Here comes the Pie Man It's open house on Thursday night for anyone with a taste for vindaloo pies and a memory of Rugby Sevens gone by. The Pie Man (aka Martin Hollis) is guest-of-honour at the Pie Man's Ball II at the Viceroy in Wan Chai. Hollis, a man with a personality as big as his belly, made his name a few years ago for scoffing pies and swigging beer at a piggish rate during the two-day rugby fest. The first Pie Man's Ball was held at the Viceroy in his honour during Rugby Sevens week last year. 'He's a real crowd pleaser,' says a fan. The party begins at 8pm with an open bar for three hours and one of the restaurant's Asian curry buffets. Starters include samosas, spring rolls, chicken tikka and fish cakes, leading into a spread of chicken, lamb and fish curries, plus various vegetable dishes, noodles, rice, fresh fruit and Thai and Indian desserts. Plus, of course, vindaloo pies. For reservations, call 2827-7777. A challenge to the scrum Sevens feeding time spreads to Harry Ramsden's with the gargantuan $119 Rugby Breakfast Challenge from today until Sunday. The plate includes eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, tomatoes, baked beans and toast, served with cereal or fruit juice. It's all wolfed down to the tune of matches past shown on television screens around the restaurant. Harry Ramsden's opens at 7am next weekend for pre-match meals. Raising the fashion steaks Joyce Cafe is on a high-style march across Central to Exchange Square. The new restaurant aims to translate the ladies-who-lunch success formula into one for suits with a taste for some of the world's most fashionable flavours. Since opening three years ago, a seat at Joyce Cafe at lunchtime has been as highly prized as the designer gear next door. The food is stylish, accessible, healthy and caters to a range of tastes. The differences between the cafe in the Galleria and Exchange Square are the opening hours and the size - the new place will seat more than 100. The new venue will serve dinner, too. An opening date has been set for the end of the year. Victim to the caprices of fate Amid the excitement of the latest spate of new openings, one of Hong Kong's Italian stalwarts is shutting up shop to make way for more mouths per square foot. Capriccio at the Hong Kong Renaissance Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui closes on April 3. The space will be used for an extension of the hotel's Chinese restaurant, Tang Court. In restaurant terms, the seven-year-old Capriccio is a dinosaur. But fans will mourn one of the town's best Italian wine cellars, homemade pastas and lavish dishes such as green and yellow noodles with smoked salmon, cream and caviar. But, the hotel says, the taste for fine dining is on the wane and, although business was stable, the restaurant rarely ran at full capacity. Reservations on 2375-1133. The lowdown on Vietnam To people in the know, Vietnam has some superb restaurants. To the rest of us, the country is a culinary nightmare of drain-side street stalls with dubious water supplies. Into the gap comes Macau-based writer Annabel Doling's Vietnam On A Plate, which is being launched in Hong Kong on Thursday. Doling's guide is to the Vietnamese culinary circuit what the Lonely Planet guides are to tourists. Probably the most useful chapter is called Gourmet Travels, which lists names, addresses, telephone numbers, recommendations and reviews for places in Hanoi, Saigon, Dalat, Natrang, Hue, Hoi An and Danang. Doling traces the history and development of Vietnam's cuisine, including the French influence. A range of tried-and-tested recipes are featured, along with a glossary with Vietnamese accents so visitors can point and order.
