Mexican Pride
Although some people say Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican independence, it actually commemorates the Battle of Puebla won by Mexican forces over the French on May 5, 1862 – in any case, in many lands, it has become a day for celebrating of all things Mexican. In Mexico itself you’ll find feasting, music and dancing, but here in Hong Kong, Cinco de Mayo mainly connotes food and drink specials regardless of whether you are Mexican or not. This May 5, Coyote Bar & Grill (114-120 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 2861 2221) and Caramba (26-30 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong, 2530 9963; Discovery Bay Plaza, Discovery Bay, 2987 8280) will serve up drink concoctions with a Jose Cuervo Tequila base to chill you down in the hot weather, together with favourite appetizers such as quesadillas with mixed mushroom ($59) or simply nachos ($88). Agave Tequila Y Comida (93 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 2866 3228) has a special taco buffet for $98 all night matched with a two-for-one offer on a bottle of Corona. No festive special is planned at Que Pasa Tequilar Bar & Cantina (G/F, 15 Knutsford Terrace, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2316 2525), but the restaurant has recently launched a new menu with all the classic treats as well as some new dishes to check out. Taco Loco (G/F, 7 Staunton Street, Central, 2522 1262) is not too extravagant but, hey, it is Soho; you cannot escape from the cheerful crowd. Alternatively, consider Izote (8/F, LKF Tower, 55 D’Aguilar Street, Central, 2905 1168) for a more classy Mexican dining option.

Meals for Mothers
We know we should always treat our dear mum right, but Mother’s Day is a good excuse to be especially kind to her – as well as to pamper oneself a little in the bargain. Angelini (64 Mody Rd, TST East, 2733 8750) is offering a healthy four-course dinner at $690 on May 11, which includes Maine scallop carpaccio with avocado gelato and whole-wheat tagliatelle with almond pesto and semi-dried tomatoes. Following that, you have a choice of crispy Mediterranean sardines with red beet purée and capers or wood-oven roasted baby lamb with fresh herbs and seasonal vegetables. The meal wraps with an irresistible Italian sponge cake with vanilla custard and pineapple. But if you really fancy something truly substantial, head to Senzuru (G/F, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, 2523 4772) for a nine-course dinner available only on May 10 and 11. The highlight of the set is, of course, the famous sashimi with fatty tuna, striped jack and botan shrimp but you will also find abalone with sake on the menu. The set costs $1,088 per person and mothers will receive a free Color Riche lipstick and coupon from L’Oreal Paris, as well as a 60-minute tummy slimming treatment coupon from Healing Hands Spa. Meanwhile at Madison’s, Mother’s Day offers the usual Sunday brunch for $358 with sparkling wine or $258 without for adults, and a gift box of Almond Roca will be offered to every table.

For a different view, check out Bubba Gump at The Peak Tower (Shop 304-305, 3/F Peak Tower, Peak, 2849 2867) – enjoy the panoramic scenery while filling the most important woman in your family with a four-course meal including the signature America seafood sampler of chilled fried popcorn and coconut shrimp with seafood dumplings and vegetables. A choice of salad, and main course choices of ribs, steak and crab legs, Bourbon Street mahi mahi fish or crab-stuffed shrimp are also part of the meal. The menu is designed especially for four people at a reasonable $888 – the whole family could be in for a Forrest Gump-themed experience. At Jimmy’s Kitchen (G/F, South China Bldg, 1-3 Wyndham St, Central, 2526 5293; G/F, Kowloon Crt, 29 Ashley Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2376 0327), a four-course dinner at $398 per person is enticing with some of your favourite classic flavours.

The French and Vietnamese fusion eatery Rice Paper (Shop 3319, L3, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, TST, 3151 7801; 413-418, Podium 4, World Trade Centre, Causeway Bay, 2890 3975; Unit 1-20, L1, Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong, 2265 8615) is also affordable and worth a visit. For $268 per person from May 8-11, you can get a Mother’s Day only ‘beauty mama appetizer’ with foie gras rice paper roll, soft shell rice paper roll, pomelo salad, chicken satay and mini sugar cane prawns, soup and two main courses for four persons, three mains for five people or four for six people. If you are thinking of a mum’s day gift, consider agnès b. DÉLICES’ low sugar dark chocolate ($98/100g).

The lovely temptation comes with mixed nuts including almond, hazelnut and cashew and is supposed to be good for reducing blood pressure and preventing heart disease. Or go for the dark chocolate gift set ($99/set) with the new blueberry and raspberry dark chocolate in packaging featuring red roses photographed by the French designer.

New Dishes
It’s now spring, and we all look for a refreshing start. Thai Delight (117A, Lockhart Rd, Wanchai, 2877 7983) is offering a new menu from executive chef Liamsrijoan Bunhiang. Our choice would be the spicy and sour salmon salad – we just can’t resist the fatty salmon cube in the refreshing sauce. The salad is really spicy so eat it carefully! House specials as recommended by the chef include deep-fried prawns wrapped in noodles served with mayonnaise ($78) and deep-fried minced fish with green mango ($118); both are crunchy and good with a beer. We’ve also tried the new menu at the recently renovated Zest (57 Wyndham Street, Central, 2526 7993) – the wines are fine and mains like the crispy-skinned 30-hour pork belly, basil and brioche crusted poached salmon and the beef fillet with truffle mash are as delightful as they were before the renovation.

Just a bit of information for lunch-goers: the three-course set lunch at Zest is now priced at $108 per person for a main choice from confit of chicken with soft parmesan polenta, cherry tomatoes and black olive red wine sauce, the pan-seared fresh fish with crispy potatoes, grilled asparagus and saffron aioli, or a pasta with scallops, button mushrooms, roasted red peppers and rocket pesto.

Most people would agree that Dreams of the Red Mansion is one of the greatest pieces of Chinese literatures of all time. And it has so inspired the folks at Shanghai Lu Yang Cun Restaurant (11/F, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road, CWB, 2881 6669/2890 9298) that they have set up a Red Mansion Banquet offering a wide range of cuisines in a single feast. Main courses such as braised sliced pork presented as a pagoda and minced fresh chicken breast in a pumpkin case presented as a treasure chest are not only splendid in taste, but also in appearance. The lives of the rich in the novel are extravagant and so is the food in this banquet with its collection of edibles like braised shark’s fin in a golden dragon boat and soft-shelled turtle and pearl in an oyster shell on a floating lotus flower. The banquet is available through advance booking until the end of August. It costs $7,880 for 12 persons and $4,080 for six.

A new oyster and champagne menu has been launched at the New York-style G Bar. For $998, you can choose either a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut NV or Moët et Chandon Brut Impérial NV to go with 12 fresh oysters of your choice. Two glasses of champagne, and six oysters from among Virginica, Snow Creek, Eagle Rock, Tasmania, Smoky Bay and Franklin Harbour varieties, freshly flown in, will cost you $388.

Charming Cheng Chau
If you are heading to Cheung Chau for the bun carnival or simply to spend a day exploring the island’s heritage and coastline, consider that at some stage hunger will undoubtedly take you in its grip. Mindful of this, we went ahead to conduct an some of the places on the island where you can fill up with edibles that are not halfway bad.

For a sit-down meal, Indian restaurant Morocco’s (G/F, 17 San Hang Praya Street, 2986 9767) is one of the most convenient choices. Located on Cheung Chau’s main thoroughfare, the eatery is only a few minutes walk away from the pier. We recommend you eat al fresco, firstly to enjoy the sea view and the street life and, secondly, to escape the slightly claustrophobic small interior. The food is decent and priced reasonably enough to enjoy. Signature dishes, inevitably, comprise a variety of curries but we can also highly recommend the biryani. Expect to spend about $60 on a curry dish, and the weekday set lunch is priced from $35 to $50 for a main dish with rice and a drink.

A few steps away from Morocco’s is Bali Garden (G/F, 17 Pak She Praya Road, 2640 1382), a homely eatery serving quality Indonesian cuisine. ‘Homely’ seems the best epithet, as the interior looks more like that of a living room than a conventional restaurant. Favourite dishes are Indonesian spiced beef rendang ($38) and gado-gado ($25), a vegetarian salad, if you are looking for something less heavy. Personally I go for the homemade shrimp crackers – get some before you leave the island for a bit of snacking on the ferry home!

On the subject of snacks, the red-bean cake from Hometown Teahouse (or Gu Heung Café, as the Chinese name goes; 17 Cheung Chau Church Road, 2981 5038) is a must for people who visit the island. Opened by a Japanese couple, the teahouse serves homemade red-bean cakes at $5 apiece as well as various kinds of sushi rolls. The cake is better than those found in Japanese supermarkets in the city and, although the sushi rolls are not anything spectacular, they make a good snack as you walk to the beach area. Another famous snack in Cheung Chau is Kam Wing Tai’s (106 San Hing Street, 2981 3050) fish balls, which are real chunky and freshly made every day.
Alternatively, those with a sweet tooth might like to make a beeline for Katie’s Dessert (G/F, 12 Kin San Lane, 9880 3726) and Banyan Tree Teahouse (G/F, 81 Hing Lung Back Street, 2981 2668) before they take their leave of the island.