Restaurants more than a decade old are considered antiquated and passe. When they have been around for more than a century, they are considered a legend. More than a legend - they are the progenitor of the generic Chinese-Western restaurants, with their 200-item menus. Included will be black pepper steak, roast veal, minute steak, borscht, stewed garoupa, mixed vegetable salads and mixed grill, along with a variety of puddings and sundaes, sandwiches, macaroni and 1940s-style cocktails. Decor-wise, the walls are ersatz wood (actually plastic), the cashier sits behind a glass cage, and the waiters seem to be all over the age of 50. Festive decorations may well have been retained from the previous year. The clatter of forks, spoons, knives and chopsticks make all the sounds one needs. Where did these places get their start? You can lay the genesis - or the blame - on Chui Lo-kok, whose family still owns Tai Ping Koon. Guangzhou in the 19th century was one of the treaty ports, and Chui worked as a chef in one of the British trading companies during the middle of the century. An ambitious man, he left in 1885 to start his own restaurant in Guangzhou's famed Tai Ping Road. He named the restaurant after the street, then the most fashionable part of the city (and still a relatively charming area), starting a long tradition. Chui had the famous pigeons, and smoked his own pomfret for the restaurant. The Portuguese, who dominated the area, gave him a recipe for chicken, and the Russians, who came down from Shanghai, contributed borscht. By 1939, the Chui family decided to make their fortune in Hong Kong, and opened their first branch in Wan Chai. Eight years later, Sheung Wan had its first Tai Ping Koon, Yau Ma Tei followed, along with this present location in Tsim Sha Tsui. It is quite a record. And when one enters Tai Ping Koon - hardly the most beautiful restaurant in the world - it is like going back in time. For while the place lacks style or elegance (they don't even accept credit cards!), it is spotlessly clean, the waiters know their business, and it is packed solid with families and couples. But is the food equal to the history? Some actually surpass the reputation. Others, admittedly, are terrible. We were hardly surprised the crab cream soup was basically cornflour, or that a roasted pork leg seemed to have been microwaved. On the other hand, a few dishes are really notable. On the back page is a Chinese-style menu, and on other tables, the aroma, the freshness and almost the taste of the fried noodles, the crabmeat and noodles in soup, and the beef on noodles with greens were appetising. We started with three soups. The crabmeat is forgettable, the borscht excellent, filled with onions and beef, but available everywhere. But essential is a broth with green onions and garoupa (or beef, if you wish). This breathes health. Filled with fresh crisp green shallots and great chunks of garoupa, it was a clear broth with little taste in itself (the added pepper was necessary), but an aroma of invigorating goodness. We also had one of the truly remarkable foods of our time: Tai Ping Koon pigeon. I have eaten this everywhere in Asia, but never in my pigeon-fancier dreams, could I have imagined such a huge bird. My first thought was of The Island Of Dr Moreau. Or if it wasn't the tradition, I'd think the Tai Ping Koon pigeon was a product of genetic engineering. But this is the real thing. And where they get the birds is their secret. They serve the pigeon chopped or whole, even sliced. Three of us shared a substantial portion. The meat was so tender and tasty, the sweetish black sauce with pigeon kidneys was unnecessary. Less special was the crabmeat baked in a shell, stuffed with something glutinous. For dessert, we saw the souffle passing by, but the portion was for eight people. Instead, we had the usual sundaes, hotcakes and pancakes. For the latter, the syrup came straight from England - and, even added to the sundae, was a sweet-toothed luxury. It is not cheap here. For even without drinks - we shared a peppermint milkshake: who could resist? - the bill came to over $700 for three. But we were paying for history as well as victuals. And the pigeon was simply priceless. TAI PING KOON RESTAURANT 40 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Tel: 2721-3559, Hours: 11am-midnight