Just tasting

JUST spent a week in Paris where we tried in vain to find a bad meal. But if you decide to go all out by splurging on one wildly extravagant gastronomic experience then by all means book a table at the splendidly art nouveau, three-star Lucas Carton, on the Place de la Madeleine, tel 42 65 22 90. Here, where the crystal glistens and the silver shines, you will be lavished with the full treatment from heavenly potage to memorable tarte tartin.

This is the French restaurant of your dreams, largely thanks to master chef Alain Senderens. Curiously, his to-sigh-for signature dish of Canard Apicius duck roasted with honey and spices, is a 2,000-year-old Italian recipe.

I HAVE been known to light up but never when dining, so when someone at the next table does, I become another Judith Mackay. For this reason I did not look with disdain upon Dr Carol Betson's new Non Smokers Guide To Restaurants, a listing of those who either do not permit the dirty weed in their establishments or who offer non-smoking sections. (There are more than 100 restaurants listed to date). Dr Betson chairs an organisation called People Acting For A Smokeless Society (PASS) and this is their first effort to air their feelings in Hong Kong. Fax 524-0665 for your guide to smoke-free meals.

YOU HAVE all heard about how over-the-top Americans are regarding their pets, with special cemeteries for their four-legged friends. But The Puppy Hut in Cleveland, Ohio, provides a new pooch-pampering scheme that really takes the cake. The establishment does a lively business catering to canines who feel peckish when out for a spin with their masters or have a yen for a quick and nourishing snack to go. The Puppy Hut is a fast food drive-in whose menu offers a variety of culinary choices, including vegetarian meat loaf and imported mineral water with which to wash it down. I'd say the country was going to the dogs, wouldn't you? ITALY'S porcini and France's ceps are similar mushrooms, each so meaty, aromatic and flavourful they make a satisfying meal even when served pan-fried on their own. Now, until the end of July, you can indulge in the ceps in a variety of tempting dishes thanks to master chef Serge Burckel, who orchestrates the kitchen at The Belvedere gourmet French restaurant at Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Harbour View in Kowloon. Burckel combines the short-seasoned ceps with veal medallions, duck liver and truffles, and artichoke terrine to name just a few of the mouth-watering selections on the menu. Tel 721-5161 ext 2728.