The Cheesecake Factory in Hong Kong serves retro tastes but leaves mixed impressions of American family cuisine
Chicken Madeira a pleasant surprise, but Cajun jambalaya and sugary cocktails disappoint
The latest American export to Hong Kong, The Cheesecake Factory, is a wholesome family-friendly restaurant that is a throwback to the good, old days of the 1980s. It is not for everyone - the dim lighting and the dizzying swirling patterns prominently featured in its décor may be off-putting for some.
We started with a classic vanilla milkshake (HK$75) and a Georgia peach cocktail (HK$88) made of Skyy vodka, peach liqueur that tasted like peach and raspberry syrup. Both were extraordinarily sugary.
For starters, we enjoyed crab cakes (HK$178) which were soft and chewy with a crunchy exterior. The stuffed mushrooms (HK$78), to their credit, tasted like what I fuzzily remembered it to be back in the US - juicy bite-sized mushrooms topped with Fontina and Parmesan cheese and wine sauce.
We were excited about the Cajun jambalaya pasta (US$206), which promised linguine shrimp and chicken sautéed with tomatoes, onions and peppers in a very spicy Cajun sauce. We enjoyed its spicy kick, but otherwise it was a bit of a let-down - there was not enough sauce to coat all the linguine, which had clumped together.
However, the chicken Madeira (HK$228) - which was promoted as the restaurant’s most popular chicken dish - was a pleasant surprise. The chicken was tender, the Madeira sauce was rich, and the asparagus was crunchy. The mashed potatoes was the highlight - half creamy and half chunky.