When I was invited to dinner at New Shanghai and was told it's located inside the Convention Centre, I thought "whaaaaaa". What kind of decent restaurant could possibly be located inside the HKCEC

I was the first to arrive and was politely shown to the table. It was early and only one other table was occupied. I ordered some 菊花茶 (sp) and waited for the rest of my party.

The decor is very nice in a modern style. The tables, spaced quite generously apart, allows New Shanghai to stand out from the typical crowded Chinese restaurant. The space is perfect for a business dinner where you'd like to be able to talk without having to raise your voice above the din of other diners.

The waiter brought some cucumber with chili oil which was nice to start.

We ordered a number of traditional shanghainese dishes including:

Xiaolongbao (小籠饅頭)...nice. With very thin wrappers with piping hot soup inside.

We also order some fried dumplings. I'm not normally a fan but these were especially good, as they contained soup like the more famous steamed ones. Yum!!

Other appetizers we ordered were drunken chicken (ok..I'm not a fan of this)...cold pork terrine (good!), as well as a hot and sour soup. The soup was especially good, with just the right balance betweeen the hot/chili flavor and the sour taste. The soup contained lots of good things including vegetables, tofu, and small river shrimp.We also had another soup that was a light broth with some radish and a pork meatball. I'm not familiar with the name of this dish, but was a nice, and lighter alternative to the H&S soup if that's not your thing.

There was also the crispy rice with tomato and shrimp. This is a little but too sweet for me, but the ingredients and flavor were good.

The main meat course for us a whole tea-smoked duck. I don't eat smoked foods (long story!) but everyone raved about this dish.

We ended with some red bean steamed dumplings which looked and tasted nicely (according to my guests as I was too full by this time!).

Service was efficient and professional.

I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the service. Prices are very reasonable. There was better Shanghainese restaurants in Hong Kong but this is a nice option for a business dinner or a quiet family dinner. Free valet parking is available at the main HKCEC entrance.

The aptly named 'Steak House' has been a fixture at the Intercontinental Hotel (and previously the Regent) for as long as I can remember. After undergoing a renovation and makeover 4-5 years ago, the place transformed from a nice place with great steaks to a 'trendy' place with great steaks.

We started off in the bar, located next to the main dining room. Large, red-leather banquettes and comfortable chairs make the place a great first stop for a pre-dinner cocktail. Along with your drinks, they serve a small bowl of fat, juicy green olives and some wasabi peas. Those olives are to die for...I could nearly make a meal out of those...After taking our seat at the dining table, we selected our menu choices. Most of us chose to enjoy the fabulous salad bar that is available.

One might think that a salad bar is nothing special, but maybe because they're such a rarity in Hong Kong, the Steak House's iteration stands out. Large bowls are different lettuces, dozens of different vegetables, some grilled vegetables and even grilled fruits, nuts, pickles, and fruit, and then a modest, but quality selection of cheeses. Again, it would be easy to make a meal out of this alone (and I know people who have done just that!)...but you need to be sure to save room for the main course!

One of our party also had the lobster bisque. A generous portion of creamy soup, with some chunks of lobster meat. Having had this several times before, its nice, but far from the best lobster bisque I've had. A bit lighter than I prefer and also not nearly enough lobster meat (especially given the price).

Another starter to consider is the foie gras, again, nice, if that's what you're in the mood for, but not the finest execution.

Of course what everyone comes here for is the steak, and the Steak House doesn't disappoint. Generous (14-18oz) cuts of New York sirloin will be brought out to you. The Steak House grills their meat over charcoal so the flavor is special. No butter or other condiments to take away from the taste either.

The meat is grilled to perfection, which is not always easy given that thicker cuts of meat are hard to cook through without overdo'ing the edges.The steaks are served by themselves, with accompaniments needing to be ordered a la carte. Recommended here are the lobster macaroni (essentially macaroni cooked in the lobster bisque...nice!). Also the onion rings, and any of the potato dishes are sure things.

One of our party doesn't eat beef but instead chose the rack of lamb. Fantastic! A HUGE 4-bone rack is brought (uncut) so the center is nice and rare, just how I like it. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for meat, but not beef.

One of the gimmicks of the SH is they like to offer an array of options for routine items. For example, along with your bread basket (nice selection by the way), they bring you a trio of butters, including plain, black truffle, and sun dried tomato.

In addition, instead of offering just plain table salt or may sea salt, they bring you a rack featuring 8 eight or ten different salts from around the world. These include smoked salt, peruvian pink, hawaiian, etc.

For your steak, they also offer you a choice of steak knives...some small and delicate looking ones from Japan or France, all the way up to a machete-looking thing from America. I favor the Global knife from Japan or something the Laguiole from France.

Lastly, to accompany your entree, they will offer you a selection of I think 16 different mustards, from basic english and dijon, all the way to flavored mustard with horseradish or chili.

I have to give credit to the staff for being able to remember all these different options.

Desserts are great, but the portion size is crazy. One dessert can serve 6-8 people...no kidding!

My one big gripe here is the price. $700+ for a steak, plus $200+ for starters, etc means a big bill is coming at the end of the evening. No doubt the Steak House has great food, and the crowds seem to show that. But, someone in the hyper-competitive restaurant industry will come along and undercut them on price while offered the same high quality. It's only a matter of time.

Also, I have to complain about the bottled water cost...over $100 for a 300 ml bottle Come on. Don't insult us. Also, the wine by the glass prices are equally insulting. $175/glass was the cheapest red wine on the list. Again, as someone who dines out seven nights a week, I understand that alcohol is a profit-center for restaurants, but to me this is pure taking advantage of the consumer. Intercontinental...take note...wine drinkers will vote with their pocketbooks!

All in all though, the Steak House is still one of my favorite places in Hong Kong and the tops for red meat in the city. But I hope they don't rest on their laurels and feel they can take advantage of their loyal clientele.

Popular with the lunch crowd at the Manulife Centre, Viet's Choice is an excellent choice for a dinner with the family as well (free parking with minimum spend I learned).

Lunch offers numerous specials including the popular pho-bo (beef noodle soup). A generous portion of sliced, raw beef is added to piping hot soup full of flavor. Actually, I can do without the noodles and just give me the soup! It's that good.

The fresh spring rolls, think rice paper wrapped around lettuce, mint, vermicelli, and various ingredients such as prawn, Vietnamese sausage, or chicken, are terrific. I love the soft exterior combined with the crunchy interior of the lettuce and vegetables. Hmmmm...

Appetizer platters featuring rice crackers with Vietnamese sausage, fried prawn cake, Spring rolls, and so forth are all first-rate.

Dry vermicelli with lemongrass pork chop is another can't miss dish, although personally I find the sauce they serve with it a little sweet.( I end up modifying it with some extra lime and chili. )

Viet's Choice also offers a staggering array of colorful drinks to accompany your meal. I typically stick with a plain old Lime Soda, but if you want a three-color drink with various beans or fruits, they have it. My staff always seem to enjoy those when we eat there.

Prices are reasonable...most dishes are $30-40. A drink is included with most entrees during lunch and you can 'upgrade' if you want one of the special drinks.

The atmosphere is not fancy...its a typical office-location noodle shop, but the staff are very friendly and helpful and will make sure you get served promptly.

One of my favorite Vietnamese shops in HK....wish it wasn't all the way in Kwun Tong!

Sen-ryo, the popular upscale branch of Genki Sushi, is always crowded. Our typical wait for a table/counter space for two is usually 20-30 minutes unless you're there very early (tonight, being a holiday, was an exception and we had a very long wait). But, once seated, the quality and price is reasonable for a mass-market "kaiten' sushi outlet.

Let me preface this by saying, Sen-Ryo will not be confused with high-end Sushi like Sushi Hiro, Matsushima, Imamura or Kenjo, but for $200 per head, its a good option for price-conscious diners.

On this night, the fish quality was first-rate. Cold winter waters in the north pacific bring fatty, tasty fish. Both the chu-toro, and o-toro was especially nice tonight. My one gripe being the portion size. The thickness was ok, but the size of the nigiri overall was a tad on the small side. The price, at $35-$50 per piece is among the most expensive individual items on the menu.

I'd highly recommend the 'premium yellowtail', which, at around 26 was fatty and flavorful, as was the Salmon sushi (never found at sushi shops in Japan yet incredibly popular in Hong Kong).

The Uni from Hokkaido was sweet with a softy, pillowy texture. The cheaper version (I assume from Korea or perhaps Canada), was less so on this night. I suspect it was a bit old and had that 'chemical' taste uni gets when its past its prime.

One of my favorites at Sen-Ryo is their ebi-furai (海老フライ) maki. Essentially a fried prawn wrapped in a sushi roll with vegetable, its crunchy and delightful. Although it was be found on the rotating conveyor belt, I highly recommend ordering it fresh from the wait-staff and made to order so the prawn is warn when you bite into it.

The eel roll is another filling, yet very tasty roll along with the stand-by California Roll.

One roll I would suggest staying away from is the spicy tuna roll. On this night, you could barely located any tuna in the roll. This was ordered towards the end of our meal and we were already pretty full so we didn't bother sending it back.

All in all however, Sen-Ryo is a good choice for some basic, reasonably priced sushi when at IFC.

Caprice gets a lot of great press, and its all well-deserved. Since it's opening, it has provided Hong Konger'ers with true 3-star cuisine and service (can't say the same for some of the other 2- and 3-star recipients).

Tonight, trying to do a little pre-Christmas celebrating, we got a booking and headed over. The hotel lobby was packed with holiday revelers (there was a girls-school choir singling carols in the lobby) but entering the restaurant was like an oasis of calm. We were seated next to the window with a lovely view of the Kowloon skyline.

We started with a glass of the Sancerre, which allowed us time to peruse the menu and sample some small amuse they brought over of some assorted brioche samplers. After ordering, they brought the "real" amuse bouche, which was an eggshell with a chestnut cream and foam with poached quail egg yolk. I am probably missing something from the ingredients, but believe it, was delicious and a great way to begin.

For our first course, I has the wild game pate en croute. I wanted to have this last year, when it was also part of their winter menu, but alas, it was sold out that evening. Not so tonight. Chunks of duck, venison and foie gras with a gelled wild-game reduction, encased in a buttery crust. While not a light dish, the taste is not overpowering and leaves plenty of room for more.We brought our own wine, a 1995 Rousseau Chambertin, which was still drinking beautifully. It paired nicely with the game and especially the rich fat from the foie gras.We also had the Langoustine Ravioli. This, one of the most famous dishes on the Caprice menu, never disappoints. Poached langoustines, sauteed sweetbreads, shellfish bisque/foam...at once elegant and complex with the sweetness of the shellfish paired with the savory taste of the bisque and the crispness of the sweetbreads. The ravioli pasta on top is actually unnecessary taste-wise, but makes the entire dish a finished appearance.

My favorite dish on the menu, I could eat three courses of this and be completely satisfied (even if my fat and cholesterol levels wouldn't)...

For our mains, we had the challans duck, melt in your mouth tender, paired with a light orzo pasta. Simply lovely. I'm not a huge fan of duck, but this entree could change my mind.

I had OD'd on meat lately so went with the dover sole. Pan fried in a beurre blanc with a touch of seaweed, nothing too heavy so the fresh taste of the fish come through. Excuse my dark photos but you get the idea.For dessert, we went with the fantastic cheese selection. Sourced from Bernard Antony in France, the choices are second to none. Aged in Caprice's own cheese 'cellar', you cannot go wrong with any choice. Unless you have a particular favorite, I suggest allowing the waiter to choose four or five for you. Tonight, in addition to a four-year old Comte, and an aged Mimolette, we tried a rich and creamy Saint Felicien, and a fragrant Époisses.We also order the coconut souffle. We were both very full by this point but Caprice's souffles are light and airy and not overly filling.

Even if you don't order dessert, you're usually offered a nice palate cleanser that could probably stand on its own as a dessert course. Of course, there's always a generous selection of petit fours to end your meal.

Service is exceptional. I would love for many other "starred" restaurants to send their staff here to learn how it should be dine. Not intrusive, yet you never go wanting for anything. If you're not sure about food or wine selections, the wait staff and sommelier are very knowledgeable and you can trust to put your meal in their hands.

Caprice is not inexpensive, but for this level of quality and service, its quite a value. If its your first visit, the "Taste of Caprice" tasting menu should be a top consideration for you.