Described as neo-Shanghainese in culinary terms, Bistro Gold is a favourite of the media crowd. They are no doubt attracted by the restaurant's stylish interior aesthetic, epitomised by Japanese-inspired windows and screens, cloth chopstick cases, brown paper tablecloths and lacquer lunch boxes which hold a variety of tasteful ceramic dishes. The staff are at least as trendy as the customers and possess that quality rare among Hong Kong waiters: attitude. Tseng Sun-man, recently appointed secretary-general of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC), likes Bistro Gold because it is close to his new office. He also considers the food healthier than dishes served in other Shanghainese restaurants, given easily detectable efforts in the kitchen at this establishment to cut back on oil and salt. Eating less is one way to retain a youthful slimness even as we age, he says while examining the menu, and eating a healthier diet is another. This, then, is not to be a lunch modelled on La Grande Bouffe. One of the restaurant's most notable attractions is its unexpectedly calm atmosphere, with a noise level low enough for customers actually to hear the Jobim or the Brubeck on the sound system. Barely a mobile phone rings and, crucially, people can choose which conversation to listen to, meaning they even get to hear their own. This is particularly good fortune if you are eating with Mr Tseng, whose considered conversational style segues smoothly between such issues as Hong Kong's education system discouraging independent thought and the concept of eating as entertainment, and into the question of whether the arts in Hong Kong can also be viewed as entertainment, but nothing more. It was hard to break the thoughtful mood to spend a minute to consider what was on the plate. Mr Tseng claimed to have little interest in food, preferring to spend his money on opera tickets rather than big lunches, and said he would rather grab a bite to eat before a concert than make dinner the feature of an evening. But, when the winter melon soup arrived, he was knowledgable enough to discourse on its rather thin and watery quality - 'they should have cooked the ham in the broth for longer,' he specified - and indeed on the broader cultural importance of soup for the Cantonese. Born and educated in Hong Kong, Mr Tseng had the fortune to be raised by a father who encouraged creative thinking and individuality, with the result that his decision to pursue a career in the arts rather than in medicine elicited parental approval. He transferred from running the internationally acclaimed Hong Kong Arts Festival to the influential, if comfortable, position as head of RTHK's classical music channel, Radio 4, and has now taken on, as well, what is probably the most unpopular and most visible post in Hong Kong arts administration. He sees it as his task to dish out limited funds to former colleagues, current friends, and notoriously volatile artistes. Given that not everyone can be given as much as they apply for, he expects to see some downturn in his (previously high) popularity stakes, and also articulates the ultimate limitations of his new employer: 'The ADC is basically a policy body so [it] can't appeal to the man on the street. Whatever we do, the pursuit of the arts is a minority interest.' The succession of dishes that arrived, which Mr Tseng had astutely chosen to speed things along, was selected from an accessible, appealing set menu for two which offered free Australian chardonnay or Italian Chianti Classico by the glass. For starters, there was delicious gluten, erroneously described by the hip waiter as 'a special kind of beancurd'. Green beans tossed with finely diced fresh and preserved vegetables, beautifully al dente, would still have been tasty with even less oil: but how oil-free dare we get? Boneless chunks of sea bass with deep-fried beancurd cubes in black bean sauce was a very appealing creation but only when still piping hot. As the temperature dropped, the oil began to congeal. Spare ribs went off on their own rich and heavier tangent: this was really a bit too heavy for a light lunch at which we even declined the steamed rice. Dessert comprised weird hybrids incorporating such ingredients as canned cream and brightly hued jelly made from beans: it is to be hoped this does not define neo-Shanghainese food of the future. The bill for two, including a couple of glasses of wine, came to $437.80. That is about the same as a pair of good tickets to see City Contemporary Dance Company perform in William Tang costumes. Bistro Gold, 12/F Food Forum, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, Tel: 2506-3288