KCF's Profile

been here twice, brunch and afternoon tea.  brunch was when it 1st opened, service needed work (just slow and forgetful), better during tea.  brunch food portion was small, got their big breakfast, essentially it's a full english breakfast without without the black pudding.  the baked beans with pull pork was actually superb.  too bad the portion for this was way too small, needs to be doubled.  and need an extra sausage, then it's worth the price charged.  the salad that came with this needed better dressing, was bland/bitter.afternoon tea had their carrot cake and lemon tart, and their mocha.  the coffee was really so-so, but at least had enough chocolate flavour to cover to soya milk that i requested (unlike mcCafe).  the carrot cake was a bit dry on top, looked like it had sat in the fridge for too long.  taste was not bad, so worth an encore if it's fresh.they need to remember to clean up the sofa chair of crumbs after each guest leaves.  was bit messy.  spacious and casual and bright, nice addition to the valley.  …Read More

Overall service needs work, but not too too bad for a 2 week old resto. The waiters could articulate each ingredient of each dish and what they were serving. Food more subtle and innovative than what my pallet is used to (bitter & sour elements vs the usual umami, salty, sweet). Worth a try especially if you like seafood and want an adventurous journey.  Undecided on whether to go back for 2nd try later as too many restos to try.  nays:1) coughing hostess not friendly; almost act like who r u & what do u want. snooty attitude doesn't work in fine dine scene in HK.2) dish washing.  please make sure black shiny plates are dried & wiped properly. the obvious watermarks makes dish look dirty.  3) why share the butter knife (nice design btw)?  when we each have our own very pretty seashell bread plate.4) no water in the ice bucket?  there was no condensation on my glass, meaning my originally chilled white is served at HK room temp 21C.  glass filled to below bell. dripping water from the bottle. have to ask for refill serveral times.  5) forgetful kitchen.  i said no cheese but kitchen forgot & still ended up serving me a cheese course.  the mushroom brooth that was supposed to go w/ the chesse was nice.  they remembered to swap out one of the amuse bouche tho.yays:1)   pending liquor license hence free corkage.  but paid in kind with us teaching them how to chill wine properly.2) fancy dishes, with multiple plating stages.  finishing touches & even the cooking done table side by the waiters.  nice presentation, both visual and dramatic, creating suspense and highlighting the ingredients.  3) unique utensils, cups, plates etc. marries the theme of modern deconstructed french well.4) overall food had minimal oil and very light and felt healthy.5) lots of extras - although technically ordered 6 course meal, we got a cheese course, 2 desserts, petite fours and coffee/tea.  and of course the 4 amuse bouches.…Read More

incredibly, we spent over $10,000 and all 5 of us walked out still HUNGRY! and we're not big westerners who need huge portions.the kaiseki was not artful, nothing special at all. i've had many much better kaiseki meals in japan in good non-michelin starred restaurants that's better than this place. there was only 1 set menu but the food and selection was like ordering a mid-tier kaiseki dinner at sugiyama. i was expecting omakase level and quality.maybe there's a even more expensive omakase that the waiters didn't tell us about. but for $2Kpp for mid-tier set was utterly insulting.also the place is cramped, seats uncomfortable.what a waste of time and calories and occasion!…Read More

honestly the food was good, definitely could not fault it. but not exceptional on par with the likes of Pierre or Amber etc. the wine list was limited and way way way over priced. overall around $900pp was a bit of a rip off given the service was sub-par. of course when we went, it had only been opened for a couple of months. however it was just so disorganised and unprofessional that you should not be charging 5 star prices when you're not ready to provide 5 star experience.no interest to go back but if someone insists i will go. hope it's service has improved by now.…Read More

I usually come here for the juice. I'd walk 15mins in my suit in the hot summer to get one of their super healthy liquid salads. hk definitely should have more places that offer healthy organic foods.the bad is if you actually have meals here, the food can be really bland. it is sad that they give healthy food such a bad impression for the uninitiated. just because it's healthy doesn't mean you can't season it properly with herbs etc. it is definitely achieveable if they try. in the meantime i'm sticking to the take aways.…Read More

I've been here twice for dinner and twice for lunch. 1st time dinner was when it first opened. had their tasting menu. the food was good but not on the level of the likes of amber/pierre. portions were decent. 2nd dinner ordered a la carte and the main I ordered (the pigeon) was exquisite but portion a bit small for a la carte. I was very happy however given there were a couple of months between the 2 dinners, I had expected some new dishes but seemed their signature dishes were the same. I decided not to go back for dinner after a long time as the menu didn't change much.Lunch originally seemed like a good deal. Choose any 2 or 3 course from the lunch a la carte menu for around $360. 1st lunch I had wine and bread so it was decent. 2nd time back, I didn't have wine and maybe because what I ordered I was left feeling hungry still. My lunch mates on both occasions complained lack of food. To elaborate on the small portion, the main course was smaller than most appetizers at most restaurants. It was quite appalling. Service was OK but not up to standard for a high end restaurant.Haven't been back since. But it's Ok to try once or twice.…Read More

tried the cherry napoleon, mango napoleon and mango moose. given how much it cost, like $270 for 6pcs of cake, i had certain expectations. unfortunately i was quite disappointed.btw these cakes were recommended by the shop, i seriously think they recommended these to get rid of items that can't keep for next day.mango moose - had a layer of sponge cake at the bottom, it was hard and dry, was like biting through cardboard. it felt like it was at least 2 days old cake. taste was blah.cherry napoleon - supposed to be signature cake but the cherries were sour. there wasn't enough custard. and the construction itself does not lend to the different ingredients eaten together. therefore each piece must stand on it's own, and you take a bite of each. however the top and bottom "hamburger bun" napoleon was bland, dry w/ no flavour. the crispness was actually on the hard rocky crunch side. people enjoy napoleon for it's airy crisp, light but flavourful taste. this definitely didn't fit the bill. mango napoleon - bit better than the cherry one as there was more filling and the mango was nice and ripe and tasty. however the supposed crisp airy flakes of pastry was actually chewy this time. maybe cuz we were sold left over cake again, not sure. overall quite a disappointment. but maybe because we went late in the day around dinner time, the cakes were no good, not sure. but if he's so dicerning, he shouldn't sell them to us knowing it would be bad.…Read More

i've been three times since this place opened. once was for a private dinner party upstairs. it's quite good french food, on par with the likes of bonheur, but bit more expensive ($400-$500 range vs just below $400). the restaurant is v dark downstairs, can barely read the menu. also it has like maybe 3 tables downstairs and is quite cramped. so not a v comfortable sitting experience. the service is OK, they try hard to accomodate our requests etc but like most speakeasies in hk, it's local service.overall, the food is very good, just a cut below 5star hotel restaurants. the food is consistently good, unlike alot of restaurants that got a lot of hype in beginning then it got greedy and food starts to go bad. Given it's still around after a few years, it's a testament to their consistency. It's definitely worth trying if you haven't been. …Read More

surprised at the high overall ratings of this place. it's not bad but it's not 4.0 or above for sure. many better restaurants have a lower rating.been here only once. 1/F's sushi ku is much better actually . but this place has the option of having teppanyaki. overall it is OK food but nothing spectacular. price is mid-range, worthed when i went they had a set meal that had everything. but honestly this place isn't far from the level of miso.…Read More

we booked a private room for my friend's birthday. the restaurant was surprisingly empty given it's prime location in LKF. of course probably because everyone's in singapore for the F1 but was still quite surprising. the food was actually really good. price is not cheap but not 5 star hotel either. i had the hamachi wasabi ice, also tried the steak tartare. both were delicious and frankly quite perfect. the hamachi cubes were fresh, tasty and perfectly chilled by the wasabi ice. the wasabi ice was not too spicy, slightly sweet and also sour. very refreshing. also tried my friend's steak tartare. it was well seasoned, just right. i'm quite wary of steak tartar in hk as if it's not seasoned properly, it can really taste like ur eating at the butcher shop. i actually had steak tartare in hotel costes in paris that made me disgusted as it was just a patty of ground beef, with some capers, peppers, onions. i've also tried one at the press room, it was only OK. Union J's was better for me as it was mixed w/ tartare sauce and other ingredients. main course i had their signature beef cheeks w/ polemo. the portion was very big, it was like a large round ball, almost the size of a soft ball, and the flavour was infused all the way through this big lump of meat. the sauce was slightly sweet and tangy, so it made it easier to devour this cheek all by myself i actually thought the polemo salad didn't really add to the dish. it could've been something else.some of my friends ordered the steak w/ duck fat fries. they all enjoyed their meals very much. the steak was cooked just right, very tender and flavourful. one friend went on to claim it rivals the steakouse's steak! the duck fat fries really made a difference in the flavour of the fries. i felt guilty eating every bite of it but it really gave the fry depth of flavour (rather than just salty).we didn't order dessert as we got a made to order birthday cake. it was chocolate, don't know what it's called but it was really good. it rivaled sift's chocolate cake actually. and best thing is we got to design it ourselves. very expensive though, at $600 for the cake.overall the food was good. and the chef is clever to limit the menu to only a small selection so they can execute those well. the only complaint we have is the service. it wasn't horrible or appalling but we just had trouble getting the waiters attention. given the restaurant was half full or even less, and given we were in a private room, we expected waiters to come in at the right time intervals to check on us. also we had additional guests arriving for drinks and they don't bother to ask if they want something to drink or anything. just kind of clueless. and given Union J is part of a restaurant group, lack of training is inexcusable.will go back to try lunch as it seems like a good deal. …Read More

5 of us ate at this restaurant few weeks ago on a sat night, at the time it had been open for around 3months according to our waiter.we started by ordering a bottle of white wine. since it wasn't cold, the waiter told us to wait while it chilled. 1st of all, this is summer, and wines are supposed to be kept at a cool temp and not hk summer room temp so it shouldn't be not chilled in 1st place. fine, we waited. and waited, and waited. 30mis passed, several complaints, still no wine. finally we said, just bring us the bottle even though not chilled and a bucket with ice to chill at the table. bottle arrives, seperate with bucket and ice. the waiters did not even know how to put the bottle in the bucket, THEN put the ice in and some water so the iced water surrounds most of the bottle. they just sat the bottle on top of the ice at the bottom, so ur just chilling the bottom of the bottle. DOH! we had to dig the ice out ourselves and try to put the bottle in first, then the ice on the side. the waiter actually stood there and let us do it, then another waiter saw and offered to help us. WTF?then our food came and i swear 4 out of 5 at our table had to add a copious amount of salt and pepper to each dish as it was all tasteless! main course came and same situation. and we already ordered their most popular/signature dishes. fine we didn't complain since it's not that expensive, but still, i'd rather not waste my calorie intake on tasteless food!dessert time, hoping it would be the saving grace. unfortunately they had poor staff training. we asked for explaination of 2 of the desserts on the menu. the waitress didn't know and had to go and ask and come back to tell us. clueless but, ok, fine. after we ordered it, another waiter came over and said sorry this is sold out. we were one of the last tables left, they should've told us when we asked for the explaination! anyway, hopeless to complain to stupid people so we tried to order something else. b4 my friends ordered, i asked, ok let's be sure before we order, ANYTHING ELSE on the menu is sold out? THEN the waiter said, oh, yes 1 more, this one. WTF AGAIN! are these people on CRACK??? we were so disappointed, didn't even want to order anything anymore.only 1 person at our table said the food was OK. all the rest stuck their tongues out. maybe others would have better luck but at 20% hit rate, i'll pass. …Read More

been here for dinner twice. then a few more for drinks. dinner is just not worthed. 2nd time was better, food tasty, service passable but still nothing to write home about and just v expensive. drinks, don't bother ordering mixed drinks as their bar staff have no clue. just order wine by glass/bottle or beer.wrote a review on this long time ago on another website based on my 1st dining experience at sevva. here it is:we made a booking for 10pm dinner for 3 on a sat night. we were asked to wait outside, which was hot and humid. we waited and waited and every time we asked, the waiters said 5mins. finally we were not seated until 11pm! OK i admit others would probably have left before 11 but we had already opened a bottle of wine outside so we ended up finishing it before getting seated. if you cannot seat a reservation within 5mins when you are supposedly a high class establishement charging ridiculous prices, you have completely FAILED. no excuses can be made for making your customers wait 1hour with a reservation. if you cannot seat us, then say so, we can go somewhere else, rather than lie repeatedly saying it will only be 5mins. and the waiters were not even apologetic and when we complained to the manager, all he could say was it was "out of his control" the previous diners took a long time. no apology, no complementary drink/dessert, nothing, but just kept rushing us to order as the kitchen was closing in 15mins. and when we were finally seated we find half the tables in the section were empty and looked deserted for a long time. they seemed short handed probably because half the waiters were off duty by that time so they could not clear the tables fast enough nor serve us. i've dined in the hottest newest hyped places in New York, London and Paris, dining amongst the trumps or celebrities like de niro and NEVER have i experienced such appalling treatment. i'd rather stay home and make my own mac'n cheese and douse it with a bottle of white truffle oil from citysuper. much cheaper and much more enjoyable experience. …Read More

great place to take western visitors for a "pretty" chinese meal. came here last year, i think a few months after it first opened. haven't been back since so that says a lot.they do have some innovative dishes, well presented and tasted OK (some dishes were quite spicy so not suitable for all). but again nothing blow ur hair back. didn't help that the service wasn't polished either and to top it off, it was a bit over priced. would be worthed if it's around $300pp. it would also help if the service was more attentive and friendly, make u feel at home and special, then customers would come back again and again. this is the problem with a lot of these modern chinese restaurants in the city. yes they got better decor, seem cleaner and maybe got more innovative dishes, but the staff/atmosphere tends to be as minimal as the decor and lacks that je ne sais quoi that keeps customers coming back week after week. go for an elegant dinner of something chinese but different. go there to impress a date. go there for a change. but that's about it. …Read More

i've been quite skeptical of restaurants in soho as most of them have a good concept/theme but not a lot of substance.but since there's a new japanese restaurant opened, must give it a try anyway. the food was actually not bad. but the night we went, they RAN OUT OF RICE. how can u run out of rice????? i guess the restaurant is still quite new and don't know how to stock or someone should really be fired. luckily the manager did try to make up for it with a few bonus skewers. anyway so we ordered their signature tofu, 2 dishes, a plain, one w/ tuna. i liked both and in particular the one w/ raw tuna on it. the sashimi were pretty fresh and the skewers were well seasoned and grilled. worth noting was their grilled beef tenderlion (main dish). we got 2 orders of it. usually these grilled beef at japanese restaurants can be hit or miss, sometimes too dry/over cooked, or bland. no such problems here. the beef tongue skewers were also quite good. overall a pretty well rounded japanese restaurant but nothing too stand out amazing. would go back again choosing it over most of the restaurants in the soho area. upstairs is v dark so great for dates. …Read More

came here for bday dinner, bf hasn't been in a couple of yrs but we decided to come give it a try.to my surprise, the quality of the wagyu was extremely good. soft, melt in ur mouth thin slices of beef, perfectly marbled, it was absolute perfection. 4 choices of soup base, the seaweed one was too bland, the other bonito was just perfect.main complaint was the resto was way under staffed. our poor waiter who was v helpful was running around half the time trying to serve every table. so the food arrived a bit slow and they forgot to give us sauces etc. also it was a bit expensive but not too bad. had a set meal w/ appetisers, small sushi/sashimi platter, wagyu beef & pork slices, noodles and fruit for $580 per person. but the saving grace is, it's ALL YOU CAN EAT for the raw stuff! i've also been to Wa-En their korean bbq places a floor below. actually think the wagyu here is better, maybe easier to control to cooking for me. next time i'll go back and just order the regular wagyu beef all you can eat for $390 or the $360 mix wagyu and pork slices. better hire more staff!…Read More