Hong Kong Restaurants
 

We're off to Hong Kong for a week, next week. Have reserved a table at Yu for dinner one evening. Also had reserved a table at Aqua/Roma for another evening - we're looking for two really memorable meals. However, I have seen really lukewarm reports of Aqua/Roma and am now thinking of going somewhere else for dinner. Maybe French - so Petrus? Maybe somewhere else for a different cuisine altogether in that sort of price range.

We have been to HK before (once in 2003, just post-SARS) and went to Toscana in the Ritz-Carlton, Grissini in the Grand Hyatt and Felix. SO where else to go? Help please! I am having a real dither!

A couple of special meals we had in Honk Kong:

Petrus, wonderful food, wonderful wine, wonderful service

Spring Moon in the Pen, Chinese cuisine, lovely, delicate food.

I just came back from a long weekend in HK and the MOST memorable meal we had was Acqua Roma. I was really surprised to see the so-so comments here. The view was absolutely incredible.....we had a round table right up against the glass and our two chairs were kind of side by side, facing out, so we both had the view of the entire harbor one end to the other. We had a 9pm reservation, so we missed the nightly 8pm light show playing over the buildings in Central, but I imagine this would be the best spot to watch it.
The service was perfect....we had a Nepalese waiter who not only spoke faultless English, he really knew the menu inside and out and was able to make good recommendations. We loved the food....our favorite was the appetizer that had baby artichokes in it. With 2 cocktails, 2 glasses of wine, 2 apps, 2 mains and a shared dessert, the whole bill, including tax and service was just under $US100 per person.
Another fun meal (although not in the same category as Acqua) was Sunday lunch at Havana, in the SoHo area. Live music, yummy passionfruit daquiries and conch fritters.

If you are thinking about going to Macau for the day, do go to Fernando's for dinner. It's a bit of a schlep to get there, but oh my, what great Portuguese food!! We also loved sitting out on the patio drinking Portuguese beer while we waited for our table. Get the prawns with garlic, the clams and the suckling pig.

Oh, yes, we had a great time at Fernando's in Macau. The food was excellent - we let the waitress recommend (a salad of juicy tomatoes, prawns and roast sucking pig). The wine list consists of going to a shelf of wines and choosing one!

PS Fernandos was the least expensive dinner we had in Hong Kong/Macau.

I am also kind of surprised that you read lukewarm comments on Aqua, but if you are having concerns, some other new places to consider. If you want Chinese or other regional cuisine let me know, I can add some others:

Spoon
Intercontinental Hotel
18 Salisbury Road
Kowloon
852 2721 1211
http://hongkong-ic.dining.intercontinental.com

I know you are going to Yu (which is great), so this may be boring as it is also in the Intercon and has the same view, but it is very good food and of course is Alan Ducaisse. French and Asian-fusion. Very nice views.

Caprice
Four Seasons Hotel
8 Finance Street
Central
Tel: 852 3196-8888
Fax: (852) 3196-8899
http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/index.html

Very good French in a modern eclectic upscale French bistro type deco (you will understand when you see it). You probably should e-mail now for a booking if you are interested, esp for a weekend, as it is new and very popular. Very nice views if you get a window table (albeit of the "wrong" side of the harbour). The hotel is very nice as well.

M at the Fringe
1/F South Block
2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2877-4000
http://www.m-onthebund.com/at_the_fringe

Eclectic décor and menu of European dishes and a little Asian thrown in. Good wine list. This has been one of my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong for many years. No view but the food more than makes up for it.

Opia
Y's
Hotel Jia
1 - 5 Irving Street
Causeway Bay
852-3196-3000

Really hip and trendy, these are two restaurants in the new Stark-designed Jia Hotel in Causeway Bay. Both restaurants are Asian fusion, so not strictly Chinese. I have only eaten at Opia, which I thought was very good, if slightly full of itself (but hey, this is Hong Kong.) No view.

ISOLA bar and grill
Shop 3071-75
IFC 2, 8 Finance Street
Central
Tel: (852) 2383 8765
http://www.isolabarandgrill.com/

Expensive but good Italian. Huge double-height windows, great outdoor terrace with nice harbor and city views (again of the "wrong" side of the harbour, but still nice). Great deserts.

La Terrasse
Ground Floor
19 Old Bailey Street
Central
Tel: 2147-2225

Very good French food in a pleasant setting, they have a small terrace at back. In the Hollywood Road area of antique shops, near to Soho. Nice wine list of mainly French wines. Good value set meals for lunch and dinner. Excellent duck confit. This is more casual and less expensive than any of the above, much more of a bistro type place, but very good. No view, but in a lively part of town.

Top Deck at the Jumbo
Jumbo Kingdom
Shum Wan Pier Drive
Wong Chuk Hang
Aberdeen
Tel: 852 2552 3331

A new Asian-fusion seafood restaurant on top of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen (which I normally would not recco as food is average and very touristy). Has great views of the Aberdeen harbour and the southside of Hong Kong Island. You could hire a little boat to take you around Aberdeen harbour afterwards. While the food is good, I think the most memorable thing is the ambience and view of the southside mountains and sea, I would only go here on a really nice clear evening or for lunch on a sunny day.

Bo Innovation
Ice House
32-38 Ice House Street
Central
2850-8371
boinnoseki.com

I include this with a little hesitation. This place makes all the papers as one of THE places to go. I have been there twice for lunch and dinner. I am trying to like this place, because I like what they are trying to do: create innovative food. I like the sleek and modern decor. They have a nice view of some of the few remaining colonial buildings in Hong Kong and a bit of the Peak mountain areas. The food is very good, fresh and different. French-Asian fusion, but really in a way I have not seen in Hong Kong before. However, both times I have been there I have found that the service really needs work. English level of the staff is not good, which is something strange for Hong Kong. Also, the training level is not great, several of the wait staff did not know how the dishes are prepared. Service is also a bit slow. If you eat at the counter in front of the chefs, this may be a better (and faster) experience, as the chefs may be able to explain the dishes better.

Finally, I would suggest that you just wander Elgin Street, Peel Street and that area on Hong Kong Island area and pick a restaurant that looks interesting. This area is called "Soho" (for "South of Hollywood Road", although the street is further up the hill from Hollywood so may feel north) and has become full of little restaurants, private kitchens and boutiques. These are narrow little streets away from the noisy bustle of Hong Kong and the crazed bar scene that is Lan Kwai Fong. You can take the escalator from Queen's Road East in Central, less than a 5 minute walk from the Central MTR stop. This is also a great place for lunch if you are in Central touring. On Elgin Street, there are at least a dozen restaurants, you can really just wander and pick one and you could hardly go wrong. None are terribly expensive, esp compared to places like Felix or Hutong or Spoon.

Try the Economic Dinner (not misspelt) in Prat Avenue Tsim Sha Tsui for the authentic Cantonese dining experience. This is not for the first timer to Asia (plastic seat covers, laminated table tops), but offers very good Chinese dishes at great prices. The Economic Dinner is two doors away from the Guangdong Hotel, which most taxi drivers will know. English can be a problem when ordering - use the foreigner's photo guide of dishes, or better, try the Chinese/English menu, but point carefully! Chicken on rice for HK$30, Steamed Fish (a specialty, and good) about HK$60. Open to about 10.00 pm.