IN WITH THE NEW
Coming all the way from Turkey, chewy ice cream finally makes its debut in Hong Kong. Mado (Unit 47, Level 1, MegaBox, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, 2359 0190) is the first of the shops whose novelty lies in its ice cream’s texture. A knife and fork will be served with any ‘slice’ and they’ll probably need to be used. The ice cream’s viscosity comes through the use of goat’s milk and salep powder meaning that on its streets back home (though there is no such demonstration here), ice cream vendors will playfully and skillfully whip the cream around in the air, stretching out for several feet, without ever separating from the stirrer. Hopefully, such demonstrations will be making appearances locally soon… But for now, each slice sells for $35. More creative options on offer range from my dream lover ($38) and double sweet ($55) to full house ($60). Combos include the Mado mega love combo ($55) and Mado mini romance combo ($38). Mado also serves smoothies
with names like strawberry saver, kiwi kiwi, chocolate surprise and blueberry breeze (all $33). Finish up with a classic
salep drink ($25) or Turkish coffee ($20). Mado is open daily 10am-10pm.

Tokoro – Robatayaki and Bar (Level 3, Langham Place, 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, 3552 3330) opened at Langham Place on December 19. Robatayaki are Japanese restaurants which specialise in grilled foods. At Tokoro, the food is cooked behind a bar so guests can see what is on offer, and there is dedicated seating for 14 around a marbled grill and for four around the sushi bar. For lunch sets, have healthy veggies ($147) – robatayaki grilled baby vegetables and asparagus served with fresh garden leaves, tomato broth, green tea udon noodles, fried rice and dessert. Or if you’re looking for the meatier option, try the beef robatayaki ($197) – grilled Australian beef served with sashimi, baby spinach salad, pickles, homemade tofu, red miso soup with tofu, fried rice and dessert. On the a la carte, sukiyaki, eel teriyaki and sakana seafood noodle soup are all $97 each. Happy hour at the bar lasts daily from 6-7:30pm, Tokoro is open Monday-Saturday midday-2:30pm and 6:30-11pm.

Himalaya (1/F, 22-30 Tai Wong Street East, Wanchai, 2527 5899) opened at the tail end of November. Set a stone’s throw from Southorn Playground, take a break from bargain hunting through Wanchai’s markets to sample the Indian and Nepalese cuisine. Himalaya has a buffet lunch for $68 with unlimited soft drinks, lassi or tea included. This runs Monday-Friday, midday-2:30pm. On the a la carte menu, traditional dishes, like spicy sautéed lamb intestine with beaten rice ($55), may be a test of your courage, or you could go for something ‘safer’ like garlic and ginger-flavoured chicken tikka ($68) or pork curry with fresh mustard greens ($60). Himalaya is open daily 11am-3pm for lunch, 6-11:30pm for dinner.

The latest addition to the The Phoenix family is Tai Ji (4/F, The Phoenix, 23 Luard Road, Wanchai, 2330 4886) which opened at the end of last year. It’s a modern Shanghai fusion restaurant with a décor that borders on Japanese. In a relatively fresh move among Chinese restaurants, the kitchen has a vast window open to the dining floor through which diners may watch the cooks at work, while the dining area itself is suitably spacious helped along by the clean, white design. Try some of the signature dishes that include Tai Ji braised beef brisket with noodles in soup ($45), sautéed fish fillet with sweet and sour sauce ($58) and sizzling beef with leek ($68). Among their dim sum selection are Tai Ji steamed pork dumplings ($32), pan-fried pork bun ($28) and pan-fried pork dumpling ($28). Desserts include banana fritters ($36) and crispy pancakes with red-bean paste ($28). Tai Ji is open daily 11am-11pm.

Manzou (11/F, Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, 3583 1852) has dim lighting, water features at the entrance and a centralized sushi bar that all add to the classic yet modern Japanese effect. From among the house specials, try the Manzou cup ($88) – a cocktail glass of mixed cold seafood items including sea urchin and salmon eggs – or Japanese rice cake with eel ($48), cold grilled eggplant with sesame ($48) and Manzou roll ($88) – sushi wrapped in pink rice paper. Regular sashimi comes in salmon ($38), yellow tail ($78) and lean tuna ($88) among others. Dinner sets are also available, such as the deluxe sashimi set ($268) that includes salad, stewed dishes and miso soup, and the beef teriyaki set ($188) with salad, stewed dishes, rice and miso soup. Manzou is open daily, midday-3pm, 6-10:30pm.

SoHo SoHo closed on Lyndhurst Terrace back in May 2006 to relocate and is now ready to unveil its new look. The grand opening at their new address (1/F, 4-8 Arbuthnot Road, Central, 2147 2618) will be on January 7. The restaurant is designed for a leisurely and spacious experience, with a lounge area to entice even the most busy to sit and sip wine and nibble on free canapés and snacks (5:30-7:30pm with a glass of wine) before dinner. Alternatively, show up on Sunday or a public holiday for a brunch that promises to last from 11am until very late, SoHo SoHo understanding that Sunday brunch can quite acceptably start just before the sun goes down. Although the restaurant is introducing plenty of new dishes, they assure us that any previous SoHo SoHo patrons will find enough resemblance to their old favourites to be satisfied. On the main menu, starters include toasted crumpet with smoked salmon, goat’s cheese and basil ($85) or tiger prawn, apple and celery cocktail ($110). The main course might be salmon fishcake with spinach and a mild mustard and saffron sauce ($180) before dessert of lemon and lime tart ($60). There is also a snack menu for the bar and set lunch and dinner menus. SoHo SoHo is open during the week midday-3pm for lunch, 6:30-10:30pm for dinner.

After some major renovations, the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel’s Lobby Lounge (1/F, Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, 2802 8888 ext 6983) opened for business not long ago. With an open design in the corner of the lobby that is nevertheless partitioned by thin wooden pillars to maintain the privacy and ambience of the live music played within, the Lounge serves relaxing set lunches and tea sets among others. The set lunch available weekdays midday-2:30pm for $138 comes in four courses. Start with a salad and move to a soup, then the main course features five options including Brazilian beef tenderloin, Australian sirloin and Chilean sea bass. The afternoon tea set is available daily 3-6pm for $88 per person, or $168 per pair. On the menu are mini scones with raisin and chocolate, sacher torte and mini pastries, mini sandwiches with smoked salmon, grilled vegetables, cream cheese and ham – as well as tea or coffee. The Lobby Quartet, Lobby Trio and solo guitarist take to the stage daily 4:30pm-12:30am with tunes to unwind to.

BURGER BATTLES
The war for domination of the burger turf in HK is heating up with the addition of not just one of the Canadian trademark franchise, but two Triple O’s at Times Square and Shatin, a Burger King in TST and also a more gourmet affair with Duke’s Burger in SoHo.

White Spot have installed its fourth and fifth Triple O’s burger joints in HK last month. The fourth opened at Times Square (Shop B, 105D, Basement 1, Citysuper, Times Square, Causeway Bay, 2506 2600) on December 1. If you’re unfamiliar with these messy burgers, get acquainted with the bc burger combo ($63) – a bacon burger essentially, mushroom burger combo ($63) and chicken strippers combo ($53). Customize with extras including sautéed mushrooms ($10), extra cheese ($10), two extra strips of bacon ($10) and more to get your tastes just right. The fifth branch opened December 22 at Shatin (Shop 128, Level 1, New Town Plaza, Phase 1, 18 Shatin Centre Street, Shatin, 2697 4500). Other Triple O’s branches can be found at Pacific Place in Admiralty, Exchange Square in Central and city’super Harbour City in TST.

Last year was the Burger King whopper’s 50th anniversary since its inception in 1957. As part of the celebrations, the BK King himself came to HK and opened up their first downtown store in TST (UG/F, Sun Arcade, 28 Canton Road, 2191 3003). Enjoy the grand ol’ burger with a whopper meal ($37),
whopper with cheese meal ($41), whopper junior meal ($31) or whopper with bacon and cheese meal ($43). Other meals include double BBQ bacon and cheese burger ($36), single mushroom swiss cheese burger ($28), fish burger ($26) and teriyaki burger ($26).

When you call up a burger place for dinner reservations, you know something must be different right from the start. Duke’s Burger (5 Staunton Street, Central, 2526 7062) is a self-described high-end burger restaurant that applies fine dining to the humble meat patty. The burgers, aristocratically titled ‘Duke’s Originals’, can assuredly be called unique as they take the two primary ingredients in their names, the prior forms the outer patty, while the latter becomes the filling within. Such examples include braised oxtail (outside) and chorizo (inside) with Manchego cheese and saffron onions ($220), spiced lamb and lamb shank with cucumber yoghurt sauce ($180), and braised short ribs and truffle with foie gras ($280). You can get picky with your fries from a choice that includes thick-cut ($40), sweet potato ($40), chickpea ($50), spiced curly ($40) or wasabi tater tots ($60). Also available are salads from $40-$60, and dessert in the form of ice creams and sorbets ($50-$80) some of which are alcoholic. Duke’s Burger’s kitchen is open daily midday-10pm, though opening hours are flexible and patrons are welcome to have drinks at the bar after the
kitchen closes.

CHEESE AND CHOCOLATE
Celebrating winter the right way, King Ludwig (Shop 202, Murray House, Stanley Plaza, Stanley, 2899 0122 and Shop No 32, G/F, TST East MTR Station, Kowloon, 2369 8328) is offering a cheese and chocolate fondue and a raclette cheese plate until February. The TST store exclusively serves white chocolate and strawberry fondue, while the Stanley branch is dishing up black chocolate with three choices of French syrup – hazelnut, strawberry or mint. On the cheesy front, the classic cheese fondue is available with homemade bread and certain extras including cambozola, chorizo and Holland bean leaves to give the flavour that extra something. Raclette cheese, grilled then scraped onto a plate semi-melted, with potato, gherkins and pearl onions, is also on the menu.