Business travellers in the city are in for a treat as the first-ever annual food week called "Springalicious" kicks off today, April 27, 2011. The week-long event, which lasts until May 3, is inspired by Restaurant Week in major cities around the world, such as New York, London, Los Angeles, Sydney and Toronto. Some of Hong Kong's finest restaurants are offering attractive prix- fixe menus for lunch or dinner. Below are five of the 30 restaurants participating in the event:
ARUN THAI
This sleek Thai restaurant in the new K11 mall is a sister outlet of the Arun Thai in Sydney, which was established by celebrity chef Kham Signavong. Chef Kham, who is also a TV presenter and author, specialises on dishes from Thailand’s northeast Isan region where he was raised. Arun Thai has an indoor and outdoor seating area and is offering a special five-course dinner menu for Springalicious.
Cuisine: Thai
Price: HK$658 (US$89) for two people
Special Springalicious Menu: To begin, diners will be served a mixed entrée of grilled BBQ pork, chicken satay and prawn pastry. For the second course, guests can choose from tom kha gai (chicken and mushrooms in coconut cream) or po tak (clear soup of mixed seafood with Thai spices). A waterfall beef salad with shallots, coriander leaves, mint and ground toasted rice is served in the third course and the fourth course offers a choice of yum pla isaan (north-eastern style crispy fish with spicy dressing), chu chee goon sod (king prawns in mild curry cooked with coconut milk) or klua kling gai tod (stir-fried free range chicken with kaffir lime leaves in a super-hot southern chilli paste). The traditional Thai sticky rice with fresh mango is served for dessert. With a supplement of HK$68 (US$8), diners can enjoy a glass of Dominique Portet Brut sparkling wine to accompany and compliment the meal.
Location: G/F, K11 mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Website: www.arunthai.com.hk
BLOOM
Bloom, the restaurant arm of the two-storey bar and restaurant Lily and Bloom, is the new stylish kid on the block in the energetic and ever-changing neighbourhood of Lan Kwai Fong. Styled around New York speakeasies from the Prohibition-era in the early 1900s, the bar and restaurant boast chic yet vintage décor. For the Springalicious event, the restaurant is serving a three-course dinner.
Cuisine: American brasserie
Price: HK$480 (US$61) per person
Special Springalicious Menu: For appertisers, diners can choose from a crispy fried quail, snapper ceviche or a Mediterranean salad. For mains, guests have the option of a lavender roasted Australian chicken, gnocchi with goat cheese, morel mushroom and asparagus, sea bass with basil cream or grilled flank steak. Finally, for dessert, options include a triple chocolate tart, strawberry shortcake or a mango tart.
Location: 5/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central
Website: www.lily-bloom.com
GRAPPA’S RISTORANTE
This Italian restaurant, established in 1990, is famous for its lively trattoria-esque atmosphere (despite being indoors within a mall) and the generous portions of good food made fresh in their kitchen. This classic restaurant will be serving up a hearty four-course dinner menu for Spingalicious.
Cuisine: Italian
Price: HK$428 (US$55) per person
Menu: Panko-crusted crab cake over a bed of mache, sun-dried tomato tomato gazpacho topped with avacado, lemon-zest topped striped bass with crawfish and, for dessert, fresh macerated spring berries layered with brioche and sweet mascarpone cream.
Location: Shop 132, Level 1, Pacific Place Mall, Admiralty
Website: www.elgrande.com.hk
THE PEAK LOOKOUT
If you’re looking to impress a first-time visitor to Hong Kong – a client or a partner – the Peak Lookout is the place to go for its commanding views of the city’s skyline. The restaurant offers both indoors and outdoors seating. For Springalicious, it is serving a prix-fixe menu for both lunch and dinner.
Cuisine: International
Price: HK$500 (US$64) per person
Menu: For the entrée, there is a choice between a pan-fried glazed Foie gras and a Ceasar salad with scallops, or if you want soup for your entree, you can pick either an oxtail consommé soup or a cream of wild mushroom soup. For the main course, dishes include a char-grilled veal rack or a tandoori salmon served with sizzling vegetables and naan bread. Diners can also opt for the traditional lobster thermidor and char-grilled fillet steak dish by adding HK$188 (US$24) to the fixed-price deal. For dessert, a raspberry and almond frozen parfait is part of the Springalicious menu.
Location: 121 Peak Road, The Peak
Website: www.peaklookout.com.hk
XIAO NAN GUO PREMIER
Not only does Xiao Nan Guo Premier offer panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, but is also designed to echo elements of a traditional Jiangnan garden but with a modern twist. From the zig zagging bridge that leads to little wooden pavilions to the flowers and butterflies carvings, the décor is bound to impress.
Cuisine: Shanghainese
Price: HK$500 (US$64) per person
Menu: Diners will be served a sweet and sour spare ribs and organic salad for appetisers, followed by a seafood hot and sour soup. For mains, they can choose from stewed spicy jumbo prawn with Hokkaido scallops, grouper fillets in sweet and sour sauce, crispy boneless duck with Chinese pancakes, fresh asparagus spears in superior soup or poached green house luffa melon in shark’s fin soup. The main course is accompanied with a crispy hairy crab roe cream puff. Finally, a traditional chilled silken almond milk pudding is served for dessert.
Location: 10/F, One Peking, 1 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Website: www.xiaonanguo.com.hk
For more information and a complete list of participating restaurants, visit www.springalicious.com.hk. Advanced bookings are required and all prices exclude the 10 percent service charge. When making bookings, guests should specify the "Special Springalicious Menu" in order to make the most of the deals.
Alisha Haridasani
