Visitors gape. They walk down back streets of Tsim Sha Tsui and see the neon lures for restaurants, look through windows into eating houses where cuisines from around the globe are tantalisingly on display. How on earth do they choose where to dine? That's easy. All eating houses in Hong Kong have to maintain a reasonable standard of quality, otherwise the cut-throat pace of the restaurant business would soon force them to shut their doors.
But some are better than others. Those of us who live here soon find out which are reliable. Every hotel in Hong Kong makes serious efforts to tempt gourmets. One of my long-time favourites - and why don't I go there more often? - is the outpost of Alpine cuisine, Chesa in The Peninsula.
Here, the dishes are homely and satisfying, the veal and mushroom with roesti potatoes a delight.
If you want loud and boisterous, cross the street for hamburger heaven at Someplace Else in the basement of the Sheraton. For the heart of country France, try the newly-renovated Belvedere at the Grand Stanford where the dishes are the sort that country grandmothers prepare.
The gastronomic dim sum palaces which seat 2,400 in organised cacophony are fun. But you can save your eardrums and get equally delicious ha gow and siu mei without the deafening decibels and probably at a far better price. My tip; ask the office boy. He's sure to know the cheapest nearby restaurant and the food is probably great.
Ethnic? In a Korean family eatery up Ashley Road, I always ask the waiter what he and his family will be having, when the lunchtime rush is over and they sit down to eat. Can I have the same? This is a good tactic, particularly if you don't know much about a cuisine. I have tried it in Vietnamese, Thai, Sri Lankan, Indonesian and Burmese restaurants. Sit down. Order a beer. Smile at the manager. What are you having for lunch? Give me the same. Feed me! I have never been unhappy with the result.
