MY mother told me to never follow strange men down dark alleys. It's a good thing I never heeded her advice otherwise I would not have discovered the latest of the 1997 Group's culinary exploits tucked away in one of Central's less salubrious alleyways.
Petticoat Lane may be an East End flea market in London but in Hong Kong, it is where the wonderful world of interiors meets the world of Disney, and eating is purely an afterthought.
For all those who are used to the streamlined ergonomics of Terence Conran and Phillippe Starck, hold on to your hats.
This is where Hearst Castle meets Marie Antoinette, for Petticoat Lane has chosen for its thematic decor a style that can only be described as Louis XIV bordering on burlesque; like Alice in Wonderland, everything in this pint-sized pub seems to have been blown out of all proportions, even the prices seem a little over the top.
The pasty yellow and blue exterior is straight out of a film set, dominating the tall buttercup and red-painted interior is a long bar, graced by gigantic red bulbous lamps, around the walls hang pseudo-Modigliani paintings of Chinese gentlefolk. The seating - limited to two high-mounted couches like giant toadstools - creates an outrageous 'salonesque' air.
While the decor is 'absolutely fabulous', when we visited, there were only six items on offer, but let's face it, there's not much you can do with a toaster and a microwave in a 400-square-foot room.