Ruby Tuesday Tuen Mun Review

Ruby Tuesday are on a tear with the opening of a third new restaurant in less than a year. The success of the new style restaurant in K11 Art Mall saw the opening of a first Ruby Tuesday in what could be considered a very local market: Po Lam – Tseung Kwan O. The new outlet in Tuen Mun builds on those successes while incorporating new Covid protections and innovations to ensure the safety of customers and staff.

The Tuen Mun branch, located on the ground floor of Trend Plaza, is smaller than the other new outlets but incorporates the outdoor seating which has proven very popular among customers. While it may be a little hot (or wet), there are no fans, to sit outside in summer. The outdoor tables will surely be in high demand as the weather cools.

The feel of the new branch is a little darker than the bright openness of K11, the more notable difference though is Ruby Tuesday’s first open kitchen in Hong Kong. It’s not fully open, but offers diners the chance to see the kitchen crew in action and also a chance to see that Covid protocols are being observed in the kitchen and that the staff member tasked with keeping the broad swathes of stainless steel shining clean is on task.

As for the food, a new Express set lunch (available only at TKO, Po Lam and Tuen Mun) offers meals at prices similar to local chain outlets. And the staff were working hard to ensure that diners could enjoy their meal during a lunch hour.

It was steaming hot the day bc visited Ruby’s in Tuen Mun so we sampled Ruby’s range of (delicious) smoothies and iced drinks – the highlight being Ruby’s Passion a mango smoothie topped with passion fruit puree, the tartness of passion fruit reigning in the sweetness of the mango. The coffee frappuccino with ice cream was basically flavourless liquid and a disappointment compared to the rather nice one we enjoyed previously at K11.

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On a personal note, I don’t really see the point of trying to create ‘fake’ meat and have always found the results disappointing. Discussing this recently, a friend offered a suggestion, don’t think of Impossible as fake meat, think of it as something like tofu which can be prepared and enjoyed in many different ways. Seen and eaten in that way, it’s an enjoyable and textured alternative to meat. Ruby’s Impossible quesadilla was tasty and filling, while the newly added Butcher’s Steak offered a meaty and flavourful reminder that there really is nothing like meat.

bc hadn’t noticed it on the menus in previous visits, so we can’t say if it’s new, but several menu items had a Keto symbol to help those on that food plan.

One of the many small changes in recent years that have re-energised the brand locally and made it an enjoyable place for lunch and dinner where the food tastes as good as it looks.

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Ruby Tuesday Tuen Mun

Location: Shop 39-40, Level 1, North Wing, Trend Plaza, Tuen Mun
Tel: 3598 3098

Ruby Tuesday Opens in Tuen Mun

Ruby Tuesday have a new outlet in Trend Plaza, Tuen Mun. It’s the chain’s seventh restaurant and the third new location opened in the last year.

Commenting about the new outlet Ruby Tuesday Managing Director Leslie Bailey said “We have taken every lesson that the COVID-19 Pandemic has taught us and incorporated it into our new restaurant design. In addition to the standard water and air-filters, we’ve also taken the extra precaution of adding a state-of-the-art Philips UV Disinfection System to filter and clean the air circulating in the restaurant.”

Ruby Tuesday Tuen Mun

Location: Shop 39-40, Level 1, North Wing, Trend Plaza, Tuen Mun
Tel: 3598 3098

11 Hong Kong Restaurants in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021

Hong Kong has 11 entries in ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021‘ with local Cantonese restaurant The Chairman replacing last year’s numero uno Singapore’s Odette in top spot.

The very subjective list is compiled and voted on by over 300 ‘leaders’ in Asia’s culinary field including journalists, food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and culinary experts.

Quite how it can pretend to be remotely objective this year when travel and dining out have been extensively curtailed… But congratulations to the local restaurants listed.

The local restaurants in this year’s ‘Top 50’ are Vea (16),  Neighbourhood (17), Belon (25), Caprice (28), Otto e Mezzo Bombana (33), Amber (37), Ta Vie (38), Mono (44), Lung King Heen (47) and Seventh Son (48).

The only Macau entry is Wing Lei Palace in 50th spot.

Ruby Tuesday Opens in Tseung Kwan O

Just in time for Christmas Ruby Tuesday have opened a new outlet in Metro City, Po Lam.

Ruby Tuesday Managing Director Leslie Bailey talked about the new outlet “Ruby Tuesday, Metro City Plaza, Po Lam is our largest restaurant by size. We’ve made every effort to ensure that the dining experience is first-class and our talented local designer has created a space that evolves throughout the day; whether alone, together, or as a family, we provide you with a [really] comfortable dining experience and our team will provide you with quality food, served with passion, in an environment, we take pride in.”

“We have taken every lesson that the COVID-19 Pandemic has taught us and incorporated it into our new restaurant design,” Bailey continued. “In addition to the standard water and air-filters, we’ve also taken the extra precaution of adding a state-of-the-art Philips UV Disinfection System to filter and clean the air circulating in the restaurant, thus reducing the risk of any secondary infection. You will find two automated handwashing and sanitization stations. With the children’s station at a lower level to encourage children to focus on washing their hands properly.

Over the holidays it’s BYO – Bring your own alcohol – until the liquor licence is approved.

Ruby’s Festive Platter Set( $798) includes: Honey Glazed Ham Hock, Lamb Shank, Boston Lobster, Roast Pumpkin & Chestnut Soup (2), Smoked Salmon and mulled wine (2 glasses)

Ruby Tuesday Metro City

Location: Shop UG020 – 021, UG/F, MCP Central, Tseung Kwan O
Tel: 2154 1318

Angel’s, New Filipino Restaurant in Wanchai

On the sliver of O’Brien Road that connects Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road, the tasty Indian hole in the wall Masala Train has reached the end of the track. New at the A2 entrance to Wanchai MTR is Angel’s.

Strangely given the number living in the city, there are not many Filipino restaurants around. As well as a menu that features the classics like tapsilog, adobe, lechon and sisig there are daily blackboard specials. So if you’re looking to tease your tastes buds with something different call an Angel.

Angel’s
146 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Tel: 3566 2568

Monoprix Debuts in Hong Kong

French supermarket chain Monoprix joins British counterparts Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s on the shelves of our local stores as it launches it’s eponymous range of products at Marketplace by Jasons.

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Knickerbocker Glory & Coke Floats

It’s a little hot this summer, to help you cool down Pizza Express’s Lee Tung Avenue branch and Haagen Daz are offering some old-style summer flavours.

Originating in the UK in the 1920s the Knickerbocker Glory ($88) features layers of fruit (banana, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries), crumbed biscuits, raspberry sauce and Haagen Daz ice cream topped with whipped cream and Nutella.

The iconic coke float, created in  1874 by Robert McCay Green, is simply coca-cola and a scoop of ice-cream. Pizza Express have given the float a twenty nineteen twist by blending smooth the ingredients and called the original The Little Kid ($68), to allow for an ‘adult’ version, The Big Kid ($78), which adds Baileys and whiskey…

These summer specials are only available at Pizza Express’s Lee Tung Avenue branch from 19 July to 31 August.

If you’re in the area there are some free Little Kid tasters available on 20, 27, 28 July, 2-6pm; and on 21 July, noon-3pm – while stocks last.

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Calabrese pizza ($188)

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Pizza Express Lee Tung Avenue
G31, G/F, Lee Tung Avenue, 200 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai

Edited: 23 July, to clarify drink details.

Pizza Express Launches Summer Menu

Ahead of summer’s official start Pizza Express have launched a new Summer Menu featuring a wide range of new pizzas and pastas. bc sampled several of the new dishes at the Lee Tung Street branch which – with it’s chilled layout, fresh juice bar, coffee machine and free WiFi – also makes a nice change from your local coffee outlet when looking for a place to hunker down and work or chat.

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Burrata & Eggplant ($88)

Among the new items on the Summer Menu are three new starters: Burrata & Eggplant ($88), Prawn & Tomato ($58) and Mango Crab Flatbread ($88). The Burrata is rich and creamy complimented nicely by the marinated eggplant.

There are two new salads Watermelon & Feta ($68/$128) and Mango Salsa Salad ($63/$108) available in small and large portions. The mango salsa is nice but like several of the other dishes on the menu it lacks that little extra freshness/ bite that has your tastebuds going… I want more!

The range of new pastas includes, as our waitress informed us, the already popular Baby Scallop Linguine ($143); Omnipork Penne Aglio Olio ($108) made with a plant based ‘pork’ and flavoured with fennel, water chestnut, garlic and mushroom; A Prawn Risotto ($148) cooked in a pomodoro sauce with garlic oil, onion and white wine tossed prawns and clams; Penne alla Norma ($118) a classic Italian pasta with eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil, ricotta, pomodoro sauce and drizzled with garlic oil.

The new selection makes for a difficult choice when dining solo or in duo as there are several that sound tempting. bc opted for the Penne alla Norma which was filling and tasty.

Pizza Express has a bit of summer fun with it’s customers via the Burger Formaggi ($138) – one of four new pizzas on the menu – which tastes like a burger and is already proving popular. The other new pizzas are the Pancetta Garden ($138) and two vegetarian / vegan options Omnipork Bianco ($128) and Flori ($138).

The one new desert is the light Pineapple Cake with Ice Cream ($73) which is not too sweet and makes a pleasant finale to your meal.

The Pizza Express Vegan Menu has been revamped and offers a wide range of vegan dishes featuring vegan cheese and vegan pork. With an increasing awareness of healthy eating and vegan diners it’s good to see a big chain restaurant offering these options on a regular basis.

bc also likes the Lee Tung Street Pizza Express branch because it has a juice bar offering fresh juice ($68), smoothies ($68) and the new Watermelon Lemonade ($38) and Mrs Peroni ($68).

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Penne alla Norma ($118)

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Pineapple Cake ($73)