Rivals to feed beerfest fever
Fans of German food and drink may feel overwhelmed by the choice: this year they can pick between not the usual two but three rival Oktoberfests.
The new beerfest on the block is organised by the Harbour Plaza in Hunghom (tel: 2621-3188), which decided to stage its own festivities at the outside Promenade. The event runs until October 13, and will serve the usual German specialities: roast pork knuckles, stuffed pork bellies, and, of course, sausages.
Beerfest veterans, the Holiday Inn Golden Mile and The Hong Kong Hotel, are sticking to tradition, with much the same as they offer every year. The party at the newly revamped Holiday Inn (tel: 2315-1269) starts at 7pm in the Crystal Ballroom on Friday and continues on Saturday, with the Munchner Musikanten Band from Munich providing the music.
Tickets are $450 per person and include a German buffet dinner, two mugs of Warsteiner and one shot of schnapps.
The Hong Kong Hotel (tel: 2113-0088) raises its pint Thursdays to Saturdays, from now until October 19, with seats for 1,000 people in its sixth-floor car park-turned beer garden. Cover charge is $100 per person, and includes a T-shirt. There is no need for reservations for groups of fewer than 10 people.
Cigar bar chic Hong Kong's first cigar bar is to open in Wan Chai this week. The concept, which is being puffed in the hippest joints in California and New York, has been imported for the Beirut Bar & Grill, which replaces the old Eatery on Lockhart Road. A cigar menu and display has been devised with the help of David Tang's cigar divan in the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
Slice of salmon It doesn't have too much else going for it, but Brett's Seafood in Wan Chai does serve an excellent value $40 salmon lunch that makes one wonder just how much other restaurants are marking up their prices. The set meal consists of a good-sized piece of salmon, a healthy portion of chips and a piece of corn on the cob.
You probably won't want to hang about given the dismal decor, but the take-away packaging is a lot more upmarket than usual on the lunch-box circuit.
Water world Judging by the crowded market, the world hasn't lost its thirst for designer water. The latest to cash in on bottled gold is Kenneth Cole, whose store in Pacific Place is displaying branded water among his footwear and handbags.
The simple black-and-white label, featuring legs and shoes, makes no promises other than saying it's 'clear and refreshing alpine spring water' and is bottled in California.
At $25 for half a litre it's not cheap, but you get to take it away in a little Kenneth Cole packet, which adds to the cachet.
While it is no less pretentious, Glaceau's distilled water is mineral-enhanced. Available from Health Gate in Central for $16, the water is from Watertown, Connecticut.
