Simply Life Admiralty

When in doubt, eat at Simply Life!

Well…it is the easy choice at times!

I think we're just addicted to this place right now.  Every weekend…every holiday…and in every district…we've been finding ourselves having lunch at Simply Life.  It's just the, again, easiest choice these days…plus, the menu has always been really nice.

And the set lunch menu is always a good value for what you get.  For 108 HKD (plus a 10% service charge), you get a soup/salad, main entree, and a drink (coffee/tea).

I feel like this place is like McDonalds…way back in high school.  I used to go there all the time during our lunch hour and order from a menu that I knew…and when something new came out, I'd test it out.  That's sort of what the menu of Simply Life is to me (and that's saying a lot because I love McDonalds!)  

I still have warm fuzzy feelings over the McDonald's pancakes that I used to order when we'd go on family road trips!  

We were down in Admiralty dealing with some US Consulate affairs…and decided to pop into Lab Concept, which used to be my favorite mall to visit.  It's connected to Pacific Place and also the Admiralty MTR Station.  It's a really convenient mall to visit and also has some really awesome shops like EVERY COSMETIC brand, Pandora, Top Shop, Urban Outfitters, The Body Shop, M&S Food, a Starbucks and a few other eateries...

It's a great mall to window shop through…

The Simply Life here also has a slightly different menu to that of Yuen Long's Yoho Mall's Simply Life.

There was a chicken burger on offer and I love burgers, so it was an easy option for me to try.

The cool thing about the Admiralty Simply Life is that they gave us different breads along with our soup/salads.  The one in Yuen Long gives the same type of bread (if that makes any sense) every time we've been there.  It's nice to try something new every now and then…

We also got the fish, which was called the Seared Barramundi.  I'm not familiar with barramundi, but I have seen it on menus a lot here in HK.  It was nice, none the less.

The food was pretty nice…and the restaurant was even more impressive.  I've never been to this Simple Life before, but it is really quite rustic looking.  A chic kind of rustic.

The lunch hour started around noon…and there was already a line up outside the restaurant.  The limit for lunch was set at an hour…so, we had an allotted hour to order, eat, and enjoy before we had to leave.  I think that's probably the nature of most of the eateries down in Admiralty?  If anyone knows…please let me know.

Because, just from observation, it's crazy busy during the lunch hour and people really do have a limited time to eat before they head back to work.

So, I totally understand the one hour limit…

Do, I mind it…eh…I don't really because I wasn't in Admiralty to really chill for the afternoon!

Besides the main restaurant area, there is also a bakery, where you can order pasties and breads to go.

It was a good afternoon spent.  And it was nice to experience the hustle and bustle of the Admiralty lunch rush hour.  It makes me wonder if I'd ever be into working in an office and living the 9 - 5 life!  It's attractive at times…

Simply Life, Yuen Long

Another weekend…another taste test of a restaurant over at Yoho Mall in Yuen Long.  Today's blog post is all about Simply Life, which I've been to a few times in Kowloon Tong's Festival Walk Mall.  We decided to head over to Simply Life for lunch.  It's actually one of the more popular places to eat.  Everytime I pass it there are people in most of the seats.  I knew that the experience was going to be quite satisfying…and who doesn't want to feel like lunch isn't satisfying?

Simply Life is located right next to Applegreen.

The awesome something about the Yoho Mall Simply Life is that you can opt to sit out on the veranda.   And it truly is outdoors, which is something I TRULY APPRECIATE ABOUT restaurants!  It's lovely to be able to sit outdoors on days when the weather is lovely.  It makes the weekend feel more like the weekend…it makes life just more enjoyable.  Plus, it wasn't too sunny or too cold today, so we sat on the deck.

We both ordered off of the brunch menu, which was set at $118 HKD for a salad/soup, main, and a tea/coffee.

I like when menus are condensed to a few really awesome options.  Though…there are quite a bit of options, it's nice when they are just organized into a set.

I got the salad of the day, which was a garden salad with a grapefruit on top.  I also got a side of bread. Both were delicious.  The salad was refreshing, light, and small enough to not make me feel overly full.  The bread was lovely!  I think they make their own breads at the restaurant…because they do have a bread bar that we passed to get out onto the deck.  But, the crust was lovely and hard…while the inside was nice and doughy.  I really loved it.

My husband got the soup of the day, which was pumpkin and a side of bread as well.  This was quite a nice combination…now that I think about it.  The bread was perfect for dunking into the soup…which I only know because I had a little taste of it before he started eating.  The pumpkin soup was really nice.  It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too warm…it had a great flavor and tasted quite fresh.  It was really good.

For the main dishes, I got the fish fillet burger with a side of fries.  It also came with a roasted tomato and pickle as garnish, which made me think of how I used to order pickles on the side with my hot dogs at baseball games.  But, the bun was what I was actually curious about.  I had seen ads for Burger King and McDonalds…when they were offering their black bun burgers.  I think the color of the bun came from squid ink.  I'm not totally sure, but it didn't taste much different from any other bun.  I just really loved the look it of.

The burger was really good though.  The tartar sauce and fish fillet were really good…healthy-tasting even!

We also got a beef burger with guacamole.  This was really nice!  I loved the actual burger bit.  It tasted really fresh…if that could be a thing.  The guacamole was a nice touch as well.  And the cheese that was oozing out all over the burger was really nice.  I'm glad that I got to taste test this before my husband devoured it as well.

It's actually been quite awhile since we'd both had burgers.  It was nice to have them for lunch today!

For drinks, I got the iced tea, which came with orange slices.  This was totally refreshing.  Usually people add lemons to their iced tea…but this makes me want to try some iced tea with orange wedges at home.  It's a nice change of pace.

My husband said the coffee was light and pretty nice.

Funny story about the coffee…the waiter was slowly inching his way over to our table with our drinks in his hand.  When he finally got to the table he said, "I'm sorry.  I'm testing my stability."  I didn't get what he meant…unit lI looked at the coffee saucer and there were dribbles and puddles of coffee all over it.  

I liked that guy's commentary.  It made me really appreciate the great service that we got from everyone that we encountered at the restaurant.  They totally hired some really great people at the Yoho Mall Simply Life.

We got a corner seat, which was really nice.  Here was the view behind me.  I love the greenery.  I really love the environment that Yoho Mall has around the outside.

This was such a great lunch.  This is the third place we've tried at Yoho Mall and I'm totally invested in going here whenever I feel like eating out.  Again…I'm feeling quite grateful that this place opened up in Yuen Long!

Simply Life Luncheon

There are so many places in Hong Kong to try (food-wise).  Free standing restaurants, food stalls, and local eateries are plentiful.  So, eating at the mall isn't one of my top priorities.  But, I have been wanting to try a place at Festival Walk called Simply Life.  

Whenever I am down at Festival Walk, I always see Simply Life and make a mental note to have lunch there one day.  And today was the day.

The thing that attracted me the most was the outdoor sitting area.  It looks like you're sitting on a porch or on some veranda in New Orleans (or any location of your choice).  And, if I had the option to sit indoors or outdoors, I'd prefer outdoors…especially if the weather is nice.

Another perk of getting outdoor seating is that it looks over the ice rink.

The lunch menu had a great variety on top of the soup/salad + drink.

The coffee was average, but did the job.

I got the English Big Breakfast set, which was DELICIOUS.  It was a sizable proportion that I would definitely half with a friend when I go back next time.

Though we were sat at an incredibly small table on the patio, it made for a lovely photo...  Smaller tables means more intimate space, right?  We didn't mind, but, to forewarn, the tables may be small and the plates may be incredibly large.  So, if you prefer more space, there are bigger table options for sure!

Besides being a full on restaurant, there was a bakery attached to Simply Life…as well as a window that we could watch the bakers do their thing.

If you are looking for a nice place for an afternoon of socializing and coffee drinking, meeting at Simply Life is a great option!