LONG before the new airport opened and talk of Disneyland on Lantau Island, there was The Gallery. It offers an authentic taste of South Africa, alfresco style.
The dining and cooking is done on a large covered verandah decked out with garden furniture and long wooden benches. The dress code is casual and the atmosphere relaxed.
The owner, Dolla Bruce, takes charge of the cooking, standing over the braai (barbecue), the South African flag emblazoned on her apron.
For those who have experienced braais in South Africa, do not be tempted to pour beer over this barbecue - it is gas. Not your average gas barbecue, but one imported from South Africa with volcanic rocks. The braai blazes at weekends.
For meat-lovers, the mixed barbecue ($150) is excellent value: a generous serving of steak, lamb chops, chicken and homemade sausage served with a green salad, potato salad and fresh bread.
Unlike some establishments, when the waitress asks, 'How would you like your steak done?' it is not a rhetorical question.
It is worth a trip to The Gallery just for the creamy potato. They do something heavenly to the humble spud - it is deliciously creamy and a meal in itself. And the homemade bread - served warm with a nugget of butter - not only looks wholesome, it tastes good. In fact, former Governor Chris Patten liked it so much, he asked Mrs Bruce to go to Government House to show his chef how to make it! For seafood fanatics, there is a choice of rainbow trout or sole. The sole melts in the mouth and the tender, white flesh is stamped with the trademark barbecue grid. It is served with either a baked potato or potato salad which is surely one of the best in the SAR.