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.  

A Tai Hing Breakfast

A fried egg, toast, ham macaroni and milk tea

Breakfast Set
$24
Tai Hing Restaurant (Tung Choi Street, Prince Edward)

I finally had a chance to step into this restaurant one morning and scarfed this meal before heading down to the island.  Originally, I thought this cost only $22 -- that price first lured me onto the premises -- but I was so satisfied with the meal that when I read the bill, rescanned the menu and realized I had misread the price, I gladly paid $24, for there I perceive much value in the food itself; besides, the decor is tastefully done for a cha chaan teng chain, and is definitely less tacky than the interior of Tsui Wah.

FYI: This restaurant chain markets its own brand of canned milk tea, which I have seen on sale in Park N Shop.

Ham and Macaroni Breakfast Set

Ham and Macaroni Breakfast Set (includes buttered bread; two fried eggs; and ying yeung)
$19
Cha Chaan Tang (Shek Kip Mei)

The restaurant at which I had this meal is right next to the laundromat where I usually get my clothes washed so sometimes I drop by for breakfast after either dropping off my clothes or picking them up. Furthermore, these days I have a greater incentive to eat at this place since the girl that I'm seeing likes macaroni for breakfast; consequently, I can scout and review this "comfort" food before suggesting that we together try the cha chaan tang out!

There is a alot of value in this food insofar as the bread is lathered in butter and the bowl is filled with macaroni and processed meat. I would gladly pay $19 for this.

Korean Pork Rice

Korean Pork Rice
$56 ($48 + $3 hot drink upgrade + 10% service charge)
Baltic Limited (Prince Edward)

I vaguely recall seeing crowds lining up to eat at this Japanese curry shop; but when I showed up that evening, only one other table was occupied, nary a crowd to be found.

If there had been a throng of hungry customers eager to try the curry, I think these ravenous customers, each and every one of them, would have been delighted and satisfied with what the shop has to offer. I certainly was pleased with my Korean Pork Rice, the meat of which consisted, in fact, more of meat than of gristle -- thankfully; and what's more, the pork tasted quite sweet, the result, I suppose, of a daring, saucy mix of sesame and kimchee spice in which the victuals were cooked. I cleaned off my bowls, plate and cup, and had my fill.

Then the bill came. The restaurant had successfully milked an extra eight dollars from my wallet, my check accounting for not only the three dollar hot drink tax but also the nebulous, always-mysterious ten percent service charge, a fee made all the more baffling because this near-empty, pseudo-local establishment, deep in the heart of Kowloon, didn't at first blush strike me as an establishment that would charge such a fee, let alone do so without any forewarning.

This Baltic company, replete with its cartoon pirates and boardroom bandits, can keep their presumption, and I will take my business elsewhere next time.

Ajisen Ramen

Tenderous Ribs Fried Rice Set

$30

Ajisen Ramen (Festival Walk)

At one of the academic conferences which I attended this spring, I received a requisite goodie bag, inside of which I found a coupon booklet provided by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Generally, I am none the worse for not using coupons, my residence after all being Hong Kong - a place where neither taxes nor trade restrictions apply, and consequently all goods and services can be bought at a relative discount. Nonetheless, I flipped through the booklet and discovered a few eye-catching deals.

My hunger yesterday afternoon left me small opportunity for anything other than a meal; and as a result, the fortuitous moment was upon me. So I picked up the handy coupon booklet, and began rifling through its pages. Selecting a 10% discount coupon at Ajisen Ramen and reading the fine print on the back to ensure its acceptance at the Festival Walk outlet, I then walked out the door and wended my way up the escalators to the food court. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The phlegmatic lady at the counter, however, wouldn't take my coupon when I tried to purchase a set meal. I had to either purchase food a la carte, or try my luck at another outlet, she said impassively. Though hiding behind a specious smile, I was a bit beside myself, because to be sure I thought this coupon would work its magic! I subsequently stepped away from the counter and positioned myself about ten feet away, my eyes still gazing on the facade before me, at which point I took out my mobile phone and called the number listed on the back of that vexing piece of paper.

The man on the other end of the line, whose ardent temperament outshone mine, quickly began troubleshooting my situation. He launched a volley of questions, and when all was answered and done, he tactfully told me that I had misread the coupon: it was valid only for use in the airport, and nowhere else! I turned over the coupon, I read the fine print more fastidiously than I had earlier in the day; and this man's elucidation hit me like a ton of bricks. That I need to read my coupons more carefully is the moral of this story.

More embarrassed than intrepid - had I used the coupon to order an item, I would have ripped off the store - I returned to the counter and ended up ordering the set meal, paying the full price. The fried rice was delicious.

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.

Ham, Turkey and Swiss Panini

Ham, Turkey and Swiss Panini
$40
Delifrance (Stanley, HK)

Not all Delifrance outlets provide drinks with set meals. The restaurant in Stanley and others which are frequented by foreigners, I suspect, will skip the addition of drinks to maximize profit.