beijau's Profile

It looked like a nice place to try while roaming around PoHo: breezy, quiet, fresh oysters, a decent selection of other menu items. The wine fridge also hinted at a better-than-ordinary restaurant experience.Service and presentation were good. Interesting bread selection. The Coffin Bay oysters were fresh and tasty. Smoked eel with salad was also a satisfying selection.Main courses were heavy on cream, butter, and frying-pan time. The cod was by far the better of the two, arriving properly done. The trout showed up overcooked to the point of dryness, and the creamy sauce overpowered whatever was left of a normally delicate fish taste.All in all an OK place to dine but when one has a menu laden with fish offerings, there should be no reason for overcooking. We didn't cause a scene, just left a bit disappointed.…Read More

This is cooked food centre at its best. The non-nonsense atmosphere begs for short and punchy descriptors: speedy service, quick order turnaround, quality ingredients, authentic taste.Pomelo salad was fresh, juicy, loaded with shrimp and packing a decent whack of chili. Pad Thai ticked all the boxes. Grilled pork neck was on the dry side but outstanding grill flavor and decent tamarind dipping sauce. Fresh lime juice was the real deal down to the soda water.Excellent value for money. Sure it's not Thailand but in that case, why pay more?…Read More

All the other people's photos don't lie: the food tastes pretty much as good as it looks. Thing is, you will pay for the experience and there's not much in the way of doting service or rich/funky ambiance.Some would call that a fair trade. I think it means you will visit once if you are adventurous and then move on to other things.We had a mixed dozen oysters that were fresh (verified by a lack of morning-after side effects) and cleanly shucked. So far so good. The house sauvignon blanc was on the flabby side but still acidic enough to be a decent complement to the seafood. More sophisticated wine selections were all current release and priced at what felt like at least a 100% markup.The oyster platter was followed by a grilled prawn and "white salmon" combo. White (aka ivory) salmon is apparently just a regular salmon that doesn't absorb the pigment in its diet, though some believe it to be tastier than its colored brethren. I enjoyed the fish, the prawn, and the roasted and fried vegetables that accompanied them. The prawn was further to the well done end than I prefer but the salmon was a decent medium. Not heavy on the oil, either.We also tried the risotto with crab meat, squid, and a tasty soft-boiled egg on top. This was flawless and very delectable thanks to judicious use of fried garlic. Clearly the star performer of the night and probably what promoted the meal from being OK to being 正.…Read More

There are prerequisites to enjoying your visit to Kashmir (they also do a thriving 外卖 business). You need to be comfortable sharing your table. You has best be acquainted with what Pakistanis mean when they say "spicy". You should either enjoy goat meat or be blissfully unaware of what "mutton" is. You should be familiar with the nearest 7-11, from which your beer will come. And you will want to have a strong enough constitution to hold your meal down when the cook lets out enormous sneezes in the kitchen. In return for your qualifications you are likely to receive a meal that would likely be described as "cheap and best" in the Subcontinent. Rich, tender biryani (I had mutton). Crunchy samosas. Tangy curries. Topping it all off, the best roti parathas I've had east of Upper Thomson Road in Singapore.We absolutely killed it and the bill was $170. The curry sauce had a lot of cloves in it and I think this made a big difference to my enjoyment level. Surprising. If you take the pre-reqs and don't try to come in a large group then you are pretty likely to enjoy Kashmir. …Read More

Meh.The staff were accommodating in spite of significant distractions from "friends of management" who seemed to have the run of the place. It felt like I had inadvertently crashed somebody's velvet rope party. Weird.The food was decent: beef carpaccio tender and tasty albeit way too salty; calamari modestly fried with light batter; penne done al dente and a nice creamy Gorgonzola sauce -- again too salty. For $183, though, it would have been nice to get more than $12 worth of pasta. Anywhere else on the planet that is an antipasto-sized portion.For the same amount of money there are other places I would rather spend it. For good food there are plenty of alternatives. If you want to hang out and don't mind paying rent for the privilege then maybe you will like it here. …Read More

Walked past several times on the way to other places in the neighborhood and always meant to give it a try. When we made it at last the food didn't disappoint. There must have been prodigious amounts of salt, though, as there was much chugging of water early the next morning.Fish tikka was our chosen starter and the judges were split. The fish was flavorful (I'm guessing mackerel) and not too heavily seasoned. I thought it was more juicy than the typical offering which gets left too long in the oven and tends to be dry and a bit chewy. My partner in crime was less convinced.Main courses were the lamb shank masala, paneer butter masala (hey, we like the sauce), and garlic chicken korma to add a bit of variety. The meats were both tender which was a bit of surprise for the lamb. The paneer was unremarkable but tasty nonetheless.The gravies were delicious. This is one of the better korma sauces I've had...truly mild. The masala sauce wasn't too heavy on the ghee or cream and the acidity of the tomatoes really shone through. Kind of like home-style cooking in that sense with less emphasis on artery-clogging goodness.A modest demerit for having given in to the local beer rep and replaced Kingfisher with Godfather. India has many find lagers to accompany dinner and I humbly submit that Godfather is not one of them. It isn't a horrible beer but just a bit more hoppy and yeasty than I want in a dinner beer. Why fix what ain't broke, it can't be worth that much extra margin if your custies aren't buying.If you live within striking distance of Upper Central (generously including precincts on either side of Hollywood Rd) or TST there are equivalent or better options than Palki. But for a change of pace, particularly if you want to slide out of dinner and into a mango shaved ice, there's a lot to be said for it. Value for money (which tends to evaporate if you cab it there and back) is definitely a big plus.…Read More

Our dining experience was that much more memorable for Maureen's having been half in the bag after a few beers on the golf course. But I digress...We had the autumn tasting menu and enjoyed it all. Having seen the great reviews we got crazy and added the salmon sous vide "canto style", which was silky soft and perfectly seasoned with sesame oil, soy sauce, and a mercifully smaller dose of ginger and green onion than any self-respecting fish at a Cantonese restaurant would come dressed in.The abalone and potato + truffle was an enjoyable flavor combo. See, you don't have to be north Asian to dig on this stuff.Short ribs were awesome but in my mind it was the noodles that really made the whole thing come together. I'm not sure what the seasoning was but that stuff is bad-@ss. The side of broth was good enough to put hair on my chest.Curiously the place went vacant about 9:15. I guess the threat of food running out is enough to get people coming early but maybe the secret to getting spot is to dine on Mexican time (i.e. no civilized dinner begins before 9PM at the painfully earliest).If you like the other reviewers' photos then go because the food is at least as good as it looks.…Read More

The sashimi and sushi were as fresh as I'm used to getting at the usual places in Causeway Bay. We had an uni + crab rice bowl and a mixed sashimi rice bowl, plus some saba and Hokkaido uni sushi from the blackboard list.The Hokkaido uni was fantastically rich and creamy, not to mention about half the price you will get charged at those other places. The crab meat in the rice bowl was a bit of a letdown. Otherwise, fresh, delicious, and excellent value for money.…Read More

Lots to like about Clay Oven. Friendly staff is always a good start, and the food didn't disappoint. That combination is the difference between an "OK" rating e.g. where service was a joke or food simply mediocre, and the "好美" smile.Butter chicken, dal makhani, channa (chickpeas) masala, tandoori chicken were all good. Starter soup was really tasty but my friends oddly ignored it. Their loss. Group favorite was the ox tongue, we had it with Madras-style sauce that packed a darn good wallop. The local HK-ies loved it; the ABC wife was busting into a sweat. Half-pint (i.e. beijau junior) was quite taken with the plain naan; dad like the paratha (almost Malaysian style). Thumbs down to the masala pappadum which virtually dripped with oil and lacked the fresh toppings so common elsewhere.And then there was the price. Wah, what's not to like?Will have to return some time for the tandoori lamb leg (pre-order).…Read More

It's a lighthearted subject line for a restaurant that is obviously serious about their food. But, hey, they're Australian.Simple menu, check. Idiosyncratic decor, check. Straightforward ingredients, check. Wine list without bankruptcy court filing papers attached, check. Spotlessly clean interior and settings, well you guessed it. Check.Mondays are always a good day to sneak in below radar and have a nice table without reservations or fuss. We took the set lunch and found nothing to disappoint and everything to appreciate.The tomatoes particularly impressed alongside the hamachi appetizer. Fresh fresh fresh.Roast beef main was properly done and the fritterization of hollandaise sauce was a neat twist.Personal highlight was the homemade bread and butter. Not sure if they had some anchovy oil in the butter but it was certainly salted and kicked butt. The bread was excellent. That was my dessert.Go here and enjoy it heartily. They are nice folks serving up tasty food in a stylish and properly cared-for setting. Balcony seating is of course a seasonal plus. As for moans and groans about the service, we had none so I presume whatever it was that exorcised other reviewers has been worked out since.…Read More

Having eaten here without the benefit of reading prior reviews, I was ready to join a long list of people singing Night Market's praises. So where are all the positive reviews?We quite enjoyed our meal. Maybe a little too much deep frying but that was our eyes talking louder than our stomachs and not a reflection on the food. Which, as I mentioned, was quite enjoyable. Photos below. What else can I say? Oh, this: If you don't like Chinese-American food you might easily take issue with the menu selection. Not that the food is Chinese-American, rather that it Venn diagrams into that oval of Chinese cuisine known to HKies as "the stuffs the gweiloh likes". Doesn't mean it ain't yummy though. The service was efficient and courteous. In Chinese and English. 明白嗎? We went on a weekend and for a short while, had the 6/F to ourselves. The people who expected to score seats on their own terms during weekday lunch in Central? Probably still moaning about the bad experience while eating 飯盒 at their desks because they can't manage to plan ahead. If you think it's inconvenient because these people are trying to squeeze profits out of a small number of covers (seats), try rocking up to even a modest restaurant during weekday lunch in the City of London, Midtown Manhattan, pretty much anywhere in Paris, and see what happens. Yes, that's going to be the norm in HK if rents keep going up. So if you really like food then don't be lazy about your lunch plans. A really cold Yebisu beer in a frosted glass. Now that was really nice.No doubt this restaurant has let people down. It's a business. But they didn't let us down and, at least in my mind, that means they know how to run their business properly. Sorry to see that so many people didn't get the proper experience. We certainly did.…Read More

You really hate to see people try hard but still fail at what they're doing.Sumac is going through what Keanu Reeves did when he took the stage in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1995 to try his hand playing Hamlet. Most people were waiting to hear if he still sounded like Ted Logan from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Just like Keanu can act Shakespeare but probably shouldn't, Sumac probably shouldn't be selling itself as a restaurant. Particularly given the venue, a nice lounge or café setting -- and menu -- would suit their skills a lot better.We had labne (whipped yogurt) and the poorly named scallop fricasée to start. There were just two pan-fried scallops to be found atop a hill of very tasty haricots verts. It all tasted good but was a bit of a letdown. The hidden gem was the fresh, hot pita bread. Keep it coming.For our main course we tried the mixed grill. The chicken kebabs were tender and delicious, especially with the accompanying garlic sauce; the beef kebabs were tougher but still flavorful; the lamb chops were barely warm, chewy, and almost tasteless. Both the return of the green beans and the Lebanese rice with pine nuts as side dishes were much appreciated.By this point, the drumbeat of missed opportunities (add to this the randomly distributed wine list) was getting pretty loud. I was thinking of the face and the sad face and not concentrating much on the meal itself. What saved the whole experience from a total writeoff was the baklava. Somebody back in the kitchen knows what they are doing in the dessert department. Highly recommended.If you want to suck back some wine and snack on some mezzes and dessert, you may satisfied with Sumac. The service is OK and they seem to know what they're doing. But the full dinner experience was rather underwhelming.…Read More

The meals were lovely and the wine selection is what you would expect from someone who is knowledgeable about French wine. By now, management must know that their service is the weak link in the experience. One can only assume it doesn't affect their revenue and, by extension, their core clientele. This is a pity because the prices they charge are too high to justify return visits when serious competitors are within walking distance.Our amuse bouche arrived with a barely intelligible explanation (even the Cantonese version) of diced clam in a chasseur-ish sauce on saltine cracker -- ceviche a la française -- and a light ricotta cheese ball with sun-dried tomato topping. The clam was the better of the two; the ricotta could have done with more lemon or the sun-dried tomato with more salt. We had the "ordinary" menus, which began with a butterflied prawn on a pineapple compote with a slice of grapefruit. I'm often dubious of fruity concoctions but the two fruits seemed to have rested in each other's juices for some time, as their flavors were not overly sweet or sour. It worked well.An al dente linguine alla vongole followed (nice to know that French food is allowed to be pan-European in HK), perfectly cooked and dressed in a thin sheen of light tomato paste. The generous claim pieces and garlic were lumped on top of the pasta swirl. Delicious combination, with the tomato sauce more for color than taste and therefore not unbalancing the dish.What was advertised as a cream of cauliflower soup with truffle oil ended up tasting more like upscale Campbell's mushroom with some ground nuts and saltines. But it was good.I chose the Kurobuta pork rack and my wife took the lamb chops. Mine were nicely browned and braised and very flavorful. Served with a tasty zucchini slice, baby corn, baby asparagus, this was entirely satisfying.My wife's lamb was ordered 'medium' and arrived looking perfectly rare. This seems to be an imposition of personal taste by the chef, and consistent with what one gets in France, but annoying when it means the dish must be sent back to the kitchen.Dessert was a slice of berry tart on graham cracker crust with blueberry on top, and a crème brûlée. A nice finish.No complaints about the bread, by the way. There was toasted baguette, lightly grilled sourdough, and a (underwhelming) focaccia.The overall experience suggests a restaurant that caters explicitly to the HK version of 西餐. Great if you like that; unfortunately 馬馬虎虎 if you're expecting a more standard version of the French dining experience.…Read More

Once there was a little sign above Johnston Road announcing "Jojo Mess". You really had to know where you were going to find the entrance. The food was, as the saying goes, cheap and best. And then progress took over. Change has not been a friend to the food at Jojo's.Something is amiss at this one-time gem of HK eating. Our chicken Chettinad and prawn vindaloo miraculously arrived coated in exactly the same gravy. The prawns were fine and tender and could have benefitted from the tomato-based vinadaloo sauce that they normally swim in for said dish. The Chettinad sauce was tasty and could have benefitted from chicken that wasn't dry and bland. Perhaps the kitchen actually ran out of tomatoes because there wasn't a bit of tomato to be spotted in our dal makhani.Add to which, the staff were struggling to deal with a half-full restaurant. It has only been a few months since we were last at the restaurant and it seems to be sliding off a cliff. If prices were still cheap, maybe I could deal with the sudden departure of "best". As it stands, there are too many superior choices to waste time going back to Jojo's if this is what it has become.…Read More

So many people seem unimpressed by this place that I wonder if I am losing my sense of taste (figuratively, literally; whatever). My wife and I quite enjoyed our lunch and the price was right.This isn't "Eat Drink Man Woman" and I'm not a famous chef so let's assume my palate is still legit. The pork loin tonkatsu we both had were slightly on the greasy side, but the panko was perfectly crisp and the pork was sufficiently juicy/fatty. I had my own moment of doubt about what kind of pig delivered up this flavor of meat (summed up nicely by bemysweet who says "豬排不是豬排?"). But I chewed on and the thought passed.The sesame seed grinding gave us something to do while waiting for the food and the sauce tasted good in the end. Both citrus and wasabi sauces for the cabbage also pleased.Not sure why the miso soup's taste was described as "怪怪". Maybe because it doesn't pretend to be an out-of-the-packet instant miso soup? The meat and vegetables in it made for a hearty and unusual flavor. I was a fan.At least there doesn't seem to be much disagreement about the dessert. Well, except for my wife whose missing enzyme predisposes her against very milky tastes. I was happy to finish off hers for her.All this for $218 for two people including a beer. I can think of many less enjoyable and mor expensive ways of spending a Saturday lunch.…Read More