I would appreciate some suggestions for truly ethnic type restaurants in HK. I would definately like to try one that does dim sum. I want to eat where the locals in the know eat. The view is not as important as the food because I live in a small city and do not have the opportunity to have genuine chinese food. I would not be adverse to Italian or Indian foods or other ethnic types as long as it is not a chain type establishment.

You may be surprised to know that nearly all the restaurants in Hong Kong serve what you so quaintly describe as "ethnic food". A few others serve strange foreign food such as hamburgers, fried chicken and so on.

The fundamental problem you will have is that the vast majority of the restaurants at which locals eat in HK don't have English langauge menus or English-speaking staff. If you try eating there you will probably therefore end up with some wonderful "ethnic" delicacies as chicken feet, or intestines, or pigs' ear. Is that really what you want?

My daughter speaks and reads Chinese so language is not a problem.

Language is still a problem - nearly all restaurant staff speak Cantonese and not all speak/understand Mandarin (very different dialects). Chinese menus are also notoriously non-descriptive. You have to know what the dish is from a name that is usually 5 characters at most. Added to that, I'm not sure how fluent your daugther is but the set of chinese characters extends to 70,000 or more and no, you can't make sense of it by pronouncing.

Yes - there are nine major dialects of Chinese, between which there is little mutual comprehension, and two written forms of the language.

If your daughter is a fluent in Cantonese and/or traditional Chinese script then fine; otherwise she might be able to help you identify which animal the food came from. Beyond that you need to be feeling adventurous.

Of course if it is a small animal/fish they may bring it live and flapping/kicking to your table so you can check that it looks bright-eyed and tasty before you order. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by christep (edited 01-13-2003).]

I wouldn't be that pessimistic...

Most dim sum restaurants will wheel the dishes around from table to table on a cart so you can point to which you want to try.

While Mandarin is not the local dialect, many people do understand it, and may even speak it.

There is also the old looking at what others are eating, and saying you want that also. And, maybe you'd just be more comfortable not knowing what exactly it really is.

I appreciate your concern about the language problem but IT IS NOT A PROBLEM. Please just give me the names of some good dim sum places and any others you have particularly enjoyed.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Audie:
I appreciate your concern about the language problem but IT IS NOT A PROBLEM. Please just give me the names of some good dim sum places and any others you have particularly enjoyed. </font>

With that attitude, why should we help you? Given your intolerance, I'd recommend the Chinese restaurant in the basement of the Kowloon Hotel, right behind the Peninsula. It is quite good (one of my favorites, actually), their English is fine, and they are used to dealing with cranky farangs and gweilos.

There are quite a few ethnic restaurants in the Chungking Mansions, just across from the Hyatt.

WOW!! I sincerely apologize if my request caused anyone to be offended. Several of the people who replied were very kind and pointed out I may have a problem with the language and menu. Let me just say that our group will consist of native Hong Kong speakers and we will do fine with the language. They are not that familiar with foods other than Chinese and I just wanted to be able to sample other cusine.

OK, no problem. But if your group consists of native HK people, wouldn't they know of a few good places themselves? Or they do know Chinese, and are looking for non-Chinese food in HK? But you mention that you are looking for dim sum places, which, if anybody knows where, it'd be the natives...

The standard answer for dim sum is the Maxim's restuarant in the City Hall building near the Star Ferry pier in Central. I went there over Xmas with visiting members of my family plus my (Cantonese) girlfriend and it was far better than most dim sum places. But it is totally in Cantonese. If there is a large group of you and you get there early (11 or 11:30 am) then you may be able to get one of the tables by the huge windows which have a superb view across the harbour. Much later and you will have to queue.

For Indian then the most authentic is indeed probably in Chungking Mansions as stated. However, it is probably too authentic for most westerners. For "sanitised" Indian I recommend the Viceroy in the Sun Hung Kai centre in Wanchai North.

For Thai got to Phukets Thai in Mosque Junction (just off Robinson Road in the mid-levels).

For Vietnamese there is Saigon which is a sister restaurant of Viceroy in the SHK centre. There's also a good cheap place in Causeway Bay which I know how to get to but can't remember the name of the restaurant or a street address. I'll edit here if/when I find out.

For Spanish try Ole in Ice House Street, Central, for a more formal restaurant or Rico's in Robinson Road for a tapas bar with great sangria.

I was just there in December and tried some very good restaurants. Not Dim Sum, but you can try these suggestions:
It's not the best food you can get in HK, but it's decent (in both price and taste).

MTR-Kowloon Tong Station
Festival Walk Mall
Festive China Restaurant
Dessert or High Tea in Queen's Cafe

In Tsim Tsa Tsui
Sweet Dynasty (filled with tourists and locals)
Chinese congee, noodles, dessert.
2199 7799 Canton Rd.


Hope this helps!

Other recommendations:
Peninsula Veranda for its Mango Souffle

If you will be walking in Mongkok, YauMaTei or Causeway Bay, and in the mood for a quick healthy snack. Look for a shop that has cases of Mangos on its doorway (apologies, forgot its name).

Shanghainese:
LAO CHING HING

[This message has been edited by bobes (edited 01-19-2003).]

[This message has been edited by bobes (edited 01-19-2003).]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I have copied the answers and will see what we can fit in to our stay. I look forward to some enjoyable dinning.

audie,

you should not worry about the language.
i myself had been able to order food by looking at neighboring table in portugal, italy, thailand and korea.

in hk, it is actually a lot easier.
dont worry about chinese dialects either, many of the medium size restaurants employ mainland staff whose native language is mandarin (plus other dialects).

for dim sum, Maxim (any maxim, they are good quality and clean. though the one at city hall is the easiest to find)
for other chinese cuisine (peking, chiuchow/tseochiu, hunan, shanghai /etc) try the maxim group as well.

http://www.maxims.com.hk/html/opening.htm

check this out, and have the hotel call them up for reservation/directions.
when you are in one maxim. ask for pamphlet about their sister restaurants in other cuisines.
(sorry this page is in chinese, have your daughter read it. i can't find the english page)
-----
seafood:

fook lam moon at johnston road.
tak wing at jaffe road

heard owner of tak wing has been changed recently, not as good, but still very decent food.

these are both the top end cantonese seafood restaurants, but the dimsum quality are also good

-----

to experience real cantonese food
1. drop by local "chya-restaurant" for the genuine honkie fast food, e.g. "new chiu kee", they are ubiquitous.
2. try those street food
3. "snake king two" on perceival street for snake soup, and liver sausage. HKD65 for set dinner.
4. "HK-style steak". Boston Restaurant at Luard Road, and Tai Ping Koon in Causeway Bay. they serve soya sauce flavored steaks and other HK adapted western cuisines. (a failed attempt of cantonese making western food, but instead developed a cuisine of their own)

----------

i would have a lot more to recommend, but these places are hard to find. i don't think it worth spending some 30-60 minute just to find a particular restaurant if you are a tourist. so have the hotel call them up and mark them on your map, and visit them if you pass by

btw, how many days do you have here?
i would recommend you focus chinese food, esp southern chinese food.

there are good SE Asia, Japanese, Korean and European food, but you can try them elsewhere.

------


IMHO, although these foreign food are in general pretty good. but not many are that genuine. if you are tired of chinese food (you maybe, because it is just different from the diet you are used to) try these:

there are many european restaurants, they are mostly decent, but you dont have to come to HK for that. othe nly French food i would recommend is Amigo at Happy Valley, 79 nlue pool road, overlooking the race-course.
(expensive for dinner, set at HKD 550-650, but they offer lunch set at HKD180)

The genuine Japanese food (the only one i would recommend) is called Irori, at Henessy road, Causeway Bay. VERY HARD to locate, 4/f up a building called "Wing Kong", oppoposite to Mitsukishi. Fresh seafood arrives every night from Japan by air.
The other good Jap restaurant is called Utsuki, in a small street behind Mitsukoshi, near Tai Ping Koon, but i hadnt been there for a couple years.
(still, please go to tokyo for japanese food, not HK)

No really good vietnamese that i know, Saigon is decent, but it is too "westernized". it is a real pity, since it is not so easy to go to Vietnam (visa issues). (i think the best Viet food outside Vietnam is probably in Paris)
the best one used to a shabby restaurant, at the intersection of Lockhard and Canal Roads, but they had to adjust to Cantonese taste, and sort of lost the real Vietnamese flavor -- still the most genuine one though, very cheap also.
Little Paris under the bridge at the North end of Canal road (west side of the flyover) is quite good, very cheap! but not good enough for the effort to search for it.

The best Korean food is call Gaya, opposite to Times Square at Causeway Bay, in a new building up 4/F (or 6/F) on Russel Street.
Forget Sorabel, i think it is overrated and overpriced. A real Korean restaurant should use silver chopsticks and spoon. Gaya does.
(this is at the similar price range as Sorabel)


[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-26-2003).]

The seafood restaurant in the Intercontinental hotel (Yu) has some very good Japanese food. It also has several million dollars worth of fish tanks to keep the fish fresh (basically a fish farm), and the result shows in some of their dishes. Rather ironically the best Maine lobster I have ever had was at Yu (flown in on the same flight as I took to HKG, no doubt). It is hard to characterize the style of cuisine at Yu, but it is very good and includes many interesting fish. As a point of comparison I think it is equal to Le Bernardin in New York, and that is generally considered to be Michelin 3 star. Best I can tell none of the fish at Yu come from Hong Kong harbour (too polluted, I suppose). The other end of the spectrum in price is to go to Prince Edward and have some very fine seafood at a neighbourhood chinese restaurant (10% of the price of Yu, and almost as good, but a whole different experience). Usually I do both when in Hong Kong ... it is maybe the best city for food in the world. My special vice are the egg custard pastries made by a chain of shops, they are incredible (very fresh taasting, such a simple thing yet so good and so cheap). Somehow the same food in SF chinatown is not as good (or even close!).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:
...My special vice are the egg custard pastries made by a chain of shops...</font>

Don't keep us in suspense -- which chain has your favorite egg custards??

Doh! I had favorite Thai, Indian, Mongolian... but I can't remember the names. Food was unbelievable.

When I would go into restaurants where they spoke no English (I can only count in Cantonese) I would moo like a cow for beef and cluck like a chicken for... you guessed it!

there are two kinds of egg custard/tarts:

layered crispy crust, vs "normal" crust

the best time to buy is around 300-430pm, when they are just out of the oven and very warm! (after it is cooled, they taste totally different, you could microwave them, but the taste is still not as good)
it is popular to order them in restaurants, but i prefer those direct from bakery. many restaurants reheat the tarts with M/W.

for the 'normal' crust, you can get at any bakery. (cost hkd2-2.5)
for layered crispy, (cost hkd2.5-3.5) one of the wellknown name is called "honululu cafe", yes, honululu http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif
in chinese "tan dao ka fei wu"

i think there are 2-3 shops in HK.
the original one is on henessy road (N side), just east to Wanchai MTR station

see intro on these chinese webpages:

http://travel.mook.com.tw/global/Asia/Hong_Kong/Hong_Kong/city_area_2.html

http://home.kimo.com.tw/gracelue2001/new_page_11.htm

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 02-01-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Audie:
Thank you to everyone who responded. I have copied the answers and will see what we can fit in to our stay. I look forward to some enjoyable dinning.</font>

you could also try looking in the Hong Kong section of the Flyertalk Dining Forum.

I don't know the name of my favourite bakery but I can find it, day or night. Actually it is easy to find, near Nathan Road and Prince Edward, but I don't know the street names (part of the charm of Hong Kong, you can be so completely lost, yet so at home). I love wandering around the more chinese parts of Kowloon, it puts the travel back into travel (the bird market is like a movie set). More to the point of this topic, the best food in the world is in HKG, at all price points and especially fine food for very low prices (even if I rarely know what I am eating on those excursions).
Thank you pegasus for the great description of what has become a special treat, you did it far better than I could. If only it existed in the US (and you are absolutely right about egg custard having to be hot from the oven, it has an hour half-life).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
there are two kinds of egg custard/tarts:

layered crispy crust, vs "normal" crust

the best time to buy is around 300-430pm, when they are just out of the oven and very warm! (after it is cooled, they taste totally different, you could microwave them, but the taste is still not as good)
it is popular to order them in restaurants, but i prefer those direct from bakery. many restaurants reheat the tarts with M/W.

for the 'normal' crust, you can get at any bakery. (cost hkd2-2.5)
for layered crispy, (cost hkd2.5-3.5) one of the wellknown name is called "honululu", yes, honululu http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

i think there are 2-3 shops in HK.
the original one is on henessy road (N side), just east to Wanchai MTR station


[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-26-2003).]</font>

Are the "normal crusts" easier to make?

Something happened during my years as a child growing up in Oakland Chinatown. For years, Chinese bakeries would make egg tarts with the layered, crispy, millefeuille/napoleon-like crust. Yum.

Then suddenly, one by one, like falling dominoes, these bakeries started using "normal" crusts that had the consistency of softened shortbread. Yuck.

What happened? I can only find the "normal" crusts in the Chinatowns of San Francisco and Chicago.

Here's an idea for CX: serve miniature egg tarts instead of pralines as a gourmandise in the J and F cabins, fresh out of the oven, just like AA does with their cookies.

i only learned about the art of egg custard a few years ago. when i ran into a high school classmate who had opened his own bakery.

the "normal" type is a 'wholesale' product now. the bakery will buy the crusts (or prepared theri own crusts), and the fillings (egg liquid mixture in jars). put them into oven and 10 or 15 min later they are done.
so not much 'value added' by the bakery. and they are all the same. the only real differentiation is the how fresh they are out from the oven.
[thinking about this, i dont see why they couldbt selling the "kits" in LA/NY chinatown so that you can use your own oven to bake at home]

as for the layered crispy type. the preparation for the crusts are much more time consuming. it is basically about rolling thin layers of crust, spreading oil over, folder and roll them thinner again...(if you have seen how la-mian/pulled-noodle is made, similar theory for getting the layers)......so not many bakeries are willing to invest such effort (as you know, businesses in HK are of very thin margin -- most of the costs go into the rent). the filling (custard) is the same.


[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 02-03-2003).]

pegasus8228-

Thanks for the info.

Happy new year!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
for the 'normal' crust, you can get at any bakery. (cost hkd2-2.5)
for layered crispy, (cost hkd2.5-3.5) one of the wellknown name is called "honululu cafe", yes, honululu http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif
in chinese "tan dao ka fei wu"

</font>

That's the place. I always forget the name... Just go in and order three of these with a cofeee/(HK style)tea and ur set.

I forgot that the egg tarts used to have flakey pastry (been fed the crumbly pie crust-like stuff for too long). I'll have to see who makes that in and around YVR.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
there are two kinds of egg custard/tarts:

layered crispy crust, vs "normal" crust

the best time to buy is around 300-430pm, when they are just out of the oven and very warm! (after it is cooled, they taste totally different, you could microwave them, but the taste is still not as good)
it is popular to order them in restaurants, but i prefer those direct from bakery. many restaurants reheat the tarts with M/W.

for the 'normal' crust, you can get at any bakery. (cost hkd2-2.5)
for layered crispy, (cost hkd2.5-3.5) one of the wellknown name is called "honululu cafe", yes, honululu http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif
in chinese "tan dao ka fei wu"

i think there are 2-3 shops in HK.
the original one is on henessy road (N side), just east to Wanchai MTR station

see intro on these chinese webpages:

http://travel.mook.com.tw/global/Asia/Hong_Kong/Hong_Kong/city_area_2.html

http://home.kimo.com.tw/gracelue2001/new_page_11.htm

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 02-01-2003).]</font>

Yes! Thanks for the tip. Honolulu is at 176 Hennessy Road, on the south side. Went there at 4:00 PM, and they had a tray of custards fresh out of the oven. The crust was very flaky, and the custard itself was very light. Delicious. Now, if I could only figure out how to order the HK tea with condensed milk, I'd actually gather the gumption to walk in and sit down, instead of getting the custards from the takeout window....

I also hear from knowledgeable locals (basically all of them) that the bakery next to the Starbucks on Wellington St, across the Yau Kee is also very good. Will try that too.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Pickles:
Now, if I could only figure out how to order the HK tea with condensed milk, I'd actually gather the gumption to walk in and sit down, instead of getting the custards from the takeout window....
</font>

Pickles,
HK-style milk tea is 'naai[stretch out the "a"] cha'. You could try saying it while making a tea-drinking gesture and they should understand.

number_6,
San Francisco Chinatown really doesn't have any good egg-custard tarts? I'm no expert, but I always thought Golden Gate Bakery was well known for being very good. Two years ago, they were still making them with the really flaky crusts using pork fat. The only inconveniences are that it's usually crowded and you have to walk a few blocks from the public car park since street parking is practically non-existent. It's not cheap, however--my uncle said it was $2 per tart a few months ago.

[This message has been edited by bkong (edited 08-16-2003).]

[This message has been edited by bkong (edited 08-19-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bkong:
San Francisco Chinatown really doesn't have any good egg-custard tarts? I'm no expert, but I always thought Golden Gate Bakery was well known for being very good. Two years ago, they were still making them with the really flaky crusts using pork fat. The only inconveniences are that it's usually crowded and you have to walk a few blocks from the public car park since street parking is practically non-existent. It's not cheap, however--my said it was $2 per tart a few months ago.</font>I like AA Bakery in SF and it is good, but not as good as in Hong Kong. A large tart was $4 (which is cheap). Somehow the custard has more of a fresh egg flavour in Hong Kong and is slightly lighter. I really marvel at how this is done. I suspect the eggs are better.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bkong:
number_6,
San Francisco Chinatown really doesn't have any good egg-custard tarts? I'm no expert, but I always thought Golden Gate Bakery was well known for being very good. Two years ago, they were still making them with the really flaky crusts using pork fat. The only inconveniences are that it's usually crowded and you have to walk a few blocks from the public car park since street parking is practically non-existent. It's not cheap, however--my uncle said it was $2 per tart a few months ago.</font>

Was just there in SF Chinatown, but didn't buy any custard tarts (~3" diameter variety) at the Golden Gate Bakery (on Grant Ave, b/t Jackson & Pacific Sts) this time as line was too long around 3:30 PM. Had bought some last year, don't remember the price, but they were definitely less than $1 each. They can't be $2 as the locals would never pay that kind of price since there are tons of competition nearby.


<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by terenz:
I forgot that the egg tarts used to have flakey pastry (been fed the crumbly pie crust-like stuff for too long). I'll have to see who makes that in and around YVR.</font>

Ever tried the Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant (in the Empire Centre complex on No.3 Road, Richmond, BC) right in your backyard as you live in Vancouver? Was just in Vancouver before going to SF last week. Ate dim sum at Shiang Garden three times during my eight day stay. Tried the Floata, Sea Harbour, Kirin, and Fisherman's Terrace restaurants in Richmond for dim sum. But like the Shiang Garden the best. More refined and absolutely the best. Prices might be a bit higher than the rest, but quality and service were outstanding. Even better dim sum than what I got in HK last year.

Before leaving for the YVR airport, we had dim sum at 10 AM (opening time). Had the custard tarts (the minature variety with the flaky crust) besides some other dim sum. Those tarts were fresh and warm, right out of the oven. Custard filling even had a slight bulge so I knew they were fresh. Best flaky crust I've had in probably 20 years. For those wondering, I've been in the Chinese restaurant business all my life so I should know what I'm talking about. Their shrimp dumplings (har gau) are the best too. Multiple pieces of large,fresh, & crunchy shrimp inside (4 pieces for CAD $4.60). A slightly different variation is the shrimp dumplings with shark's fin (3 pieces for CAD $5.90). Similar shrimp filling but with an open top where they put shreds of shark's fin. Can't rave enough about their dim sum.

In SF, I went back to the Koi Palace Restaurant in Daly City and the Harbor Village Restaurant in Four Embarcadero for dim sum. Always enjoyed the dim sum at both places but after the Shiang Garden in Richmond, BC, there's no comparison. Cost is cheaper too after factoring in the USD exchange rate. Going to borrow a friend's scanner in a few days to scan the Shiang Garden's dim sum menu. Don't know how to post the menu on FT, but if anyone wants a copy of the dim sum menu, email me and I'll send it back as an email attachment.

Thanks. I will go try Shiang Garden. Never even heard of it (there are at least 2 places for that within a 10 minute walk of where I live - and it isn't even a "china town" that existed 20 years ago). There are a few other places in Richmond that are good but I notice there are A and C teams in the kitchen (the quality can vary that much).

For Indian; Veda is a pretty good mix of authentic Indian food

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NickP 1K:
For Indian; Veda is a pretty good mix of authentic Indian food</font>

FWIW, I don't like Veda. The food is too "precious", expensive, and the service is slower than molasses. It makes standard Indian restaurants speedy avatars of service.

I love South Indian, and both the Woodlands and the Branto in Kowloon, although complete dumps, are excellent.

I strongly second the Woodlands (in a nondescript building on Mody Rd near the Shang and with zero atmosphere, but not sure I think of it as a dump).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Pickles:
Yes! Thanks for the tip. Honolulu is at 176 Hennessy Road, on the south side. Went there at 4:00 PM, and they had a tray of custards fresh out of the oven. The crust was very flaky, and the custard itself was very light. Delicious. Now, if I could only figure out how to order the HK tea with condensed milk, I'd actually gather the gumption to walk in and sit down, instead of getting the custards from the takeout window....

I also hear from knowledgeable locals (basically all of them) that the bakery next to the Starbucks on Wellington St, across the Yau Kee is also very good. Will try that too.

</font>
sorry, it is the south side...somehow thge HK map i looked at tend to follow australian rules.

the one at wellington st is also supposed to be good. i think it is the one the last governor patten went regularly

btw, if u r at honululu, just order milk-tea, that is all they have. there is no way they can find the english/ceylon tea for you, the cost would have been too high http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 09-21-2003).]

If you want to try some common Chinese ethic food, pick up a free booklet called "HK snacks guide" at the airport HKTA's counter.

It lists out the best shops with maps and colorful photos for congee, wonton noodles, fish balls, beef brisket, HK style tea bistro, dessert, herbal tea, pastries, and snack like "bowl-shaped red bean cake".

I list some of the eating places from the book here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/Forum12/HTML/000019.html




[This message has been edited by travelem (edited 09-28-2003).]

Also take a look at the shops that won the best of the best culinary awards:

http://webserv2.discoverhongkong.com/eng/bob/2002/gp_bobg_bean1.jhtml

It lists the best dishes in bean curb, fried rice, lobster and port section.

http://webserv2.discoverhongkong.com/eng/bob/2001/gp_bobg_dims1.jhtml

It lists the best dim sum, wonton noodles, poultry and seafood.

there is also a Maxim at HKG (upstairs from dep, land side), belongs to the same group as the one in city hall.

here is what Chua Lan wrote in Next this week
(i verified his recommendations in his past reviews)

Hangzhou's -- TianXiangLou

Continental - Amigo, Gaddi's, Hugo's (based on French, but adapted, but VERY well IMHO)

Italian - Da Domingo

Thai -- try the lobster Tung Yum -- didnt mention which restaurant

For what it's worth, my favorite Indian in HK is Ashoka in Central. They have a Green Tikka Masala which is excellent, and something I have never seen at any other Indian restaurant. Not sure I like the remodel -- looks too "Lan Kwai Fung" -- but I guess being right above it they felt they needed a face lift. Everytime I'm in HK I make a point of going there.

Any my favorite noodle shop is a real locals place, located at 144 Queens Road across from The Centre. I forgot its name, but it doesn't really matter since there's no sign on the door anyway. For english speakers they do have ONE english menu :-)

Had 1 really good dining experience on my last HK trip. A "modern" Nepalese place called Kath+man+du. 11 Old baily st. in Central (about half way up the escaliators) similar to Indian food but just diffrent enough to make it kind of interesting.

audie,

The genuine Japanese food (the only one i would recommend) is called Irori, at Henessy road, Causeway Bay. VERY HARD to locate, 4/f up a building called "Wing Kong", oppoposite to Mitsukishi. Fresh seafood arrives every night from Japan by air.
The other good Jap restaurant is called Utsuki, in a small street behind Mitsukoshi, near Tai Ping Koon, but i hadnt been there for a couple years.
(still, please go to tokyo for japanese food, not HK)

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-26-2003).]

I will also suggest Unkai Japanese Cuisine in the Sheraton Hotel. It is very expensive, but very nice in food quality. Your "Go to Tokyo for Japanese food" advice is very true though.

Anyone have a recommendation for a place close to the Intercontinental to go the night we get to HKG? Would like something walking distance and not terribly expensive. Thanks!

Anyone have a recommendation for a place close to the Intercontinental to go the night we get to HKG? Would like something walking distance and not terribly expensive. Thanks!

Many choices. You can go to Woodlands (pretty much across the street) for pure vegetarian Indian. Excellent and cheap. You can also go to the Spring Deer on Mody Road, some of the best Chinese in town (and that says a lot), and cheap too. 5 minute walk.

If you are feeling generous, the Yu in the hotel is probably one of the top seafood restaurants in the world. Expensive, though, but outstanding. Skip Alain Ducasse's spoon. It is hit or miss, and just too expensive for what you get. However, stop by for dessert or drinks. The hotel lobby has the best ground level view in the planet, but you can't miss it.

You can also go to Aqua or Hutong in the One Peking Road building, a 10 minute walk. Amazing, amazing views. Aqua is not too expensive, Hutong more so. Both have good food.

There is also the Chinese in the basement of the Kowloon Hotel, behind the Peninsula in Middle Road, the Wan Loong Court. Very nice, and not too rich.

If you are feeling truly generous, you can hit the Spring Moon, Gaddi's, or Felix at the Peninsula.

At the very least, stop by Davidoff or Habanos, get a real stogie, and head up to Felix for a drink in their illuminated bar. Very civilized, and a great complement (unfortunately, not a cure) to jetlag. The Hong Kong equivalent of "Lost in Translation".

You can go to Woodlands (pretty much across the street) for pure vegetarian Indian.

I agree with the choice of Woodlands as a wonderful and inexpensive place to eat, but I'm not sure exactly which street brother Pickles has in mind. (Unless maybe he's thinking of the Shangri-La, which is across the street from Woodlands.)

I did not have a good experience at Spring Deer: uninspired food, and distinctly unpleasant service.

If you're in the mood for mall food, the Ocean Centre (about a 10-minute walk along the promenade) is a huge place with the usual bunch of choices. There's also a mall adjacent to the IC (New World), but I've never had anything recommendable there. The ground-floor restaurant there (Swiss something, or maybe Vienna something) is ok, but barely so.

For fast and inexpensive sushi, there's a Genki Sushi (conveyor-belt sushi) in the TST East plaza, across from the Standford InterContinental, also a 10-minute walk.

I agree with the choice of Woodlands as a wonderful and inexpensive place to eat, but I'm not sure exactly which street brother Pickles has in mind. (Unless maybe he's thinking of the Shangri-La, which is across the street from Woodlands.)

I did not have a good experience at Spring Deer: uninspired food, and distinctly unpleasant service.


OK, how about "roughly down the street" from the IC. Still a few minutes walk. I thought the Spring Deer was pretty good. Not the Spring Moon, mind you, but good and cheap, especially to put some solid filler after the long flight.

At Spring Deer, the erstwhile Mme Wideman had ordered some especially slippery noodles (the round, very thick ones in a sauce that must have had WD-40 as an ingredient), and she was not yet proficient in her chopstick usage. The waiters gathered a few feet away and made no effort to conceal their glee at Madame's futile efforts.

The same waiters also had no problem in using the soiled dish basket as a spitoon, and their skill at finding the target from significant distances was impressive.

Now none of this behavior is really that unexpected at your more downscale places in HK. But I'd have to say that it did not contribute to our enjoying the meal, and it might run the risk of a too-sudden immersion for a HK first-timer.