Eat Drink Hong Kong

3/F Wing Lok Building
14A Peking Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
(entrance in Lock Road)
Kowloon
Tel 2367 7489

Lovers of top notch, value for money, curries have always made a beeline for Chungking Mansions. A favourite of mine, when I arrived in Hong Kong as a fresh faced backpacker in the early eighties, was buried so far in that even the rats and roaches went around in pairs. The reward was an excellent curry that even backpackers had to agree was very reasonably priced.

But for some folks the very thought of Chungking Mansions is enough to put them off their dinner. Luckily, there are alternatives. One of these is Afghan Canteen, a small Indian (halal) restaurant that has inhabited the third floor above the Red Lips bar for over 16 years. The entrance is just around the corner on Lock Road. There are two small lifts which take people, two at a time, up to the third floor. There were four of us.

After the lift, the restaurant itself seems quite spacious. The decor was simple and the staff friendly. The restaurant wasn’t crowded and we were quickly shown to a table and menus were produced.

I’ve always maintained that beer and curry is a marriage made in heaven, the rest of the party seemed to agree and four cold Cobras were ordered and promptly delivered. We settled down to discuss the menu.

The were no big surprises, all our favourite dishes were represented. To get the ball rolling we sent the waiter off for some starters; Onion bhaji ($24), Samosas ($20), and Chicken chat ($24). The bhaji and the samosa were both excellent the chat, whilst not being particularly bad, didn’t really hold it’s own alongside the other two.

Nevertheless we made short work of it all and soon we were putting in our orders for the main dishes. Chicken Afghan ($60) was the house speciality so we felt duty-bound to order that. To go with it we ordered Baingan Bharta ($48), Rogan Josh ($60), Palak Paneer ($48) and Boti Kebab ($72).

Boti kebabs are chunks of tandoori lamb and are an excellent alternative to the ever popular chicken tikka (which is also available). The chicken Afghan was a mild, creamy curry and quite delicious. The rogan josh was also quite mild which is unusual for a rogan josh. These are usually on the spicy side and a bit oily but this adaptation was mild and buttery. It was a very pleasant dish indeed, but if you are a stickler for tradition it would probably raise the eyebrows a little.

The Palak paneer and Baingan bharta both lived up to expectation and we scooped them up enthusiastically with with plain and garlic nan.

Dessert would have been gulab jamun and kulfi but by the time we got there we were all quite full. Instead we finished our beers slowly, brought peace to the world and abolished natural disasters forever before emerging into the frantic neon of Tsim Sha Tsui. An explosion of light and noise that would also underscore a curry trip to Chungking Mansions.

G/F 88 Electric Road
Tin Hau
Hong Kong
Tel 2508 0122

2/F Fu Hing House
60 Russell Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2808 0250

59 Staunton Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2857 2966

Shop 15/19, 1/F Shatin Galleria
18-24 Shan Mei Street
Fotan,
New Territories
Tel 3188 0852
Fax 3188 0175

Every so often we get the urge to wander along one of those tiny little roads between Hollywood Road and Queens Road, just to make sure we’re not missing anything. Occasionally we are rewarded.

The other evening took us along Peel Street, down the hill from Hollywood Road. On the left just after crossing Gage Street, buried behind the street markets, we found an Indian restaurant that we’d never seen before. It is called Balle Balle and has been open for about three months. There had been something there before but after racking our brains for a while, and watching one of a group of chefs roll out parathas outside, we still couldn’t remember what. We went in.

It is a small cosy restaurant with just a few tables. A TV in the corner plays Indian pop videos but it was neither loud or intrusive, rather it lends the place a comfortable homely feel. We settled into our table and ordered beers.

The menu contains all our old favourites. In the appetizers section there are samosas, pakoras and onion bhajis but there were also a few that were a little more intriguing. The waiter recommended the chilli chicken ($31) - deep fried chicken with tomato, capsicum and chilli sauce. He told us that it had become one of their most popular dishes.

To go along with it we ordered my old favourite, mutton rogan josh ($40), vegetable kebab ($38) and a mixed raita ($17) where the yoghurt is mixed with diced tomatoes, cucumber and onions. And to mop it all up we added a lacha paratha ($11) and a plain nan ($10).

There was only one chef outside now to making the parathas, the others no doubt had adjourned to the kitchen to get busy with our order. To keep us going while the food was being prepared the waiter brought us complementary masala poppadoms.

The food when it arrived made us gasp. The servings were very generous indeed and we wondered how we were going to eat it all, but not being the kind of folks that shrink in the face of adversity we tucked in. I aimed for the rogan josh, my companion, the chilli chicken. The mutton was lean and tender, the sauce was thick and rich and not too oily as it sometimes can be. I could tell by the look on my companions face that the chicken was living up to its promise.

The vegetable kebabs had arrived on a sizzling plate but were now cool enough eat. Made from soya they had a meat like texture, a little chewy but definitely had a vegetarian flavour. I mopped a corner of my plate clean with a wonderfully light and fluffy piece of nan and asked my companion to pass me the chilli chicken. She did so but only after I had bartered the largest piece of mutton in the rogan josh AND the fifth piece of the vegetable kebab (I didn’t tell her that there was a sixth piece hiding under the lemon).

It was obvious why she was being possessive about the chicken, it was quite wonderful. The waiter told us the dish originated in southern India. It isn’t as fiery as it’s name might suggest, the sauce is a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, the chicken lean and soft.

Eventually we both sat back with contented, smug looks on our faces. “I’m full”, I said. “Couldn’t eat another thing”, she replied. “Gulab jamun?” I said … We shared it.

Balle Balle is open for dinner from 6-10.30pm when we were there it wasn’t too busy but the waiter did warn that anyone wanting to go for lunch (11.00-4.30 should either go early or plan a late lunch as they get very busy.

2/F Eastern Flower Center
22-24 Cameron Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2971 0009
Fax 2971 0015

1/F, Carfield Commercial Building
75-77 Wyndham St
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2971 0001
Fax 2596 0008

1/F 9 Lock Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2366 8171

1/F 9 Lock Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2366 8171

G/F, 27 Yik Yam St
Happy Valley
Hong Kong
Tel 2834 6565

Level 2, Rosedale on the Park
8 Shelter Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2127 8818

80 Kwong Fuk Road
Taipo Market
Taipo
New Territories
Tel 2650 7056

Shop G11A-1, G/F Block B
SB Plaza
Discovery Bay
Lantau
New Territories
Tel 2987 8060

1/F 68-70 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2865 6099
Fax 2527 4931

I always enjoy it when old mates pass through town. Eager to meet up for a couple of beers, see how a few old haunts have changed and then go on for something to eat.

And it always gives me a good opportunity to to go back to a restaurant that I haven’t been to in years. If possible I try to think of one that we may have wound an evening up in previously.

I had in mind a restaurant on Lockhart Road but it turned out that one had long since gone. But the disappointment was brief - a few paces further along his eyes lit up and he said “Yeah, The Curry Pot. I’ve not been there for years”

I’d quite forgotten how much he enjoyed a good curry but having thus been reminded I wasn’t about to stand in his way. So up we went.

The restaurant wasn’t busy and pretty soon he was chatting happily with the staff. I don’t really think he knew them from way back when, he was just feeling amiable and at home. “I used to come here all the time ten years ago”, he confided. I honestly couldn’t remember if I’d been there before or not. If I had been, it was a similar number of years ago.

We ordered beers and studied the menu. As with many Indian menus there are a lot of tried and trusted dishes that have proved their popularity over the years. The tikkas, tandooris and kormas are all present.

We ordered a chicken cucumber salad ($42) which was strips of tandoori chicken tossed with a salad, fish hara bhara ($88), aloo gobi ($58), and chicken makhani ($72).

The Makhani is a rich, buttery curry which can be made quite mild for those that prefer. Ours was medium spicy and was very agreeable indeed. The aloo gobi is, of course, the classic cauliflower and potato dish.

The dish that stood out for me was the fish hara bhara. Hara bhara is more commonly a vegetarian kebab made with potato steeped in a spinach sauce. In this case the potato was replaced with a firm flaky fish and served on a sizzling plate.

Normally I would insist on dessert at this stage, but sweet gulab jamun doesn’t mix too well with beer and I could see my old pal was keen to have one for the road before repairing back to his hotel for the night. So we paid our bill and stepped out into Lockhart Road. It was just like old times.

Block C 3/F, Chungking Mansions
36-44 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2368 1682

G/F 36 Main Street
Yung Shue Wan
Lamma Island
New Territories
Tel 2982 1583
Fax 2982 2391

2/F Sun Hung Kai Center
30 Harbour Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2598 7222

I’ve been mulling this one over for a while. There were, in fact, two restaurants here in the past, an Italian and an Indian. It seems they have merged and become one and the menu now offers choices from both. I was curious to see if I could mix them. I had my doubts but I was willing to give it a try.

It’s a spacious restaurant with modern but simple decor. It was early evening when I was there so it was not too busy. I took a table in the corner away from the few people that were there. For some this might have seemed a little lonely but I was quite happy with it.

After mulling the menu for quite some time I decided that an equal balance would be out of the question but what might work would be to go for something that was essentially Italian but then to spice it up with an Indian dish.

That also settled the question of beer or wine and a glass of Pinot Grigiot was ordered. For me beer is the perfect accompaniment for Indian food but even the bread basket, which came with a delicious dip made with sun-dried tomato and olive oil demanded wine.

The first dish to arrive was an Italian starter, Vitello Rosa Su Salsa a la Tonno ($138). This is very thinly sliced veal on a creamed tuna and topped with capers and anchovy. It was delicious and would be a perfect start to any Italian meal.

Following it this time, however, was Fettucine a la Bolognese ($133) and Peri Peri Prawns ($78). I’d gone for the bolognese partly because it is the evergreen Italian choice and wasn’t going to give me any surprises. But also because my son had been back from his first term at university and was looking for ideas for things he could cook on a student budget. I’d shown him my student version of bolognese and I was keen to reacquaint myself with the genuine article.

The prawns are grilled and served on skewers with a mild curry sauce. I’d always believed peri peri to be African in origin but the spices used here were definitely Indian and there was Indian bread to go with it but after the pasta I really didn’t need much more.

Both the fettucine and the prawns were excellent and I enjoyed the meal greatly. That said I’m not sure I would choose to mix them up this way again. Where this idea does score is when you are organising dinner with a large group of friends. Having two different cuisines available helps to accommodate more tastes. There are plenty of vegetarian choices as well.

I finished off with Pistachio Cake and dark Cocoa Sauce ($58). The Indian options included the ever popular Gulab Jamun which I love but I decided they would be just a bit too rich this time.

Duetto
2/F, Sun Hung Kai Centre
30 Harbour Road
Wanchai
Tel. 2598 1222

1/F Cheung’s Building
1-3 Wing Lok Street
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2850 5075
Fax 2850 5844

1/F Ashley Centre
23-25 Ashley Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2376 1001
Fax 2838 2933

I’ve been a fan of this restaurant for years. It boasts a large and impressive menu which includes dishes from all over India. August, however, has seen them making a special feature of Hyderabadi cuisine so I went over to have a taste.

I arrived shortly after seven o’clock. I hadn’t made a reservation and I do know that this place fills up pretty quickly, even on a weekday. I got a table near the back fairly close to the stage. The music would strike up in a while but for now it was quiet.

Hyderabadi cuisine is rich in flavour evolving over a 400 year period from the 15th to the 19th century and drawing influences from Arabia and Persia via the Mughal Emperors who had raised cooking to an art form.

The featured options were on the first page of the menu. There were about five or six each of starter and main course and the decision process was tricky. I ordered a bottle of Kingfisher beer and nibbled popadoms to help.

After much deliberation I settled on Shammi kebabs ($98) for a starter. These are lamb mixed with chana dal and blended to a fine paste before pan-frying. They look a bit like small burgers but they are silky smooth and delicious.

Hyderabadi dishes not as fiery as recipes from other regions. Rather they tend to be smooth and creamy. This was exemplified by the next dish. Simply called Chicken Hyderabadi ($92) it was a rich korma like curry made with plain yogurt, and almonds and with fairly prominent cardamom. It was really quite special indeed and I enthusiastically mopped the serving dish clean with my last piece of nan bread.

The only Hyderabadi dessert was called Shami Tuki ($42) These were three thin patties. I’m not entirely sure what the patties were made from but they were very sweet with an almond flavour to them. Sweetened milk had been poured over the top before finally being garnished with saffron. They are quite delicious but you’d be advised to share unless you have a very sweet tooth indeed.

1/F Yu Wing Building
64-66 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 6098
Fax 2522 5607

Gunga Din is probably one of the longest surviving restaurants along Wyndham Street. “Twenty years and counting” quipped Gunga, the original owner and manager, when my companion asked. My guest had been a regular at Gunga’s when he worked in the area some years ago. And Gunga still recognised him!

After all the “long time no see” greetings were out the way we ordered a couple of beers which arrived promptly along with fresh poppadoms. We settled down with the menu.

The restaurant had undergone a few changes since the last time either of us were there but I’m happy to report the food was as good as ever.

The Onion Pakora ($32) and Chicken Samosas ($35) that we ordered for starters went down well.

To follow we ordered Chicken Jalfrezi ($88). This is a dry spicy curry that is popular in both India and Pakistan and is made with green peppers and coarsely chopped onions.

We also ordered a Fish Tikka Masala ($115), which I hadn’t had before and was most impressed with. Large chunks of fish tikka in a rich masala sauce - for me this was the highlight of the meal.

For vegetables we ordered a classic Aloo Sag ($60), a potato and spinach curry which I frequently enjoyed for lunch many years ago. We mopped it all up with nan bread and washed it down with more beer before rounding off with the inevitable gulab jamun.

“Don’t leave it so long before you next visit”, said Gunga as we paid our bill and left. Somehow I don’t think we will.

Lower G/F 57-59 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2523 1276
Fax 2523 1439

13 Elgin Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2547 9998

I’ve long been a fan of Indian cuisine but I don’t often come across restaurants that style themselves as ’boutique Indian dining’. They do exist of course, sometimes they call themselves ‘modern Indian cuisine’.

The better ones usually have some interesting dishes on the menu. Lesser known or interesting reinterpretations of familiar ones. I had high hopes for Guru.

It’s a pleasant place just down the hill a few paces from the junction of Staunton and Elgin Streets. There are a couple of tables outside but this time I thought it might be more comfortable inside.

Just above the entrance on the inside there is a large light fitting and facing this is a colourful, modern painting of a traditional Indian scene. I took the table just inside with a good view of the painting.

I ordered a pint of draught Asahi ($55) and buried my nose in the menu. Of course there are some old favourites there. It just wouldn’t be right without samosas, rogan josh or tandoori chicken. But there plenty there to keep me undecided for quite a while. I was also pleased to note that they only use olive oil in their dishes and preparations.

For starters I took the easy way out and ordered the Guru sample platter ($98). You could think about sharing one of these as there are two of each item. The platter includes: Guru Tikki which were delicious tawa grilled potato and spinach cakes and samosas. Both of these could be dipped in the little bowl of tamarind sauce. Then there were muscles stir fried in tomato and herbs and the blue mango chat.

The mango was my favourite of all of them and I saved it until last just to savour it all the more. It featured tangy cubes of mango with whole wheat crisps in sweetened yoghurt with mint and tamarind chutney.

To follow I had ordered Mangaloria Fish Pot ($118). This is a very smooth and creamy curry rather like a korma. But unlike a korma this had a little more punch. I would class this as medium spicy so long as you don’t bite the chilli that decorates the top. It is served in a deep pot with succulent cubes of tender but flavourful fish swimming just beneath the surface.

To go with it I had Kadai Paneer ($68) which is sautéed chunks of cottage cheese with bell peppers, chilli and tomatoes. These were both mopped up with two plain nan.

I finished off with a Guru’s banana pancake a simple enough dessert of sliced banana wrapped in a pancake and drizzled with chocolate sauce and dusted with icing sugar.

G/F 13 Elgin Street
SoHo
Tel. 2547 9998

G/F 8 Ha Ling Pei Tsuen
Tung Chung Road
Lantau
New Territories
Tel 2988 8674

26-30 Tai Wong Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 6271 5719

1/F, 22-30 Tai Wong Street East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 5899

This restaurant is tucked away down a little side street off Johnston Road. At street level it is merely a doorway and quite easy to miss.

Inside the restaurant is simple but spacious. Indian popular music and dance was showing on a large screen TV but there was nobody there to watch it. I had the restaurant to myself.

It serves both Indian and Nepalese cuisine and there is a good variety of each. The menu is divided accordingly with good explanations of each dish and where it comes from. I’d gone along specifically for the Nepalese food.

I started with Bhogate Sandheko ($35). This is a simple dish made with some nice tangy grapefruit with yoghurt, sprinkled with chilli powder to give it a little extra bite. Following was a Chicken Choila ($65). This is a delicious chicken dish that has been barbecued and served with chillies, ginger onions and coriander.

Next, just to remind me that Nepal shares a long border with China, came some steamed chicken dumplings ($40) in soup. The dumplings are called momo. They were pleasant enough but they did seem a little out of context alongside the rest of the food I had ordered. It was a generous serving though, definitely designed to be shared.

Following this was a dish that I was particularly looking forward to, Himali Lamb Sekuwa ($65). This is cubes of barbecued lamb spiced with timmur. Timmur are the same peppercorns that make Sichuan cuisine so distinctive. It was nice, though I would have liked it to be more heavily spiced.

Finally came the Jhol Halu Ko Macha ($78) which is a very tasty but light fish curry in a thin sauce. Mopped up, of course, with nan bread.

For dessert there were the usual gulab jamun but the very last item on the menu caught my attention - Himalaya Special ($35). I ordered and waited in anticipation. When it arrived I was surprised to find that it consisted of three scoops of Ice cream, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, sandwiched between two slices of banana. It was topped with cream and finished off with a little pink umbrella.

‘Is this a traditional Nepalese dessert?’ I asked the waitress. She grinned.

1/F 126-128 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 3268
Fax 2866 3038

Shop1, G/F 31-37 Mosque Street
Mid-levels
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2525 5488
Fax 2525 4688

1B Sentact Bldg
343-347 Kings Road
North Point
Hong Kong
Tel 3104 2215

1A 1/f Millioncity
26-30 Elgin Street
Soho
Hong Kong
Tel 2801 5959
Fax 2537 4848

India Today is at 26 Elgin Street, right next door to I Caramba. Don’t be put off by the locked gate - simply rub your chin and put on a “lost” look and the genie will magically appear to guide you in and up to the first floor. There you will find a cosy little restaurant with a modern tropical feel. The walls are painted yellow and orange, decorated cushions are scattered around the seats, lanterns provide illumination and a coconut palm is sprouting in the corner. The restaurant has recently changed owners and the new ones were very attentive and keen to make sure we had an enjoyable evening. We ordered a cold beer (Carlsberg on draught) each and buried our noses in the menu.

The beer arrived along with a small bowl of chillies. They were a short fat variety, I don’t know the name. The manager explained that they were sliced open and filled with salt and yogurt, dried in the sun and finally deep fried and cooled. Nibbling them creates little explosions of flavour on the palate and left me in no doubt at all that, if they were able to make these in sufficient quantity, they would have one of the most successful bar snacks ever … that is, successful from the point of selling large amounts of cold beer thanks to the combination of the salt and the heat from the chilli.

All our favourite starters - onion bhajis, samosas and pakoras - are on the menu, but we decided to try the Murgh Chat ($42) and the Bhindi Rajasthani ($38). The murgh was small boneless tandoori chicken pieces rubbed with chat masala and served in a “salad” with coriander and green chillies. The Bhindi Rajasthani is okra fried in a deliciously light and crispy batter and served with a yoghurt dip.

From the tandoori menu we had considered ordering the Tandoori Kaliyan, a mixed platter of dishes from the tandoor, but there were only two of us and at ($178) we decided it was way more than we could eat. Instead we ordered boti kebab ($82) - young and tender pieces of lamb marinated in a spice-laced yoghurt and served on a sizzling plate, and cooked to perfection.

At this point the naans, two plain and one garlic, and our two remaining dishes arrived. From the vegetarian section we’d ordered Baingan Hydrabadi ($62). This is mild eggplant curry cooked in peanuts and sesame seeds. It was a very pleasant dish but on this evening it was facing some unfair competition. Our other dish was the Malabar Machli Curry ($78). The main ingredients of this curry are coconut and mackerel. The distinct flavours of each combine well to make a very memorable dish indeed. It is a mild curry, the sweetness of the coconut provides a startling, but very agreeable, contrast to the strong flavour of the mackerel. The only drawback was that it tended to overshadow the Baingan Hydrabadi. Next time I think I would choose something a little spicier to pair it with.

After a respectable pause we concluded the meal with that old standby, Gulab Jamun, balls of milk powder fried until golden and soaked in a sweet saffron syrup, followed with masala tea.

31-37 Mosque Street
Mid levels
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2525 5488

1/F Amber Lodge
23 Hollywood Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 3105 5300
Fax 3105 0409

Shop D, G/F 50-56 Paterson Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2895 4522

Jojo’s is one of Hong Kong’s best known and longest surviving Indian restaurants. Old timers will remember the original premises that opened way back in 1985 on Johnston Road. Back then it was called Jojo’s Mess and was hugely popular, especially at lunch times when it was really difficult to get a table if you hadn’t booked in advance.

That was closed and the site redeveloped. The restaurant eventually reopened in Lockhart Road with a new name, Jojo’s Indian Cuisine, and brighter decor, It has been there for about three years and I’m happy to say that the food is as good as ever.

They serve a dinner buffet on Mondays and Wednesdays which I didn’t know about so I went along the other evening to check it out. The cost is $148 with house beer included. I’m not sure what house beer is, I opted for a Kingfisher which was $35 extra.

There were really no surprises regarding the food. There was a good selection to choose from and I diligently made my way along the line of shiny stainless steel serving trays. But I knew before I’d even begun that I was never going to be able to sample everything.

As with all buffets I try never to cram too much onto my plate at any one time, I much prefer to make more journeys. After poppadoms and beer I got down to business with onion bhaji, a samosa and some eggplant salad.

There was some background wallpaper music playing, it was inoffensive but I couldn’t really say much more for it. I tried to remember what music had played in the old place but all I could remember were sizzling plates of chicken tikka whizzing past my ears as they were delivered to their respective tables.

Chicken tikka was next up for me too. Along with the familiar tikka there was also a chicken tikka malai. This is cooked the same way but with a rich and creamy marinade. There was also lamb shank tikka and whilst the chicken was wonderful it was the lamb that stole my heart. I went back for seconds.

The curries are divided into meat and vegetarian. There were two lamb options and two chicken. There were also four vegetarian options including a rather delicious dal and aloo gobi.
There is also pilau rice for those that want it but I always find that nan is quite sufficient for mopping purposes.

By the time I’d worked my way through all that I had just enough space left for a couple of gulab jamun and a bite of watermelon. Wanchai has changed much over the past twenty-five years but the quality of Jojo’s food has remained consistent.

2/F, David House
37-39 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 3776
Fax 3110 2295

Shop 101, 1/F Block A
Discovery Bay Plaza
Lantau
New Territories
Tel 2987 0122
Fax 2987 0116

1/F 122 Woo Sung Street
Jordan
Kowloon
Tel 9042 7154

Tucked away behind the Belchers and Westwood Plaza this place could be a challenge to find for anyone not familiar with the area. But for those that do your efforts will be well rewarded.

Kathmandu serves an eclectic mix of Nepalese cuisine and Spanish tapas. It may seem like a odd combination but not to owner and chef Bahadur KC Shiva. Shiva has experience of running Spanish and Argentian restaurants and his original branch of Kathmandu was one of the first restaurants to open in the SoHo area back in 199Os.

Soaring rents forced that branch to close down. The current branch is a cosy little hole in the wall on a Kennedy Town back-street where Shiva himself is on hand to take your orders and explain dishes. And when hoe’s not doing that he will have his head in the kitchen to direct operations there.

The Spanish part of the menu consists of around a dozen tapas plus soup and salad options. The Argentinian chorizo ($48) caught my eye and, tempting though the momo and samosas were, I decided that would be my starter. Though I did order some poppadoms and a beer as well.

The chorizo was good and I wolfed it down enthusiastically but I had barely finished when my second dish, Ostrich Kebab ($88), arrived. The ostrich is marinated in organic Nepalese herbs and served on skewers with onion and bell pepper with a red wine and garlic sauce. It is also served with lightly spiced vegetables and saffron rice.

Ostrich meat is low in fat and really rather tasty. I promised myself that I will try the tandoori version of it next time.

The next dish was Khasi Gurkhali. This is the Kathmandu version of a Rogan Josh. This is not as oily as the familiar Indian style rogan josh. In this version lean pieces of lamb served in a smooth, spicy tomato rich curry sauce.

I finished off with rice pudding ($30) which was served with light sprinkling of masala spices.

Kathmandu has a limited number of tables I recommend calling ahead to book.

G/F Shop 1A Woo Hop St, South Lane
Kennedy Town
Tel 2817 7811

1/F Dannies House
1 Luard Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2520 5308
Fax 2520 5508

4/F Winfield Commercial Building
6-8a Prat Avenue
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2367 0555

Discovering Indian vegetarian cuisine is almost like discovering Indian food all over again. There are so many possibilities that you simply don’t see many of them on the menus of most restaurants. Unless, of course, the restaurant is dedicated to serving only vegetarian dishes.

Khana Khazana is just such a place. There are two branches, I was at the Wanchai restaurant. It boasts quite a large dining area with functional but pleasant decor. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. I took a table towards the back and ordered a kingfisher beer to go with the complimentary poppadums.

As mentioned the menu offers a range of dishes that are not seen in most Indian restaurants. Idlis, Rasam and Wada all appear on the very first page. Helpfully the menu does include descriptions so you know what it is you are ordering.

My first dish was Haryali kebab ($78). This is the familiar looking kebab shape but since it is made with spinach and garden vegetables it is an unfamiliar green colour. It arrives on a sizzling hot-plate garnished with fresh cabbage and onions and wedges of lemon.

They are mildly spicy and very flavourful but my attention is distracted by the arrival of the South Indian platter ($88). This took my breath away. I’d already noted that the kebabs were a generous serving but this, a selection of small dishes was just huge. It includes smaller portions of many of those intriguing dishes.

Rasam, a lentil soup flavoured with tamarind, tomato and pepper occupied one end of the long platter while a dosa masala took up the far end. The dosa is a kind of pancake filled with spicy potato and onion. In between these was a ground lentil fritter called a wada, a steamed rice cake known as an idli which is served with a delicious coconut chutney. There was an uttapam which is another kind of spicy pancake.

It was so big that I could have made a meal of this one dish alone. Indeed two gentlemen and completely different tables were doing just that. I still had a vegetable Jaipuri ($78) to come and, true to form, when it did arrive there was enough food on the table to easily feed three or even four people.

The basic sauce for the Jaipuri is similar to a classic vegetable curry that you might find elsewhere. But unlike anywhere else this vegetable curry is definitive. It comes thick with fresh crunchy vegetables including carrots, cabbage and peas. I really didn’t need the nan I had ordered but it did help scoop some of it up.

I was well and truly beaten. I think I ate less than half of what I’d ordered but I felt I couldn’t leave without trying the Kesar badam kulfi ($68), home made ice cream flavoured with saffron and almonds. Mercifully it was a smaller serving and I was glad I made the effort.

Block E, 7/F Chungking Mansions
36-44 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2721 2786

103 California Entertainment Building
34 D’Aguilar Street
Lan Kwai Fong
Tel 2877 9706
Fax 2868 9335

181-182 New Town Plaza III
Sha Tin
New Territories
Tel 2368 3065
Fax 2366 0789

Shop 001-002 G/F Cityplaza 2
Tai Koo Shing
Hong Kong
Tel 2568 8757
Fax 2569 7646

1/F 3-4 Peninsula Mansion
16C Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2368 3065
Fax 2366 0789

Shop 19, G/F Chungking Mansion
36-40 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2368 2562

G/F 92 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0811
Fax 2813 4403

7/F, Cheung Hing Commercial Bldg
37-43 Cochrane St
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2854 0916

2/f H Winner Building
27-37 D’Aguilar Street
Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2891 6525
Fax 2869 8482

G/F 10 Mercer Street
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2581 9777
Fax 2581 9776

This is one of a number of restaurants that have sprung up in Sheung Wan in recent months. “Don’t Worry. eat curry”, the menu exhorts, “A Taste of Modern Indian Cuisine”. It sounded good to me so I went in and took a seat.

It’s a small restaurant but bright and cheerful with orange being the dominant colour. The staff are friendly and helpful and produced poppadoms within moments of my sitting down. I ordered a bottle of Kingfisher beer ($30) to go with it and turned to the menu.

Of course all our old favourites are there, korma, Madras and vindaloo. Tikkas in both fish and chicken and, what looked to me to be great value at $158, a tandoori mixed grill. This included both the tikkas, seekh kebab and lamb.

But in places like this I always like to look for the things that are a little unusual. One of the first things that caught my eye was the inclusion of a number of salads. Tandoori chicken tossed with cucumber and tomatoes ($45) sounded good as did the herb crusted fillet of sole with green salad ($58). Though the latter didn’t sound very Indian.

Elsewhere on the menu the Lamb Shank Masala ($135) sounded very good. A baby lamb leg cooked in a crunchy masala sauce. I was very tempted but I had a suspicion that it might be a fairly large dish. Not that such considerations have ever stopped me before but I was intrigued by the Fish Head Curry ($88).

This is made with a fresh salmon head. I’ve had fish head curries before but I couldn’t recall ever having one made with salmon and I was keen to find out how a flavour as distinctive as salmon would work in a curry. According to the menu it is a secret recipe that includes mustard seeds, eggplant and poached in a “special condiments” curry.

The curry itself was slightly dry in flavour and a little tangy and fish head was indeed very fresh. It was quite a surprise to find the salmon flavour in there at the start but after a few mouthfuls my palette warmed to the task and by the time I’d finished that, and the Palak Paneer ($48) that I’d ordered to accompany it, I was rummaging around in the debris to make sure I hadn’t missed any tasty morsels.

I’d ordered the curry medium spicy but it seemed a little hotter than I would expect and garnished with dried chillies. This doesn’t bother me at all but for people who don’t like curries at the very spicy end it is probably worth making sure the waiter understands or ask for very mild.

I mopped up with the remains of a naan and I had to admit that I was feeling quite full.

There are no desserts listed on the menu but the waitress did confess to having Gulab Jamun and I felt it was my solemn duty to indulge. It was actually very good gulab jamun and I was glad that I did.

G/F Wing Cheung Building
18 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Tel 2294 0452
Fax 2294 0469

2/F Tak Fai Building
Percival Street
Wanchai
Tel 2573 3111

Shop 1, G/F Hoi Kwong Yuen
9-15 Tong Chong Street
Quarry Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2880 5334
Fax 2565 5974

G/F Block D, Ho Kwan Building
48-54 Jordan Road
Jordan
Kowloon
Tel 6048 0492

G/F 12 Staunton Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2869 6212

G/F 24 South Wall Road
Kowloon City
Kowloon
Tel 2716 5128

Shop 1-3 G/F Wah Fung Building
17-23 Minden Avenue
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2367 5619

G/F Fook Wah Mansion
2 Tsing Fung Street
Tin Hau
Hong Kong
Tel 2566 8411
Fax 2578 5866

1/F Ashley Centre
23-25 Ashley Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2376 1001

G/F Connaught Commercial Building
185 Wanchai Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2572 7474
Fax 2591 0814

1/F Dragon Rise
9-11 Pennington Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2915 7378
Fax 2572 5073

43 Staunton street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2543 2632

G/F Site 9 Whampoa Garden
Hunghom
Kowloon
Tel 2356 7399
Fax 2356 7110

2/F, 1 Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 21919886, 21919880
Fax 2191 9878

1/F 103-104 Chungking Mansions
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2722 5350/2723 7618

G/F 4-5 Wo On Lane
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 6061

This is a cosy little Indian restaurant on Wo On Lane. We’d been planning to head on up to Wyndham Street but the promise of fresh nan was too much to resist and the little restaurant was almost empty. “As long as you don’t order anything too spicy”, my companion said as we crossed the threshold.

There were only two other guests, and they were just finishing an early dinner so before long we had the place to ourselves. “Not too spicy, eh?” I confirmed, as the waiter poured the beers.

A chicken korma seemed the obvious choice but we would need more than that. I I figured the onion bhajis would go down well. I was right. Onion bhajis vary so much from restaurant to restaurant, I’ve often wondered if it is because of regional variations or if it’s simply the way the chef’s mum used to cook them. But I always forget to ask.

These were tightly packed nuggets of shredded onion a little crispy on the outside. An excellent accompaniment to the beer. I tried to go slow but it was useless.

By the time the mixed tandoori platter arrived we were ready for more beer. Fortunately the tandoori took our minds off the beer briefly. It consisted of chicken, fish and lamb. “I like the lamb”; said my companion, stabbing the last piece with his fork. I was impressed with the fish and duly smuggled the last morsel of that onto my plate.

The korma and an aloo gobi arrived. Both were good, the korma in particular. It was rich and creamy and clearly a hit with my companion.

Before long we had mopped all the dishes clean and were leaning back in our chairs. Dessert was not really an option, we were both too full. Even finishing our last beer was a challenge.

It was a very typical curry dinner and a very good one. And at around $300 each, including beer, it was good value for money too.

3/F B4, Block B Chungking Mansion
36-44 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2722 5454/2366 4477

1/F Lyndhurst Tower
1 Lyndhurst Terrace
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2845 2262

Every so often I get a craving for a really hot curry. It is not the kind of thing I order if I’m out with a group of people because most often the others can’t share. Even if I go to an Indian restaurant alone I would more usually choose to sample a range of flavours. Really hot curries like a vindaloo, especially if you are eating alone, tends to overwhelm the other dishes.

For me a curry like that requires commitment so when the urge takes a hold I skulk off to Taste Better Curry on Graham Street. It’s a simple restaurant, more spacious on the inside than the exterior would have you believe. The tables have a layer of glass on top with the menus underneath. It’s brightly lit and the ambience is governed by the wall mounted TV that the staff watch when they are not looking after customers.

I’ve never seen it really busy, nor have I seen it empty but there always seems to be a steady flow of guests. Most of them appear to be like me, they have gone there to indulge in passion that few of their friends or relatives share.

I don’t know what they order, I always order a vindaloo. There are other options such as Madras, and masala all of which can be ordered with beef, chicken, mutton, fish or prawn. There are a few specialities such as Kyoto pork chop, pork neck and curry crab. At $68 the crab is the most expensive item on the menu.

I opt for a fish vindaloo ($50), two plain nan ($12 each) and an ovaltine. The waiter warns me that the vindaloo is very spicy and I assure him that very spicy is just what I came for. The nan are not like Indian nan as there is no tandoori oven, these are more like huge chapatis. If you prefer your curry can be served with rice or with spaghetti.

The serving of curry looks enormous though is is the sauce making it look more than it really is. That said there is ample food for one person; good sized chunks of fish and potato. I dig in and pretty soon the beads of sweat are forming on my brow.

People do ask how I can actually enjoy dishes that are this spicy. It’s not a taste that you can acquire over night it develops over a period of time. But when you get it it can be quite addictive.

It’s interesting to note that the word ‘Vindaloo’ comes from the Portuguese ‘Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos’ which means meat with wine and garlic. The Portuguese took it to Goa where it was mixed with with Indian spices and turned into a Goan dish. It’s still not very common elsewhere in India but it is popular in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Potatoes were not originally part of the recipe they got added later, the discrepancy arising, I’m told, because ‘aloo’ is the Hindi word for potato.

Finished, I push the plate away and mop my brow. There are no desserts on the menu. I but a bag of mandarin oranges from the market outside and take them home.

Taste Better Curry
G/F, 7 Graham Street
Central

I was nursing a half glass of Kingfisher beer, gazing across the harbour towards Kowloon and gently chiding myself for having passed up the gulab jamun in Grand Marnier. A boat chugged by and a light breeze played with the leaves of the plants that decorate the Moghul Terrace at the Viceroy. Inside the tabla player was beating out the rhythm as the singer sang of her love; some things are universal. But not gulab jamun in Grand Marnier, I’ve only ever seen that on the menu at the Viceroy.

I seriously considered ordering a second dessert, for the sake of research I’ll have you know, but I wasn’t sure I had the space left to research it properly.

I’d arrived about ninety minutes earlier, beer, poppadoms and an intriguing menu had arrived shortly after. The Viceroy is, of course, best known for being an Indian restaurant but it also serves a range of middle eastern dishes and while I’d gone there for the Indian food it was very tempting indeed to mix and match.

The restaurant does offer a range of set dinners from both the Indian and middle eastern menus starting at $158 per person, there is also a special menu for kids.

The items on the middle eastern menu that particularly caught my attention were a kingfish shashlik, Moroccan herbed chicken and roasted prawns.

It was a tough choice but I eventually chose tandoori prawns ($138) for starters. Two huge ones that were firm and tasty, with onions and peppers. Another option had been salmon and cheese samosas ($68) but in the end I was delighted with my choice.

The breeze had stiffened a bit but not enough to worry me unduly. I ordered another Kingfisher and watched a crane barge lumber towards Causeway Bay. The next dishes to arrive were saag gosht ($98) and dubikiwale dum aloo ($68). The saag gosht is a mild dish with pieces of lamb cooked with ground spinach. The lamb was deliciously soft and tender.

The dubikiwale dum aloo consists of potatoes stuffed with paneer, which is an Indian type of cheese, and sultanas and bathed in a tomato and cream sauce. The dishes were a pleasing combination, the dry earthy flavours of the lamb and spinach contrasting well the sweetness of the sultanas and tomatoes. The dishes were mopped clean with nan bread, and I polished off my second kingfisher and ordered a third while I perused the dessert menu.

Now I’ve had gulab jamun many times before. It is the quintessential Indian dessert. I don’t remember ever having been to an Indian restaurant that didn’t have it on the menu though admittedly never in Grand Marnier. But I’d never had aam ki phirni before either. Aam ki phirni is a souffle of rice and milk blended with mangoes. I love mangoes. A decision had to be made and I went for the mango souffle. It was delicious, smooth, creamy, chilled to perfection and studded with cubes of fresh mango. It was a good decision.

I finnished the beer, paid my bill and left but that gulab jamun is going to be tugging at my conscience, I don’t think it will very long before I am back for seconds.

5-6, G/F Mirror Tower
61 Mody Road
TST East
Kowloon
Tel 2369 3718 / 2366 1945

B2-3, Block B Friends House
4-6 Carnarvon Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2366 5054

6/F Harilela Mansion
81 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2312 1015