DKNY, the name behind comfortable designer chic, has pulled off another coup in crowded Tsim Sha Tsui: a coffee bar that is furiously funky, terribly trendy and not one iota intimidating.
It is simply (and beautifully) white, informal and relaxed. Food is limited to soups, sandwiches and salads but all are prepared with New York panache: lashings of tasty, grainy bread you can really chew, delectable desserts and mugs of strong, rich coffee.
White hyacinths loll out of long glass vases, magazines and newspapers (not always today's) are racked up at the back and a calm, ruthlessly handsome man - black suit, more gel than hair - floats behind a long white bar, spooning frothy cream into white coffee cups.
Exquisite manners add to the restful feeling, which transports diners far away from the masses of noisy humanity on Nathan Road. The bartender has more manners in his little finger than the rest of the service industry in Hong Kong put together. And all this in a place where the average bill for two is less than $200.
The blackboard menu advertises a changing soup of the day and a number of robust sandwiches, including hotdog and pastrami. Desserts are luscious, raisin-studded apple pie and enormous blueberry muffins.
Grilled chicken is lean and peppery, blanketed in a soft ooze of slightly acidic cheese.
