Tasty Treats
Rice pizza apparently originated in Hokkaido, Japan, but in Hong Kong, Toi (Shop 9, 1/F, JP Plaza, Pearl City Mansion, 22-36 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, 2895 6915) is the first restaurant to serve this interesting combination of East meets West – though the unique combo does not stop there. This summer Toi is serving a seasonal special of strawberry with ebi rice pizza (regular $88.80/large $148.80) – don’t cringe just yet, the freshness of the strawberry actually mixes really well with the warm cheese and shrimp on the pizza. To keep you fascinated, Toi also serves fruit juice in test tubes. We tried the Kyoho grape juice, which was presented in four tubes stuck into a mountain of shaved ice ($32.80). Toi might just be the sort of place you’d be sceptical to try, but once there, you become hooked.

In the mood for beer, bratwurst, and brisk oom-pah-pah music? If your answer is a hearty ‘Jawohl!’, the new Wanchai branch of King Ludwig Beer Hall [1-2 Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, 2861 0737] is the place for you. This third instalment of the German-themed restaurant boasts a large, open dining room, as well as a sizable outdoor seating area, a live band that plays every night, and numerous sausages imported from the Rhineland itself. Try the ‘gold medal’ bockwurst ($90), a hearty beef and pork sausage with a firm casing, served with a pickle, a tomato wedge, and potato salad. If you like your pig a little crispier, Ludwig’s famous pork knuckle ($145) is a huge serving of pork with nicely browned skin accompanied by sauerkraut and roasted potatoes. The few alternatives to oinker on the menu include the acidic marinated herring ($75) and thin but doughy beer bretzels ($30), or pretzels. Wash it all down with one of Ludwig’s beers and, before you know it, you’ll be ready for Oktoberfest in July.

Aptly named, Eat Together (G/F, 206 Johnston Road, Wanchai, 2893 1602), is a small eatery perfect to visit with friends. The hole-in-the-wall restaurant blends in with the other Chinese food stalls in Wanchai, except for its prominent yellow and red sign and catchy name, which prompted us to take a look inside. It is all about choices: first you choose between sour and spicy or hot and spicy soup, and then select the type of noodles to go with the soup. Next, you have an array of choices of what goes into the soup along with your noodles. We tried sour and spicy with flat rice noodles and soy sauce pork for $25. Or if you don’t feel like choosing, they also serve fried hot and spicy sweet potato noodles ($30) or your regular home-cooked style fried wanton for $12. Eat Together is open from 11-2am, making it also a place to go to after a night of partying for the kind of food that just hits the spot.

As its name suggests, Hee Kee Fried Crab Expert (Shop 1-4, G/F, 379-389 Jaffe Road, Wanchai, 2893 7565) specializes in spicy fried crab (price depending on size). The crab is covered with a combination of fried chilli, black beans and garlic and garnished with spring onions, creating a delicious combination of flavours. Other Hee Kee seafood dishes include broccoli scallops ($118) and fried noodles ($40) sprinkled with the same tasty accompaniments as the special crab dish. Hee Kee’s Jaffe Road branch has a warm ambience, an inviting choice for a meal with family and friends.

Sleek and sophisticated are two words that spring to mind when considering Izaki (3-4 Soho Square, 21 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, 2543 0505), a reconceived Japanese restaurant in Soho. Once a robotayaki grill, the space housing Izaki has been transformed into a Japanese tapas spot serving beautifully presented small plates – a table of two will probably want to order at least six or seven to make a full dinner. The crispy eel rice ($60), served in the same stone bowl in which it’s cooked, is a mouthwatering combination of crisp unagi, fried white rice, diced carrots and scallions. The kusiage fried skewers ($55), pork and leek covered in two types of tempura-like coatings (one is miso-based, the other is slightly spicy), come with tangy tonkatsu sauce and brown mustard for dipping. But the real star here is the buta-kakuni slow cooked pork belly ($60), a gloriously fatty piece of meat boiled for seven hours, then steamed for another four. The pork belly is slathered with a simple sauce of soy, sake, and what Chef Miyasako Yukihiro calls ‘honey sugar’, crystallized honey. One bite is enough to prove that small plates can still be big on flavour.

The British-themed restaurant and bar Trafalgar (5/F, 54-62 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 2110 1535) is a pleasant spot for friends to sip beer over a traditional meal inside or outside on their large balcony at any time of the day or night. Trafalgar offers set meals for lunch, high tea and dinner as well as late night snacks to cure the munchies. You can try the good ol’ shepherds pie ($85) or fish and chips ($120) or be a little bit adventurous with toad in the hole ($105), juicy English pork sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter. To complete the meal, Trafalgar’s dessert choices go to apple crumble ($65) or homemade New York cheesecake ($65).

Khana Khazana (4/F, Winfield Commercial Building, 6-8A Prat Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, 2367 0555) has opened a second outlet, in Tsim Sha Tsui. Like the menu at the Wanchai branch, this eatery offers vegetarian dishes from both the south and north of India, but makes up for the lack of discernable luxury in the Wan Chai outlet. The venue caters for up to 130 people, some in private dining rooms, with a lounge bar that boasts widescreen TVs and an open terrace that makes this an inviting place for the smokers among us. Vegetable samosa ($48) is one of Khana Khazana’s classics or, if you want to share with friends or family, the special thali is a selection of different dishes served with rice and chutney ($138). A lunch buffet with a wide selection of dishes includes one soft drink ($88/person).

Bistro on the Bund (G/F, Harbourfront Horizon Hotel, 8 Hung Luen Road, Hunghom Bay, Kowloon, 2269-7828) is offering a new weekend buffet called Travel with Tastes that lets you take a trip around the world without leaving Kowloon. The all-you-can-eat spread ($138 for adults, $68 for children under 12) includes nine different stations serving everything from Tex-Mex-style quesadillas and Italian pasta to Japanese sushi and Indian tandoori specialties. Most of the food is freshly made before patrons’ eyes, and attentive servers ensure that your water glass is never left unfilled. The bistro also has a kiddy buffet off the main dining room that serves simple finger foods like chicken nuggets and sliders on a table just high enough for children. Don’t forget to leave room for dessert -– the crepe station’s sweet creations, stuffed with fillings like strawberries, mango, chocolate sauce, and real whipped cream, are one of the bistro’s highlights.

There’s something for everyone at Shanghai Dream (Harbourfront Horizon All Suite Hotel, 8 Hung Luen Road, Hunghom Bay, Kowloon, 2269 7888), which boasts a 15-page menu full of Shanghainese delicacies like drunken pigeon ($98), deep-fried spare ribs with spicy salt ($88), and four different preparations of shark’s fin ($188-$4,280 for a 12-person serving). Icons helpfully mark how spicy each individual dish is, as well as which are vegetarian. A few specialties, like the braised or spicy salted whole duck with eight treasure stuffing ($320), require advance orders, so check out the menu on their website (www.shanghaidream.com.hk/index_E.html) before you take your trip to Shanghai.