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A local chain of Italian-style eateries. Adapted to local tastes but excellent value, very large portions and very family friendly (kids will love it).
There are about six branches dotted around Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. One is in Soho half way up the big escalator; www.fatangelos.com
A new restaurant and wine bar opened in December 2005. It is 100 metres from the main entrance to the chateau but you probably need to be looking to find it. The chef formerly worked for the Trianon Hotel in Versailles (a five star hotel) and the food is French with an inventive twist. His brother Sebastien runs the front of house. Main dishes are about 15 euros.
It's very close to the entrance to the chateau but not immediately obvious. 6 Rue Saint Julien, 78000, Versailles;
tel: 33 1 39 50 00 97; email: le-saint-julien@wanadoo.fr
Location, location, location – the Rosa Nautica has it in spades. Perhaps there are restaurants serving better food in Lima. But nowhere else comes close as a culinary event. At the end of a long pier that juts out into the Pacific Ocean, waves crashing around its pillars, the Rosa Nautica is the ultimate in sea-view dining experiences. And the food ... incredibly fresh seafood, sinful desserts ... all washed down with Pisco Sours. Many on a traveller’s budge will balk at the prices, but by the standards of most cities it is incredibly reasonable. Take one look at where you’re sitting...
Address: Espigón 4, Circuito de Playas, Lima 18; tel: 51 445-0149, 447-0057, 447-5450;
ventas@larosanautica.com
Website: www.larosanautica.com
This is the oldest traditional teahouse in HK. Straight out of the 1930s – the decor came from the original restaurant 100 years ago. The teahouse has a fantastic retro atmosphere. There’s excellent tea, great dimsum at lunchtime and at night the food is good, but it can be quiet.
Luk Yu is straight out of the movies, and is the actual scene of an old-style triad killing.
24 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong; tel: 852 2523 5463
The most luscious and incredible curry in the world. Only two exist in the world, one in Delhi and the other in Kathmandu. The food is traditionally from north Punjab and blends foods from the border of India and Nepal, wholesome, meaty and very, very delicious. The naans are big enough to cover a table; the meat is so, so tender and delicious with tempting spices. Whenever l am in Delhi or Kathmandu l always go ... a full refund from me if you dislike it.
Soaltee Crowne Plaza; tel: 771 427 3999; www.soaltee.crowneplaza.com/dining/di03a.html
To the North-East of the Happy Valley racetrack is the Happy Valley market, a concrete covered market which is thronging with all sorts of food during the day. However go upstairs and there are a couple of open courts with the ubiquitous plastic stools and tables where remarkably cheap and fantastically fresh food is served. Get your tea in a beaker and hit the fish in particular, but frankly you can afford to buy so much at the prices just to have a bit of everything.
Happy Valley, north-east of the racetrack, Happy Valley tram.
The central square of Marrakech. It is fantastic, especially in the evening. Smoke rises up from the dozens of food stalls which all offer beautiful piles of vegetables, merguez sausages, kebabs, tagines and more. The cooks will call to you as you walk by, but take your time as you're protected by the watchful eye of the tourist police. When you've chosen, sit down and watch as they theatrically pour out mint tea for you. Bread and sauces are provided. Point out what you want cooked, and then prepare to be defeated. About £5 for much more than two people can eat.
In the daytime fresh juices are on offer. Orange for about 10p, mandarin/clementine for 20p.
The medina offers everything, from dried rose petals to the thuya wood ornaments, and sweets,but was the only place where I was groped and pestered.
And down the road from Djemaa el Fna (the Koutobia Mosque side) is a lovely hammam. Segregated times (so men go in the morning, and women in the afternoon). From Koutobia cross the main road as if you are going to Djemaa el Fna. Take the narrow side road, and follow it down. About 500m down on your left is the hammam. A very cheap, very interesting and relaxing experience.
The centre of Marrakech - you can't miss it.
Fantastic restaurant in Civitella Marittima. Never had a better meal in a more beautiful place.
In Civitella Marittima, 35km south of Siena, Tuscany, the village where we rent a vacation rental and where we will most certainly go back next year.
Go here for some of the finest curry outside India. On the steps outside, men with business cards might haggle with each other for your custom, but most of the restaurants inside the Chungking labyrinth are well worth checking out. Go in large groups so you can share as many dishes as possible.
The prices are excellent too: You should be able to feed five people for no more than £30 (under 500 HKD).
Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
American Peking Restaurant on Lockhart Road for Peking duck (no need to pre-order) and all day dim sum at the Luk Yu Tearooms in Stanley Street, Central. Two musts for any visitor to Honkers.
Amercian Peking - Wan Chai MTR (Exit A4)
Luk Yu - Central MTR (Exit D4)
A really friendly but quiet little place, which, while slightly on the expensive side for mains, is unmissable for the chocolate cake – the best in Bolivia I've found (five months and counting…)
Sucre, about two blocks away from the plaza - just ask someone
A hidden first-floor restaurant with authentic German food. Yes, I know it’s German but it’s amazing and very popular with locals and bizarre expats who treat it as their own and welcome anyone who enters its tiny door.
After the good food try Ned Kelly’s down the street, where the band is the best in HK at what they do. Good old sing alongs and classics that keep the crown entertained well into the night.
Weinstube: First floor, Ashley Rd, TST, Kowloon
Ned Kelly: street level on Ashley Rd
Both are reachable from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR
I stayed four nights in San Francisco in September and ate at a lot of great places. However Alfred’s stands out for a number of reasons. My guidebook recommended it as the best steak house in San Francisco. However not only is it great steak, it’s a very lovely old-fashioned romantic restaurant. It’s full of red velvet banquettes, large tables with white linen and white aproned waiters.
I had the 14oz (that’s the smallest they did) sirloin with mash and my boyfriend had the Porterhouse 20oz, which is a speciality - he could only manage half as it literally took up the whole plate. The bar is also lovely to have your coffee or for a pre-dinner drink - they specialise in single malts.
659 Merchant Street, it's located between the financial district and Chinatown on Market and Kearny and is not really near any other restaurants so you'll have to look hard. My taxi driver didn't know it so make sure you take a map; tel: 415 781 7058; www.alfredssteakhouse.com/
Fabulous restaurant on Lantau Island. There’s an enormous patio (stoep) under the trees on a wide, sandy beach, serving South African food (interesting, quite delicious with a Malay influence, and some of the best bread I have ever tasted).
Really friendly staff with a good, relaxed approach makes for a welcome break from the frantic pace of Central. Great stop-over on a day trip to Lantau for a long lunch, some sunbathing and swimming.
Near Tong Fuk village, Lantau Island
Vegetarian south Indian restaurant with several north Indian dishes. Dosas and sweet lassis are wonderful. Very good value. Staff are great.
61 Mody Road, Mirror Tower, Kowloon
Lygon Street: Italian restaurants
Victoria Street: Vietnamese restaurants
The area of Brunswick (for example, Sydney Rd): Lebanese and Turkish restaurants
The area of Richmond: Greek restaurants
The area of Armadale (for example, High St): Japanese restaurants
And obviously Chinatown for Chinese restaurants
This is a funky, decadent Belle Epoque style cocktail bar, that does really lovely snacks (Thai fish cakes, Tandoori chicken, etc) – and the cheese platter, with caramelised figs is just perfect with red wine.
405 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Get yourself down to Happy Valley racecourse (Causeway Bay MTR station) on a Wednesday night for the horseracing.
A one of a kind setting, and one of Hong Kong's favourite past times. Nearly everyone in this town loves a flutter. Minimum wager HK$10, less than a pound, and all profits are reinvested in the community, so you can soothe your conscience as well.
Good selection of food to suit western and Asian tastes, and beer readily available.
As expensive or cheap as you want it to be.
As mentioned Causeway Bay MTR station, Exit A, then a short walk to the race track. It's on the maps inside the station and is about a 5-10 minute walk
Jah Mama is a take-out restaurant (with minimal seating) located in the trendy East Village. The emphasis is on authentic home-style Jamaican cuisine with gourmet flair, a true sense of ethnic cuisine, influenced by the variation in culture and ethnicity of the people living in that region of New York. The menu is diverse and the prices are amazingly affordable for the quality of food provided. It is a great place to eat in a refreshingly clean atmosphere combined with its excellent and interesting food that is both tasty and healthy.
199 East 3rd Street, between Avenues A & B (Alphabet City);
Nearest train stations: Essex Street (J,M,F); 2nd Ave.(F,V); tel: 212 228 2663
Take the MTR (rail system) to Choi Hung station, then get a 1A bus to Sai Kung all the way to the bus terminus at the seafront. The restaurants are right there and all of them are good. Someone on the staff usually speaks English.
For coffee, wander along the front away from the terminus to where it meets the road, turn up the road and you'll come to a big square, where all the action happens. There are several cafes there where you can sit out. Jaspa’s coffee is the best.
Another way to spend the time (you could combine the two) is to take a taxi from Sai Kung (it costs very little) to Pak Sha Wan. Tell the driver you want to go to the pier.
On the pier, boat people will approach you. For HK$10, you can jump on one of the kaidos (little boats) and they'll take you five minutes to Trio beach. It's a government run one, which means it's shark-netted and has a loo and a very basic cafe. Walk along the beach from where the boat drops you to the second little beach – it’s always emptier. There's a kids playground up the steps beside it. The boats keep coming back and forth all day. Just keep an eye on which flag yours was carrying, as a way of identifying it.
It’s a lovely spot to watch the big sail boats and the tycoons’ yachts from.
Note: there are no places to stay in Sai Kung, but if you get stuck out late you're only a $200 taxi ride via the Eastern Tunnel from Central.
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