GongXi, GongXi
It’s time to celebrate anniversaries at two treasured favourites and two fresher-faced establishments.

The staff at Le Tire Bouchon (Bsmt, 45 Graham St, Central, 2523 5459) are full of joie d’ vivre, their restaurant having reached the grand old age of 20. A 1986 anniversary menu re-introduces many of the restaurant’s classic favourites and diners can feast on some fabulous fresh scallops and shrimp served with tomato, garlic and oil dressing, delight in creamy hollandaise sauce drizzled on grilled salmon and revel in the duo of white and dark chocolate mousse for dessert. Even better, the menu – available until the end of September – is marked up at shrunken 1986 prices: that’s $188 for two courses, or $228 for three.

Celebrating their first year is Mr. Steak’s Café (New Town Plaza, Phase One, Shatin, 2961 6263) with special menus throughout the day – you can join the party for lunch, tea or dinner. Set things sizzling at lunch – take three friends and one of you will eat for free from a menu that starts from $49 and includes a trip to the salad bar. Or treat a friend at teatime; it’s two-for-one at the moment. But if you prefer to celebrate after dark, head over for dinner and enter the lucky draw – every table wins a prize.
The InterContinental Grand Standard (70 Mody Rd, TST East, 2721 5161) must be an amazing place to work. Eighteen staff members are celebrating 25 years of silver service this September, and will receive certificates to prove it. So when you need to impress someone important, book a table, sit back and let the professionals impress your guest with perfect service – they’ve had bundles of practice.

At the other end of the pip, Angelini’s (Kowloon Shangri-la, 64 Mody Rd, TST, 2721 2111) turns one year old and Chef Massimo Larossi has rustled together a special birthday lunch semi-buffet. His appetisers of black mussel salads, sweet grilled sardines and Sicilian octopus lead on to a delightful range of risottos and pastas with seasonal vegetables for the main course choices. The anniversary lunch at $208 for three courses runs every day from 12pm – 3pm starting September 20.

Autumn Days
The summer sun has barely faded but already thoughts are turning to the golden glow of autumn months – harvest baskets cascading with apples, bountiful crops and saffron-hued leaves. The golden fields and fallen leaves are a little hard to find here in Hong Kong, but some menus are conjuring recipes sprung from the season.

Goccia (1/F, 73 Wyndham St, Central, 2167 8181) combines a plentiful seafood catch with autumn woodland favourite – mushrooms. Nothing tastes quite as earthy, or delicious: try wild forest mushrooms with Boston lobster ($220) or Sardinian sea bass with sautéed Porcini served in light saffron sauce ($240), available lunch and dinner.

Autumn means mid-autumn festival, which means mooncakes. The sweet cakes traditionally filled with sesame seeds, lotus paste and duck eggs are appearing in bakery windows and on menus all over town. Ye Shanghai (Level 3, Pacific Place, Queensway, 2918 9833; 6/F, The Marco Polo Hotel, TST, 2736 3322) has a limited edition run of white lotus and double egg mooncakes at the reduced price of $185 if ordered before September 30. Enjoy them in the restaurant, or take them away as gifts – Ye Shanghai has paid particular
attention to the packaging, inspired by beautiful old Shanghai Nong Tong boxes.

Häagen-Daz jazz up the festival as only they can, with a creamy chocolate-coated ice cream mooncake selection. Boxes of strawberry and vanilla come in fours ($208) but boxes of eight contain something extra special; strawberry cheesecake, macadamia nut, Belgian chocolate and cookies and cream are just a few of the flavours with a surprise ‘egg yoke’ of soft mango sorbet tucked in the middle ($668). Buy yours at any Häagen-Daz outlet, or call 2629 6175 for enquiries.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth are campaigning to stop packaging waste associated with the festival. They tell us over 52 million units of packaging shift around the festival, much of it unnecessary waste. Maxim’s, St Honore and Arome are just three of the bakeries launching more environmentally friendly (and reduced) packaging, which still looks pretty.

And with the mooncake selection sorted, all you need to decide now is which tea to drink with them – see the last issue of bc.

Throw Out a Line
Hong Kong’s enduring love of all things seafood has to find some satisfaction with a bumper crop of fish dishes on the city’s menus in coming weeks. This must be what they mean by bounty from the ocean…

Dot Cod (B4, Prince’s Bldg, 10 Chater Rd, Central, 2810 6988), newly opened and revitalised, celebrates with a special treat for oyster lovers this September. Feast on a selection of Australia’s finest: Coffin Bay, Streaky Bay, Denial Bay and Smoky Bay are just some of the varieties on offer, all at $18 each. The lengthy and fiercely named Dinosaur’s Toenail, which stretches along the measuring stick at around 18cm, also makes its Hong Kong debut and is available to try for $68. And if, as they say, oysters are aphrodisiacs, what kind of punch is packed by that little monster?

Teo’s (Shop A & E, Observatory Food Court, Observatory Terrace, TST, 2369 0701) neon lights and flashy décor are far from the image of a traditional rustic trattoria, but Italian flavours are still at the heart of its menu. The Alla Milanese style swordfish ($178) and frittura mista ($98) – an assortment of squid, prawns, scallops, and mussels deep-fried in a flour, breadcrumbs and basil batter – sounds mouthwatering. The owners, an eclectic group of artist friends, suggest complementing the fish dishes with a good bottle of Italian Chianti ($400 a bottle).

Jack’s Terrazza Ristorante opens its second outlet in Soho East at the end of September. For an unusual way to enjoy traditional homestyle Italian fare, swing into your dinner on one of the café’s distinctive suspended benches. Find Jack’s at Shop GA, 26 – 31, 55 Tai Hong St, Lei King Wan, 2885 6728.

Peanuts character Charlie Brown and his cheeky sidekicks are the stars of a new line of cafés invading our fair city. The Charlie Brown café newest branch can be found in TST and occupies a grand 3,000 sq foot space over two floors. Try one of the cappuccinos – they come complete with a chocolate sprinkled image of Mr Peanuts himself. G/F – 1/F, Koh Pah Mansion, 58 – 60 Cameron Rd, TST.

One of the healing properties of ginger, according to Chinese medicine, is its warmth, which aids digestion. Now, is that why Chater Lounge (Ritz Carlton, 3 Connaught Rd, Central, 2532 2509) is running a ginger and spice buffet from 3pm – 6pm on weekend afternoons from October 1? $228 gets you one fabulous digestion aid.

One of Thailand’s main draws is its tasty and distinctive food, though many non-Thais struggle trying to replicate those coconut-drenched, fish oil-fused dishes. Great’s (Bsmt, 2 Pacific Place, Queensway, 2918 9986) food promotion is aimed at helping Hong Kongers re-discover those tangy Thai flavours – its shelves will be happily yielding Thai cooking sauces, snacks and drinks until September 21.

Keeping with happy festivities, Agave (G/F Beverley House, 93 Lockhart Rd, Wanchai, 2866 3228) celebrates Mexican September with a fancy buffet of saucy specialties ($270, from 6pm) spiced up with a live mariachi band and a complementary bottle of ice-cold Corona.

Just a few more days left to catch Sun Café’s (8 Peking Rd, TST, 2375 1133) 1989 price deal, foreshadowing its closing on September 18. In November a whole new venture is expected but until the doors finally close on the old, buffet dinner is $198 from 6pm – 11pm.