Eat Drink Hong Kong

An odd name, even by the odd naming conventions of pubs. There are two branches, one in Tsim Sha Tsui and another in Times Square, Causeway Bay. I went along to the latter the other evening.

The ‘gastropub’, as 798 Unit & Co describe themselves is mostly reminiscent of a medieval beer hall. Nothing particularly odd about that, indeed the larger tables in the middle that are common in such beer halls are perfectly suited to Hong Kong peoples love of dining together in large groups.

What was a bit strange were the hacienda-like arches along one side and the distinctly Mediterranean menu. I’d already ordered a Murphy’s Stout and was searching the menu for something that might go with it. In the end I gave up thinking I could gulp the beer down while I was waiting for the food to arrive and then order a glass of wine.

I was wrong. I ordered two tapas, both of which arrived with a promptness and efficiency that was that was really quite impressive. I looked towards the kitchen with admiration. The kitchen is actually visible through the back wall. The bright reassuring cleanliness of the modern facility contrasts with both the beer hall and the hacienda.

The tapas were wasabi beef ($80) and grilled octopus with chorizo, roast tomato and onions ($68). Both were very good. The only criticism I would level would be at the octopus and chorizo and that was because there was substantially more octopus and whilst I do like it, I like chorizo equally.

The menu boasts all the regulation pizzas and pastas and delicious though they probably are, I figured that would be a mistake after two largish tapas. I’d already consulted with the waitress. We’d concluded that the Murphy’s would go well with a steak and we could probably get away with a pizza. But, if we left beer out of the equation than we both agreed that the salmon filet with parsley crust in a fish broth with tomato and olives ($108) would be ideal.

She assured me it was one of the lighter entrees on the menu and would leave me with ample room for dessert. It was delicious too. The soup had a pleasant sharpness to it that complemented the fish. I imagined it would probably do alright with a hint of jalapeño added to it.

I mopped up the last of the soup with the remains of the crusty bread that had been served when I arrived. And turned my attention to the stout. It had lost it’s ‘just out of the fridge’ chill which is actually beneficial for a stout. I spent a leisurely ten or fifteen minutes enjoying that and watching people arrive.

It was mostly an after office crowd while I was there and whilst it wasn’t full I doubt there would be too many complaints from the management. I guessed that by 8.30pm you would be lucky to get a table without a prior reservation.

All the dishes on the dessert menu are tried and trusted favourites. I ordered the brownies with banana fudge gelato ($42) and a coffee.

Nobody seemed all that fazed by the contrasting styles of the restaurant. I suspect I’m one of the few people around that actually notices these things. But it doesn’t really worry me, how can it when I am going to step out and straight back in to a bustling shopping mall?

Adagio is a neat little cafe on Wing Lok Street offering western style food in simple but functional surroundings. It’s on the first floor above a flower shop, I got a table by the window where I was able to sit and look down at other people hurrying about.

I don’t know what it is, but there is something therapeutic about watching others hurry about while you are sitting waiting for a nice plate of food. I figured I’d better consult the menu and order something to wait for.

There is a set dinner menu offering four choices ranging in price from $158 to $198. But it was the smaller snack-sized dishes that caught my eye. I asked the waitress about how big these dishes were, she made a rectangular shape with her thumbs and index fingers. “Not too big then?” I asked. “Not too big.” She confirmed.

Thinking they would probably be about the size of an average tapas I ordered four. Mixed mushrooms with butter and cream ($26), baked broccoli with bacon and cheese ($26), Deep fried salmon nuggets ($32) and roast tiger prawn with beef tenderloin skewers ($42).

The mushrooms were the first to arrive and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. By adding a small serving of pasta there would have been enough for a hearty meal on it’s own. And it was very tasty indeed, with at least four types of mushroom.

Hot on it’s heels was the broccoli, again another generous serving. It began to dawn on me what a great place this would be to come for lunch with office mates. The food is simple but tasty and great value.

I hadn’t got far into the broccoli when the salmon nuggets turned up. Four golf ball-sized cakes of minced salmon deep-fried in bread crumbs and served with French fries. These were the crinkle cut variety and for once I didn’t mind. I had way more food than I could possibly eat so it was easy just to leave the fries.

The tiger prawns and beef were interspersed with peppers and tomatoes. This was the last dish to arrive and were my favourite of the lot and I managed to polish off both skewers. To the other dishes I made a commendable effort but I was determined to save just a little space for apple crumble with Ice cream ($30).

It was blisteringly hot when it came and I had to let it cool for a few moments. It will never replace mum’s apple crumble in my affections but it did round the evenings meal off adequately.

The food was good and excellent value, the staff were cheerful and attentive. What more could you ask for?

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.

Tequila is to mescal what Champagne is to sparkling wine. What distinguishes Tequila is that it is made from the blue agave plant which is found only in the Tequila region of western Mexico. We were sitting in a restaurant/bar called Agave in Lockhart Road, half a world away from western Mexico, staring at a drinks list that offered a bewildering selection of Tequila based drinks.

“Tequila Macho”, said my companion, “seventy-five bucks, a tequila blanco with white rum, dark rum and then some stuff like wimpy orange, pineapple and lime.”
“Are you having one?”, I asked.
“No, no , no,” she replied. “I’m going to have a Heart of Fire ($70), Tequila blanco, peach schnapps, sparkling wine and a slice of orange. What are you having?”

I returned my attention to the menu while my companion ordered a plate of nachos gringos ($83), tortilla chips with cheddar cheese salsa and a huge dollop of sour cream. “Margarita I think, El Toro Loco ($70),” which translates as ‘crazy bull’. It is made with Tequila blanco, absinthe, Red Bull and a dash of lime.

I was planning on ordering another starter but the waitress talked me out of it, insisting that the nachos were large enough for two. I took her word for it – I do have a tendency to over order sometimes.

The music was quite loud but not so loud that we couldn’t talk and whilst I would hesitate to say it was latin music, it did have a distinct party feel. The decor had a very tropical latin feel, yellow painted walls with painted red beams across the ceiling.

Combine with intricate light fittings and other ornamentations along with a ceramic tiled bar, and the plate of nachos gringos, and the effect is complete. It was a big plate but I wasn’t convinced that I couldn’t have managed another starter. Nevertheless, I let it slide and we dove into the nachos.

For the main event my companion had ordered the grilled fillet steak ($180) topped with chipotle sauce, oaxaca cheese and cilantro (coriander). For those of you that don’t already know, a chipotle is a smoked jalapeno chili pepper. It is believed the practice of smoking them goes back to even before the Aztec civilisation and that it came about because the thick fleshy peppers were hard to dry properly and tended to go mouldy. Smoked, they can be kept for quite a long time.

I did sneak a taste of the sauce and it was still quite tangy, not too spicy and altogether rather delicious. I would have been envious but I had a bowl of Camarones al Diabla ($160), or sauteed prawns in devil sauce. It had three little chilis next to it on the menu suggesting that it was going to be very spicy indeed.

It was quite spicy but not so much that it would challenge a seasoned chili aficionado. But I was impressed with how the flavour of the habaneros had been brought out without threatening to take the roof of my head off. Both dishes were served with Mexican rice and refried beans.

The waitress enquired if we still wanted the other starter or if we would prefer a dessert. We plumped for dessert. I could have eaten the starter but my companion was beat. Well almost. Any hopes I may have harboured for keeping the crepes with caramel sauce all to myself were very quickly dashed, “That’s so yummy” she said.

The waitress wondered if I’d like another Toro Loco. I was tempted but I knew that if I did I would soon be looking for a sombrero to wear and a sturdy table to dance on.

Stepping off of Leighton Road and into Agnes B is like stepping into a little corner of Paris. Or rather the Paris of a bygone era. It’s hard not to be impressed by the decor. From vintage style floor tiles and the panelling on the walls to the brass light fittings and antique clock.

Dark wooden furnishings set with crisp white table linen complete the scene whilst net curtains hung from a brass rail at half window height blocks Leighton Road from view. The attention to detail is meticulous.

The only thing to give the game away is the very modern background music.

I took a table in the corner from where I could see the whole restaurant. It was still early so there were not too many customers yet, the waiter brought me a menu and then showed me the daily blackboard. The blackboard options were interesting but I decided to stay with the main menu.

They were about to introduce a whole new wine menu a day or two after I was there so the only wine they had left that I could order by the glass was a red. I didn’t catch the name, I’m a bit of a slacker when it comes to wine, but it was very agreeable.

I already knew that I wanted French onion soup ($58). I’m not a huge fan of soups generally. I like them well enough but I tend to think that a soup course is often more than I really need. But I make an exception for French onion soup. The dish is a firm favourite of mine and a good one will always be rewarded with repeat custom.

But before that I had ordered a dish called Gravadlax ($98). This is dill-cured salmon served with a sweet mustard sauce and a light salad. I’d thought some rye or brown bread might be served with it but it was not forthcoming. Not to worry, I still had some in the bread basked that had arrived when I sat down.

The onion soup came next and it was all I could have hoped for. I tried to take it slowly and savour it but I’m afraid I failed and before long I was mopping out the bottom of the red ceramic dish in which it was served with the remains of the bread basket.

I celebrated its departure with a large draft of wine and listened to the music. It was completely out of context with the surroundings but it was a pleasing contrast. It was a fairly laid back sound, gentle but not spineless.

My listening was interrupted by the grilled rack of lamb ($258) that I had ordered. Three meaty cutlets served with potatoes and another salad. It was good but I did feel the lamb deserved a little something more than just a salad. Asparagus perhaps, some carrot or green peas. It didn’t worry me all that much and to be honest if I had not already had salad with the gravadlax it probably would have bothered me at all.

For dessert I chose pear with raspberries, strawberries and black currant. All served with a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream ($68). Delicious.

I rounded off with a coffee and sat listening to the music for a while. It was a good meal in a very pleasant environment. But it is the French onion soup that will keep bringing me back.

I bumped into an old colleague at a function a few weeks back. It was a bit of a surprise for both of us I think but a pleasant one nonetheless. We decided we really must keep in touch and, to seal our vows, went out to dinner.

She suggested we go over to Observatory Court which I thought was a splendid idea. I’m a bit slack at getting over the other side of the harbour, I have to admit. After snooping around a while we decided to go for teppanyaki at Akita.

Akita is on the first floor and stepping out of the lift, we found ourselves in a surprisingly spacious restaurant decorated in a mock traditional Japanese market style. In front of us were counters displaying fresh seafood and vegetables. To the right was a robotayaki dining area. We hung a left to the teppanyaki area.

Teppanyaki derives it’s name from the hot iron plate, called a teppan, on which the food is cooked. But with teppanyakai you don’t just get dinner, you get a show. We decided on the Hokkaido Teppanyaki Set performance at $498 for two people. We also ordered a bottle of cold dry sake. It was a rather a nice sake but I don’t remember what it was called – leading me to suspect I may have consumed more than my fair share.

The performance, of course, is watching the chef prepare the food. Ours was not only an excellent chef but a good entertainer, twirling pepper mills and cooking utensils with as much aplomb as any cocktail waiter.

We started with a light salad with crab while the chef topped and tailed two jumbo prawns. He set the heads aside for later. The prawns were firm and tasty. “Buttery”, said my friend. I had to agree, but I didn’t think that was a bad thing.

The hint of butter was prevalent throughout the whole meal but it never became overbearing.

The prawns were followed by scallop and geoduck clam dishes. The clam is actually pronounced “gooey duck” but is also called elephant trunk clam and has the distinction of being the largest burrowing clam in the world. It’s also said to be something of an aphrodisiac, possibly due to its phallic shape and the fact that the female produces something like 5 billion viable eggs during her lifespan. They are also an excellent accompaniment for sake.

By now the chef had turned his attention to the Angus beef steak. This was going to be served with a generous amount of fried garlic. While we watched, a bowl of lobster miso soup was served. After the steak we had fresh garden vegetables. The prawn heads were then pressed and cooked until crisp, and then finally, the Akita special fried rice. The fried rice was unusual in that it is cooked with bacon and ground beef, and was really rather nice.

By this time we were both feeling replete but I always feel that the meal is not complete without dessert. That said, in Japanese set meals the dessert is usually ice cream and I wondered if I could cheat. In the end I’m glad I didn’t because the ice cream flavour was sesame and tofu which I had never had before and was most enjoyable.

Afterwards we snooped around Observatory Court some more before clambering into our respective taxis vowing to do it all again soon.

There are a few of these dual cuisine type restaurants around. This one mixes middle eastern with an Argentinean grill. It’s not such a stretch as it might sound as barbecued meat is used in middle eastern cuisine anyway.

The steaks are served simply with salad and fries. I’m sure the fries could be swapped for pitta bread if you preferred. Along side the steaks are options for lamb, chicken or fish.

But the main part of the menu is dedicated to middle eastern cuisine so that is where I decided to focus.

There are the familiar kebabs but there are also a range of middle eastern curry dishes available. I was intrigues by the Iraqi Lamb Quzi which, if you order in advance, can be made using a whole leg of lamb ($599). Though it is also available as a smaller serving.

I decided to start with The Grand Dip ($48) this is actually a combination platter featuring Hummus, Babaganoush and Couscous and is served with pitta bread. To go with it I ordered a fresh lime soda ($25).

I also ordered an Argentinean chorizo ($48) which, as I suspected, went perfectly with the dips.

After much consideration I finally opted for the Lamb Ribs Targine ($88). This is, I believe, a Moroccan style curry made with dried apricots. The ribs are all chopped up so all the little cubes of meat also contain a section of rib. This helps to bring out the flavour of the meat. It is served with saffron rice and a small salad.

For dessert I opted for the creme brulee over the chocolate mousse. These were the only two available. I must admit I was a little surprised that there were no middle eastern options.

G/F 37 Catchick Street
Kennedy Town
Hong Kong
Tel. 2986 5455

I found a branch of Al Dente I didn’t know about the other day. This one is on Jaffe Road in Wanchai. I must admit, it’s not really the kind of place where I would have gone looking for a nice little ‘hole in the wall’ type Italian restaurant. It’s on the unfashionable part of the road beyond the bridge that leads to Central Plaza and the immigration department.

As I was walking by I caught what sounded suspiciously like the ivory tickling of Art Tatum. Before I knew what had happened I was sitting there with a glass of red wine in one hand, a menu in the other and some truly nifty piano playing wafting through the air.

It really is quite a small place, long and narrow with seating for no more than about 30 people. It was not too full when I arrived but several of the tables had been pushed together in preparation for what looked like a group of 12-14. The table by the door also had a large reserved sign on it. This was the middle of the week and I was beginning to feel decidedly lucky to have got a table without making a reservation first.

For starters I ordered the Fungi Ala Griglia ($79). This consisted of two plump portobello mushrooms, char grilled and topped with goats cheese, and served on a bed of lettuce and arugula with tomatoes. I love these mushrooms and the char grilling really brought out the rich earthy flavour. I was most impressed.

So impressed that I hadn’t noticed the Art Tatum CD had finished and been replaced with what sounded suspiciously like Kenny G.

It wasn’t long before the main course arrived. I had originally ordered a veal dish but veal had been unavailable on this particular evening. The waiter, instead, offered me a variation made with fillet of chicken ($149).

The chicken was layered with spinach, sage, cheese and proscuitto, served on a bed of creamed potato with a truffle and mushroom sauce. This, I decided, was a very happy alternative to the veal.

By now the restaurant had filled up and there were still people arriving, hoping to get a table. I ordered a mixed berry crumble with ice cream ($48) for dessert.

I was feeling quite full – all the servings had been generous, and would be perfect for sharing. Which is just what the diners on the adjacent table table were doing and I couldn’t help but smile knowingly as they admired their newly arrived portobello mushrooms.

I paid my bill and, much to the relief of the hungry faces outside, went off in search of Delaneys and a pint of Kilkenny for the road.

The poet John William Burgon once described Petra, with its rock-cut architecture, as “a rose-red city half as old as time.” But the world heritage site in southern Jordan wasn’t known to the west until 1812, when it was discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

I discovered Al Petra Restaurant on Wellington Street just before Christmas. That visit had been with a dear friend and was purely for fun but I was impressed enough to want to go back and have another look.

It’s a narrow doorway on the right just past the escalator as you make your way down the hill towards Sheung Wan. Quite easy to miss. There is a small bar area on the ground floor but the restaurant proper is in the basement.

The walls are painted in dusty yellows and ochre to evoke the sandstone walls of its historical namesake. These are decorated with an assortment of shields, swords and other items. The ceiling is hung with a sumptuous looking red cloth and dotted with lamps. It all helps to make what would be a comparatively large dining area feel rather cosy.

The menu is quite big and covers most of the table. Being alone this time I didn’t have to worry about knocking the candle into my companions lap so I spread it out and had a good read.

There is a wide selection of mezz, both hot and cold. Familiar dishes such as hummus and babaganouj are all in attendance. I’d enjoyed some of these on my first visit. This time I decided to start with Warak Enab ($75). These are little parcels of lightly spiced rice wrapped in vine leaves and marinated in olive oil with tomato, mint and other herbs.

They were very good, and I idled over them while reading the brochures from the Jordanian tourist office that had been placed on a small table a short reach from where I was sitting. Consequently the main course, when it arrived, caught me by surprise.

This, the menu assured me, was a traditional Bedouin dish and the national dish of Jordan. It’s called Mensaf ($250). It’s usually served on special occasions and shared between family or friends.

It consists of lamb braised in jameed. Jameed is a salted goats milk yoghurt and it made the lamb very tender indeed. it is served with fragrant Arabic spiced rice on pitta bread and garnished with pine nuts and almond. It comes with a tangy sauce which is poured all over.

Traditionally, it would be eaten with the right hand instead of utensils. I did think about this for a few moments but decided the probability of rice and jameed falling down my sleeve was very high and I should, perhaps, hone my skills in private before trying it in a public place.

Baclava was the only desert option. I wasn’t really in the mood for that so I decided to finish with an Arabic coffee. This is a very strong coffee indeed – if you’re planning an early night you might want to give it a miss. I found myself Googling tourist information on Jordan well into the small hours.

Friends who’ve been away from Chinese food for almost a year called and almost begged me to eat Peking Duck with them while they were visiting Hong Kong.

Without even mentioning a name, we all pretty much immediately knew where we would be going… The American Restaurant (of course!). Despite its rather suspicious name, all of us had eaten there before, and it is famous for its Peking Duck.

So, early Tuesday evening, a table of 6 adults and one lively 2 year old descended upon the little old men that serve in the place. They cleverly put us in a corner so the 2 year old would be nicely trapped. Its a medium sized restaurant – maybe 10 large tables, and kind of old fashioned, with light wood panelling surrounding large mirrors on all the walls.

When we arrived we were the second table filled, but the place soon filled up and the noise rose to dim-sum levels.

Once at the table, I took a quick, rather alarming glance at the menu – the first item was Sharks fin soup at $1380 for a medium serving and $2160 for a large. Beggars’ chicken, which I would have loved, needed to be ordered in advance, so that was out.

Then I remembered that as I’d come through the entrance I’d noticed a faded sign on the wall for set dinners, and it had seemed like a good deal, including pretty much everything we’d be likely to order. I asked for the set and our waiter looked very confused for a moment and then said ‘Oh, but thats only for the small tables upstairs’.

‘But it’s a menu for 6 and we ARE 6 (and a half)’ I replied. He didn’t seem eager, but eventually he wandered back with a faxed copy of the set dinner menu for us, which we promptly ordered.

First up came quite a strong-tasting soup, with chicken, noodles and elephant ear fungus. A huge pile of minced pigeon came next, with fresh lettuce leaves and oyster sauce to wrap around.

The green onion cakes were a little oily, and not too popular at our table. However, following them was Ôkun pao’ prawns which were delicious – soft, plump, and both sweet and slightly spicy.

At last the duck appeared – we didn’t get a whole duck with the set, but it was large, and there was plenty to go around. There’s not a great deal to say about it. Peking duck is yummy, popular, and American Restaurant is famous for doing it right – thin pancakes, sweet sauce, crispy skin – perfect. (Oh, okay I’ll give a niggle! I wished there was more in the way of scallion, and that the cucumber had been cut a little thinner than finger-width.)

Having forgotten what was on the menu, we were surprised when more food started arriving. Sizzling beef with ginger and green onions looks impressive, with a huge cloud of steam rising from the platter (actually we were also impressed by the way the waiter handled what must have been an incredibly hot metal lid), but the beef was a little too gristly for our table. Cashew nuts with chicken came last – I believe it said chicken and cashew nuts on the menu, but was hard pressed to find much meat. The sweet, sticky nuts were pretty much good enough on their own though, and by now, everyone was pretty full.

Just as we were about to ask for the bill, the waiter suddenly reappeared with a bowl of iced water. Oh! dessert! Out came a plate with a selection of cooked apple, pear and banana pieces, covered in hot, runny toffee with sesame seeds. These were then dipped in the ice water and passed around. Absolutely delicious.

All this came to only $1261, with a couple of soft drinks, and many tea refills. For a place with such a good reputation, thats’s been around just about forever, and that is popular with the tourists, I think that’s a brilliant deal.

The phone rang, it was my lunch date: “We’re going to Another One but I’m stuck in traffic and will be a bit late, you’ll have to go and grab a table – it’ll get crowded.”
“OK”, I replied, “where are we going?”
“We’re going to Another One,” insisted my date.
“Yes, yes” I said, “but which other one?”
“No, NO”, she shrieked , “the restaurant is CALLED Another One, it’s at 38 Wanchai Road, ground floor.”

In my defence, I should like to point out that I was on Hennessy Road, it was noisy, crowded and hot – and Another One was not the kind of name I was expecting for what had been promised as an exceptionally good Shanghainese restaurant.

It’s an easy one to miss too. Look for the photos of local celebrities in the window. I got there at about 12.45, there were not so many people then, but by 12.55 the place was definitely crowded.

I still had a few minutes to wait so I perused the menu which, conveniently, has English translations. The translations for the most part are perfectly understandable if sometimes a little bit literal. There are one or two however that seem to be on a higher astral plain altogether, such that I almost began to wonder if I hadn’t picked up a volume of beat poetry by mistake. After all what self-respecting Allen Ginsberg fan could turn their nose up at “The dish meat cloud swallows the hand pulled noodles” or “The pig of Zencheng stews pancakes”, so when my companion finally arrived she found me with a big grin on my face and wondering if “Fry the ferry crossing clearly white” contained any interesting mushrooms.

My companion frowned, she clearly had the upper hand linguistically and was soon in consultation with the waiter. The first result of which was a plate of rather wonderful spicy wontons. This was followed by a plate of steamed crab meat dumplings that quite simply took the breath away. The dumplings are sealed containers with the crab meat suspended in a light broth inside the dumpling. When you pop it into your mouth and bite, a little tsunami of taste floods the palette.

The steamed pork buns were also notable. Six of them are somehow steamed together in a shallow pool of rice water which solidifies and joins them together with a thin membrane of rice paper. The buns are exceptionally light and fluffy and the pork hidden within is succulent and juicy.

The “hand pulled” noodles are actually fresh noodles rolled on the premises. They are quite a revelation if you have never had fresh noodles before, being quite firm but also springy. Ours were served in a pork flavoured broth with tender chops that had been deep fried in a light batter. To go with them we also had sliced cucumber with garlic.

They also have a range of desserts but we were already so full we decided to save them for another day.

By 2pm the lunchtime rush had subsided and we were almost alone in the restaurant. The prices range from around $20 to $50 per dish, though there are more expensive ones, including sharks fin. For a quick lunch, Another One is excellent value for money. It also stays open all afternoon, so If you want to avoid the busy hour go after 2pm. If you’re really hungry and can’t wait, get there early.

Well it’s not actually in a tent, it’s on the first floor of Koon Fook Centre at 9 Knutsford Terrace. It’s also quite easy to miss if you are walking from the Knutsford Steps end of the lane. If you approach from Observatory Road you’ll see a large advert hanging by the entrance just next door to the Whale Pub.

I have fond, though admittedly fuzzy, memories of tent bars in South Korea. The ones that I have been in were out in the provinces. Once they had got over the shock of a foreigner sticking his head round the flap they were all very friendly and welcoming and, despite not knowing what I was eating or drinking – and not understanding anything that was being said to me, I generally had a good old time.

It was in a tent bar that I discovered kimchi and beer was a marriage made in heaven … and that soju should be treated with respect.

Apgujeong may not be a tent but the staff are still very friendly and it does capture a very traditional Korean feel with polished floorboards, heavy wooden tables, and the smell of rush mats mixing pleasantly with the aromas of cooking. I was shown to a table and promptly presented with a plate of kimchi, bean sprouts and tiny fish which had been marinated in honey, soy and sesame. I ordered a Cass beer ($28).

The restaurant has been open for a couple of months now but the waitress informs me that the menu has already changed a lot during that time since they are still learning which dishes work well and which prove to be less popular. A quick glance told me that there was plenty that would probably keep me happy for several visits. Starters that included beef tartar with sweet pear ($128), Sea snails with chillis and spicy beef with squid and vegetables (both $75).

I plumped for traditional Korean pancakes ($68). These are made from green beans, garlic and onion and are served piping hot with a sharp and spicy sauce. They were a perfect addition to the platter of kimchi and fishes. I ordered another beer.

Apgujeong has an interesting range of hot pots and whilst the beef rib with chestnut ($78) and the Ginseng with chicken ($108) were both tempting I knew my limitations, I’d already ordered pan fried yellow fish ($70). This was tender and succulent and once again came with a sweet spicy sauce to dip it in.

It is quite a small restaurant and by now it was almost full but customers were still arriving. My final dish arrived along with another beer. The dish was kimchi with pork fried rice ($85) which is delivered in a stone pot with a raw egg on top. The idea is to mix it all together quickly but don’t eat it too quickly. The rice that is in contact with the pot becomes a little crusty which makes for a wonderful contrast in texture between the crusty and the softer rice on the inside.

Apgujeong is a welcome addition to the Knutsford Terrace strip, whether you want a full meal or just drinks and snacks. Reservations are recommended, particularly at weekends.

Normally I have a very good sense of direction, if I’ve been to a place, or passed it by once, I can usually find my way back without too much trouble. The exception to this rule is if it happens to be in Harbour City or Ocean Terminal.

On a previous visit I must have passed Arirang three or four times as I searched for the place I was looking for. So when a good friend and I decided to go for Korean I had no hesitation in suggesting Arirang. After all I knew exactly where it was.

The doubt started creeping in almost as soon as I had put the phone down. I DID know where it was, I told myself, but just to be sure I decided to get there early. We’d agreed to meet at eight so at seven-thirty I strode boldly into Harbour City, up the escalator and … it wasn’t there. It must be the next floor up … no … down. I stopped to scrutinise a map. Arirang wasn’t on it. I called the restaurant, they told me to go where I already thought I was.

I eventually found the restaurant on the stroke of eight. Just as my friend walked calmly up from the opposite direction.
“You found it OK then?” I asked, anxiously.
“Yes, of course, why?” She replied.

We were led to our table. Arirang is quite popular and it was already quite busy. Attractive wood and glass partitions break up the space and help make it a little more intimate. It has a traditional atmosphere which is fitting because Arirang is traditional folk song that is found all over Korea with different regions each having their own version.

Tea was poured and menus promptly delivered. The menu is quite large and varied and it took us quite a while to make our minds up. To help us along we ordered an OB beer ($28) each.

For the barbecue we settled on the Modeum Gogi Gooi ($230), a meat combination that includes beef, pork, chicken and lamb. This was delivered with half a dozen kinds of bahn chahn or little side dishes. These included the classic cabbage and radish kimchee without which no Korean meal is complete plus vegetables and little fishes tossed in sesame oil among others.

My friend was keen to try the Se Gyub Sahl Jorim ($110), pork belly braised in sweet soy stock. I was glad she was because otherwise I might have passed that one over and it turned out to be one of my favourite dishes from the meal, much less fatty than I was expecting.

Kimchee Juhn ($60/$100) is a pancake like dish made with kimchee and pork in flour batter. Sahm Sek Juhn ($120) which consists of three kinds of vegetables filled with minced beef. Both of these dishes have a non-meat option. The kimchee pancake can be made without the pork and three kinds of vegetables can be fried without the minced beef which we decided to go for since we already had the barbecue and the pork belly.

Finally we ordered Ggong Chi Gooi ($90) which was billed as lightly salted pike though I had my suspicion that it didn’t mean the large freshwater fish that I was familiar with and indeed were distinctly sardine like. But that was no problem, I like sardines.

The only dish that didn’t really live up to expectations was the Kimchee juhn which seemed to be very dry and I think was suffering from being served in the vegetarian form. Though vegetarians should note that there are plenty of other vegetarian options available

Korean cuisine isn’t noted for it’s desserts, there didn’t appear to be any on the menu, but sesame ice cream is served automatically at the end of each meal.

As we left Ocean Terminal my friend led me through an exit that I’d never seen before and within moments we were back at Star Ferry. But I know if I try and retrace those steps I’ll wind up in Jordan.

The word Aropa comes from the people of Anuta, a remote island in the Solomons. It loosely translates as compassion and is the islanders basic philosophy of life. It is demonstrated by the giving and sharing of material goods such as food.

None of the items on the menu at Aropa, the restaurant, come from the Solomon Islands though. It is a essentially a Mediterranean menu. But they have, according to a sign at the entrance, taken the ideal of aropa to heart.

It’s a young, modern restaurant in the K11 mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. I would imagine it’s peak times are the same as peak shopping times. I went at about 7.00pm in the middle of the week and was pleased to see that there were plenty of tables still available.

The menu is aimed at a younger, hip clientele mostly Italian but with reminders that France and Spain also share portions of the Mediterranean coast. There is a good selection of pastas and risottos. They are probably very good but they fill me up too much and put me off dessert.

Instead I decided to start with Parma ham with mixed fruit ($88). It looked lovely, an appetising thicket of fresh lettuce and arugula mixed with shavings of honeydew and cantaloupe melon and fresh figs. But the star of the show, the parma ham itself, was disappointingly under represented.

The main course was much better. Australia lamb loin rolled in filo pastry served with mustard and rosemary ($168). It also came with roast potatoes and aubergine. I was very pleased with the lamb which was lean and tender. An option of a mint jelly or sauce would have been nice though I was happy to live without it.

There were a few of the usual suspects on the dessert menu, chocolate flan and apple pie. Chestnut creme brullee was intriguing but Honey bread pudding with bitter chocolate sauce ($55) won the day.

Aropa Mediterranean Restaurant
Shop 117-118 Level 1 K11
18 Hanoi Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel 3188 4360

Tripping out of Tin Hau station on the way to the lunar new year flower market, I suddenly noticed it was lunchtime. A quick turn left along Hing Fat Street and I nipped into Baba Laksa, which of course, I’d never seen before.

It would seem to be at a disadvantage along such a busy one-way, no-stopping road, but at 1.30pm, the place was almost full. A high ceiling, clean white walls and simple dark furniture set the tone. I managed to grab a table near the door just as the previous people were leaving.

The small menu features curry laksas, mees, some extra spicy ‘pepper mees’, Hainan chicken ($45), and a few snacks such as satay sticks ($22), or belacan chicken wings. The main dishes range from $35 to $55. At lunchtime this will include a drink with your order. There are some sets for $26 which were a mystery to me as that menu was in Chinese only. Oh, well..

I wouldn’t call myself a Laksa connoiseur, but it arrived looking perfect to me – thick soup with hints of chilli, creamy texture, stuffed full of noodles and goodies. I set to (though I was a bit dubious about the look of the large prawn – so dubious, in fact, that I left that aside).

The coconut curry soup was gently spicy, and I think purists would say not spicy enough. I appreciated it, however, as I’m not into getting my tongue burnt off. There were lots of bean sprouts, and real pork (hmm – is that authentic laksa? Not really, but who cares?).

The dish was a fairly big one – definitely enough to satifsy a hungry shopper. The peach tea was, as expected, yummy. Very sweet though – it gave me enough of a sugar rush to spend nearly 2 hours fighting the crowds and haggling in the market, before calling it a day.

If you find yourself in the Tin Hau area, I would recommend this place as a good fill-up joint. The prices are reasonable, the surroundings no-frills, but clean and spacious, and the food, though not authentic Malay or Singaporean laksa, is tasty. You can’t ask for much more than that.

At first I thought a restaurant called Babylon would probably serve middle eastern cuisine but when I got there I discovered that it was really a European/international menu.

It’s a small restaurant right at the very end of Gough Street. A cosy little nook, as evidenced by several young couples making sheeps eyes at each other over the candle light. I felt a bit of a gooseberry but I never let things like that spoil my appetite.

The decor is fairly straightforward, simple but functional with seating for about eighteen. The menu does have an a la carte section but the set dinner menu offers a wide variety of choices.

I started with crab meat cream soup. It was a delicious soup with large chunks of crab sculling around, but it was crying out for some nice crusty bread to go with it. Sadly all that was offered were some rather uninspiring soft rolls. Still the soup itself was good and I wolfed it down while Whitney sang something about the greatest love and a dozen watery eyes gazed devotedly at their opposite numbers.

For entree I had ordered braised lamb shank in herb and red wine sauce. This arrived on a bed of creamed potato and, rather surprisingly, with a side of arugula leaves. I have nothing against aragula but I would have thought carrots or string beans might have been more appropriate.

Or maybe I was just being an old fuddy duddy. The lamb itself was excellent. Lean and tender, it slipped away from the bone with ease.

Dessert was a fairly standard creme brulee. Perfectly edible but nothing to make it stand out above any other creme brulee. Tea or coffee is also included

The set was $268. I added a glass of wine to that which took the bill to a litle over $300. I thought that was pretty decent value for money. A little more thought on the details and it would be a terrific place to sneak off to. Especially if you are young and in love.

Baci is one of those restaurants that has been around for so long that it is almost embarrassing to admit that I’d never been there. I was forced to confront the situation a few days ago when a friend asked me if I’d been over to try out the new menu. After thinking for a few moments I had to confess that I hadn’t even tried the old menu.

So I set out the other evening to rectify the issue. I had hoped to talk my friend into coming with me but we couldn’t find a mutually agreeable date before she flew out. So undeterred I went alone.

I got there just after seven and the bar already had a considerable number of people who had stopped by a for an after work drink. I went straight through to the dining area. The restaurant is on the 2nd and 3rd floors (Baci Pizza is on the 1st). The decor is sleek and chic with gold and mirrored walls and simple but comfortable furniture.

I was shown to a table on the second floor. Neither of the floors are big, on my floor there were only seven tables offering seating for a maximum of 18 people. I settled into my chair and ordered a glass of fruity Vale Viognier ($78). The bread basket arrived and I delved into the menu.

Although a few favourites have been retained the majority of the items boast a ‘new’ symbol next to them. They all sounded good.

For starters I was tempted to order the Crab salad with carrots and mango ($108) but in the end I plumped for the Carpaccio Arcobaleno ($118). This is very thinly sliced pieces of smoked salmon, tuna and swordfish with extra virgin olive oil and arugula leaves. I was pleased. The fish was tasty and melted in the mouth. It didn’t last long and soon I was mopping up the olive oil with the remains of the bread basket.

For the main course I’d narrowed my choices down to home made ravioli stuffed with duck and goose liver ($198) and roasted lamb loin in porcini mushroom sauce ($228). I opted for the lamb.

The dish took rather longer to arrive than I would have expected. I put this down to the chefs pursuit of excellence, for when it did arrive it proved to be well worth waiting for. The lamb, rolled in rosemary and breadcrumbs, was both tender and succulent. Served with deliciously creamy creamed potatoes and, of course, the mushroom sauce. In light of this it seemed silly to worry about a few extra minutes wait.

For dessert I ordered baked custard tart with pine nuts and also asked for coffee to be served with the dessert. It was another long wait. This time, after the dish had arrived, I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps I should have opted for the home made ice cream. The tart was pleasant enough but had I known I was going to wait twenty minutes for it I might have thought again.

It was a shame the delays marred what would otherwise have been a very pleasant meal indeed. I prefer to think these are just minor issues that are associated with the kitchen staff getting used to preparing a whole new menu and before long everything will be running smoothly.

I drank my coffee slowly and began to mentally compose the report I would later e-mail to my friend.

The old brass diving helmet behind the bar looks rather like an innocent piece of decor. It fits in rather well with the rowing boat that hangs from the ceiling, the giant carved toucan, the pottted palms and the old hurricane lamps. I was mid-way through my second innocent-looking drink.

That’s the thing about cocktails, they do look so innocent. They don’t taste innocent though, and the ones in Bahama Mama’s (at $54 each – $32 in happy hour) aren’t called innocent things. I’d already had Sex on Mama’s Beach (vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry and orange Juice) and was soaking up a Carribean Sunset (Myers rum, Triple Sec, Grenadine, lime and pineapple Juice). It was then that the old diving helmet caught my attention. ‘I wonder what it’s like to wear one of those,’ I thought.

My companion read my thoughts and promptly swung into action; “Look at the menu” she said, “They have a good range of pub grub; chicken wings, nachos, pizza, onion rings.”

She also tried to tell me about the foosball tournaments they hold every month, that happy hour is from 5-9pm and again from midnight to close, that you could get six shots of tequila or vodka for a hundred dollars (I must admit that one did catch my attention). She informed me that Newsweek International had rated it as “One of the world’s best bars”

But it was no good, I was dreaming of sunken treasure and the music of steel drums … but most of all I wanted to try that old diving helmet on.

Bahama Mama’s is at 4-5 Knutsford Terrace, Tsim Sha Tsui and is open from 5pm – 3am (Mon – Thu) 5pm – 4 am (Fri & Sat), 6pm – 2am (Sun).

A balalaika is a small three stringed folk instrument from eastern Europe. It has a triangular body and a neck about the size of a ukulele. The only one I know of in Hong Kong is played nightly and with much verve at the restaurant of the same name in Knutsford Terrace.

We arrived about 7.45pm on a weekday – we didn’t have a reservation and we were probably lucky to get a table. The restaurant resembles a traditional style hunting lodge complete with wooden beams and Russian themed folk art decorations. There is a dedicated piroshki oven and a walk in deep freeze for keeping the vodka at optimum temperature.

The tables are arranged in a way that makes it easy to accommodate large groups as well as small groups and seating for two. Though intimacy, it has to be admitted, is not one of the restaurants main selling points. The emphasis is strictly on fun.

The music starts at 8pm and by then the place was packed. Waitresses were darting hither and thither. Taking orders, delivering orders and whipping-up support – for each shashlik that was served was ceremonially christened with vodka and flamed to a round of applause from anyone who happened to be sitting nearby.

We were still making our minds up. The menu boasts three different kinds of caviar, for those that really want to spoil themselves. Beluga, Oscetra and Sevruga. Prices start at $280 and rise to a princely $700 for 30 grams of top-of-the-line Iranian beluga.

But if caviar is beyond your budget (and it was certainly beyond ours), you can still order a blini … or two. These are the small pancakes that caviar is traditionally served with, but they can also be served with any number of other things. We ordered a crab meat and mushroom and a smoked salmon at $25 each. We also ordered a mushroom piroshki for good measure.

A piroshki is perhaps best described as a kind of dumpling, though it has a bread-like exterior wrapped around a warm filling. There are a few listed on the menu but the chef bakes them fresh so it is always worth asking the waitress what specials the chef has that day. Our waitress had a smile that could melt the vodka room so I jumped at any excuse to call her over.

For the main course we had ordered a seafood shashlik ($135) and duck stew ($125). Shashlik is essentially a kebab. The seafood option included a large tiger prawn plus generous salmon, sturgeon and cod steaks. They arrive at the table suspended vertically and are flamed as described above and came with rice potatoes and vegetables.

The duck, stewed with apples, prunes, apricots and potatoes, was very tender with a delicious fruity tang. It is served in a pot with a freshly baked brown bread crust.

We decided a little rest was in order before dessert so we took the opportunity to visit the walk-in vodka freezer. The temperature in the freezer is kept so low that visitors are provided with snug fur coats to go inside and admire the roughly 30 different vodkas from all around the world, including arctic fruit flavoured vodkas. They also serve vodka jelly and an oyster shooter.

The most interesting of the desserts are fruit based. We ordered a Russian mixed fruit pudding, which included raspberries and cranberries. It had a very sharp flavour, and while I found it most enjoyable it probably wouldn’t appeal to someone who was expecting something sweet.

Balalaika also has a VIP room which deserves a mention. Whilst the main dining area has rustic feel to it, the VIP room is straight from one of the Tzars’ palaces, with ornate furnishing and a huge chandelier. The VIP room can seat up to 14 people at a minimum charge of $300 each.

Balalaika is open from 5.00pm to midnight on weekdays, and until 1.00am Saturdays and Sundays.

It’s always nice to stumble upon somewhere new, especially when it is in a area that you thought you knew pretty well.

Bali house is a small Indonesian/Chinese place that I’m sure I must have walked past a hundred times and never noticed. Perhaps this is because, unlike most of the restaurants shoe-horned into this area, Bali House is aimed squarely at the local residents and has nothing much to catch the eye. It is also just across the road from Chez Patrick and I’m probably looking in the other direction when I pass.

But there are two gatekeepers stationed either side of the door. On the left a ginger and white cat, and on the right a bilingual mynah bird that greets patrons in both English and Cantonese. I said “good evening” as I walked in. It cocked it’s head to one side and looked at me in the way that birds do when they think you are talking rubbish.

The decor is basic but the welcome was warm enough. I was ushered to a table and a glass of weak tea was promptly produced. I took a moment or two to find a menu, during which time I cast an eye around the room. The staff seemed to know all the customers and some of those seemed to know each other as well.

A large pile of freshly loaded satay sticks stood on the table at the very back. The menu duly arrived. It was a rather confusing affair, several dishes seemed to be listed twice and nasi goreng was conspicuous by it’s absence. Or maybe I just didn’t notice it.

No matter – I had already decided on half a dozen chicken satay. Which were delivered piping hot and with a nice cold bottle of Tsing Tao. The peanut sauce wasn’t too spicy but there was some chilli in shrimp sauce on the table so I could mix to taste.

I also pointed out a dished called Ikan Assam Pedas – the picture looked good. Ikan is fish and there appeared to be chillies as well. The man shook his head and offered sambal ikan, so I thought, why not? Sambal is essentially a sauce, it consists of fresh chillies, shrimp paste, lime juice, sugar, and salt. That said, every Indonesian home cook has their own variation. This had pineapple in.

Normally I would draw the line at pineapple in a savoury dish but I didn’t mind this at all. There was something in the sauce that prevented it from becoming overwhelmingly sweet.

Dessert was the Thai classic, mango with black sticky rice and coconut cream. A generous serving it was too.

For the princely sum of $127 I decided it was good value indeed. You wouldn’t bring a first date here and it wouldn’t impress any clients either. But when you’re feeling a little peckish and you can’t make up your mind what you want, remember the little Indonesian place on Peel Street.

I whistled at the mynah on the way out and headed towards the Pickled Pelican for a beer.

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.

I don’t get myself over to Kowloon side very often. Very slack of me I admit because there is no shortage of excellent places to eat. Fate took me over there the other afternoon, so as soon as I was free I made a beeline for Knutsford Terrace.

I’d been planning to check out all the options along the Terrace and in Observatory Court but then the rain beat me to it. Fortunately I was right outside BB’s Bistro which had been high on the list of possibilities anyway. So I decided to dive inside and save the research for more clement weather.

The good thing about wet weather is that there are fewer people out and about. On previous occasions when I’d thought about dining at BB’s it has always looked very busy. This time I almost had the place to myself.

A friendly waiter showed me to a table by the window and we chatted briefly about the new Premier League football season while another went to fetch the menus and a blackboard with the days oysters options.

I declined the oysters but I did order a glass of very nice Chilean Sauvignon to read the menu with.

The menu is very French and I’m sure I would have been happy with just about anything but one that took my fancy for starters was the Salted Codfish, with Bell Pepper, Asparagus and Mozzarella ($82). It also had mango but that was fine by me, I love mango.

The dish was presented as a neat little tower over which the waiter ground some black pepper. It tasted as good as it looked and I demolished it with gusto.

For the main course I had Loin of black pork with polenta and glazed vegetables ($188). A thick and juicy cut of pork on a polenta base topped with carrots and onions and garlic.

The waiter kept stopping by for a little banter, his way of making sure everything was OK without having to repeat the same question for every course.

For desert he recommended the Rhubarb Confit with Oranges and Candied Fennel ($52). A comparatively new dish to the menu he informed me. And one that I expect to be on the menu for some time to come.

Quite a few more guests had arrived by now and despite the weather the restaurant was doing well. I finished with a coffee and splashed off into the night telling myself that I really must get over this side more often.

We fancied a beer and a burger each so we decided to head inside. We can’t serve you beer I’m afraid said the good lady who greeted us. But do feel free to pop along to 7-11 and get your own.

It turned out that it was a license glitch and she was expecting all to be rectified within a matter of days. A shame, I was rather looking forward to an Egyptian Sakara Gold to go with a Lebanese burger ($48) My companion also had to forsake his Estrella which he would have paired with a Spanish burger ($48).

The trip down to the convenience store for a couple of cans didn’t have much appeal. Instead we made do with soft drinks, I an orange juice and he a cola. To go with the drinks and burgers we also ordered some buffalo chicken wings ($48) and some potato wedges ($18).

The wedges and wings arrived first by a very narrow margin. The wings are actually boneless and cut into bite sized pieces. The are served in a wonderfully tangy and spicy sauce. Along side them are celery strips and a blue cheese dip.

The two burgers arrived almost at the at the same time. They are delivered with their hats off so you can admire the toppings. The Spanish had chunks of chorizo sausage, a slice of cheddar cheese and a huge daub of mayonnaise. A large part of the mayo defected to the plate after the first bite. My friend was unconcerned. Indeed he was of the opinion that there was too much of the stuff anyway.

The Lebanese burger was topped with halloumi cheese and za’atar. Za’atar is a middle eastern herb or blend of herbs which was sprinkled on the cheese. In place of the mayo a Lebanese burger has hummus. Not nearly as much and in my view altogether much better.

The burgers are a decent size though not as big as some other places. There are variations on the menu that include two patties and I suspect if you asked you could have an extra patty added into almost any burger on the menu.

G/F Carfield Commercial Building
77 Wyndham Street
Central
Tel. 2114 0662

I don’t have to many opportunities to go up to the Sai Wan Ho end of town, so when I do I like to stop in and see what’s going on along Tai Hong Street. This is a little strip of restaurants on a small leafy lane that fronts onto the harbour.

It’s an attractive corner of town. The half dozen or so restaurants are geared towards the occupants of nearby residential blocks so while they may be European in style they cater very much towards local preferences. Most of them are also aimed at young family groups.

I decided to give Beira Dos Namorados a try. The decor was bright and cheerful and Ricky Martin was belting out his hits. I took a table at the front by the window. On less humid days the restaurant opens right up but on this particular evening I was grateful for the air con.

The menu is essentially Portuguese but with local characteristics. There is a range of set dinners which include a trip to the salad bar, the soup of the day, a main course, dessert and tea or coffee. For a single person they start at $165 for a pasta with seafood and go up to $250 for steaks and lobster.

Set meals for larger groups are also available. For two – $488; four – $888 and six – $1,388. These include a selection from the other main dishes. The menu also has a range of options for children.

I went for the roast baramundi option. While I waited I went to plunder the salad bar. It was a simple affair; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, pak choi and cucumber. Sprinkled with dried bacon bits and parmesan cheese, it kept me happy until the soup arrived.

The soup of the day was chicken and it reminded me very much of the ones I have in the cupboard. Perfectly edible, it came with a bread roll and a little plastic tub of butter. I wolfed it down.

Outside a young boy, about 5-years-old, barrelled past on a tricycle. The lights of Kwun Tong twinkled through the trees and a crane barge slipped silently by in the dark. My baramundi arrived.

It was a decent fish too. Succulent and tasty, served on a bed of buttery creamed potato along with broccoli and a spicy, sweet orange sauce for dipping. I was pleasantly surprised to be honest.

Dessert was apple strudel with mango ice cream. Again it was perfectly adequate, the strudel could perhaps have done with a little more apple in it. But drizzled with lashings of chocolate and strawberry sauces it is undoubtedly a hit with the kids

After a salad, three courses and a coffee the overall bill was still well below $200. It’s hard to knock that kind of value.

We needed comfort food. My son had recently got himself sandwiched between a rapidly moving mountain bike and and a very stationary stone wall and was feeling sorry for himself. I met up with him in Wanchai and figured a trip to Big Ernie’s might do the trick.

Big Ernie’s is an American style diner decorated in 1950′s retro and playing period music at a volume that it is rarely played at outside my ipod. It is a young peoples’ place. At least it seems to appeal to both young people and people who just want to feel a bit younger. Well it worked for me anyway.

The boy wasn’t interested in Eddie Cochran – he had his nose buried in the menu trying to decide if he wanted Spuds and Cheese or Onion Rings. Spuds and cheese ($55) won the day.

I ordered a Pregnant Craving ($58). The waiter chuckled, my son looked mortified “Are you pregnant then, dad?” he asked. I assured him I wasn’t but I really liked the sound of deep fried mozzarella cheese and pickles served with a tangy salsa sauce. He enjoyed them too.

The potato skins came stuffed with bacon and cheese, a swirl of sour cream and their own tub of salsa. Elvis was at his peak, cars slid by outside and crazy neon burned across the road.

It was still quite early but the place was busy, some customers having stopped in for a beer after work. Others, like ourselves, there for a quick, no fuss dinner.

My son was already busying himself with a plate of fish and chips ($108). Trying to extract ketchup with three fingers of one hand and most of the other arm covered in bandages looked to be something of a challenge, but he was determined to do it alone. I’m not sure I would have liked quite so much ketchup but it didn’t faze him. He wolfed the lot down in no time. I went for the “Blue Suede Memphis” ($88). This is a burger with blue cheese topped with onion rings and served with chips and coleslaw.

For dessert we ordered the apple pie with ice cream and the cheesecake with oreo cookies ($50 each). These were both well received, and after the plates had been suitably polished he leaned back in his chair, smiled, and said “I’m full.” It’s not something he’ll admit to all that often. I smiled too. His knuckles and arm may take a little longer but his battered pride was well on the mend. Just what the doctor ordered!

“Looks like worms,” said one of my companions. “Sautéed Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce and spring onions,” ($108) said the other.

We were in Bistro Manchu on Elgin Street. As far as I know this is the only restaurant in Hong Kong that specialises in Manchurian cuisine. The region itself includes the three north-eastern provinces of China – Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning – but the cuisine also boasts Mongolian and Korean influences.

Potatoes are much more common in northern China and we had started with with potato noodle with horse radish ($98). The noodles were flat. They had quite a distinct flavour and much greater elasticity than the more familiar type. I was impressed.

Following this were north-eastern soup pork dumplings ($68). These are little soup bomblets and seem to be popular all over China. The soup is actually inside the dumpling. The trick is to pick it up and get it into your mouth without it bursting. The snag is that you never know how hot it is going to be.

These didn’t burn the tongue and were quite tasty though not as soupy as others I’ve had.

It was after this that the ‘worms’ had appeared. The dish is served with spring roll wrappers. The idea is to take make your own spring roll or wrap. The shredded pork is served on a bed of vegetables which can be mixed in or ignored according to your own preference. It was slightly sweet but very delicious, even better with my second attempt because it didn’t fall to bits when I bit into it.

Sautéed 3 vegetables ($98) had arrived at the same time. The vegetables in question were potato, green pepper and aubergine.

By now we had quite a lot of food on the table for just three of us but the best, in my opinion was still to come.

This was Cumin Lamb with Chinese Parsley on an Iron Plate ($168). It is said to be a classic Manchurian dish but it does remind me very much of Mongolian fare that I have had in the past. It is also a very hearty dish, a little bit spicy but with a very distinct flavour. It is served with little bread pockets into which the shaved lamb is stuffed and then eaten with fingers.

All the food had been tasty but the lamb was definitely my favourite. What was your favourite dish? I asked my companion. “This one” she said, helping herself to more worms.

Bistro Manchu can get very busy, reservations are recommended.

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.

I’m afraid Tsim Sha Tsui’s Avenue of Stars isn’t what I would have chosen for a promanade but, judging by the number of people out enjoying themselves, I’m rather a small minority.

Since it is facing Hong Kong’s impressive skyline I can forgive it once in a while and still enjoy a stroll, especially around twilight, that marvelous time between light and dark, on a balmy summer evening.

There were a lot of people out, though surprisingly few of them tourists. A couple of brave joggers were weaving their way between the children comparing their paw prints to those of Jackie Chan, and everyone else who seemed to be having their photograph taken against something or other.

For me the skyline, the lights and the boats chugging by were entertainment enough … well almost. Towards the end of the promenade, down by the New World Centre, I could see some tables. Suddenly I had a mission.

Perhaps a little bit too far round to be perfect but the al fresco tables do still afford quite spectacular views, especially if you sit looking back towards Wanchai. The bay that the restaurant names itself after is presumably Causway Bay which is just about opposite. And the blues, in fact jazz standards being sung by Rod Stewart which, in my opinion, have all been done better by other people. But I’d probably be in a minority on that as well.

The menu has quite a wide range of choices, though it does have a slight Thai bias – red curries and beef salads rub shoulders with items such as escargot and lobster thermidor. I ordered a Pomelo Seafood Salad ($88) and a glass of Chardonnay to get proceedings under way.

It was a generous serving of pomelo, in a spicy peanut dressing. It tasted good but there were only a few scallops and prawns representing the seafood, which was a little disappointing.

For the main course I ordered Pan-fried Cod with asparagas ($138). Although the cod was not as generous a portion as one could have hoped for, the Thai style sweet and spicy sauce that went over it certainly was – there was too much and it overwhelmed the delicate flavour of the fish which, once the sauce had been removed, was really quite nice. The asparagus was fresh and crisp.

For dessert I ordered Fried bananas with three scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream ($58) and rounded off with a coffee.

The dessert was good but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed with the rest of the meal. I sat for quite a while watching families walking by, watching customers come and go. It’s quite a popular restaurant and it’s a really nice location. I’ll certainly come again but next time maybe just for drinks.

Boca is a trendy European style bar on Peel Street at the junction with Elgin Street. I’d decided to go along for some early evening tapas and was lucky enough to secure the table at the front by the door. The bustle of Soho as it comes alive for the evening combines well with the Latin-flavoured jazzy grooves that were playing within.

The word tapas comes from the Spanish verb ‘tapar’, which means to cover, and was essentially a free snack that was placed on top of a drink. According to legend the first tapa was a slice of ham that was placed on a sherry glass to keep flies out. Bar owners realised that the saltiness of the ham encouraged customers to drink more and thus a tradition was born. Today the term refers to almost any snack sized dish, traditional or modern, and need only be limited by the chefs imagination.

I’d come in search of the more traditional tapas. These are listed down the left hand side of the menu while the more modern variants are on the right. I decided to order three dishes, the grilled chorizo ($56) is a favourite of mine, so that was easy. The other two choices required a little more thought. The pepper crusted tuna fillet, and the grilled sardines with sea salt and garlic both sounded tempting. Finally, after much consultation with the manageress Emmy, I decided on Gambas al Ajillo ($69) and Albondigas ($56).

Chorizo is spicy pork sausage flavoured with paprika. Sliced and grilled, it is an excellent snack that goes just as easily with a cold beer as it does with wine. Gambas is prawns and these are prepared with artichokes and spinach and sautéed in paprika. Albondigas are another classic tapas dish comprising spicy beef meatballs in rosemary and tomato sauce. Finally, a basket of home-made bread – perfect for dipping.

Had I not been in danger of overdoing it I might have been tempted by some of options on the “not-so-traditional” side of the menu which included dishes such as stir fried wild mushrooms sauteed in Thai spices, or roasted garlic and brie. Ah but there’ll be another time.

As would be expected, Boca also has a wide selection of wines from all over the world which are offered by the bottle or by the glass and, of course, sangria by the carafe or glass.

Desserts are not in much demand in tapas bars, due perhaps to the idea that tapas are a pre-dinner snack, but the Boca menu does offer a chocolate sponge pudding smothered in hot chocolate sauce and served with fresh strawberries, blueberries and Kiwi fruit.

Boca is open everyday from 12.00 till 2am. Reservations are recommended.

This is a funky, modern Thai restaurant on Arbuthnot street. It’s quite a hike if you’re coming up the hill from Central but well worth the effort.

Seating is canteen style on benches at large wooden tables but they are very spacious so there is no need to worry about bashing elbows with people sitting nearby. They are set with eight place mats but if you were planning an office night out they could probably fit as many as twelve quite comfortably.

I was on my own and had a whole table to myself but it was still early. Early is good at Box Thai. If you go before 7.00 pm they offer an early bird special where $88 will get you one main dish (not including the chef’s specials) and a choice of beer, house wine or soft drink.

The price is attractive and the portions are generous enough but I couldn’t imagine restricting myself to just one dish. The menu is also you place mat and if busy I’m sure you could just tick the boxes and hand it to the waitress. The place wasn’t busy at all and the waitress took the time to tick off some of her recommendations.

I passed by her suggestion of satay favouring instead the betel leaves with savoury pork ($45) but I did take up the suggestion of baramundi in yellow curry with mango and banana ($85). She also thought the grilled calamari and pomelo salad ($60) would go down well.

She was right. That was the first dish to arrive fresh and tangy. It was a little spicy but not too much. Indeed very few of the dishes on the menu are from the hotter end of Thai cuisine. I hastily put in an order for sticky rice which I had forgotten to do earlier.

The rice arrived along with tan elegant display of betel. An appropriate amount of pork was already placed on each leaf and all I had to do was fold it over an pop it into my mouth. The flavour was a little smoky and slightly dry. It was a pleasing contrast to the calamari and also to what I was expecting to be a fairly sweet curry.

Yellow curries are always at the sweeter end of the scale but this interpretation was particularly interesting. The sauce itself was not as sweet as others I’ve had. The sweetness comes in little explosions when the palette finds a piece of mango or banana. The chunks of baramundi were succulent and plentiful and cherry tomato halves added a little colour. I mopped up the remains of the sauce with the last of the sticky rice.

There were a few desserts on the menu, all familiar choices. I opted for banana fritter with vanilla ice cream ($40)

Although the address is Johnston Road the entrance, or at least the one I found, is round the corner on Ship Street up a short flight of steps. What is nice about this is the terrace where, on a balmy evening, one can sit outside with a few trees to break up the hard line of the buildings but without so much of the roar of Wanchai.

Being an early diner I had the terrace to myself for the most part of my meal and I was a pleasant evening indeed.

There is a full menu with individual prices but there are also set dinner prices, $238 for three courses or $258 for four. These include whatever choices you want from the menu anyway. I decided to forego the soup and opt for the three courses.

I also opted for a red wine there are several you can order by the glass I chose an Australian Merlot.

The menu is typically French and made up mostly of tried and trusted dishes. For starter I had the smoked salmon stuffed with Alaskan king crab and topped off with avocado. The two rolls of salmon and crab looked quite small but the are deceptive. They were in fact tightly rolled and quite substantial.

This was followed by a generous serving roast lamb rolled with spinach and ham. This came with carrots and green beans on a bed of potato.

For dessert I was intrigued by the idea of frozen cheesecake. I remember as a student buying frozen cheesecake at the supermarket. Not knowing they were supposed to be defrosted first I happily ate them frozen.

This was a more delicate portion than I used to give myself back then. To be honest it had the taste and texture of good old vanilla ice cream but it didn’t melt so readily. I enjoyed it all the same.

By Faye McCarthy

A surprise evening out with my husband led to a new restaurant experience for me. After a pre-dinner drink at a bar in SoHo, we strolled along Elgin Street and he finally directed me to Le Fauchon.

We entered the darkened interior (all low lights, candles, mirrors and grey tiles… modern, but intimate), and were shown to a corner table towards the back of the brasserie. After a little shuffling to make sure I had the best view of the other diners (it was already pretty full at a quarter to 8), we were given menus and a wine list. I was slightly daunted by the ‘tempura snails’, wondering if we were to have a Japanese/French evening and trying to come up with a word to describe this fusion (Frapanese being my favourite) , but as I continued through the menu I decided there were several potentially mouth watering options.

I finally I decided on the goose liver starter, followed by the duck confit (an unoriginal preferred choice for me). My husband – just as predictably – went for the snails and then in a bold move opted for the Wagyu steak (medium). I was allowed to choose the wine. I decided on a bottle of Saint Julien.

The order taken, the wine arrived with usual Hong Kong pomposity. It was lovingly uncorked, the cork placed beside my husband and the taster offered to him too (slightly annoying, since I was the one who did the choosing, but I am not one to make a fuss). I let my husband nod his appreciation and quickly took a sip before the waiter ran away. Of course it was good… as if I’d doubt my man!

Crusty bread and butter arrived. We picked at it whilst we unobtrusively (I hope) commented on the other diners, speculating on their occupations and their choice of food. At the right time the food arrived. Not too soon to interrupt our tete-a-tete, but not too late to allow our stomachs growling time.

It was beautifully arranged. I am not a fan of heaped plates and it certainly wasn’t. The starter was just that – enough to whet our appetites. The fois gras was cooked to perfection, almost melting in the mouth. A drizzle of balsamic around the plate and a small mound of mixed salad made it look and taste fresh. My husband’s snails came enclosed in a baked tomato instead of the usual awkward, and often messy, shells. When he cut the tomato open it oozed garlic sauce. I had to dip my bread in just to make sure I could cope with any hazardous garlic fumes later that night.

The wine was refilled at intervals without any of the usual ceremonial interruptions often adopted by restaurants and again the correct amount of time was left between courses.

My confit de canard was stacked upon some crisp mange tout and a couple of boiled potatoes placed beside it. It looked and tasted good. It was very slightly dry, but so slight that I can’t complain of it ruining my enjoyment. I was extremely happy with my choice.

My husband’s ‘medium’ steak turned out to be quite bloody, which made me giggle and only added to the French experience, because, as we all know, a good French chef would never lower themselves to overcook a decent piece of red meat. If you’re a fan of well-done steaks or are even slightly squeamish at the sight of a little blood, my advice would be to order something completely different.

Unfortunately we were both too full to consider a dessert. All I can say is from what we saw passing our table, they looked delicious. Next time, I promise, if I have to starve myself for a week or end up feeling sick as a dog, I am going to order myself a chocolate soufflé. Brasserie Le Fauchon is perfect for an intimate evening, with unobtrusive, good service and enticing food.

This is a pleasant little place in one of the less frenetic pockets of Causeway Bay. It’s an all day place with menus for breakfast, lunch, afternoon teas and dinner.

The dinners are in the form of a set meal; for three courses $168; four courses, $188. The extra course being soup. Each item is also individually priced so you could just order a main course if you wanted to.

There are half a dozen options each for starter and main. These change frequently according to what is available at market. There were two choices for soup but I’d already decided against the four course option.

For my starter I ordered the pan fried-frogs legs. I also ordered a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc while I waited.

The restaurant is divided into two sections. The front has more an afternoon cafe feel to it while the back is lined with linen covered seats and cushions on subtle beige and pale brown. Black and white photos of happy faces adorn the walls while a female singer delivers torch songs old and new in the background.

I’ve never been sure why some people say Frogs legs taste like chicken. I don’t think it does. It looks a little like tiny chicken drumsticks, but the meat is denser and has a slightly stronger, almost nutty flavour. These were basking in a sea of delicious, buttery, parsley sauce and topped with a small forest of salad.

Naturally I wanted more and could have easily dispatched another leg or two but I decided to wait patiently for my main course. For this I’d ordered white cod on polenta and French beans. The fish was firm and flakey as cod is supposed to be. The polenta, which is made from ground corn, was mixed with some whole kernels to add a little more texture.

Dessert was a choice of chocolate mousse and orange cappuccino. I went for the orange and rounded off with a fair trade coffee.

Guest review

My hike up the Peak every weekend is made more pleasant with something to look forward to – gulping down a four-glass shaker of magarita that costs only $70.

Besides that, I get to eat shrimps cooked in every possible way – shrimps in tasty buttery/Cajun broth, Cajun shrimps, fried shrimps, grilled shrimps, cold salad shrimps, and the list goes on. The servings are generous, unlike those usual shrimp dishes where you only get five small shrimps that can hardly satisfy your shrimp craving.

It’s not just all shrimps, however. There’s also juicy burgers, pan fried fish and other mainstream dishes. However, the highlight and chef’s recommendation is of course, the Cajun shrimp.

Main dishes cost about HK$100-170, while appetisers cost less than HK$100. Because of the generous servings, just one main dish and another appetiser is enough to fill up two adults. If you order a shrimp platter, you even get to read the Forrest Gump newspaper which wraps up the platter of shrimps.

Another great thing is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co Restaurant is one of the best spots to see the fireworks and admire the Hong Kong skyline while devouring your meal.

Some might say there’s a Forrest Gump overload, but I admit that I am a Gump fanatic and the souvenir store piled with Gump-themed T-shirts, water bottles, tank tops, towels, etc is just fab. I got one that says: I love Bubba. Forrest Gump fans get to watch the movie replayed over and over again, while sports fans can also watch seasonal games in the bar area.

Don’t forget to look out for all the famous quotes from the movie on the walls, tables and on the T-shirts of course: ‘Run Forrest Run’ and ‘Mama says life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are getting’. In Bubba Gump, though, you can be sure that at the least, you’ll be getting some great food.

Bulldogs Bar and Grill, Lan Kwai Fong’s newest watering hole bills itself a British/Autralian pub and is the only traditional style tavern in Lan Kwai Fong. On the menu is classic pub grub in the form of burgers and pastas, plus a range of finger foods that includes tortilla chips, chicken strips and potato skins. You can also order a ‘Dog Platter’ which is a selection of all the finger foods. We were there so soon after the doors opened that the full menu hadn’t been implemented yet so expect more to come in the very near future

The burgers, a huge beef patty with a choice of toppings, are served with salad and chips (though some people call them French fries). The pastas are similarly generous. I tested the portions out on my son, a growing lad with the kind of appetite that only teenagers are capable of. He wolfed more than his fair share of potato skins, a Bulldog Burger – topped with mushrooms and a slice of jack cheese – and chips before announcing he was full.

There are two bars. The main bar and dining area stretches right the way through the building from the entrance on Lan Kwai Fong. Beyond this is the Birdwatchers Bar, a balcony bar that overlooks D’Aguilar Street, named no doubt for the dedicated ornithologists who like to keep an eye on who is swanning up and down the road. There are several TV screens in the bar areas, so expect Saturday nights in the footy season to be boisterous affairs. The dining area is located between the Birdwatchers Bar and a big red telephone box, away from the TVs.

The range of draught beers includes their own signature beer, Bulldog Brew, plus Fosters, Newcastle Brown Ale, Beamish, Strongbow Cider and Boddingtons. Of the bottled variety there are ten to choose from, including San Miguel imported from the Philippines, Corona, Asahi and Molsen plus all the usual suspects.

Brrr it’s been so cold this week I didn’t want to go out anywhere preferring to find a slightly warm corner somewhere and huddle down with a good book. But one can’t eat books so I did take myself out briefly to find some comfort food.

The food in question turned out to be burger and chips and these were found in Burger republic on Gough Street. This is one of the many little burger joints that have sprung up over the past couple of years. A lot of them vanish again without trace but Burger Republic has been there for quite a while now so they must be doing something right.

It’s a small place, twenty customers would be a full house, or very nearly. But It was not busy on the day I went. Decor is simple and bright and the tables are set with knives and forks for those who prefer not to eat with their hands.

The menu boasts about 16 burger options; half a dozen with chicken, one with fish and a veggie burger. It was tempting to go for the Colossus ($76) which includes beef and chicken along with cheese and all the usual fillings. But this time I managed to exercise a little self-restraint.

Instead I went for the chicken with cranberry and brie ($59), and to go with it some mozzarella gravy chips ($37). I don’t normally like chicken in burgers, I think it was the brie and cranberry sauce that won me over. But it’s promise was better than the reality.

It’s probably unfair to say it was bad, I did eat it after all. It was just a bit ordinary. I’m blaming the chicken mostly though the brie was less substantial that it first appeared. The whole thing fell apart at first bite so the cutlery came in handy after all. I suspect that, had I gone for beef, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

The chips did live up to expectation and I was glad I had ordered those rather than settle for the $23 regular chips and soft drink upgrade.

Dessert was three large scoops of ice cream with banana and crumbled digestive biscuits which, at $30, seemed pretty good value for money. I’d suggest you share with a friend though.

39 Gough Street
Central
Hong Kong

The name Busy Suzie pinched from the term Lazy Susan, the name for that revolving table top that we find in Chinese restaurants. The main dining area of Busy Suzie is also circular but the table doesn’t move.

Traditionally robatayaki, or Japanese barbecue, would be cooked in a large charcoal pit. The diners would sit in a circle around the pit and the chefs would pass the orders to customers on the oar of a fishing boat.

There is no charcoal pit but diners still sit in a circle where they can watch the chefs prepare their food and who will be deliver it to them on a wooden paddle. To add authenticity the wait staff shout the orders to the chefs and all staff, chefs included, bellow greetings whenever a customer enters.

The interior is sleek and circular with wooden floor and fixtures finished off with bamboo and round paper lanterns. There are private dining areas and small booths for those who prefer not to sit at the main table.

There were no major surprises on the menu. I have to confess, I eat so much supermarket sushi and sashimi that I tend to skip it in restaurants. The major benefit of that is that it does help keep the cost down. And since Busy Suzie is one of the more expensive places that, for me at least, is an important consideration.

The drinks list did offer Ozeno Yukidoke Brown ($90), a German style Dunkelweizen so I ordered a bottle of that to get proceedings underway. To go with it I ordered some dry piled sardine ($78). Both arrived promptly. The sardine was pressed into cracker like slivers and were very tasty indeed. A good appetite sharpener but an even better snack to go with a beer.

The beer had a spicy sweetness, think cinnamon, that went down rather too well. It wasn’t long before I was ordering my second. I also put in an order for a chicken and a pork skewer ($75 each) and some vegetable tempura ($128).

By this time quite a few people were arriving and there was a lot of shouting going on. The shouting itself wasn’t unpleasant, it was all good natured. But when added to the rather loud disco music that was playing it made having a conversation difficult.

The skewers were very good as was the tempura, which consisted of pumpkin, mushroom, lotus root and sweet potato and I added to that a Robatayaki rice ball with miso ($50).

I finished off with umeshu and lime jelly ($78), which mad a pleasant change. Both sesame and green tea ice cream were available but I always have one or the other so it was nice to find something a little different. Umeshu is a kind of liqueur made by steeping unripe green plums in Shochu and sugar. Used as a delicious sweet sauce it went went well with the tangy lime jelly.

Shop 209, 1881 Heritage
2A Canton Road
(entrance on Salisbury Road)
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel. 2369 0077

I decided to stop into Byte for Sunday brunch. They offer a set menu for $150 which includes a cold buffet, a choice of main dishes, then back to the buffet for desert and cheese and biscuits.

The restaurant is laid out on two levels and has a modern but comfortable interior. A selection of magazines is available and there is a plasma TV for sports fans.

There are also tables outside but although the restaurant wasn’t crowded I did notice that these had been reserved. So if you like to lunch in the open it is best to make reservations. Inside Frank Sinatra was in fine voice as I made my way to the buffet.

The available dishes vary from week to week depending on what produce was available but there is certainly no shortage of choice. Prawns, smoked salmon, lamb chops, assorted cold cuts, roast pumpkin, pasta and salads to name a few. One item that particularly caught my attention were tin law, Chinese edible snails. This was a welcome treat as they are quite unusual to find these days.

The breadth of choice extends to the main courses as well. You can choose between the familiar American style sausage, eggs ham and hash browns or any one of the alternatives which included both Indian and Thai style curries, fusilli with feta cheese and smoked salmon, fish and chips and several other dishes.

For those that prefer, the full a la carte menu is also available, offering a range of international and Asian options including burgers and hot dogs, pizzas, spaghetti, noodles and curries.

By the time I got to dessert I was already full, but I made a little bit of space to try the cranberry pudding. Sadly I was forced to give the cheese and biscuits a miss even though the brie did look very tempting indeed.

Afterwards I decided to walk back up Sha Wan Drive and along Victoria road to Kennedy Town. It’s not a classic country walk by any means but it is a pleasant stroll on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Especially after a good lunch.

Brunch at Byte is served on Sundays from 12 -3 pm.

Half the fun of the Peak is just getting there. Usually, after a look at the queues for the Peak Tram, we hop straight into a taxi, but this time opted for the white-knuckle ride at the front of the number 15 bus from Exchange Square. We arrived at Cafe Deco feeling a little shaky, but the efficient staff soon put us at ease and escorted us to our window table. (Remember to request one when you book, as they always fill up first).

Cafe Deco is a glamorous place. Sheer glass walls on both floors make the most of the spectacular views. But while modern Hong Kong provides the backdrop, inside is definitely Deco from the feature spiral staircase and chequered floor right down to the details on the chairs, crisp white linen napkins and an impressive collection of original art deco artifacts. Strange ambient music was playing when we arrived but this was rectified when a jazz quartet took to the stage upstairs a little later.

Considering the size of the restaurant, it has a surprisingly quiet and peaceful atmosphere. If it’s possible to get bored gazing over Victoria harbour, you can always watch the chefs going about their business in the front kitchen along one side of the restaurant.

The wine list is impressive, offering selections that could challenge some very deep pockets. There is even a choice of house wines; three white and three red. We plumped for the Belmonte Sauvignon Blanc 2002 at $270, or $54 per glass. There is a choice of champagnes from $95/glass, and champagne cocktails from $118. Draught beer (San Miguel or Fosters) is available at $55/pint.

The menu offers a wide variety of international dishes including pizza, pasta, risotto, tandoori (including ostrich, which we found hard to resist), a grill section and a large selection of ‘Asian specialties’. While cruising the starter menu, we decided to skip all 14 of the oyster options (from $29 each) and save energy by ordering the Cafe Deco starter platter: cajun spiced crab cake, thai spring rolls, pork and papaya salad, smoked salmon pizetta, and grilled beef fahita quesadilla ($128 – good to share). We also ordered a California roll ($48) from an extensive Japanese menu that includes foie gras hand roll ($148), a 26 piece sashimi ‘blue plate’ ($598), and 10 choices of sake.

For our main courses we headed straight for the grill section of the menu, and after being warned that the Cornish game hen would require a wait of 45 minutes, we chose the the Victorian lamb chops with roast potatoes (you could also choose between mashed, baked or fries) and daily vegetables (or salad) $165, and the succulent one-inch thick Angus beef fillet $238.

We were so full we could hardly find room for dessert, so we bravely ignored the Tiramisu and German cheesecake and ordered the ‘hot fudge gay 90s’ – a scoop of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream – yum!

If you enjoy cigars to finish off a luxurious meal, Cafe Deco has a large selection from $55 for a Bolivar Coronus Junior.

Guest Review

The restaurant is conveniently located along Graham Street (where else?) in Soho, just down from the busy and sometimes rowdy Staunton Street.

The walls are completely covered with an eclectic mix of pictures, from a scenic photo of France to ancient Egyptian alphabets. It has almost become a home-from-home for lots of regulars.

It is busy lunchtime and evening, and you should check ahead if going in the evening – they will let you know when a table is likely to be free.

Cafe Graham is so casual and relaxed that you can dine alone, in pairs, or a big group of friends, and still be yourself. It has friendly staff and cosy seats. I’ve been there alone and I didn’t look weird or geeky or miserable at all – sitting alone in a corner having my meal while playing on my PSP (at least I think so). I’ve been there for dates and I didn’t feel any bit less romantic – I actually felt more relaxed with my partner. I’ve been there in groups of three, four, five, and so on – we had a great party. By the way, the restaurant takes reservations for private parties too – it should be able to accommodate around 30 people or so.

The food is mainly French basics, and well done – presentation is up to standard, meat is tender, fish is crisply pan fried, pasta is surprisingly healthy with home-made sauces, desserts are rich in flavour and most importantly, the price is very economical.

I always go for a lobster bisque to start with, then tomato-sauce shrimp with salad greens, followed by a sole fillet with vegetables. And if I still have space to accomodate dessert, a chocolate mud cake. The serving size is always generous, and on top of that, you can choose to have vegetables, rice or spaghetti to go with your main meal. My other favourites include the baked escargots, duck breast glazed with honey, grilled lamb cutlets with herbs, beef stroganoff and braised lamb shank.

Prices for a main meal range from HK$50-120. If you want to have good French and European cuisine with bargain prices, this would be the place to go. To top it all, the price of house wine starts at only HK$100 per bottle

At first this didn’t look like it would be an all that comfortable place to eat. The music was loud and the tables seemed a bit pokey and suitable only for drinking at. I was about to pass on by when I noticed a flight of stairs to the right.

I asked the waitress if there were more tables upstairs. “You want to go upstairs?” she asked somewhat surprised. I’d like to take a look I told her.

Upstairs was much better. The music wasn’t so loud and there were tables that looked like you could eat at them. Cafe Iguana serves Mexican food. You don’t need a menu to tell you that. One wall is green the others are yellow. They are hung with paintings featuring colours from the red end of the spectrum. A pile of sombreros lay to one side.

It’s not a big menu but what it does it does well. Four variations of guacamole are the first items. I ordered a Poblano ($68) and a bottle of Carta Blanca beer ($50). Poblano is a mild type of chilli pepper from Mexico. It adds a gentle spiciness to the avocado. Also in the mix was corn and asadero cheese. It is served with tortilla chips which are used to scoop it up.

The cocktail menu, on the other hand, is quite impressive. Patron, Don Julio and Herradura and the three main tequila brands used but for connoisseurs there are almost 50 others in stock. I do like tequila but I prefer to save it for weekends and days when I don’t have to remember what I was doing the night before.

From the tortilla section I had ordered the Carnita ($98). This is pork braised in orange and tequila and garnished with another dollop of guacamole. They are served open on freshly made tortillas. They roll up fairly easily but what impressed me the most was that the contents stayed inside. Usually when I try to eat things like this half of it falls into my lap.

Following this came the Alambres Al Pastor ($138). This is a large skewer of barbecued goodies. The waitress had asked if I preferred prawn or chicken. I suggested a mix of both and off she went to consult the chef.

The skewer itself is hung horizontally over a plate of roasted lime-oregano potatoes. On the skewer, alongside the prawn and chicken were red and green peppers, onion and pineapple. I don’t normally approve of pineapple in a dish like this but this time it was sharp and tangy so it worked quite well.

I finished off with a rather agreeable coconut flan garnished with blueberries and crispy coconut shavings.

When I left there still were not too many people upstairs although the ground floor seem fairly well populated. But it’s still a very new place, things will probably change as it becomes better known

According to the place mat the restaurant takes it’s name from a recipe for the famous Vietnamese beef noodle broth that was popular at a railway station hawker stand. The old hawker never gave up his secret recipe but cafe locomotive have created their very own.

It seems to be popular too. On my previous trips to this area the Cafe Locomotive has always been packed. This time I got there early.

The decor boasts a railway theme with luggage racks and station clocks showing the time in several cities around Asia. The staff are friendly and efficient. I ordered a coconut base with jelly bits and ice and perused the menu. Most people were having the noodles and they did look very good but I had decided I wanted to try something different.

I started with roasted French quail ($48) this is served simply on a banana leaf with a slice of lime and an orchid (which I didn’t eat). It can sometimes be a bit of a fight to get the meat from the bones of small birds. The use of fingers is essential. The restaurant does provide disposable plastic gloves but that is cheating in my view and besides it makes the whole process seem rather surgical.

It was a tasty bird and it wasn’t long before all I had left was a neat pile of bones. The waitress enquired as to whether everything was to my satisfaction. I assured it was and she whisked my plate away.

The waiter had warned me that the quail would take around fifteen minutes to prepare. This meant that my next dish, big head prawn ($118) arrived almost as soon as the last one had been cleared away.

The prawns were baked in a rich, buttery garlic sauce. This too was most agreeable. The only downside was that flesh of the prawn seemed rather less that the shell had promised. But I guess that is prawns for you. You never do get as much as you think you’re going to get.

For vegetable I’d ordered morning glory in broth ($42). It turned out to be a considerably larger bowl than I had anticipated. I couldn’t finish it all though I made a valiant effort soaking up the broth with garlic bread.

The lemon creme brulee with cinnamon sugar French toast and ginger ice-cream ($39) proved to be an excellent finale but then I’m a sucker for ginger ice cream.

Cafe Locomotive is quite a small but very popular restaurant. If you’re making a special trip it’s worth calling ahead to make a reservation.

The new branch of Cafe O is at 285 Queens Road Central. That’s just at the bottom of Ladder Street so if you’ve had a gruelling afternoon shopping for antiques in Cat Street and environs it’s a perfect place to take the weight off your feet and enjoy a long cool smoothie.

I hadn’t been antique shopping, I was in that neck of the woods for other reasons but I decided to make a detour and have a late lunch.

Approaching from the Sheung Wan side it seems at first to be rather an unusual location but looking at it from the other side then it could be seen as leading the charge in Noho’s relentless expansion towards Sheung Wan.

The restaurant takes up the ground and first floor with simple but sleek decor There are numerous computer terminals and the premises are wi-fi enabled, so you need never be a moment away from your e-mail or your favourite websites. Upstairs there is a balcony where you can sit outside and overlook Queens Road.

Cafe O opens at seven in the morning but late risers will be pleased to note that breakfast is served all day. The idea of having breakfast for lunch did cross my mind. The Triple O, which includes three eggs, hash browns, mushrooms bacon and sausage for $78, and the Othello; Australian beef hamburger with crispy bacon and mozzarella on a home made bun for $98 were both tempting.

The breakfast menu also included pancakes and organic muesli. But I was there for a late lunch and the longer I remained undecided the later it was getting.

Looking at the items in the display counter I noticed something that, whilst it didn’t really look like a Cornish pasty, it certainly made me think of them. This was called a Calzone ($42), a pizza that has been folded so that the crust is on the outside and the topping has become a filling. I ordered one.

There was a vegetarian option but I went for the herbed chicken with vegetables. I also ordered some cheezy potatoes ($32), potato wedges with melted mozzarella and sprinkled with chilli and paprika. To wash it all down I ordered a Blue Energy. This is a blend of banana, orange and blueberry juice.

While I waited I looked at the other pizza options on the menu. Cafe O makes pizza by the metre. A full metre will cost $178, half metre cost $98 and are great for sharing but it is also possible to buy an individual portion for $42. The basic topping are all quite simple; home made pesto, tomato and basil and fresh mushroom are just a few. Onto these you can add as many or as few topping as you heart desires.

The calzone was quite tasty, it didn’t fill me up as much as a conventional pizza would, which was helpful because it turned out to be larger than it had appeared in the counter. The cheesy potatoes were a tad dry and might have benefitted from a little butter, though it’s a small complaint and one that I’m sure could have been easily addressed had I got up to ask.

The Blue Energy was delicious. Made entirely from fresh ingredients and nothing else. The banana blended wonderfully with the orange and blueberry to give a taste that was still tangy but neither too sharp nor too sweet.

So impressed was I with the juice I decided I couldn’t leave without trying a smoothie as well. I plumped for the Brain Wave. This is a combination of pineapple, kiwi, mint and ginger mixed with a pineapple sorbet and was every bit as good as the juice. The juices and smoothies come in two sizes $29 and $36.

There is also a range of teas, herbal teas and coffee available as well as a selection of wines and beers

I spotted Cafe Ola a few months ago, but as it’s hidden down a side lane in Central, promptly forgot about it until a friend suggested an early dinner after work. Wing Wo Street runs down the side of the Cosco buildings, between Queen’s Road and Des Voeux Road – Cafe Ola is near the Des Voeux end.

Inside, everything is very relaxed and homey – some of the owner’s old album covers line the walls, and we passed a couple of happy minutes trying to remember whether we’d owned the same ones. There was a small TV going in the corner, but no worries – the sound was switched off! I thought this looked a promising venue for watching football, but didn’t check out the cable situation.

There’s usually a couple of tables out in the lane (comfortingly clean), with businessmen having a couple of beers after work, and at these prices (all bottled lagers $20, Boddingtons $28), why not? House wine starts at $25 per glass for Agua Negra from Argentina, which of course I had to try – it was even drinkable. Bottles are available at prices up to $380 for top-of-the-range.

Every day they have a choice of 4 dishes with the set dinner menu at a bargain price. On the evening we went, the set included a starter of grilled duck breast with salad leaves, a soup (ours was pumpkin, a little thin, but obviously home-made and creamy), dessert, and coffee/tea.

I ordered the rack of lamb (medium rare) for my main ($118 for the set), which came with little roasted tomatoes, broccoli and potatoes. The meat itself was a little gristly, but it was cooked to perfection with ‘rosemary scent & demi-glace’ sauce. My friend had the chicken breast, which arrived with chestnut mash (yummy) and similar vegetables.

We decided to share desserts. Choices included chocolate mousse, but we selected tiramisu, and lime sorbet, as we were feeling a little full by this time. The sorbet came with a little stick of chocolate, and was inexplicably creamy – tasty though. The tiramisu, however, was disappointingly solid, and lacking in flavour.

Unfortunately, on the night we were there, the coffee machine was out of order, so we scuttled out after a relaxing hour. We had spent only $298 between two of us, and when the ever-cheery owner said come back soon, it actually sounded like he meant it!

This place produces very reasonable food at bargain prices, and I certainly intend to make myself a regular.

I’ve known about Cafe Siam for years, I used to go past it at least once a day as I rode up the Central to mid-levels escalator. I have worked in three different offices that were all within a five minute walk of the restaurant. I even walked around for at least a week with a miniature take-away menu in my pocket. But it wasn’t until the other day that I finally got myself through the doors and up to a table.

Whenever I enter a Thai restaurant the cooking smells always trigger a Pavlovian instinct to order all my favourite Thai dishes and it takes a great force of will to look elsewhere on the menu. My favourite dishes, of course, are all classic dishes that can be found on all good Thai menus. That little pocket menu helped immensely, because it meant that even before I arrived at the restaurant I already had a shortlist of not so common dishes I wanted to try.

The starters I’d narrowed down to two; Koh Moo Yang, or char-grilled marinated pork served with a tamarind, toasted rice and shallot dip ($65) was very tempting but was pipped at the post by the Gai Manow, chicken and water chesnut roll ($68). These are cut into bite-sized pieces and served on a bed of crispy fried basil with a dab of mayonnaise and a sliver of lime.

One of the great things about Thai cuisine is that it happily borrows from its neighbours and the flavours will change according to which border you are near. The larbs and the ever popular green papaya salad, som-tam, originate in Laos, the mild yellow curries come from the south.

The next dish was Khao Soy ($65), a Burmese style chicken curry served with soft and crispy noodles. This was also a mild curry but not as sweet as the southern style curries. It is served with a hot and sour northern style chilli paste.

The main course was completed with Deep Fried Garoupa in a very spicy chilli sauce ($158).

The dessert menu is made up of tried and trusted favourites such as mango with sticky rice, banana fritters and fresh fruit. Cafe Siam make their own brand of herb tea and at $28 a pot is well worth a try. In fact it is so popular that they even sell it in packets to take home.

There is an art to doing buffet but I’ve never been able to master it properly. Some people seem to be able to keep eating and eating but I always wind up getting full … or is it just my imagination? Maybe it is because good buffets always have more things than I can possibly try in one sitting. But I do have tricks that I try to employ to help me get the most out of what is on offer so the other day I sauntered along to Cafe TOO at the Island Shangri-La to hone my skills.

Buffets are very popular and, at $388 Cafe TOO may be one of the more expensive in town, but it was still packed even before seven. I was lucky, the waiter led me to a table right at the very back near the Indian kitchen. He was a little apologetic about it but it suited me down to the ground as I was able to watch the chefs. The mantra I always begin with is “Never put too much on the your plate”. This is particularly difficult when confronted with such fresh looking sushi and sashimi. They do offer oysters but I’ve always wondered what the fuss was about.

They did have some delicious chilled crab that worked well with the sashimi. I just love sushi and sashimi, but in these situations I try to stick to sashimi because the rice can fill you up too much. I had the tuna, clam and yellowtail. I could see myself going back for seconds, so I augmented this with a little smoked salmon which I thought may provide an interesting segue into the cold cuts and salad.

The next tactic is to eat slowly. This is all well and good when you go with a group of friends but if, like me, you also enjoy dining alone then it helps to have a good book or a newspaper. I’d already read the papers and I’d forgotten my book so that segue into the cold cuts came rather sooner than I’d anticipated.

The choice of cold cuts was not as varied as the sashimi but I was still able to find some pepper beef and parma ham. To that plate I added a little goats cheese in olive oil and some of the spicy Thai papaya salad called som tam.

This was an inspired move because the spiciness of the salad demanded that I rest a while before moving on to the next.

There were a couple of chinese options, some soup noodles and what looked like a Chiu Chow kitchen but I must confess I didn’t investigate. I got sidetracked by the rack of lamb with vegetables and roast potatoes. I was a little disappointed to notice that there wasn’t any English mustard available but it was a fairly minor transgression.

After another short pause I was ready for the Indian kitchen. I’d heard good things about this and I’d been enjoying watching the chef baking the nan. I timed my attack perfectly. Because of my privileged location I knew when the tandoori chicken was to be replenished and I was there waiting. To go with it I also selected some tandoori fish, onion bhaji and nan bread.

There was a quite bewildering range of desserts, all of them looked yummy but I decided to settle for a small slice of tiramisu and rounded off with some brie and biscuits and coffee.

Cafe Tornado is a small casual little bistro amongst half a dozen or so restaurants on Caroline Hill Road in Causeway Bay. I spotted it a few weeks ago and decided to go back and give it a try.

Decor is simple, a bookshelf adds a homely feel to it and, because it is a small place, makes it feel quite cosy.

There are a few a la carte options but it is mostly set dinners, of which there are about six to choose from. They include a salad and soup of the day along with a main course. The prices range from $130-200.

For a $50 upgrade you can get a glass of house wine, a starter and a dessert. It all seemed very reasonable to me … but then I set the cat among the pigeons. I didn’t want the ordinary salad I rather fancied the smoked salmon with avocado salad ($80) from the a la carte menu. I assured the waitress I’d be willing to pay the extra.

She didn’t seem to certain but she agreed anyway and went off to deliver my order to the kitchen while I looked over the rest of the menu. It’s a curious mix of pasta dishes, some Japanese options and steak. It offers a good range of herbal teas and a range of coffees.

Presently the salad arrived, it was huge. The waitress said “Yes, this is the salmon and avocado … ” and then waving her finger vaguely around it she continued ” … and your set meal…” at which she beat a hasty retreat. Did she mean she has mixed the two salads together?

I decided not to pursue the matter. In actual fact all it entailed was extra foliage and it was crisp and fresh. I decided I would simply leave what I didn’t want.

That wouldn’t have been much at all had it not been for the arrival of my starter. There had been five or six items, all from the a la carte menu, that I could choose from. I had chosen the bacon and potato. It had a menu price of $53 and consisted of nice chunks of lean back bacon in a creamy sauce, very tasty indeed.

The soup of the day arrived shortly after. It turned out to be French onion soup. I can be quite picky about onion soup, this was served in a glass with a rather humdrum piece of toast on the side. But apart from the glass the soup’s only other crime was not having any cheese on top. The soup itself was rather good.

I’d ordered Roast Duck for the main course and this was a lovely piece. Tender and juicy with a delicious smoky flavour. It arrived on a mound of potatoes and garden vegetables.

I confess I was getting rather full but I had made a mental to order the home made lime yoghurt cheesecake from the menu for my dessert. Even if it did mean upsetting the waitress again. As it turned out they only had two desserts available; creme brulee and an Oreo and Baileys cheesecake. I plumped for the former.

The food here was very good and good value for money too. A little more organisation in the menu wouldn’t hurt and nor would a strategy for accommodating people who like to stray from the set menu.

I’ve been hot on the trail of Italian flavours for the budget conscious all week. It’s not easy to find but one place that is worth a look is Caffe Vergnano 1882. There are three branches I stumbled into the Branch in Elements.

It’s a straight forward open fronts mall type eatery. Functional, not fancy. The menu outside offered a special of deep fried seafood plus a glass of house wine for $88. I decided that would be my starter so I went in and found myself a table.

There were a few customers but not too many. I found myself a corner at the back and perused the menu. There was a respectable range of pasta dishes with prices ranging from about $60 upwards. Twelve-inch Italian style pizza started at around $150. There were also salads and a range of sandwiches.

I ordered the seafood and a glass of white which turned out to be a pleasant Chardonnay. The seafood consisted of calamari, scallops, prawns, and mussels. For dipping there was a tangy and mildly spicy tomato salsa.

It may have been somewhat lacking in presentation but otherwise it would be hard to find fault. The lack of a bread basket had not gone unnoticed but when you are looking for quality budget dining something has to give.

For the main course I had ordered rack of lamb ($178). Again the presentation was simple but the lamb, cooked in rosemary, was succulent and tasty. It was served with broccoli. I Had expected some potato as well but there was none so If you are particularly hungry you might want to consider a pasta dish.

For dessert I ordered a panna-cotta ($35). The coffee list is quite impressive offering no less than 26 different ways of serving it, both hot and cold. I rounded my meal off with a banino ($39) which was a sort of combination of Ice coffee and Banana shake.

There is no candle-lit romance and the waiters will not fuss over you but after a weary afternoon of shopping it does the job.

This is a family restaurant that has a slightly more interesting take on the concept of a pizza. I went along to the branch on the 13th floor of Times Square in Causeway Bay to try one.

Living up to its role as a family restaurant there were two young super-heroes zapping threatening looking chairs and tables with imaginary kill-o-beam zap guns or whatever the weapon of choice is these days. Suffice to say that had I been a malevolent piece of furniture it would have been splinters for me. I picked my table with care..

The restaurant is bright and spacious, the decor simple but functional. The waiter was at the table in no time brandishing the menu.

Pizza, of course, dominates the menu but it is by no means the only choice. There is also an interesting range of pastas and Focaccia sandwiches. It also offers a mouthwatering array of appetizers, soups and salads.

I ordered California shrimp rolls ($48). These are similar to the cold spring rolls found in Laos, Vietnam and parts of Thailand. The white noodle, carrots and bean sprouts remain the same but these were stuffed with flame-grilled shrimps which added a deliciously smokey twist to them. They were served chilled, with a dipping sauce of sesame and ginger.

There are no less than 25 different pizzas on the menu. All the familiar favourites are there; the Hawaiian, the pepperoni and mushroom and the basic cheese and tomato sauce. These cater for the more traditional tastes but it was the intriguing selection on non-conventional toppings and sauces that had caught my eye.

The Peking duck; roasted duck breast, shiitake mushrooms and crispy wontons with a ginger sauce. Then there was The Jamaican Jerk chicken with a spicy sweet Caribbean sauce and roasted red and yellow peppers. Roast potato and grilled chicken comes with a white wine and lemon garlic butter sauce.

I wanted to try them all but in the end I settled on a Carne Asada ($78). This is grilled steak with fire roasted chillies, Monterey jack and mozzarella cheeses and a cilantro (coriander) pesto. It was served with a delicious tomatillo salsa. There is only one size of pizza but it is easily big enough for two people to share, especially if you order a starter as well..

The service is prompt and friendly. I noted with satisfaction that the furniture had been vanquished and the two gentlemen that had saved the day had been rewarded with hot fudge brownies and were about to be taken home to bed.

Takeaway service is available and they will deliver to addresses within a kilometre of Times Square.

I’d been down in the Dickens Bar having a swift pint with on old friend who was on whirlwind business trip. I admit I’d been half expecting that we would get into one of those ‘just like the old days’ marathon drinking sessions. But it was not to be. He managed to fit me in between his last meeting and his taxi to the airport.

I watched him bundle his suitcase into the back of the taxi. It was good to see the old rogue but I was secretly grateful that I wasn’t going to have one of those ‘just like the old days’ Wednesday morning hangovers. But, since I was here I might as well take advantage of the situation.

I turned about and headed back into the Excelsior Hotel and up to Cammino on the first floor. Cammino with it’s wooden shuttered windows and terra cotta tiling, is a little corner of Tuscany. The atmosphere is informal and the staff friendly, attentive and indeed prompt. A glass of fruity Primitivo di Puglia ($80 for a large one) was produced before I’d even made up my mind on a starter.

I’d narrowed the choices down to either the Antipasto Toscano which consisted of cured meats, goats cheese and marinated vegetables ($138) or the Forest Mushroom Ragout on a baked Portobello Mushroom ($108).

The cured meats won the day and I was treated to a selection of salami and parma ham and cheese served on an impressively large glass plate with salad, artichokes, sun-dried tomato and a generous slice of chilled rock melon.

The bread basket was also generous. Five different types served with roasted garlic, butter and balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

For a main course I ordered the oven roasted rack of lamb with herb garlic crust ($248). The dish was handsomely presented with creamed potato and a balsamic sauce. The lamb was tender and juicy and was again, a generous portion.

Two other items on the menu that were jostling for attention were the pan fried sole ($288) and the linguine with Boston lobster which can be ordered as a starter ($128) or as a main course ($188).

Personally I prefer to have pasta at lunchtime. If I eat pasta at dinner I often find I’m too full and lose interest in dessert.

This evenings dessert was the minted woodland berry compote with mascarpone cheese mouse. Although it is called a cheese it’s flavour is very creamy and is a perfect accompaniment for the tartness of the fruit.

I rounded off with a coffee. Leaning back I thought about my friend, he must be about queuing to board by now I guessed. I thought about what options he would have on his in-flight menu and would he go for the fish or the chicken.

This is a funky and informal Italian restaurant in the new iSquare. Pasta, Pizza and Vino it says across the top of the door. I skipped both the pasta and pizza but I did treat myself to a glass of vino. A Riesling, in fact, which was delivered along with a large crusty bread roll and some olive oil.

There is quite an impressive list of wines on offer. It is also interesting to note that the wines which are available by the glass can also be ordered by the half glass for those who just like a taste.

The restaurant attracts a young crowd and, being in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, a lot of them. I got in before the crowd and snagged a table near the front. This meant I couldn’t see the larger part of the restaurant but I could watch busy shoppers passing by. The interior wall to my left was decorated with an assortment of pots, enamelled iron pans, and what looked like takeaway pizza boxes. It was a pleasing effect.

There are two set meal options. Both of them are four courses and cost either $298 or $348. I’d decided to bypass those and order from the a la carte. The first dish up was cantaloupe melon with parma ham ($115).

The ingredients are simple enough but this was served in a way that I’ve always thought it should be served, large chunks of ripe melon draped with a generous portion of ham all on a wooden board. Easily enough for two people sharing.

It was just as the waitress delivered this dish that I spotted a dish called Spada. This is swordfish prosciutto garnished with tiny shavings of citrus fruit and served with avocado and lime salsa ($128). I just had to try one.

For my main course I ordered what the menu called Orata ($248). This is one of the most popular fish in Italy and was held sacred by the Greek goddess Aphrodite. It’s English name is gilthead sea bream and while it may sound less poetic it tastes every bit as wonderful. The flesh is firm and fragrant with a slightly buttery taste. It comes stuffed with rosemary and garlic, oven baked with olives and capers and served with potatoes, tomatoes and a forest of crisp fresh salad.

For dessert I opted for the Tortas Di Mele ($68). It sounded good on the menu; Apple tart made with Granny Smith apples and served with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Whilst it was perfectly edible it just seemed a little ordinary after the previous dishes.

Shop 307 iSquare
63 Nathan Road
Tel 2328 5202

I have to be honest, you need deep pockets to dine at Cepage. It’s the first Hong Kong outlet for Singapore’s Les Amis Group and is located on Wing Fung Street right next to Pacific Place 3.

I don’t have deep pockets I’m afraid but I was keen to give it a try, so I decided to stop by and see how far my budget would go. They are still waiting for their alcohol licence to be approved so that helped me a little. If you are planning a visit you can bring your own wine, you won’t be charged corkage. But I do suggest you call in advance to check.

The dining area is actually on the first floor. The ground is an elegant but discreet lobby where a lift takes you to the restaurant proper. There aren’t many tables and most of them were already booked. That said, there is no such thing as a bad table. Mine was one of a group of three away from the main dining room though there couldn’t have been more than seven or eight even there. Each table has it’s own chandelier, crisp white linen, and allows generous elbow room for a party of four.

Ol’ blue eyes croons away in the background, napkins are positioned and the first of several surprise treats are delivered. This was a delicious canapé of truffle ice cream in a tiny cone decorated with poppy seeds. A little explosion of flavour to get proceedings underway.

Shortly after this the menu and bread basket arrived. Service was friendly and efficient but at no time hurried. I like this, it allows me to enjoy the atmosphere. The only change I would have made would be to tweak Frank Sinatra’s volume up a bit.

I placed my order and was rewarded with a slice of smoked salmon with rosti and julienne cucumber.

The first dish I’d actually ordered was was smoked pigeon with caramelised endive and truffle vinaigrette ($230). It was an inspired choice and I almost wished I had ordered two. The bird was smoked with hickory and was as tender and succulent as I could have hoped for.

The next dish was angel-hair pasta with chilli du Monteporro and lobster oil ($340). According to the menu this is usually made with crab but crab dishes were not available on this particular day. The chef was able to offer the same dish made with shrimp so I agreed to that.

Although it is a chilli dish it is not spicy – the full flavour of the chilli comes through without the heat. The waiter informed me that this dish comes from one very small region in Italy.

Dessert was Grand Marnier parfait in a chocolate cone with orange tuile and citrus fruit salad ($150).

I’d been looking forward to an early night and coffee would have put the kibosh on that idea. However the petit fours and chocolates that would have accompanied the coffee were still delivered.

Cepage has three private dining rooms which can accommodate groups from four up to fifteen persons.

There has been quite a lot of talk about Cherry Garden and the other restaurants that are popping up around Tai Hang. Though most of them actually popped up a year or more ago. It’s also been suggested that the area could be the next restaurant district. Wun Sha Road where most of the restaurants are isn’t all that appealing, but the narrow roads and low rise buildings nearby certainly would have possibilities. At the moment, however, it is mostly auto repair shops.

Anyway, I’d heard good things about The Cherry Garden so I decided it was time to go and see for myself.

It’s a popular little place, I got there just after seven and it was already quite busy. There is a rather large lighting fixture but otherwise the decor is clean and simple. There are some Chinese style square tables and stools and some conventional rectangular tables. Some jazzy sounds were drifting from a loudspeaker somewhere but it wasn’t very loud.

The menu is European and fairly straightforward. There is a choice of steaks, lamb, chops and chicken. There are also pasta and pizza options as well as vegetarian choices. It struck me as being a pretty well balanced menu for all the family.

For starters I was hankering after some calamari ($34) but the potato skins ($28) were also tempting so in the end I ordered both. The skins came stuffed, one side with bacon and cheese the other side vegetables in a tomato sauce. Both dishes were garnished with a little jungle of salad greens.

For the main course I’d ordered the baby back ribs ($98). The menu warned of a thirty minute wait (hence the two starters) but it didn’t take anywhere near that long.

“We’re not that busy tonight,” the waiter assured me. I looked around and thought that there must be quite a lot of restaurants that would kill to be ‘not that busy’ on a Wednesday night.

The ribs were served with regulation fries. These were a little ordinary but the ribs themselves were perfectly acceptable. Again there was a little forest of green on the side but this time there were some peppers to add a little colour.

Now I have often said that a meal isn’t complete without dessert, and I have also often lamented that too many restaurants don’t make the effort to come up with interesting choices. But Cherry Garden really pull out an ace with their Earl Grey Pudding and Fresh Fruit Sabayon ($38).

The Sabayon (from the Italian zabaione) is a light airy sauce made from eggs, sugar and some kind of liquor poured over watermelon, pineapple and papaya. Green tea ice cream had never really excited me but the Earl Grey pudding was truly yummy.

I left and headed back towards Causeway Bay through the narrow streets. I could envision tables on the pavement, plants growing up walls. People spilling out onto street corners, drinks in hand, on balmy summer evenings. It would indeed make an excellent bar and restaurant district. But I couldn’t help thinking that if it did take off, it would attract the attention of some corporate behemoth who would wreck the place for everyone and put up some soulless concrete and glass tower.

I’ve been wanting to eat here for some time but I’ve never been able to convince anyone to come with me.
“Chilli?” they ask.
“Yes, Sichuan,” I reply
“Too spicy,” they say, shaking their heads, “much too spicy.”

I do agree that spicy food is an acquired taste but if people won’t ever try it then they will never acquire it and they will miss out on a whole world of taste sensations. But alas, I went on my own.

It’s a tiny little restaurant with seating for about 18-20 people but I was early, being the first customer, so I had no problem with the table.

I ordered a Heineken which was served Chinese style in a bowl. The thing about drinking beer from a bowl is that it makes it very easy to drink a whole bottle in two gulps. Having just marched up Lyndhurst Terrace in the July heat (a crucial segment of the mid-levels escalator was out of action), I reckon I could have quaffed the whole bottle in one. But the bowl wasn’t big enough so two gulps it had to be.

Thus refreshed I turned to the menu. The menu is divided into three sections with about 15 choices in each section. Chilli Fagara’s chef suggests that the best way to enjoy the food is to work up through the sections.

The first section is called Tang. It may come as a bit of a surprise to some people, given the cuisine’s reputation, but Tang dishes are not spicy at all. I ordered Wild Mushrooms in Taro root ($98). The mushrooms were diced and mixed into a taro mash and served with strips of fried taro. A simple dish but I was surprised at just how much flavour could be packed into a mushroom.

The next section is called Ma and the dishes are characterised by the use of the Sichuan or fagara pepper. These tiny peppercorns are not related to either black pepper or chilli peppers but they are what makes Sichuan cuisine so distinctive (though they are also used in Tibetan and Bhutanese dishes).

I ordered Fish Slices in Chilli and Fagara broth ($138). This was served in a huge shallow bowl. Amidst the fish, dried chillies and peppercorns were also sweet chestnuts. The peppercorns have a hint of citrus to them but unlike the heat from a chilli they tend to make the lips and tongue tingle and feel a little numb. Which may sound distressing but it really is a pleasant sensation.

The final section is La, these are the fiery chilli dishes. I chose Fried Beef Slices with a Ginger Tang ($98). With my palette still tingling from the fagara, the flavour that was most apparent here was a rather pleasant, sweet gingery-ness. The presence of the chillies only became apparent as the numbness started to recede.

I ordered another beer. Not for any need to douse the flames but because beer and chillies complement each other so well.

I didn’t notice any desserts on the menu and besides I was really quite full. All of these dishes are quite big enough for two people or even three with smaller appetites. So I contented myself with a glass of chrysanthemum tea before wandering down to The Globe for just one last beer … or two.

Fridays were special days when I was a kid. We used to get off school fifteen minutes earlier so we’d go and play footy in the park for a while. There were no mobile phones back then, some of us didn’t even have land lines yet, but so long as we were home before dad, nobody minded.

On Fridays being home before dad was not a problem. On Fridays dad used to stop off at the chippy on the way home. I can never forget the blast of cold air accompanied by the warm smell of well wrapped fish and chips as he opened the front door. Mum already had the plates warming in the kitchen.

This was where the weekend began, dad was home, there was no school tomorrow and there was a plate of fish and chips warming my knees as we watched the telly. We were only allowed to have dinner in front of the telly on Fridays.

A few years later the chippy would be the last place I stopped at after a Friday night out. On a student budget a piece of cod was just a bit too expensive so I would often have a saveloy with chips.

I had my first saveloy in over twenty years the other evening. After college I moved to London. Saveloys were rare in London chippies so they slipped from my diet altogether.

This most recent saveloy I discovered, appropriately, in The Chippy. But whereas in England ‘the chippy’ is a generic term for a place that sells fish and chips, in Hong Kong it is at 51 Wellington Street. Though the entrance is around the corner on Pottinger behind all the fancy dress stalls.

It does a good job of looking like an authentic chippy. Plain white walls with just a touch of blue here and there. The menu is chalked up on a blackboard at one end and there are some tables squeezed into a narrow space between the counter and the outside wall.

I ordered the classic cod and chips ($95) to accompany my saveloy ($35 as a side order) and a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale ($45). There are plenty of other things on the menu; pies, pasties, Cumberland sausage, battered sausage or chicken. They can all be served with either chips or mash and with a choice of mushy peas, beans or salad. The fish options include cod, haddock and sole.

My piece of fish was firm, flaky and fresh, and cooked in a light, crispy batter. The chips were hand cut and actually tasted of potatoes rather than the oil they were cooked in.

Apart from a few places that sold banana fritters I don’t recall much else in the line of dessert from the chippies of my youth. The Chippy have addressed this by offering the iconic Scottish delicacy, the deep fried Mars Bar ($45). Here it is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The Mars bar itself is sweet and gooey but you knew that anyway. The sweetness tends to overwhelm the taste of the batter. The batters main job, it seems, is merely to seal it in long enough to melt but not leak. Although mine was still a little firm in the middle.

The problem with Mars bars generally is that they are fine for the first few bites then I get bored with them. The same can be said for the deep fried variety, they need to be shared.

There is an interesting strip of restaurants on the waterfront at Lei King Wan in Sai Wan Ho. They are surrounded by huge residential developments so it’s not difficult to guess where thay are expecting their customer base to come from. But it is a pleasant area – trees line a fairly quiet road where one could sit and simply watch the boats pass by.

If it’s not too hot a nice way to get there and work up an appetite at the same time would be to take a stroll through Quarry Bay Park. This will bring you to the end of Tai Hong Street on the harbour side of the Eastern Corridor. Not so pleasant but much quicker would be to take the MTR to Sai Wan Ho and approach Tai Hong Street from the other end.

Most of the restaurants here have a European feel but Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese are also represented. At weekends the restaurants are open all afternoon but mid-week many don’t open until 6.00pm. We were early so we idled away an hour at The Captains Table.

This is a tiny pub next to the Sai Wan Ho ferry pier. As you might guess the interior has a maritime feel but there is also a small area where you can sit outside. They have an unusual approach to happy hour here, if you buy four beers you get a fifth one free. There were three of us so the math wasn’t going to work unless we all had five each which, we decided, might not be such a good move. We ordered Coronas anyway and decided to divvy-up the last two as best we could.

For dinner we adjourned to Chit Chat, one of the unpretentious European style restaurants. The decor is predominantly shades of green which give it an easygoing relaxing feel. Candles on the table add a touch of romance.

A bottle of Glen Carlou, Pinot Noir 2002 ($260) got the proceedings under way. There are numerous set dinners to choose from as well as a full a la carte menu. At $158 the set dinners seemed excellent value and include soup, main course and coffee. There is also a range of extra value starters that can be added to the set dinners. We were sold on the set menu. My companions ordered smoked salmon and mango roll ($30) and clams with herbs and white wine sauce ($35) while I had the goose liver pate and toast ($30).

Although it didn’t sweep me off my feet the pate was nice and I made short work of it before casting envious glances at the salmon which, to me, had seemed the best bargain of the first round. Although it has to be said a growing pile of empty clamshells suggested all was well on the other side of the table.

Envy got the better of me again when the main courses were delivered. I had ordered cod in garlic butter. The menu had offered flounder but the kitchen didn’t have any that day so they had substituted with cod. But it was the last to arrive. Before that I had to watch as first baby pork ribs and then a huge charcoal grilled rib-eye steak were delivered to my companions. The steak had been ordered medium-rare and while it looked definitely on the more medium side of things it didn’t seem to be causing too much concern.

The roast baby pork ribs looked to be the highlight of this round. Again a very generous portion, the meat firm and tasty but separated from the bone without a fight. The fish wasn’t too far behind though and while I might have prefered the flounder the cod worked just fine. All dishes were served with vegetables and a choice of fried potatoes, rice or pasta.

For dessert our numbers had been reduced to two and I was secretly glad that the fish hadn’t been as generous a portion as the steak. The dessert menu harbours most of the usual suspects, creme brulee, tiramisu etc. We ordered an American-style cheesecake with strawberries and cream, and a ‘warm hearted chocolate sponge’. This takes a while to prepare but is worth the wait. Served with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, when you break open the sponge warm chocolate sauce oozes out. It was so delicious I felt guilty.

Chonqing means double celebration. I certainly felt like celebrating, after all it’s not often I can persuade anyone to join me for fiery Sichuan food, and I’d been wanting to try this restaurant for quite some time. It was my guests idea, we were just strolling along Elgin street wondering what to eat when he said, “Lets go there”. I was in through the door before he had a chance to change his mind

The restaurant is quite narrow and has a nice old traditional feel to it without being too slick. The staff are friendly and we felt completely at ease from the moment we walked in.

We took our places and ordered beers. They do have a selection of wines but I prefer to have beer with spicy food. Not because of any notion that it will sooth a burning palate – it won’t. I just think it tastes better.

The menu is an elegant cloth bound affair with descriptions in both English and Chinese and if you are still unsure, the staff also speak excellent English so it is very easy for non-Chinese speakers to order with confidence.

My friend already had his nose buried in the menu. He is also very partial to sichuan cuisine, which I hadn’t known until then, so I was quite happy to follow his advice on which dishes to order.

For starters we ordered the classic Sichuan chicken ($62) and spring rolls with fresh prawns and asparagus ($88). Though spring rolls they are, they were cut into slices that reminded me, a little, of sushi. A notion that was reinforced by a compartment on the side of the dish which was filled with soy sauce and a dollop of mustard. The overall effect was truly delicious.

The chicken was served on a bed of clear flat noodles and was garnished generously with those wonderful smoky dried chillies. My habit of munching these whole usually generates expressions of alarm from fellow diners but my guest this time didn’t even notice, he was too busy with his own.

To follow we ordered soft shell crab with chilli sauce ($138), sauteed sliced beef in pungent sauce ($118), pan fried string beans with minced pork ($88) and, at the suggestion of the waiter, pork dumpling with garlic and vinegar sauce.

The crab was the first dish to arrive and seemed a logical continuation after the chicken and the spring rolls. I love soft shell crab and these were as good as any that I’ve had. The sauce was spicy but not volcanic. Instead of overwhelming, it accentuated the flavour of the crab.

Next came the string beans and the beef. The beef was a kind of hot pot which sat on its its own heater bubbling happily away while we finished the crab. And finally the dumplings arrived.

The dumplings were not spicy at all, they were flavoured with herbs and had the effect of luring the palate into a false sense of security before treating it to the beef hot pot. This was very hot indeed. It was still very flavoursome and despite the fact that we were both getting quite full, we dived in enthusiastically and made short work of it.

We decided to give dessert a miss. I always feel that skipping dessert is shirking my duty but to be quite honest, sweet dishes seem to have little appeal after a good Sichuan dinner. The chillies and the beer compliment each other perfectly and what we really wanted right then was a nice cold one for the road.

Chuk Yuen has been on Gage Street for ages but I’d never been in before. I’d always quietly hoped it was going to be one of those little, great-value-terrific-food, gems that one finds from time to time.

I went along the other evening with a heart full of hope but alas, it was not to be. It was not a bad restaurant by any means just rather ordinary and, at that price point, one really shouldn’t complain.

The decor is predominantly bamboo and rattan with green paint. The tables are a rather dark green and make the restaurant rather gloomy. At least when there are not too many diners to cheer things up.

There were other people there and they appeared to have ordered quite a lot of food so I was heartened. All the usual suspects were on the menu, spring rolls, prawns on sugarcane skewers, noodles. I ordered pork and shrimp rolls ($24).

These are the typically Vietnamese dry white noodle variety. They were quite big, being generously stuffed with prawn, pork, noodles and bean sprouts.

To go with them I ordered a beef curry in a clay pot with French bread ($60). This was piping hot when it arrived and I had to wait a few minutes for it to cool before I could eat it. The curry, like the rolls, was a really generous serving and the sauce was really quite tasty. The beef however, was rather more fatty than I like.

There are, of course, plenty of people who would say that this was a good thing and that the fat is what makes it taste so good. I wouldn’t argue with that but I would have liked to see a little more lean meat because what there was also tasted good.

For dessert I had red beans with coconut milk ($5).

It would be wrong to criticise a restaurant for being too low cost. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but the Chuk Yuen has been around for quite a few years. That must mean that enough people do appreciate its style, and as far as they are concerned, that is what counts.

A lot of new restaurants have been springing up in Kennedy Town recently. New apartment buildings and the MTR extension are attracting new businesses to the area. But the Clay Oven is no new kid on the block, it’s been there for twenty years according to the chef.

I remember eating there maybe about ten years ago so I decided it was time to go back. I don’t really remember much about that first visit, the decor was different but that is hardly surprising. It still has the unmistakable feel of an Indian restaurant.

I tucked myself into a table by the window and was immediately presented with a popadum and some vegetable pakora. This was a bonus, I’d been thinking of ordering pakora as a starter anyway but but since I already had a sample I decided to go for the samosas ($36) instead. I considered a bottle of Kingfisher beer to go with it but in the end I went for a mango lassi ($24).

Most of the menu is familiar, all the classic dishes that you’d expect are there. One of the items that caught my attention was the tandoori fish ($78). This was a whole fish served on a sizzling plate. The chef wasn’t sure of the English name for it. I thought sardine, there was definitely that kind of flavour to it but I suspect I’m wrong, it was too big for a sardine. Whatever the fish it was really quite delicious, and came with very few bones. Well worth a trip to Kennedy Town in its own right.

To go with it I ordered a plain nan ($14) and yellow dal ($58). Usually I would order two nan but I was warned that here they are a lot larger than normal so I settled for one. Actually I think one and a half would have been ideal for me in order to mop up the last of the delicious yellow dal.

Although some of the dishes are designed to be spicy and wouldn’t be right if they were not. There are plenty of dishes on the menu that can be prepared how you prefer. The menu offers three levels, extreme, intermediate and gentle.

There are only two desserts on the menu, ras malai and the ever popular gulab jamun ($18). I opted for the latter

G/F 27-31 Catchick Street
Kennedy Town
Hong Kong
Tel 2872 6900

I love it when local friends take me out to dinner. Partly because we usually go to places that I wouldn’t think to go on my own. Places where you really need a group of at least four people so that you can try more dishes. And partly because most often I can’t read the menu so I am able to sit back and let my companions do the ordering

But at Crystal Jade reading the menu is bilingual and there is a photo of each dish so ordering is a breeze whichever language you speak.

It was an intriguing menu indeed, the dishes are mostly from Shanghai and the northern parts of China. There were many indeed that I would have liked to try but I was still happy to let the others order.

One of the first things to be ordered was an attractive ceramic jug containing what was called “Daughter red” wine. I didn’t catch the Chinese name, I suspect it may have regional variations. The wine itself is made from rice and wheat and can be served warm or cold. The taste reminded me of sake though the wheat gave it a much fuller flavour. It was a fine prelude to the dishes that followed.

The first dish to arrive was Marinated Ham Zhen Jiang Style ($48). “Chinese corned beef” one of my companions joked. I could see the similarity but the taste was altogether more delicate.

Next came Sautéed egg with compoy ($60). I was awarded the task of stirring the yolk. Compoy is made from shredded dried scallops and was really quite delicious.

Some sautéed prawns had also arrived, probably while I was busy stirring the egg. But what also arrived at about this time was a serving of ham and dried bean curd ($68). This is delivered with a plate of white unleavened bread. The idea is to make a little sandwich with a slice of ham and a slice of bean curd skin. It was so good I could have cheerfully polished off the entire plateful on my own.

Fortunately good manners prevailed and I turned my attention to the Fresh soy beans with bean curd leaves and preserved vegetables ($50). This too was a rather special dish. The bean curd leaves are small pieces of shaped bean curd slightly reminiscent of pasta. It was quite delicious and would make an excellent vegetarian option.

Another good vegetarian option was the Sichuan style hot and sour soup ($35). The main ingredients of this are soy bean, bamboo and fungus. It was sour but not nearly as spicy as I was expecting for a Sichuan dish. That said not all Sichuan dishes are spicy.

For dessert we shared a glutinous rice and sweet wine porridge and red bean and date pancake.

Crystal Jade is a very popular restaurant and reservations are highly recommended.

This quiet little tapas bar is part of the Fleming Hotel. The waitress assured me that it is much busier at lunchtimes and breakfast. On the evening that I went, I was the only customer I saw. The location doesn’t help. The entrance is tucked away on Jaffe Road to the side of the hotel entrance. And there is nothing at all on the outside to betray its existence.

I took a table by the window, sinking deep into the sofa and the cushions. The walls are almost bare but the ceiling is an arrangement of cube shapes, some of which are light fittings. It made me think of the early nineteen seventies but the background music was modern jazzy based wallpaper music.

I decided I would start with a tapas or two … or three. The menu offers a tapas combo for $208. This is a choice of any three tapas on the menu. I knew it was going to be too much because I had already made my mind up that I was going to try the Tagliatelli ala Carbonara ($158)..

One of the tapas I ordered was Lime Bait; This is deep fried white anchovies served with wedges of lime. Arriving with that were meatballs in saffron and almond sauce. Both were enjoyable.

Arriving a short while later was deep fried camembert with cranberry sauce. All of these dished were fairly generous servings and could easily be used as starters in their own right. As tapas they are perhaps a little too big for one person but perfect for sharing. Since I knew I had over ordered anyway, I tried to restrain myself.

Carbonara is rather a routine dish but I’d had a hankering for one. This one lived up to my expectations well enough. The sumptuous sofa did become a bit of a problem. It’s fine when you are leisurely stabbing at tapas items but it puts you at a distinct disadvantage when dealing with something as recalcitrant as tagliatelli.

To finish off I ordered a small portion of banana cake and a coffee.

The menu at cubix isn’t large and it doesn’t contain any surprises. But the food is agreeable enough. I think the restaurants main advantage is that you can probably always get a table. If you must have pasta, remember to avoid the sofa seats.

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.

There are times when all you really want is comfort food. Something warm, tasty and substantial to make you feel better after a good soaking from the rain. And preferably not too expensive.

Invariably the role is filled by burgers or sometimes pizza but it’s nice to know there are options. Daddyo’s, on Staunton Street, has pasta, pizza and ribs.

The range of pizzas is really quite impressive – at least twenty variations from the classic margherita with pepperoni to the exotic clam chowder (clams, potatoes, mushrooms, ham and bacon. Each offers a choice of crispy New York or whole-wheat crusts. The prices range from $98 to $138 for for a 14 inch crust.

I ordered an Italian Vegetable Soup ($38) to get me going. It hit the spot quite nicely too. Fresh and tangy tomato with crisp chunks of carrot, celery and kidney beans. The soup came with garlic toast. Now, I prefer my garlic bread thick and crusty but this was rather thin and brittle.

But it didn’t matter because my other two dishes arrived shortly after.

Poutine ($48) is chips smothered in gravy, bacon bits and melted cheese. It’s probably the kind of thing your cardiologist would have nightmares about but they were very yummy.

The Baby Back Ribs can be ordered as a half slab ($58) or a whole slab ($98). Functional rather than elegant. By the time I had dispatched a half slab as well as the poutine I was fit to burst, but feeling a little more forgiving towards the world in general. Even the rain had let up for a while.

There are no desserts on the menu. I didn’t enquire because, to be quite honest, I wouldn’t have been able to eat one anyway. Instead I rounded off with an iced coffee.

Daddyo’s will also deliver. There are minimum orders depending on your area.

Typhoon Kammuri threw cold water all over my plans for dinner last Wednesday but the day was salvaged. Quite pleasantly too. Like many people, after a day of forced idleness, I was bored silly.

I’d figured that since no markets had been open all day, menus might not be at full strength so I sauntered off to Kennedy Town where I’d heard about a handful of bars.

Davis was on the end of a line of four. It has a nice rustic feel, wooden stools and simulated stone topped tables. They also had a blackboard menu right in the doorway, I needed no other invitation.

There were a few other people there but there was plenty of space. The waitress went off to find another blackboard and lugged it over to the table and explained the dishes. For tapas the dishes are actually quite large, and if you are only looking for a light snack I’d recommend sharing.

For a starter I ordered deep fried camembert with assorted sausages ($78). There were actually three types of sausage in a tomato and pepper sauce. With the cheese and some slices of toast as well I decided that this was two tapas rolled into one. They both went down very well with a cold bottle of Beerlao.

This is the first time I’ve seen Beerlao in Hong Kong. It used to be one of the great beer secrets of Asia. Until quite recently it was only brewed in a small brewery on the outskirts of Vientiane. It is a crisp, delicately-flavoured pilsen style beer that is made with local polished rice, Hallertau hops, German yeast and malted barley from France.

Production has been ramped up recently with investment from Carlsberg. If they can maintain the beers integrity and resist the temptation to pollute it with preservatives Beerlao could become very popular indeed. I ordered another bottle.

For my next dish I had ordered grilled beef salad ($98). A simple but pleasing dish that consisted of slices of beef arranged around a green salad with a spicy sauce in which to dip the beef.

Dessert was deliciously decadent cheesecake with pistachio nuts and flavoured with Black Sambuca liqueur. If you are a lover of cheesecake, then it is worth the journey just for that!

I hadn’t been planning to come here. In fact I didn’t have any plans at all except that I was going to have dinner somewhere. I’d just swung off Johnston Road and was pointing vaguely in the direction of Star Street when a charming young lady waved a menu under my nose.

Another time I might have passed on by but she had such a charming smile I didn’t have the heart to say no. She ushered me into the lift and, alas, that was the last I saw of her.

Deluxe Wine is a young and trendy kind of place with that hypnotic music that never seems to have any beginning or end pumping away behind the clink of cocktail glasses against expensive phones.

But it is not that expensive really and they do offer what looks like an interesting set dinner for $348 which mixes Japanese and western dishes. I made my way onto the balcony which gives a commanding view of Johnston Road. The waiter followed me out, arranged the table and took my order.

The first course to arrive was the Deluxe Wine salad. This consisted of a tuft of lettuce with cubes of crab roe. The roe was surprisingly hard, indeed at first glance I thought it was carrot.

The next course was sashimi. This included salmon wrapped around a prawn, yellowtail wrapped around scallops and tuna roll.

Next came a delicious and chunky vegetable soup served in a rather odd shaped bowl with a huge brim that made me think of an upturned straw boater. Couldn’t argue with the soup though, I wolfed it down.

The main course was pork with orange sauce. I enjoyed the pork with the slices of orange that garnished it, but I felt the sauce was a little bland. A little more orange tanginess would have improved it greatly. It was served on a bed of creamed potato with baby corn and green peas.

I didn’t make a note of what the dessert was called on the menu but it was actually creme caramel.

It wasn’t a stunning meal but it was pleasant enough. I did enjoy sitting on the balcony and watching the early evening clatter of Johnston Road.

This is a cosy little French restaurant on Whitfield Road in North Point. I’m sure it does a roaring trade at lunch times but in the evenings, when all the office staff have left the area, there doesn’t seem to be many customers around. That, of course, makes it a perfect spot for a quiet and romantic interlude. Alas, I was on my own.

But I wasn’t about to let that spoil my enjoyment. Even empty the restaurant has a lot of atmosphere. A variety of oil paintings line the walls while screens and a lamp help break up the rectangular shape of the room. A flagstone floor and art deco light fittings create the impression of a small bistro somewhere in Paris in the 1950s.

An intelligent selection of background music, that included selections by Edith Piaf and Django Reinhardt/Stéphane Grappelli’s Hot Five’s amongst others, completed the illusion.

It is a set menu but there are a range of options. The prices are $298 or $328 depending on you choice of entrée. I ordered glass of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon ($65) and thought about it.

The first course was soup. There was a choice between Clam Chowder and Seafood. I had opted for the latter which I found to be very agreeable.

This was followed by a rather delicious pan-seared foie gras. The outside was thin and crisp, the inside creamy and rich and absolutely bursting with flavour. There were several other options on the menu but when I make a return visit I know I’m going to find it hard to pass this one up in favour of something else.

The main course was Roast Suckling Pig. Served with asparagus and potato the flavour of the meat was wonderfully balanced with rosemary and thyme. Succulent and tender and with a beautifully golden and crisp outer skin.

Bringing up the rear was coffee and creme caramel. I did think about asking if there was a cheese board, I didn’t remember seeing it on the menu. But in the end I decided I was already feeling well satisfied so I let it pass.

I paid my bill, which I must say was very reasonable for the quality of the meal, said au revoir and stepped out of the Paris of fifty years ago and back into the Hong Kong of today

When you really don’t want to leave Central, but a friend insists you accompany her to Quarry Bay to try out her new favourite restaurant, there’s not a lot you can do to resist. So it was that three old friends met up to eat at Dining Art Japanese Restaurant last week.

It is hidden just off the main King’s Road, close to Exit B of Taikoo MTR station. The little row of restaurants behind a sitting-out area seems a little too tucked away to get very busy, but even so, there were only 2 empty tables at Dining Art as we arrived at 7.30.

Everything was very relaxed from the welcome we received as we came through the door, to the comfortable, cream-coloured seats, and cleverly arranged tatami-lookalike sunken table affairs. The lighting is bright, without being garish, and the spotless kitchen area is open to the main restaurant floor, so you can watch the chefs do fancy things with huge lumps of fresh fish.

The menu was extensive, and there were also daily specials on a chalkboard (in Chinese only – but the friendly owner/manager, Sam, was on hand to offer advice and explanations). We ended up with 9 dishes, along with a cold sake!

First along was Deepfried beancurd rolled in bonito flakes – the bonito adding some flavour to the soft tofu. New Zealand steak cubes with Japanese ponzu (vinaigrette) – small cubes flash-fried and still red in the centre.

We plunged ahead with the house special Mixed sashimi rice, then Lightly grilled salmon & bonito sushi, a large, crunchy, Soft-shell crab roll, and another special, the delicious Salmon florette topped with crab meat and crab coral. As we were feeling flush, the Fatty tuna (Toro) sashimi had to be ordered as well. All the sushi was very fresh.

Next up, my friend had insisted on the mysterious (to me at least!) Crab leg soup in teapot. It came with teeeny little cups, and was very strong-tasting, and full of goodies (see the picture). Good stuff for a cold night.

Mentaiki chicken wings came finally – who’d have guessed there was enough meat on a wing to stuff them…? These ones are spicy as they are stuffed with crab roe and kimchi.

While we were debating the merits of the few desserts on the menu, Sam came over again and told us they had another special they were trying that day – Frozen strawberries stuffed with vanilla ice cream, dipped in white chocolate and drizzled with condensed milk. What a decadent and also completely delicious end to the meal (which totalled somewhere around $900 for the 3 of us).

Dining Art has only been open a few months, but I would guess this will become a very popular ‘off the beaten track’ hangout. Of course, there’s no guarantee that everything we had will be available on the day you visit Dining Art, but I bet Sam will be able to recommend something just as good.

This is a funky little eatery on St Francis Street in Wanchai. I rarely go to Chinese restaurants alone because they are most often geared towards serving several people sharing. Dining Wok looked more like an old fashioned noodle shop so I went inside.

It’s a small place but quite big on atmosphere. It’s long and narrow like many shops in the area. The kitchen is towards the front. Along one side and the back the lower half of the wall is dark stained wood panelling to about shoulder height. Above that it is painted dark green and decorated with modern Chinese paintings.

Towards the back are some old wooden doors with coloured glass panels which hide what I suspect is an office. Chinese lattice decorates the ceiling and wooden lamps provide light. It was all very well done and in perfect harmony with this special international corner of Hong Kong.

The menu features dished that are primarily northern Chinese though there are other options including General Tso’s Chicken which I have a sneaking suspicion is North American in origin. They also offer a range of noodle and fried rice dishes.

The first item I ordered was Deep Fried Spicy Crispy Beef ($60). To go with it I ordered Moo Shu Chicken ($80) and finally, because I had decided to forgo rice, I just had to try the Shrimp Ball Stuffed with Goose Liver ($88).

The beef was first to arrive. Elegantly presented on a long narrow plate it was crispy without being hard but I think if this was served in Sichuan the chilli content would have been a little more generous. It is still a good dish and I suspect its more conservative approach to chilli allows it to appeal to a larger number of diners.

The Moo Shu was up next. This is a stir fry dish that, along with the chicken, includes bean sprouts, carrot, mushrooms and seasoning. It is served with a little dish of hoisin sauce and four flour pancakes. Sauce is spread onto the pancake and then a spoonful of the stir fry is added before wrapping it all up and eating. It was quite delicious.

The prawn balls had arrived but at first they were too hot to eat. The richness of the liver overpowers the delicate flavour of the prawns but the prawns do provide body and texture to the liver. It was an interesting and pleasant contrast but due to its richness I would definitely suggest this dish be shared.

I finished off with Chilled Sago and Mango in Pomelo Cream ($25).

Dining Wok has a daily lunch set for $58 and will also deliver.

One of the great things about sake is that it never seems to give me much of a hangover. One of the not so great things about it is, I don’t realise just how drunk I am until I try and stand up. It’s then that I discover that my knees have turned to jelly and my feet point in opposite directions.

I was drinking sake the other evening in Dozo, the trendiest sushi-go-round in Central. Chilled sake, which is just about the trendiest way to drink sake these days. Traditionally, of course, it is served warm and that is how I’ve always drunk it but after a few sips I was rather warming to it. We’d ordered Ichinokura, a sake from Miyagi prefecture that boasts a light fruitiness.

A sushi-go-round is what I call the popular kaiten style restaurants where the dishes pass by on a conveyor and the all the diner has to is grab the ones they fancy. At the end of the meal the bill is calculated by the coloured rings on the rims of the dishes. At Dozo the dishes start $20 for a black rim, $30 for red etc up to $75. The dishes usually contain either two pieces of sushi rice with toppings or two sushi rolls.

All of the usual culprits were trundling by; Norwegian salmon, yellowfin tuna, those little sweet omelettes called tomago with their belts of seaweed. But there were some slightly unusual ones as well. One that caught my eye is called the Dozo roll. This is actually crispy duck with miso and spring onion. Unconventional but quite delicious all the same, the whiteness of the rice on the outside is freckled with sesame seeds.

But the kaiten does have its drawbacks, especially if you are indecisive like me, and can’t make your mind up that you want something until it is already out of reach. So Dozo also offers a la carte and my guest, who is very good at this sort of thing, took matters – and the menu – in hand.

Within moments she had dispatched the waiter with an impressive looking list then leaned forward and said; “I ordered the sashimi sampler” ($180). I knew she had ordered considerably more than that. Indeed the first item to arrive was prawn tempura maki ($40). The prawns are made crispy by the light batter and wrapped in seaweed.

The sashimi was the next to arrive. An impressive platter that included tuna, arctic clams, yellowtail and prawns neatly presented on a bed of radish. The restaurant apparently takes two deliveries, flown fresh from Japan, each day. The reward is exceptionally fresh sashimi. Even the clams, which I find disappointing in most places, were tender and tasty.

This was followed by prawn yakisoba; ramen noodles fried with prawn chicken, red and green peppers, and bean sprouts garnished with sesame and red ginger. We also had some skewers of chicken yakitori.

After this, sake and conversation took over for a while. It still wasn’t late and it was only Tuesday but the restaurant was doing very well. The menu offers ten different types of sake to cater for all tastes and pockets. They also offer a range of sake and shochu cocktails, hara kiri – chilled sake with triple sec and and gin – caught my eye. I was tempted but sensibly decided to save it for my next visit. We still had an almost full 300ml. decanter on the table.

After a while we decided we needed some tempura. We ordered the mixed ($75) in which vegetables are served with the prawns, and we also ordered some spicy roast tataki beef both of which lived up to the same high standard set by our previous dishes.

There is not a wide range of desserts on the menu but they do have Japanese ice cream, including the very popular green tea flavour. I have to confess, green tea ice cream has never really captured my heart, but sesame ice cream has. What’s more it goes perfectly with sake and was an excellent way to to end a very enjoyable evening.

There are two branches of Dressed Salads. I hadn’t paid either of them much attention but then I found a crumpled take-away menu on a colleagues desk and decided I ought to go and take a look.

I went along to the Queens Road East branch which is opposite the Hopewell Centre. It’s a bright cheerful place with colourful 1960′s retro seating. The first thing you see is an enormous array of ingredients and these, according to the menu, can be mixed in any way you so choose.

The basic salad starts at $58. This includes a choice of greens, four toppings and one dressing. There is plenty to choose from that would enable you to build a jolly nice salad without going over the base price. For the greens alone there is mesclun, baby spinach, arugula iceberg and romaine to choose from.

But it’s the premium toppings that make these salads so special. The premium toppings cost extra but none of them are too expensive. Crumbled blue cheese, for example, costs an extra $4. Italian Salami costs an extra $8, seared tuna $16, up to lobster which adds a princely $26 to the total.

And there are plenty of other choices in between. So many possibilities that both myself and my companion wimped out.

There are also over a dozen salad combinations that have been designed by the companies own chefs. I went for the Shrimp Scampi ($78). This consisted of grilled shrimp, roasted garlic, white beans tomatoes, fried capes and baby spinach in a lemon caper vinaigrette. It appeared in a heavy ceramic bowl, a forest of spinach concealed most of the ingredients but they were plentiful and delicious.

The salad came with two slices of grilled flat-bread but if you prefer this flat-bread can be used to wrap your salad in. This is what my companion has opted to do with her Seared Tuna ($88). Wrapped in there with the tuna was carrot capers, grilled asparagus, mushrooms, tomato and mesclun with chipotle aioli vinaigrette.

Wraps are prone to fall apart halfway through but this one held together very well. How much of this was down to the architecture of the wrap and how much was down to the skill of my companion I couldn’t tell but she did say it was very good.

We both washed our meals down with home made lemonade ($20). This is lemonade as it should be, made with real lemons. Not some fizzy stuff out of a can made with sugar and citric acid.

I suppose Dressed Salads could technically be called fast food but it’s a refreshing alternative to burgers and fried chicken. I hope to see more of them around town before long.

Shop 2016
Level 2,IFC Mall
Central
Tel. 2295 4848

Shop 1
G/F QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Tel 2893 4848

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

I’ve always been partial to a good burger, and with so many bad ones around I do like to keep tabs on where the good ones are. So I was quite intrigued when I was told about Duke’s Burger on Stuanton Street. “Gourmet burgers”, I was informed with a nod and a wink.

The gauntlet had been thrown so off I went to Staunton Street. Dukes is right next to the escalator and is a lot smaller than I was expecting with seating for only about 30 people.

It doesn’t look much like a burger joint either. A giant chandelier hangs from a wooden beamed ceiling. Indeed there is much dark stained wood in evidence but the back wall is entirely taken up with a neo-gothic decoration incorporating the letter ‘D’. In front of this is a huge, blood red sofa, that looks like it may have been smuggled out of a castle in Transylvania while it’s owner was sleeping.

So, full marks for style but what of the burgers? I perused the menu.

There were half a dozen options. The braised wagyu oxtail ($220) was very tempting but not quite as tempting as the seasoned lamb shank with mushrooms and yogurt ($180). I also ordered the thick cut fries ($40).

There is a range of wines and Belgian beers. For me a good beer would be the only choice and, whilst Belgian beers tend to be very good, I would like to have seen some fine English ales represented. I ordered a Tripel Karmeliet ($68).

The fries arrived first. They were definitely chunky, piping hot, and seasoned with salt and pepper. They were very nice but if I’d been given the choice I might have waited and had them served at the same time as the burger.

The fries had long since gone by the time the burger arrived. Again it looked great. The burger was resting on a slice of bun topped with mushrooms and then the salad, all delightfully arranged. The lamb had not been ground in the normal way. It still retained its original texture and broke apart quite easily.

Dessert was yummy, home-made, chrysanthemum ice cream and a coffee.

Duke’s Burger is still very new, it’s an interesting concept and I wish them well. The food was very enjoyable but somehow I don’t think it will replace the traditional burger in my affections. That will always come between both sides of the bun with an American flag stuck in the top.

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed a new place opening just next door to the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road, so when the chance came for a ‘ladies who lunch’ meeting, four of us booked into Duo.

It’s a sleek-looking place, with high ceiling, wooden floor, stylish but comfy seating, and enough space to give you some privacy. Ceiling high shelves hold some shiny knick-knacks and books which relax the look a little. At 1.30pm on a Wednesday, it was fairly busy, though not full. Strangely, for an Italian restaurant, the music playing softly was vaguely middle-eastern.

The friendly staff directed us to a centre table, and after we sadly rejected the extensive wine menu (it WAS lunchtime!) bustled off to fetch some sparkling water.

We were a little disappointed to discover there were no lunch specials, but I expect the restaurant is still a little bit new for that yet, so we turned to the main menu. A fairly diverse affair, with everything from open salad bar ($140, and it looked tempting), to a couple of burgers, to veal (at $320 a little deep for our pockets), and variety of pastas in the $100-150 range.

While pulling apart some crusty bread to dip into pesto, I decided you should always check out the spaghetti bolognese at a new Italian. My companions chose Quattro-formagio conchiglie, Penne arrabbiata, and a vegetarian risotto. All arrived together – in medium sized portions on enormous plates.

My bolognese at first bite was tasty. Of course its hard to get wrong, but the meat seemed high quality, and the sauce had just the right amount of oil to not smother it. Not as good as Mothers, though.

As for what I was allowed to taste of the other dishes, the four cheeses were almost overwhelming, but I noticed the plate got polished off even so. I’ve come to expect arrabbiata to be excessively spicy, and am not fond of getting my tongue burned, but this one was toned down a little, probably to cater for local tastes – which suited me fine. The risotto was pronounced ‘a little stiff’, but otherwise adequate.

As can happen with pasta, we were all full, but had managed to save enough room for a couple of bites of dessert. Almost everything on the dessert menu was chocolaty, except some sorbets, so we decided to share the ‘tiramisu boccata’ (which means a mouthful). Luckily it wasnt quite as small as billed, and we all managed a couple of little spoonfuls, and it really was delicious. I didn’t want to alarm my friends by then ordering another for myself, so we went ahead with a couple of coffees to wrap up the meal.

All in all it was a pleasant, relaxing lunch, and at $763 for 4 people, not overly priced. I imagine the restaurant’s main business however, will be the evening crowd. With its location under a glamorous new apartment block, and away from the bustle of Soho, it should attract a low key crowd with money to spend (I will go back for that veal one day!).

I always like to think I’m doing the right thing, so when someone suggested I try this place I said alright. It’s on the left just at the start of Shelley Street. Out of sheer habit I hopped onto the escalator and went sailing past. From the outside it looks like any other simple cafe. It is clean and brightly lit. At around seven-thirty it had a few customers but there was still space for anyone dropping in.

I jogged back down the steps and went in. There are newspapers and magazines to read and a computer for hardened internet junkies. I grabbed a paper and took a seat. The waiter came over with the menu so the paper was going to have to wait a while longer.

All the items on the menu are listed with their approximate calorie count. In the starters there was pumpkin and sweet potato dip (110 calories), or eggplant and chickpea dip (140 calories). Both sounded pretty good but I plumped for a wicked roast pumpkin soup at 160 calories plus grilled pita bread which added a further 90.

To drink I ordered a smoothie called a Nourish which is made with mango, banana and vanilla yoghurt. The large one came in at 248 calories.

The pumpkin soup really was quite creamy and delicious, the pitta bread was OK but I couldn’t help thinking a nice fresh crusty baguette would have been better. I tried to banish such thoughts.

Eat Right is not a vegetarian restaurant – it is about eating healthy meals and even staunch carnivores would be able to find a main course to tempt them. Beef lasagna, green chicken curry and even guilt free fish and chips. I was tempted but in the end I settled on the chickpea burger with hummus. This would only add another 300 calories to my total.

I’ve had “bean” burgers before. Sometimes they work well but all too often they can be a bit dry and stodgy. This one, I am happy to report, worked. It was served with a deliciously crisp and fresh salad, sprinkled lightly with balsamic vinegar and a tub of hummus. The burger was dressed with a Thai style sweet chili sauce.

For dessert I treated myself to a Guilt Free Chocolate Mousse with Berries. The berries were strawberries and blueberries and the mousse tasted like it was packing far more than the 190 calories it boasted.

It was a most enjoyable meal and altogether it came to less than a thousand calories. To be honest I don’t know if that is good or bad calorie wise. The total bill came to less than $200 so whatever else it may be, it is definitely great value.

Eat Right also has a rather interesting breakfast menu.

Feeling very pleased with myself I bounced down the steps, across the road and into the Globe for a beer.

The roof garden at Elements doesn’t really feel much like a roof garden. There are palm trees, a fountain and it’s surrounded by tall buildings. There is also a huge TV screen which, I suspect, will make the place hugely popular on big match nights.

But it’s a pleasant place and I would guess it’s existence will help persuade even the most stubborn significant other into a trip to the labyrinth of shops below. Especially if that significant other is allowed to sit in El Pomposo with a few glasses of sangria and a few tapas while the early game is on.

I must admit I’d been giving Elements a wide berth but I kept hearing about new restaurants opening I figured I should at least take a look. So I went on a Wednesday night in the hope that, since it was still very new, it wouldn’t be too crowded yet.

I was lucky. I had a quick whirl around the shops but, to the untrained eye, they look just like all the same shops you see everywhere else.

El Pomposo is an attractive place, modern but still very Spanish. You can sit at the bar or at one of the high-perched tables. I chose a table from where I could watch the whole bar.

The staff were cheerful and friendly. Enthusiastic without being overbearing. I ordered a Sangria Blanco and a plate of Escalivada ($45). This is a dish from the Catalan region in north east Spain and consists of roasted eggplants, bell peppers and sweet onions and seasoned with olive oil and garlic.

It is served cold and it arrived along with my first sangria. The other dishes I’d ordered were hot so I knew they would take a little longer to prepare. The Sangria Blanco is white wine based mixed with lemon, apple and grape.

The next dish to arrive was Pinchios de Vieras con Jamon Serrano ($88). Succulent scallops wrapped in serrano ham and skewered on a sprig of rosemary. Hot on their heels came Patatas Al Azafren ($45), or potatoes cooked in saffron.

The great thing about tapas is that the dishes are quite small and you can just keep on ordering until you’ve had enough. I’d already ordered another sangria and decided I needed something more to nibble while I drank it. Lomo Embuchado ($65) I thought would do the trick.

This is cured pork loin and it is served with tiny dill pickles, pearl onions and mayonnaise. I’ve never been fond of mayonnaise but it is easy to ignore. The pork, seasoned with olive oil, was delicious.

I finished the food and the sangria ran out at about the same time. Which was convenient because, after four dishes I was feeling quite full. I also felt that another sangria might make the MTR harder to find.

El Taco Loco is its full name but I think I must be the only one that knows that. To most people it seems to be simply Taco Loco. My son had no idea where I was talking about when I said; “meet me at El Taco Loco”. He called me from Lan Kwai Fong and said “well where is it?”

I directed him to the escalator and when he finally arrived he said “Taco Loco?, everyone knows where that is, or why didn’t you just say the Mexican place with the pink walls?”
“You’ve been here before then?” I asked.
“Yeah, loads of times.”

Me too but I hadn’t actually been for quite a while. I used to come regularly for lunch when I worked in the area.

El Taco Loco is an informal easy-going place in a great location on Shelley Street, right next the mid-levels escalator and just above Hollywood Road. The food is good and very affordable. They offer a wide range of tacos, burritos, and fajita’s plus finger snacks.

My son ordered a Carne Asada burrito with guacamole and pico de gallo ($52), I opted for a chorizo and potato ($42).

We also ordered a small basket of nacho chips ($22). Small is plenty big enough for two people, even when one of them is my son. For people with smaller appetites a small basket would probably be enough for three. Remember the burritos that follow are also very filling. We also ordered some refried beans ($10) and a smoothie each ($36).

My son proved to be quite an expert at eating burritos and dispatched his rather neatly. I usually find myself retrieving a substantial portion from my lap though that doesn’t diminish the enjoyment in any way. It does give the boy something to laugh at.

He decided he wanted to go to Krispy Kreme for dessert, I decided to pass.

The public holiday got in the way of my dining plans this week but I did manage to find time for a sandwich.

I’d stopped by Epoch on Wing Fung Street earlier in the week. It was pretty quiet while I was there but I would Imagine it does a roaring trade at lunchtimes with all the offices in Pacific Place Three right next door.

It’s a trendy, chill-out kind of coffee bar. Quite spacious with magazines and even CD machines with headphones and a choice of music. The background music featured young singers singing jazz standards over a backing track of what I prefer to call wallpaper music. But what do I know?

I found myself a corner amidst the CD players and the waiter promptly produced a menu. I didn’t actually need a menu, I’d seen what I wanted on the blackboard outside. I wanted the baby lobster with mango on soft multigrain bread ($50). To go with it I ordered a lime and green apple smoothie.

The menu does have quite an interesting range of sandwiches, salads and paninis and, since it is a coffee bar, there is also a range of coffee and coffee cocktails.

I browsed the CDs in the CD corner but the sandwich arrived before I’d found anything I recognised. The bread was indeed soft and the filling generous. Enjoyable too, the ingredients were good and the mayo had been kept to a minimum. The smoothie was sharp but not sour, I was most pleased.

I figured that since I’d skipped the coffee, I really should have a dessert when in a desserterie. There is a different menu for dessert and it took me a while to decide. In the end I plumped for the Luscious Lemon ($68). A slice of warm lemon pound cake drenched in lemon syrup and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. On the side a topping of fresh pineapple.

It was sweet to say the least, I’d recommend sharing.

During the 4th-6th centuries the Hakka people, who originated in northern China were forced south by a combination of wars and natural disasters. They eventually settled throughout Southern China, living in houses that could hold up to a hundred families. The houses were made from rammed earth on a bamboo frame and many are still being used today. Eryi Tulou (or tower) is one of a group of these buildings in western Fujian province.

The restaurant of the same name is in a rather soulless building on Gloucester Road, and a bit out of the way if you are coming by MTR. We arrived just after 9pm on a Tuesday, and the large restaurant was about half full. The interior is dark, but modern and simple. There are pictures of the rounded Hakka homes along one wall, and a row of the traditional black-shaded hats used as lightshades.

The main menu consists of a lot of more traditional Hakka dishes, such as fried pigs belly with salt, traditional stuffed beancurd, or stewed meat with preserved sour vegetables. There are several varieties of sharks fin, and a selection of standard dishes like scallops with brocolli and deep fried spare-ribs. There are daily specials hung on the large pillars (unfortunately for us monolinguists, only in Chinese)

We were pleased to discover that we could buy Tsingtao beer for $14 for two bottles, so decided to ignore the Hakka sticky rice wine and lychee wine, which at only $40 a bottle were both tempting. We asked for sweet potato congee, but they had sold out – a bit disappointing, but at least it lets you know the food is fresh. We tried a bowl of the sticky rice with sweet potato instead.

There is a page of chef’s recommendations for river fish which you can request cooked in 10 different ways. We wanted the eel cooked with chinese olives – but this was also sold out. However, there was another eel dish, Dongjiang stewed eel in pot – a soup with large pieces of tender eel, salty vegetables and tofu, which we all agreed was wonderful.

We also requested the Xingning whole duck (only $128) – guess what? sold out! Our waiter recommended we try the chicken in yellow sticky rice wine, which was on the daily special menu, and we were very glad we did. A huge steaming bowl of buttery, alcoholic sauce with chicken and jujubes (Chinese dates) and ginger arrived. It was exceptionally good.

The total bill was only $240 for three people. After the initial irritations of ordering, this restaurant really came up trumps with the alternative dishes that were recommended to us. So our advice to you is, don’t arrive knowing what you want to eat, but listen to your waiter. Also, if the rest of the menu is as good as the few dishes we had, then you’ll want to bring more people in order to try more of it!

One last point about the Hakka houses. In the 1980s, US spy satellites spotted them and US ‘intelligence’ believed the Chinese had built hundreds of nuclear missile silos! Now UNESCO is considering placing several on the World Heritage cultural properties list.

I haven’t heard of too many Scandinavian restaurants. Even on summer trips to Iceland some years ago I’d tended to live on service station hotdogs and whatever I could carry in my backpack. So until Finds opened at the top of Lan Kwai Fong a few weeks ago, all I knew of Scandinavian cuisine were pickled herrings, Danish bacon, hakarl and Brenniv’n.

Those last two are Icelandic specialities. Hakarl is shark meat that has been buried in the volcanic sand for several months and Brenniv’n is a kind of schnapps that is affectionately known as ‘black death’ to the Icelanders. Neither of them are on the menu though the manager did hint that they were looking into the possibility of importing Brenniv’n.

The restaurant takes its name from the initial letters of the five Scandinavian countries; Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. This is no doubt a more practical solution to finding a name that would be meaningful in all five very different languages, most of which have a generous helping of those unusual characters and squiggly bits from the dusty end of the font where most languages never go, and that are unpronounceable to people who weren’t born there. The menu, I was relieved to note, is in English.

It is not a huge menu but almost everything on it was tempting. Each dish is given a brief explanation. In the description for turnip soup with gingerbread ($65), for example, we are told how the Vikings used to make pork shaped gingerbread as a sacrifice to the gods and that turnips are one of the oldest farmed vegetables in Scandinavia.

For starter I ordered a dark cep broth with poached egg and crushed bacon ($85). The menu tells me that from late August the forests of Scandinavia are filled with wild mushrooms. The cep is a rich, fleshy mushroom which gives the dark brown broth a delicious flavour. It is served with a selection of bread and crispbread.

While the soup echoes traditional forest fare, the decor of the restaurant is sleek and modern. Predominantly white with a large curvaceous bar, and windows that open onto a balcony area overlooking Lan Kwai Fong. They seem to have done away with walls altogether and what supporting pillars there are have been textured to look like blocks of snow. The result is cool and sophisticated but never lets go of the Scandinavian love of simplicity and open space.

The main course was served on a large rectangular panoramic plate. Fillet of pikeperch sauteed with horseradish, lemon crushed potato and roasted cabbage sauce ($210). Since the region is blessed with a lot of rivers it only seems reasonable to expect freshwater fish to figure highly on the menu. A pikeperch is a species of perch that masquerades as a pike, presumably to avoid predation. The flesh is white, very light and succulent and quite delicious.

The cooler climate of Scandinavia isn’t suitable for larger fruits so berries are a key component of most of the desserts. One of the rarest is the Arctic cloudberry. The cloudberry is found only in the marshy areas of Lapland which covers the northernmost parts of Norway and Finland. It is represented here in the cloudberry baba with bourbon vanilla ice cream ($85). The berry itself has a similar shape to a raspberry but is pale orange or yellow in colour and has a wonderfully sharp and tangy flavour.

I rounded the meal off with a coffee and sat back to listen to the music which has been exceptional all evening ranging from the classic Getz/Gilberto to the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

Finds is open Mondays to Saturdays from noon till late

Every so often I need to get a fish fix. This time saw me trotting up to the Fish Bar at the Marriott Hotel. It’s a pleasant place by the side of the swimming pool. The whole restaurant is al fresco but if you like you can sit out by the pool away from the main dining area. There was a pleasant breeze blowing so I chose the pool option.

The menu is simplicity itself. There is a blackboard stating what kinds of fish are available that day. Most of them cost $250 and are served with a choice of mashed, baked or French fried potato. Baramundi and garoupa were slightly more expensive at $285.

For starters I’d ordered a salad Nicoise with char-grilled tuna ($155). This was a generous serving indeed and could very easily be shared between two. The salad consisted of tomato wedges, new potatoes, olives, green beans, and hard-boiled egg and was served on a bed of lettuce. It was a good dish though on future visits I might ask the chef to go just a little easier on the salt.

For my main course I’d asked for the snapper to be grilled. All the items can be ordered either pan-fried or grilled. Snapper is wonderful when grilled and this didn’t disappoint. It was a generous fillet with a deliciously smokey favour and perfectly cooked. I’d asked for it with baked potato but it also comes with creamed spinach and sweet corn.

All the fish served here is farmed or humanely caught using methods that don’t damage the environment. Maybe it was my imagination but but I thought it tasted better because of that.

The waiter showed me three items available for dessert. The apple crumble was probably not the best choice. There was nothing seriously wrong with it it just seemed a little pedestrian.

I reviewed this restaurant before but the gremlins that cyberspace unleashed in my computer ate half of it. I couldn’t bring myself to rewrite the whole thing so I decided to wait until I had another opportunity to go there.

I’d thought I really should go at breakfast time but normally I eat quite a light breakfast and at Flying Pan, breakfasts are not light. Then I reasoned that the whole point is that breakfasts are available 24 hours a day so it really wouldn’t be in the true spirit of the restaurant to actually go at breakfast time. So I went at dinner time.

The last time I’d had a 4X4X4 combo which, to me, had sounded more like some kind of wheel arrangement on a truck drivers rig but actually meant 4 each of eggs, bacon and sausage, 4 slices of toast and 4 sides. The sides included baked beans, potatoes, grilled tomato, spiced apple.

It had needed a plate the size of a truckers hubcap and was as much as I could do to eat it all but eat it I did, and washed it down with a piping hot pot of Earl Grey Tea.

Much as I’d enjoyed that meal I didn’t feel capable of eating such a large one this time. I also felt I had a duty to try something else.

There is plenty to choose from. The omelets from around the world include the Monterey – with spinach, shrimp and onion, and the Moscow – with smoked salmon and cream cheese. I was tempted by one called the Kitchen Sink which, according to the menu, had “loads of meat and veggies”.

Poached eggs are also well represented. There is Eggs Benedict, Eggs Puerto Rico – with ham and asparagus and Eggs Norwegian which is made with smoked salmon. I opted for Eggs Houssard. This is poached egg with grilled steak and tomato on an English muffin. It comes with a choice of two sides, I had baked beans and potato and a juice.

This was a good choice and was just the right size. But if you are like me, and like to mop up all the egg yolk and baked bean sauce with the last of your bread or toast you may want to order a little extra. The muffins, though nice, just don’t do the job adequately.

The meal was washed down with another pot of Earl Grey and then, in a fit of extravagance I ordered a banana split for dessert.

It’s often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now you don’t have to wait till morning to enjoy one.

When I mentioned going to Harvey Nichols for dinner, people started looking at me strangely – it seemed nobody knew about Fourth Floor, the Harvey Nichols restaurant, which seems a pity.

The entrance (with large sign) is on Queen’s Road Central, right next to the new Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel, through a brightly-lit foyer which also leads directly into the shop itself. There is a discreet elevator on your left which goes directly to Fourth Floor.

You may be forgiven for thinking you’ve wandered into a 1980′s disco when you step out of the elevator. The floor and low ceiling are covered with a giant ‘crazy paving’ coloured red, yellow and blue, with pink neon running along the cracks. The bar area at the front is full of high, black leather and chrome stools and a long sleek black counter with a crowd of sleek black-clad wait-staff. There are also several groups of suit-wearers winding down with cocktails after a hard day making fortunes upstairs in the Landmark.

Get past this, though, to the eating area and things get a little more relaxed, with low-slung chairs, fresh white linen, and cheerful servers, though we still thought they could do with softening up the hard lines of the surroundings.

We decided immediately to try the house red wine, which is Harvey Nichols’ own label, and were interested to find out that apparently every Harvey Nichols in the world has its own restaurant, where they serve the exact same wine – a Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2002).

The menu is mainly European with some interesting touches. Roast scallops with parsnip puree, curried apple crisps, caper and raisin emulsion was very tempting amongst the appetisers, but in the end, I opted for the Smoked salmon, which came with smoked salmon mousse and cauliflower panna cotta, which sadly drained away the flavour, though the sprinkles of beluga caviar bumped it back up a little. My companion couldn’t resist the Breaded frogs’ legs, accompanied by garlic escargots, which were all pronounced very good.

There is a whole section of the menu devoted to foie gras, which caught my eye. Wild mushroom risotto with pan-fried foie gras and sauteed langoustines sounds delicious! In the end though, I ordered Red emperor snapper – pan fried, and served on saffron risotto with tomato basil butter. The fish was a fairly small portion, but soft and flavourful, the risotto a delicate counterpart. We shared the other (large) main course – Lamb rack, served with eggplant stew, chorizo and rosemary jus.

It was lucky we did share, because when it came to the dessert menu, we spent so long picking out our two items that the waiter felt sorry for us and brought our third choice out anyway! It looks like the chef has really been let loose on this part of the menu.

First up came White sesame panna cotta, with black sesame ice-cream, and vanilla sabayon – I can’t resist sesame or vanilla and this really was delicious. Next, my companion had to order the Whisky souffle, with crispy filo pastry surround, served with caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream. I suspect he was hoping for a more alcoholic taste, but the whisky flavour was one that lingered on the tongue, rather than being overpowering. The third dessert – Apple strudel with prune and armagnac compote – sounded tame, until we noticed the ‘caramel balsamic ice-cream’ accompaniment. This ice cream really is special, it was a new flavour to me. Imagine the toffee on a toffee apple but not too sweet, make it smooth and creamy and cold and you’re almost there. But the best way, of course, is to go along and try it. I’m sure you wont be disappointed.

9pm and, replete at last, we said goodbye to our friendly waiters, but promised to return for at least the foie gras, and perhaps we could squeeze in time for the other desserts too.

Bill approximately $900 for two plus wine.

Frites has been open a couple of months now, so when a friend suggested we meet there for lunch, I jumped at the chance – a restaurant named after chips! (thats fries to you Americans.)

The entrance is just up a few steps of Pottinger Street, from Queen’s Road Central, up a flight of stairs and you come out into a large bright room, with high ceiling, black and white checked tiles on the floor, and heavy dark wood furnishings, with banquette seating in dark green leather. The seating is generously spaced, so that even if you do share a table as we did, you never feel crowded.

At 12.45 there were only a few tables taken, but I noted that every one had a reserved sign on it. It later filled up, with a large proportion of European customers.

As expected from a Belgian place, the first large menu I was handed was mainly for beer, all offerings from the homeland, and ranging from $45 up. I’m not a huge fan of beer at lunchtime, so from the small wine selection, I ordered a New Zealand Rose, which was light and refreshing.

There is a set lunch of three courses for $98, from which I chose the pork and duck terrine to start, followed by linguini with mussels (how could I resist) in white wine sauce. My companion chose from the regular lunch menu, which was printed on paper placemats at every seat. Schnitzel and frites ($160) seemed appropriate.

There are a variety of other hearty items, including a ‘half-meter sausage’ with mash, which we noticed rolled up on a neighbor’s plate. There is also a selection of 6 different ‘mussel pots’ in half ($165) or full-kilo ($295) size.

The schnitzel arrived spreading across half the plate, and was tasty, but we were disappointed with the chips. If you’re going to name your restaurant after them, they really ought to be something special, and these were pretty standard fare.

The terrine was delicious, and came with a fresh berry compote. The linguine was quite small, but well prepared, the wine sauce a perfectly simple foil for the fresh juicy mussels. Overall, the lunch deal was a good one, with higher quality ingredients than many lunch ‘specials’. I noticed they also have an ‘Express dinner’ deal between 5-7pm – one course with house beer, or wine for $118, which I am sure I will go for in the near future.

I must admit, it is a very homey and comfortable place, which encourages you to hang around just a bit longer… and maybe you really ought to try one of those beers… It was certainly very difficult to think about getting back to work.

Funky Fish is a Japanese restaurant at the top of the Langham Place mall in Mongkok. I don’t often go to Japanese restaurants, I tend to indulge my sushi craving at lunchtimes so they tend to get overlooked when it comes to dinner.

I don’t often go to Mongkok either, under normal circumstances the mere suggestion would be enough to fill me with horror but then someone said “There’s restaurants up there you know…”

Well I didn’t know. I’d sort of suspected there must be, but I was using lack of evidence as an excuse not to go and look. So when that someone threw down the gauntlet like that there was only one thing for it.

So there I was one rung from the top and getting hungry. I had been to the top and there are restaurants there but I made the mistake of peering over the edge into the abyss of shops below. I beat a hasty retreat, down a floor and ducked into Funky Fish.

The vertigo was just beginning to subside but the waitress led me to a table that offered just an inch thickness of glass between my back and a fall of … I concentrated hard on the menu. The sushi and sashimi was tempting but I wanted to try something a bit different this time. The waitress was very helpful and patiently answered all my questions.

My first question had about what was included in the Chef’s Selection Appetizer Box ($98). She explained that it contains nine different dishes some of which are on the regular menu but others that vary slightly from day to day depending on what chef finds in the market. It’s quite big and is usually shared.

I was hungry so I ordered one anyway and a bottle of Asahi beer to go with it. All of the dishes in the box were tasty but the ones that stood out for me were the octopus in shiso wasabi sauce, braised whelks and one of the two squid dishes. I’m afraid I don’t know what the sauce was – the waitress couldn’t remember the English name (and I forgot the Chinese name) but I can tell you it was very good indeed.

It’s a popular restaurant. I’d arrived about 7.30 and was one of the first customers but by eight it was doing a brisk trade.

You don’t have to have fish – the menu includes beef teppenyaki as well as lamb, pork and chicken options. But I love fish, and while the grilled yellowtail and the salmon belly were both tempting, I went for the herb grilled sea bass with fried bean curd sheet.

The fish was firm and fresh and quite a generous size. Nevertheless I did find myself wondering if I should order a noodle dish to finish off. But then some noodles were delivered to the people sitting nearby and I came to the realisation that it would indeed be too much.

Instead I ordered a dessert of sesame mousse ($38). There were also numerous green tea options on the dessert menu including ice cream and whilst I don’t mind it I find it hard to get all that enthusiastic about it. Sesame in the other hand is a wonderful dessert flavour. My mousse, sweet but not too sugary, was served in coconut milk and was delicious but could perhaps have benefited from being just a little more chilled than it was.

I paid my bill and got up from the table trying desperately not to look down. There’s a lot more in Langham Place and I shall be back to explore in a little more depth before long.

It was a balmy evening. I couldn’t feel the breeze but there must have been one because the leaves on the tree above were moving. Behind me was the sound of a fountain splashing and from somewhere else a clock chimed seven. A waiter glided over with a bread basket and menu, another one lit the candle on my table.

I love the twilight, the light has finished but the dark has not yet begun. I was wallowing in the atmosphere. Another waiter approached carrying bottles. I was wallowing and not paying attention.

“I’ll have a look at the menu before I decide on wine’, I said. “No, no”, he replied, “would you like olive oil for the bread?” I sat up and looked at the bottles. They didn’t look anything like wine bottles really but, as I said, I wasn’t paying attention. “Oh, yes please,” I said, “and some balsamic vinegar”.

I dunked a large corner of focaccia bread into the oil and watched as a young couple stopped briefly on the steps for a little hug. Italy does that, it brings out the romantic in you, and whilst this certainly wasn’t Italy, it was about as close as you can get to it on the MTR.

I turned my attention to the menu. It was varied and interesting and, as usual in such circumstances, the temptation to over-order is great. Sea scallop stuffed ravioli ($188), and Sangiovese marinated rabbit stew with home-made pasta ($178) were both intriguing but I’d ruled out pasta. Folded pizza with melted soft crescenza cheese and parma ham ($148) also sounded intriguing but I’d ruled out pizza as well. Pasta and Pizza are best shared but, despite the romantic setting, there was only me.

I did fancy some parma ham though, so I ordered some with a basil leaf salad and buffalo mozzarella cheese ($138). As one waiter left with my order another one arrived carrying a small dish, “mushroom risotto” he explained as he put it down. It was about the size of a five dollar coin but it set off a little explosion of flavour that left me feeling very hungry indeed and thinking that perhaps I should have ordered a pizza after all.

I ordered a glass of glass of Pinot Grigio and dived back into the bread basket in search of something to mop up more olive oil. The starter I’d ordered was one of the simpler dishes on the menu, nevertheless it was very satisfying. I wolfed it down in no time and was very tempted to continue my assault on the bread basket, but I didn’t want to spoil my appetite before the main course arrived.

There was, of course, much to choose from on the menu. Pistachio crusted lamb chops with mint infused olive oil ($268) caught my eye as did the Australian black Angus beef with myrtle and raisin. But it was the seared tuna with black pepper on an eggplant puree topped with candied onions and citrus ($258) that won my heart. It was delicious, the tuna was very fresh and tender and the portion was generous.

I tried to take it slowly, to savour every mouthful but all too soon, it seemed, I was staring at an empty plate. Though I have to confess I was glad that I hadn’t ordered the pizza. The clock chimed eight, I decided to wait a few minutes before ordering dessert.

At this point the waiter produced another delightful surprise. Grapes that had been marinated in grappa for seven days, and served in a glass of grappa. It was a wonderful touch but I wanted to save them for last.

For dessert I ordered caramelized apple and puff pastry with honey grappa sauce and vanilla ice cream followed by coffee. The dessert was very nice but it was the grapes that took the curtain call.

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.

Yes, yes I know it sounds a bit like a clothes shop but it’s actually not a bad little Italian place on Minden Avenue, around the back of Chungking Mansions. There’s quite a few trendy little cocktail bars down there as well.

Both of these discoveries surprised me. The last time I had been around the back of Chungking Mansions was a very long time ago indeed. Old hands may remember there was a pub called the Blacksmiths Arms around there somewhere but pretty well nothing else.

I’d been up on Granville Road and was trying to find my way back to Star Ferry through those little back-streets that all look the same. Every time I go up that way I do the same thing, and every time I get lost. Still It’s usually a good excuse to stop somewhere and cool off. Last time I accidentally found Fatts Place (I had tried to find it once before but failed). This time I stumbled upon Giardino.

It was a little before seven in the evening, the place seemed reasonably quiet and the staff all had friendly smiles so I went in.

It’s on a corner but the interior is a rather peculiar ‘V’ shaped affair, with one side of the restaurant not being able to see the other. The interior designers handled their task well and turned an odd shape into a cosy little restaurant just perfect for a romantic tryst. Which is just what the only other customers appeared to be enjoying.

I tried to flutter my eyes at the waitress but she merely thought I was ready to order. I asked for a glass of Pinot Grigio and a plate of Grilled Garden Vegetables ($68) and hid behind the menu while I made up my mind what to have for main course.

For an Italian restaurant I thought the bread basket was a little bit spartan, usually Italian restaurants have better bread than most. This one offered only a couple of bread sticks and a single piece of herb bread. I hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come.

The vegetables were pleasant enough though. They consisted of slices of red and yellow peppers, aubergine (eggplant), and zucchini. Grilled and very lightly salted.

For main course I ordered the grilled swordfish with tomato salsa and a pesto cream sauce ($168). Swordfish is quite dense but flaky. It’s also moist and a little sweet. It was served with some more grilled vegetables on a bed of creamed potatoes and it worked well with the pesto sauce.

There were only four desserts on the menu, all of them quite predictable. I opted for the Strawberry Napoleon ($60). This is essentially layers of strawberries and cream. I’ve never been very complimentary about the quality of strawberries found in Hong Kong but all credit to the chef who had obviously gone to great lengths to find some decent ones.

Giardino may not be the best Italian restaurant in Hong Kong but it is perfectly acceptable at it’s price point. And it is a very cosy little hideaway.

Gingko House is run by a social welfare group called Everbright Concerned Action and is staffed by entirely by retirement-aged workers. The idea behind it is to help alleviate the financial problems and loneliness encountered by the elderly.

It was a chilly evening when I arrived but the warm smiles of the staff made me feel instantly welcome. I was promptly shown to a table and given a menu.

The decor is simple but attractive. The tables are well laid out and the staff wear black waistcoats and bow ties. Tony Bennett crooning in the background completes an atmosphere of old fashioned charm.

The menu is predominantly French and Italian and offers some very tempting dishes such as Fried herbs sole fillet with truffle cream sauce or Pan-fried silver cod fillet with mango & angel hair pasta.

I ordered a glass of house red and an artichoke and avocado salad ($58). It was a generous salad, fresh and crisp, and could easily have been shared between two.

To follow I went for the roast rack of lamb ($208) which was served on a bed of mashed roast chestnut.

The Gingko dessert, as named on the menu, turned out to be a soufflé. Again it is a very generous portion and could easily be shared between two people. I did the best I could and it wasn’t long before I was looking at an empty plate. I finished off with a coffee.

It was a fine meal delivered by an enthusiastic staff who clearly enjoy their job. In 2007 Gingko House won the top award in a scheme organised by HSBC to recognise corporate commitment to social responsibility.

Given my aversion to shopping this is the kind of place that I could easily miss. Indeed, had missed until I was asked if I’d eaten there, and what I thought of it.

The restaurant is tucked away on the second floor of the Goods Of Desire shop overlooking Leighton Road in Causeway Bay. It’s not a fancy place, it’s exactly the kind of place you might want after a hectic afternoon shopping.

The decor is simple but functional. Some of the tables have nice sofas on which to lounge and the red Chinese lanterns that hang from the ceiling are a pleasing touch.

It is quite busy though there are still unoccupied tables. Most of the other guests appeared to be young couples taking a break from the melee in the shops and one group of office girls who seem to be celebrating something.

The menu offers an intriguing selection of international dishes. The starters alone tempted me with satays, Vietnamese style spring rolls, deep fried camembert with cranberry sauce. I was torn between potato skins ($28) and some thing called ‘Slim+Fit’ which consisted of sauteed spinach and garlic.

Good sense told me I should go for the healthy option but right at the last moment indulgence prevailed. I knew I was going to enjoy the potato skins. Indeed potato skins are pretty hard to hurt. All you need is a dollop of melted cheese, some sour cream to dip them in and a sprinkle each of bacon bits and chives. And for the price I thought they were excellent value for money too.

The menu also offers a wide range of shakes, smoothies and other drinks. I ordered a banana strawberry shake ($38).

For main course I had a dish called ‘In bed with Pumpkin’ ($88). This included a salmon steak served with home made pumpkin mash vegetables and dill sauce.

I was pleased with the choice, it had been a tough call between that and the fish and chips with beer batter. For people who might want something lighter Home Cooking also serves Vietnamese, Malaysian and Japanese noodle dishes.

For dessert I opted for the ginger pudding with ginger Ice cream ($48) and rounded off with a coffee.

This is a neat little eatery, decent food and reasonably priced. And you can do all your shopping on the way out!

Guest Review
A street lined with window-displays of grilled ducks, geese, pork and orange-tinted octopuses is a common sight in Hong Kong. For generations, local families have relied on their neighbourhood “Siu Mei” shop which stays open for ridiculously long hours and has a constant supply of takeaway protein.

Yet for all that, it is surprisingly hard to get decent “Siu Mei” in this town.

To qualify as a good piece of “Cha Siu”, or barbecued pork, it has to be well marinated, juicy, have the right proportion of fat to lean meat, preferably charcoal-grilled, and just a touch burnt to add that extra smoky aroma.

And believe me, that is very hard to find.

There are well-established Chinese restaurants that are pretty reliable for their barbecued meat as well as other more elaborate dishes on the menu. In Central, there are Tsui Hang Village in New World Building, Yung Kee (the goose restaurant) on Wellington Street and Luk Yu Tea House on Stanley Street. But if you want a meat specialist, there is a new place which I am beginning to frequent regularly.

Golden China Restaurant looks just like its name. Faux China-town appears to be the style they are going for. But once you’ve looked past the gaudy lanterns and fake red and gold lacquer, it is a pretty comfortable place to sit down for lunch.

It may not resemble the traditional Hong Kong “Siu Mei” shop – it’s too clean – but the food is authentic enough.

You will be presented with bilingual pamphlets which explain the history of the Chinese barbecued meat and for HK$23 you get a choice of meat with a bowl of rice and some greens. It’s a little bit pricey but perhaps not unreasonable for the middle of Central. The soup of the day – untainted by the all-too ubiquitous MSG – costs just HK$6 and there’s a lot of it. That, too, comes with bilingual information on why it’s good for you. The tea they serve is very good for what is essentially a cafe. They’ve picked the Luk On tea sold by Ying Kee in Wanchai. This is a smoky red tea with a hint of sweetness that is popular among my grandparents’ generation. I like it, too.

The meat has been very good in the four or five times that I’ve eaten there in the past two months. The soup tends to be a bit watery – probably because my taste buds have been tainted by MSG – but good enough to pass as homemade. It’s the rice that I have an issue with – on a couple of occasions my “Cha Siu” and barbecued duck were served on top of soggy rice. It was horrible. It’s like being served a good steak with lumpy mashed potatoes.

But overall I would highly recommend Golden China. And Chinese barbecued meat if you haven’t tried it before.

There are a number of restaurants around town that over the years have become so familiar that I tend to forget about them. Or at least forget to talk about them. Good Luck Thai is one in particular. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have eaten here, whether it be lunch or after an evening in the Fong, it’s a restaurant that rarely disappoints.

They must be doing something right or I wouldn’t keep going back, so I decided it is time to put something into words.

The restaurant is in Wing Wah Lane which, for those that are unfamiliar with the area, is a sort of appendix to Lan Kwai Fong. It’s a rowdy little alleyway, packed with interesting eateries. At the entrance to the lane jovial touts try to encourage you to dine at their place. Good Luck Thai is on the left just around the corner

Like the alleyway itself it is often rowdy, particularly at night time. I decided to go along early to beat the crowds but even at 6.30 there were a number of people already there. There is seating inside and out, I took a table just on the inside, ordered a beer and settled down.

The decor is basic and functional and a brief glance at the menu tells you that the emphasis here is on value for money. Yum Talay ($75) is one of the more expensive items on the menu. I decided it would make a nice starter.

Yum Talay is a spicy seafood salad dressed in fresh lime juice. The menu does offer other, more familiar, starters such as fish or prawn cakes and spring rolls and if you are in a group then a selection of these would be a good choice. The yum talay would be considered a main dish but one that I guessed, incorrectly, would be quite light.

The seafood consisted mostly of squid, prawns and mussels. It was a generous serving and came garnished with a full compliment of chilies. If you prefer a milder version be sure to let your waitress know when you order.

There is a Malaysian restaurant just across the alleyway that is owned by the same company and because of it’s proximity Good luck Thai is able to offer the option of Indian bread with your curry. Being a great lover of nan bread I ordered two ($20 each) to go with a green pork curry ($48).

I’ve had the green curries here before, they are particularly rich and creamy and come in portions that could easily be shared amongst a group of four. The pork was lean and tender and the nan and the curry sauce seemed almost as if they were made for each other.

During the course of the meal the evening staff started their shift but although the number of customers had grown it was still early and they filled in the time chattering and catching up on the days gossip. The waitress was still chattering away when she came to collect my plates and, forgetting to switch back to english, asked me in Thai if I enjoyed my meal. I replied in Thai (it is one of the few things I can say) which earned me a big smile.

I ordered Tak Goh ($20) for dessert. These are little cakes of sago and corn topped with a thick layer of coconut cream and wrapped in banana leaf trays.

As I left more and more people were flowing into the lane looking for good and inexpensive places to eat. It wouldn’t be long before Good Luck Thai and all the other restaurants would be doing brisk business. I wandered off into the Fong in search of another beer.

Burger joints come and go but Gourmet Burger Union on Cochrane Street has been there a while. I’ve been keeping an eye on it. I knew the day would eventually arrive when desire for a burger would coincide with my being in the vicinity.

As it happened it was a desire for some Stilton cheese as much as for a burger that carried me there. I happened to know in advance that Stilton cheese is one of the toppings you can have.

The interesting thing about Gourmet Burger Union is that you can create your own burger exactly how you want it. To do that you are offered a range of toppings to choose from, of which Stilton is only one. Indeed there are fifteen options in the cheese category alone. They range from Greek feta, Monterey jack, Brie and of course Cheddar.

The choice of cheese can change the whole character of your burger but before we get ahead of ourselves we should look at the patties themselves. New Zealand Angus beef goes into the quarter pounder and the half pounder ($65 and $98 respectively). Alternatively they offer Australian free range chicken, New Zealand lamb and soy protein veggie burgers.

I opted for a half pounder on a bun with a bed of mixed lettuce. One type of cheese is included in the price but if you wish you can have extra cheese at $15 each. Onto that you can have up to two standard toppings. Yes, you can have as many as you wish. Extra toppings cost $5 each.

They also offer premium toppings. These come in at $10 each. I had portobello mushrooms and smoked bacon.

After that you can add a sauce. There are fifteen to choose from but I wanted the stilton to come through loud and clear so I gave them a miss.

I did consider having a Greek salad for starter but wisely decided against it. I did order a serving of French fries ($20) and a beer ($35) to wash it all down with.

Sadly, the only beer available was a version of Samuel Adams that comes out of the local San Miguel brewery. Sad because with so many excellent imported bottled beers around town, it would have been nice to enjoy a premium beer with a premium burger.

The burger was, of course pretty well as I expected – huge, rich and tasty. For those that can’t make up their minds about what to put in it, the menu also offers a dozen or so signature burgers.

Dessert would have been apple and blackberry crumble ($35) but I decided I would just have to save that for another time. I thought I might have trouble squeezing through the door as it was.

This is a brand new cafe that has just opened at the western end of Bonham Strand. I used to live near here many years ago and would have been grateful for a place like this.

It follows a familiar format, they offer coffee, tea, smoothies or shakes. There is a range of sandwiches and other types of hot and cold snacks available. And there are, of course, cakes and pastries.

I hadn’t really been planning to go there but I was passing and there it was, so I decided to pop in and take a look. They’d only been open four days but they seemed to be well organised already. The staff were cheerful and friendly.

The decor is pleasant. Pastel green and comfortable seats make you feel relaxed but there isn’t a printed menu. I had to get up again and read the board by the door. I can understand the the sandwiches and pastries may well vary from day to day but a printed drinks list would have been helpful. I was hot and gasping.

I ordered a smoothie called a daydreamer, and I went for a large one ($32) since the large was only a couple of dollars more than the regular. The daydreamer is mostly berries, with raspberry and blueberry being dominant. It was deliciously sharp and tangy. I like that.

To eat, I ordered a slice of bacon, onion and tomato quiche ($25) and a peppered ham sandwich ($38). The quiche was a pleasant surprise. I’ve been to so many places where the quiche is dry and lifeless, but this was moist and tasty with a generous amount of cheese mixed in.

It’s difficult to hurt sandwiches but one surefire way of doing so is to slop massive amounts of ‘mayo’ onto them. I’m happy to report the good folks at Graze resisted the temptation. Although if you are partial to lots of mayo I’m sure they would oblige and slather some more on.

I’d cooled down a little now and moved towards the door to surf the internet on one of the two funky iMacs there. That meant the pastries were right behind me and despite being a little full already I could hear a slice of apple crumble singing to me ($25). I was also intrigued to find out what iced green tea with vanilla would be like.

Both were good. The crumble would have benefitted with the addition of some cream or custard. The tea did need to be sweetened and there is a choice of honey or syrup. The correct amount will vary from person to person. I think it may take me a bit of practice to get just right.

I stumbled onto The Green Mouse quite by accident. I’d turned into Peel Street with the intention of heading downhill from Hollywood Road back to Central and there it was.

Since it was almost dinner time anyway I didn’t need much convincing but being told that it was owned and operated by two former Chez Patrick staff was certainly encouraging.

The decor is simple but elegant, white walls punctuated with miniature paintings with crisp cheerful green table linen and napkins. A small chandelier tinkles gently in the breeze from the air conditioning unit. There were no other customers but it was still very early. I took a seat near the window. Net curtains hide Peel Street and, on my side of the door, reflect the restaurants logo; a green mouse.

It’s not a large menu, it doesn’t need to be. Quality rather than quantity seems to be the order of the day. There is a set dinner menu on the right which offers 3-course meals for $378 or 4-courses for $458.

There is a choice of three starters and three mains. The choices are changed every week except desserts which vary from day to day and are not listed. The 4th course, if I made it that far, was a cheese board.

For starters I went for the pan-fried fois gras with caramel sauce. While I was waiting for that I was served a, fresh from the oven, bread roll. It may not have been as enthusiastic a display as an Italian bread basket but it was luxurious in its simplicity. I was about to ask for another when I was presented with a small portion of quiche lorraine which took my mind off it.

I was just looking around for more quiche when the fois gras arrived. Two rather generous pieces, crisp and delicate on the outside deliciously creamy on the inside. It went pleasingly well with the house red wine.

I have to admit I’m a bit of a slacker when it comes to wine and I’d neglected to write the name down. It was quite a fruity tang and was comparably light for a red wine.

Timing of the dishes was near perfect with just the right space between them. But it was here that the background music came forward. For the most part it had been a selection of middle of the road 1960s and 70s pop. Fairly easy to ignore for the most part but there was the odd, annoyingly gimmicky, dance tune.

Fortunately it was over before the main course, pan-fried beef flank steak in port wine sauce, arrived. And a lovely piece of steak it was too. Cooked medium rare, it was lean, juicy and served with a selection of garden vegetables, mushrooms, cauliflower cheese and caramelised onions.

I think it was Oscar Wilde, or someone of that ilk, that once said that listening to music while eating is an insult to both chef and composer. I think that is a load of old rot. Good music complements a meal just a surely as a good wine and I thought this was worthy of a Thelonious Monk or Stephane Grappelli.

There were a number of desserts available including chocolate pudding and crepes but I plumped for the apple tart with cinnamon ice cream. Along with coffee it was an excellent way to round off a very pleasing meal. The cheese board, I’m afraid, will have to wait till next time.

Green is a funky little Thai restaurant in the Sanlitum Causeway Centre. That’s on the walkway opposite the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wanchai. There is an abundance of foliage outside underlining the restaurants name, and if that doesn’t get the message across, the green neon glow radiating from the bar most certainly will.

The owners have managed to achieve quite a lot with the space available. A lounge area, basks in the green neon beside the bar and is separated from the main dining area by another two trees. The furnishings are simple but stylish. The overall effect is very modern but also very Asian.

There are no major surprises on the menu and all the classic Thai favourites are there – Tom Yam Gung, those delicious fish-cakes and the spicy sour salads – and they are done well. The menu also offers the infamous som tam (green papaya salad) but it’s only for those that like it hot.

They have an impressive range of set dinner options (and lunch for that matter) but in the end we decided to go a la carte. I never really think in terms of appetisers or main courses when eating Thai, usually I just order a range of dishes and see which comes first. But before we could do that we had to first make a short list and then whittle it down.

The frogs legs with lemon grass ($68) and the seafood pomelo salad ($85) were both very tempting but alas they had to be postponed for another time. What we couldn’t possibly go without though was the soft-shelled crab with chilli and basil ($88). To go with it we also ordered the Thai style charcoal grilled pork neck ($68) and a classic green chicken curry ($88).

The crab was the first to arrive. It has a delicate flavour and is best while it is still crisp and hot so we dug in with gusto. My guest thought it was just about the right level of spiciness but I added just a little extra chilli. We were soon distracted by the arrival of the pork.

The slices of pork come with their own, deliciously spicy, dipping sauce. The meat itself isn’t spicy, just dip as much or as little as you want.

Lastly came the green chicken curry. For me this is as quintessentially Thai as tom yam gung. Sometimes I think that all Thai children are taught to make this dish at school. I’ve eaten it so many times and in so many different circumstances from home cooking in rural Thailand to the swankiest restaurants but I’ve rarely had a bad one. This, I’m happy to say, conformed to the trend – lean tasty chicken, crisp eggplant and the almost intoxicating fragrance of hora pa, or Thai basil.

The restaurant was starting to fill up now, but we had just enough room to share a dessert. Mango sushi is a slightly different take with the mango and sticky rice combination. The black and the white sticky rice are rolled together with the black on the inside and then sliced sushi style the mango is then layered on top and coconut cream and a sprinkle of peanuts added. An elegant finish to a delicious meal.

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.

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

I’d been meaning to go along to Habibi for quite some time so when a good friend of mine returned from a holiday in Egypt it provided just the memory jolt I needed.

We arrived at seven-thirty. There were a few other diners but it was not too crowded at that time. The decor caught our attention immediately. Tall arches, a large bevelled mirror along one wall and ceiling fans and light fittings shipped in from Egypt combine to create a feeling of 1930s Cairo. But it is very tasteful and not at all overstated.

The menu does offer set dinner options but we decided on a la carte for maximum flexibility. It all looked delicious and we would have been happy to try any of it. In the end we decided to start with one cold mezze, Babaganough which is roasted eggplant with tahina and lemon juice ($50) and two hot mezze; Halloumi, which is goat cheese lightly fried in olive oil and served on a bed of fresh greens ($65) and Dawud Basha, Egyptian style meatballs a in dill flavored tomato sauce ($55).

For drinks my guest ordered a refreshing lemonade with rose-water ($30) and I had a Sakara Egyptian beer ($48).

Babaganough is a time honoured classic dip, ours was wonderfully fresh and slightly smoky. The halloumi was also very tasty, I enjoyed the slightly chewy, almost squeaky, texture but my friend was less enthusiastic. She did agree though, that it tasted good. The secret of the dawud basha is in the aromatic sauce where the tomato and the dill were perfectly balanced, “… even better than the ones we had in Egypt”, enthused my friend.

For main course we selected the Mashwiaat ($200) which is an Egyptian style mixed grill. It consists of chicken, marinated lamb chop, beef kebab, lamb kofta served on skewers with rice kaalta. For vegetables we went with Kidar Bel Firik ($120), grilled vegetables served on a bed of seasoned wheat berry pilaf. Both lived up to expectation, the meats were succulent and tender, the vegetables fresh and crisp.

Middle eastern desserts are notoriously sweet and whilst they are very nice, I usually can’t eat too much. I suggested that we should share the Hellue Al Sham ($45), an assorted plate of mixed Egyptian homemade sweets. My friend insisted that, while she was willing to play a supporting role, I was going to eat most of it.

In the end I think I did rather well getting through more than my fair share of a plate that included both Balawa Bil Ishta (filo with fresh cream and mixed nuts) and the ever popular baklava.

My friend finished with fresh mint tea and I a hot and strong Egyptian coffee.

Habibi also has a special room called the cabin where guests can smoke traditional shisha pipes. The tobacco is mixed with apple to give a unique fruity flavour but since neither of us smoke we missed out on that.

On Saturdays they hold belly dance performances at 8.30 and 9.30. Reservations are strongly recommended.

Habitu, located on level three of Lee Gardens Two in Causeway Bay is a modern, stylish restaurant specialising in the cuisines of southern Italy. For a comparatively large establishment it does an admirable job of being cosy and intimate.

This has been achieved by splitting up the area into sections and the thoughtful use of some home-style furnishing. A table with plants, a bookshelf, plasma TV and even a fire place separate the sections and give each part of the restaurant a different feel. There are four main sections; the main dining area, a VIP room, The Sun Room and The Garden Terrace on the rooftop for al fresco dining amid the skyscrapers of Causeway Bay. The main dining area includes The Hudson Bar and the Chefs Table where diners can watch as the kitchen staff go about their culinary art. We took a table in the main dining area and studied the menu.

The first item we ordered was Roasted Pumpkin Soup with whipped cream and sea urchin ($80). This was huge bowl of wonderfully rich and creamy soup, others may accuse it of being a little too rich or perhaps a tad too sweet coming so early in the meal. I had no such problem but I should say it is not a starter for those with smaller appetites. The sea urchin provided a taste of the ocean that contrasted well with the earthy flavour of the pumpkin.

We had been very tempted by the pan-seared Goose liver with wild fungi in port wine and caramelised apple but felt that may be just a little too rich after the soup. Instead we took our time over some coppa ham and veal prosciutto with poached pear and cantaloupe melon ($110) while the kitchen prepared the pasta course.

This gave me a moment to peruse the wine menu. I’d settled for a glass of house Chardonnay but the wine list is impressive and deserves a mention. There are about a hundred wines to choose from, mostly Italian and French but Australia, New Zealand and Chile are also well represented. All budgets are accommodated with about twenty choices coming in at $350 or under. Top of the class is a 1985 Chateau Lafite Rothschild which can be enjoyed for a princely $4,200 a bottle.

The pasta course was a seafood extravaganza. Black ink spaghetti with clams, mussels, prawns, cuttle fish, scallops and fish fillet in a creamy sea urchin sauce ($180). The black “ink” in the spaghetti is actually squid ink which gives the spaghetti a unique texture and flavour which, along with the sea urchin sauce, complements the seafood perfectly. And it was indeed worth complementing, fresh and tasty and it didn’t embarrass me once. I’m quite shy about eating shellfish, especially mussels. It’s a tricky business prizing them away from the shell. One lapse of concentration, the cutlery slips and the mussel becomes missile and takes flight across the restaurant. The only recourse is to duck behind a wine menu and hope nobody noticed.

By now I’m sure I must have been wearing a look of well fed contentment and smiling upon the world in general but there was still more to come. The final entree, Roast rack of lamb ($250) was delightful. Four tender and juicy ribs arranged in a pyramid over truffle mashed potatoes. The black olive and sun-dried tomato sauce complemented the meat perfectly.

For dessert I was torn between raspberry napoleon with basil sorbet and fresh cream ($65) and baked Alaska with winter chestnut sauce ($80) so I took the easy way out … Both of them were deliciously naughty, the winter chestnuts are a perfect accompaniment to this classic dessert. But for me the Napoleon won by a hair, or rather by a raspberry. Admittedly the baked Alaska was decorated with raspberries but the napoleon had lots of them. Raspberries are not very common in Hong Kong and I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed them.

I got into a bit of a mess. I like to think my chopstick technique is pretty good but peeling prawns just isn’t possible, so it was fingers to the fore.

These particular prawns were cooked in Hakka rice wine and served on a bed of steamed cucumber so they were particularly messy. But they were also really delicious and I wasn’t about to let decorum, or the threat of a stained shirt, put me off.

Hakka Ye Ye, as the name suggests, serves traditional Hakka cuisine but the restaurant itself is prim and modern. Only a few tastefully framed photographs on the wall hint of the past. It’s quite a small place and the lack of more elaborate decor allows it to seem more spacious.

The staff were friendly and efficient, tofu nibbles and tea were served the moment I sat down. They were also more than happy to explain the dishes. For a starter I’d had the the Ye Ye crispy pork nuggets ($42).

These were dumplings of minced pork mixed with dried squid and fried in a bean curd wrapper. Hakka Ye Ye does have a small wine list but the glass of Tsing Tao that I had was probably a much better accompaniment.

The main event were the prawns ($138) though drunken chicken had also been a contender. For vegetable I ordered stir fried mixed mushrooms with snow peas ($88) and white and red mixed rice.

All the dishes were generous servings, designed for sharing, so by the end of it I was really quite full. I had just enough room left for a bowl of pumpkin and sago.

It was a good meal. And considering it could have fed two of us excellent value as well.