A Middle Eastern restaurant has added to the range of choice Mid-Levels' menus. Desert Sky, owned by the same group as Nepal on Staunton Street, serves food from, among other Middle Eastern cuisines, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. Located at 36 Elgin Street near the escalator, the 30-seat Desert Sky offers various set menus starting at $78. There is also an a la carte menu that includes staples hummous and tabouleh. Reservations on 2810-7318. Cocktails in a can A new category of ready-mixed alcoholic drinks takes all the guesswork out of bartending. Various ranges of these tinned drinks, which include everything from the basic gin and tonic to a peach Margarita, have made an appearance in the fridges of 7-Eleven, Wellcome and Seibu. The Belgian Konings, with a 5 per cent alcohol content, is part of a product range which has grown by 100 per cent a year for the past two years in Europe. Five flavours have been brought into Hong Kong, including whisky and cola, rum and cola, gin and tonic, and vodka and orange. Available at 7-Eleven and Wellcome for between $8 and $9.80, the drinks follow on from the popular alcoholic sodas. Seibu's range runs from the Tom Collins and Martini Soda to a Salty Dog and Peach Margarita. These are packaged especially for the Japanese market and cost $15 each. Then there is vodka in a brushed aluminium tin that is called Raw Spirit, which has a 40 to 50 per cent alcohol content. Oysters and Guinness The world's oyster champion, Irishman Vincent Graham, shucks his stuff at the Mandarin Oriental's Chinnery Bar for two weeks from tomorrow. The oyster festival, held in association with Guinness, will be dominated by Irish Galway oysters. The festival is accompanied by an Irish menu, which includes sauteed oysters with shallots and cream, blue cheese soup, and traditional Irish stew. At home in Galway Bay, Graham shucks up to 50 dozen oysters a day and earned the world championship title by opening 30 oysters in less than three minutes. Chocolates for the heart Chocolate academics reckon the world's favourite sweet may help reduce the risk of heart disease. According to a report by an American researcher in the British medical journal, the Lancet, chocolate contains high levels of phenol, a chemical that helps reduce heart disease risks. Researchers have warned the findings are preliminary, and that no one should rush out and alter their eating habits to include more chocolate. And, of course, chocolate is high in fat and very high in calories, which could cause a host of other health problems. Phenol, which prevents arteries being clogged by fatty substances, is also found in red wine, coffee and tea.
