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. To stuff in the sesame baked pockets ($32 for three), we ordered a very home-style dish of minced pork with preserved vegetables ($48). The pork was delicious, well-seasoned and not overly salty due to a judicious portion of finely minced preserved vegetable. The sesame pockets were fresh and flaky and we ended up having two orders. From the brief Chinese menu came the best dish of the evening - absolutely wonderful sliced lamb with spring onions ($78). The meat was tender, well-seasoned, and best of all, the chefs let the distinctive flavour of the lamb shine through, rather than trying to mask it with an overload of ginger. This dish also tasted great when stuffed in the sesame pockets. Irene's chicken with dried chillies ($78), a house speciality, featured prominently on the Chinese menu. The small pieces of chicken, hidden amongst a heap of dried chillies, were spicy, garlicky and thirst-inducing. Not the most subtle dish, but definitely delicious. Also from the Chinese menu were the rice cakes with mushrooms and vegetables ($60). Rather bland, this wasn't as good as the other dishes we tasted, and needed some chilli sauce to perk up the flavour. Service was casual and friendly, although a little forgetful. We had to wait some time for several dishes to be served, but this was probably more the fault of the kitchen rather than our waiter. A meal for three with six juices was a reasonable $585. Irene's Bar/Cafe, G/F 4 Sun Wui Road, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2882-2070. Open: 11am-midnight
