One good thing about the economic downturn is that it has made some of the city's most exclusive confines more accessible than ever. The Mandarin Oriental's private-dining Krug Room (below) is now one of the places forced to open up by the leveller that is the 'economic tsunami'. Tucked in the nether reaches of the hotel, next to and with a window looking into executive chef Uwe Opocensky's kitchen, the space used to be a private domain for VIPs and corporate fat cats. However, the Mandarin Oriental said this week that anyone can now make a reservation for the Krug Room. They want to 'welcome a wider audience of gastronomes'. In less diplomatic terms, it probably means not enough overpaid bankers are now willing to shell out the minimum HK$20,000 for the room, which can seat up to 12 people. As a result, ordinary Joes can now book the venue for even a table of one - assuming you still have a job that can afford the HK$1,988 (plus 10 per cent) meal. 'We thought it was unfair that people have to bring a group of 10 or so friends to eat there,' a hotel rep said. 'But we still need at least a 24-hour reservation and the set menu does change regularly. Guests won't see it until they arrive.' The reservation number is 28254014. We suspect that at more than HK$2,000 a dinner, they aren't about to be overrun by commoners.