Address: 3^rd floor, Ocean Terminal (on top of Lane Crawford)

Telephone number: + (852) 27356111

Website: http://www.windy-city.com.hk/dans/

Date of visit: March 2010

Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: less than $200 ($11.30=£1)

Comments on wine list/beer: Good selection of far eastern and US beer

Summary:

I used to drink here every time I am in the vicinity. Ocean Terminal and Harbour City is a huge Mall near Star Ferry on the Kowloon. On this visit, I went and had lunch.

It was a big mistake as it was easily the worst meal I have had for a long time.

The menu is a list of steak, burger and sandwiches. All the portions were huge. For $100, you can feed 2 here. However, beer is around $60 for a pint.

On the day I went, I ordered club sandwich. There was no egg in the sandwich – they only do whole wheat (US) and no other form of brown bread. The toast was warm and slightly soggy as a result of a huge amount of sliced tomatoes crammed into the double decker. Next, the meats, they were all sliced off a roll (both chicken and ham) and it’s the sort of water injected meat that you get a mouthful of juice (?) every time you chew.

Well the Americans (linebacker size) in the place seemed to be enjoying their meal – they all had burgers. I couldn’t eat mine.

E

Address: 28^th Floor, 1 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon ,Hong Kong

Telephone number: + (852) 342 88 342

Website: http://www.aqua.com.hk/

    http://www.aqua.com.hk/#/?eng&hutong&concept

Date of visit: March 2010

Approximate cost per head: $500 plus. There is a tasting menu at $888 per head.

Comments on wine list/beer: Really upmarket list for HK. Prices start at $450 + per bottle and you can get first growth at a ridiculous price

Summary:

This is part of the Aqua Restaurant group – url included – they serve northern chinese style food in this restaurant.

Aqua specialise in upmarket restaurant (Italian, Chinese, Japanese etc) located in “specialist” buildings. They have a restaurant ontop of the “old” Dickens and Jones, Regent St, London.

Hutong occupies the whole of the 28^th floor of a building sited on the Kowloon side of the harbour. This place has probably the best HK skyline night view – better than Felix (Peninsula Hotel). The view from the Kowloon side is more interesting as the view on the Central District water front has all the interesting buildings (HSBC, Bank of China etc) whilst the Kowloon side is more standarsised.

We shared spring rolls, lamb kebabs, braised prawns, string beans with minced pork, steamed bread rolls and apple strudel (chinese version). This was washed down with a bottle of Italian water and a bottle of 2001 Barbera (Piedmont). Total bill came to $1481 including 10% service charge.

The food here is strong on presentation. Food on the whole tastes quite good.

The two dishes that were a bit bland were the prawns and the steamed bread rolls.

Re the others: the vegetarian spring rolls were served with a spring onions and black vinegar dip on a black tile. The lamb kebabs were very spicy but moreish. The string beans were just right with a good bite and the minced pork extremely lean. Portions side were pretty good.

It was a great meal in a fantastic place ruined by MNBA (Virgin Amex card) who refused to authorise the transaction – this was the third time that same day when I had trouble. Twice I had to take a call from their Indian call centre asking the same questions to make sure that my card wasn’t stolen. Each time, they promised to put on record that I was in HK and spending money. This time, I had to call UK to get the transaction cleared (the call took 15 minutes as the operator kept having to put me on hold). That was the last time I used the card in HK. No such trouble with my Waitrose (HSBC) card.

 By the way, you will need to book days if not weeks ahead. You can book online. They do not take bookings more than a month ahead.

E

Address: second floor, JP Plaza, 22-36 Patwerson St, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Telephone number: + (852) 2881 8012

Website: http://www.outback.com.hk/2008/locations/JPPlaza.asp

Date of visit: March 2010

Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: $200+ ($11.30=£1)

Comments on wine list/beer: Moderately expensive mainly Aussie/NZ wine list, try the carafe (125ml) for $80 – buy one get one free before 7pm. The house red was young and pretty acid.

Summary:

This is a chain of steakhouse across HK. The beef is prime US beef not Australian.

Although the front of this branch looked small, it’s pretty deep and would serve over 100 covers. The front also has a bar.

The steaks/ ribs start at $150.

Overall, the service was very slow. The warm bread (a dark ryish bread that was sweet) was produced after the starters arrived – you get a “house soup” or salad with your main course. The wine only arrived with the starter and not before.

The ribeye that I had was quite spicy – it had a dry rub on it. It was medium and was  probably dry aged as there was a  lack of blood. The chips were over salted and the cole slaw was OK.

There is not a lot I can tell you about this place other than its fine for the price, the beef was tender but that’s about it – its neither good nor bad. Go there if you happened to be in the area and is sick of chinese food.

E

Address: Salisbury Road

Telephone number: + (852) 2840 7788

Website: http://www.peninsula.com/Peninsula_Hotels/en/default.aspx#/Hong_Kong/en/

Date of visit: March 2010

Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: N/A. If you are worried, don’t go.

Comments on wine list/beer: Everything available at a (highish) price

Summary:

It has been at least a decade since I stayed at the Penn. It’s a great hotel but as it’s so famous, everyone (9 out of 10 tourists) goes there to have their picture taken. It has therefore lost its tranquillity in the foyer and is now like a busy railway station.

As you approach it, you can see the famous green Rolls Royce parked outside. They provide a pick up service from the airport.

Afternoon Tea

This is provided in the dining areas in the foyer. They have a weird system. On the right (as you enter) is reserved for resident guests and non residents are required to queue on the left in front of the check-in counter.

Afternoon tea costs $398 for 2 or $250 for one. Beer is $68 a bottle. Add another 10% for service. ($11.30=£1)

Tea consists of a 3 layer cake tray with various cakes and sandwiches plus a coffee ice cream served in a small coffee cup plus tea or coffee. The cakes (fruit cakes, cream cakes, macaroons, etc) were good but not fantastic. Service was attentive. But you are here to be seen or to people watch. I was surprised to see one table with a chap in shorts. In the 90s, they would not have served you if you are wearing shorts.

(There will be an article comparing tea between the Peninsula (Tsim Sha Tsui), Mandarin Oriental (Central) and the Regal (Causeway Bay).

Felix

Felix was a bar at the top of the Penn with great views over the Harbour and the rest of Tsim Sha Tsui. It’s now a dining area with 2 smaller bars.

The loos are famous as it was designed by Philip Stack and its one of the 2 places that you can wee to a view (the other being the male members’ toilet at the Lords Pavillion on the ground floor).

Drinks here are ridiculously priced – house champagne is $180 a glass. Beer are around $80 for 330mls and cocktails are $100 plus. Both bars are waiter service (add 10%) and have only long communal tables.

The view here is amazing. Go for the sunset before the crowd moves in. The lift to Felix is at the back of the hotel (Middle Road entrance) on the right shopping arcade as you enter or left if you are coming from the foyer. Felix is only open in the evening from 5.30pm.

There are also European and a Chinese restaurant at the hotel – both are supposed to be pretty good.

E

Address: 42 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Honk Kong

Telephone number: +(852) 23664012

Website: none

Date of visit: March 2010

Approximate cost per head for 10 courses: £20

Comments on wine list/beer: Very basic wine list  (around $140 a bottle for house red or white), San Miguel and Carlsberg etc. Best bring your own as corkage is very reasonable

Summary:

I was taken here by my grandparents nearly 50 years ago. I have since recommened this place to friends visiting Hong Kong. I am very please to report that noboby has a bad word about this place. They have maintained their standards throughout all these years.

The restaurant is on the first floor. The entrance is shared with a block of apartments – it is not easy to find.

This is a big and noisy restaurant that has over 400 covers per sitting. The night we went, they fitted in 3 sittings on certain tables. However, they will not rush you. There is no bar so if you have not booked, you simply have to que on the stairs.

There were 9 of us and the bill came to just over $2200 incl service ($11.30 = £1). We had over 10 courses, a bottle of house chardonnay and 4 litres of San Miguel. One of  our group brought 2 bottles of good quality Australian red wine – we were only charged corkage on one bottle.

For starters, we had drunken chicken (cooked chicken marinated in shao shing wine) and cold braised beef (thinly sliced slow cooked brisket cooked in a 5 spice soya broth).

Next came the dumplings – pot stickers and soup or shanghai dumplings (the minced pork is mixed with stock jelly. So when you bite into it, you get a mouth of stock and meat). We also ordered a portion of onion cake – deep fried pastry filled with leeks.

Peking Duck was next to arrive. This place is probably the best restaurant for Peking Duck in HK. The skin was crispy and the meat melted in your mouth. It was served with home made hoi sin sauce (not as sweet as the ones you get in jars), pancakes, spring onions and cucumber.

The other courses were: whole carp cooked in a sweet and sour sauce, broccoli and pak choi in a garlic dressing, chicken and walnuts in a yellow bean sauce, lamb with spring onions and leeks, sauté prawns in garlic and mixed fried rice. We finished off with chinese toffee apples.

Most dishes are available in small, medium and large size. We ordered medium size for everything and each dish was adequate for 10 people.

Everyone enjoyed the meal. The waiter who looked after us got top marks, he cleared everything immediately, moved left over portions onto smaller plates in order to make room on the lazy suzy. In between, he was either topping up our drinks or handling out hot towels.

The fish, lamb and chicken were also fantastic. In fact, it is as good as it gets for £20 a head. You can pay 3x as much and still not get a better meal than this.

Now the downside. First of all, this is not a restaurant for a romantic meal for 2. Go with a crowd – I suggest a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10. Secondly, it is not easy to book. You will need to book about 2 weeks in advance for dinner. Thirdly, their English is not that good. But, if you are in Hong Kong you must put a visit to this place on your agenda.

I will let you have the recipe of some of the above dishes next week.

E

PS Spring Deer remains one of my trop 10 restaurant in the world!

Singapore

http://ieatishootipost.sg/

This is the best website that I have come across for food in Singapore.

Char Kway Teow – I like No 18 Zion Road, Riverside Food Centre – Always a cue and I live right next door.

Nasi Lemak/ Fish Head Curry – Grandmas which is in Orchard Parade Hotel, 1 Tanglin Road or the recently opened Paragon branch, 290 Orchard Road.

 They have this book called Makan Sutra which lists all the Hawker food stalls that are good for their respective foods.

Nasi Lemak – good place is Grandmas at Paragon.

Hong Kong

Oysters – near Tin Hau MTR station / Great for Oysters flown in from abroad and steaks

Macau

Alocha – Great Portuguese food where the Formula One teams used to eat when they were in town.

Robouchon e Galera – in the Hotel Lisboa. If you like French you cant really beat this one. Its now a 3 michelin star restaurant with a wine list to match. Joel Robouchons other restaurants around the region ie. L’Atelier in Landmark and in Roppongi Hills in Tokyo don’t seem to be as good.

Michael Hsia

January 2010

Hi,

I am visiting Hong Kong and Singapore in January. Do you have any recommendations for restaurants?

Ken H

Reply:

Hi,
Just checked my records. I have  2 recommendations for Singapore
 
1. Doc Cheng @ Raffles is one of the best SE Asia fusion cooking that I have ever eaten. Do not try the world famous “tiffin” – its not that good but do have a Singapore Sliing in the Bar within Raffles Hotel. There is a dress code (no shorts) in the main bar but not in the long (tiger) bar. 

http://www.raffles.com/EN_RA/Property/RHS/Restaurants_Bars/Doc_Chengs.htm
 
2. The Chinese in Goodwood Park (Hotel) is also very good.
http://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/

Or try Clarke’s Quay – its the dining district.

Re Hong Kong, the recommendations are as follows:
 
For views:
 
Peak Tram restaurant – top of the hill, 3 restaurants, suggest that you try the European (steak) which is less noisy than the Chinese.
 http://www.thepeak.com.hk/en/home.asp
Hutong (Peking Rd) – amazing view, really good. Pricy.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/hongkong/D55084.html
 
Its on the Kowloon side – very difficult to get in, book now!
 
For peking duck, beggars’s chicken and sweet and sour fish,try 
Spring Deer (Moody Rd). You have to book at least 2 days ahead. Huge portions.
This restaurant is on the 1st floor (2nd in HK and USA). The entrance is shared with a block of flats!  
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/hongkong/D44600.html
 
For dim sum – lunch only, try the City Hall, be sure to arrive before 12 or there is a long wait. They have over 100 varieties by trollies.
 
My favourite European Restaurant – you can still get 60s cooking here which nobody in the UK serves any more e.g. chicken kiev, steak diane…
 
Jimmy’s Kitchen (2 branches, in Kowloon as well as Central)
 http://www.frommers.com/destinations/hongkong/D44635.html
 
 
Or choose your own:
 http://www.frommers.com/destinations/hongkong/78_inddin.html
 
Last, Snow Garden : this is the place for shanghainese cooking in Causeway Bay – suggest that you take the tram and get off around SOGO the Japanese dept store.
 http://www.snow-garden.com/en/location.php
 
 
Eddie