The Peninsula Hotel - Hong Kong - review

Name:  The Peninsula
Address: Salisbury Road, Kowloon
Hong Kong

(852) 29202888

Food: European, Cantonese, Northern Chinese, Japanese, French,

Average price: $250HK for Traditional Peninsula Breakfast and$268HK for Afternoon Tea.

Complimentary: Water.

We ordered: Four servings of the Afternoon Tea Platter.

This was perhaps the nicest afternoon platter I have ever had. Nothing was stale, dry or tasteless. My favourite items were the gorgeous scones studded with plump sultanas and the miniature chocolate tarts oozing with passion-fruit curd. Even the boys ate everything, right down to the pink marshmallow topped strawberries.

I also wanted to put in a mention for their Peninsula breakfast which has been my favourite hotel breakfast to date. I particularly loved their Bircher muesli. Here's a few snapshots.

Bircher muesli with berries, pancakes with apricots and syrup, fruit salad, eggs with bacon and potatoes, mixed Danish pastries.

Service:  Balanced. The service was attentive without being obtrusive. The staff were efficient, friendly and the food came out quickly.


Atmosphere: Colonial glamour. The floors are marble floors with large patterned rugs in the eating areas. The Lobby is filled with gilded columns, large potted ferns, ornate ceilings and gorgeous paintings all in neutral warm tones. The seats are dark wood with a royal blue fabric. Despite having a rather luxurious design and staff to open all doors for you  the atmosphere is rather relaxed and mellow.

Parking: Limited - take a cab or train.

Website: http://www.peninsula.com/Peninsula_Hotels/en/default.aspx#/Hong_Kong/en/

Hours: Daily 7am - 12:30am (for the Lobby), 2pm-7pm for afternoon tea

Would I return: Yes - for breakfast.

Hutong - Hong Kong - review

Name: Hutong

Address: 28th floor, 1 Peking Rd,
Hong Kong
+852-3428 8342

Food: Northern Chinese

Average price: Minimum $300HK per person (Around $40AUD).

Complimentary: Mung Bean and Preserved Vegetable

We ordered:

Pig throat and leek salad with coriander and sesame oil

The boys thought this was a touch bland and found the pig throat texture unpleasant.

Sliced pork with beef rolls pork cheek rolled with minced beef with mashed garlic

This was ok, nothing special.

Vegetarian spring rolls with mushroom served with scallion

I found these well cooked with a great crunch and rather tasty filling, they were yummy even without the dipping sauce.

Crispy deboned lamb ribs

These were ok, though a touch dry.

Grouper in Szechuan chilli

Very spicy and generous serving size.

Egg white fried rice with conpoy and spring onion

Not much flavour. R found the texture a little too crunchy.

Minced pork with fennel seed dumplings

Everyone thought these were nice.

Mixed vegetable dumplings

Whilst they had a nice consistency, without the garlic vinegar sauce they had no flavour of their own.

Apple rolls with fried lotus

These were merely ok - they needed some other flavour besides the apple and perhaps a sauce or ice cream for some wetness as it was a rather dry dish.

flower drink - rose, lychee, honey and cinnamon

Way too heavy on the honey for me which made it too sweet to drink, it increased my thirst. The blend of fruity lychee, spicy cinnamon and fragrant rose was nice though.

Kiwi cocktail

Very strong alcohol wise.

Service: Not great. We had to keep pouring our own wine bottles but the food came out at a decent pace.

Atmosphere: Too dark to see my shoes. Whilst the foyer had a some gorgeous red lanterns, a decorative rickshaw and a stunning view of the harbour (and later on, the laser show), overall it was far too dark, I could barely make out what the rather uncomfortable chairs even looked like.
The noise level was quite low, perhaps the dark lighting just made everyone a little quieter than usual.

Parking: Limited - take a cab or train.

Website: http://www.aqua.com.hk/

Hours: Daily noon-3pm and 6-11pm

Would I return: No.