Outback, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Outback is a chain of steakhouses (of American origin so I believe) that have branched out to Hong Kong. I was here on a Saturday at their Wanchai restaurant (which was decked out in Australian type decor) that was not that busy on this lunchtime, as it is in a commercial area.

We were sat in a booth and I ordered first before my wife as I needed to head off sharp for football game. They do a set lunch consisting a main, soup, salad and drink, so I opted for that.

The soup and salad arrived first, along with the Bushmans bread, shown below. My first impressions was that the portions looked a tad small. However the Mushroom Soup had a good flavour with small slices of mushroom at the bottom. The salad of basic leaves and cherry tomatoes was fine and came with a thousand island dressing. I was impressed with the bread, which was warm, soft and sweet.

Salad, Soup & Bread

I chose the pasta as the main, which was served in a big plate shown below. This had penne and chicken strips mixed with flavoursome pesto, herbs, peas and oil. This large plateful of food was great and very filling, loading up my carbs in time for some exercise.

So, whilst the starters looked small, the main was big and I just managed to finish the whole meal.

Pasta Main Course

Waiter service seemed rushed in that there was not much staff for the number of patrons at that time, so did not seem that friendly. They also did not have a butter knife and gave me a teaspoon to spread butter on my bread. I maybe should have stuck to the steak knife that was already laid out.

However it is not bad value given the amount of food you get for your dollar, and it is tasty fare so it would warrant another visit.

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

Overall: 12/20

Total Bill: $211, about £9 a head

I ate: Set Lunch.

I drank: Fanta, which was included in the price.

I wore: Team GB football shirt.

Petrus, Shangri-la Hotel, Admiralty

I celebrated my wedding anniversary with my wife for this entry, with a fine dining visit to Petrus, in the Shangri-la hotel in Admiralty. The restaurant is perched at the top of the hotel and views from here facing the east of Hong Kong Island are not bad at all.

The decor in Petrus is very classical and ornate, with elegant furniture of a gold and cream colour scheme and sparkling chandeliers. There's even a harp, although no one was playing it.

Condiments and the View in the background

We were given the menu and this is where it got interesting. They had a 4 course tasting menu called 'Carte Blanche' made up of 16 main ingredients, (which are split into four categories of vegetable, fish, meat and dessert) to choose from. In theory there was nothing stopping you from choosing all four dessert options. However, I went for the conventional option of choosing one category each. I also opted for a glass of white wine to drink.

After ordering, Smoked Sturgeon was served to us first as the Amuse Bouche, shown below. It was a dainty, light and flavoursome dish that had a slight smokiness to it. Slices of beetroot came with it as well for some colour and crunch.

Amuse Bouche

The first course was the Vegetable category and I chose Cous Cous, shown below, which was accompanied with some finely prepared and tasty vegetables. There were also various sauces to mix the cous cous with. The sour cream and hot sauce were really good but the cucumber sauce not so good. 

'Vegetable' Course

My fish course was Calamari. The dish consisted of two pieces, of which both pieces were great. The fully cooked piece was chewy and half cooked piece was crumbly in texture. The chorizo slice and sauce covering it was the best part, adding some spice to it.

'Fish' Course

The meat course was Chicken. This was a stewed fillet, which was tender and served with a sweet chutney. It also came with a  macaroni cheese that was disappointingly dry.

'Meat' Course

A raspberry sorbet was served in a cocktail glass to clean our palette as shown below. It was cool and sour and prepared us for the dessert course to follow.

Raspberry Sorbet

My dessert consisted of berries, meringue and mousse. The berries were of mixed variety and tasted fresh with a nice creme fraiche to accompany it. The meringue was crunchy and flavoured mouse was airy. All in all a great sweet and sour dessert combination. As I had informed the restaurant of our special occasion they wrote a message on the plate on chocolate lettering, which was very good of them.

'Dessert' Course

This was the most expensive lunch I have paid for. It is just about worth it, as the quality and quantity of food and service is great. All the food was exquisitely presented, which one would expect from this type of establishment. However, if spending that much money I would head for Caprice for a top-notch lunch.

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

Overall: 18/20

Total Bill: $1680, about £70 a head.

I ate: Four course 'Carte Blanche' tasting menu.

I drank: Sparkling Water, White Wine.

I wore: Platinum wedding band.