As an Aussie living in a foreign city, there is a natural propensity to gravitate to what you know, to what is familiar and what make you comfortable. I'm sure that's true of most expats living in a place like Hong Kong, you only have to wander past a 'British Pub' to see plenty of pasty white guys spilling onto the sidewalk, beers in hand, taking about the latest premier league game (football for the uninitiated).
We were given our menus by one of the many, many wait staff that were standing about just waiting for a busy Saturday night crowd to appear. The Woolommooloo menu was interesting, in that it was really much broader than you'd normally see in an Aussie steakhouse. Many options for soups and salads, along with a long list of starters ensured that there would be lots of options for those who were not purely there for steak (although why you'd go to a steak restaurant if you weren't a huge carnivore is a bit of a mystery to me)
The thing I remember most about our visit to the only other restaurant in the Wooloomooloo group was the pace in which the meal came out - it was literally the fastest three course meal we'd ever had.
I was really conflicted about my choice of the sashimi grade tuna tartare with diced shallots, capers and wasabi mayonnaise. Looking quite spectacular on the plate, two tiers of tuna were separated by thin crispy wafers and the stacks sitting on a bed of wasabi mayonnaise. Colour was added with a smattering of bright orange salmon roe, giving the overall presentation of the plate quite a classy feel. My main issue with the dish was the balance, there was just too much of the tuna on the plate and the wasabi mayonnaise too overpowering. About halfway through the dish, the tuna seemed to 'dry out' and the heat from the wasabi seemed to accentuate the feeling. A little restraint would have really helped with this dish, just one layer of tuna would have been the right amount for a starter.
Eschewing from some of the fancier main options, we both opted for a very simple Australian Angus ten ounce filet minion (or as it's called in Australia, eye fillet). I have to say I was a little disappointed! The steak was presented simply on the plate with a béarnaise sauce on the side and it did look great on the plate and when I cut into my beef, it was cooked a perfect medium rare. But it was bland, really bland. It felt like it hadn't been seasoned properly during the preparation process, leaving a really 'flat' flavour that was missing that wonderful meaty flavour of a good steak. Not even an acceptable béarnaise sauce and plenty of extra salt could bring the beef back from the 'bland side'
We were both disappointed!
While my dessert was more miss than hit, the girls pavlova was was superb. I mean, it just looked great on the plate! The mix of toasted sweet meringue and cream was balanced out with a passion fruit coulis that added bite to the sweetness. Strawberry and blueberry added contrasting flavours and lent an air of authenticity to the dessert - this was about as Australian as you could get and a real winner.
Thankfully our desserts had slowed down the meal, so it felt more like a dinner than a rush. We were able to watch the sun set from a spectacular location and slowly watch the lights of Wanchai take over the more natural light from the day. It was quite lovely really.
While the steak was a little bland - or side of creamed corn was super tasty
Loved the way the mustard was served
set lunch附有湯或沙律, 因我對紅菜頭湯沒興趣, 便選擇了沙律, 但不知沙律上白色一粒粒的是什麼, 吃不出味道, 亦沒有芝士味~
肉眼扒不是很大塊, 亦不是很厚, 對於一位女士來說份量都算足夠。因我對西餐不是特別偏好, 所以眼前的肉眼是不是新鮮, 我都不太清楚 但醬汁是很好的, 味夠濃, 再加以香草焗的薯件及蕃茄, 整體算合格的
後記~ 服務生的態度很殷勤的, 讚~~
The atmosphere was nice and romantic and had a good view although the table next to us was noisy.
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