Applegreen

My last review of 2015 goes to one of my favorite not so hidden gems in Hong Kong! Located on the border of Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui, Applegreen is one of my favorite lunch spots. For Hong Kong, this restaurant is quite spacious. I’ve always been able to grab a seat every time I came in the afternoon.
I’ve tried many different dishes here and usually it doesn’t disappoint! What I like the most about Applegreen is that they’re not just a salad house. They have a pretty wide array of dishes and drinks on the menu. But of course, if you want to eat «healthier», they have plenty of salads to choose from. Most of their salad has «half» servings, which is actually misleading. Their half portion is enough for 2 – 3 people if you order it with a second or third dish. Their «full» serving of the salad is humongous. Probably more suited for 3 – 5 people. Just be warned! Also as a tip, if you order salad you can request FREE banana bread to go with it.
For their other dishes, they have your typical pastas, but what I like is their Flatbreads. Think of it as a very thin crust pizza. Quite tasty and large in portion. They also have some more unique items from their varying breakfast menu, such as honey glazed bacon, eggs benedict, or other experimental items. As for their drinks, most of their tea-​juices have unlimited refill! Surprisingly an uncommon thing in Hong Kong.
Applegreen is moderately priced. But for the portion and quality, its a pretty good deal. Its also conveniently located by the Jordan MTR station.

3.5
This place is great for hangovers, or if you really want to eat «healthy salad». To be fair, the salad is pretty tasty, although when I ordered the Sesame Chicken salad, the dressing was a bit stingy, but I was just convincing myself this was to make it healthier. The banana bread on request is pretty much cake.
Now for the hangover food review portion:
The shrimp «quesadillas» taste like drunk microwaved pizza rolls, which I am guilty of loving– however the sauce they serve it with is some «chutney/​jam-​like» thing and a green sauce that tastes like toothpaste. No thanks.
The Portabello Fries– quite tasty. Good portion for 2 people, the black truffle dip that comes with it is pretty much crack.
Mentaiko Pasta– tasty but very dry and plain. Try being fancy and order a fried egg over the top– perhaps the yolk will make it less dry. It comes with a butter and calorie soaked garlic bread that is oh so yummy. Tip: make sure you squeeze that lemon to death on the pasta to cut the creaminess.
All in all, minus the tight seating arrangement here, AppleGreen still hits the spot for a descent meal that isn’t too pretentious and knows how to cure a hangover. They just need to re-​open on Island side, because treking all the way to TST is just not justified enough for me.

Ever since the Applegreen opposite Times Square disappeared, I haven’t been back many times. What a pity — it was so conveniently located in the heart of Causeway Bay, perfect to go to after some shopping!
I’ve actually only been to Applegreen during the afternoon for a mid-​day snack with friends. One of our friends told us that they have these chips that come with the most amazing dip, so we ordered that and have been getting it every time we’re here ever since. It’s listed under appetizers and called ‘artichoke and spinach dip’, and it’s really, really good. It comes in a steaming little pot and it’s not a liquidy, watery dip — this stuff is thick, and it’s the real deal. The chips that come with it are vegetable tortilla chips and they go really well with the dip! The dip-​to-​chip ratio is also perfect. Whenever we’re nearing the end, I always feel that we’re going to have dip leftover, but eventually it evens out. Just remember to be liberal with the dip or else you’ll have a load of it remaining and no chips to dip it in!
Besides that, the truffle fries here are also not bad. They’re served piping hot and aren’t too salty. But compared with the artichoke and spinach dip, I would say that that is a lot better because it’s not something you would find at any restaurant.
It’s pretty cool that Applegreen does some drinks with unlimited refill. I’ve tried the iced honey green tea and the iced lemonade, and both are very refreshing. I find the iced lemonade not sour enough though — it was too sweet as a lemonade, in my opinion. They seem quite strict about the no sharing rule for this. My first time there, I didn’t order a drink and I asked for another straw to try my friend’s drink (she was sick). The waiter told me we’re not allows to share the unlimited drinks — it was only when I explained that I just want to try it, and don’t want to use her straw as she’s sick, that she gave me a straw. Under her watchful eye, I took a sip, took out the straw from the drink and lay it down — so yes, just be aware that they do enforce the no sharing rule!
Overall, Applegreen is a nice restaurant that you should definitely consider coming to if you’re in TST. I’ve been meaning to try out their lunch sets but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Despite being the ‘house of salad’, I’ve never had salad here, so that needs to change. Oh, and take it from me — the artichoke and spinach dip is a must-​order!

Ahh~apple green~ this is perhaps one of those restaurants that teens go to after graduating from high school and feel like luxing up the usual dinner dates a bit while keeping the price range at an affordable level. It is almost like a rite of passage for teenagers to move into adulthood and from casual dining to a slightly more elaborated, luxed up style of eating.
With the word «green» in the name, one would easily associate this joint with salad bars; not entirely wrong, the salads here are pretty much their specialties but there are much more to choose from. Pastas and pizzas anyone? I especially like their thin crust pizza with salad leaves as topping; this so much fresher version of pizza makes eating it no longer a thing you have to feel guilty for.
Another must have for myself would be the deep fried portobello mushrooms or portobello fries as it is called in the menu. This deep fried strips of fleshy mushrooms is served with blue cheese dipping sauce; what I like to do with it is strip of the fried batter (i know many would disagree with that) and enjoy the succulent mushroom. A good deep fry should render the exterior light and crispy while the interior stays tender and succulent almost like steamed; apple green sure mastered the skill of this.
Some say the down side of apple green is that the options for dessert is quite limited; yet viewing it from a positive point of view, you can cover the entire dessert list in one go and try out all they have to offer, ain’t it a huge accomplishment? Better still, although limited, the quality of the desserts are at all bad, therefore it is wise to save up some room during main course.
Good quality food, affordable price range; casual atmosphere and great for crowds of 5 – 6; those are the things that growing boys and girls need especially in times of reunion (aka. «reU»). This only further justifies my observation regarding the rite of passage~ha