Continental, Asian, Indian... There's a wide selection in the middle tier Stephen IT STANDS TO reason, I suppose, that in a special part of China its best moderately priced restaurants should serve local food. That was my experience, at any rate, when I tried nine eating places in this price range. They represented a limited spread of national culinary styles ? Indian, Australian, Italian and even, unbelievably, German ? excepting one, which tried to cover the entire field of human kitchen endeavour by offering, on the same list, Thai and Mexican soups, Indian appetisers, Italian beef carpaccio and pizzas, curries, noodle dishes, sushi and sashimi. (That fellow was right who said it was difficult ? or did he say impossible? ? to be all things to all people.) Of the non-Cantonese places I tried, MEZZ stood out. Very stylish for its price range, the restaurant features heavy white napkins and classically shaped stainless steel cutlery, two essentials for excellent eating, even if the offerings themselves are of superior standard. The food at MEZZ, as you will see below, also stood up to scrutiny. DiVino too impressed me a lot. Its Latin approach is closer to the real thing than some of the more hyped, more expensive Italian tables around town. Chef Michele Senigaglia knows his stuff. After an hour?s conversation with him, I decided he was a dedicated culinary practitioner who not only seeks the best ingredients but takes a punctilious approach to preparing and cooking them. For all that, two Chinese eating places stood out. Indeed, at Loong Yuen I ate utterly memorable stuff. Forget this basement venue?s famous fried rice, which seemed (despite an overcoat of cooked egg white buttoned up with a blob of lumpfish roe) as basic as most fried rice. The stir-fried white turnip cake was exquisite and the steamed chicken with spicy salt was sublime ? two of the best dishes I ate during my tour of duty. Luk Yu Tea House was a blast from the past ? a yum cha restaurant that has apparently changed little since before the second world war. The veteran service staff are supposed to be somewhat dismissive of patrons, especially non-Chinese guests. But I found their manners easy to cope with, even if the buns of roast pork and chicken and deep-fried fish cakes they brought over were little above the ordinary. The restaurant is named, by the way, after the author of what is believed to be the first authoritative book on tea, written many centuries ago (a good source tells me). And indeed Luk Yu does pour a lovely brew. Jashan tabled excellent Indian food of great freshness and flavour complexity, and Delicatessen Corner served acceptable bangers and mash (admittedly with sauerkraut, bacon cubes and chopped chives). It was magnificent ? and reminded me of the mountain of potato puree that killed Ugo in that French cinema homage to gluttony, La Grande Bouffe. Reggie HONG KONG PROVIDES a mix of Chinese and western options in this category. Many mid-range Cantonese eateries are mediocre, but there are also a few that offer good value for money and would definitely not be a waste of time. The list is endless. Suffice is to say that Hong Kong?s unique history has resulted in a remarkable blend of dining options.
