CURRY IN A HURRY

CURRY IN A HURRY city'super Cooked Deli Food Hall Basement, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay Tel: 2506-2122 Open: 10.30am-10pm One of the sprawl of Asian food concessions operating in the bowels of Times Square, this is a place to assuage ravenous hunger rather than tickle the taste buds. Diners can eat in or take away.

Serious bulk is on offer. The biggest executive belly will be content with the $50 executive lunch box, which comprises samosa, tandoori chicken, curry, rice, naan and a drink. The downside is it is low on taste, and diners are obliged to ladle on chilli sauce and refreshing mint yoghurt raita in order to spice up the relentless carbohydrates. The bread looks as if it had been cooked on a griddle rather than in the clay tandoor oven, which makes it damp and thin rather than dry and puffy.

Samosas and tandoori chicken both veer towards that stale, greasy aftertaste which all cheap Indian food seems to be afflicted with. More successful are the curries (chicken, lamb or vegetable), available as a $38 combo with rice.

BRIGHT PEARL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Po Man Street, Shau Kei Wan Tel: 2885-163 Open 7am-12.30am daily By name and nature, this eatery is always clean and bright - although unlike a pearl, it is not very expensive. Perhaps that explains why this place is always packed.

Located near Shau Kei Wan MTR Station, in the Eastern district, the restaurant is part of the Sunbeam group, which is renowned for its kai fong-style dim sum and Chinese tea menu.

There are the usual dim sum favourites, fried rice and noodles. The special dinner menu changes every week. And given its name, seafood feature prominently, but non-seafood dishes are good too.