Cuisine : Indian-French Price : HK$233 per person without drinks or the service charge Ambience : friendly and casual. The restaurant is down a very small street lined with proportionately small bars and restaurants. We were seated outdoors on a balmy evening. Pros : we were sceptical of the food, but liked everything we tasted. Everything on the menu sounded delicious and in my enthusiasm, I started ordering too much, but the server, who turned out to be the beverage director and co-founder, kindly pointed that out to us, which we appreciate. Cons : the chairs are too short (even for me), and very uncomfortable because they’re slatted wood. They’re not well balanced – they’ll tip over if you hang your handbag on the back. Recommended dishes : hung yogurt croquettes (HK$115) were smooth and creamy, but had too much beetroot purée. Gougères (HK$75) were more like popovers. They were served split in half, with sambal ikan bilis and creamy goat cheese to pile into the crisp, airy interior, making for pungent mouthfuls. We loved all three signature dishes. The butter chicken liver terrine (HK$140) was just fantastic. It was roughly textured, with soft livery bits that contrasted with the firmer bites of chicken meat. The terrine came with crisp poppadoms and fried plantain, and two types of pickles – a strong, achar-like cucumber pickle and a more gentle mango relish. When we ordered the baby calamari (HK$150) we expected (because of the name) small pieces, but this calamari was quite large, with a delicious pancetta stuffing, lots of clams and a broth that tasted subtly of fino sherry. Thick, succulent slices of air-dried lamb loin (HK$225) came with the braised ribs, small sweet peas and a rich cumin gravy. There was only one dessert: their version of Eton mess – loads of oloroso-sherry-whipped cream with lots of fresh fruit, including mango, plum and berries. What else? The space previously housed BlackSalt Cafe, and the cooks were still wearing BlackSalt shirts. Pondi, 14 Fuk Sau Lane, Sai Ying Pun, tel: 6556 4253