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After a long period of practising the art of conservation of energy, a polite alternative description of being lazy, Capt Memo returns to the keyboard again !!Earlier this evening, I went to Ruby Tuesday in New Town Plaza, Shatin after having appraised myself with various comments, both positive and negative about the place and its service in particular. With me was “She-who-must-be-Obeyed” (Before you throw the grammar book at me, please read up on the complete works of William Shakespeare!)The décor of the place was unmistakably American with dark colour wooden panels and tables. The place was only half full when we arrived by 6:30PM. The receptionist quickly traced my reservation and showed us to our table with the request that we should vacate by 8PM. On the spur of the moment, feeling mischievous, I remarked that I was a slow diner. To that, without even blinking, the girl said, “Please take your time!! No problem!!”A waitress Jolie, true to her name sake, promptly turned up with the menus. I asked for cold water for myself and a warm version for my commander in-chief.She asked if I would care for a beer at happy hour rate, $22 for a pint of Foster draught. The offer proved to be too much a temptation and I ceded readily.We went for cheese and bacon chips, mini combo (two mini beef burgers, a salad with a generous portion of French fries) and a large order (20 in numbers) of buffalo wings. The food arrived and I realised I could have fed a family of four !! The mini burgers were excellence itself, juicy and full of flavours. The salad was fresh and crispy but the coutons were too large to my liking. The bacon and cheese chips came highly recommended by various readers but to me, they were nothing to write home about. As for the chicken wings, I was glad to record that they went exceedingly well with the cold beer. There was a bit of a commotion with children but that was part of the ambience of a family restaurant. Also there was a couple having a lovers’ squabble but all the waiting staff discreetly looked the other way. I nearly went over to tell the rather plain-looking woman that she was lucky to have such a handsome fellow stupid enough to fall for her ! However, I enjoyed the side-show so much that I let it went on. Oh,how I pitied the man !Despite all that noise, it turned out to be a very pleasant dinner. I found the waiting staff, Jolie in particular, genuinely friendly and efficient. Other readers had stated waiters/waitresses would hard sell certain food items. I certainly begged to differ. I was tempted to go for a choco tall cake but Jolie, seeing that there was so much food left, tactfully suggested that I should take a rain-cheque on dessert.With a discount of a member's card, the damage was only a meagre $240 including a tip.In the immortal words of General MacArthur, I shall return !!…查看更多

01 JAN 2007To celebrate the New Year, I took my family with the dreaded in-laws forming a party of 11, to a restaurant called the Gateway (港潮樓) situated on the second floor of the Harbour Crystal Centre, in East Tsim Sha Tsui. The place was recommended to me with by a fellow golfer.We arrived at 6:30PM and to my amazement, we were the first party there. The main dinning area was not particularly large, with about 20 tables of various sizes spaciously apart. In addition, there were 10 function rooms at the back. The d嶰or was what I would call modern Chinese with a warm maroon colour scheme. The wall next to our table could do with some touch-ups as there were a number of unsightly smudges.The order was taken by a waiter who was fairly responsive and well informed of the day’s specials. My son decided to order of the signature dish of crab in glutinous rice but he would like ordinary fragrant rice fried in egg white in stead of the glutinous version. The man froze. Possibly, he could not spell the word flexibility or else my son spoke in an alien language. After a suitable period of defrosting, he said he would consult the chef whereupon I lost my patience and asked to speak to the man himself. Seconds later, an affable, slightly rotund and smiling man appeared in a spit and span white tunic complete with a chef’s tall hat. I always regard a chef who takes pride in his turnout would do likewise with his food. His impressive appearance injected much confidence in me. The chef introduced himself as Ah Ming and took the order, with a ready response of no problem to each and evry whim of my son. He then returned to attend to his duties in the kitchen. My subsequent nosy enquiry revealed that the chef has more than 25 years of experience in preparing Chiu Chow cuisine.After the initial hiccup, the rest of the evening went like a dream. The first course was sliced goose meat in Chiu Chow marinated sauce. The meat was tender but more importantly the marinated sauce was mature and full of flavours. The omelet with pearl oysters and melon was true to the rustic and traditional Chiu Chow style of cooking. The novelty came with the diced curry chicken with chupatti. The meat was well mixed with sweet corns which went very well with the warm Indian coarse bread. The beef brisket in consommwas, comparatively speaking, less impressive than other dishes. The saving grace was the consommwhich was peppery and tasty. The steamed garupa was as fresh as it was delicious. The piece de resistance was of course the steamed crab with rice which was worth waiting for. The full splendour of the crustacean, enhanced by a sumptuous application of garlic, was absorbed by the rice through the steaming process. To complete the meal, I ordered congee with pearl oysters and minced pork. To finish the meal, I ordered six huge buns of lotus seeds and sesame fillings. Then to our surprise, an additional course of dessert in the form of sago pudding arrived with compliments from the chef.The damage to my wallet was only $2,500 including a princely tip, a megre sum for a satisfying dinner for 11. By the time we left at about 8:30PM the place was 90% full. It should have been 100% full with a long line in waiting, judging from the standard of food, price and service during the meal. I could see myself like the dying prima donna of Verdi’s opera Aida, re-appearing in this restaurant again and again with monotonous regularity, hopefully without the in-laws!…查看更多

I have previously visited this restaurant and filed in a report dated SEP 2006. Somehow, it was not shown on the page of B Cafe, the one situated at No. 4, Hillwood Road. Having been pleasantly surprised by its food and above all its service, I decided to entertain a group of four ex-colleagues and dear friends, all good looking laides, to dinner on 12 OCT. As the evening progressed, the place became packed which was a very encouraging sign for a restaurant on a week day. Our table was served alternatively by Cassy and Viola. Needless to say, their service was impeccable.We had a gluttonous meal that evening, starting off with beef filet cubes with garlic, followed by a large oyster platter. My friends were so impressed by the freshness of the oysters, I ordered six more US ones for their pleasure. As for main courses, despite there were only five of us, we had two portions of kurobta ribs, tiger prawns with angel hair, beef fillet and foie gras and two portions of confit du canard which I shall describe in more details later. The pork ribs and fillet with foie gras were as brilliant as my first visit. The tiger prawns were disappointing in that the texture was fluffy, probably having been in the fridge for too long. The redeeming feature was its accompanying angel hair which was al dente and full of aroma of herbs. We were so impressed and I ordered a second portion of the pasta without the offending crustacean. Now, I come to the surprise of the evening. the confit du carnard which was selected on the recommendation of Viola. B Cafe, an unpretentious eatery, only gave the dish a Chinese name called Duck sealed in Oil. I know the dish well because it was the main course of my farewell dinner in France, marking the end of my two year punitive excile therein, some 26 years ago. The flavour of the duck was there but the original saltiness was diluted probably to suit the local taste buds. The broad beans absorbed the full splendour of the flavour of the duck. I was nearly brought tears by the rushing memories of the friends I made and all the places I have been to, in France during those trying years of my youth. The ladies present were also impressed and dutifully I ordered a second portion. The digestion of the meal was greatly assisted by the consupmtion of six bottles of wine. In the course of the evening, the owner Mr. Daniel Woo showed up and made polite conversation. I did not have the heart to tell him about the tiger prawns but truthfully told Viola to reflect it at an opportune moment. When the bill was called, I offered to stay behind to wash the dishes knowing full well the damage to the wallet would have been colossal. As it turned out, one of the good-looking ladies picked up the tabs on the pretext that she had enjoyed a windfall in the stock market. I suspected the bill must have been well over $600 per head. Be that as it may and I do not want to sound ungrateful, it was money well spent in view of the quality of food, the exemplary standard of service and the general ambience of the establishment. I had a great dinner which did not cost me but my problem would be to find a place to reciprocate her hospitality. May be it is yet another excuse of mine to have a feast to my eyes, looking at lovley ladies across a dinner table.…查看更多

Together with two old friends dating back some 40 years ago when we attended the same class, I booked a booth at this quaint little restaurant at Hill Wood Road. The place is reputed to serve fusion cuisine and fresh oyster is one of its specialties. The décor of the place was delightfully simplistic creating an art décor ambience.To start with we had chicken kebab and roasted sausage slices. I asked for the wine list and was pleasantly surprised that it was somewhat limited, three whites and three reds. I chose Willowglen white from Australia which was met with approval from all those present. It came well-chilled in a chic ice bucket. After the starters, we went for an oyster platter which consisted of 10 pieces of the shell fish of five different types. The young waitress who looked after us, Miss CHIK, patiently explained their origins and the sequence in which they were to be taken, from light to full flavour. I was always concerned about food hygiene but after the reassurance of the friendly staff and especially after tasting the first piece, I threw caution to the wind. The Willowglen went down smoothly with the oysters and we finished the third bottle with ease.After a discretionary lapse, we decided to attack the main courses. Despite we had studied the menu, we consulted Miss CHIK. We chose foie gras with beef filet, in addition to kurobuta rib chops. The young lady recommended tiger prawns but I went against her advice and ordered sea bass. Whilst we were waiting for the main course, the forth bottle of white was almost finished and we commenced an assault on a Willowglen red. When the entrée arrived, we decided to put them in the centre of the table and had a free for all! The beef filet and foie gras deserved the high recommendation from Miss CHIK. The roasted kurobta rib chops swept us off our feet. We found them flavourful and succulent, good to the last morsel. The sea bass was, regrettably, a disappointment in that it was bland in taste and dry in texture. The saving grace was the accompanying mashed sweet potato. We were entertained to a complimentary dessert which was apple crumbles with a pronounced aroma of cinnamon. We then had coffee before looking at our watches. We sat down at 7 PM and it was then close to 11 PM. Time flew by quickly and between us three, we had discussed and decided who should be our next CE of the HKG SAR and whether G W Bush should be brought to trial as a war monger! The damage to the wallet was $1,600 but I hasten to add that it was due to the five bottles of wine.In sum, this place houses a host of pleasant surprises, from its menu, wine list and serving team. The evening was most enjoyable and the service impeccable. Miss CHIK and the other waitress Ms Cassy were both attentive without being intrusive. As we three elderly gentlemen staggered away, we concluded that a revisit was well justified in not too distant a future. …查看更多

Grissini is the Italian Restaurant in one the leading hotels in Hong Kong, the Grand Hyatt. I went there on a Sunday to entertain my favourite cousin and his wife for brunch prior to their departure for a trip the very same afternoon. The restaurant recently went through a refurbishment process but frankly I could not tell the difference. The pleasant ambience, tables generously spaced and a willing team of serving staff remained the tour de force of the establishment. Their uniform was spick and spanHowever, the proceedings then went off on a wrong footing! I made a reservation for four persons but being shown to a table of three with a high stool for a baby!!! My cousin was of a forthright character, immediately protested. Admittedly, the restaurant was at fault as I had re-confirmed with them on the exactly number of attendance that very same morning. I threatened to walk out but was sharply pulled back by my “she-who-must-be-obeyed”. The apologetic yet efficient waiting team quickly made amends.After sitting down, I began to enjoy the harbour view. The wine list, which was very comprehensive, featured Italian produce only. My guests declined any offer of an alcoholic beverage, much to my dismay as I have always been amenable to a drop of Tuscany red! My table was in the east wing of the restaurant and I found the sun was too bright. Mercifully, storm clouds gathered in less than thirty minutes alleviating the agonizing glare.The most important aspect was of course the food. The brunch came in the form of a buffet. Unlike other leading restaurants in Hong Kong, the spread in Grissini was not that extensive. However, what was lacking in variety, it was more than made up for in quality. The only salad on offer was fresh, crunchy and refreshing. It went very well with the smoked duck breast and the sliced Parma ham. The sea food spread was sumptuous featuring sauté lobster tails, deep fried soft shell crabs, snapper baked in encrusted sea salt and oysters. I found the fish exquisite with its flavour fully brought out by this unusual way of preparation. The wagon served roast beef and veal shank. The former was irresistible especially it was served with freshly grated horse radish. There was a stall preparing pasta but the long queue was prohibitive. One could only assume that it was of excellent quality judging from its popularity. The dessert array was dazzling but having a waist-line to watch, I tore myself away from the temption. There was one thing that worth a special mention. As many readers would know, the Italian word Grissini means bread sticks. Well, the restaurant served generous bunches of bread sticks still hot from the oven. If there was one thing I disliked, it was the cream of tomato soup which came lukewarm in stead of piping hot.The quality of food, service and general ambience of the restaurant made the bill of $470 per person including service charge and a tip excellent dollar-value. I shall keep this restaurant in my good book but will only go there with worthwhile company.…查看更多

The first thing that struck me with this establishment was that one had to speak English. The reservation, reception staff, menu and communication with waiters/waitresses were all conducted in English. The harbour view was fine but the window required some serious cleaning.The menu was not extensive. I chose the sea bass whilst my friend went for the roast prime rib which came highly recommended by the waiter. The side dish was roasted potatoes. My friend and I had a glass of French Red and a New Zealand white respectively. The roast beef was a disappointment in that it was somewhat bland, lacking in taste and character. The fish was a pleasant surprise. It was succulent, tender and it blended in well with the accompanying sauce. As for the wine, the New Zealand white surpassed the French Red by a mile !! The service was attentive without being intrusive. The whole meal without starters, desserts or coffee came to about $900- I may go back again but not in any great hurry.…查看更多