Causeway Bay on a Saturday night is a year-round Christmas Eve. People wrestle with shopping bags and crowds jostle for pavement space. A stone's throw from Time's Square, Meal Meal offers relative respite from the consumer chaos. Tucked down a side street off the main shopping thoroughfare, the two-month-old restaurant boasts continental cuisine.
There is no question that Meal Meal is eager to please. The staff exhibit the unrestrained enthusiasm of a new venture and we were impressed when a table was made available despite our late reservation.
Decor is minimalist. The furniture is white, simple and understated. The walls are also white, with only a few bands of mirrors for decoration. Even the tableware conforms to the white theme. But we were not convinced that the polar landscape was enough to warrant the 20-odd teddy bears displayed like trophies at the top of the window.
Despite the European pretensions we expected a slightly Asian flavour to the evening. The menu also does not appear to be strictly continental. If anything, it suggests an European fusion. We had spent much of the day working up a healthy appetite so studied the menu eagerly.
Once our orders were taken, we sat back and relaxed. The restaurant is clearly popular with 20-somethings and judging by the American twang, many ABCs and CBCs.
Our starters arrived with the minimum of fuss and were beautifully presented, though a little too colourful for our liking - the spinach and prawn bisque ($42) in particular, which was a startlingly neon green. My companion cast an eye warily from his fluorescent soup to our neighbouring diner's main course. Rather worryingly, it was exactly the same shade of green. Colour aside, the bisque was tasty, although it would have benefited from being a little thicker, and less miserly on the prawn garnish.
The smoked salmon with mango crab meat was a far more impressive starter. Pieces of crab and mango were wrapped in generous slices of salmon and served with bagel toast. Although not cheap at $70, there was no skimping here on either the quality or quantity of ingredients.