New in Hong Kong: British comfort food to be proud of at The Leah in Causeway Bay

It wasn’t easy deciding what to order at The Leah, the new “British comfort food” restaurant in Lee Gardens Two.

It’s not that the dishes did not sound tempting – because they did – but we could not tell which of them were starters and which were mains.

They were listed in sections of sea, land, Leah, sides, and pudding, and the usual method of going by price did not work. We finally consulted the manager who explained that all three of the “sea” dishes and one from “land” could be considered starters while most of the others were mains.

While two of my guests wanted the beef wellington as the main, they were overruled by me, as I wanted to try more of the dishes.

Scallop and black pudding (HK$228) was oily, rich and delicious. The scallops were mi-cuit (half-cooked), leaving them tender and succulent, and the toasted bread and black pudding crumbs enhanced the flavour. My only complaint about the dish is that the accompanying leeks were undercooked and therefore tough.

A nicely-seared and moist piece of grouper (HK$228) was served on a silky-smooth pumpkin purée and served with pine nuts and fried sage.

Langoustines on sourdough toast (HK$258) were delicate and tender. The only one of the starters we did not like was the Scotch egg and toast soldiers (HK$98) the egg yolk was more jellylike than the promised runny, and there wasn’t enough sausage meat packed around the egg.

We thoroughly enjoyed both the chicken pie (HK158) and beef pie (HK$188). The former had chicken meat, bacon and tender leeks, while the second – even better – featured succulent boneless short rib with a rich ale sauce. Both pies had fantastic pastry that was flaky and delicate.

Beef short rib (HK$328) was so tender we did not even need to use the knife to get the meat from the bone. Its rich fattiness (too fatty for one guest) was tempered by the brightly flavoured, roughly textured pesto, and the bone marrow gnocchi (although we could not detect the bone marrow).

For the sides, green beans (HK$78 were perfectly crisp-tender and went deliciously with a tart shallot butter. Much more disappointing was the Dijon mac and cheese (HK$78) – what’s the point of overwhelming the cheese with mustard?

We also enjoyed the desserts. Blueberry oat crumble with vanilla ice cream (HK$88) was warm and surprisingly light. Strawberry and sherry trifle (HK$88) was refreshing, with just enough alcohol.

The Leah, Shop 308 and 311, 3/F Lee Garden Two, 28 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2337 7651. About HK$500 per person without drinks or the service charge

While you’re in the area

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