Review | Restaurant review: Zeng in Causeway Bay – surprisingly tasty Western and Asian dishes in a noisy, friendly shisha bar and restaurant
- Zeng is a fun, lively place to go with a group – this is not an ideal date spot despite great views of Hong Kong
- The soft shell crab tempura, deep-fried oysters and flamed Yamato pork belly are great – but skip the Sichuan escargot
Unless you manage to snag one of the tables on the balcony, where it’s quieter and with a great view of the Hong Kong skyline, Zeng isn’t the sort of place where you want to bring a long-awaited date – it’s more of a place for groups who are in the mood to get tipsy.
I wouldn’t bring any adamant non-smokers (or even someone with a mild aversion to smoke) either, because they serve shisha outdoors (where it make sense) and indoors (where it doesn’t). Every once in a while, a big billow of smoke from the table nearby wafted over ours.
Inside is casual and noisy with friendly service. Diners sit on low chairs and eat off knee-level tables.
We were a bit wary of the menu (which grandly listed lots of sea urchin, caviar, truffle paste and gold leaf). It had too much mayonnaise and an overabundance of superlatives (“expertly grilled to perfection”; “dual-dipping delight”; “expertly blended spices”).
The menu is long and a mishmash of Asian and Western dishes. With judicious ordering, we managed to avoid most of the luxury ingredients and some of the mayonnaise.
Much to our surprise, we liked most of what we ordered.