Ivan The Kozak

There's no denying Ivan The Kozak is a truly Eastern European restaurant. Beyond the obvious Russian vodkas and caviar on the menu, there are specialities from many lesser-known countries, a Moldovian wine list and Ukranian staff.

As theme restaurants go, Ivan (located in what used to be Silk Strands, next to Petticoat Lane in Central) has all the trappings you would expect - babushka doll salt and pepper shakers, roughly hewn rugs thrown over wooden chairs, flowery pictures and plates adorning the walls and incredibly ornate tableware.

But back to the wine. I was not aware Moldova was a notable wine producer, but there was a choice of about a dozen (reds and whites). There was also a list of French wines available. Many of the Moldovian wines were priced at just $110 a bottle, while it was a comparatively whopping $38 per glass. Tasting it, $110 appeared the fairer price.

Ivan The Kozak offers four types of caviar: red ($58 for 30 grams), oscietra and sevruga ($190), and beluga ($250). Caviar is a taste I have yet to fully acquire, but we opted for the sevruga which was served with four folded blinis, a pot of sour cream and lemon wedges. The blinis were a bit leaden and the cream overwhelmed the delicate dish, but the caviar was good.

The salmon and olive soup ($49) was delicious, but so rich and oily it verged on being a sauce. The best dish of the night was the rainbow trout ($158) with mashed potatoes and a creamy sauce. The fish was more salty than usual, but the combination is hard to beat for comfort food.

Rabbit ($148) is hard to find in Hong Kong, and even Macau, so Ivan scores something of a coup with this flop-eared favourite of Eastern European cuisine. Sadly it was a letdown. Russian sauces tend to be sweet, but this one, containing apples, tomatoes, peppers and onions, pushed the boundary too far. The rabbit, too, was not the best.