Gourmand-Gourmet's Profile

Resto @ HK Central: French – Brasserie in the 8th @ Conrad Hotel Décor: modern and has not been renovated for a long time. This set-up should have been there for at least 8 to 10 years.Ambiance: fine dining ambiance Sitting: fairly close to your neighbor. In fact the restaurant was about half full, the maitre d’hotel could have sit the guests at alternate table, thus giving us more privacy.Food: appetizers were OK for all of us…. Sashimi salad, soups and custom prepared arugula salad mixed with tomato and slices of avocado. See additional comments in the service section. My deer steak was over cooked when it was ordered medium-rare… it came as medium or close to well-done. They quickly replaced it with one that is medium rare. My wife had a surf and turf, the king prawns were tasty while the steak was well prepared… medium rare. The quality of the beef is also good. We also had seared scallops … very well prepared. Lab chops were succulent.Service: courteous, friendly and attentive… in fact excellent. We just asked if they have different sorts of bread for the breadbasket other than crackers and baguettes. The next thing you know, they went to Nicolini and got us a basket of mixed bread (olive bread, saffron bread, whole-wheat etc…). I wanted some arugula salad, which is not on the menu, they made it happen for me. My wife mentioned in passing that we are here to celebrate my daughter’s birthday, at dessert; they gave her a small stuffed Conrad bear. We did not ordered dessert as we already have a birthday cake from Shangri-la at home.Wine: Good wine list though on the expensive side, particularly the French wines. We ordered a Nipozzano Chianti, 2006… the wine is only so, so…. Borderline to be returned.Cost: about HK$700 per head with wine (average quality wine) for diner, no dessert, no coffee or tea… Reasonable for the ambiance, the service, the set-up.Value for Money? Reasonable… badly prepared food was taken back in exchange for a new dish without question or argument. Excellent service.General: We will come back again.…Read More

Resto @ HK Central: French – a Brasserie @ the Gateway hotel Décor: typical of a traditional French bistroAmbiance: lots of people, big parties, lively for a Friday nightSitting: fairly close to your neighborFood: The pan seared foie gras is over cooked, the steak tartare is overly spicy… too much paprika… too strong of a burning sensation on the palate. The grilled lobster is satisfactory, the Chateaubriand is over cooked when we ordered medium-rare… it came as medium or close to well-done. Given the time needed for the preparation of a re-order of the chateaubriand, we changed to filet mignon and steak, both were very well prepared. Service: courteous and friendly… however, due to the presence of a big party, the waiters had to run all over the place making the waiting time for food and service slower than expected. The guests at the table beside us asked to be moved to another less noisy part of the restaurant. The Chef felt quite bad for us, as we had to endure the noise and the big party. He offered us a Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru from his personal collection which we finished half a bottle and returned the other half to him… good wine is not to be wasted!Wine: Rather limited wine list for a restaurant in Hong Kong, in particular the selection of French wine is too limited. Selection of wines from other countries is more than prominent. We ordered a 2005 burgundy and had to return it because the wine has possibly not been store properly. A second bottle of the same wine was offered… slightly better but almost as bad. We accepted it, rather than making a scene.Cost: about HK$750 per head with wine (average quality wine) for diner.Value for Money? Reasonable… badly prepared food was taken back in exchange for a new dish without question or argument.General: the cooking could be improved…We have been coming back to La Brasserie, from time to time... Last time we came here was about a year and half ago… for no-nonsense bistro style French food… will come back again.…Read More

Resto @ HK Central: Japanese – Inagiku Décor: Grand entrance with a very beautiful huge Ikebana. If you sit by the window, you will have a fantastic view of the HK harborAmbiance: very lively... lots of peopleSitting: fairly tight… too close to thy neighborService: the “tea lady” is good but the waitress with her wireless walkie-talkie is absolutely terrible. She started to take my order, half way through the order taking, she disappear as my neighbor called her for more service. In other instance, she handed the soupspoon right in front of my eyes from my right side to my daughter sitting to my left. She should have done that in my back or walk an extra two steps to hand her the soupspoon.Wine list: very nice wine list, la cave is stuffed with expensive fine winesFood: the skin of the broiled mackerel was burned… we should have returned it. The sequence of service of the food is all wrong… they serve the fish before we even had the miso soup, the rice came prior to everything else. After we finished the soup, we place the cover on the soup bowl according to Japanese dining etiquette. The server thought that we have not started to drink the soup and waited until we tell her to take the empty soup bowl away. The sashimi and sushi are quite fresh. The beef roll with shitake mushrooms is over cooked. Cost: HK$1000+ per person, inclusive of two small serving of sake wines (half a sake serving per person)Value for Money? … absolutely NOT… 2/10 General: My brother made an interesting comment at the end of the diner: << did you notice that most of the customers are either Hong Kong people, Gwei Loh or Mainlanders…no Japanese people!>> … perhaps the Japanese People knows this restaurant is not value for money.…Read More

Décor: interesting combination of a shop + a bistro in contemporary white … sells seafood, to wine passing through steaksAmbiance: rather quiet for Sunday brunch Sitting: spacious as there was not many guests… had this place been 50% full… it will be crampedService: Efficient but cool… slightly pompous!Wine list: a number of second labels Bordeaux on the racks , plus a few more expensive ones in the wine fridge.Food: The steak is well broiled. The mesclun salad is OK. The clam risotto is too filled with MSG… this is the most terrible part. The foie gras is well seared. The patisserie/cakes are only so so. Its is absolutely REVOLTING and TERRIBLE to charge for bread in a western style restaurant. Portions are just borderline reasonable, as we are all small eaters.Cost: $660 for four for lunch… inclusive of service charge… no drinks and no coffee.. just plain water.Value for Money? … 6/10 General: Will most likely not come back...other than perhaps shopping. They do carry some very interesting fresh as well as canned food, to include foie gras au torchon.…Read More

Décor: Contemporary white with lots of floor to ceiling glasses introducing natural light and offering an excellent view of the harbor, in particular, if you dine “al fresco”.Ambiance: very busy and lively as usual Sitting: reasonably spacious for some business discussionsService: well trained and efficient... courteous? Not necessarily… just well trained.Wine list: did not look at it over lunch…. Last time I dine there, I remember they have a good wine list of Italian wines.Food: The antipasti buffet is excellent and offers a wide variety of choices. The sword fish was nice and moist, which is a delightful change from the traditional dry and tough servings. The dessert buffet could include a couple more choices of cakes. Food quality is good while the portions are reasonable.Cost: $900 for three for lunch… inclusive of service charge, mineral water and coffee.Value for Money? … 7.5/10 General: I have been there many times and Isola is habitually good for business luncheons.…Read More

Décor: Minimalist white… not very Chinese despite it being a Chinese restaurant. In fact, we can change the menu and this place could become an Italian restaurant in 30 minutes.Ambiance: good for business lunch… plenty of natural light Sitting: reasonably spacious… not too close to thy neighborService: Courteous and quick. Wine list: did not look at it over lunch…. They do have a wine cabinet.Food: Chinese food served western style with white table cloth and proper cloth napkins (not paper napkins)… western style service…appetizer, soup, main course followed by dessert. .. coffee will cost you extra. Food quality is OK in general… nothing special. The portions are reasonable.Cost: $550 for three inclusive of service charge for lunch.Value for Money? … 6/10 … given the “cheap” ingredients usedGeneral: Would I go back?... may be… if I run out of eating place in Hong Kong…Read More

Business set lunch @ $99, inclusive of a soft drink and service @ 10%… reasonable... for Central districtDécor: as much as Arabic feature as possible… lamps are Arabic… pictures are middle eastern… cozy small placeAmbiance: playing Arabic music… good; Sitting: Your neighbor style restaurantService: Courteous and quick. Wine list: did not look at it over lunch.Food: The Baba Ganoush could be a bit spicier… perhaps with a bit more raw garlic and paprika. The burnt taste of the egg plant is definite there and as required. The Shish Taouk is good… They used to ask what sauce you want to go with your sandwich … this time they forgot… may be too busy … too many customers. The sauce is on the mild side, perhaps catering to local palate. For once during lunchtime, the restaurant is full after I sat down... The portions are reasonable. General: Would I go back?... definitely… when I want a dépaysement in busy Hong Kong…Read More

Diner for 3 without alcohol is about HK$900+Décor: Average… toward sterile whiteAmbiance: average… sittings: a bit too close to your neighborService: staffs are pushy of expensive products (meals) and not very knowledgeable… The Maitre D does not know what saffron is when asked if the seafood stew is cooked with Saffron. Wine list: limited… perhaps reasonable for a small restaurant like this. Wine by the glass is on the expensive side.Food: The seafood stew, which we ordered, has probably been cooked with ingredients that are not too fresh, giving us a funny aftertaste instead of the traditional taste that one expects of a seafood soup or seafood stew. The grilled sardines are not very fresh and actually have a strong “fishy” smell. The spicy chicken is overwhelmed with spices such that you cannot even taste the chicken. The portions are reasonable. We decided to skip dessert.Would we go back?... most likely not…Read More