NATHAN Road may not seem the most obvious picnic spot in Hong Kong to down bags and eat. But amid the basement shops at the Holiday Inn's Delicatessen Corner, it is possible to get the spread - minus the checked table-cloth. With this style of picnic, there's no danger of forgetting the bottle openers or needing insect repellant. Delicatessen Corner is a functional, busy restaurant, filled with tourists, tired shoppers and business types. If you visit during peak hours, the service is rushed. That's frustrating, especially if you're curious. When asked 'what's slimmer's bread', one waitress replied by fetching an ingredient list. From the deli counter those bent on picnics can select from a huge selection of meats from the hotel's smoke-house, 20 varieties of breads, pastries, salamis and cheeses. It would seem an opportunity lost, not to choose some meat and cheese, have them brought to the table with some bread, open a bottle of Warsteiner beer ($36) and picnic Hong Kong style. But our request to do this was dealt with difficulty. It took time for the mortadella ham, emmenthal cheese, pickled herrings and goose liver terrine to return from the deli counter. When they did, they were metamorphosed to platters with strawberries and grapes. Still, an excellent spread for $120 for a picnic for two. From the restaurant menu the hot dishes promise hearty fare to those who seek comfort in homemade soups, such as Hungarian goulash. Other fillers include pizza and pasta. The value of the daily special (soup, bread, meat, dessert and coffee) can't be contested for this neighbourhood, $79. Even the salads don't skimp: Cobb salad comes in a basin filled with lettuce, chicken, egg, avocado and bacon ($88). From the smoke-house, German-style cheese sausages - two, long, slim sausages with crispy skin - come with sauerkraut and elegantly piped mashed potato. Every incision into the meat (a mix of minced beef and pork) brought a globule of Swiss cheese to the fore. The blackboard special of poppyseed parfait with raspberry sauce seemed rather ambitious. What turned out to be vanilla ice-cream with poppyseed tasted synthetic. When you stick to what the pastry chefs here do best - German-Austrian-Swiss desserts - you can't go wrong. The apple strudel came packed with distinguishable, thin slices of apple, not the usual amorphous mush which is so often the destiny of this national dish. Encased in light, tender pastry, it was served with a luscious vanilla sauce. The deli counter and the restaurant don't cross over exactly. It is difficult to choose from the counter and eat at the table. But when we proposed the idea of sharing orders, the staff didn't blink an eye. Depend on the Delicatessen Corner for big, reliable food, a quick bite and value for money. With such variety and seating, it has a perfect opportunity to be a grazer's picnic ground. All people need is the licence. A lunch for two, including beer, came to $220. Delicatessen Corner, Holiday Inn Golden Mile, Lower Level, 46-52 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2811-8286. Hours: 7:30am to 11pm daily
