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2015-11-21
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So apparently Greyhound is a fashion brand which branched out into F&B and started a café-styled restaurant in Bangkok before setting up shop in Hong Kong under Gaia, the first branch being the one at the IFC. Greyhound is popular, and I’m sure many would have seen long lines of good-looking 30-something ladies waiting outside its branches all over the city. The concept was just on the spot to tap the growing appeal of café-styled food and dining in the city.Walking into Greyhound is like steppi
Walking into Greyhound is like stepping into a hipster enclave far removed from the bling-bling of high-fashion boutiques at the IFC. Complementing the café’s stylish deco, a large variety of fancy-looking desserts are displayed in a fridge counter to maximize visual impact. The menu is a collection of the greatest hits in Hong Kong’s cafés and Thai food restaurants, from sandwiches and pasta to curry, fried rice and spring rolls. There are no discounted lunch sets: everything is served à la carte, though $68 tea set promotions have been spotted at some branches.
Food Rundown
Deep-fried corn and crab cake ($88)
The Thai sweet chili sauce is the key here. The cakes were crispy and light. A nice choice if you’re into deep fried Thai appetizers, but bear in mind these are $22 each!
Complicated noodle ($78)
This is a dish where you have a pile of square-shaped rice noodles, a bowl of minced pork, and a bunch of lettuce leaves (plus some sauce). Your task is to assemble all of these together, much like having Peking Duck. The spicy, garlicky green sauce was amazing. Overall the minced pork and the rice noodles were way too greasy and we ran out of lettuce leaves. Otherwise the sauce made the real difference here and everyone appreciated one bite of this rather unconventional dish. Would not recommend this if it wasn’t one order among many others.
Italian sausage quesadilla (around $88)
This one was similar to a cheese quesadilla. The “tortilla” was super crispy and every bite was a satisfying crunch. The tortilla-to-filling ratio was also great.
Chicken coconut soup ($58)
Rather creamy, if a little sour. Was okay, but unlikely to order again.
Light Tom Yum Koong soup ($98)
For some reason this wasn’t very good. It wasn’t that the flavors weren’t strong enough, but somehow the soup just didn’t come out the way we like it at the city’s more authentic Thai restaurants.
Crab meat fried rice ($168)
One of the more memorable dishes. I believe the rice was fried with minced pork (fat) for a flavorful grease. Juicy and generous helpings of crab meat was scattered all over the mildly seasoned fried rice with subtle garlicky notes. Served with a bowl of hot, clear soup (very tasty) and some crunchy veggie fingers. Well received by all guests.Grilled fish with curry (around $178)
Another one of the more memorable dishes. Fish was tender, skin crispy. Topped with some mildly spicy curry and served with refreshing salad and rice.
Squid ink spaghetti with seafood ($138)
This is an oriental interpretation. Fried black-colored spaghetti with a lot of oil. There was heavy use of garlic, spices and salt. No doubt a rather creative dish but for those hoping to have a western-styled squid ink pasta, this was not it. Given the portion size of the pasta and seafood bites, I’d say way overpriced.
Squid ink spaghetti with soft shell crab ($148)
Same as above, except there’s no seafood with this version. The soft shell crab simply sits on the top. Again, way overpriced for no (or too little) squid ink.Asparagus and Scallop Fettucine ($108)
Very disappointing sauce and pasta. Scallops were great. Otherwise, I felt like I was having overcooked pasta soaked in heated skimmed milk – the whole dish was under-seasoned. Speaking of things that Greyhound does very well: scallops. They do have appetizers that feature scallops - those would no doubt make a nice option to split.Famous Fried Chicken wings ($68)
Their famous chicken wings, well, at least for us, were a long shot. Meat was dry, presentation was poor, and flavor-wise I’m still not sure what it was intended to be (other than salt or tsuyu). Would love to have some more kick in our wings. Or maybe we were just unlucky.
Coconut crepe cake ($78)
Pretty obvious coconut flavors, but personally did not find it tasty, nor did the other diners. Slightly overpriced too.
Red velvet waffles (around $78)
These were some of the best waffles I can remember having in the city, though it lacked an outer crunch and was more of a cakey variety. The waffles were served hot, and there were also little bits of dried berries inside which added a nice summer fruitiness. You need this. I've also tried a number of their fruit punches (around $56), but they are blended bottled fruit juice with very little real fruit, among other artificial ingredients, so I would not recommend those. Flavor-wise, not too bad.
Service at the IFC branch is decent, especially from the more senior level staff who showed no signs of discontent when we hoped to return a dish we didn’t expect was deep fried. This kind of spontaneous professionalism is increasingly hard to come by at a time when mid-range restaurants are struggling to hire and retain waiting staff. I am not sure I can say the same about the choice of Japanese pop music playing in the background though.
All in all, Greyhound offers affordable fare and comes in handy with a sprawling menu that offers pretty much everything and, occasionally, an excellent, original dish. Grabbing casual lunch with a few friends or one would be a good call.
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