For the Birthday lunch, I chose Robuchon to provide a classier feel than the night before. This is the third time that I have been to Robuchon, but only the first time I have been here for lunch. When we arrived the crowd was still sparse, as the lunch crowd doesn't trickle in until at least 12:30. We had the entire 'Jardin' to ourselves!

We both chose the Dejeuner set menu, a four course meal that includes an appetizer, a soup, an entree and dessert. The amuse bouche was a foie gras reduction/custard (?) with flavoured foam on top. I don't really remember the dish by name, but the taste was quite distinctive - although they went much too heavy on the foam.

For my appetizer I chose the "Pearly Pasta 'Carbonara' Style" while the missus chose "Alaskan King Crab...." (I again apologize for not remembering the exact name... they were in French). The pasta was quite interesting. It had generous pieces of iberico jambon and parmesan cheese on the top, and the pasta looked like caviar and had the texture of sago from traditional HK dessert. The taste was reminiscent of American Mac 'n Cheese. All in all an extremely interesting and well thought out dish.

On the other hand, the crab that my girlfriend ordered was utterly mediocre. Trying to get creative on a crab rangoon (I am guessing). They fitted the leg meat of the crab inside a thick crust. While the crust was light and the crab was fresh, the inside was soggy and unappetizing, very unimpressive. The crab was so good on its own we wondered why they would tarnish the dish with such heavy carbohydrates.

The soup was an artichoke cream with a parmesan panna cotta at the bottom. The taste was great - even though I could not taste the artichoke. The cool bottom was a refreshing surprise, and played off wonderfully with the soup. However, they served the dish while I was in the bathroom, and I only got mine a few minutes after I returned, so the soup cooled down a little. While it was not tepid, I would enjoyed slightly warmer fare.

For entrees, I chose the braised beef under a mashed potato gratin, while my girlfriend ordered the sauteed pork loin with asparagus. When my dish came it was unrecognizable as a beef dish, it looked like pure potato gratin. It was absolutely delightful to venture beneath and find chunks of tender beef waiting to be unearthed. It was a refreshing concept that I had not seen before! The dish was great..... except that the taste disappointed. While the texture and playfulness of the dish adhered to the Robuchon name, the dish was rather bland - I had to add salt and pepper, and that did not really help. The gratin did not have a distinct cheesy flavor, and the beef (while cooked very very well) had almost no flavor at all.

My girlfriend's pork loin resembled a classic Cantonese stir fry, with asparagus and other vegetables. While my dish lacked taste, her's was beautifully flavored and the pork was also cooked perfectly. However, it resembled nothing original, and did not excite me as well. To put it bluntly, the mains disappointed.

For dessert, I put both choices again in the hands of the missus. She chose the dessert tray - in which we would have the Neapolitan cake and mixed fresh fruit - and a cake with ice cream. Haha I don't remember the desserts at all because I was busy worrying about the next part of her Birthday treat. Sorry!

Of course, the food at Robuchon is rarely "bad", but lunch on this day did not justify the high prices. Service was excellent, but the food just did not live up to its reputation. Recommended for people who want to try something different... but prepare for a hit or miss.

Came here with my girlfriend for my last dinner before leaving Hong Kong, so the mood was a little melancholy. We were in Happy Valley and she had a sudden craving for Oysters, and so here we ventured.

The restaurant was small but the decor was simple and classy, following the new line of cozy yet upscale seafood bars that are en vogue at the moment.

For oysters we put ourselves in the hands of our waiter. When our platter came, it included two briny ones (supposedly) South Bend from America, Malpeque from Canada, and two French ones - La Royale Cabanon and Gillardeau, which were creamier and in season. The oysters were good, nothing blew my mind. My favourite was actually Malpeque, which was billed as a briny oyster but actually had a wonderful creamy texture as well. A little downside was that we had to ask for vinegar, as they provided only the heavier sauce.

To accompany the oysters we both had some wine - I had the Sanctuary Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand - it was dry and a tad acidic, and did not really accompany the oysters too well, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The missus had the Maimai Chardonnay, which she really enjoyed - it had a much more fruitier flavor with hints of berries

For appetizers I ordered the 48 month aged Iberico Bellota ham. Now this was a treat! It was a little costly, $300 for less than 100 grams, but it was worth it. It makes prosciutto look like crude oscar mayer ham. Even if you have had iberico ham before, this ham absolutely took my breath away. It really is quite difficult to describe, try it yourself! The waiter also recommended the garlic bread, so we got that too. It was very very good as well, with the bread being crispy yet soft, and the garlic aromatic yet not overpowering. The amount of butter they put is probably the daily calorie quota for a child.

For the main courses I chose fish (it was a seafood bar, right) - more specifically the grouper fillet, oven-baked with a black truffle butter sauce. It was also after the debacle of a dish at Cova that made me curious to see how this restaurant stacked up. My girlfriend chose the Australian Rack of Lamb. Both dishes were accompanied by seasonal vegetables. For the fish, it came out hot (restaurant one, Cova zero) and the skin looked well cooked and crispy underneath the sauce. However, while Cova over-cooked the fish, the restaurant undercooked it. I could feel the chewiness of the fish in spite of the vegetables and heavy sauce. Finally, the sauce was way way way too salty. Despite billing it as a truffle sauce, the gallon of butter they added completely rendered the truffles indistinguishable. It was a disappointing dish.

The rack of lamb on the other hand seemed great. I only tried a piece (despite her insistence I try more, I simply was not that hungry), and it was cooked well, but the missus enjoyed it immensely!

For dessert we ordered the Creme Brulee, and this was not very good at all. The caramel layer on top was too thick, and therefore made the dish too sweet. Comparatively, the custard base at the bottom was too thin, which made it not feel like a creme brulee at all. We ended up leaving half of it.

The appetizers were great, the oysters fine, the mains (at least for me) not so and the dessert pretty bad. Come here for some decent oysters, and perhaps the appetizers (the ham was truly delicious), but if you come for a full meal, don't expect to get your value's worth!

I've been to quite a few Japanese places in Hong Kong. Cheap ones, expensive ones, tiny hole in the walls, chains. It really is difficult to find a favourite, but I think I might have finally done it.

Irori is located on Yiu Wa Street, in the same building as my beloved B.A.R whiskey bar. I had been meaning to try it, and have heard promising recommendations from others, but only got around to it on this night. A friend was in town, and I had received good news, so we decided to splurge a little on some (supposedly) good Japanese food.

First thing I ordered was a draft beer. They had Sapporo on draft, which made me extremely happy, and perhaps was a good omen for things to come. My friend is allergic to beer, so to continue we ordered some shochu that came recommended by our Japanese waitress. I don't remember the name of what we drank..... we had a lot.

I do remember what we ate though, and wow we ate a lot. I am not kidding when I said everything was extremely memorable. For sashimi, we ordered ikura (fish roe), aburi toro (seared chu-toro), chu-toro (raw toro) and uni (sea urchin). While prices are not cheap, the portions they give are great (six pieces for both toro dishes, quite a sizable bowl of ikura and a heap of uni) and the quality amazing. The uni I had has been undoubtedly some of the best I have had in HK. It lacks the pungency of cheap uni, but is wickedly rich and creamy. The raw toro was difficult to grab because it was so tender that it fell of the chopsticks, and the texture was heavenly as it melted in your mouth. The ikura was also beautiful and had a great taste (my friend ate most of it). The only disappointment was the seared toro, which is usually a sure-fire crowd pleaser. The toro they used was inconsistent with that of raw toro, it was too chewy. They seared the sides instead of the main part, which emphasized the rawness, and in this case the chewiness.

For cooked food we ordered the deep-fried chicken cartilage, grilled ox tongue, "mochi pizza", and grilled tuna jaw. The ox tongue was solid, mixed in with some sauce (probably some kind of soy sauce) and a healthy amount of spring onions. The grilled tuna jaw was a very generous portion, but suffered in quality. It was a little overcooked, and did not have the tenderness that I come to expect from ordering it, but it was by no means bad. The mochi pizza was original, and is often mentioned as a must try if visiting here. It is definitely quite a take on pizza, and the taste was good, definitely worth a taste. The chicken cartilage was so good we ordered one more portion. It is *the* perfect beer chaser, or whatever-alcohol-you-are-drinking chaser. It has a great salty taste, just the right crispiness, and is as addictive as anything I've had.

For me though, what stole the whole dinner was the fish roe potato salad (metaimo). It was divine... ethereal... almost perfect. Okay, perhaps I am playing the dish up a bit, but if you love potato salad as much as I do, it is amazing when you find one that absolutely delights your taste buds like this one. The potato salad by itself is already good and well, but fine fish eggs (metaiko) are mixed in with it, so some scoops will contain an extra zing of the salty, spicy flavor of the eggs. They also provide fresh crispy seaweed to wrap around the salad, providing a wonderful contrast of the soft creamy texture of the potato and the crunchiness of the seaweed. We ordered another dish of this two because one simply was not enough.

Before we knew it, we were stuffed to the neck and pretty out of it from all the shochu (but it did not stop us from heading up to the bar). It was truly an amazing meal, and I have absolutely no reservations recommending this to anyone. I actually wanted to return here for at least one more meal before I had to leave Hong Kong again... but couldn't find the time. Service was timely, and the new smoking ban is much welcomed, as I can imagine it smoke-filled from the cigarettes of Japanese businessmen.

The bill came out to be quite steep, but without any reservations, I recommend this place for anyone who would like to have a great Japanese meal. The atmosphere, service and most importantly food here just clicks. I will be returning when I get the chance!

I was looking for a place to celebrate my girlfriends Birthday, and was originally planning something more quiet, romantic and perhaps less generic than an Italian restaurant (fusion-ish) restaurant in the middle of Soho! However, my sister (who has exquisite taste) strongly recommended Vivo as the place to eat... and so here we ventured.

The first thing that struck me was that the setting was comfortable, and not pretentious. It seemed a little oddball-ish, with the carved wood pillars covering the lights and the (fake) plants hanging. But it was strangely calming.

The missus and I start out with a glass of champagne each. We supposedly ordered Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, but since the waiter did not take the bottle out to pour, I was not able to verify this (bad service mistake). It tasted fine though.

As we toasted to another year's past and munched on bread (it was warm!), we decided on the Caesar Salad (I remembered that Cecconi's next door had a great salad and wanted to see how they compared) and two pastas: Duck Confit Risotto with mushrooms and parmesan cheese, and the Seafood Linguine.

The salad was a little disappointing. The veggies were fresh, and they went light on the dressing, but it was really just... caesar salad. The croutons were stale, and they were a little stingy on the cheese. Not at all memorable.

The risotto was a dish recommended by my sister. When it came it really didn't look like much. It looked like Italian style watery fried rice...but the taste was great! The tangy taste of the duck complemented the cream of risotto, and the mushrooms were not too pungent. The texture of the duck (which was cooked perfectly) worked to counter the mushiness of the pasta too. A great dish that I would love to have again

My sister had also enthusiastically recommended the Wagyu Beef Cheek Ravioli. However, they did not have it on the menu that day, so we settled for the seafood linguine, which was also a pleasant surprise. The noodles were cooked al dente, and there was no shortage of ingredients, with salmon, squid, mussels and clams. The taste was actually very good, there was a tinge of fishy taste, but not enough to overpower the aroma of garlic and white wine.

It turned out perfect, since I enjoyed the risotto more, while the dear birthday girl enjoyed the linguine more =) We cleaned up both dishes pretty well.

Then came dessert. Knowing the missus' affinity for dessert (and it being her birthday), I offered to let her choose two sweet dishes. She kindly refused, and so we ended up getting a Valhrona Chocolate Fondant, and a cheese plate. Sadly to say, I don't remember the exact cheese I got (it was blue), but in general it was good and strong, and there was a lot of it. The plate came with a honey-soaked apricot and water-thin wafers.

The birthday girl seemed to really enjoy the fondant - basically a hot chocolate cake, as it was rich yet not too sweet. I can't say it was amazing, but as dessert it really hit the spot.

The service was great, everyone was very helpful (aside from the champagne miss) and all in all it was a very good meal. Compared to Cecconi's, I would rate this place just as highly (might have been even higher had there been wagyu ravioli), with a similar value-for-money experience but a much more relaxed atmosphere. Come here for good fusion fare, as you can't go wrong with the pastas, but like many Soho restaurants, prepare to pay a pretty penny for it!

We were originally supposed to come here for quiz night (which occurs every Thursday), but my friend had to back out at the last moment, so we ended up just getting dinner.

I've been here many times, but mostly for drinks and rarely for food. Their draft selection is solid - Carlsberg, Guinness, Magners (cider) and Pedigree (ale). And their happy hour prices are great.

For food I got the chicken curry (boring yes I know), while my friend got the chicken in a spinach sauce (I don't remember the name). The basmati rice was great and the curries were solid, nothing too unforgettable though. However be wary of the spicy poppadoms, they are lethally addictive. They act as great bar food, as you will probably need to keep ordering drinks to keep your tongue from burning up! Your stomach will probably seem unappreciative the following day, but stay positive.

My friend always goes for the cider, while I actually tried Pedigree for the first time (I remember they used to have Kronenbourg 1664 sometime back when) and really liked it. It was reminiscent of Boddington's ale, except lighter and less hoppier.

I will probably continue frequenting this place as long as the prices don't skyrocket, and the atmosphere remains vibrant. Also, it has been much more enjoyable since the smoking ban has come into effect. Expect a very diverse crowd, with the majority being expats. Finally, don't forget to tip, since 10% service charge is not included!

While I wouldn't recommend you travel halfway around the island to try this shop, it is definitely worth an evening out (or even just a drink or two) if you live close to it.