Bittenbug’s Weblog

C and I broke our one nice meal every weekend “pact” yesterday by heading to Panda Japanese Homestyle Curry for lunch. She’s been itching to go for a long time so we made reservations. We heard from K, who stays in Tai Hang, that reservations are strongly recommended because of the limited tables available.

That was true. When we arrived, half the tables were already gone and 10 minutes later the entire restaurant of about 16 seats was filled. And throughout lunch, there were constantly people waiting for a seat outside.

I find the service here a little scatterbrained especially the younger waitstaff. The manager held the fort. When we got impatient about the long wait, (about 30 minutes, which seems average for them) I saw him going back to the kitchen and asking and seemed genuinely apologetic for the time.

Finally our sets of curries with tonkatsu and hamburger patties and a side of egg (溫泉玉子) arrived. We had gone for the mild-heat option on both. C was beside herself. She raved about the curry gravy, declaring that to be extremely similar to the curry she had in Japan during her student exchange a few years, which is her barometer for authenticity. She found it mildly spicy and sweeter than the Japanese curries at other local restaurants. She also loves how glutinous the rice is, which goes very well with the curry.

My praise was less effervescent. I certainly liked it (because I generally enjoy Japanese curry), but not as much as the one from Shiji at Admiralty, which isn’t as sweet and usually packs more heat even for mild. The tonkatsu was average, too thick and over fried, and had an odd tomatoey aftertaste. C’s hamburger patty was coated in bread crumbs, which I didn’t enjoy at all. I had half a piece and left it at that. I would’ve much preferred the UCC version really, that come without coating.

The egg was tasteless (but then again, I’ve never been partial to eggs, especially when steamed or poached). She liked them enough, but it wasn’t earth shattering for her. The bill didn’t come cheap at HK$212. Compared to the much fancier, and dare I say gourmet lunch we had the day before, Panda doesn’t scream value for money.

We strolled around Tai Hang after that, and chanced upon brix, a newly opened wine shop. No Washington wines as usual (they’re very rare in Asia, though Washington is the most prolific producer in the US), though there was a 15% discount on all wines. No doubt that was to instill loyalty among neighbourhood clients, which worked! We bought two bottles: a half bottle of champagne from Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin which we intend to drink on my birthday this week, and an Australian Gewürztraminer that has strong lychee notes.

It’s probably not the cheapest wine store but I do like shopping in the neighborhood. My family ran a few small business growing up, which relied heavily on customers on the street, so it’s always a priority to spend in the district.

There are more of such speciality shops mushrooming in the district, including a little shop on Lau Li Street that sells a small sampling on high quality beef and oysters, alcohol, foodstuff and the like. But it’s overpriced as hell. The bottle of San Pellegrino that I picked up at Wellcome for 14 dollars was priced at 28 at that store. That’s daylight robbery!

As an aside, I stumbled upon this blog – welovetinhau – and I must give it a plug to spread the love.