AFTER months of speculation on the culinary circuit about the California Entertainment Group's new venture, Mexican restaurant Zona Rosa is due to open on December 7. The two-storey restaurant attempts to recreate a Hispanic landowner's country home with a mix of Spanish and Indian influences in the collection of small dining rooms. A few trips to Mexico turned up various artefacts, including an antique stone Maiz pestle and mortar. It will be run by Mexican import Robert Arteaga, who owns his own restaurant in Cozumel and has made quite a name for himself on the lecture and book circuit talking about Mexican food and spices. With dishes from Yucatan and Veracruz, Arteaga mixes tradition with 'an added twist of modern creativity'. The result is lighter and healthier than those re-fried beans of yesteryear.
As a member of the Mexican Society of Gastronomy, Arteaga has a licence to experiment. As Lan Kwai Fong's newest member, he's going to be under a lot of pressure never to be boring. Zona Rosa, 2/F-3/F, One Lan Kwai Fong. Tel: 801-5885.
LA PLACITA is not taking the competition lying down, although it's anyone's guess whether Sunday afternoon tea dances are enough to ward off the Zona Rosa threat. This latest gimmick from the Mexican restaurant in Times Square costs $120 per person and includes live Latin American sounds and home-made cakes. The dances are held every Sunday afternoon from 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Another ace up La Placita's marketing sleeve are pinata-smashing parties on December 10 and 17. These come with a four-course Mexican dinner for $448. Tel: 506-3308.
FOR cheap outdoors dining, few places beat Peng Chau where the Sea Breeze Club and The Forest compete for business on the island's waterfront. Iris and Tad Stoner have taken over at The Forest (tel: 983-8837), which is still a bit dismal with pokey little windows and a shoestring budget feel, despite the cheerful red-checked tablecloths outside. Manning the kitchen is 'mad chef' David Brown, who used to be involved in the Sea Breeze before he fell out with his partners. His menu features a seafood platter for two ($220), mixed grill ($90), lasagne with broccoli and cream sauce ($65), six tiger prawns ($98) and a range of specials. Next door at the Sea Breeze (tel: 983-8785), the menu offers T-bone steaks ($145), pizza ($45) and spare ribs ($32).
FREE private rooms are not the stuff Hong Kong hotels' profits are built on. But there are at least two top Chinese restaurants which will give you some privacy as long as you promise to pay a certain amount per head. And it could be as little as $150 a person. The Excelsior's Yee Tung Heen (tel: 894-8888) has a private room for lunch parties of 10 to 12 people for a minimum charge of $1,800 ($3,800 for dinner). The Island Restaurant at the Furama (tel: 525-5111) will partition off an area for free for parties of up to 36 people. It also offers special packages, including invitations, provided enough notice is given. If not, you can order off the regular a la carte menu. The minimum charge for dinner is $300 a head.
FELIX, the Philippe Starck-designed restaurant at the top of the new Peninsula Tower, is predicted to be on the must-do list for the festive season following its opening today. The food will be a mix of European with Asian influences and the average bill is expected to be $500 per head, without wine. Tel: 366-6251.
