Eat Drink Hong Kong

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This place was doing brisk business even on a cold and damp Wednesday evening. No doubt the lure a hot and hearty bowl of beef pho was attracting customers. I was certainly what I was thinking of when I rolled up the escalator, but after I had got settled at a table and the menu in my hand I began to have other thoughts.

It’s a pleasant place. The decor is in a French colonial style with pale greens an white. It is elegant but not over done. The menu also boasts hints of the country’s colonial as well as offering the occasional not to its Southeast Asian neighbours.

I sent the waitress off with an order for a plate of Ban Mi Chien Tom, or prawn toast ($48) and a bottle of 39 Saigon Porter ($30) and took my time reading the rest of the menu.

All the familiar dishes are represented, bowls of pho, spring rolls both hot and cold and stuffed chicken wings. But there were also a number of regional dishes that are less frequently seen and I was keen to try a couple of these. So as the waitress delivered the prawn toast is despatched her a second time. This time for an order of Ban Hoi Ga Nuong, vermicelli cake with grilled chicken ($48) and Cha Ca Hanoi, Fried fish with dill ($128).

While I waited for those to be prepared I tucked into the shrimp toast. This is basically ground shrimp mixed with garlic, spread onto slices of baguette and, usually, fried – but I think this version may have been grilled. These are then dipped into a puddle of nuoc cham dipping sauce.

The other two dishes were delivered together. The vermicelli cakes are made from layers of the fine noodle pressed flat and drained. Along with the chicken they are served with fresh mint an a pile of lettuce leaves. The abundance of lettuce usually indicates that you are to wrap the other items inside a leaf and make little parcels of food so this is what I did. No-one came to tell me I was doing it all wrong so I suspect I was on the right track. Though I clearly need more practice at wrapping things in lettuce.

The fish, as the name would suggest, is a popular dish in Hanoi. It consists of tender cubes of fish rolled in bread crumbs and fried with dill and onions. It really would have gone well with a bowl of rice but since I already had quite a lot of food I decided to skip rice. Never-the-less it won my heart and I shall be heading back for another helping very soon.

I finished off with a white chocolate Creme Brulee ($38) and, feeling suitably fortified, headed back into the cold night air.

I would have spotted this place if it wasn’t for the blaze of Chinese New Year decorations outside. At least I think they were New Year decorations, I must confess I didn’t look at them that closely. It’s at the top of a short hill just off of Star Street and curiosity got the better of me so up I trundled.

Once there I decided it would have been a wasteful exercise if I didn’t stop and have something to eat so I went inside.

It’s quite a spacious restaurant with tables that are reasonably well spaced out. The decor, at first glance, looks quite simple but what seems like a random collection of cupboards, shelves and welsh dressers do a very good job of invoking the atmosphere of and old small town hotel.

There were a few pictures scattered around the walls but what really caught my attention was a large framed photograph of a really impressive pig. I immediately thought of Empress of Blandings from the PG Wodehouse novels. From a distance the animal looked like a huge potato with four small legs and a snout.

The background music was a French diva who I didn’t recognise but it was pleasant enough. The menu is also in French though there are English translations alongside. I decided to start with the Norwegian smoked fish platter ($180).

While I waited I tucked into a deliciously fresh baguette which had been delivered with a small clay pot of pate.

The fish was duly delivered an featured slices of eel, herring and salmon arranged around a little thicket of arugula and served with a slice of lemon. I do enjoy smoked fish but it is not all that common in this part of the world. I made mental note to return again soon.

For main course I had ordered the roast leg of lamb ($220). This was served in a very simple, home-cooking style. The lamb was tender an succulent and came with creamed potato.

I don’t drink a lot of wine but I do enjoy a glass with a meal. But I have to say the red from Haut-Brisson ($80), which was the only one available by the glass was very pleasant indeed. Smooth and mellow, a touch of spice with a hint of blackcurrants.

To finish off I ordered the mango cake ($60) which came in it’s own sea of chilled mango puree.

As I left I noticed that there was also an Olala deli on Star Street. Another good reason to come back soon.

G/F 1 Electric Street
Wanchai
Tel 2294 O450

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

5/F QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2834 8328

‘Private address’ in Star Street – call for details
Tel 2521 8121

2/F 21-25 Luard Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2501 7339

27/F QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2591 6338

11 Luard Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 9933

Shop B-C G/F The Hennessy
256 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2574 3248

1/F CNT Tower
338 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2892 0333

Shop 1-2 G/F Hopewell Centre
183 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2861 0737

72-86 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2143 6183

L G/F East Town Building
64 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong

33 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2520 5303

30-32 O’ Brien Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2577 8611

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

This is a casual little Italian place on Hennessy Road. “Good place for when you’re in need of a swift pasta”, I was told. So I wandered along to check it out.

It’s a pleasant place. There are paintings on the wall and attractive red check table linen give it a comfortable feel. There was some modern pop/rock playing a little louder than I would usually like but I have to confess it was better than the roar of Hennessy Road outside.

I took a small table on the ground floor. A flight of stairs suggested there may be more upstairs but I didn’t go to look. Instead I perused the menu.

There is indeed a good range of pasta dishes including all the old favourites. There is also an interesting range of salads and starters. I’d been carefully dieting all day because I knew already that I was going to forego the starter and have a pasta dish and a main course. So, by the time I got there I was suitably ravenous.

The pasta dish was called Bucatini con il Ragu all’Amatriciana ($118). This is spicy bacon in a simple tomato sauce and it was indeed very good. It was mildly spicy, just enough to give it character, with a tangy tomato flavour. It comes with a generous portion of fresh home-made spaghetti. To go with it I also ordered a glass of fruity Locorotondo bianco ($70)

To follow I’d ordered the Filetti di Sogliola in Cartoccio con Gamberi ($168). This means fillet of sole baked in parchment or paper, though in this case I’d guess it means foil. The fish was cooked with mushroom and zucchini.

It was probably not the best option to follow a spicy pasta but, while it was perfectly edible, I felt it lacked a certain something, possibly some asparagus or potato.

To round off I ordered a coffee and a Millefoglie Napoleon ($58). This is layers of flakey puff pastry separated by thick, thick cream. Totally wicked. I must now resume my diet and hope to work off some of the calories.

17 Morrison Hill Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2892 2661

31/F The Hennessy
256 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2893 6960

5/F The Broadway
54-62 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2110 1535

Unit 1, 4/F W Square
314-324 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 3106 0272

31 Ship Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 1868

265-267 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2519 6639

29&30/F QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2907 0888

Shop 1, QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2295 4848

Discovering Indian vegetarian cuisine is almost like discovering Indian food all over again. There are so many possibilities that you simply don’t see many of them on the menus of most restaurants. Unless, of course, the restaurant is dedicated to serving only vegetarian dishes.

Khana Khazana is just such a place. There are two branches, I was at the Wanchai restaurant. It boasts quite a large dining area with functional but pleasant decor. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. I took a table towards the back and ordered a kingfisher beer to go with the complimentary poppadums.

As mentioned the menu offers a range of dishes that are not seen in most Indian restaurants. Idlis, Rasam and Wada all appear on the very first page. Helpfully the menu does include descriptions so you know what it is you are ordering.

My first dish was Haryali kebab ($78). This is the familiar looking kebab shape but since it is made with spinach and garden vegetables it is an unfamiliar green colour. It arrives on a sizzling hot-plate garnished with fresh cabbage and onions and wedges of lemon.

They are mildly spicy and very flavourful but my attention is distracted by the arrival of the South Indian platter ($88). This took my breath away. I’d already noted that the kebabs were a generous serving but this, a selection of small dishes was just huge. It includes smaller portions of many of those intriguing dishes.

Rasam, a lentil soup flavoured with tamarind, tomato and pepper occupied one end of the long platter while a dosa masala took up the far end. The dosa is a kind of pancake filled with spicy potato and onion. In between these was a ground lentil fritter called a wada, a steamed rice cake known as an idli which is served with a delicious coconut chutney. There was an uttapam which is another kind of spicy pancake.

It was so big that I could have made a meal of this one dish alone. Indeed two gentlemen and completely different tables were doing just that. I still had a vegetable Jaipuri ($78) to come and, true to form, when it did arrive there was enough food on the table to easily feed three or even four people.

The basic sauce for the Jaipuri is similar to a classic vegetable curry that you might find elsewhere. But unlike anywhere else this vegetable curry is definitive. It comes thick with fresh crunchy vegetables including carrots, cabbage and peas. I really didn’t need the nan I had ordered but it did help scoop some of it up.

I was well and truly beaten. I think I ate less than half of what I’d ordered but I felt I couldn’t leave without trying the Kesar badam kulfi ($68), home made ice cream flavoured with saffron and almonds. Mercifully it was a smaller serving and I was glad I made the effort.

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.

1 St Francis Yard
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2861 3318

Shop 3, B3, Three Pacific Place
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2918 9892

Spuntini is the Italian word for snacks or small dishes. You could think of them as Italian tapas. They are best eaten at a leisurely pace with a glass of wine or two. It’s a form of dining that is becoming increasing popular in Hong Kong. I think perhaps the idea of sharing lots of small dishes among friends rings a familiar bell.

The place itself is quite small and cosy with with seating for about 22-24 people. On one side the wall is covered with a blackboard detailing what is on the menu. On the other are wine racks replete with bottles. I took a place in the corner and the friendly staff wasted no time in providing croutons, olive oil and strips of carrot and cucumber.

I ordered a glass of Hooly Dooly, a crisp white from Australia’s Dowie Doole vinyard, and settled down with a printed version of the menu. Some cool, laid-back blues was playing in the background which didn’t seem at all out of place in the otherwise Mediterranean atmosphere.

There is quite a lot to choose from. Spuntini and antipasti both hot and cold as well as pasta, pizza and huge salads. From the entrees the baked sole ($138) was very tempting.

But it was the little dishes that won the day and I began my forage with marinated artichoke ($35). It was pleasant enough but I have to confess it was overshadowed by the sweet peppers stuffed with Greek feta ($38) that followed it. These were quite delicious and went very well with the wine.

So well in fact that I had to order another glass before the next dish arrived. That dish happened to be smoked swordfish with tomato risotto ($138). It is the shape of a fish the waitress assured me, pointing put the head and the tail. Risotto is perhaps not the easiest medium for a sculptor to work in but it tasted pretty good.

The risotto had a sweetness to it and I wanted one more dish for contrast before dessert. The waiter helpfully suggested another plate of the peppers and I admit, I did think about it.

In the end I decided the green olives stuffed with smoked salmon ($38) would do the trick. They arrived in a canoe shaped dish with enough olive oil to sink a battle ship. They were delicious but on future visits I would order this dish first with some bread.

There was not a wide range of desserts, I decided to round off with a tiramisu.

Spuntini also sells a range of products created by Michelin 2 star chef, Moreno Cedroni and all of the wines on the wine rack can be purchased to enjoy at home with a 10% discount

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.

72 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2528 0868

Holiday Inn Golden Mile
50 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2315 1010

54-62 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 9111

G/F 6 Sun Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2865 0388

G/F New Sun House,

6 Sun Street,

Wanchai,

Hong Kong

Tel 2865 0388

Shop 8, 1/F Senses
60 Johnston Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2861 2899

Fenwick Pier, 1 Lung King Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2559 5882

3/F W Square
318 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2832 6636

18 Ship Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 9308 0493

26/F QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2575 8980

10 St Francis Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 4466

G/F 4-6 St Frances Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2528 1060

2/F 285-291 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2802 2250

44 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2865 0681

62 Johnston Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 3866 3444

G/F 66 Johnston Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 0688

6-8 Tin Lok Lane
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2572 3036

Shop 6, 1/F The Sanlitum
Causeway Centre
28 Harbour Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2598 9887

Wu Chung House
213 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2891 1177

120 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2143 6877

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

The Charterhouse Hotel
209-219 Wanchai Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2833 5566

QRE Plaza
202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Telm2891 8855

12 St Francis Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2861 2722

23/F, 202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2572 3228

31 Wing Fung Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2528 3454

QRE Plaza, 202 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2575 0939

1/F 60 Johnston Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2528 1286

1/F Walden Hotel
353 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 3678 3978

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.

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.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I wandered in here. I’d come to the Star Street neck of the woods simply because I hadn’t been up there in a while.

I’d heard of Naturo Plus, of course, they’ve been in the news a few times. But I had been under the impression that they were a shop that specialised in organic foods. I was mostly correct, but what I didn’t know was that they also have a small menu of snacks.

Yak cheese features quite prominently in many of them. The cheese is imported from Shangri la, a small enterprise in Tibet.

“How big are the snacks?” I asked. I was wondering whether I should order two or three of the snacks.

The lady thought about this made shape with her hands, thought about it for a while and said “Any size you’d like really. Did you want dinner?” I admitted I had been thinking of that but I would be happy with a sandwich or blini or even yak cheese on toast.

“I can do you some pork spare ribs with a salad and some cheese toast with that if you’d like.” I told her I’d like very much and wondered about a possible starter. “How about ham with pomelo?” she suggested. I told her it sounded wonderful.

I ordered a glass of organic white wine and took a seat at the only table.

The pomelo wasn’t long in coming. Sweet and tangy, draped with prosciutto and punctuated with a spicy Thai style sauce.

The ribs took a while to cook but they were well worth waiting for. Alongside them on the plate were four slices of cheese on toast and, whilst the pork was good, it was probably these that I had been looking forward to the most.

It’s a semi-soft cheese, slightly rubbery in texture with a ripe, tangy flavour. Delicious! I couldn’t help wondering how a blue variety would work. Admittedly if you don’t have a taste for strong cheeses you might find it a little overpowering but if you enjoy a good piece of stilton you’re going to love yak cheese.

I finished off with a small slice of very rich and creamy traditional cheesecake. I think it was the only thing I had that was actually on the menu.

It was an excellent meal and since the bill came to less than $300, excellent value too.

I didn’t think to ask, before I left, whether I was just lucky or if they usually have something on hand for people like me who just happen to wander by. If you don’t want to chance it you could always call ahead.

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 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.

There is a group of four delightful old shophouses on Johnston Road just opposite the Southorn Playground. I must admit I thought there were due to meet the wreckers ball along with Wedding Card Street so I was pleasantly surprised, when I passed by a couple of months ago, to see that they were being renovated.

I didn’t give them much more thought until I passed by again the other evening. Renovations were obviously complete and there were lights and people moving about on the first floor. I had no idea what was there. I knew what I thought should be in a building like that and something in the way those people were moving made me think of waiters.

The ground floor shops were still vacant and there was nothing outside to give the game away so I located the narrow staircase and up I went. To my left at the top was an old foosball table and beyond that was an impressively stocked bar.

The floor is divided into sections and joined by arches. Modern light fittings are augmented by solo bulbs dangling from wires. Furnishing is simple but comfortable and there is a balcony that overlooks Johnston Road. It is a very pleasing atmosphere.

The building itself dates back to 1888 and was formerly occupied by the Woo Cheong Pawn Shop.

The staff made me feel very welcome and found me a table on the balcony. They are not fully operational yet. So far only the bar on the first floor is functional. By mid-April a restaurant occupying the second floor and the rooftop will be open.

But the bar menu does include a selection of pub grub items and a good range of beers. On draught there is Spitfire and Master Brew from England’s Shepherd Neame Brewery, Marsden’s Pedigree and Budejovicky Budvar from the Czech Republic as well as some more familiar names. There are also bottled beers from UK, US, Australia and Belgium.

I ordered myself a pint of Marsden’s ($60) and a plate of sausage and mash with peas and onion gravy ($88). The sausages were thick and tasty with herbs, the potato was smooth and creamy. I wolfed it all down in no time and then leaned back in my chair to enjoy the beer.

The new occupants have done a good job. They have preserved the buildings dignity whilst putting it to a new use. There are old-style pubs all over Asia, many of them are very nice indeed. But no matter how talented an interior designer is, they can never create the the atmosphere of a building that really is old.

Watch this space, I shall be back when the restaurant opens.

This is a small restaurant just off Star Street at the Admiralty end of Wanchai that specialises in French/European styles. It is a very simple unpretentious place with just a few tables. It is spacious, clean and friendly.

There is a set menu for $195 which includes starter, main course and dessert, but it still offers a reasonable selection of dishes to choose from. But for a restaurant of this size I was rather surprised at the number of wines that it has to offer. I’m no wine expert but it did seem that some of the other guests were there for the wine rather than the food.

I ordered a glass of house red. The waitress did show me the bottle but I was so absorbed in the menu that, I confess, I wasn’t paying attention. It was a pleasant fruity wine and I was quite happy with it.

For starters I ordered smoked Herring with boiled potato. It was a decent piece of herring thought the potato could perhaps have done with another minute or two cooking. It didn’t stop me eating it though.

For main course I ordered the lamb stew in white wine sauce. This was served simply with plain boiled rice. It was pleasant enough but apart from some carrot in the stew Itself there were no vegetables. It needed some.

Dessert was chocolate mousse washed down with a good hot coffee.

Olala is a no-frills restaurant, the food was perfectly edible and at the price point there really isn’t much to complain about. But I do feel that a a little more attention to detail would turn a decent little eatery into a little gem.

That said if you are looking for a quick, no-fuss, hot dinner that is not burger related than Olala is just the ticket

You need to be slim to fit into Slims, the bar is long and thin. It’s owned by the same people as the Hong Kong Brewhouse so you get that familiar crunch of peanut shells as you walk in.

Less familiar, but even more welcome was the sound of a laid back urban blues easing itself into the room. This is the kind of music I can sit and drink beer to all night.

Adorning the wall that wasn’t taken up by the bar and kitchen were black and white portraits of old bluesmen whose names happened to include Slim; there was Memphis Slim, Sunnyland Slim, Slim Harpo and many others. My companion patiently read the menu while I admired them all.

Slim’s is on the little side road next to Pacific Place 3 so it is an excellent location for recuperating after the rigors of shopping. We’d actually been buying cool gadgets which isn’t really shopping in my book. Nevertheless we welcomed the idea of a refreshing ale and a bite to eat.

The pub has an interesting selection of bottled beers from England including several from the Fullers brewery. I opted for a bottle of Fullers Organic Honeydew Ale. Largely because I have some very fond, if somewhat hazy memories, of Fullers ales from when I lived in London long ago. And the idea of organic beer appealed to me.

My companion, who is not a big alcohol drinker, settled for a ginger beer.

The menu is pretty much what you’d expect to find in a pub, but it’s done reasonably well. There are burgers, fish and chips etc. We decided to share a plate of nachos ($75) for starters.

The Honeydew Ale was really rather pleasant. A little on the sweet side so I don’t think I’d make a night of it but quite refreshing, good for a swift one on the way home.

For mains we ordered we ordered the Lamb and Leek sausage ($88) which is served with sauerkraut, potato salad and an interesting minty/mustardy sauce. The sausages were really nice, imported from Wales, according to the menu.

We also ordered the Chili and Pepper Chicken Pizza ($98) The pizza is actually quite good but next time I would ask them to hold off the Thai style spicy-sweet sauce. I have nothing against the sauce in itself, it just didn’t belong on that pizza. I felt that, if required, it could have been included in a small dish on the side so each individual could decide how much or little to add.

For dessert I decided to forego the Slim’s Cheesecake and instead turned to the beer menu again. The waitress intervened to inform me of a new beer that had just arrived from Oxfordshire Ales, and wasn’t on the menu. And I’m glad she did. The beer was called Pride of Oxford and was really quite wonderful. I don’t know if this beer is available in the companies other outlets, if not it is worth a trip to Wanchai on it’s own merit.

That and the excellent music that was playing while we were there make this a hole in the wall well worth knowing about.

I can normally rely on my son to demand steaks and burgers when we have occasion to dine out. A plate of taco chips is usually about as exotic as he’s prepared to go. But that was before he and his mates skulked off to a full moon party in Koh Samui.

Now Phad Thai has entered his mental menu so this time, when I suggested dinner, that was what he wanted. We went to Thai Delight on Lockhart Road. It’s a fairly large and modern restaurant and I have a suspicion it does better rather later at night than it does at 7.30 when we were there.

The staff were friendly and courteous and we had our pick of the tables. We chose one that would have had an excellent view of a large TV screen had there been anything on it. I thanked heaven for small mercies and ordered beers.

It’s a reasonably extensive menu but there are no surprises. All the items you expect in a Thai restaurant are present; curries, spicy salads, tom yum… “I’d like phad Thai with tiger prawn” ($88) he said. I suggested we have some other dishes as well.

For starters I ordered the mixed platter (small $72). This included Vietnamese style spring rolls, fish cakes, prawn cakes, chicken in pandanas leaves and som tam. To my taste buds the som tam was lacking in oomph but not everyone like chillis as much as I do. If you prefer it spicy be sure to let the waitress know.

Following that we had the Tom ka kai ($53), and smoked duck breast with mango, tamarind and chilli salad. The Tom ka kai was chicken in a spicy coconut milk soup and was very good indeed.

I thought the duck was good, though I did think chef had been quite conservative with the chilli. My son wasn’t impressed – I think he was holding out for the phad Thai which duly arrived complete with a huge prawn on top.

He would have been quite happy to wolf down the lot himself though I did manage to secure a few mouthfuls. Phad Thai has never been a favourite dish of mine. I have nothing specific against it, I just feel that Thai cuisine has so much more to offer.

But, like fried rice and banana pancakes, it is a budget travellers staple and who can criticise a young fellow for wanting to recapture, for a moment, the flavour of his holidays.

“How often did you eat phad Thai in Samui?” I asked. He screwed his face up thoughtfully and then said “Every day.”

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.

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.

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.

This is a tiny little restaurant at the end of Sun Street in Wanchai. The decor is nothing fancy, pleasant but functional, and with the tables tightly packed together it has room for just 16 people.

“Do you have a reservation?” I was asked when I arrived. I said I didn’t and the manager furrowed his brow for a moment before pointing to a table. “How about this one?” I asked looking at another one “Reserved”, he said “This one?” I asked again, pointing to another. He shook his head.

There weren’t any more so I sat down at the one he originally offered. On less damp and humid days I’m sure there would be seating outside but the effect is almost achieved anyway. The corner shop has had it’s two outside walls removed completely and replaced by windows.

Despite the lack of candles and subtle lighting it seems to be quite a romantic place. This was evidenced by the fact that the only other guests there were courting couples. I tried not to feel like a gooseberry and turned my attention to the menu.

It was not a large menu. I could tell you everything that was on it but that would spoil the joy of discovery and besides I rather suspect it varies from day to day depending on what the chef finds in the market. “We also have spaghetti with squid ink today” the manager told me.

I passed on the squid ink, instead I had a mango and avocado salad ($98) followed by a seafood linguine ($128). Both were very good indeed. To accompany them I ordered a glass of crisp Australian Riesling ($55).

The mango and avocado salad came with a couple of large prawns on top. This was a bit of a surprise but not an unpleasant one. The menu hadn’t mentioned the prawn but I decided it was an inspired addition and devoured it anyway.

The couple at the next table were sharing a plate of clams. They looked delicious and I was rather hoping that there would be a few in my linguine. There were. There were also mussels, squid, prawn and a white fish, probably sole. I also rather fancy there was a hint of something spicy in there that one doesn’t normally associate with Italian food.. or was it just the black pepper playing tricks on me.

I would have asked the manager but other guests had arrived now and he was busy. But I did press him for dessert. The selection consisted of cheesecakes and chocolate cakes etc. I settled on a slice of blueberry cheesecake ($30) and a coffee ($22).

The leaves outside fluttered on a rare breeze, the courting couples billed and cooed. I paid my bill and hopped down the steps and along to Slims, where I happen to know they have a very fine selection of beer.

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!

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.

Jojo’s is one of Hong Kong’s best known and longest surviving Indian restaurants. Old timers will remember the original premises that opened way back in 1985 on Johnston Road. Back then it was called Jojo’s Mess and was hugely popular, especially at lunch times when it was really difficult to get a table if you hadn’t booked in advance.

That was closed and the site redeveloped. The restaurant eventually reopened in Lockhart Road with a new name, Jojo’s Indian Cuisine, and brighter decor, It has been there for about three years and I’m happy to say that the food is as good as ever.

They serve a dinner buffet on Mondays and Wednesdays which I didn’t know about so I went along the other evening to check it out. The cost is $148 with house beer included. I’m not sure what house beer is, I opted for a Kingfisher which was $35 extra.

There were really no surprises regarding the food. There was a good selection to choose from and I diligently made my way along the line of shiny stainless steel serving trays. But I knew before I’d even begun that I was never going to be able to sample everything.

As with all buffets I try never to cram too much onto my plate at any one time, I much prefer to make more journeys. After poppadoms and beer I got down to business with onion bhaji, a samosa and some eggplant salad.

There was some background wallpaper music playing, it was inoffensive but I couldn’t really say much more for it. I tried to remember what music had played in the old place but all I could remember were sizzling plates of chicken tikka whizzing past my ears as they were delivered to their respective tables.

Chicken tikka was next up for me too. Along with the familiar tikka there was also a chicken tikka malai. This is cooked the same way but with a rich and creamy marinade. There was also lamb shank tikka and whilst the chicken was wonderful it was the lamb that stole my heart. I went back for seconds.

The curries are divided into meat and vegetarian. There were two lamb options and two chicken. There were also four vegetarian options including a rather delicious dal and aloo gobi.
There is also pilau rice for those that want it but I always find that nan is quite sufficient for mopping purposes.

By the time I’d worked my way through all that I had just enough space left for a couple of gulab jamun and a bite of watermelon. Wanchai has changed much over the past twenty-five years but the quality of Jojo’s food has remained consistent.

That little area around The Sanlitun on Harbour Road seems to be in a constant state of change. There are a few restaurants there that have kept abreast of the changes but there are always new ones to check out. Ramas Greens isn’t exactly a new restaurant but It has recently moved there from its former home in Times Square.

It’s on the corner overlooking Gloucester Road with the neon of the road on one side, and a large video monitor presenting a svelte blue-eyed blonde surrounded by a troupe of he-men performing a vigorous dance routine on the other.

I was feeling all young and funky so I shimmied in and took a seat. It wasn’t busy. This is the kind of restaurant that probably does its best business quite late I presume. Nevertheless the staff were prompt and friendly.

Most of the tables are al fresco. I asked the waitress if she was looking forward to typhoon season. She wrinkled her nose and thought about it momentarily. Then she told me that tonight was nice because there was a breeze but yesterday it was so hot and humid and no breeze. It seemed she would rather not think about typhoon season.

I sent her off for a glass of Chardonnay and looked at the list of starters. The restaurant targets a younger clientele and this is reflected in the menu which comprises mainly seafood, steaks and pasta.

The starters were all quite familiar dishes. The list was augmented with a range of sushi and sashimi options. I’d already had sashimi at lunch so I gave that a miss and opted for the French onion soup ($58). To follow I ordered pan-grilled Scottish Salmon ($148).

There was however, something missing. I looked over at the waitress beseechingly. Obviously my talk of typhoons had momentarily clouded her thoughts but then the penny dropped and she scurried off to fetch the bread.

The soup was piping hot and a little sweeter than I was expecting though not unpleasantly so. A large cheese crouton made it rather more filling than I had anticipated but all in all it was very enjoyable.

By the time I had finished the soup the blue-eyed blond on the TV had been replaced by someone with, presumably, brown eyes and an altogether duskier complexion but the music and the dancing was pretty much the same.

I decided it didn’t matter all that much as I could see my salmon making it’s way over to me. A generous portion it was too. Simply prepared and presented on a bed of creamed potato with cherry tomatoes and a little lettuce.

A second glass of Chardonay also arrived, I hadn’t realised that there was a happy hour and this included two drinks for the price of one. I was about to order another one anyway so that was a peasant little surprise which somehow made the salmon taste even better.

The dessert menu contained all the usual suspects, cheesecake, fruit platters, tiramisu. The waitress was keen to recommend the chocolate pudding.

“It’s with ice cream and strawberries” she said, conspiratorially. I pointed out that it would take twenty minutes to prepare. “Fifteen”, she bargained. I was sold.

I finished off with a coffee and made my way down the taxi stand at the Sun Hung Kai Centre. It was then that I discovered that the Typhoon Signal 1 had been hoisted.

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.

One of the great things about Malaysian restaurants is that invariably they offer a fabulous blend of styles. Curries, for example, can be found in Indian and Thai styles as well as Malay. On top of this they are almost always great value for money.

I stopped into the Wanchai branch of Sabah the other evening (The other is in Kennedy Town). It was still early but it was already quite busy. Had I arrived half an hour later I probably wouldn’t have got a table.

The restaurant is simple but functional. There are some kites decorating the walls and some tribal carvings, a nod to the province from where the restaurant takes its name. Mercifully there were no tourist office posters of Mount Kinabalu, not because I dislike the mountain but because they always serve to remind me that I haven’t yet climbed it. I must get my act together one day.

In the meantime I focused my attention on the varied menu. The choices included samosas, satays and shrimp cakes. I decided on the deep fried bean curd ($45). This was stuffed with cucumber and bean sprouts and served with Thai style sweet chili sauce and Malay spicy peanut sauce.

They were pleasing and not too filling, which was a good thing because I went way overboard on the main course. In my defense I will say I didn’t realise just how much I was ordering. I had already decided to forego rice and have two main dishes instead. But then I said to the waitress right at the end of the order “… and could I also have a chapati please ($18), no make that two.” She looked at me in wonderment.

The chapatis were the first to arrive. They were quite a bit bigger than I was expecting and came with a delicious curry sauce dip. Fortunately the next dish came soon after, otherwise I might have ruined my appetite before I’d even got started.

However, grilled fish with in banana leaf ($98) arrived in the nick of time and I was able to turn my attention to that for a while. The fish had been grilled with shrimp paste, something that I always feel should be used with great care because of its potential to overpower all other flavours. This fish was good and though the the shrimp was trying very hard to assert itself it didn’t overwhelm.

The next dish to arrive was king prawn in butter and fried egg white ($160). This dish was huge – I would recommend sharing. The prawns themselves were monsters and there were five or six of them. I’m afraid I lost count but they were all wonderfully fresh and firm. The fried egg white in which they are tossed is very rich so by the time I’d worked my way through all of them I was feeling very full indeed. I decided I’d better rest awhile before attempting dessert.

“Don’t forget your chapatis” quipped the waitress with a cheeky grin. She was right, I hadn’t even finished the first one. Ordering two had been totally reckless. I looked at it for a while and tried a nibble but I knew it would be either the chapatis or dessert.

The dessert won the day. From the beginning of the meal I’d had my heart sent on the Malaysian bubur char char ($25). I had no idea what it could be but it had a charming name. I gave my order and the waitress hurried off to the kitchen in disbelief.

The sweet itself was warm coconut milk with taro and sweet potato and was pleasant enough though not as mysterious and exotic as the name. But then If I’d thought about it I might have remembered that ‘bubur’ is Malay for porridge.

I’d just come back from a wonderful break in the land of smiles and was yearning to extend it for just one more dinner time so I wandered along to Sukho Thai in the Sun Hung Kai Centre. This is the newer of the two branches, the other one being in Stanley.

I was the first customer of the evening and, for a short while, had the waitresses all to myself. I ordered a glass of draught Carlsberg ($48) and munched on crackers dipped in either chillies in a sweet honey sauce or chillies in fish soy sauce while I contemplated the menu.

The ancient city of Sukhothai, a UNESCO world heritage site in the north of Thailand, was the first capital of the Kingdom and is regarded as the cradle of Thai civilisation. The name means “dawn of happiness” and during its 200 year reign the arts flourished, the Thai alphabet was born and its influence stretched across parts of Burma, Laos, Cambodia and far south into the Malay peninsula.

I ordered the crispy, soft shelled crab with green mango salad ($65) for starter. The salad is related to the popular som-tam (green papaya salad which is also on the menu) though it is not as spicy. This was fresh, sharp and tangy. A little spicy but not too much. I felt the urge to ask for sticky rice to go with it but the meal had only just begun and there was a lot more to eat yet.

For main course I ordered a Phanaeng style curry with roast duck and garnished with cherry tomatoes and grapes ($62). This is a rich, thick curry from the south made with peanuts and coconut creme. Consequently it leans towards the sweet rather than spicy.

To go with it I ordered steamed tofu stuffed with spinach ($52). Both of these dishes were large and would be more than suitable for sharing.

The tofu was served in a herbed lime sauce and while it was quite delicious I could have perhaps chosen a better option, say fried vegetables with salted fish, to follow the mango salad.

For dessert I opted for the lemon grass panna cotta with marinated plums and berries ($68), and rounded off with coffee.

It was an enjoyable meal in pleasant surroundings but stepping out on to Gloucester Road I could feel the onset of winter in the air and had to accept that my vacation was over.

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.

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.

A word of advice for anyone planning to go to the Quarterdeck Club … If you’re not driving, take a taxi. It is possible to navigate your way in on foot but it helps if you are familiar with the footbridges in the vicinity. I wasn’t and as a result ended up in quite the wrong place. Finally I had to risk life and limb in a mad dash across Fenwick Pier Street during the early evening rush hour.

But what is so special that one would want to go to all that effort to get there? Well, believe it or not, it is the only place on the island where you can dine, al fresco, next to Hong Kong’s spectacular harbour. Unfortunately, when I got there the best tables were already occupied but I have to admit I was secretly pleased. After my adventures with the footbridges and the lunge across the road I was more than happy with a spot of air conditioning and a cold beer.

As you might expect The Quarterdeck has a maritime feel to it, lots of polished wood, blue and white linen and a long and inviting bar at the back. The staff were friendly and efficient. My waitress informed me that the Fruit de Mer Platter, a selection of seasonally fresh seafood, was really for two people and I would never be able to eat one all to myself.

I thought about ordering one anyway but in the end I wimped out and decided to save it for another time. Instead I sent the waitress off for a starter of calamari and continued studying the menu.

Not surprisingly there is a lot of seafood on the menu but it was also very varied. Steaks, pasta, pizza and burgers were all in evidence. I had been tempted by both the lobster and the tiger prawns but in the end I just couldn’t resist good old fish and chips.

In this case the fish was several generous pieces of sole deep fried in a light batter, it was succulent and tasty. The chips were chunky and they tasted of potatoes, which is rare in this day and age. Simple but very satisfying.

There is a Chocolate Platter on the menu but I just knew that my waitress would say it was too much for one person. And she would have been right. Instead I went for the Mars Bar Cheesecake, a caramel flavoured cheesecake with a rich chocolate sauce on top. Yummy but only for those with a very sweet tooth.

The St Francis Yard and Star Street area may be a little out of the way but whenever I go over there I usually find something new and interesting. I find myself wondering if the area could evolve into a new Soho. Certainly those old lanes have lots of character and the lack of traffic would make it ideal for al fresco dining. And indeed the number of restaurants is on the increase.

On this last visit I found a bar and two restaurants that I hadn’t seen before. One of them, a Japanese restaurant had only been open a matter of days. I decided it might be a little unfair to write about them so soon after opening so I wandered round the corner to La Fleur.

This, as the name suggests, is a small French restaurant. The decor is simple but pleasing wood panelling against plain white walls with paintings on the wall.

The menu offers a selection of familiar dishes but this time I decided to give one of the set dinners a try. There were several options at different price points. I chose a three course option at $215. And I also ordered a glass of Chilean Chardonnay to go with it.

The Chardonnay arrived promptly along with the bread basket. I was feeling quite hungry so I laid into the bread with enthusiasm. Bread so often gets overlooked, but these baguettes were good. Crisp on the outside, warm and soft inside. Fortunately the first course arrived before I was able to spoil my appetite.

This was escargot baked in a rich garlic butter and served with creamed potato. The snails were soft and tender and lived up to expectation admirably but they were piping hot when served, I had to wait a few moments for them to cool.

The second course was wild mushroom soup. It was pleasant enough and the waiter did replenish my supply of baguettes but, I have to confess, I find it hard to get enthusiastic about soup. The exception being French onion soup and I neglected to check if that was on the a la carte menu. Though I’m sure it probably was.

The main course was grilled tenderloin with pan fried goose liver served with green beans, broccoli, potato and carrot. Again, the course lived up to expectation. The goose liver was a generous portion. Almost in danger of being too generous as its rich flavour could have overwhelmed the beef.

The meal was good and good value as well. The only disappointment was dessert. The menu offered a choice of three but only the creme brulee was available. I’m more inclined to put that down to my bad luck on the night. In all other areas the service was efficient and prompt.

As I left I walked past St Francis Yard again. It was a cool damp evening but it wasn’t hard to imagine how it could look on a balmy evening with tables and chairs, the chatter of diners and the smell of good food in the air.

I was nursing a half glass of Kingfisher beer, gazing across the harbour towards Kowloon and gently chiding myself for having passed up the gulab jamun in Grand Marnier. A boat chugged by and a light breeze played with the leaves of the plants that decorate the Moghul Terrace at the Viceroy. Inside the tabla player was beating out the rhythm as the singer sang of her love; some things are universal. But not gulab jamun in Grand Marnier, I’ve only ever seen that on the menu at the Viceroy.

I seriously considered ordering a second dessert, for the sake of research I’ll have you know, but I wasn’t sure I had the space left to research it properly.

I’d arrived about ninety minutes earlier, beer, poppadoms and an intriguing menu had arrived shortly after. The Viceroy is, of course, best known for being an Indian restaurant but it also serves a range of middle eastern dishes and while I’d gone there for the Indian food it was very tempting indeed to mix and match.

The restaurant does offer a range of set dinners from both the Indian and middle eastern menus starting at $158 per person, there is also a special menu for kids.

The items on the middle eastern menu that particularly caught my attention were a kingfish shashlik, Moroccan herbed chicken and roasted prawns.

It was a tough choice but I eventually chose tandoori prawns ($138) for starters. Two huge ones that were firm and tasty, with onions and peppers. Another option had been salmon and cheese samosas ($68) but in the end I was delighted with my choice.

The breeze had stiffened a bit but not enough to worry me unduly. I ordered another Kingfisher and watched a crane barge lumber towards Causeway Bay. The next dishes to arrive were saag gosht ($98) and dubikiwale dum aloo ($68). The saag gosht is a mild dish with pieces of lamb cooked with ground spinach. The lamb was deliciously soft and tender.

The dubikiwale dum aloo consists of potatoes stuffed with paneer, which is an Indian type of cheese, and sultanas and bathed in a tomato and cream sauce. The dishes were a pleasing combination, the dry earthy flavours of the lamb and spinach contrasting well the sweetness of the sultanas and tomatoes. The dishes were mopped clean with nan bread, and I polished off my second kingfisher and ordered a third while I perused the dessert menu.

Now I’ve had gulab jamun many times before. It is the quintessential Indian dessert. I don’t remember ever having been to an Indian restaurant that didn’t have it on the menu though admittedly never in Grand Marnier. But I’d never had aam ki phirni before either. Aam ki phirni is a souffle of rice and milk blended with mangoes. I love mangoes. A decision had to be made and I went for the mango souffle. It was delicious, smooth, creamy, chilled to perfection and studded with cubes of fresh mango. It was a good decision.

I finnished the beer, paid my bill and left but that gulab jamun is going to be tugging at my conscience, I don’t think it will very long before I am back for seconds.

I love the Autumn. The humidity drops, the days are bright and sunny and ones thoughts turn to al fresco dining. Hong Kong is not blessed with a huge range of options for eating outdoors – the city just wasn’t designed for it. But in the last few years things have improved considerably.

One little area that has flourished is along the first floor walkway outside the Causeway Centre in Wanchai. So the other evening I ambled along to look for a spot to sit and watch the world go by.

I found it at Jack’s Terrazza Ristorante, behind the two barrels that mark the perimeter of Jack’s territory, and partially hidden by a tall conical jar of pasta and a couple of ornamental lights that were perched on top.

The walkway is decorated with pot plants and ornamental street lights and these, along with a gentle breeze that was blowing in off the harbour, conspired to make me forget that just a few yards behind me the traffic was snarled up waiting to get through the cross-harbour tunnel and that the Sun Hung Kai Centre was towering over head. Life, for me at least, was changing down a gear. I buried my nose in the menu.

There is plenty to choose from including a wide variety of pasta and pizza options and they also have a range of popular snacks including onion rings, calamari and nachos.

I did seriously consider the poached prawns in garlic with black pepper ($68) for a starter but in the end I just couldn’t resist the Lumache Alla Terrazza – snails with white wine, artichokes, black olives and garlic butter. It was a good choice. The snails were soft and tender and came in a delicious tomato sauce. To accompany them I ordered a glass of Chilean Chardonay ($50).

For the main course I’d ordered a whole, pan fried, New Zealand sole ($138). It was fresh and succulent and came with roast potatoes and garden vegetables which comprised broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, and lime butter. Again it had been a difficult choice with grilled beef tenderloin with prosciutto and gruyere ($148) coming a close second.

There was no shortage of people passing by. Some hurrying home from a long day at work, others wandering more casually, weighing up their dining options. The staff of Jack’s Terrazza were greeting all of them, hoping to entice them in for dinner. They were doing a good job, the restaurant was already about fifty percent full and it was still quite early. Me I was about ninety percent full but I wasn’t going anywhere until after dessert.

Guava sorbet was on the menu. I’ve had many different types of sorbet in the past but guava was a new one to me. It was perhaps not as sharp as other sorbets but it still made a pleasant dessert and I soon polished off the two generous scoops.

Coffee rounded the meal off but before cramming myself into a taxi for my own journey home I decided to go for a stroll around the front of the Convention Centre.

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.

This restaurant is tucked away down a little side street off Johnston Road. At street level it is merely a doorway and quite easy to miss.

Inside the restaurant is simple but spacious. Indian popular music and dance was showing on a large screen TV but there was nobody there to watch it. I had the restaurant to myself.

It serves both Indian and Nepalese cuisine and there is a good variety of each. The menu is divided accordingly with good explanations of each dish and where it comes from. I’d gone along specifically for the Nepalese food.

I started with Bhogate Sandheko ($35). This is a simple dish made with some nice tangy grapefruit with yoghurt, sprinkled with chilli powder to give it a little extra bite. Following was a Chicken Choila ($65). This is a delicious chicken dish that has been barbecued and served with chillies, ginger onions and coriander.

Next, just to remind me that Nepal shares a long border with China, came some steamed chicken dumplings ($40) in soup. The dumplings are called momo. They were pleasant enough but they did seem a little out of context alongside the rest of the food I had ordered. It was a generous serving though, definitely designed to be shared.

Following this was a dish that I was particularly looking forward to, Himali Lamb Sekuwa ($65). This is cubes of barbecued lamb spiced with timmur. Timmur are the same peppercorns that make Sichuan cuisine so distinctive. It was nice, though I would have liked it to be more heavily spiced.

Finally came the Jhol Halu Ko Macha ($78) which is a very tasty but light fish curry in a thin sauce. Mopped up, of course, with nan bread.

For dessert there were the usual gulab jamun but the very last item on the menu caught my attention – Himalaya Special ($35). I ordered and waited in anticipation. When it arrived I was surprised to find that it consisted of three scoops of Ice cream, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, sandwiched between two slices of banana. It was topped with cream and finished off with a little pink umbrella.

‘Is this a traditional Nepalese dessert?’ I asked the waitress. She grinned.

I stopped in for a quick bite at the Istanbul Express the other evening. At first it looks like just a hole in the wall kebab counter but it opens out at the back, where there are a number of tables.

These are decorated with cheery blue and white tablecloths. The walls are trimmed and trimmed with coloured tiles. It’s simple but very pleasing none the less, you almost feel that this could be any street corner cafe in Istanbul.

The food? Well kebabs are sold on street corners all over the world.

This branch of Istanbul Express is on Lockhart Road and, given that kebabs are an excellent late night snack when you’ve been out for a beer or three, I would say it is a great location.

We were there quite early but already the restaurant was bustling. We got a table on the back wall and read the menu. Or tried to. It is a very lively menu with pictures of most things and lots of small type in a script font. It looks very attractive but it is a pain to read.

I suspect most people just point at the picture of the dish they want to order but for menu junkies like me, who have to read every last word before coming to a decision, it slows things down a little. It would probably be an even greater handicap later in the evening.

But we got there in the end. We ordered a plate of falafel ($40) to share for starter. My friend ordered lamb steak and chips ($60), I went for the Iskender kebab ($75). Iskender, by the way, was what the Persians used to call Alexander the Great. Apparently this was his favourite food.

Mine was made with beef and lamb with a delicious tomato sauce and Greek yoghurt topping on a bed of pitta.

It would be hard to say that these are better than anywhere else but they are certainly just as good as any you could find elsewhere. You can make or break a kebab by the amount of dressing you put on it and that is entirely in your own hands.

I had added a small amount of mint dressing on the falafel, the Iskender didn’t need any further dressing. My friend slathered his chips with just about everything he could find and wolfed them down. At the end we both agreed that it had “hit the spot” and that it was “just what we needed”.

A look of contentment spread across his face as I made my way through a Sultea ($30), a traditional Turkish rice pudding.

“D’you fancy a beer or two before you head off?” he enquired.

“Or three?” I grinned

Shop 4-6, 1/F Sanlitum Causeway Centre
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2802 8181
Fax 2802 8089

62 Johnston Road
Wanchai
tel. 2866 3444

G/F Beverley House
93-107 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 3228
Fax 2866 3229

1/F, 22-30 Tai Wong Street East
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 5899

G/F, 23 Luard Rd
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2529 1811

4/F The Broadway
54-62 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2528 1123
Fax 2528 1110

Basement, 48 Hennessy Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 1031

Shop 1-4 G/F 379 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2893 7565

C-D Beverly House
93-107 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 0228
Fax 2865 5073

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