dished up
Elgin Street has two new food and beverage establishments. Paio is called a 'Dinning Bar' on its namecard and on the sign outside the restaurant. It has a limited menu, with simple dishes such as samosas, vegetarian pizza, asparagus with basil tomatoes, and tomato chilli prawns. The bar/restaurant is at 16 Elgin Street, tel: 2868 6932.
Shang-Hi replaces Elgin Tastes, a popular restaurant whose closure surprised fans of its modern Australian cuisine. Unsurprisingly, Shang-Hi serves Shanghainese food, although not in the retro-Chinese setting of many similar establishments in Hong Kong - this one has wrought-iron chairs and sleek lines. Shang-Hi is at 38 Elgin Street, tel: 2810 8800.
If you're planning a holiday in the United States, try to visit Target. This megastore has branches across the nation and carries everything from clothing and cosmetics to household goods and sporting equipment. But the biggest attraction for stylists-on-a-budget are the products designed by Michael Graves and Philippe Starck.
In the past, I've fitted out my kitchen with a number of Graves-designed items from Target, including a can opener, pepper grinder and spatulas - the only thing I didn't like was a potato masher, which looks great but is impossible to clean. On my most recent visit, I bought a beautifully designed bartending set comprising a cocktail shaker, citrus juicer, jigger, bottle opener and wine opener. I also bought a cheese grater and kitchen clock. I was tempted by a toaster and coffee grinder but didn't want to bother with voltage adapters.
Starck, who started designing for Target only recently (Graves' association goes back several years), has fewer products and little of his line is food-related. I bought some nice baby feeders (bowl with fork and spoon) for friends with young children. Starck's other baby products include bottles, bottle warmers and baby carriers.
If you get the chance, also go to Costco, another nationwide store. It's a fascinating place to visit, if only to get an idea of how Americans have come to have the highest obesity rate of the developed world. This members-only, warehouse-style store has enormous shopping carts to make it easier for its customers to load up on 'family-size' packs of candy (32 bars), cereal (the boxes seem to be at least three times the size sold in Hong Kong), frozen foods, meats and produce. None of the food comes in small packages, but the prices are hard to beat if you're feeding a crowd. It also sells luggage, electronic goods, kitchen equipment and even luxury products such as Cartier watches, Waterford crystal and jewellery.
