Eat Drink Hong Kong

I don’t often eat steaks at restaurants, its the kind of thing I cook at home along with home made English style chips and a glass of fine beer. But when the pangs hit not even a hike across Tsim Sha Tsui at six-thirty in the evening is enough to deter.

Now when I was a young lad BLT stood for bacon, lettuce and tomato. The three would usually be found between two slices of crusty bread and would be enjoyed with a piping hot mug of tea.

In Ocean Terminal BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel which is the latest establishment to be opened by celebrity chef Laurent Tourondel. It’s also the first one to be opened outside the US. And it was here that my feet were taking me.

It is a modern cosmopolitan place with stunning views across the harbour if you’re lucky enough to be there when there isn’t a cruise ship in. The staff are friendly and efficient and soon led me to a table with an impressive view of the Silver Whisper cruise ship. Can’t have everything I thought and buried my nose in the menu.

Naturally there’s a full range of steak options with Australian and Wagyu beef. There are also some intriguing seafood possibilities and the Alaskan cod was very tempting. But it was steak that had brought me here and I was steak that I was going to have.

The top end of the menu was a bit beyond my budget but the 10oz Australian filet ($268) looked good but before that I ordered Spicy Rock Prawns with Blue Cheese Dressing ($138)to get things started.

While I was waiting for these the waiter delivered what he called “bread” but according to a little label on the side of the plate it is called a popover. Most British people however would know it as Yorkshire pudding. And a very good one and huge too, with cheese added during the baking.

Before long the prawns arrived. They were succulent and tasty. I wouldn’t have been unhappy had been a little spicier but not everyone would agree with that.

To go with the steak I’d ordered Potato Gratin ($58). “It’s very rich,” confided the waiter, “this one is for cheese lovers”.

The steak was all I could have hoped for. Cooked medium rare, it was lean and juicy. It wasn’t long before I found myself mopping the plate with the last of my popover.

Admittedly I couldn’t cook a steak that well at home and I was really glad that I had stopped by. My only complaint is about the range of beers that that they serve. And it’s not only BLT that are guilty. Given the range of excellent Belgian and British beers that are now available in Hong Kong it’s disappointing that so few restaurants offer them. A quality beer can complement a steak as well as a fine wine.

For dessert I opted for Lemon Meringue Pie with Lemon Sorbet ($80). The lemon meringue itself was fairly ordinary but the sorbet was wonderfully sharp and tangy. I rounded off with a coffee and took the ferry back across the harbour. It is indeed a spectacular view.

3 Luard Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 7138

G/F 29 Elgin Street
Soho
Hong Kong
Tel 2526 0999

7/F LKF Tower
33 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2526 2366

G/F, 13-15 Lan Fong Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2577 7981

B/F Broadway Building
54-62 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong

Kimberley Plaza
Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2316 2381

G&1/F Emperorland Commercial Building
4 On Lan Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2526 1212
Fax 2536 9878

48 Hang Hau Cuen
Tseung Kwan O
Kowloon
Tel 2719 8168

4/F The Lee Gardens
33 Hysan Avenue
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2907 2218

1/F Malaysia Building
50 Gloucester Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2529 8933
Fax 2865 1560

G/F Hutchison House
10 Harcourt Road
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2523 4772

4/F Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel
20 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2732 2343

Shop 10, 1/F Sanlitum Causeway Centre
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2802 1128
Fax 22802 2066

Shop A, G/F 5-7 Cleveland Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2881 5757

Shop G3A, Site 4
Whampoa Garden
Hung Hom
Kowloon
Tel 2766 2823

2/F JP Plaza, 22-36 Paterson Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2881 8012

Shop 3-5, L2
Discovery Park Shopping Centre
Tsuen Wan
Kowloon
Tel 2940 0682

Shop 1, 2/F Oterprise Square
26 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 3741 1728

U G/F 23-28 Tsim Sha Tsui Centre
66 Mody Road
Tsimshatsui East
Kowloon
Tel 2311 7800

1/F De Fenwick
8-12 Fenwick Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 3101 0418

Shop G9-10 G/F Kornhill Plaza
1 Kornhill Road
Taikoo
Hong Kong
Tel 2560 8246

Shop Unit 26
Telford Plaza
Kowloon Bay
Kowloon
Tel 2376 3122

155-159 Level 1
New Town Plaza Phase 1
Shatin
New Territories
Tel 2699 2838

Shop 505 Cityplaza Phase 1
Taikoo Shing
Hong Kong
Tel 2907 1133

G/F Lippo Centre
89 Queensway
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 9090
Fax 2522 9081

G/F Empire Centre
68 Mody Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon

Yes, it is a curious name and I couldn’t help but ask how the restaurant came by it. The staff were more than happy to explain. The entrepreneurial spirit of Ruth Fertel was looking for a new challenge. She found it in Chris Steak House which had been advertised for sale in a local newspaper. One of the conditions of the sale was that it had to retain the name Chris Steak House. Obviously the clause didn’t say she couldn’t add her own name to the front.

Today there are Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses all over the US plus two in Hong Kong and three more in Taiwan. We were at the Lippo Centre branch in Admiralty. It is an elegant restaurant with much wood panelling that whispers of business deals that have been negotiated or celebrated. Not what I would call a romantic restaurant, though that’s just a personal view. There was at least one cosy little candle lit alcove.

There were also private rooms for groups of about 12, a main dining area with tables of various sizes and the area where we were, where the tables were all for two or four people. My guest agreed, this would be the perfect spot for sealing the deal.

“I know what I want already” said my guest. I’d been too busy talking and hadn’t even looked at the menu. She’d plumped for the Filet ($390). I can’t get through a menu that fast, I have to read the whole thing from cover to cover before I can even begin the decision making process. Needless to say by the time I’d read through it my guest had discovered something else and was torn between the two.

The something else she had discovered was, in fact, the Ahi Tuna Steak ($280). Seared rare tuna topped with a dollop of crab meat and red pepper. I did think, momentarily, about suggesting that we share the enormous Porterhouse ($1050) but then I thought again about that tuna. I love tuna and, I have to confess, sometimes it is a struggle to avoid the tuna dishes on a menu and try other things. This time I failed.

“How about you have the steak, I’ll order the tuna and then we can share” I suggested. Another deal was done and for good measure we also ordered a shrimp cocktail ($110) to share.

The shrimps were firm, fresh and tasty and came with a spicy tomato based sauce. The sauce was OK and worked well with just a dab on the shrimps but it rather overwhelmed the rest of the salad. It was however, a small point in what otherwise turned out to be an excellent meal.

Before long the steak was delivered. The waiter had told us how the meat is first broiled at 1800 degrees fahrenheit, to seal in all the flavour, before being transferred to the hot plate and finally garnished with butter and parsley. It was spectacular. It was also huge, we’d ordered the full 12oz although the restaurant does offer an 8oz option. And it was delicious, a perfect medium rare, a little crispy on the outside but it almost melted in the mouth.

The tuna held it’s own very well, fresh and tender and with a very generous helping of crab meat on top. Everything on the menu is a la carte, you order vegetables and potatoes according to how much you think you want to eat. My guest declined veggies because she knew it was going to be a big steak, I declined veggies because I knew I wanted dessert.

Dessert was a truly difficult choice. When a dessert is called Chocolate Sin ($60) it is almost impossible not to order it. But we also wanted the Banana Cream Pie ($70). It was way more than we could possibly eat but what the hell, we’d taken indulgence this far it would be a shame not to finish the job properly. We ordered both.

The chocolate sin was a wedge of almost solid chocolate whilst the banana cream was topped with slices of caramelised banana and was only slightly less sinful than the chocolate.

We finished off with coffee and I thought to myself that Chris must be very pleased with what Ruth did to the steak house.

Unit 801, 8/F One Peking Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2735 7576

G/F Shop B, 11 Old Bailey Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2524 1818

G/F Great Eagle Centre
23 Harbour Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2877 1877

Intercontinental Hong Kong
18 Salisbury Road
Tsimshatsui
Tel 2313 2405

G319 Harbour City
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2119 0666, 2721 9999
Fax 2119 0777

G/F 135 Sunning Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2504 3333

G/F 9B Wo On Lane
Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2877 9773

6/F 33 Sharp Street East
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2506 0133

G/F Shop 3, The Centrium,
60 Wyndham Street,
Central, Hong Kong LKF
Tel 2525 8805 2525 8803

LG/F Hollywood Commercial House
3-5 Old Bailey Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 1438

Wagyu is steak. It’s a particular kind of steak that is famous for it’s marbling which produces a high percentage of monounsaturated fats and, more importantly, greater flavour and tenderness. It would surprise no one then to find that a restaurant calling itself simply Wagyu specialises in this particular kind of steak.

Indeed they offer several cuts in 8, 10 and 12 ounce sizes, and a selection of other kinds of steak including Black Angus and Filet Mignon. They even offer a Wagyu burger.

I’d arranged to meet up with a dear friend for a pre-christmas dinner and I suggested going to this very new restaurant called Wagyu - I really was in the mood for a good steak.

We arrived quite early but we were still lucky to get a table as most of them had been reserved. It is a slick, modern and very trendy establishment. Although there a quite a few tables it doesn’t feel cramped and when you melt into your seat and are handed a menu you quite forget your surroundings.

And it was at this point that I forgot about the steak. Whilst the restaurant is Australian at heart the menu offers a mouth watering selection of dishes that draw inspiration from all over Asia.

I gave up the idea of the steak and decided instead to doff my cap to the wagyu by ordering an Outback Wagyu Mini Pie ($110) for starter. But it hadn’t been an easy decision, Wagyu sang Choi Bau and Rock Salt encrusted Wagyu Beef strips ran a very close second.

There were also salads from Thailand to Lebanon and the Mediterranean but after a brief struggle my friend opted for the Wild Mushroom Camembert ($110).

Both of these dishes were really quite special and, with a salad or soup and bread, could easily make a meal in their own right. The pie was a classic Aussie steak pie made with generous chunks of Wagyu beef. We wolfed it down and wanted more.

The camembert was oven warmed and served with wild mushrooms and crispy garlic toast. It was a generous serving but again, we made short work of it.

The starters had been a difficult choice and so too were the mains. Bundy Rum Glazed Rib Rack and Pork Belly Grill were both stating their case quite clearly. So too was the Campfire veal shank.

My friend, perhaps sensing that the portions were going to be generous, opted for Linguini Vongole ($120). Clams flash fried with chili and garlic. I ordered the North Queensland Barramundi ($160).

According to the menu the fish is flown in daily from Australia. It is cooked slowly with Chinese herbs and spices and served on a bed of pak choi. The fish was indeed very fresh and the flavours really leapt out and danced. I looked over to my friend and she signaled her approval of the pasta.

The dessert menu wasn’t quite as adventurous, most of the items familiar classics though we were quite sure by this time that whatever we ordered would be good. My friend admitted to being something of a chocoholic and while she put up a brave fight the temptation of the Death by Chocolate was just too much.

I knew, just by looking at it, that it would have beaten me but my friend made a very respectable dent indeed, and, I’m happy to say, lived to tell the tale. I plumped for a rather more conservative Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream.

We finished with coffees and exchanged the last of the gossip. As we got up to go I realised just how packed the restaurant was and there were still more people queuing outside. Reservations, it seems, are recommended.

Shop A303-305, New Town Plaza Phase 3
Shatin
New Territories
Tel 2601 3232

Shop 2100, Elements Mall
Kowloon Station
1 Austin Road West
Kowloon
Tel 2736 9771

G/F & 1/F Onfem Tower
29 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2894 8010