New restaurants in Hong Kong: classic Cantonese fare at John Anthony in Causeway Bay

Walking down into the basement space that is John Anthony is pretty impressive because of the eclectic decor. It’s interesting enough that you can almost forget that there’s no natural lighting.

When we booked for 7.30pm, we were told we’d have to return the table by 9.30pm, although throughout our meal, the restaurant was less than half full. Our servers were competent, but they should have told us we ordered too much; the starters – which turned out to be our favourite part of the meal – were much larger than we expected.

Beef tendon with soft smoked tea egg (HK$125) also came with pieces of tongue (not mentioned in the dish description). The pieces of tendon were soft and sticky, the tongue was toothsome, and the egg had a very runny yolk, which the server broke over the ingredients and instructed us to mix in so it added a rich creaminess.

The eel with mountain honey (HK$265) came in thick, meaty pieces that had a gentle crunch, and was served with tempura string beans. Mini lion’s head (HK$110) was the unanimous favourite dish of the night. The six golf-ball-sized balls had a soft, delicate texture and a rich sauce. This dish, with a bowl of rice and some vegetables, would make an excellent lunch.