New Restaurtants Kebab House and Taste, Chocolate Menu at The Chef's Table and Messina Cooking Classes
Watch Out For…
Pasta Mio, the takeout pasta joint just underneath the Mid-Levels escalators and right before Hollywood Road, is sadly gone—but the newly opened Kebab House (27-29 Hollywood Rd., Central—it actually faces Cochrane Street) seems to be a promising alternative. I spoke to owner Chris after passing by a week after its opening, and know that he sees Kebab House as a hangout for post-party revelers who want some satisfying, no-frills finger foods that they can pick on with their bare hands. But he also promises tasty products that should satisfy appetites any time of the day, and having bought and tried their unassuming but rather filling chicken doner kebab, I am inclined to believe him.
Continuing with the Sheung Wan hotels-with-restaurants trend, Taste (6/F, Ibis Hong Kong Central & Sheung Wan Hotel, 28 Des Voeux Rd. West, Sheung Wan, 2252-2933) is an all-day dining resto at the newly opened Ibis that serves buffet spreads of dishes from all over the world. Again, just like the Holiday Inn Express SoHo that’s not in SoHo, the Ibis Hong Kong Central & Sheung Wan is not in Central, but if you can get over the misnomer, it’s actually quite exciting to be getting a buffet-style restaurant in the area. The venue’s very cafeteria-like, with bright-colored chairs, colorful walls and wooden boards. As for the food, I’m seeing pictures of baked pork chop rice, Hainan chicken, French toast and curry beef.
Talk of the Town
Chocolate for dinner? Um, it’s like, why didn’t anyone else think of this earlier? The Chef’s Table at The Ritz-Carlton (102/F, The Ritz-Carlton, 1 Austin Rd. West, West Kowloon, 2263-2270) has invited Lindt’s master chocolatier, Urs Liechti, to collaborate on a special chocolate-infused menu for diners in January and February. Using dark chocolates with 70 percent to up to 99 percent cocoa content, Liechti has designed amuse-bouches of chocolate tempura with cheese and lobster; pan-fried foie gras with coffee-flavored chocolate; deep-fried chocolates with chilies; and even more chocolatey desserts. A table of up to eight guests can be booked for $14,000, not including service charge.
One of my favorite new Italian restos, Messina (5/F, The Harbourfront Landmark, 11 Wan Hoi St., Hung Hom, 3746-2733), will be offering cooking classes this January to teach curious foodies how to make classic Italian dishes such as pasta and risotto (above), or sweeter treats like profiteroles and chocolate and pear cakes. So far, there are two dates: Saturday, January 12 (for the pasta class) and Saturday, January 26 (for the desserts class). The classes run from morning until 1:30pm, and are $880 per person, not including 10 percent service charge. Breakfast and a three-course lunch are also included, along with a surprise gift (ooooh). Considering a meal at Messina will normally cost you more than a grand a head, these classes sound like a good deal to me.
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