Mrs Jones Bar & Restaurant (已結業)

For every Mrs. Jones out there, one couldn't stop but wonder, what about Mr. Jones? The dutiful wife with the nonexistent husband makes up the name of the Italian restaurant on the slanted slope of rock-covered Pottinger Street in Central. Lunching in Central for someone who lunches out every now and then could be paradise (with so many choices) and nightmare (with too many choices) at the same time. In an attempting to 'keep up with the Joneses', we paid a visit on a weekday lunch hour.One should be surprised to see that even at the peak of lunch hours in the Central district Mrs. Jones is still half full (or half empty, in the entreprenuer's point of view). Through the pale golden decor with some glimpses of daylight and women in stillettos tripping down the street with their heels stuck between the cracks is the only street traffic one could see from inside. The lunch prix fixe is a 3 course meal priced at $98 plus gratuity. The first course being soup/salad, the second a main (one of two, plus another choice with additional charge --> a total of three), and dessert/ coffee. To share between the two of us we ordered one of each, and skipped the extra charge for the braised beef cheek as mains.The bread basket to start with is a dreadful idea. The bread isn't all that fresh, and to say that it has seen better days since it first came out of the oven could be a nice way to put it. Soon enough the first course arrives. The Italian Lentil Soup with Basil Pesto is a smooth puree of sandy brown with a good flavour, beaniness to it. The basil pesto could've worked better with cannellini beans, I used to think, but somehow it makes its way to the palate as a sharper flavoured element and complimented it quite well. The Salad of Smoked Duck with Pear, Gorgozola and Salad Leaves is a satisfactory palate-opener with something crisp and fresh, while the pungency of the gorgonzola was somehow lost through the light sweetness from the pear.The mains arrive sharply after the staff has removed out first course, as any waiting mains would, it has turned tepid, at least that's what the Fish Cacciatore with Soft Polenta was. The soft polenta has its usual signature graininess, but richly coating the tongue as it normally would as well. The fish slices, richly stewed in and flavoured with tomatoes, feel more like fish on marinara sauce (don't get me wrong, marinara is good, but the tartness needs some rounding off with maybe a sprig of basil?) The fish slightly flakes off and give it by the forkful. The Saffron Risotto with Parmigiano and Watercress Salad was nowhere near a risotto. It's not soupy, nor is it dry granules like fried rice. The rice granules themselves were not cooked enough, at least not until al dente. A similar sensation would be to bite into a wet unpopped popcorn. The watercress salad was delightfully green, yet not so delightfully, it takes forever to chew off the leafy stalk, gives me a whole new meaning to "green and fibery". A change was meant to be, and 10 minutes later when the dish resurfaced the rice was al dente and sufficiently textureed, and the watercress is now replaced with tiny sprigs, just like anyone else's at the neighboring tables.The coffee at the end of the meal was satsifactory, with a good choice of brown and white sugar cubes, and the panna cotta is creamy and soft, almost jiggly with specks of vanilla seeds throughout. In the midst of creamy enjoyment came the chocolatey bits of biscotti around the panna cotta itself. It tasted more like cookies that's past its prime, and certainly not in one way or another something one would volunteer to eat (even with milk to dunk into), yet squishing them into rough crumbs and mix into the panna cotta somehow made a satisfying dessert.I used to have a good Risotto with Pumpkin at Mrs. Jones, and clearly the good ol' honeymoon days of its first opening have gone, what's left is a mildly satisfying dining option much like a lot of places that have opened for a while and managed to stay in business in LKF/Soho. Having their meal, savouring the little bits of lingering flavours from a satisfying Fish Cacciatore and Panna cotta earlier on, I realized how much things have changed, and can change even if a restaurant has been around serving the same food over and over again. Judging from the quality of food and service from that meal, the doubt about the whereabouts of a non-existent Mr. Jones has all gone down the drain, as I suppose that even Mr. Jones would've gotten lunch somewhere else, other than under the hands of his dutiful wife too busy dishing out lunches at other diners in the city. 继续阅读

之前撞番个好耐无见嘅旧同学,答应会搅个局聚吓.........当然无问题啦...........jan 24, 10,4人嚟dinner,叫咗 : 1) 面包 (免费)-每人1片,但偏韧,要扯先开 2) saute vongole (hk$80)-clams, parma ham, white wine, garlic and parsley-细size嘅蚬-胜在个汁有酒香,调得不错,又混以蚬嘅鲜味,另配以2件烘得够松脆嘅法包,用佢嚟蘸汁食很不错 3) eggplant parmigiana (hk$70)-grilled eggplant w/napoli sauce and buffalo mozzarella-茄子没有腍到1pat咁,仲有质感-鲜茄蓉juicy澎湃,自然酸度, 4) agnolotti di zucca (small - hk$70)-homemade parcels w/pumpkin, mascarpone and sage butter-佢有点似意大利云吞,但形状不同,都喺2块面粉皮下包咗d嘢-细的size有4旧-问咗呢个喺homemade,所以叫嚟试吓手做的嘅质感上会喺点-喺烟韧1点,有点咬口,但就唔多南瓜味 5) gnocchi al ragu (small - hk$80)-neopolitan pork shoulder ragu, fontina cheese-因为侍应话薯团都喺手做,所以都试埋-但呢个好腍,唔得-但个猪肉整成丝状,茄汁base,反而呢个就不错 6) roast fillet of sea bass (hk$175)-prawn risotto, crisp prosciutto and semi dried tomatoes-因为其1友人唔多好鱼,所以全只虾就比咗佢-个鱼就怀疑喺烚/煲熟,因个鱼皮面1点都无被煎过嘅痕迹,鱼皮不脆身,亦切开时喺拉断个鱼皮,不过就好juicy同嫩-个饭就带轻轻嘅咬口,质感不错,而中间都有虾,好爽口,只虾有质素 7) roast duck (hk$185)-鸭片好似煎得熟咗少少因有点"un",幸好不算严重,但很有鸭嘅禽味 8) hazelnut panna cotta (hk$50)-棒子喺靠面层带出,但唔明显-奶冻部份胶性重了-普通 9) tiramisu (hk$60)-对呢个抱有期望,因以前睇过嘅鳝稿话湿润度喺,又有酒味-湿润度不够,酒味欠奉-普通 10) budino (hk$60)-喺warm chocolate pudding连gelato-但个朱古力1点都唔"流",蛋糕部份朱古力又唔够绵密,倾向海绵感多d-味道无问题,但作为1个朱古力pudding,就唔多称职-雪糕正常-反而喺个用糖腌嘅柠檬皮好食,因有点"赵"口,甜中嗒出新鲜柠檬味 11) torta di limone (hk$55)-食完3个普通嘅甜品后,想试埋呢个,就差唔多比我哋扫晒餐牌 (只喺无试到个雪糕啫)-友人们已经差不多,咁我就努力d ko佢-个酸度唔会好强,腍实度刚好-ok* 呢度嘅头盘,意粉同主菜都可以,但甜品环节就弱咗d..........另外就喺无pizza * 回家后几日先收到信用咭嘅晚饭9折通知 (其实1月1日已生效)..........但店方结账时并无比到9折discount我哋............所以事后致电check番(因食咗$975,discount部份都有近成$100)..........女侍应叫我等阵,佢去check完先知道有.........我陈述咗我嘅来意后,佢就即刻sorry........并叫我带埋张单同信用咭refund番比我...........主动话比我知佢叫咩名........嚟到揾佢就得...........好彩餐厅喺soho..........僻d我都头痕........hahaha 欣赏佢负责任嘅态度同速度...........有时要睇1间餐厅/公司/人好唔好..........就喺有问题之后.........佢哋嘅态度(有d会左推右赖.........唔会即刻认有问题)同积极性就知 * 估唔到星期日晚佢都几旺 (不过喺>8.30pm先开始旺) 继续阅读

This restaurant is a bit far away from the CBD and it was quite tiring to walk up there in high heels. As a result, the restaurant was a bit empty. Which is a good thing, because it's not that spacious inside.The free bread served turned out to be sour dough, and according to my friend, it is very very rare to serve sour dough because it's more expensive than normal bread.The set lunch was 3 course - choice of salad or soup + fish or risotto + dessert or coffee.My friend had the soup and she said it was served too cold.... but my salad was fine.The main course was both nice for us. My risotto was normal and nice, and my friend's fish looked like a pizza but was also surprisingly nice.Neither of us chose the dessert, but the coffee was quite okay. 继续阅读

My friend got a super monday card (meaning buy-one-get-one-free for main course) so we popped in for dinner.we ordered:1) Gnocchi with lamb in ragu sauce - it was great! the gnocchi is so soft! and plenty of lamb in this delicious ragu sauce. very tasty indeed!2) Grilled swordfish with crispy potato and creamy sweet corn - the fish got a delcious grilled flavour, but the texture is a bit too hard. the thin slices of potato are not crispy at all, but the other veggi (like the creamy sweet corn paste and the spinach) are nicely done.3) Chocolate fudge cake - the fudge cake got a moist and tender texture, together with the ice-cream and chocolate sauce it's just heavenly!4) Lemon tart - the tart got a slightly crispy top, and a soft middle layer. it has a very fresh lemon flavour and a hint of egg flavour. together with the very smooth (very smooth indeed) lemon-flavoured cream it's something you shouldn't miss!Overall, food is nice. The not so good things are that the tables are very small and it was quite noisy since the tables are packed. 继续阅读

We really enjoyed our dinning experience at this restaurant - even though the table was a bit small, but i thought it was cosy and comfortable. Especially, we don't have to dress up - ppl wear rather casual to this restuarant ! Three things i would recommend: 1) Mrs Jones garlic bread - very tasty , crunchy and flavorful (my mouth smelled like garlic for the rest of the night. haha) 2) gnocchi al formaggi ($85) (only if you like cheese) - my main course. The gnocchi is handmade! , and it uses THREE kind of cheese ! not mushy at all . (the portion was a bit too big for me though.. because the cheese sauce is very filling...) . My friend doesn't like it..because the cheese smell is too strong. but I LOVE IT. 3)ravioli stuff with crab meat and shrimp ($130 ..i think . . i don't remember exactly) - my friend's main course. The sauce of the ravioli is so good! We also ordered some sautee spinach on the side, and a bottle of Chenin Blanc white ( their white wine collection was alright. ...quite a few choices ,like Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc imported from Italy, New Zealand and South Africa) The bar area looks very nice too ! i think next time, even if i don't eat.. i will come here to drink wine with my friends 继续阅读