sambucca's Profile

I have been coming here since 2005. The checkered table cloths and vintage French posters on the walls really give a nice atmosphere.The salad to start, simple lettuce, radishes and walnuts with a mysterious dressing is perfect. The few times I have tried the soup starter I have enjoyed it also. The first time I had the rib eye steak I was shocked that they serve it pre-sliced, but once I got over myself it was very tasty. Back then I still ate french fries and these were amazingly crispy and golden. Top it all off with the delectable butter sauce and you are in heaven. These days I have the delicious seasonal vegetables on the side instead.Except for the addition of Wagyu rib eye, served unsliced :) with half vegetables half fries, the menu has stayed the same. For variety I sometimes have the salmon, which is crispy yet not overcooked.Even the staff has stayed the same and it is great to see familiar faces. The service team is so used to working with one another and the chefs so used to the dishes that service is always efficient, no matter how full the restaurant.In a city as obsessed with the "new" as Hong Kong it might be surprising that Entrecote has endured for so long, but Wilson has tweaked everything to perfection so it does not get old. Hong Kong would simply not be the same without Entrecote!…Read More

A big group of us had a lunch reservation. I was late and was shown directly to our table on the lower of the three floors of the restaurant. The glass floor and the bottom of the stairs is quite cools, as is the view, despite still being quite boxed in by other skyscrapers.Our waiter said they had been open for two weeks, which is strange because it was still a construction site when we poked our heads in the week before. In any case, the food would make the impression they are still looking for a real chef.The first thing I noticed is my knees hitting the table, which turned out to be an extendable folding table:So we had to eat thigh-length away from the table, what a pain! The napkins in our laps came in very handy...The fish was overcooked, the salsa bland and mismatched. A friend had the Angel Hair pasta with shrimp and did not enjoy it either.The tiramisu lacked any coffee flavour just to mention the obvious; bad bad bad.Why does such an upscale establishment have to mention about MSG and artificial flavouring? Perhaps as an excuse for the terrible dim sum. They only had a handful of different dim sum available for their "All-You-Want", the low variety and low quality really makes you loose your appetite fast.Drinks... there are only two types of tea: Pu Er and Iron Buddha.The washroom on this floor was interesting. The sinks are shared between men and women, with some cubicles designated male, others female. There is a separate ante room with urinals.The bathroom and the view from the balcony made the visit not a total waste, but we still won't be back.…Read More

At around 11:20am the place had plenty of free tables, but the host showed me to a dark and dingy table near the loo. Fair enough, I did not plan to stay long: just a quick breakfast.I see scrambled eggs with smoked salmon & dill on the menu, as well as a smoked salmon omelet with Parmesan cheese. I decide I want a salmon and dill omelet and ask for them to replace the cheese with dill. The waitress says it would cost extra, at which point I lost my patience and settled for the smoked salmon & dill scrambled eggs.As it is served with bread, as are most of the dishes on the menu, and I do not eat bread I ask for them to give me some mixed greens instead of the bread.I also do not eat potato, especially not deep fried, so I was dismayed to find a hashbrown on my plate, even though it is not mentioned anywhere on the menu. And the portion of mixed greens was correspondingly pathetic.The scrambled eggs themselves were overcooked on top, undercooked on the bottom and as such barely edible.I have been to Brunch Club Supper before and this was far and away the worst experience in every way. At least there is free wifi.They have this strange practice of rounding the 10% service charge up or down to make a whole dollar amount. This time they rounded down to $79. In any case I always leave a little tip on top of service charge, so it does not bother me either way.…Read More

Ever since Cubus opened all the restaurants there have been at the top of our list. This is the first of the three Japanese restaurants we tried. We got two of the last seats for lunch, without reservation, sitting at the bar near the master from Japan who was happy to talk about the origin, ingredients and preparation of anything you cared to ask about.We ordered the sashimi lunch set and the simmered fish head lunch set. Every single dish was sublime and subtle; such an amazing place for lunch this is!I absolutely loved the dressing.This looked and tasted more like beef, but once the chef enlightened us the taste turned more fishy; how the eye deceives ignorant taste buds!The Miso soup was delicious and not too strong, as the miso soup I usually get is and the rice utterly perfect.They happily replaced all but one portion of tuna and the shrimp with fish of my choice. I had never tried shrimp at a sushi restaurant, but after having eaten some of the freshest and tender sashimi ever, I could not resist even the shrimp, which turned out so creamy it blew my mind.The tofu was faultless, but the real star was the fish itself of course.While waiting for dessert we asked the master about the batter he was mixing in a bowl. I gave us a sample of what turned out to be some kind of flour-less egg sponge cake that he did not know the English name of. He did eventually give up the recipe, which exact measurements; how I wished I had pen and paper! Eggs, white fish, shrimp, japanese yam, sugar, salt, soy sauce and sake slowly baked in the oven makes for such an amazingly spongy yet moist texture I'm frankly puzzled anyone still bakes with flour! And the taste is simply special and I must have more next time!But on to the actual dessert:Not too sweet, served with a warm spoon.Apart from slightly confused communication and separation of roles between the chef and the waiters everything went smoothly and pleasantly.…Read More

We reserved a table 20 minutes before, as we arrived at The One. They asked if there are any children in our party, which was a bit odd, and I did not ask for a window table, which they did not give to us despite almost all window tables staying empty for the entire duration of our stay.The dining area is not very deep, so you can a great view even from the inside tables. We could only see the green lasers of the light show at 8pm, it was that foggy, but the view was still very atmospheric. The Wooloomooloos on the top floor are really something special.Our waiter was in a good mood and joked around with us, though most of his jokes fell flat and the way he raved about the food made us a little uncomfortable. Apart from that he was very attentive and made no mistakes. This was very refreshing compared to our previous experience at Wooloomooloo Steakhouse in Wan Chai where the staff was quite novice.The other difference between a Wooloomooloo Steakhouse and a Wooloomooloo Prime is the menu, which is a bit more extensive at this "Prime". For instance I could finally order my staple, steamed broccoli. The grilled asparagus is also always good.The New Zealand grass fed fillet mignon was perfectly cooked and the veal jus tasted heavenly. My friend's swordfish was so good that she said "this is so good" at least 10 times. Being from Italy, she loved the Tiramisu, saying it's better than anything that can be had in Europe.We will definitely be coming back here as it really sets a high standard for steak.…Read More

Their reception is so far away from the tables that it can take some time for them to notice you, so we just walked straight in, stood next to the main order entry computer and got a table straight away (not so difficult as it was a quiet at 4pm).My favorite salad is the Moroccan Chicken, which I usually order with extra chicken, avocado and egg, but this time I opted for the standard salad for the first time just to see what the proportions are like. A half portion is never enough, I always go for the full size, which I had to note today has gotten a little smaller. Or maybe that's because all the extras I usually order are really extra! Good to know :)In any case, California Pizza Kitchen salads have well balanced ingredients so that you don't run out of, say, chicken, before you are done. They don't try to keep the cost down by making the salad 80% leaves. The dressing is not over-powering and goes well with the salad.They do three types of spring-roll sized wraps, each with their own dip, that my gf always orders that are very tasty. Also the avocado dip with tortilla chips is heavenly. Alas, I can eat neither of those two dishes anymore.Service is good, unless you get a trainee. Drinks are usually refilled promptly.The open kitchen is interesting to observe from one of the bar seats.…Read More

It is conveniently located near the Broadway Cinema and despite them being short on staff we were in and out in time for our film.It took longer for someone to greet us and take our request for a table than waiting for one once that happened. There were not enough waiters to serve food from the trays brought out by the kitchen staff and we even had to help ourselves when the tray was too full. The tea refills were also not frequent enough, but we were seated next to the bar so we could flag down someone easily enough.I was thrilled to see Ice Coconut Milk ($23) on the menu, but the waiters were so stressed and moody that I did not dare ask any details about the ingredients, which was a mistake: it was extremely sweet with loads of added sugar. It tasted great, don't get me wrong, but I was looking for something plainer.If we had had more time I would have ordered one of the whole fish, but since we had a film to see I opted for the following, which arrived in random order (as soon as it was ready):Chicken tender and juicy. Sauce bland and watery: not good at all.This tasted great all around.I cannot really judge squid, but it seemed fine.w/ garlic chip & pepper. These were a little bland. We took the leftovers home and the next day they tasted great, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Perhaps I'd had too many similar dishes.The veg was OK as well, though the salty fish ended up being more of an afterthought.All of the "grilled" items were very greasy and had probably been fried instead of grilled, which I really did NOT like.…Read More

We went for lunch in a large group and had a reservation. The building Bella Vita is in, Cubus, is so new that most of its floors are still empty. It has a small footprint and the lifts open straight into the restaurant.Right opposite the lift is a curtain behind which is a long table for maybe 14 people. There is barely enough space to manoeuvre and getting to your seat between the bench along one side and the table was a bit tricky. The view is mostly blocked by a fairly ugly tiled residential sky scraper. The rest of the restaurant is down the hall to the right of the elevators. The decor is elegant and there is a window into the kitchen. There is a another private area in the back with a large table. The view from the main dining area is also of sky scrapers, but at least they are further away and of the shiny office variety; there are some gaps though that reveal green hills and even Hong Kong stadium.Most of us ordered the lunch menu. Briefly summarised, the salad starter consisted of just leaves and cheese (thumbs down), the pork main was disappointing, just the pasta main was good.The bread was not fresh and the balsamic bitter.My starter was ok, though the bresaola did not go with the tartare and carpaccio at all.Almost all of us shared the mighty 1000g grilled fiorentina steak with Francesco's salad. The t-bone steak itself was cooked as ordered. Typically fiorentina steak is served sliced, but this one was cut into large chunks: easy to share without too much juice loss. The salad was way too fruity however: apples and berries almost crowded out the leaves.The service was totally untrained however and even got one order wrong. The manager had to come and make things right. The water was refilled only occasionally.This restaurant opened before it got all its ducks in a row, sadly.…Read More

This has become the only sushi restaurant I go to regularly. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I went elsewhere.We always go in a group and take turns picking a number and waiting. Most of the seats are arranged facing the conveyor belt, but we tend to go for one of the 4 tables for 6 people (there are two more tables and four seats at a little bar, but away from the belt).I read somewhere once that sushi is all about the rice, but since I don't eat rice I generally skip the conveyor belt and order white sashimi (red snapper, yellowtail, swordfish and/or whatever daily catch they have), fried egg, beef sashimi salad, sea eel and grilled fish. While I wait I might tuck into some tomato salad and egg from the belt.The fish always seems fresh and the quality is consistent. For the sushi, it is sometimes not cold enough because the chefs handle it too many times while shaping the rice and fish. I suppose this would bother you only if you are picky.... or Japanese.The green tea powder leaves much to be desired, but at least there is hot water on tap at the table.The service is ok, although sometimes they forget an item or take so long we end up cancelling it.Occasionally they will host a master sushi chef from Japan who tours all Sen-Ryo branches for a few weeks. This should not be missed as the sushi suddenly reaches world class (they will announce it in advance).…Read More

My girlfriend and I discovered Oolaa on a random walk through Central. The market or garbage disposal other reviewers seem to be unhappy about was not an issue for us that Sunday. Part of the restaurant opens up right onto the sidewalk, so that's perfect for dog owners if you can get a table next to it.In any case, Oolaa is a huge restaurant and it was full of people having lively conversations. It was a bit loud, but pleasant. We worried about getting a table without a reservation, but the host showed us a previously reserved table straight away. After that though, the waiting started: the numerous staff was constantly running around, but service was slow.My gf ordered pumpkin & mascarpone ravioli to start. which was served to share even though we said we are not sharing. She was offered pepper from the impressively large pepper mill even there was salt and pepper on the table already. The time spent on such unnecessary things would have been better spent listening to the guest properly. The ravioli was good, as was the creamy sauce, but the spinach gave her furry teeth.Her grilled snapper was good as well, but the fennel was a bizarre combination of under- and overcooked and looked so much like an onion that the taste startled my gf. The carrots had no taste to match their pale complexion.My New Zealand (all NZ beef is grass fed I understand) tenderloin steak tasted delicious, as did the broccoli with almonds. I would have loved to try the sweet potato mash, but alas it was not dairy free (the waitress went to the kitchen to ask for me).Those tomatoes were very difficult to de-stalk, but tasty.I avoided the potato rösti they hid underneath the steak.The chocolate lava cake did not disappoint, even after a long wait.There is plenty of street parking and an indoor car park right next door.…Read More

We arrived without a reservation. The gentleman who greeted us showed us to a table in the middle of the restaurant and told to us sit and wait while he checked which table was available. He gave us menus, returned 30 seconds later and ushered us to a table next to the window. Granted the view was spectacular, but all this extra trouble was highly annoying: why not take a few extra seconds to check the agenda and show us to the window table in the first place?Australia is known for its grass-fed beef, so I was disappointed to find that only the filet mignon was grass-fed, everything else was grain fed. The medium-rare steak arrived barely warm and on the dry side, but tasted good and had great texture. I also ordered the wild mushrooms and the grilled asparagus, both of which were ok. Overall the selection of side dishes did not feature enough plain vegetables, like steamed broccoli for example, or even salad.They offered a selection of mustards (twice, because the waiting staff did not coordinate) just after they served the steak, which might appeal to some. At least they refilled the water glass regularly.Since I had complained about the steak (but decided not to order another one as it would have taken too long), they served us a ho-hum pavlova dessert (cream-filled meringue topped with strawberry, blueberry, kiwi and mango sauce).On the way out we wandered around the roof terrace. Despite the view, the atmosphere was bleak.…Read More

After buying cinema tickets we decided to give Zelo a try and hoped we would get a table without reservation. The couple in front of us was presented the Valentine's day set menu for two, but left after perusing it. We approached the hostess and asked for a table for two, but she insisted on presenting the set menu and made us read it even though we had already decided to dine there. Finally she showed us to the bar to wait for a table. We expected a longish wait, given that it was Valentine's Day, but no sooner had the hostess left us she reappeared and said a table was ready, so we climbed out of the bar stool again and followed her into a half empty dining area. Seriously, she could have shown us to a table immediately but instead mindlessly followed some kind of script, like an off-shore call centre. The atmosphere and decor was not exactly romantic, but at least smart and clean.Slightly annoyed we sat down, only to be walked through the Valentine's Day menu AGAIN, by our waiter. In any case, we decided to go for this menu as it was cheap and sounded good. I ordered the ginger, carrot and orange drink, which had no ginger taste at all. I complained about it and asked them to add more ginger; it came back tasting exactly the same.The starter plates featured greasy finger prints, but the yellowtail tartar with avocado was quite tasty, as was my partner's fresh king prawn with squid ink. This is when we realised the reason for the affordable price: the portions were tiny.The wagyu beef was pre-sliced and barely cooked even though we had ordered medium rare and medium respectively. The green beans were cooked just right, al dente, and the potato mash did not disappoint (I had requested extra beans instead of mash).The dessert platter consisted of three little pastries. While the lemon tart and strawberry ice cream sandwich were of the most bland pre-fabricated variety, the banana caramel layer cake was tremendously delicious and had a divine texture.Service was VERY slow, despite so few tables being occupied. The bar had a very noisy coffee grinder.…Read More

There is not much to add. We showed up without reservation and got a table for four straight away. We got a chance to sit and look at the menu before our order was taken and our start time marked. The second time we went we waited 10 minutes longer than the estimated 20 minutes and had to order before we were shown to the table.The self-serve area has various vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, processed meat and fish, as well as ice cream for dessert.The first time we picked the Japanese Wagyu beef, which was amazing, with sukiyaki hot pot, which was too sweet for my taste. The second time we had half sukiyaki and half plain, which we had to have with standard beef and pork. For the second and third order they were happy to give us just beef though. The beef did not taste as good as the japanese wagyu, but was ok once cooked thoroughly.In any case, we will definitely be coming back here. 90 minutes is more than enough to stuff yourself!…Read More