When it comes to alfresco dining, there are only a handful of such restaurants in Hong Kong. It might have to do with the humidity and heat during the summer time or perhaps pollution or lack of financially feasible real estate. I was introduced to this restaurant on my friend's birthday lunch during one Sunday afternoon few weeks ago when the temperature started to drop below 30C. The place is not the easiest to find because it is tugged somewhere in
Ap Lei Chau . For me it was a definite occasion to make it all the way to there.
It was alfresco alright but not exactly I imagined it. The outdoor dining area was basically in the middle of a pathway between the Hung Shing Rest Garden. So we were facing facing the park. The indoor section was nicely decorated with some Mediterranean touches. There aren't many authentic Mediterranean cuisine in Hong Kong and I was kind of excited when scanning over the menu, hoping to feel satisfied at the end of the meal. While waiting for all my friends to arrive, I ordered the
Kronenbourg 1664 to chill myself down from the walk / exercises I did in search for this place only minutes ago.
(1) Mezze Platter (Humus, meltzanosalata, with tabouleh, tarama and pita bread)
Humus dips! Yum!! It was a great way to start the meal. Among the various sauces / dips and bite size items, I like the tarama dip which was made of carp roe. Together with the pita bread ... hummm ... wonderful!
(2) Keftedes (Minced lamb meat balls in herb tomato sauce and cumin topped with yogurt)
The herb flavors were very strong and complex but the texture of the meat balls were not bad, slightly chewy as well.
(3) Bakaliaro Keftedes (Cod Croquettes on cream garlic sauce with lemon)
A very creamy garlic sauce indeed with a rather strong flavors to it. The cod croquettes were filled with mashed potatoes as they should but there were only traces of cod and its flavor in there unfortunately.
(4) Oxtapodaki (Grilled Octopus salad with steamed potato topped with olive oil)
Octopus was freshly grilled but overly chewy! Not much of a salad if you ask me; a little more generous would not hurt in my opinion.
(5) Lambraki (grilled whole seabass with steam lemon potatoes and thyme)
The savory smell can be detected meters away with the fish on the sizzling hot plate. flavor wise it was good but the meat was a bit too dry to my liking. I like my grilled fish the way it was served, with the lemon juice. For some reasons, I enjoy de-boning fish, it is fun!
(6) Sardelles Sth Skara (Grilled sardines in vine leaves marinated with lemon and fresh oregano)
The grilled sardines were more moist than the seabass, perhaps because it was wrapped in a sense. I still preferred the seabass because it was more meaty and seemed to have a strong fish flavors compared to this one.
(7) Pork SouvlakiToo chewy and just a few tiny pieces of them!? Not suited for sharing. Flavors were alright but meat was just too chewy! It took quite a long time before it was served as well!
(8) Pasxhati (Leg of lamb slow roasted and grilled with bulgur)
A delightful surprise indeed. Not only was it rich and deep flavor, the texture was just right, tenderly chewy! We ordered two dishes at the end.
(9) Bifteki sth skara (grilled Merguez Burger with pita bread, cucumber, red onion and sour cream)
Interesting looking burger but rather hard to share. The meat patty was surprising tender and rich in flavors, lamb to be exact. Merguez can be made with lamb, beef or mixture of both according to wiki and the one we had was made with lamb. I think it was the sour cream that I really liked and it was a great match in terms of the marriage of flavors.
(10) Kotopoulo Pastitsatha apo tin kerkyra (clay pot chicken roasted in fragrant tomato sauce)
This dish can served up to two people as suggested or in our case, over 10 people! The clay pot was huge and contained a whole chicken. The chicken was heavily seasoned but slightly too dry. The rice was alright but not enough flavors, quite a bit of contrast compared with the chicken itself.
