Eat Drink Hong Kong

That little area around The Sanlitun on Harbour Road seems to be in a constant state of change. There are a few restaurants there that have kept abreast of the changes but there are always new ones to check out. Ramas Greens isn’t exactly a new restaurant but It has recently moved there from its former home in Times Square.

It’s on the corner overlooking Gloucester Road with the neon of the road on one side, and a large video monitor presenting a svelte blue-eyed blonde surrounded by a troupe of he-men performing a vigorous dance routine on the other.

I was feeling all young and funky so I shimmied in and took a seat. It wasn’t busy. This is the kind of restaurant that probably does its best business quite late I presume. Nevertheless the staff were prompt and friendly.

Most of the tables are al fresco. I asked the waitress if she was looking forward to typhoon season. She wrinkled her nose and thought about it momentarily. Then she told me that tonight was nice because there was a breeze but yesterday it was so hot and humid and no breeze. It seemed she would rather not think about typhoon season.

I sent her off for a glass of Chardonnay and looked at the list of starters. The restaurant targets a younger clientele and this is reflected in the menu which comprises mainly seafood, steaks and pasta.

The starters were all quite familiar dishes. The list was augmented with a range of sushi and sashimi options. I’d already had sashimi at lunch so I gave that a miss and opted for the French onion soup ($58). To follow I ordered pan-grilled Scottish Salmon ($148).

There was however, something missing. I looked over at the waitress beseechingly. Obviously my talk of typhoons had momentarily clouded her thoughts but then the penny dropped and she scurried off to fetch the bread.

The soup was piping hot and a little sweeter than I was expecting though not unpleasantly so. A large cheese crouton made it rather more filling than I had anticipated but all in all it was very enjoyable.

By the time I had finished the soup the blue-eyed blond on the TV had been replaced by someone with, presumably, brown eyes and an altogether duskier complexion but the music and the dancing was pretty much the same.

I decided it didn’t matter all that much as I could see my salmon making it’s way over to me. A generous portion it was too. Simply prepared and presented on a bed of creamed potato with cherry tomatoes and a little lettuce.

A second glass of Chardonay also arrived, I hadn’t realised that there was a happy hour and this included two drinks for the price of one. I was about to order another one anyway so that was a peasant little surprise which somehow made the salmon taste even better.

The dessert menu contained all the usual suspects, cheesecake, fruit platters, tiramisu. The waitress was keen to recommend the chocolate pudding.

“It’s with ice cream and strawberries” she said, conspiratorially. I pointed out that it would take twenty minutes to prepare. “Fifteen”, she bargained. I was sold.

I finished off with a coffee and made my way down the taxi stand at the Sun Hung Kai Centre. It was then that I discovered that the Typhoon Signal 1 had been hoisted.