Newly opened Second Street Comfort Food & Bar in Sai Ying Pun – big portions, little problems
The staff were eager to please and dishes were generally good but a few niggles, such as sand in the clams and unevenly cooked lamb took some of the shine off
In Hong Kong, a restaurant’s success is often down to location, location, location. Second Street Comfort Food & Bar in the Island Crest apartment complex in Sai Ying Pun should be successful – there are so many residents there – but when we visited for dinner, only a few tables were occupied.
The interior looks very similar to that of its predecessor, La Viola. As its new name suggests, they serve comfort food and lots of it:portions are large, making this place relatively good value for money. The air conditioning was set to freezing (or so it seemed) but the staff were warm and eager to please.
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The Spanish-style garlic prawns (HK$98) were a delicious start to the meal. Flavoured with chorizo, chilli and home-made spicy bravas sauce, the prawns were cooked nicely and we soaked up the delicious sauce with toasted bread.
Linguine with clams, garlic and parsley (HK$138) wasn’t served with linguine; instead, they used spaghetti that was almost as thin as angel hair pasta. It had a delicate taste and the clams were plump and juicy, but many had sand in them.
When the braised lamb shank (HK$188) came back to our table, it was still slightly warm, but some parts of it were quite dry while others were very moist. It came on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes with chunks of carrot in a delicious gravy.
We were quite full by this point – chef Daimon Corbett came over to see how we were faring. But after a short break we decided to have dessert.
We finished with the tiramisu (HK$58), which was strong on the alcohol – the ladyfinger biscuits were soaked in Kahlua, brandy and amaretto.
Second Street Comfort Food & Bar, Shop 9-10, Island Crest, Second Street, Sai Ying Pun, tel: 2503 3325
While you’re in the area
Other places nearby we’ve written about recently: