Hong Kong's best restaurants - column

Hong Kong's best restaurants

Hong Kong surely ranks as one of the best cities in the world for dining out. Prices, for the most part, are less than what you would pay for similar quality in other major cities.

I've listed some of my favorites in a variety of categories -- places where I've dined on many occasions over a period of years.

Prices are per person, excluding drinks, and indicate the average prices you can expect to pay in 1991, depending on items chosen and number of courses.

Kowloon side (Tsimshatsui & Tsimshatsui East Districts)

* LA BRASSERIE can be found downstairs at the Omni Marco Polo Hotel in the center of the huge Ocean Centre/Ocean Terminal/Harbour City indoor shopping complex.

This makes it an ideal luncheon stop during shopping. The businessman's special lunch is always an outstanding bargain, but you also can choose from the full menu. It's very nice for dinner also.

It has the atmosphere of a country inn, i.e., casual -- not stuffy and intimidating.

The Continental cooking is of a very high order and the menu wideranging and imaginative.

Prices average $25 pp.

Although they're not shown on the menu, the chef also makes terrific dessert souffles.

* TAI PAN GRILL -- The Tai Pan Grill is in the Omni Hong Kong Hotel. With a pleasant atmosphere, it has many tables with harbor views.

It has a very nice Continental menu that changes four times a year and is augmented with daily specials. There are some bargain set meals at both lunch and dinner.

They serve particularly good desserts, often including fresh berries, in addition to the fancy works of the baker's art.

You'll be shown a big wine list with fair prices.

It's an old favorite with many. Prices average $35 pp.

* AU TROU NORMAND, at 6 Carnarvon Road (downstairs), is a French bistro with a pleasant, "red-checkered tablecloth" kind of atmosphere.

It offers a bargain set lunch.

You'll find the French country cooking relies more on quality ingredients than smoke-screen saucing.

One H.K. restaurant reviewer says that the kitchen is "sometimes a bit erratic," but my staff has really liked the place on our nine or 10 visits. The restaurant has been very popular locally for 25 years, so that should tell you something.

There are fine desserts plus a good wine list and house wines. Prices average $25 pp.

* LE RESTAURANT DE FRANCE, in the Regal Meridien Hotel (Tsimshatsui East), is the epitome of French elegance and a favorite with visiting French diplomats.

Originally under the guidance of legendary French chef Paul Bocuse, the tradition of culinary excellence remains undimmed.

The menu changes every few months and local gourmets love it. The set-price lunch is a major bargain and the set-price dinner a major adventure. You can, of course, order a la carte as well.

Service is nonintimidating and near perfect.

For exceptional haute cuisine, I rank it just ahead of Pierrot in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Prices average $40 pp.

* LAI CHING HEEN, in the Regent Hotel, is one of a growing number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.

It boasts elegant and tasteful decor (including carved-jade lazy Susans) and a very good Cantonese kitchen.

I feel that after food, decor, view and service are taken into consideration, this restaurant has the edge over the fine Shang Palace restaurant in the nearby Shangri La Hotel. Prices average $25-$30 although they do have some well-priced set meals at both lunch and dinner time.

* CHESA is in the Peninsula Hotel. It offers a Swiss/Continental menu, and very, very good it is.

The place has that rustic Swiss look, but it's done with considerable taste.

The food is imaginative and very well prepared. Swiss cuisine is not as well known as French, so there will be a good number of offbeat menu surprises that will delight you.

Service is flawless, of course.

This competes with Gaddi's as the best restaurant in the hotel, but if you don't have time to sample both, try Chesa. It's fairly expensive ($25-$30) but certainly less so than Gaddi's.

* JIMMY'S KITCHEN is located one flight up at Kowloon Centre, 29 Ashley Road.

This fine restaurant has two sisters: another Jimmy's Kitchen in Central District and Landau's in Wanchai. They all are terrific.

The menu is extensive and hard to pigeonhole; perhaps German/French/Chinese/Indian might do it partial justice.

Specials are on the chalkboards on the walls. The cooking is splendid and the prices are low ($20 pp), considering the quality.

The waiters are very professional.

I don't know anyone who has not enjoyed either of the Jimmy's or Landau's.

HONG KONG ISLAND SIDE

(Central, Wanchai & Causeway Bay Districts)

* AMIGO, in Happy Valley, above Wanchai, probably is my favorite restaurant in Hong Kong.

On a scale of one to 10, the food is a 9, the service is a 10 and the romantic ambiance also is a 10. As a total experience, it really is a wonderful place.

The menu is Continental and full of nice twists and turns. An impressive display of fresh meats, fish, shellfish and smoked salmon is wheeled to your table.

The wine cellar is excellent (ask to see it).

They offer sinful desserts and an interesting cheese board.

Strolling Filipino musicians, with an enormous repertoire of songs, add to the delightful atmosphere.

The average meal costs $35 pp.

* LANDAU'S, at Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wanchai, is another real winner!

Formerly located on Gloucester Road near the Excelsior Hotel, it was moved practically intact to the new location. Thankfully, it has lost none of its atmosphere.

Like its "sister" Jimmy's Kitchen, the menu is very long and interesting. The specials are on the chalkboards and the prices are around $20 pp.

I like Landau's a great deal and strongly recommend it to you for its good food and good value.

* MAN WAH, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Central District, is arguably the best upscale Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong.

The hotel was in the process of moving the restaurant around and redecorating it on a recent visit, so double-check to see if all is well.

The menu used to be enormous, making it nearly impossible to choose from, but it's been cut down to a more manageable size.

Offering truly creative gourmet Chinese cooking, it's fairly expensive ($35) but worth every cent.

* JIMMY'S KITCHEN is in South China Building, 1 Wyndham St., Central District. All of the comments made above about the Kowloon branch apply here, but I like this original location even a bit better. It has the atmosphere of an English club.

There is the German/French/Chinese/Indian menu and daily specials. It offers very good cooking at around $20 pp.

It sports great waiters, too.

Locals have been enjoying Jimmy's since 1928. Try it, you'll like it!

* MANDARIN GRILL (Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Central) is one of three fine grill rooms on the island, the other two being the Hilton Grill and the Excelsior Grill.

The Mandarin Grill is the most elegant and expensive. The marvelous food, service and ambiance make it worth it. The menu is a bit more sophisticated than the other two competitiors.

You'll see lots of bankers at lunch, a few less at dinner. Meals average $40 pp.

* Have I missed your favorite restaurant? Let me hear from YOU!

COPYRIGHT 1991 Martin Publications, Inc.
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