It‘s rare that I buy lunch on a weekday but I found myself without a lunch one day last week and needed to eat out. Lucky for me, I had a place in mind...Lucullus Bakery.
Let's be honest, I really wanted to pick up a green tea red bean sticky ball (pictured on the right hand side) and since they also served lunch, I thought it would be good to try.
Lucullus serves sandwiches and soups but also serves some traditional Chinese lunches like steamed rice dishes. They have 3 options for steamed rice: chicken and mushroom, black bean spare ribs, and chicken curry but they only had the spare ribs left when I arrived. For $5.95 which includes a small drink, this was not bad. Changing to a cold drink would add $1.50 more to your bill (which afterwards I realized is actually a little more than the price difference between a small hot and medium cold drink on their general menu). I opted for an iced milk tea. Cold water is also available and is infused with cucumber which is a nice touch.
The steamed black bean spare rice dish tasted okay but not outstanding. Fits the bill when you're looking for a basic Cantonese dish though. The downside is the portion is a bit small. When I finished, I was satisfied but I can see others having to eat 2 to be full simply because the rice portion amounts to probably no more than one cup of rice. If you get take-out from other Chinese establishments downtown, the steamed rice portion is a lot bigger. I would have liked to see some veggies too, like a couple of florets of broccoli or strands of Chinese greens (like 油菜心 or "you cai xin" in Mandarin pinyin), but I understand veggies are usually an after-thought when it comes to take-out meals like this and adds extra labour.
The steamed black bean spare rice dish tasted okay but not outstanding. Fits the bill when you're looking for a basic Cantonese dish though. The downside is the portion is a bit small. When I finished, I was satisfied but I can see others having to eat 2 to be full simply because the rice portion amounts to probably no more than one cup of rice. If you get take-out from other Chinese establishments downtown, the steamed rice portion is a lot bigger. I would have liked to see some veggies too, like a couple of florets of broccoli or strands of Chinese greens (like 油菜心 or "you cai xin" in Mandarin pinyin), but I understand veggies are usually an after-thought when it comes to take-out meals like this and adds extra labour.
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| Green tea red bean sticky ball |
I also had dessert picked out, a green tea red bean sticky ball. Besides the sticky rice balls, they had a tapioca red bean sicky ball which I might get next time. Unfortunately, I was a bit underwhelmed with this though. The rice ball was nice and soft but the green tea flavour did not come out. The coconut shavings on the outside may have masked the green tea which I was a little sad about. The red bean paste was ok and not as sweet as Japanese red bean paste. Also, HK style sticky/glutinous rice balls are not as chewy as Japanese or Taiwanese versions I've had.
For me, I think I would have liked a little more green tea flavour or the outside dusting could be done with green tea powder. Alternatively, a green tea with red bean combo filling might be nice. Anyway, I think I'd still go back to try the other sticky rice balls (sesame walnut and mango) as they do satisfy a craving for mochi at a reasonable price.
The cold HK style milk tea was okay as well, but surprisingly I think I like their hot just a tad more.
All in all, I still enjoyed my meal and would revisit just to enjoy the quiet ambience and try out a few more of their offerings! Wifi is also available :)
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