IRENE'S, A NEW bar and cafe in Causeway Bay, professes to serve up home-style Beijing cuisine. But it's home-style cuisine in an un-home-like setting.
There are a few touches that might remind some diners of home - the ugly ruffled tablecloths, which look as if they were made in a home economics class, and the two televisions, which, although tuned to a Chinese game show, were thankfully turned to a very low volume. Fortunately, that's about it.
Although it's obvious that not a whole lot of money was put into the decor (there are exposed overhead vents and pipes, painted white), the chairs and banquettes are deep and comfortable and the colours, for the most part, are neutral.
A large bar takes up almost half the long, narrow room, although the bartender didn't seem to have much to do, at least on a Sunday evening.
We ignored the overpriced wine list and extensive selection of cocktails and opted instead for the fresh fruit juices, which were fairly priced at $28 each.
The short bi-lingual menu is heavy on the savoury pastries and breads, which are made on the premises, and lots of noodle dishes.
The first dish to arrive was the pea shoots with garlic ($90). Although well-cooked and not overwhelmed by garlic, the vegetable had a slightly grassy flavour, indicating it was not as fresh as it could have been.