet.  salty.  savory.  always good.

(disclaimer: not my pictures.)