Slim Taste

Slim Taste
9/F 11 Stanley Street, Central
Hong Kong

A friend recommended this restaurant and, two weeks later, I visited the venue, discreetly placed in an innocuous building near Lan Kwai Fong in Central.  Nestled between larger, more prominent restaurants, the restaurant is certainly a hidden gem and worth a visit if only to take refuge from the hustle and bustle of Central life.

The selling point of the restaurant is the cardboard decor.  From the furniture, including cup holders, seats, stools and tables, to the bathroom signs, everything is made of cardboard.  The scene is incredible at first blush; I certainly couldn't believe that cardboard and lots and lots of masking tape could support such an enterprise, but the impossibility is the restaurant's appeal, isn't it?  Besides, I'm sure this model has been tried in Japan (Maybe, the products were made in Japan.) and what kitsch appeals in Japan may also appeal in Hong Kong.

The food is but an afterthought when dining at the restaurant.  My friends and I marveled not at the assortment of noodles, meats and buns, steamed, fried, salty, sour, spicy, but at the tables and chairs that could support our weight and which, at that time, remained untarnished by spills, drops and other natural foodie disasters.  Nevertheless, the food was delicious and reasonably priced. (My group of six split a check of $309.)  I tried the purple rice buns, that come steamed or fried, and they were quite filling.  Next time, I will try the purple rice noodles, which also came highly recommended.  I don't think eating here will break your budget; then again, it certainly won't leave you feeling slim!

The Restaurant at 22-32 Pok Fu Lam Road

The restaurant's exterior sign suggests that all sorts of Chinese dishes are served inside.

The daily set menu: we chose plan-A (the chicken) to go with our $52 fish. 

It seems as if this restaurant does, indeed, serve everything.  Nothing, save for the fish, is priced over $40.  Good value!

One fish and one dinner set sets me and my friend back $89.  

The clear soup that comes with the set meal

This is set meal A in its entirety.  The tea was free, by the way.

Chicken, onion and liver bits

The $52 fish: this guy, according to the waiter, had fewer bones than the other fish on offer.

Fish and Chicken

$52 (fish) and $37 (chicken set meal with rice, vegetable and soup)

22-32 Pok Fu Lam Road

I was scouting this restaurant as a possible venue for an informal gathering that I and my fellow research postgraduate student coordinators were organizing for our constituents.  We had heard about this restaurant from an acquaintance, who, last evening, took me to the restaurant.  We dined together.

I found this venue suitable because there was, even at the peak dinner time between 19:00-21:00, sufficient seating for nine.  (And if not, we could always book, the cashier told me.)  The portions and the price were in the right proportion so as to offer good value. (If we order one fish and one set dish for every two people, that will cost each person only $45 dollars.)  Besides, the venue is within walking distance from campus.  

Bombay Dreams

Indian food

$928 for four people (inclusive of 10% discount)

Bombay Dreams (Tsim Sha Tsui East)

My friends and I held a farewell gathering in this dimly lit restaurant, where laughed, reminisced and feasted on a variety of scrumptious Indian cuisine. When it came time to settle the bill, my friends, who has since returned to Bombay, was able to haggle - to bargain - for the inclusion of a 10% discount. It pays to speak Hindi.

Fried Rice Tea Set

Fried Rice with Milk Tea

Inexpensive

Second floor restaurant at Harbour Plaza Resort City (Tin Shui Wai)

A huge portion of fried rice, with a drink, can be had for under $30HKD. One of the best deals in Hong Kong, if you can get to this city on its margins. The restaurant ambiance is relaxed, casual, as though you were sitting outdoors in a Latin American villa rather than inside a building in New Territories West! There is furthermore a luminous skylight; and the music is Western pop.