Pret-a-Manger, Tai Koo Place, Hong Kong

This is my first entry of a lunch whilst at work. I went to Pret-a-manger on Thursday, which is a well known sandwich chain back in UK but I'm not sure if this Asian review is the first of a possible continental compare and contrast? (Editor in chief of LQ:ED, please confirm.)

The store is located in an office building of the Tai Koo Place commercial development so at lunch time is was a busy area full of office-types. Most tables inside the restaurant were taken up by patrons but there was not a massive crowd looking at their product selection on the shelves.

I decided to go for a take away and began looking at at their shelves to decide what to buy. Interestingly their standard sandwiches all come in single 'triangles'. I suppose this means you can eat as little or as much as you want and mix and match if one so desires. I decided to go away from a standard triangle and chose the 'Bang Bang Chicken' roll.

When I turned towards the counter to pay I noticed the soups they had on offer. Of the three that were displayed I opted for the Winter Green and Bacon. Whilst at the counter I decided to buy a third item, Curry Lime Pickle crisps.

The service was friendly and quick at the counter and I was away back to my office without much hassle.

As I returned to my desk to take out my purchases I noticed there was no spoon to accompany my soup. This was not a catastrophe as our pantry is well stocked with cutlery so I managed to have my soup with a spoon.

My Lunch Contents

My roll, whilst not looking the biggest was very satisfactory. It was a wholegrain bread roll filled with nice pieces of chicken and slices of red pepper. There was a sesame dressing and the last filling was coriander, which gave it that wee kick and worked very well.

The soup was still warm even after the five-plus minute walk back to the office. Spoon issues aside, this was a very nice soup, with a delicious flavour (although I do not know what greens were used to make the soup) and small slices of bacon. I reckon it would taste even better on a colder day (it was probably 20 degrees celsius that lunch time).

Winter Green & Bacon Soup

The Curry Lime Pickle crisps were different from the usual flavours I'm used to (i.e. salt and vinegar, cheese and onion) but had a slight tanginess to them and did not seem to have that much curry flavour in them to make them spicy.

Overall, Pret-a-Manger does provide you with some nice food but it is expensive compared to other lunch options in Hong Kong as my meal cost me about 6GBP, which I reckon would be more than Edinburgh prices.

Scores:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 2/5

Overall: 12/20

Total Bill: HK$71

I ate: 'Bang Bang Chicken' Roll, Curry Lime Pickle Crisps.

I drank: Winter Green and Bacon Soup.

I wore: Standard office wear of shirt and tie.