It's a worry when your waiter advises you not to have your steak too bloody because the meat may not be good enough for it. But at Boston, apparently, the choice is simple: medium or well done. Then again, Boston doesn't pretend to be a gourmet paradise. The menu has a sepia-tinted picture of its original Wan Chai branch in all its glory 35 years ago. But while its surroundings have changed, the menu hasn't.
The cavernous Windsor House branch has all the trappings of a naff 1970s diner. After swigging down a watermelon juice ($27) and an oversweet, radioactive-green mint drink ($30), we scanned the scores of dishes available, from sandwiches to fried rice, but hot plates seemed de rigeuer. First we had the chef's salad ($52), which was a hodge-podge of ingredients; diced potatoes and carrots in a sweet dressing smothered with an ugly lattice-work of mayonnaise, pieces of ox-tongue, pork, chicken that was tougher than leather but with less taste, slices of processed ham and cheese, pineapple and a couple of glace cherries for garnish. Class. The seafood soup topped with a puff pastry crust ($40) had chunks of prawn, crab stick, scallop and lobster, but the white, starchy broth was bland in spite of itself.
Then came the mains. Despite the warning about the meat, the well-cooked filet mignon ($78), which came in two large juicy slabs, was tasty and neither tough nor gristly. The half-lobster and lamb chop combo ($138) was also pretty good. Both mains were served on a hot plate which sizzled and spat oil when sauce was poured over it by the waiter. The spicy pepper sauce went well with the beef, but the garlic sauce with lobster and lamb was less stimulating. The accompanying soggy chips and mixed vegetables (the frozen kind) brought back memories of school dinners.
The bill for two, without alcohol, came to $391.
Shop A, 4/F Windsor House, , Causeway Bay. Tel: 2576 2991. Open: 11am-11pm. $$
