It could have been a scene from the heady pre-war days of colonial Hong Kong. A man and woman in white, wearing elaborate headgear, sitting at a linen-covered table beneath a canopy draped with exotic fabrics, drinking champagne as they wait to be served a four-course meal by a team of black-tied waiters. They are in the middle of nowhere, overlooking everywhere, at the remotest end of the Peak.
When I first invited Elias Ben-Avi, hat maker, designer and self-styled 'dabbler', to join me for an Out to Lunch review - restaurant of his choice, as long as we had not reviewed it recently - his first question was: 'Do we have to go to a restaurant?' No, I supposed, caterers would do - just as long as the chef did not know it was for a review. Almost audibly, his mind started racing with creative possibilities. 'I'll sort it out,' he said.
A couple of weeks ago I got the voice mail. 'All arranged for next Friday, sweetie-pie,' he said. 'One o'clock at the Peak Cafe; bring a photographer and wear something white and fluffy.' I didn't need to consult my wardrobe to know there was nothing appropriate, but fashion editor Kavita Daswani offered to lend something white and Thierry (Mugler) - which I supposed was what he had meant.
Ben-Avi, startling in white, greeted me at the door of the Peak Cafe, and we were shown into the restaurant's mini-van.
We drove around Lugard Road and then dipped down into Hatton road, which is so narrow the van was brushing foliage on both sides. It ends in a flat area overlooking the old Pinewood Battery coastal defences, with spectacular views to Lamma and over the harbour.
'I came here for a walk one day, and it was the most perfect place for a party,' said Ben-Avi.
