It seems particularly appropriate for a restaurant without a liquor licence to be called Moonshine 1928. But that is where the tenuous link between this new Wan Chai club/restaurant and the romance of the American prohibition era ends. Not for a minute is it possible to imagine, unless you close your eyes and ears, that you are in bootleg territory. And the rustle of 7-Eleven bags as patrons bring their own is not the answer to the discrepancy between expectation and reality. So what is this place? The short answer is: another Wan Chai hangout, a lot better and certainly no worse than the hundreds that have come and gone before it. Both the inside and outside still look new and shiny, with plenty of wood and brass trimmings, a giant lamp-post, and three incongruous but useful television screens. How long it will be before Wan Chai claims the venue as one of its slightly tatty own remains to be seen. Whatever criticism that can be levelled against Moonshine 1928 is tempered by the fact that any place that offers a fairly credible set meal for less than $100 should be commended for its efforts. They also have some of the friendliest service in Wan Chai. And there is no service charge, which is an added bonus. While the focus at this time may be on food, Moonshine 1928 is meant to be primarily a bar with live music, a destiny it will grow into when the Hong Kong liquor licensing authorities break out their rubber stamps. However, the food angle will undoubtedly keep the daytime trade going. There is a $59 set lunch, which on this particular Monday offered Moonshine fried rice as the main course. The three-course executive set lunch is $78, and includes a choice of fish consomme or spinach soup, barbecued glazed chicken breast with vegetables or oven-baked sole, and a dessert. The a la carte menu also spreads itself all over the world's cuisines. The results are more or less effective, depending on where you choose to go. If it is to the US menu and the burger, you will be fine. The Moonshine 1928 burger ($85) is smaller than the one served down the road at Joe Bananas, which offers a regular burger with fries for $95. Moonshine's is served with avocado, grilled onion and cheese, but no fries. The biggest disappointment is the saffron and garlic broth with seafood and ginger threads, which is billed as 'a delicate but memorable soup'. Most of the cost of the $55 bowl must have gone into hiring creative talent to write the menu description, for this dish is way off the mark. In contrast, the duck salad with fresh radicchio, mint and wild mushrooms is much better. The portion of leaves is healthy, and the lettuce fresh. The dressing is on the wrong side of subtle, and the four or five duck slivers are a bit scarce. But for $48 and a Wan Chai location, there is no point criticising a chef for not being part of the cutting-edge trend of spraying dressing on salad leaves with a fine mist through a hairspray-style pump. The best feature about Moonshine's main course pasta was that the portion was healthy. Again, expectations of the spinach and ricotta tortellini with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and mozzarella need to be tempered by the $88 price-tag. It is filling, fairly tasty, and can stand tall among most of what passes as Italian food in the area. The dessert menu makes up in presentation what it lacks in choice. Ours was a light and dark chocolate mix, served with fresh berries and ice cream. Lunch for two from the a la carte menu came to $336. Without alcohol, of course. Moonshine 1928, 81-85 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Tel: 2527-8887, Open: Monday-Saturday 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-11pm. Live music 8pm-11pm
