shiv01's Profile

I was saddened to hear that the Tin Hau restaurant had closed but happy to find the Peel Street one much nearer to home. The decor is very clever and there is (relatively) a lot more space but still cosy - it can seat about 10 people and has a nice little terrace which can be completely covered & can seat another 4 or so.Corkage is low - only HKD100 so BYO is a great option. Otherwise there is a big selection of wine available at very reasonable prices. The menu is limited so best to ask when you book the table & if possible choose already what you want to eat.I started with oysters - there is usually a selection of 6 or so different kinds. This time, the Scottish Rock were the largest I have ever seen & very tasty. My friend had pan fried foie gras which she polished off happily.After that we shared a salad, some lovely juicy scallops and absolutely delicious Alaskan crab claws.We finished up with a piece of steak which, I have to say, was quite disappointing. It was too chewy & not as good as I have had on previous occasions. Also, a suggestion for the steak plate: warm the plate please - it helps keep the food hot.Service is great and there is more staff and a proper kitchen (than Tin Hau) which speeds up matters greatly. …Read More

Went here for lunch today with a friend. Soho is a good lunch spot because apart from one or two places, it's not very busy. Bistro Manchu (usually packed in the evenings) is no exception - there were 2 other tables while we were there.They do have several set lunches but we ordered à la carte: steamed lamb & scallion dumplings; fried pork dumplings & aubergine with garlic. The lamb dumplings were wonderfully juicy and my mouth is watering again thinking about them. The pork ones were very tasty too & the aubergine seemed to be glazed in honey & had big wedges of medium-spicy chili peppers in it. It was absolutely delish.From the fact that it took a fair amount of time to serve everything, I assume that it was all prepared to order & certainly all tasted very fresh.Not bad at all!…Read More

What can I say? This is the best fillet steak I have had in a long time: tender, juicy, perfectly cooked. I love the big open grill.The side dishes we ordered were grilled peppers; mixed vegetables & sweet potato. The peppers were cooked perfectly & tasted lovely and sweet. I didn't have room for the rest but my friend said they were very tasty too.Neither of us had room for dessert but we polished off quite a lot of good Malbec. They have a great selection of Argentinian wine & the menu is simply laid out by grape variety for those of us who are not clever that way.Service was very good except for one waiter who whisked our wine glasses away without asking us if we wanted another glass (we did!).I can't wait to go back.…Read More

We were in the neighbourhood & having just seen a review of this place we thought we'd try it out.I wasn't terribly hungry so I skipped the starter. My friend had the squid & chorizo starter. He assured me that, although the presentation was somewhat lacking (it looked like it had been dolloped onto the plate with a ladle), it was pleasant and tasty & the squid was nicely chargrilled and reasonably tender. As a main, I had half a roast chicken with corn on the cob and a few pieces of root vegetable. The chicken was lovely - meaty, juicy and the skin was lovely and crunchy. The corn was delicious but the other vegetables were not terribly interesting. My friend had the Iberico pork, which was juicy, tender, succulent...and almost completely tasteless! Very strange... For dessert I had Key lime cheesecake with lime sorbet. The sorbet was nice but the cheesecake was absolutely leaden and didn't taste much of lime. I should have gone for the chocolate orange dome, which I was assured was very good, as my friend fended off my advances with a spoon!The winelist was very offputting. Out of about 40 reds, there were 9 (just) under HK$500. This is ridiculous when there is so much good wine available at reasonable prices. And they charge a whopping HK$320 corkage. Ridiculous. We just had a glass of Shiraz & a glass of Merlot.The food was adequate but it really is Just a Restaurant and I would not be in any hurry to go back.…Read More

I was home alone and didn't feel like going out to get something to eat. I thought I would try to go for a healthier option than just ordering pizza or a curry. I saw this place online and thought I would try it. I liked the fact that I could choose each item of sushi/sashimi separately from the menu.Scallop sashimi: 3 good-sized scallops, creamy and delicious - this is my favourite kind of sashimi. In fact I love anything with scallops so I was very happy with this. Roasted sushi set - 1 piece each of hamachi, salmon & scallop: each was barely seared to warm it and give it a nice roasted feel on the outside but still tender and delicious. It had cooled perfectly by the time it got to me.Chopped tuna with onion hand roll: DIY as in the supermarket, where you have to put the seaweed on yourself to retain maximum freshness.Prawn cutlet maki - 4 pieces: this fought with the scallop sashimi for top place. It was absolutely delicious. A big succulent deep-fried prawn, again it was freshly cooked & had cooled to taste just barely warm by the time it got to me. Lovely. A little niggle: a dozen packets of soy sauce & just one of wasabi? Really? Luckily, I keep a tube of wasabi in the fridge This is the first time I've ever ordered sushi for home delivery & I was very happy with the result. I may check out he shop/restaurant as I don't live too far away. Restaurant quality sushi at restaurant prices, it's true, but the same can be said for most restaurants that deliver.…Read More

Not many seats in this place & they have an odd little outdoor section, which is where we sat. The presentation of the food was excellent and they don't charge that 10% "service charge" that isn't so I have no objection to leaving an actual tip.I had pan-fried foie gras for a starter. It just melted in the mouth and was gorgeous & creamy, although I do have to admit it was a little undercooked as still cool in the middle. J had snails in a mushroom sauce with cheese on top & garlic bread. It was delicious.The Japanese pork chop I had for my main was moist & tasty. On my request it was served with broccoli. The Australian rack of lamb was succulent & tender - served with mixed veg.For HK$50 corkage, we brought our own wine.Definitely another one to go back to!…Read More

OK I admit it - I dine out far too much. I just got back from a very pleasant evening at Watermark.My friend and I had not seen each other in some time so we started chatting and it was quite some time before we got around to ordering. The waiter approached us a few times before we eventually did manage it but was in no way pushy.We each had a starter, main course and dessert with a bottle of white wine. Whether they gauged our preference for a relaxed dinner or were more taken up with the big group by the window, I don't know but the speed at which our food came was perfect for us to have a long chat (ie probably too slow for some).I order pan seared foie gras, which came perfectly cooked and with some nice acidic apple to complement its richness. My friend had steak tartare which, surprisingly for a starter, came with chips (fries). She followed that up with fish (I've forgotten which though) and I had scallops with some diced vegetables. Scallops were tasty and not overcooked (something often & easily done). When ordering I had asked the waiter if I would need to order an extra side dish and he correctly advised me that, since I had ordered a starter, I would have sufficient with the main dish itself. Dessert was a lemon tart which was lovely and tart, as opposed to excessively sugary, & a small caremilised apple tart which we were told would take 25 minutes as it was cooked on the spot. Both were delicious.Staff were not at all rushing us but, at that point we thought we had better leave as they were clearing up for the night. …Read More

We were in the neighbourhood & decided we wanted a steak so it seemed like the obvious choice. No problem to get a table. First they squashed us between two other tables by the window but we asked to move to some comfortable bigger tables in the middle of the room.We didn't order starters, just steaks and some sides with a bottle of red wine. Much to my surprise, the food arrived really quickly. Much to my disappointment my medium-rare fillet steak was fridge-cold in the middle. I pointed this out and sent it back. I have always understood that steak should be cooked from room temperature, not from fridge temperature and I presume the chef did not take this into account in his timing. Also, one of the vegetable side dishes had to go back too as it was only barely warm.That said, both our steaks were very nice meat - the fillet was tender and juicy and a good quantity; my friend's rare sirloin was exactly as it should be.We ordered a dessert which the manageress gave to us for free as a gesture of goodwill but, quite honestly, for those prices it shouldn't be necessary.There won't be a next time.…Read More

I live in the area and have been to this place a few times for lunch/dim sum. Food is consistent. Service is friendly. Decor is pleasant. It seems to get busy at lunchtime at the weekends & I am usually the only non-local there.Today I stopped for lunch around 1.30pm. They had a few big groups but no problem for a table. I decided to go for the lunch set which was HK$88 +10%. This was a soup, one dim sum item plus a main (from a long list).The soup had pork and a kind of dark green cabbage in it. Very tasty, as was the broth.I chose a dim sum I'd never had before: steamed scallop & prawn. It came piping hot in an open dumpling of thin rice pastry. Three pieces & very nice.As a main, I chose beef with vegetables. The beef had been tenderised nicely and there was some fresh ginger to give a bit of zing. It was a decent quantity served on a mound of choi sum - far too much for me to eat!I needed something sweet after so had a mango pudding. Not the best I have had but not bad at all.Add a bowl of rice and the whole thing could probably have fed 2.A good lunch.…Read More

After three years in Hong Kong, I finally managed to get to dinner at Sabatini's. I wasn't disappointed; it was well worth the wait.Neither of us could resist the antipasti buffet. It looked, and was, delicious. Particular highlights of the buffet were an octopus carpaccio which just melted in the mouth and the roasted bell peppers which were well-cooked, juicy and sweet. I cheated with the mozarella and tomato dish and just took the mozarella and fresh basil. It was a perfect consistency and full of flavour.As unsure of quantites, both of us regretfully skipped the pasta course (so we will definitely have to go back).We followed up with (him) Iberian pork chop and (me) lobster risotto. The risotto was well cooked, although a bit too much liquid for my taste and the lobster tasted great. Perfect comfort food. The pork chop was fairly big, perfectly cooked and seasoned - the best pork chop either of us had tasted in a long time.All that was accompanied by a lovely bottle of Machiavelli (really!) chianti.Luckily we had room left for dessert. My friend had the dessert platter, which came with a very nice tiramisu, a chocolate biscuit cake with hazelnut cream and a lemon tart. I couldn't resist tasting the lemon tart which was just tart enough and not too sweet. I asked for a zabaglione/sabayon for dessert. Although not on the menu, any Italian chef should be able ti whip one up. And he did. It was perfect. The best I have tasted in a long time.So, sublime food: what about the service? It was excellent. Waiters knew their stuff. Nothing came too quickly or took too long.And I couldn't finish without mentioning the decor and the mariachi band. The decor looks very definitely 1970s although I'm sure it has been renewed since then. The band were great and looked like they were 1970s too - except for the female singer who had a lovely voice. Wonderfully kitch!…Read More

Always on the lookout for good steak restaurants, I tried this place on Saturday night with two friends.We started on the very comfy sofas in the bar area with a few cocktails while we ordered and waited for our food. When the food arrived we went to the restaurant area.We had a filet, ribey and strip steak and all were absolutely wonderful, succulent and cooked to perfection. As I like the basics, I was disappointed that there was no baked potato on the menu. Nor was it possible to get steamed vegetables. Ah well...We had left enough room for a dessert and the chocolate dessert for 2 was everything a girl needs chocolate to be - yummy.Given the ridiculous price quoted here of corkage (HK$600!!!), I am happy to say that there was a good selection of red wines by the glass and the bar manager, Max, came up with a nice half bottle of Sauternes to go with the chocolate dessert.Food was excellent but the bill (albeit including drinks) was expensive, given that we had 1 starter, 3 mains, 1 dessert & 3 sides. At that price, I would expect side orders (veg etc) to be included in the price of the main.Service was well-meaning and friendly but a bit erratic. We had to ask for almost all our drinks a second time before they arrived.…Read More

I was at a loose end this evening and in the IFC so decided to go for a quiet steak. It was around 7pm but they seated me immediately in a quiet comfortable corner (I was alone). They had a decent selection of wine by the glass so I had a glass of tempranillo, which turned out to be a good choice. Decisions, decisions: filet mignon or ribeye...in the end I chose the 10 oz ribeye, served with some mixed veg + a baked potato. Ribeye was cooked exactly medium rare, as requested & was succulent and tasty. I had a second glass of wine and read for half an hour before leaving. Great service - a waiter always seemed to be around when I needed one (honestly!) and I wasn't pressured to leave when I had finished.Comfortable food, comfortable seating, comfortable lighting & comfortable service - just what I needed.…Read More

Always on the lookout for nice restaurants that don't charge corkage, I went here for dinner with a friend & took a nice bottle of red with me.The menu is small which, paradoxically, made it more difficult to order. As I understood it, we had to order a minimum of 3 courses each, for which there was a set price.My friend eventually decided on the Boston Lobster set menu (4 courses) & I ordered a soup and a main (intending to have a dessert).The lobster starter was salad with mango and lots of very tasty looking lobster meat. The consommé with wonton that I had was very nice but a bit salty. My friend's soup was next - a sort of bisque which resembled a cappucino. She loved it.Now to the serious stuff, the mains. The lobster main was served with pasta and I am told it was delicious. My pork was beautifully tender & perfectly cooked with just the right amount of fat.Baileys soufflé & an icecream dessert rounded off a very nice meal.Downside: not enough vegetablesService: pleasant but over-zealous at the beginning but settled down once the place filled up.Oddly, when we ordered the second bottle of sparkling water, it took forever & I was told that they were having to go to their storeroom to get it. (I offered to pop out to the 7/11 instead but the waitress seemed a little confused at that.)A good meal & I look forward to going back after their menu changes on 15 July.…Read More

Passed this place walking home from lunch on Sunday. My friend and I both love oysters. It was closed so we called back later to see if they had a table for dinner and to my surprise they did, although only at the bar. When we arrived we were pleased to have a table at the bench. It's very small, perhaps 10 seats, a few at the bar and a table outside.I love the way they have a "set" to go with the oysters: soup, vegtable sticks (so healthy!) and garlic bread.They had a good selection of oysters - about 8/10 different sorts. To start we ordered a dozen mixed. Small-medium sized oysters all very tasty. The shucker must be expert because they arrived in seconds!We followed up with scallop and clam. I love scallops and these were very tasty. I had never had clam before - it was nothing special.After that we decided to go for another dozen oysters so I think we probably sampled all they oysters they had. They were all wonderful!They had nothing from Scotland or Ireland because the volcanic ash is still disrupting flights from there so we will have to make a return visit.We finished up with mixed skewers of eel and pork. The eel was delicious. This came with a garlicky, coriander-flavoured dipping sauce which was also lovely.Service was very good, perhaps a bit too efficient (one plate was removed while I was still chewing my last mouthful). At 10.20 they arrived to see if we wanted to order anything else as the kitchen would be closing.Also, they don't charge corkage on wine so we brought our own. They kept it chilled, opened it and served it for us with no problem. That is such a brilliant idea.We had 2 doz oysters, a serving of clam, a serving of scallop and a plate of mixed skewers all for HKD1,000. Great value you'd be hard pushed to find elsewhere.All in all, a great restaurant, near to home and a stone's throw from the more "fashionable" end of Soho & I can't wait to go back.…Read More