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

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

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

Pho is Vietnamese noodles, of course, but I’ve no idea what the 24 means. Neither did the staff. Not to worry, I wasn’t there for the maths. I gone in to seek sanctuary from the mayhem that is Tsim Sha Tsui. A bowl of noodles was all I was seeking but I got a bit carried away I’m afraid.

Breaking from tradition amongst Vietnamese restaurants the decor is not heavily accented with green. The colour is still there but it is a lot more subtle. At Pho 24 it can found on the place mats and edging the menu.

I was given a table by the window overlooking Nathan Road, it’s much nicer to look at when you’re not being accosted by tailors and copy watch salesmen. I turned my attention to the menu.

It’s quite a well thought out menu with plenty of options for those that don’t want pho. All the familiar spring rolls are in evidence as well as a good range of rice options.

But I’d gone for a bowl of noodles and I wasn’t going to be swayed. I ordered the Pork roll rice noodles ($39).

Aside from the main menu there was a list of ‘chef’s recommendations’. I’d already considered the noodles with prime US beef and the giant head prawn was tempting as well. But Vietnamese style roasted eel ($58) won the day. I also couldn’t resist the steamed noodle filled with minced pork and black fungus ($48).

To wash it all down I ordered a bottle of Saigon 333 beer($28).

I’d envisioned the eel as a starter and just assumed it would arrive first. I was wrong. The noodles arrived first but I wasn’t particularly worried and I tucked in. The eel came shortly after. Usually I only have eel in Japanese restaurants, this was ‘Vietnamese style’ and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

It had been cooked in a mild and peanutty curry-like sauce. Very flavourful but rich, I’d recommend sharing. The pork and fungus had been pressed into little patties and wrapped in sheets of rice noodle and was another good little side dish that would be great for sharing.

The noodles too were just what I’d wanted. I’d avoided the various beef options when I realised that I was going to be ordering other dishes as well. For some reason I thought the pork would be less filling.

I finished off with pandanus leaf agar agar ($26).

Shop 303, iSquare
63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel. 2327 0077

Shop 127, New Town Plaza, Phase I
18 Centre Street, Shatin
Tel. 2681 2200

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

It covers although you can eat and drink on either, the upstairs is more lounge like with low comfy chairs whilst the ground floor has the bar. There are regular tables and trendy high tables. The high tables are great if you are just stopping by for drinks and snacks but I wouldn’t want to deal with a grilled sea bass with chilli and Thai basil ($140) at one.

And grilled sea bass was what I had my eye on so I sat at one of the regular tables. Fortunately I had a choice. It was fairly quiet when I was there but the manageress assured me that at peak times it can get really busy and it is advisable to book.

Often in Thai restaurants the dishes will arrive all together or just when they are ready. Here they follow the western pattern of starter followed by main. The menu itself holds no surprises, every dish is familiar and almost every dish is probably someone’s favourite whether it be a tom yam soup, a curry or a salad.

I decided to start with deep fried coconut prawns with cucumber and peanut sauce ($78). The coconut in the batter was actually quite subtle but the peanut sauce wasn’t peanut sauce at all. It was actually a dip known as ajan. This is made from white rice vinegar with finely chopped cucumber, shallots and chilli. It was actually very nice and probably better than the peanut sauce would have been so I said nothing.

The sea bass was impressive. Cooked in a banana leaf it was succulent and tender with the aromatic Thai basil adding a pleasing accent. If you prefer you can ask for non-spicy variation.

To finish I ordered the familiar Tapioca pudding ($45). These are small cakes of tapioca wrapped in a piece of banana leaf and topped with coconut cream and a kernel of sweet corn. Rich and filling.

The dishes were all very well done and while the prices may be a little above average for a Thai restaurant they are probably below average for that part of Wyndham Street. Either way booking is recommended.

57 Wyndham Street
Central
Tel 2840 0041

Korea Garden has been at this address for a good many years. How many I couldn’t say but I’m pretty sure I first ate here around 20 years ago. The entrance is a single doorway and a flight of stairs to the restaurant which is on the 1st floor. If you go for lunch it is advisable to book or go early.

We got there at 12.30, any later it would have been full. I was eager for some classic Korean barbecue and went for spicy marinated pork ($100). This, of course, comes with its own range of kimchi and assorted vegetables.

My comapanion was keen to identify a stew that she had tried before and and had enjoyed very much. She knew it had included tofu but it had been part of a much larger meal before and now she couldn’t be certain what else had been in it. In the end she settled on Pollack stew with tofu and vegetables ($100).

To complement them we also ordered Kimchi fried rice in a stone pot ($100) and a spring onion pancake ($90).

As is often the case at luchtimes the dishes all arrived in quick succession. The barbecue was lit and the first pieces of pork were beginning to sizzle while the waiter was serving the kimchi fried rice. Both the rice and the pollack stew were huge and would probably have been enough for four people.

The rice was excellent and I mad short work of mine. My companion was less enthusiastic about the stew, it wasn’t right one after all. I thought it was quite pleasant. It also had mushrooms, prawns and mussells in it. I didn’t remember seeing prawns or mussells on the menu. This didn’t worry me unduly but I do know people who are allergic to shellfish and would probably like to know about such things in advance.

The spring onion pancake and the spicy pork both live up to expectations and we settled in for a long, leisurely lunch

Balancing convivial conversation with cooking and still managing to eat some of what is already there can be quite a challenge. Consequently some of the meat got a little burnt towards the end and we had to call for help to find the off switch.

1/F Blissful Building
247 Des Voeux Road
Sheung Wan
Tel 2542 2339

Even at three o’clock there were still plenty of customers. There’s has a slight retro feel to the decor. I can’t quite give it a period, but it’s pleasant enough.

It’s an interesting menu. It’s also bilingual so non-native speakers can order with confidence. We opened our account with a plate of classic Char Siu ($60). I’d decided against having any rice but my colleague felt that it would be improper to eat char siu without it.

And it was good char siu, we’d demolished the whole plate by the time the next dish arrived. This was braised Tianjin cabbage with ham ($50). It was piping hot too, we had to wait for it to cool a little.

Moments later the Szechuan chicken arrived ($58). This, of course, was quite spicy. Not as hot as it could have been, I felt, by quite a margin. It got it’s heat from chillies rather than the fagara pepper. My companion disagreed. He said it was plenty hot enough. In fact he as going to let me have the lions share of it.

It was a shrewd move, he was saving himself for the Baked shrimp and Garoupa with cheese and e-fu noodles ($98). It’s a interesting dish, I have had something similar in a Vietnamese restaurant a few months ago. That was made with rice and lacked the shrimps but as far as I know this is the only Asian dish I can remember that features cheese.

It’s an enjoyable dish although the cheese tends to make the noodles rather sticky and unmanageable.

There were desserts on the menu but we were both too full. These are quite large portions that are meant to be shared. We had easily eaten our way through enough food for four.

112-114 Wellington Street
Central
Tel 2544 3466

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

Fortunately by 7.30 when I had discovered this most of the shops and markets had all closed for the day. I’d had no idea there were restaurants down there of course, I’d received a tip-off about Thai Thai Grill and had gone to investigate.

It looks quite a small place at when you first exit the lift but there is quite a lot of space around the back. The tables are large and solid with elegant Thai style place settings and wonderfully comfortable seating.

The walls are decorated with modern art paintings which, if one takes your fancy, can be purchased.

The menu is modern Thai and while there are plenty of familiar sounding dishes on the menu the photos suggest a more European style presentation. It all looked quite tempting. I Ordered a Singha beer and settled in for a long decision making process.

There is a wide range of snacks/starters to choose from and it would probably be possible to build a satisfying meal from these alone. I decided to start with rice paper spring rolls ($55), an idea borrowed from Vietnamese cuisine. These were stuffed with soft-shelled crab and crisp, fresh vegetables. There are served with the classic sweet, spicy dip.

Another snack I just had to have was Sun-dried beef served with a very spicy chilli sauce ($62). This is a simple dish that I know from the rural north-east of Thailand and Laos. The dried meat is fried with pepper, fish sauce and plum and sprinkled with white sesame seeds. The chilli sauce is used for dipping but if you don’t care for it they still taste good without.

The menu had offered Yellowtail Snapper with Mango and Lime Salad ($158) but the markets hadn’t been able to provide that morning so the chef offered to make the same dish using grey mullet. So I agreed to that.

I was glad that I did. The green mango which had been marinated in the lime brought a delicious tang to complement the fish. This dish is one of the chefs specialities and he has every right to be proud of it. I’ve made a mental note to go back when they have the yellowtail so I can compare.

There are only four desserts on the menu, three of them were the usual suspects; mango with sticky rice, layer cake etc. Pumpkin custard ($45) was unfamiliar so I decided to try that. This consisted of sections of hollowed pumpkin filled with a coconut flavoured custard. There was no extra sugar added so if you have a really sweet tooth this might disappoint. I found it a very pleasant way to round off the meal.

Thai Thai Grill also offer delivery and outside catering.

2/F 9 Li Yuen Street East
Central
Tel 2167 8778