The menu proudly proclaims Korea House Restaurant has been open since 1965. To even the most casual observer, it looks as if it has been re-decorated only once since then - about 20 years ago, when avocado green was all the rage.
Obviously, customers come for the food: the large portions are well-prepared and great value for money.
This restaurant was recommended by a friend from Seoul, who said it was the best place he had tried outside Korea. It is one of the oldest chains of Korean restaurants in Hong Kong; there are three branches in Tsim Sha Tsui.
But you have to look hard to find the one in Central. On the 19th floor of the Korea Centre Building, its entrance is on Man Wa Lane, a small street off Connaught Road Central. To add to the confusion, there is another restaurant called Korean Garden on the first floor of the same building, and its entrance is on Connaught Road Central.
Most people are familiar with Korean barbecue, where raw marinated meats are cooked by diners over charcoal or gas. But this does not begin to show the variety of Korean food, which encompasses many ways of cooking, from richly flavoured soups and stews to fiery stir-frys. To say Korean food begins and ends with barbecue is like saying Japanese cuisine is only sushi. However, there is always kimchee.
Soon after we had ordered, the waitress brought nine kinds of these Korean pickles in white ceramic dishes. The variety was a delight to the eye and the taste buds. A good selection contrasts flavours and colours, and tantalises the tongue. Besides the familiar spicy cabbage and pungent dried fish, Korea House serves choi sum in a sesame oil dressing, shredded potatoes and carrots, and garlicky mung bean sprouts.
We ordered two barbecue dishes: the US grade boneless beef spare ribs for $110, and the prawns for $100. The portion of spare ribs was huge. The flavour of the meat was enhanced by the slightly sweet marinade. My Korean friend said that normally, diners would wrap the meat in lettuce leaves and add fermented bean paste and kimchee (sort of like a Korean taco). But here, a dish of lettuce and bean paste cost an outrageous $60 so we ate the meat on its own.