Aqua

Address : 29/30 F, 1 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.
Tel : 3427 2288

Every hotel and restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui competes for a slice of the Hong Kong skyline, and Aqua has undoubtedly chosen one of the best locations in town. When first shown into the restaurant, you are slightly mesmerized for a few moments while you drink in the view. With huge expansive windows and tiered seating, all guests face the dazzling cityscape and customers will be won over before they even glance at the menu. Aqua is unique in that it has 180 degree views and the sushi bar to the rear of the building overlooks Kowloon, a great alternative view of the city.

Opened on this site in 2003, Aqua has remained one of the most talked about and popular spots in the city. The space on the 29th and 30th floors of One Peking Road has three concepts: Aqua Roma, Aqua Tokyo and Aqua Spirit. Aqua Roma refers to the Italian menu, Aqua Tokyo to the Japanese menu and Aqua Spirit to the bar on the 30th floor.

Known for its unusual mix of Japanese and Italian fare, they have recently introduced a new Italian chef, Eugenio Riva, who has breathed new life into the Italian side of the menu. On this occasion, we stuck to the Italian fare but judging from the sushi platters being brought to nearby tables, the sushi and sashimi looks pretty good here. Hong Kong is a unique place in that it mixes east and west culture so easily and Aqua reflects this by mixing east and west cuisine in a very modern environment.

We started our meal with a prawn, fennel and watercress salad with orange pieces, which was refreshing and just the right size when you need to save some space for pasta. The home-made pastas on the menu are varied and tempting. Penne pasta with pumpkin and basil is a great vegetarian dish. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the pumpkin was soft and sweet with the basil obvious yet not overpowering. The grilled king prawns on saffron and vegetable risotto cake with orange and tomato fondue and lobster oil was a visual and tasty triumph that sounds more complicated than it tasted. Linguine with lobster, leek, chervil and cream sauce had a great overall flavour. The lobster was plentiful and worked well with the cream-based sauce.

The gigantic dessert platter can serve up to four people and consists of small portions of tiramisu, lemon panna cotta, plum wine jelly, warm chocolate brownie, mango sorbet and a variety of ice cream. It is presented beautifully with roses and a lighted candle in the centre, enhancing the already romantic atmosphere of the restaurant at night.

There are function rooms available at each side of the restaurant for small private parties. The crowd is a mixture of tourists, business people and couples out for special occasions. Aqua Spirit is filled with a young well-to-do crowd at the weekends. Aqua is open for lunch from noon to 3pm Monday-Saturday, noon to 4pm on Sundays and for dinner from 6pm to 11pm every night.

Jimmy’s Kitchen Address : Shop C & C1 G/F Kowloon Centre, 29 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Tel : 2376 0327 Jimmy’s Kitchen is the oldest and one of the best known of all Hong Kong’s restaurants. Celebrating 80 years trading this year, the group has marked the occasion with a new premises in Tsim Sha Tsui. They haven’t moved far though, just to the ground floor of their former premises on Ashley Road. Jimmy’s Kitchen was originally based on an American/English style diner in Shanghai and since it arrived in Hong Kong all those years ago, it has remained a favourite with expats and locals alike. The dark wood paneling and the spacious booths give it a relaxing comfortable vibe, and many pictures and trinkets from the previous premises have been retained to give it that familiar feel. The menu is wide and varied, offering burgers, Indian curries, seafood and beef stroganoff and there are some new additions to coincide with the official opening.

Malouf's

Address : Shop R008, 3/F, Civic Square, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Tel : 2810 8585

Malouf’s takes its name from the world renowned chef Greg Malouf, an Australian of Lebanese descent. Although Malouf himself does not work here, his protégé Robin Sutcliff is the resident chef and the menu was created by both men.

Situated in Elements mall - the new shopping complex and mini culinary hub in Kowloon - Malouf’s is in a great location in a large open terrace with space for guests to eat outside when the weather is right. There is a small bar area on the ground floor, perfect for a glass of wine and a snack. The main restaurant is upstairs and the décor is beautiful, with a full mosaic ceiling and plenty of cushions and soft fabrics evoking that wonderful Middle Eastern feel.

The menu can be described as modern Middle Eastern and Arabian. We began our meal with a very delicious and varied starter platter consisting of a crab and cous cous cigar, Syrian red pepper dip, chick pea and almond falafel, merguez sausage roll and a sweet and sour eggplant salad. This platter feeds two and is a great choice if one of your party is vegetarian. We followed the platter with the eggplant and fig ravioli with a garlic yogurt sauce and I would recommend this to everyone who visits Malouf’s. I didn’t expect the ingredients to complement each other in such a dramatic way but it was by far the most interesting dish I’ve tried in a while. Before the main, the chef sent out a special entrée of spicy crab, tomato and chickpea soup with crab and preserved lemon tortellini. This dish also came with fresh lime and when squeezed the fusion of flavours was magnificent and managed to whet our appetites even more for the next course.

The prawn and mussel tagine with cous cous is one of the stars on the menu and is so carefully presented that you might feel guilty disturbing it. However we got over this once the aromas hit us and tucked in with gusto. The king prawns and the mussels were succulent and the tagine sauce looked like it was going to be hot and spicy but turned out to be subtle and robust. There is much use of ginger, paprika, garlic and other aromatic spices throughout the food.

The desserts maintain the same very high standard as the rest of the food. The iced pomegranate with watermelon salad, lime syrup and pistachio halve is fruity and light and completely cleanses the palate. The second dessert we tried was butterscotch ice cream with kataifi shredded pastry, a traditional pastry made with nuts and soaked in honey. If you like really sweet things, then you will love this.

On the drinks front, there is a fine wine list and a cocktail menu with over 160 varieties. Malouf’s is open daily for lunch from noon to 3pm and for dinner from 6pm to 11pm.