Eat Drink Hong Kong

G/F & 1/F Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 0123

A trip to Stanley for me almost inevitably includes two things – buying something I really didn’t know I needed, and a coffee at Lucy’s. When it’s December, cold and raining, and the Christmas shopping is going badly, the idea of more than a coffee at Lucy’s is very appealing.

This welcoming little gem, almost hidden behind stalls up a side street seems to have been there, unchanging, forever. It’s always busy with a variety of tourists, ‘ladies who lunch’, exhausted shoppers, and Stanley-dwellers who seem to treat it as an extra living room. When I arrived around 2pm on a Wednesday, several tables had groups at them.

The decor is simple – yellow-washed walls, rattan tables with cushioned chairs, an unlikely palm tree in the middle, and a multicoloured banquete seat running the full length of the restaurant.

After being cheerily shuttled to a quiet table, I immediately requested a hot chocolate, which came quickly, along with a little dim sum basket overflowing with french bread, a menu, plus a chalkboard with the daily set lunch options at 2 courses $128 or 3 for $158.

I had a quick check of the main lunch menu, which contains starters and desserts for around $60, and mains such as Lamb loin with butternut squash and herb couscous, or Asparagus, pea and mint risotto for around $90. However, in these situations (I was COLD), soup always sounds good, so from the set I ordered a Spinach and leek soup to start, and Fettucine with sea bass, broccoli and preserved lemon cream sauce for the main course. Then I sat back nibbling bread, opened my book…

…and the soup arrived. The thick soup was a generous helping, the dark colour revealing a lot more spinach than leek – pretty tasty, but I’m a leek fan so I was a little disappointed!

The Fettucine certainly was not a disappointment. Another large-ish dish of al dente pasta, with perfectly soft, delicate fish, offset by the crisp brocolli and lemon-infused creamy sauce. It was delicious, and I polished it off without a second thought. Unfortunately, I was too full for dessert – hazelnut merangue on the set menu, which sounded great – oh well, perhaps next time.

The phone rang several times while I was there, with people booking for dinner, and all were greeted with familiarity – obviously regulars. I discovered Lucy’s has been here for almost exactly 12 years, and it’s definitely still going strong. The variety on the menu, simple ingredients, giving reasonable prices, and friendly staff all combine to make you want to come back.

I checked out the dinner menu as I left, which contained choices like Duck confit with braised cabbage and roast potatoes, or Olives and thyme braised lamb shank with lemon polenta, all hovering just below the $200 mark. I think a return trip is definitely on the books.

Chek Chue is the Cantonese name for Stanley, it means red pillar and, according to one story, it was named thus after the dead stump of a cotton tree that was in the area. In another story it means Place of Thieves, or Chak Chu in the Hakka dialect, who named it thus because the waters were infested with pirates. When the British took over and built a fort there it was called Stanley after Lord Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley who was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time.

These days it is best known for its market and the string of pubs and restaurants that line the beach front. At the end of this line is the Stanley Plaza to the right and Murray House to the left. Murray House was originally built in Central in 1840 but dismantled in 1982 and reassembled in Stanley in 1998.

After being home to the British army, the Japanese army and the Rating and Valuation department it now houses two restaurants and two pubs. The pubs, King Ludwigs Beer Hall and Widlfire are on the top floor.

It was King Ludwig that commisioned the famous Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein which can be seen in Disneylands, jig-saw puzzles, and on biscuit tin lids the world over. Given those indignities he would probably breathe a sigh of relief to learn that a beer hall in his honour is housed in a 150 year old British colonial building in southern China.

And he would certainly have been impressed by the range of imported German beers on offer there – four draught, King Luwigs Bavarian, Veltins, a wheat beer called Masel’s Weiss and Lowenbrau plus six bottled. They also have about a dozen flavours of Schnapps to choose from. We watched the moon rise over Stanley Bay with a litre of Bavarian and the aroma of roasting Raclette cheese.

King Ludwigs has a full menu of German-style dishes which includes a gallery of sausages with no less than eight varieties and for those that can’t make their mind up the menu includes an option to enjoy a taste of all of them. If you’re not in the mood for sausages the Roast Pork Knuckle is also a very popular dish.

King Ludwigs Beerhall opens at midday on weeks days, 11.00am on weekends and closes at midnight weekdays, 01.00am Fridays and Saturdays.

90 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 4313

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

Level 3 Stanley Plaza
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0919
Fax 2899 0337

Shop 101 Stanley Plaza Shopping Centre
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 3197 0338
Fax 3197 0238

Shop 102 Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0858

92A1 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0812
Fax 2899 0930

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

88 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 4467

G/F 25 Stanley Market Road
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0818
Fax 2813 7218

18B Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 7571

G/F 64 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 9055
Fax 2813 2446

Level 1 Stanley Beach Villa
90 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0999
Fax 2899 0775

G/F 90A Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 8852

126 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 9090

102 Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0858
Fax 2813 5361

Shop 202 Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0122
Fax 2813 7028

126 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 9090

2/F Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 6161

G/F 80 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 0123

Level 2 Stanley Beach Villa
90 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0999
Fax 2899 0775

101 Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0147
Fax 2813 5361

92B Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 7313
Fax 2813 1852

2/F, 90 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2813 4822