Honestly, we were expecting a small Greek restaurant with just a few tables covered in blue and white so we were pleasantly surprised when the stairs led us up to a 150-seater restaurant and bar. We were led to our sofa booth table, staffs were welcoming and the red in the decor brought warmth to this spacious spot. I was delighted to know that there’s an area on the side which can be cornered off as a private room for big parties.I love how playful the menu is, with cute illustration of famous Greek Mythology characters (J: Hercules looks like some Disney lead character, and he does! With that dashing grin). We ordered a few dishes with the help of the friendly staffThe saganaki (fried cheese served on frying pan) was a must try, the firm yet gooey dollop of golden goodness has intense cheese flavors that went very well with the sweet fig marmalade and a drizzle of lemon juice.Scallop was grilled to perfection with its soft raw centre while the creamy manouri cheese with tsoireki (sweet fragrant Greek Easter bread) crumbs brought out the simple subtle sweetness of fresh scallop. The almond skordalia served underneath the scallop was delicious! Almond skordalia is a popular Greek speciality which is thick almond and garlic dip it was tasty without overpowering the scallop.The souvas, mini pita wraps, had lamb, herbs, tomato, mustarad aioli, French fries and onions wrapped in pillowy bouncy pita bread arrived in the “bendover box” **geeky laughter** (bento- greek style). The lamb was very tasty though the dish was a tad too starchy between the pita and the fries.The slow cooked lamb was incredibly tender and was saturated with intense flavors of lamb without being too gamey, any heaviness was offset by a dash of lemon and a dab of yogurt. We also ordered the Cypriot salad on Viv’s recommendation (Viviano Romito, owner of the place.) He said this salad compliments the lamb really well and he was so right!! The salad was light and delicious with contrasting textures and flavors with pops of pomegranate seeds and crunchy nuts and seeds, sweet raisin, cumin, fresh herbs, dash of honey, and the all refreshing yogurt.Golden Greek time- What’s not to love about this dish? Initially I was a bit hesitant about it since I don’t eat anything deep fried but it wasn’t greasy at all. The vanilla mastiki ice cream with chocolate center was slightly chewy like Turkish ice cream and not overly sweet. The honeycomb on the side added crunch to the divine dish. And did I mention salted caramel? I almost my quarter in the rich and luscious salted caramel. Needless to say, I was very satisfied at this pointThe bill came up to be just under $250 per person, which was well worth it! Souvla was definitely something above our expectations in terms of quality of food, ambience and service! The dishes came out swiftly and even the hot dishes were pretty quick. We loved most of the dishes and I can’t wait to go back and try their baklava cigars! I LOVE baklava!!

Shelter Lounge was definitely quieter on a week night as compared to weekend brunch. We got a little carried away and order almost half the items of the menu. Before we knew it, the table was just covered with dishes and we had to cancel the pork belly coz we were just too stuffedThe seafood and fennel salad was ok, the yuzu soy dressing was tad on the salty side and most of the dish was left untouchedThe beetroot salad with orange, mache, feta & white balsamic on the other hand was very good. The cirusy orange, sweet beetroot, salty creamy feta and sweet nutty mache are blend together in this light and refreshing perfect summer saladForest mushroom black truffle cream with natto egg with toast had deep aroma and flavors while natto egg added gooey texture to the mushroomSeared scallops with pancetta, pea, onion foam had the perfect texture, soft and still raw and soft in the inside and beautifully caramelized on the sides. The pancetta, pea and onion foam on the side was made well while the scallop itself was a bit bland. I added sprinkled a few grains of salt on top of it and it instantly brought out the natural sweetness of fresh scallops.Steamed clams in chorizo and baby cabbage with bruschetta sauce, the tangy, flavorful chorizo sauce went very well with the lightness of fresh and firm clams.Miso cod eggplant, turnip, pickled ginger shoot was gone so fast I knew it was the crowd pleaser of the night. The miso added just the right amount of sweetness to the silky smooth, soft, buttery cod.Slow cook duck breast with pickled red cabbage was alright, the duck breast was a little tough to my liking even though it was perfectly pink on the insideGrilled hanger steak was grilled to perfection; nicely pink on the inside and slightly charred on the sides. The deep flavor was brought out with just a bit of salt and a dot of mustard.All in all, the food is decent even though nothing stood out as something that I'd come back for. I definitely like how relaxing shelter lounge feels and even though brunch food was just so-so, i really liked the ambience 

To avoid lining up, I put my name down on my way to run some errands and by the time the restaurant called me I was ready for dinner! =) The decor was very old school Hong Kong-ish, it reminded me of the good old Cantonese black and white films粵語殘片 back in the 60s? 70s? (kinda like G.O.D stuff) but with a hip spin with murals on the wall.The menu features dishes from Isan, a Northeastern region in Thailand, where grilled meats and som dtum salads are staples. We ordered a salad, a meat and a seafood dish as per recommendation; you can choose the level of spiciness when ordering your salad. We totally over estimated our tolerance for heat and got a medium spicy.Even though the salad – Som Dtum Grop Pounded green papaya salad, cherry tomatoes, chili and crispy pork with a sweet and sour tamarind dressing- was very flavorful with a delicate balance of salty, sour and crunchy from the roasted peanuts, the chopped chili, lime, succulent crispy pork and the sweet and sour tamarind dressing, my tongue and lips were burning and couldn’t taste much of it after the initial bits.The Goong Golae Whole tiger prawn smothered in dry red coconut curry, grilled over fire with fresh lime was a little disappointing. While it looked all plump and juicy on the outside, it was a little overcooked, leaving it bit too tough and chewy.The highlight was the Gai Yung Chicken thigh marinated for 24 hours in garlic, pepper, coriander grilled till crispy, served with jhim jaew (chili dipping sauce). The grilled chicken was very tender and moist and the complexity of flavors was elevated by the delicious sweet, salty, spicy and tangy chili dipping sauce (aka Jhim Jaew). I’m not a big fan of chicken but this dish definitely exceeded my expectation!The mango sticky rice hit my sweet spot too, the mango wasn’t overly sweet and gave a good tanginess to the sweet coconut sauce on the sticky rice.As we were getting our bill, we gasped as we saw the glorious looking Salt Crusted Seabass being served to the table behind us. Apparently celebrity chef Tetsuya went to the award wining Kha (a Thai restaurant in Singapore also ran by Adam Cliff) three days in a row to enjoy this dish. Note to self: definitely getting that dish on my next visit!Address: G/F, 206 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong KongPhone: +852 2549 0020

El Bulli’s Ferran Adriá predicted that Peruvian cuisine will take over the world and rightly so, Peruvian cuisine is exciting, complex and multi-layered, from the usage of vast variety of native ingredients like the hundreds/ thousands different types of potatoes, corn and peppers to being under the widest range of global influence from Africa, Spain and Italy and from migrants. My first encounter with Peruvian cuisine was at Chicha, and even though they are pretty overpriced and some dishes are really below average, I LOVE the “Oh My Cod” (grilled skewer of black cod) and the scallop ceviche. When I heard that a new Peruvian restaurant was opening, I was excited to check it out.

Mayta transformed the space formerly occupied by blue smoke into a colorful Peruvian spot. Mayta’s menu was designed by the renowned Peruvian chef Jaime Pesaque whose rapidly growing global restaurant empire includes two restaurants in Peru, one in Uruguay, Miami and New York. His restaurant Mayta in Lima was highlighted as a recommendation for its region by 50bestrestaurant.com. Once we picked up the menu, we were busy checking out the many choices (reading the explanation of each dish) on the menu and with a bit of help from the friendly staff we picked a handful of savory dishes to start with. The Solterito Salad was refreshing, appetizing and sumptuous; I loved the chewy, fluffy- lightness of quinoa and the chewy Peruvian white corn contrasting the crispy taro chips while the cherry tomato complimented the tangy and sweet miso dressing. The salmon chunks, the fava beans with their buttery texture and lovely nutty flavor and the stroke of creamy dreamy avocado mouse added richness to the salad.Pan Con Chicharron was literally a party in a bun with layers of textures and flavors – the white bun reminds me of the bun used in Kong Bak Pau (pork belly bun) – the puffy, bouncy yet pillowy soft bun contrast the crispy taro chips and the fried fatty pork which was also crispy, tender and flavorful at the same time. The pickled onions and spicy, tangy and rich aji rocoto aioli sauce took away any hint of greasiness.The Arroz Con Pato, aka the duck rice, served in a skillet. Fall-off-the-bone confit duck leg and moist pink sliced duck meat atop rice infused with Peruvian beer, dotted with peas and bell pepper. Rice was flavorful and cooked al dente while the duck meat was succulent and tender.The Lomo Saltado Completo is a classic Peruvian dish stir-frying Peruvian meat and French fries, onions and tomato served with rice on the side. Mayta’s version was served in a wok featuring sunny side up and fat French fries on top of stripes of juicy steak which was first slow cooked in vacuum (sous- vide) and then stir fried with soy sauce, rice vinegar and tomato. Underneath the steak was Tacu tacu with a piece of starchy plantain in the middle; Tacu tacu is essentially Peruvian yellow pepper paste rice and bean fried cake.When the Causas arrived, there were “wow”s all around, we were delighted with the beautiful presentation, triplets of different colored seasoned mashed potato balls topped with seafood. While they were a feast to the eyes, the flavors were not as impressive. The octopus with the Peruvian sweet potato was really bad, the octopus was fishy and mushy. I couldn’t spit it out fast enough =( The salmon tartare on top of the purple mashed potato was much better. The sweet, subtle nutty flavor and creamy texture of the mash offered a good contrast to the refreshing salmon tartare.Suspiro de limeña, literal translation: the sigh of a lima woman, is a luscious traditional Peruvian dessert consist of silky manjar blanco (local version of dulce de leche or toffee) custard topped with meringue. While the manjar blanco was creamy and silky it was lacking intensity, in fact, I thought it was really bland. The pieces of grilled pineapple were supposed to bring sweet tanginess to contrast the creamy mixture underneath it but fell flat unfortunately. The olive oil ice cream was pretty weak, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it was olive oil had I not read the menu. The only saving grace of the dish was the cookie, it was surprisingly and delightfully crunchy/ crispy even though it was buried in ice cream and manjar blanco =)Leaves of Chocolate Caramel layered with pistachio cream with banana Ice cream on the side. The pistachio cream was velvety smooth and decadently rich with prominent pistachio flavor. The banana ice cream was quite bland too, it had nothing much to contribute except for the sharp coldness.

When the bill came we were quite surprised that it came up to be less than $500 per person where each of us had a drink (I had the pisco sour which was pretty strong). Given that most of the food was decent and that I liked the lively yet not annoyingly busy or loud vibe. I would go back to try more dishes especially their ceviche and anticuchos which we got too sidetracked by the other choices on the menu and forgot to order. Portions are generally good for sharing, except for dishes like the Pan Con Chicarron and the Causas which came in threes which made sharing amongst the four of us a bit messy.

More and more hip eateries are popping up in Wanchai, 22ships, Catalunya (yes, the review will be out very soon) and Stone Nullah Tavern. Brought to you by the group who’s behind Posto Pubblico, Pizzeria Pubblico and Linguini Fini, Stone Nullah Tavern exudes the familiar vintage, rustic feel in its interior as its older siblings but instead of serving Italian food, it serves new American cuisine. “New American” cuisine, explained by the staff, is simply bringing new twist to American classic dishes by using the freshest seasonal ingredients available in HK. Sounds promising! In response to that, we ordered some veggies to test if they can deliver that vision =)First up was the heirloom tomato, the tomatoes were so fresh, juicy and plump and the mint and vinegar made it all the more refreshing. The choi sum with lilies and lemon, on the other hand, was pretty bad, not only was it overly salty, the choi sum was dry and "old". The brussells sprout was done well with nutty and slightly charred smoky flavor.The mac and cheese was ok, conchiglia, aka the shell pasta, was used instead of macaroni and it was cooked al dente giving it a really good bouncy texture. The flavor though was not as well done, the cheddar cheese added was not properly mixed so some bites were overly salty while some bites were totally bland. The rich, sticky gooey texture I was looking forward to was sadly lacking =(While the thanksgiving stuffing with quinoa, sausage and foie gras gravy sounded every bit tempting and we couldn’t wait to dig in once the skillet arrived on our table. I wish I could say that angels were singing in the background, but this dish fell flat, it just tasted pretty much like the normal stuffing we are used to.

The grilled prawns with bottarga and black aioli were unmemorable, overly salty and the prawns were not firm like the fresh ones. We had leftovers even though it was a small dish =(The clams were fresh and succulent, the white wine, chili sauce brought just the right dose of seasoning; we were munching on the crispy sea horse, honey comb looking crunch and when the waiter told us it's fried cow's stomach (tripe), we immediately dropped whatever was left in our hands. We thought that even though service was friendly, staffs were not very attentive; while we ordered, we made it cleared that there are people who can’t eat beef but they forgot to point out to us that there’s fried cow stomach until we casually asked what it was as we were happily munching on them. The brisket, which was highly recommended, was tender and flavorfulOvaltine ice- cream was pretty amazing, it was a platter full of different textures and flavors, the peanut butter fudge which was smooth, rich and very peanut buttery had stolen the limelight from the ovaltine ice cream which was definitely lacking in flavor, the caramelized sliced banana added a nice “brulee” texture. The dish was gone in literally 5 seconds. While we loved every bit of the peanut butter fudge, we wished the ice cream had a more prominent ovaltine flavor.The fat kids cake was served with a lit candle, we had a quick look around the table to make sure we din miss anyone’s birthdays by accident but realized it’s just how it’s served. It was basically a stacked cake topped with creme brulee, followed by dark chocolate mousse, NY cheesecake and red velvet cake. The pop rocks sprinkled on top gave an extra spark to the creme brulee glaze. The red velvet and the cheesecake went really well and the dark chocolate mousse was surprisingly cooperative.

I'd heard alot about Bistro Du Vin which is operated by the Singapore based Les Amis Group who also runs the Michelin- starred Cepage. Words are that it’s much better than all the other casual french restaurants that popped up around the same time last year, and the fact that it was hard to book a table for 3 people 2,3 weeks in advance made me even more determined to try it, even if I had to drag myself to Kennedy Town on a FRIDAY night!

The place was packed when we arrived and we waited patiently next to the high tables at the entrance for our table to be ready. Everything looked promising, happy patrons, Parisian bistro decor, wine cellar at the far end of the restaurant (visible from where we were standing) ..... and then we noticed that a couple at the table closest to us were just finishing up their last dish and the waiter rushed in and start cleaning around that dish, essentially rushing them to leave. Maybe not so promising after all..Finally we were seated and bread was served; bread was cold, dry and stale; we put it down after the first bite but we remained hopeful that the appetizers and mains would be as good as we heard. After studying the daily special scribbled on the mini chalkboard on our table and recalling the list of dishes that were recommended by friends who’d been, we were ready to order. The beef checks and the Bouillabaisse which was highly recommended, was sold out by the time we were ready to order **darn!! We were so excited about those two** The waitress recommended crispy suckling pig leg confit, my friend was concerned that it could be really fatty but ordered after she assured him that it's not. On top of that, we order the pan seared foie gras, the onion cheesy soup, the bone marrow escargot, slow cooked lamb shank and the pork confit.We really enjoyed the bone marrow with escargot; the garlic- herb buttered escargot sauce goes very well with the jello like- melt in your mouth deliciousness of the bone marrow. The escargot was tender and the flavor of the bone marrow lingers =)

The onion cheesy soup was less than cheesy and I pretty much had forgotten how it tasted like; this soup was highly recommended and a look at pictures of the same soup taken at Bistro Du Vin by other diners made me feel like the chef had forgotten about the cheesy part of the deal.

The two pieces of pan seared foie gras were of decent size, with caramelized peach and nuts on top adding different texture and flavor to the smooth creamy foie gras. We thought it was pretty average, we definitely had better ones elsewhereThe lamb shank was slightly too gamey and it's not as tender as I've tried in other places, slowed cooked shank meat is supposed to be falling off the bone but in this case I had to saw them off the bone. I got tired from the chewing and left more than half of the dish untouched **shakes head**The crispy suckling pig leg sounded every bit decadent on paper. The pig leg was cooked in duck fats before baking to crispy golden goodness but my friend's concern came true- it turned out to be as fatty as can be and my friend pretty much lost his appetite after the first bite, all we saw was fats and skin on the first bite.

Maybe we visited on their "really off" day; the escargot seemed to be the only dish we really liked. Service was horrible and rushed, I'm not sure if the hype had gotten to their heads, but the overall experience was honestly not very pleasant. The three of us agreed that it's just not worth revisiting this place again. We din even bother with the dessert after being disappointed with most of the dishes we tried.

A friend told me about how she loved Si Mangia after having an awesome dinner at this cozy private kitchen. She told me that the chef is passionate about cooking and lived in Milano for years to learn how to cook authentic Italian dishes. I was instantly sold on hearing "passionate", that's really one of the key ingredients for great food!Before going there for a 16 people dinner, I coordinated with the chef on the menu and because we have a slightly large group, he suggested that we settled on one primo and he can do two different sets of appetizer and main. I was most excited about dessert even though there were a couple of other options, I had my eyes set on tiramisu seeing that seriously no one in Hong Kong does a good tiramisu, at least not to my liking. I specifically asked for an adult version of tiramisu since everyone here seems to be very PG with the ingredients.

Si Mangia is in a building tucked in the alley opposite Sincere/ Nan Fung Tower; a couple of people got lost even though I'd attached a map and described where the entrance is in relation to the buildings around it. The interior of the private kitchen was warm and homely with a semi open kitchen for those who'd like to watch the chef work his magic.My appetizer was the fresh fig with mozzarella cheese wrapped in paper thin prosciutto, the sweetness, seediness (no, I din mean the fig was shabby or sick, I just meant it was bursting with seeds which adds a good texture) and juiciness of fresh fig was a perfect marriage of flavors and texture with the saltiness of the proscitutto and the softness and moisture of mozzarella cheese.The seafood pasta was good but since we waited for everyone to get their dishes before starting, mine had cooled down by the time we started. The pasta was cooked al dente with squid and shrimps. I had to add cayenne pepper powder as it was on the lighter side on flavor, perhaps it was to bring out the natural sweetness of fresh seafood in it. The shrimps were perhaps the weakest link in the dish as they weren't firm, I left most of mine untouched.Next up was our main, I picked the beef cheek braised in wine. It was meltingly tender, moist and flavorful, with gelatinous bits in it to contrast the texture of meat; the sauce was slightly sweet from the wine.

The moment of truth finally, the tiramisu won my heart with the perfect balance between cream and sponge cake, and the flavor of liquor was present without being overwhelming. There was also a thin layer of chocolate perhaps to balance the use of liquor. The result was a piece of heaven! I liked it so much I finished two pieces of them. The sweetened strawberry on the side was worth a mention too; it was sweet without being overly sugary, tender without being disgusting mushy and each thin slice can be eaten with the heavenly tiramisu.

The group had a great time at dinner, it was a fabulous night filled with good food, drinks, laughter and exchanges of cheesy pick-up lines. One suggestion would be to serve bread and salad before the appetizer, other than that, service was prompt, friendly and helpful. The chef had been very patient handling all my endless emails enquiring on the ingredients in each dish and how particular dish is made etc while we were drafting the menu.

The pizzeria named “the city’s best pizza” by NY Times had opened its first overseas branch here in HK! Led by owner and chef Mathieu Palombino, Motorino will be serving us authentic Neapolitan pizza. I was super excited about checking it out after hearing quite a great deal of raving. J and I met for early dinner around 7pm and there were pretty much no empty seats by the time we sat down. The interior of the 45-seats restaurant resembles the other branches with stripes on the walls, marble topped tables, metal chairs and the wood- burning Ferrara oven.I had my eyes set on the margherita but I kinda want to try the Brussels sprout pizza. There are two types of base to choose from, the red and the white; red with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and thyme while the stracciatella has cheese melted into the dough with basil tossed on top along with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. You could do a half and half pie as long as it’s the same base, we looked through the menu to zero in something that could go with my margerita. After much debate, we decided that we’ll go for margherita and Brussels sprout even though Brussels sprout pizza is usually not serve with tomato base.The pizza looked very promising when it arrived, thin crust with burnt bubbles on the edge and toppings slightly (hmm.. maybe a bit more than slightly)charred, reminded me of the pizza at 208 which I LOVE. However, cutting into the pizza we realized that the pizza was way too wet. Yes I get it, Neapolitan pizzas is supposed to be kinda soggy in the middle (and I LOVE it) especially with the mozzarella which makes the pizza even more moist. 208 does a pretty wet pizza to begin with and it’s all good, but this was over the limit and the pizza becomes really soggy and floppy. In fact, it was SOAKED through; I wish it were crispier on the base.The flavor was pretty good though; there was a good balance of rich mozzarella and tangy San Marzano tomato sauce, the crispy basil leaves added a nice touch. The deep robust nutty flavor of roasted brussels sprout was an interesting combination; perhaps we should have stuck to getting the original white base for this topping. I would imagine it going very well with the smoked pancetta and mozzarella instead of floating about in our soupy tomato sauce. The charring was also too overly done on the topping, I was trying to remove burnt pieces in my mouth with each bite which really spoiled my appetite. We decided to be more forgiving and try more dishes, we ordered the meat ball, it was flavorful and moist, there’s a bit of black pepper unevenly spread in the meat ball to bring some spiciness to it.Onto the dessert, which is usually my favorite part- there’s a choice of Torta Al Cioccolato and tiramisu. I guess we were being overly hopeful and ordered both of them. My heart sank a little (fine, I’ll stop being a drama queen) when I saw the tiramisu, it was very obviously on the drier side just by the looks of it. And a bite into it proved my point it was too dry and had ZERO liquor taste in it. I’m not an alcoholic but the last I checked (and I’ve made tiramisu before), there’s alcohol involved in the making of it, unless you are making one for kids. The chocolate cake has a few grains of salt on top of the ganache topping, the dense mousse in the middle ssat neatly on top of the crunchy base. While the chocolate cake wasn’t bad, it wasn’t exciting. Yes it’s pretty ok, but if I were one of those lab mice, this cake would have been a waste of an hour of running on the treadmill.

Two other friends were at motorino when we were there and they too were not impressed with the food as well; but couple of friends went just yesterday and thought their pizzas were really good. They had the brussel sprout pizza in its original base and thought the flavors were unique and tasty and the crust crispy and chewy all at the same time. Alright alright, maybe it was an epic off day for them when I ate there. I’m happy to revisit and just to see why people are raving so much about it.

Green waffle is one of my favorite spontaneous brunch spots, those who know me will know that I like to make lists and plan my days weeks in advance (making reservation way ahead, study their menu etc). But occasionally I leave a few empty spots here and there. And it’s on those days that the “no reservation” policy comes to my advantage! Lisa and I were both having really lazy morning, lazing around the house; we were supposed to eat at 12 but didn’t end up meeting till 1:30.The wait at green waffle was surprisingly short, we were seated within 5- 10 minutes. I like the casual vibe, the open coffee bar and the American diner sofa booths go well with the comfort food it offers. Their menu is loaded with hearty breakfast choices, from the usual omelette, pancakes, egg benedict and the likes to sizzling skillet, and I love that they have quite a good selection of waffles. You can even customize your perfect waffle dish with their selection of toppings, sides and different ice cream flavors. Even though I examine the menu every single time, I always end up ordering the same thing- the berries delight with green (pandan flavor) waffle; Lisa was deciding between getting pancakes or getting something savory. There are a few options on the menu which offers both sweet and savory but she picked the spicy tomato and sausage skillet in the end.The pleasure of eating green waffle is on the first bite, after you first cut open the waffle and the aroma of panda leave rushes to your nose. Surely the waffle can be fluffier but honestly there is really no place in hk that does waffle/ pancakes right. I wonder if it’s coz buttermilk isn’t readily available (buttermilk is one of the ingredients for making fluffy pancakes). Anyways back to the waffle, Lisa watched with slight disgust at my dorkiness as I divided my ice cream evenly so each small square in the waffle gets a chunk of ice cream. The contrast between the cold, slightly melty ice cream and the warm, crispy surface of the waffle was heavenly. The caramel ice cream also went very well with the sliced bananas.Lisa found her skillet far from faultless, while it looked decent with the poached eggs piled on top of the mixture of potato cubes, onion, sausage and cheese. We were slightly disappointed as she cut into the eggs on top, we were expecting runnier egg yolk but they seemed to be slightly overcooked. The small cubes of potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. In the perfect world (Lisa was really missing NYC at that moment), the potatoes could have been more “burnt” to give an even crispier texture; the onions could have been caramelized and the skillet loaded with cheese. The cheese was a little on the thin side and the gooey, cheesy effect we were looking for with the ideally runny eggs and cheese overload was sadly not realized.Despite the critique, the food was very decent compared to the popular brunch spots like the Brunch club and Oolaa where food is crappy and you really pay just for the vibe. The unpretentious and relaxed ambience at Green Waffle put us at ease on a lazy Saturday and we had a great time catching up!

With the new escalator and train station being built, Sai Ying Pun is becoming quite the up and coming area with galleries, trendy restaurants and bars popping up around the hood. Friends in SYP had told me about this new French place along the new escalator which is the latest addition to the French Creations group who also owns Pastis, FAB and St Germaine. I never bother going to Pastis coz it is pretty much always packed with people overflowing onto the street. But this restaurant is in SYP and is still rather unheard of so Lo, Fi and I thought we would go there for a casual, mellow weekday dinner.Metropolitain was designed to look like a Parisian metro station; the bare concrete walls, the metro map, the railway station clock, the wrought iron details all plays to the theme. We were seated comfortably in a corner facing the open kitchen; service was friendly and chill (but not slow, which is great). The ambience is cozy and relaxed.

The menu was simple French fare: we ordered the calamari, the Steak tartar with fries, the Braised lamb shank with olive oil mashed potato (in case you haven’t realized, I love lamb), Seabass fillet, celeriac puree & sauce vierge and the Tarte TatinThe calamari looked rather greasy on first glance, I had one piece just so I know how it taste like. The batter wasn’t light and crispy enough and the squid, although not rubbery, was not crunchy and bouncy. We left more than half the plate untouched hoping that this is just one off dish out of the menu.Next up was Fi’s Steak tartar, her fries looked like they were drenched in oil, not just once but multiple times till they are kinda brown and gross. Needlesss to say, none of us touched those fries. Her steak tartar was rather tasteless and chewy, she had to add a whole lot of salt & pepper to season it but pretty much gave up half wayWhile waiting for my main, I spotted Ag on the other end of the restaurant and went over to chat with her. I also sampled her salmon tartare, the salmon was fresh, and the refreshing acidity of the mixture cut through the richness of the salmon; making the whole dish light and appetizing =) thanks Ag for sharing!Back to our table- my lamb shank looked a lot more promising, the meat was tender and tasty (the sauce had infused through yet was not overpowering); it was so not gamey I almost forgot I was eating lamb. The mashed potato was decent; the mash a bit uneven (i.e. not entirely fine and smooth) so there were small chunks of potato, which adds texture to it.Lo’s sea bass fillet was surprisingly small and thin, different from the thicker or chunkier pieces we are used to. Despite the size of the sea bass, Lo really enjoyed her dish, the sea bass was flavorful and its skin crispy. Lo especially liked the celeriac puree; which is creamy yet light with subtle sweetness.While we weren’t very inspired by the choices of dessert, we would like to stay and chat for a while more so we ordered the tarte tatin (the upside down apple pie). Let’s just say the best part of this dessert was the ice cream and Lo said it could be from Haagen Dazs, the pastry was too soggy; the caramelized apple overly sweet.

Overall, I quite like metropolitain, predominately for its laid back atmosphere (laid back but not empty for sure, there was not a single empty seat even though it was a weekday and this restaurant is relatively new). It seems to be a fun place to have a few glasses of wine and simple dishes especially when you want to get away from the usual “ I need this table back by 9pm” kinda places.