Frites Belgium on Tap   (Closed)

This is the second time to Frites, the first time was a few years ago.

Frites House Mussels - the sauce isn't so good, mussels good

Hoegaaden Mussels - mussels and the beer sauce taste good

Sausage and onion starter - sausage was good but sauce lacked a bit of flavour

Half Roasted Duck with Citrus Pan Juices - the juices and salad was good but the duck was too dry.

750 Gram Roasted Pork Knuckle - meat was juicy and skin crispy, recommended

Satan beer - refreshing and fruity.

Apart from the duck being too dry it was good dining experience.

As a previous reviewer said, we too experienced the waitress that was a little pushy and kept tapping one of us on the shoulder.

I have been to Frites a couple of times as I am Belgian and like to invite my HK friends somewhere a bit different.

Frites is different and generally good.

However, whilst I like the atmosphere and ambiance, the selection of beers, most of the dishes and desserts, I must say that the mussels are really not good and nothing to compare with what you can find in Belgium or even other restaurants in the region. They are tiny, don't smell good and don't taste good.

Moules Frites is Belgium s national dish, if you are a Belgian restaurant, you have to get this right.

The slightly higher price tag would also be easier to accept if your mussels were good.

Please change your mussels!!!

Made reservations for two on Sunday. They asked us if we could do 8:30 instead of 8:00 so they seemed busy, but once we were there it didn't seem particularly busy-- several large tables were free all night.

I'm a huge fan of schnitzel and that's what I ordered. The breading was crispy and not soggy; the pork was tender and not chewy. With a little lemon and some salt, the flavors really came through. I quite liked the schnitzel, I thought it was top-notch. A+

It came with some frites. Now this is a Belgian restaurant, and far be it from me to tell them what is or isn't Belgian, but the frites didn't seem particularly Belgian. Belgian fries are fried twice, once at a lower temperature to make them tender and again at a higher temperature to crisp up the outside. These fries *may* have been double-fried, but they didn't seem that way. I could also just be talking out of my posterior. Anyway, as fries, they were very good. A-

My wife got the pork knuckle. It's not really a meal for one person, and we had a bunch of leftovers which I then made into goulash the next day (yum!). The meat was tender, fatty, and delicious. It came with crispy, fatty bits of skin which were also delicious, and plenty of onions, carrots, and potatoes that were, as you might have guessed, also delicious. A

The beer selection was impressive. We had two trappist beers we'd never had, and two random Belgian ales. Some were better than others (one I got was a little overly sweet), but I can't really fault the beers, as I'm the one who chose them.

The place was pretty pricey, definitely not a 'go back often' location. Still, I can see myself coming back, and I would like to try the mussels... and the sausages... A

A very fullllll dinner.

The place was full house on a Friday night. We hv a beer at the bar for about half hour and were hoping to get a table for dinner.

My knowledge about Belgian food is pretty much limited beyond waffles, chocolates, and - chocolate-grazed waffles, until i finally paid Frites on the Belgian Tap a visit. From the exterior, the place looked just like any other restaurants in town. But once you push the door in, you will be welcomed by a few drinking monks (how pious!) painted on the wall, and a corridor follows.

Walk further in, and you might be surprised (just as I was) by the interior you see - a cosy pub with high ceilings with a good reserve of beers and liqueurs behind the ever-busy bar area.

The servers were enthusiastic in getting us a table even though we did not book ahead. Frites serves a wide range of Belgian dishes, from salads to tartares, pastas to meaty main courses, and of course mussels in pots - the national eat. Everything looked tempting by their names and after some tough time choosing what to and what not-to have, we settled with a more refreshing salad, a tuna tartare for we love seafood, mussels in 1/2 kg (of course!) and a main course with duck.

Frites, of course, boasts a wide range of beers and wines for customers to choose from. Not sure what we should have, we ordered a Sampling Beer Platter which comes with 5 small glasses of beers, some more commonly found in HK and some not.

Went there for lunch today with wife. Ordered Fish and Frites together with the Good Wife Sausage. The Fish was crispy and tender with some good thick fries to go with. The sausage portion is large with a matching portion mashed potatoes. We both enjoyed the food and sat there chatting and enjoying the atmosphere during the afternoon.

The first time I came here was about half a year ago and have been coming back regularly since then for both lunch and dinner. I like the relaxed atmosphere and the food is consistently good. I don't drink beer, but everytime I bring my friends here who do, they are pleasantly surprised by the choice of beer they offer.

Recommended

Pot of Mussels
One thing that I order almost everytime is the mussel pot. I have tried laska, Provencale, Mariniere and Oriental Style so far and the prior two are my favourites. They all come with a bowl of fries. It's cripsy and slightly salted and goes perfectly with the mayo.

Laska
Flavour is not as strong creamy as that soup base that you find in laska noodles, but a lighter version but yet flavoursome.

Provencale
Consists of garlic, onion, tomatoes and herbs. It's more traditional way of cooking mussels.

Sole Fillet Au Gratin
It was offered on the express lunch menu. The fish was seasoned with salt and pepper and place on top of thin slices of potatoes topped with a cream sauce with onion and mushrooms. All the ingredients went well together.

Langoustine Linguine
I thought this was delicious. Linguine with cream sauce with fish, prawns and mussels. It doesn't have a wow factor, but overall a very decent dish.

Try if you really want to

Braised Belgioan Endive Au Gratin
The ham was not tender enough and the flavours didn't really blend in well

Oven Baked Fish of the Day
The fish was baked with Hoegaarden lemon sauce. I think it was slightly overcooked and it's just a personal preference that I prefer the French way of cooking fish.

Beef Pie
Don't remember the exact name of the dish now, but it wasn't the best pie I have had. The pastry was a little too dry for my taste and the meat was not tender enough

If you ask me what is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Frites, its has to be KNUCKLES! (Well, chips seems to be too obvious right?) I had already tried some delicious pork knuckles, from my last visit in Frites, so this time we are trying something new.Today we came with a big beer fan who can't really live without alcohol in a single day. He had never heard about Frites but was elated to be this Belgium Beer house, which he then decided to come every happy hour until he had tried all beer on menu! Excited as he was, he counted the beer on the menu one by one and found there was 86 kind of beers in total. Impressive figures. Not only the variety of beer it offers are totally awesome, the special cup and coaster that goes with each kind of beer was more amazing. Frites would be heaven to coasters collector.Fruit beers are heaven to girls who don't really like the taste of beer. The Tropical Fruit and Mango fruit beer were delicious! The beer taste was light with a strong sweet taste of fruits. I also tried Chocolate Beer which was dreadful...the chocolate taste didn't go with the beer and the combination was real bad.

1) Beer PlatterWe tried too many of a beer tonight, and I couldn't recap all of them really, but this beer platter was quite interesting and are worthwhile to talk about. The beer platter included five medium shots of beer which were put on a wooden tray along with a small plate of Fried Gouda Balls and Pickle Gherkin. The beers from left to right were as follow: Stella Artois - Hooegarden - Leffe Blonde - Leffe Brune - Belle-Vue. The arrangement was set so to have the lightest taste on the left to strongest taste on the right. Stella and Hoegaarden are some normal beer that you can get anywhere. They were both light beer without much taste really. Leffe Blonde was quite nice but still the beer taste was quite light. I like Leffe Brune sine I love stout beer like Guinness. The Belle-Vue was horrible to taste as it was extremely bitter, it tasted bitter than chinese medicine.2) Rich Man BurgerThe rich man burger was HUGE! There were layers of toppings in between the buns. The beef patty was delicious! It was cooked medium well to keep the juiciness and had quite a beef taste with it. There were also tomato, cucumber, fried eggs and beet roots in between the buns. All the toppings were incredibly fresh, especially the beet root which was very sweet.The burger was actually a bit huge to enjoy even though you had tried hard to squeeze it to mouth size. We ended up splitting the burger, taking the patty out separately to enjoy. Oh, I forgot to mention about the melted cheese on top of the thick juicy beef patty! Yum, just simply too delicious. A minor criticism about the burger was that the buns were too soft and went all sloppy and flat after layering under and on top of the ingredients for a while, actually the buns were already sloppy when served.

3) Schnutzel and FritesSchnutzel was actually deep fried pork loin. The Schnutzel's portion was huge, the golden brown colour made a vivid contrast with the big red rectangular block which held the Schnutzel. There were also veggies and a big halfed lemon on plate even though we were not having fish. The Schnutzel tasted nice either with ketchup and mayo, dejion mustard or simply without any sauces. I also like its crispy texture. Overall, the schnitzel was nice but wasn't particularly special.

4) The Frites
On the other hand, the frites aka chips were really nice. It was in thick cuts and was also deep fried to give a crispy skin. The frites was also soft and light in texture. There were ketchup, tabasco and other kind of hot sauces in the sauce tray, so you could pick anything to go with your chips.

5) Marinerie MusselThe mussel pot was in a great design with a hoop which was hooked to the body to hold a cup of chips with it. Marinerie was mussels cooked with white wine, herbs and chives. The sauce was actually very lightly tasted but salty enough for the mussels. There wouldn't be any wine taste to it, since they were evaporated when cooking. The mussels were in generous amount and were very fresh and juicy.

6) Langoustine LinguineLangoustine Linguine was assorted seafood and braised leek in a rich tarragon cream sauce with balsamic dressing. The pasta came in generous amount. There were cod fishes, mussels and prawn on top of the pasta. The white sauce was creamy and tasty. The pasta was made al dente, quite a nice dish to taste.

7) Creme BruleeAlthough full to the max, we couldn't help but indulge ourselves in dessert! I tried Belgium Waffles last time so I wanted to try something else. The Cream Brulee was served appealing on our desk with a golden brown caramel firing to set hard. The custard base was heavenly delicious with a mild taste of Baileys! I love baileys, I love the light coffee taste and the mild sweetness that it contains. I personally reckon the Creme Brulee tasted better than the Belgium Waffles, and is a must have item!

The portion in Frites was quite large to me, or in general girls. If you are in a bigger size or have a good appetite, you might be able to finish your dish by your own. The environment was pub classy with decent décor. There were beer bottles all over the restaurant and glasses hanging over the high wall at the bar. I also love the classy checked tiles on the floor. The restaurant was spacious but rather noisy so don't expect intimacy but friends gathering in here.

More can be found in:
www.cinnamon4coffee.blogspot.com

We went for a Saturday night dinner and the restaurant is almost full.

We were promptly seated and given the excelant beer menu. The food menu is your place mat.

I started with a bottle of Satan Gold which I had never heard of before and was a good introduction to the beers here.

We shared a mussel and laksa half kilo to start ($185), and the mussels were perfectly cooked and tender in a lightly curried lemony broth. The chips were crisp and went perfectly with the mayo and ketchup. The large piece of fresh brown bread was almost overkill as we were already getting full.

If you are not a mussel fan there are a great selection of alternative starters including parma ham wrapped endive au gratin, a huge charcuterie plate, steak tartar and chevre tart.I would happily come back here just for the starters.

For mains we had the half meter sausage and mash, and the spiced guinea fowl pie(both $190). The sausage is huge and the creamy mash a generous helping. The pie has perfect pastry, crisp on outside and juicy inside, covering a huge mound of lightly spiced slighlty gamey meat, served with a mushroom veloute.

I had a Gouden Carolus beer($85) to go with the sausage and it's deep rich flavour ws better than any wine for this type of food.

Our server, Sudeep, did a great job.

With a rather overpriced coke the total bill was $821, and I look forward to coming back soon.

October = beer time. Noted that one of my fav mussel place Frites is doing a special beer pairing for Oktoberfest so i've booked a table super early to have a try.

Their "Beer De-Guzzle-Station Menu" is only $350/head (min for 2). Each beer and dish is shared between 2. Every beer is carefully chosen to match with each specific dish and each bottle comes with matching glasses with the beer brand logo printed on them. Dining there is like having a tasting menu in a brewery museum, except that in Frites there is more than just one brand for you to choose from. Moreover, all of their staff are trained to answer your simple questions regarding their beers' origin, ingredients and tastes!

Their first dish is Smoked Salmon Salad paired with Blanche de Bruxelles. The salad is made with smoked salmon; fresh Fennel and frissee seasoned with some dill and a lemon and shallot vinaigrette dressing. It's very refreshing! The salmon is a bit salty, so it's good to be paired with this white beer whose light sweet lemon citrus taste helps to wash away the saltiness of the salmon. It's a perfect beer to start the night.

Then we are served Crumbed Camembert with Raisin Chutney paired with Duvel. Camembert, which is a creamy cow-milk cheese is very similar to Brie in texture but Camembert is stronger and saltier in taste. After deep-fried the outside is so crispy yet it's melted so soft inside. It's quite fulfilling too, which will prepare you for the "devil" golden beer, Duvel, which has 8.5% alcohol content. Despite the relatively high alcohol content, Duvel is very easy to drink. It has the aroma of sweet dried fruits - a perfect match with the raisin chutney.

Now comes one of the signature dishes of Frites, Mussels Mariniere with Frites. Literally, everyone around us has ordered a pot of Mussels tonight. The Mussels are steamed with white wine, celery, garlic and mixed herbs. They are just perfectly done so they are very tender. It tastes quite sweet with a slight oceanic flavor. The frites are so freshly prepared they come hot and crispy. They are deep-fried once, cooled, and then fried again before serving. Traditionally, frites are served with mayonnaise but if you fancy ketchup there is usually a tray of sauces and seasonings on the table. Mussels with frites sounds like a healthier alternative to fish and chips. The dish is paired with Palm, an amber beer. It has a rich, full taste of malt with a fine bittersweet balance. A very satisfying beer to comes with this filling street Belgium dish.

After their signature mussels, we should be served another popular dish, the Steak Tartar. However, since we don't eat beef, we are skipping that. Thank god we've decided to leave room for the finishing dishes as the both Gorganzola with Fresh Pear and Creme Brulee arrive in generous portion. The Gorganzola, a blue cheese, is very buttery and quite strong. Not everyone’s favorite but personally I really like it. It's very fulfilling so it's a perfect dish to have if you plan to have a long drinking night. Its strong taste sets an interesting contrast with the refreshing sweetness of the pear. It is paired with Chimay Bleue, a strong dark trappist beer which has a light flavor of malt with a roasted almond aftertaste to enhance with the richness of Gorganzola.

The Creme Brulee is very smooth and we like that it's not over sweetened. It's matched with Lindemans Kriek, a lambic beer with a strong cherry taste. The same brewery also produces Lindemans Apple (an apple beer) and Lindemans Pecheresse (a peach beer), which I have already tried in some other bars in Hong Kong. It is quite popular among girls. Like Lindemans Apple and Lindemans Pecheresse, Kriek is distinctively cidery with a very interesting sour aftertaste that makes it tastes more like carbonated juice than beer. The black cherry flavor is very unique and its’ sour tastes is kind of tamed down after a spoonful of creamy Creme Brulee.

At the end of the meal we are so full that we believe the menu is definitely good for at least three girls. We've decided to go back again pretty soon. Probably book a table for 4, ordering this menu and get some other mains such as more mussels and fish + chips. it's gonna be an Oktoberfe(a)st!

pics and full review: http://www.hiphongkong.com/content/seasonal_special_frites_octoberfest_beer_pairing_menu

I love the atmosphere of this restaurant, it’s very casual and relaxed but stylish vibe. I love the long wooden table, the bar, and the wine rack embedded in the walls.

we both ordered mussels – I ordered ½ kilo Provencale which was steamed tomato, onions and herbs, served with a side of frites and mayo and a slice of dark rye bread. The mussels were cooked to perfection and the sauce was delicious. The frites were hot, crunchy and soft on the inside, dipped in mayo – they were delightful.

D ordered the ½ kilo of frites house mussels, which was served with steamed diced tomato, onion, light cream and fresh chives. It was very similar to mine, tomato flavoured but a lot creamier. For someone who doesn’t like seafood, he demolished it! He couldn’t really explain why he loved mussels so much but won’t eat fish, lobster, crab or the like… weird indeed!

Frites doesn’t just offer mussels, they also have fish and chips, schnitzels, burgers, beef stew, duck, bangers and mash and many more.

The waiter / waitresses in Frites were all very attentive and well trained in matching special beers with each individual order. It’s a great place for celebrations or just catching up with friends. I certainly enjoyed the mussels and fries, the venue, the vibe and atmosphere!

read review here: http://gastronomous.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/mussels-and-fries-at-frites-central/

If you like flavorsome mussels and a good beer, then Frites is the to-go place. Good ambience for a casual meal but can be a bit too noisy (dinner time) for some. A good option for weekend lunch as it's usually less busy. The room has huge windows which allow in natural light and makes for a great daytime dining experience.

I always order the hoegarden mussels but they also make a great fish n' chip - thick and juicy fried fish fillet - which is not easy to come by in Hong Kong (btw another recommended place for fish n chips is Alfie). It's got a vast selection of premium beer which goes very well with its food menu.

Frites.

I used to pronounce this as "frights" but don't. It's "freet" with a silent s, learnt it from our French friend who highly recommended this place.

We went there for the mussels and the fries served with mayo.
That's right.
Fries and mayo (not Miracle Whip. Not that there's anything wrong with miracle whip ^_*), crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, chunky fries with a small pot of slightly salty, tangy and creamy mayo.
Perfection.

I had half a kilo of Mariniere mussels, the mussels were perfectly cook, every little bite is a nice combination of fresh seafood sweetness, savory garlic, and fragrant white wine and herbs. Scoop the sauce with a spoon or mop it clean with a piece of bread.

We also love the pot of Frites House Mussels, I literally couldn't stop myself from slurping the sauce of my friend's pot. Fresh and sweet from the onion and mussels, slighty tangy from the tomatoes, and creamy without being too rich. Yummy!

Half a kilo, easy. Each of us finished our pot clean, despite having polished off a bowl of beer sausages, hearty and savory with a touch of sweetness. The perfect small bites to share with a few friends.

We'll be back

No lunch set on Saturday. So, ordered a mug of Leffe and a dish of sausage at over $200. Excellent beer and finely cooked meat. Full... Next time, must try mussel.

Note: Some people came up to me every now and again, telling me "Your (My) writing is..." (too long/ too tedious/ relying too much on metaphors/ too complicated/ too descriptive/ too anal on the small details...etc) I never noticed it being a problem, until one day when a stared at the computer screen trying to write, only to find words have smartly avoided their appearance in my mind. Below is an attempt to write, with few attempt on metaphors, stories, and complicatedness...just to see how it goes?
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Call me old fashioned, but I have always considered eating 'express' anything could not only lead to a shorter life expectancy, it is also a hazard to even consider eating faster than one can chew, especially when I have a picture in my head of someone engulfing the entire burger in one gulp, whilst gobbling down the salad and a coffee in less than 5 minutes. Oh wait, was it Garfield who did that too? Anyways it doesn't matter, what matters is 'express lunch'. I never like the idea of it. It encourages people rushing through the only hour they have during a busy work day, but that's beyond the point isn't it?

Express Lunch at FRITES has one catch, one better be prepared to call in advance for a table, so that you will get one of the more comfortable tables other than the bar. Staff at Frites play no favorites, no matter who you are. You don't call and arrive at 1pm, you will end up at the bar. It's strict rules for them, but the no-grey area is also not friendly to those who should be deprived of a stool, say, a pregnant woman or an old man with a stick who could barely walked up the stairs to reach the restaurant. The pregnant woman sitting next to us was tucking herself deeper into the stool from falling off, while trying to hold her belly in place to not let anything drip onto herself.

The menu consists of a first course which was either SOUP or SALAD. The Caesar Salad caught our eye, followed by a PENNE with WOODLAND MUSHROOMS and HERB CREAM SAUCE ($98) and a SUMMER TRIFLE to round off a set lunch. Splitting the lunch we also shared 1/2 kilo order FRITES HOUSE MUSSELS ($175). The people who lunch sit tightly packing the entire space, while the end of the bar table is a giant dog statue that overlooks the entire dining room.

The Caesar Salad arrived in a flash. A quartered soft-boiled egg neatly balanced on the top of a pile of dressed romaine lettuce --the dressing beautifully clinging on each piece of green leaf, while flakes of crispy bacon is mixed throughout. The only risk of any Caesar salad often lies in the suspicious fishiness that leaps up when you least notice it. This time around the anchovies was in every bite, you could taste the tiny bit of saltiness and you could tell it's a fish but it's not a heavy dose of fishy taste either.

The Penne arrived next. I considered it for a minute, and came to conclude that 'woodland mushrooms' is just another term to charge a few bucks more. Exactly how many people know whether a mushroom comes from a woodland? And how many woodlands bear enough mushrooms to be cooked and served in a foreign country at lunches? The penne is slightly chewy, but mostly alright. The cream sauce, though, disappoints big-time. It's a very white sauce, and there is nothing wrong with that, but one should just take their word for it.,An Herb Cream sauce was exactly what it was -- herb + cream. The sauce tastes like dairy, thickened dairy to be specific and the herbal taste is contributed from an extra sprinkling of thyme and oregano, but that was it.

The Mussel pot was yet another cream-based mussel dish. The mussels, wide open with each a small bits of meat within. Despite the lack of ineptly opened ones, the mussels tasted fine, briny with a light sweetness to it. Chopped tomatoes in cream,combined the juices from the mussels themselves are not as light as one would expect but it's a satisfying treat, except that one seems to never get enough mussels. Frites with Mayonnaise is good as it is -- crunchy golden potato sticks piled high in a tin, while the mayonnaise exudes richness in every dip the potatoes take.

Dessert time arrived as one considers this fabulousness in a glass -- a summer fruit trifle smells of trouble. The burnt sugar crisp on one side seemed overly charred. The meringue was sweet with grains of sugar undissolved. The red fruit compote beneath tasted like a sweetened cough syrup, and turned into yet another wrong turn with the sweet too-thick custard and syrup soaked sponge cake at the base. If it wasn't a foodie's mission to try everything at least once, it's hard to imagine someone sincerely likes this thing.

Coffee was plain, and it arrived slightly tepid, and it's just made across the counter. It makes me wonder, how did a good start winds down to a bitter ending? Frites wasn't bad, and for the most part the service is ok.One would never sit around with an empty glass yearning for water to be refilled, or a bill to be picked up. If only one could expect the same dedication to all the dishes they dish out from the kitchen...not nearly as consistent as their signatures.