Eat Drink Hong Kong

Shop SLG8-9a, Westlands Gardens
2-10 Westlands Road
Quarry Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2565 1001

1/F 11 Stanley Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2868 3738

Flat 4B Tak Fat Building
50-52 Russell Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 6438 3363

31 Elgin Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2524 4123/2523 3776

16 Wun Sha Street
Tai Hang
Hong Kong
Tel 2576 7272

G/F 115 Flora Plaza
Block 5
Fanling
New Territories
Tel 2947 9000

Shop SLG8-9A, Westlands Gardens
2-10 Westlands Road
Quarry Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2565 1001

Rm 2, 2/F Percival House
83 Percival Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2808 0789

25/F Mandarin Oriental
5 Connaught Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2825 4002

Upper Basement, Harilela House
79 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 8118

25 Kam Ping Street
North Point
Hong Kong
Tel 2887 2381

2/F Courtyard by Marriott
167 Connaught Road West
Sai Ying Pun
Hong Kong
Tel 3717 8989

1/F 46-48 Granville Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2311 3298

49 Staunton Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2803 2253 or 3481 3280

9/F Goldmark
502 Hennessy Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2576 2078

Eaton Hotel
380 Nathan Road
Kowloon
Tel 2710 1863

1-5 Elgin Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2559 2777

G6, Tsim Sha Tsui Centre
66 Mody Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2722 7101

120 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2143 6877

2/F J Senses Building
60 Johnston Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 1010

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

It was one of the first pleasant evenings that we’ve had for some time, and I was in the mood for a spot of al fresco dining. Now, the options for al fresco in Wanchai are pretty limited. There is really only that stretch of restaurants at Sanlitun, opposite the Sun Hung Kai Centre.

All the restaurants along the side that directly faces the SHK Centre are well established and have been there for a long time. The only one I hadn’t eaten in was Mr Steak. I decided it was time to rectify the omission.

It’s quite a pleasant place to sit and watch people walk by. I ordered an Asahi beer and, as the the roar of Gloucester Road ebbed away with the last of the daylight, I turned my attention to the menu.

The set dinners offer a pretty wide range of options with two courses for $178, three courses for $198 and, for the very hungry, all you can eat for $328. The latter, I have to confess, was very tempting indeed.

But I had set my heart on a dry aged rib-eye (10oz $398).

The problem was the starters. On the a la carte side of the menu they were nowhere near as interesting as the ones on the set dinner side. A quick word with the waitress however resolved my concerns and I ordered baked escargot ($54).

There were six in all, tender and succulent. Three were served in shells, three stuffed into mushrooms and all served on little beds of creamed potato.

The dry ageing of beef is a traditional process. In the old days the meat was hung after being cleaned so that the outside dried. The juices on the inside helped tenderise and improve the flavour of the meat. It would have been hung anywhere from one to three weeks, losing considerable weight as it did so.

In today’s vacuum packed world, beef is more usually wet-aged inside sealed plastic bags. The meat doesn’t lose weight but nor does it gain richness of flavour.

Mine was served simply with baked potato and crisp garden vegetables and was quite delicious.

Desserts are Mr Steaks weak spots. There are soufflés and chocolate pudding which I’m sure are very nice but I do get bored with them and they do take a long time to prepare.

There was a wider selection of the set dinner side of the menu and I opted for caramelised apple tart. It was pleasant enough but I do appreciate it when a restaurant puts as much effort into it’s choices of dessert as it does with the other courses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mint tea is so refreshing. As it happened I was just thinking about a nice cuppa when I spotted Marouche on Cochrane Street. Marouche is a new Lebanese restaurant and wine bar that opened about a month ago, and, since it was about seven o’clock anyway I decided it was time for dinner.

There are a couple of tables right by the door but since I’d been walking I rather fancied a spot of air con.

The whole restaurant is open fronted which gives it a relaxed feel. The pump of Lebanese pop music works well with the accordian player outside Ivan the Kozak and the general bustle of people going up and down the steps. It all combines to give a totally unplanned, but rather charming souk-like atmosphere.

The mint tea ($35) was produced and I turned my attention to the menu.

There is, of course a full range of dips including hummus and babaganough, salads with goats cheese and an interesting range of mezze. It would be be quite possible to just order a selection of dips and mezze and not bother with a main course at all. I was already hankering after a lamb shwarma ($150) so choosing the starter was no easy matter.

In the end I settled on the home made Soujok ($75). These are small sausages made with minced beef and served with tomatoes in an olive oil based sauce. And they are delicious. I ordered extra pitta bread to mop up the oil.

The waitress went off to put some fresh boiling water on the tea and returned with both tea and shwarma. The shwarma consisted of a generous serving of sliced lamb with a fresh green salad. It was good, the lamb was lean and tasty, but the soujok was always going to be a hard act to follow.

Baklava is the only dessert available but a serving does include four different types, walnut, pistachio, almond and cashew.

As Soho spreads further and further, Peel street is coming along quite nicely. Apart from a few older Chinese establishments, there is trendy Joyce is Not Here, comfortable Caravan Serai, and down a few steps from the street is a cool dark cavern with African tribal art and flags adorning every bit of wall space, alongside some more modern paintings which I get the impression are for sale (I may be wrong). This is Makumba.

I’d wanted to try their African food for a while – when they first opened it was advance order only, and this being Hong Kong, who takes time to think about eating till its actually time to eat? They must have caved in to demand, and now there is a small menu that I persuaded a couple of friends to try.

At 6.30 on a Thursday, we were the only customers, and actually the staff, though very welcoming, seemed a little surprised to see us. Nobody else turned up before we left at almost 8pm.

The low-key African music was relaxing and before long we were settled in and ready to try from the selection of beers, which includes Nzingha from Cameroon at $45 or $35 in happy hour. Of course we had to try it. There are a few cocktails on the drinks menu too, so I ordered Ti punch (house special – $60 or $40 HH), which turned out to be a lot of white rum with a little lime – very nice, but if I gurgled down more than one I may have started wobbling.

None of us were particularly hungry, but we wanted to try a variety, so first off we ordered the Gnamagnama Platter to share. This consists of Acras – spicy shrimp dough, Aloco – fried plantain dipped in chili (who could resist fried sweet bananas!?), and African rolls – basically very good pork spring rolls. The chili dipping sauce was so incredibly spicy, that none of us dared to take a second dip! Luckily the Ti Punch came in handy to numb our tongues and throats. For small eaters, this platter may well be enough to satisfy two people at $120.

We only ordered the one main course to share. This was the weekly special, Meguep Geo, which is chunks of fried chicken in wild pepper. It arrived on a large platter with fragrant rice, stewed kidney beans and green vegetables, oh, and some more of those yummy fried plantains.

Overall the meal was very pleasant, though as I left, I felt just slightly disappointed because I’d been expecting something more exotic-tasting. Perhaps the current troubles with finding an experienced African chef had something to do with it?

As I was sitting in the place opposite on Friday night (after 10.30), there seemed to be so many people at Makumba that they were spilling out onto the street – all dressed up too. It seems this must be a good place to party.

I was strolling along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront the other evening. It was a pleasant evening, still early. Even after having lived here for many years I’m still impressed by the view of the Island from here. Of course, Hong Kong being the rapidly evolving place that it is, there is usually something new in the skyline that I haven’t seen before.

I never discovered what it was this time. Somewhere deep in my subconscious another visual connection had already been made. I didn’t cotton on to it immediately, all I knew was that I was getting hungry. What’s more I rather fancied a burger, a big juicy one, medium to well done with fresh salad and pickles.

Star Ferry would have to wait a while, I reset my coordinates and plotted a course to the Langham Hotel and Main St. Deli. This claims to be Hong Kong’s first and only genuine New York Deli.

It certainly looks authentic, art deco fixtures and fittings and old black and white photographs dominated by four chandeliers. I was given a warm, friendly welcome and quickly shown to a table in the corner from where I had a great view of the main part of the restaurant. Indeed I couldn’t help but wonder how many Delis there are in New York that look this good.

The menu appeared along with two large bowls of pickles and yet another charming smile. I ordered a Brooklyn Beer and studied the menu whilst nibbling on dill and green tomato pickles.

Although I’d gone with the specific intent of satisfying a burger craving the Reuben sandwich – which is corned beef, pastrami, turkey, sauerkraut and melted swiss cheese on grilled rye bread – was also tempting. Here they also offer a Naked Reuben which appears to be the same but without the bread. There is also a range of pizzas and pastas but I decided to hold firm to the plan of having a burger.

“Would you like to try our new lobster burger?” Enquired the waitress who had materialised at my table. I was indeed very tempted but sadly $388 was more than my budget would allow. Instead I ordered the Crispy Jumbo Crab Cake ($85) for starters. When dining in American style restaurants one needs to treat words like ‘jumbo’ with respect. As a rule of thumb it is safe to assume that all portions of everything will be larger than you expect – the addition of such words just means it will be even bigger!

Sure enough the crab cake was huge, a triangle about 4 inches along each side and three quarters of an inch thick served with pickles, salsa, salad and mayonnaise. It was delicious. I told myself to only eat half or I’d have no space left for the burger.

I failed and wolfed the lot, except the mayonnaise, but that is not the mayo’s fault, I just don’t care for it much.

The burgers come in two sizes, regular (8 oz. @ $128) and silly (12 oz. @ $168). I’d ordered a sensible 8oz., flame grilled, Barbecue Bacon Burger. It arrived on it’s bun with sauteed mushrooms melted swiss cheese, lettuce tomato and bacon. This was what I’d come for and it didn’t disappoint. It was however, simply too big to put the lid on and to pick up and eat so I attacked with the knife and fork.

Although I was already pretty full I take my responsibilities seriously and to leave without having had dessert, I always feel, is a dereliction of duty. “Is the lemon meringue pie good” I asked the waitress. “It’s very good” she replied and skipped off to fetch me some. When she returned my jaw dropped. “We serve New York sized portions” she beamed.

Indeed I thought, this was obviously based on 175 Fifth Avenue, the Flatiron Building. Though you’d never get that many eggs into the Flatiron Building. This was quite simply the most enormous wedge of lemon meringue pie I’ve ever seen and jolly nice it was too. I managed to eat around two thirds before surrendering.

I had a leisurely coffee before waddling out into the night and towards the ferry.

This restaurant is tucked away at the top of Glenealy. It’s a bit of a climb if you are walking but just keep thinking of that nice cold beer when you get there. I ordered a bottle of Gosser Austrian Beer.

The restaurant is in two sections with the bar at the front and the small dining area towards the back, though there are tables in the bar area for those that prefer. Old style wood panelling covers the walls in the rear and upon these are hung numerous black and white photographs. I didn’t look at the pictures in detail but I gathered copies of them could be ordered.

In case you wondering a Stub’n is a small restaurant or dining room. This small dining room may be named after the great Austrian composer but his music sadly was not in evidence. Instead a modern jazzy flavoured background music was playing, but it wasn’t loud and it was fairly easy to ignore.

I supped my beer and busied myself with the menu. The appetizers were all tempting, not least a platter of assorted cold cuts ($165) but this was designed for two people. I narrowed my choices down to; fresh wild mushrooms with butter mashed potatoes ($95) or deep fried Camembert with cranberry sauce ($88). I thought I’d decided on the wild mushrooms but then as the waiter stood, pencil and pad in hand, a fit of indecision overtook me and I ordered the cheese instead.

I’m sure the mushrooms would have been excellent but the Camembert didn’t disappoint either. Three pieces the size of golf balls encased in a layer of crisp bread crumbs surrounded by a swirl of deliciously tart cranberry sauce. After finishing the Camembert I mopped up the sauce with bread.

The main course had been an easy choice. Not that there weren’t plenty of tempting options; traditional Austrian boiled beef ($160) and veal medallions in wild mushroom sauce ($185). The of course there was the classic Wiener schnitzel and cheese fondue.

But from the moment I first saw it I knew I was going to have the “winter special” venison with red cabbage and potato dumplings ($205). The meat was wonderful. Cooked to perfection, tender and tasty and decorated with a sprig of rosemary. The potato dumplings were about 3 inches long, fat in the middle and tapered at each end. They were good but very dense and filling. I wanted to take it slowly and savour every mouthful but it seemed like I wolfed it down in no time.

Dessert was a generous helping of home made Viennese apple strudel with vanilla sauce. I wasn’t at all sure I was going to be able eat it all but then, it always amazes me how one can marshall ones resources in moments of crisis. The pastry was light and the filling rich and sweet. I ordered coffee and basked in the glow of well-fed contentment.

Perched at the very top of Lan Kwai Fong opposte Va Bene, and bathed in blue and pink light, is a little corner of South Beach, Miami. An art deco-fied Chinese shophouse.

Marlin opened for business mid-February. It’s a small bar but both sides are open, so on busy evenings the clientele will be able to spill out onto the street. Potted palms make a brave attemt to disguise the ugly road sign which is a minor blemish on an otherwise impressive exterior. Indeed I could be just as happy standing outside as sitting inside.

As well as all the usual beers and spirits (they are Rum specialists!), Marlin offers a drink they call a daiqui’tini which, without getting into detailed recipes, can be either tropical fruits blended with rum or berries with vodka.

They also serve a range of snacks, tortilla chips seeming to be the most popular. Happy hour runs from 5-8pm.

3/F Grand Century Place
193 Prince Edward Road West
Mongkok
Kowloon
Tel 2264 4881

G/F Comfort Centre
108 Old Main Street
Aberdeen
Hong Kong
Tel 2870 2080

G/F 48 Peel Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2834 6366
Fax 2834 7701

83 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 6680
Fax 2527 2345

G/F 90 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 6599
Fax 2813 0997

Langham Hotel (Great Eagle)
8 Peking Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2375 1133 Ext. 7883

3/F Kyoto Plaza
491-499 Lockhart Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2833 0113

G/F Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2501 4678

G/F Yui Pont House
12 Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2376 2263
Tel 2312 1972

Podium 301-302 World Trade Centre
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2882 5056

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

68-70 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 6200

G/F 148 Welington Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2851 5040

G/F 333 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2838 1685

11/F, Kyoto Plaza
491-499 Lockhart Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 3583 1852

Kimberley Plaza
Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2316 2288

The Royal Garden Hotel
69 Mody road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2733 2995

5 Main Street
Yung Shue Wan
Lamma Island
New Territories
Tel 2982 0719
Fax 2982 1112

41 Gough Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2512 1111

LG/F Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2918 0882

6 Knutsford Steps
2/F Miramar Shopping Centre
132 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2730 1300

G/F Shop 33
KCR East Station
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2311 9233

11A Mercer Street
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2542 4111
Fax 2542 4113

56 D’Aguilar Street
Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2121 8070
Fax 2121 8072

JW Marriot Hotel
One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2810 8366
Fax 2845 0737

34 Staunton Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2525 5786
Fax 2526 3786

Shop 102 Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0858

G/F 48 Cochrane Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2541 8282

Shop 9-10, G/F Site C
Tai Hong Street
Lei King Wan
Hong Kong
Tel? 2567 9389

G/F 17 Po Yan Street
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2530 3880

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

G/F 3 Lan Fong Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 3422 8192
Fax 2572 7768

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

G/F 8 Glenealy
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 1763
Fax 2537 9876

Shop R002-3 Elements Mall
Kowloon Station
1 Austin Road West
Kowloon
Tel 3743 1421

Shop 113, Level 1 East Point City
Hang Hau
Tseung Kwan O
Kowloon
Tel 2628 7727
Fax 2628 7737

M20-28 Prince’s Building
10 Chater Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2523 8989

G/F 63 Temple Street
Yau Ma Tei
Kowloon
Tel 2384 8531

56-58 Yee Wo Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

108 Hollywood Road
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2980 3535

14/F HSH Kowloon Centre
192-194 Nathan Road
Jordan
Kowloon
Tel 3520 4430

3/F Plaza 38
38 Shan Tung Street
Mongkok
Kowloon
Tel 2382 3338

G/F B6 88 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2520 6117

G/F 15-19 Hollywood Road
Central
Hong Kong

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

1/F Hutchison House
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2537 7470

1/F, 2 Lower Albert Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2877 4000

G/F 12 Pak Sha Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 3188 2440

G/F 122-126 Canton Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2735 5887

Regal Kowloon Hotel
71 Mody Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2313 8778

138 Pak Sha Wan Centre
Hebe Haven
Sai Kung
New Territories
Tel 2719 9932

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

Mingle Place
8 Observatory Court
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2155 8777

4/F California Tower
Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2521 8001

G/F Han Yee Building
19-21 Hankow Road
Tsimshatsui, (entrance in I Chang Street)
Kowloon
Tel 2317 7887

G/F 1-23 Prat Avenue
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2369 1100

17-22 Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2536 0968

G/F 31 Staunton Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 2286
Fax 2899 2295

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

2/F Happy Valley Stand
Happy Valley Racecourse
Hong Kong
Tel 2966 7111

5/F Lucky Centre
165-171 Wanchai Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 8305

G/F 3 Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2523 4041

2A, 75-77 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 3101 2828

B2 InterContinental Grand Stanford
70 Mody Road
Tsimshatsui
Tel 2731 2870

Knutsford Square Shop L-M, G/G Universal Mansion
52 Hillwood Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2369 4033

G/F 338 Queen’s Road Central
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2815 8448
Fax 2815 3340

Shop 15-16 Basement
Jardine House
1 Connaught Place
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2845 8773

12 Sing Woo Road
Happy Valley
Hong Kong
Tel 2893 3336

The Kowloon Hotel
19-21 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel 2734 3803

1/F Cameron Plaza
29 Cameron Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2316 2519

11H Sheung Ling Pei Village
Tung Chung Road
Lantau
New Territories
Tel 2988 8683

4/F The Goldmark
502 Hennessy Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2504 3313