Naughty Nibbles Across Hong Kong

Pottering off for a nibble? The good news is, there are lots of darling deals going on in Hong Kong. The bad news is….which one to choose?

 

If new restaurant Linguini Fini was a guy, he’d probably be a super cool date! Hip, fun and casual, it’s thing is authentic, good-value Italian food without the stuffiness; plus, it has the derring-do to introduce  ‘nose-to-tail’ cuisine. Using entire hormone-free pigs, Executive Chef Vinny Lauria creates a predominantly pork and pasta menu that makes use of every porcine part literally from nose-to-tail. Signature dishes include “Nose to Tail Bolo” – Pork Testa, Veal & Oxtail Ragu, and Rotisserie Porchetta – fennel-rubbed belly and rump with Chili Mostarda. Lauria also cures his own meats and homemade sausages. Desserts are done by pastry chef Jack Chua, formerly of Nobu New York and Maison Boulud Beijing. Expect Hot Chocolate Affogato, graham cracker biscotti, marshmallow gelato, and classic Italian favorites such as Apple Crostata with apple caramel. No reservations accepted. Tel: 2857 1333

 

Shameless drinks and big food on tap at Gourmet Burger Union (GBU)! Recently opened on Wyndham Street, this is the place to go for premium burgers with in-your-face names and in-your-face flavours such as The Dirty Sanchez ($98) with Angus beef, Monterey Jack cheese, spicy beef chili, fried egg, jalapeno peppers, guacamole, sour cream, tomato salsa, and baby greens; and The Terminator ($148),  comprising 2 x ½ LB Prime Angus Beef with Bacon, Provolone Cheese, Grilled Onion, Portabello Mushroom, Jalapeno Peppers, Dill Pickle, Tomato, Mayo, and Smokey Barbecue Sauce served with a shot of tequila! Drinks are equally overwhelming – spiked milkshakes (HK$68), jumbo shooters (2 oz shots at $65), jelly shots ($38) and – faint! – 1-litre Long Island Iced Teas ($180)! Enter only if you’ve run a marathon or are throwing your diet to the wind. Happy Hour descends Monday to Friday from 4pm to 8pm wicking 30% off the bill and Wednesday Ladies’ Night gives you free vodka mixers from 9pm till midnight. Not enough goodies? Drop in between 6-7pm weeknights for Jello Shooters and mini-burgers on the house! (41 Wyndham Street, Central. Tel: 25252028)

 

If you’re sweltering in Hong Kong’s summer, Italian/Indian restaurant Duetto’s got a light menu both on the bank account and on your tummy too. Starting July, Duetto got both authentic Italian and exotic Indian dishes in a special three course dinner menu for $278 with a complimentary glass of Farnese Italian Wine or King Fish Beer. What’s more, every fourth person dines free on their Italian Executive Lunch Set ($228) and the Indian Lunch Buffet ($98). Yummies include Parma Ham with Cantaloupe Melon, Tandoori Chicken Tikka, Linguine Pescatora, a delightful linguine with seafood in white wine herb sauce and scrumptious Lamb Roganjosh with Garlic Naan. (2/F, Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Wanchai, HK. Tel: (852) 2598 1222)

 

If you must count your calories, make sure they count!! Diet in style at Rocksalt from 1 July. Slurp up freshly shucked Aussie oysters and wash it down with glasses of wine at Stanley Bay. Prices are friendly: three oysters and a glass of wine ($108); six oysters and 2 glasses ($198); a dozen oyster and a bottle of wine at $388. (25 Stanley Market Road, Stanley, Hong Kong. T: 2899 0818)

 

Ooh – we like this! NOBU InterContinental Hong Kong has rolled out a treat for lunch with its ‘Create your own Bento Box Lunch’. For HK$348, you pick your favourite NOBU dishes (3 hot dishes and 3 cold items) and enjoy them Japanese lunch box style. Toss in another HK$120 and you get free-flowing NOBU sake with it too. Nice! Then follow that up with a Sweet Bento (HK$180) comprising three desserts – Molten Chocolate Cake, homemade Mochi and Wagashi – before you plunge back into the corporate battlefield again. Another good deal – it’s 6-course Lunch Omakase (HK$588 or about S$92).  Definitely need to get there and eat up! (18 Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: 2313 2323)

 

Is Sunday the end of the week, or the start of another? Whichever way you see it, either is justified reason to potter off to The Pawn for “Sugarcane Sunday” from 6-10 pm. On the menu are eight special mojitos (HK$70) to perk up your mojo while you sip to the beat of the in-house percussionist. For something a little harder, have the tasting flight of Flor de Caña (HK$240) – 1oz (about 30 ml) servings of the premium rum including the four-year-old Extra Dry, the seven-year-old Grand Reserve and the 12-year-old Centenario. People in the hospitality and service industries get added perks – they pay only $60 for each Mojito and $220 for the Flor de Caña tasting flight! Is it time to bring out our maracas yet? (62 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Tel: 852 2866 3444)

 

More drinks on the loose! Lan Kwai Fong restaurant Gold by Harlan Goldstein has launched weekday ‘Happy Hour’ at its stylish al fresco terrace. Spirits, wines and select house cocktails at HK$55 on Monday-Friday from 5-9pm.  Spanish tapas are what you get for nibbles here – black blood sausage, crispy Iberico 5J ham courgettes, chicken liver bruschetta, Angus beef tartare, Spanish meatballs and a mini version of Goldstein’s signature HG burger. (Level 2 LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2869 9986)