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Review:
I’m not sure what it says about a hotel that has now had a soft opening that has lasted for over a year, but it’s certainly a good excuse for not providing 5 Star service at a 5 Star hotel.
However, the Dusit Thani Lake View in Cairo is certainly well on the way to getting things right. During my stay there, my only criticisms would be that their service was a little slow, and that their showers are impossible to turn to the right temperature. As I had a bath which was functioning correctly, I wasn’t overly fussed – I think because I wasn’t expecting a first-world experience in a developing city.
Rooms: You could be anywhere in the world when you step into the Dusit Thani’s rooms, they are utterly generic. No traces of either Egyptian or Thai styling, which was a bit of a shame. Frequent business travel can be a monotonous schlep, and finding yourself in basically the same hotel room in yet another city, is actually rather soul-destroying. Butit’s new, it’s inoffensive.
Rooms are large, beds too soft for my poor old bones, utilities functional, and it’s nice to have a balcony or terrace in each one.
Bathrooms: Far too dim to apply make-up successfully. As previously noted, the showers are almost impossible to get to the right temperature.
Public Areas: Good pool and a nice hot tub. Huge lobby that is A/C’d to sub-zero temperatures, and there is the rather odd detail of putting the open bar in the lobby, which means that there are small gaggles of people standing aimlessly, cluttering up the thoroughfares hanging onto their glasses.
Food: The buffet breakfast was 5* standard and the food I had during my stay was all more than acceptable (the fresh Egyptian yoghurt was delish).
Service: There is a mix of European top management, Egyptian middle management, Thai/Egyptian operations/reception staff. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to Thai hospitality, but they were hands down more customer service focussed than the locals.
Location: The Dusit Thani is in the middle of what is called New Cairo – a half built mega-town of new huge single residences and the odd office tower, about 45mins away from Cairo proper. It is a building site and a cultural wasteland, so if you are not planning on going into Old Cairo much and just want to hang at a hotel, then the DT is a good option.
It’s also an easy ride into the airport – going both ways we got there within 30mins, which in Cairo is a massive blessing. Taxi drivers don’t really know the hotel though, so it is worth ordering a hotel pick-up from the airport to cut down on any hassles.
To give some context – it takes a good 45mins-1hour to get to Al Khalili Bazaar from the hotel.
Price: At the moment as it’s still soft opening the prices are under US$200, but that was the best price we could muster from a travel agent – going to the hotel direct was more expensive.
A word of warning – if you are going at the weekend, then make sure to check whether there is a wedding booked during your stay. The hotel holds them in the central courtyard overlooked by half the rooms – Egyptian weddings are awesome – like MTV awards ceremonies, but that means pyrotechnics, techno DJs and huge sound systems, and parties that carry on til at least 3am at top decibel. Not a relaxing way to spend a night if you are just looking for a good kip.
*one extra note is that the Spa isn’t opening until 2010.
So would I go again? If I was just passing through Cairo on the way to somewhere else I would definitely stay at the DT again, but if I wanted to spend a couple of days in the city then I’d look for somewhere closer to the action.
Address: Dusit Thani LakeView Cairo, The LakeView, El-Tesseen Street, City Centre,Fifth Settlement, 11835 New Cairo. Tel +20 2 2614 0000
Review:
So far, I haven’t been tempted to eat at Sevva, but I have been there a few times for drinks.
I’ve always been severely disappointed by their service and after my last visit have decided that I really hope no one ever invites me for a drink there again, as I’ll just have to decline.
I know well enough by now to sit at the bar if you actually want to have any kind of consistent access to service staff, but when I was there a few days ago, I was shoulder barged by the floor manager twice when I was sitting on the bar stool. They themselves had placed it next to their till and he managed this even though there was plenty of room around it.
The bar was almost empty, and yet I also had to contend with his loud ordering about of staff which he decided to do when he was standing right next to me. Why he couldn’t have done this even a few steps away I have no idea. I originally thought he was a customer, considering he didn’t apologise for molesting me, and only later realised he was staff when he was ordering the waiters about.
Next we come to price. Most cocktails are $120, plus service, which is a fairly hefty price, but the cocktails are good and I appreciate the location is plum and they want to attract a certain crowd. However, that crowd don’t expect to be served smashed up Dorritos with their cocktails, nor have to pay for a glass of water. The vast majority of bars now in HK have got their head around the idea that as it’s brutally hot here for most of the year, some customers could do with a glass of water to rehydrate before they plunge into the martinis. It’s common courtesy and a nice touch to give them a glass without charge. If even the scraggiest Dai Pai can give you a glass water FOC, why the buggery-boo can’t a supposedly refined establishment like Sevva?
The rude and perfunctory way in which my request and subsequent questioning of this situation was handled has made me never want to set foot in there again. Money grabbing a-holes, and that’s all there is to it.
Location: Top Floor Prince’s Building, Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong.
Reivew:
There were four of us for supper last night in Wanchai, and we fancied showing our new friends the delights of Thai Hut.
As previously explained, there are only a tiny number of seats there since the Po-leece stopped them from setting up tables outside, so you do take your chances. Unfortunately, last night we were unlucky, as there was an old gweilo dude slumped on a stool taking up 3 precious seats, chin on chest, snoring drunkenly away (it was only 11pm), so we had to find an alternative.
That’s how we ended up at Thai Farmers’ restaurant across the way on Lockhart Road, sandwiched between The Bell Inn (which seems to have become the pub of the moment for all the International School kids) and some low dive strip-joint.
Food: All the usual Thai staples. Large menu, pretty much as home-style as Thai Hut. Everything we had was very tasty, although not quite as punch-your-lights-out hot as Thai’s usually like for themselves. Portions were very generous, and the dips they provided with the pork neck and spring rolls were really good, as were those items themselves.
Drinks: Standard drinks list for Wanchai – beer, canned softs, a few juices. Cheap and cheerful.
Ambience: Very simple. Love the bold tablecloths. It’s a little shoebox of a place with seating for not more than 30, clean and simple, if a little rough around the edges. The only others in the restaurant were a Thai couple, one of whom was a decidedly pre-op lady-boy, in desperate need of a stylist.
Service: The food came quick, and the staff were friendly and attentive.
Price: We spent just over $400 for four of us, and we were only drinking soft drinks. We had 6 dishes plus rice. So, really rather good value!
Location: G/F King Tao Building 98 Lockhart Road Wanchai Hong Kong. Tel 2520 6607. Almost opposite Agave.
I hadn’t been to this restaurant for years, and was really wondering why after this meal. Chili Club, which is actually almost upstairs from this place, and seems to be so popular still after all these years, despite having zero ambience and mass produced tasting fare is a poor second to Thai Farmers’. This little restaurant has more authentic food, a more intimate atmosphere and is great value for money.
Review:
Went to The Turkish a couple of nights ago (real name Bahce Turkish). No idea why I don’t go there more often, as it serves seriously good food.
Food: Well….it’s Turkish. Very home cooking feel, well presented. Fresh ingredients, with the impression that everything is lovingly prepared. All the dips and sauces are fresh made, and they roll dolmas neater than Cheech rolls joints.
Very tasty marinated lamb and chicken, and the special eggplant dip is so smoky and sweet you won’t want to eat normal baba ghanoush ever again. The haloumi was great as well. Not squeaky and hard, but served with gerkins and dill, it was really good.
Drinks: wide selection of fresh teas, coffee and soft drinks. Couple of beers on tap and the rest in bottles.
Ambience: Simple, sturdy, and has tables outside which is a boon. Emphasis is on food not decor, and you’d be nuts to spend a bunch of cash on that kind of thing in Lantau, as you will never make your money back.
Service: lovely service. Humble, friendly, efficient and thoughtful (shame they don’t take over the Stoep!)
Price: Dinner was $350 for two, and they don’t charge service, so it was a pleasure to leave a big tip. We shared a mixed mezze, a separate halloumi dish and a lamb kebab, and it that was far and away enough between two of us. Good value for the quality of the food and the service.
Location: Mui Wo Centre, Lantau Island. Tel: +852 2984 0221, very close to the 7/11 opposite the bus station.
By far the best restaurant in Mui Wo. There are a couple of tasty canto places, but they don’t show as much care and attention to their food as this.
Breaking News:
For those who read my post about Lyon, I have some swell news. Monsieur Chatte, the French provision store on Bonham Strand sell two different types of St Marcellin cheese.
Do give it a go – it’s divine. Serve it cold with a good quality aged Balsalmic and some rocket, watercress or lambs leaf.
Parfait!
Monsieur Chatte, 121 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong: 3105 8077
Thanks to following Beijing Boyce, it has come to my attention that Albert Adrià of elBulli will be coming to Beijing with a team of chefs at the end of October.
Now that promises to be a culinary event of awesome proportions – hang the fact that elBulli have Michelin stars coming out of their ears, they have been voted the best restaurant in the world for the past 4 years.
Here are all the deets -but be warned, in the email I was sent from the organiser, he said they’d received 4000 emails just last week alone, so as space is limited I’d get your booking requests in smartish (although it’s not clear if it’s first come first serve).
BTW, the first two events are based on the restaurant’s cook books.
About the event:
Spain’s elBulli has been awarded the title of the World’s Best Restaurant by the prestigious Restaurant Magazine for the past four years, as well as in 2002. Led by manager Juli Solder; Chef Albert Adrià, the “ideologist” of elBulli; and Chef Ferran Adrià, frequently noted as the best chef in the world, elBullli offers the most sought-after dining tables in the world.
This October, celebrating the astounding impact these two culinary craftsmen and their restaurant have had on both Spain’s and the world’s cuisines, Albert Adrià will visit Beijing with his team of chefs to host four unforgettable gastronomic events.
Presenting book and DVD presentations, master classes, Q&A sessions, and meets and greets, together with a final guest-chef dinner, Albert Adrià, ”ideologist” of elBulli in Beijing, will be a must for industry professionals and passionate foodies alike.
A day at elBulli
Wednesday 28th October 688rmb per person NETT
VIP tables 11,888rmb for 10pax NETT
Events starts at 6:30pm
Natura
Thursday 29th October 688rmb per person NETT
VIP tables 11,888rmb for 10pax NETT
Events starts at 6:30pm
Brian McKenna and Da Dong dinner, Albert Adria guest of honour
Friday 30th October 888rmb per person NETT
Event starts at 6:30pm
A day at elBulli and natura combined 1,200rmb per person NETT
A day at elBulli and natura combined 22,000rmb per table of 10pax NETT
A day at elBulli, natura and Brian McKenna/Da Dong dinner combined 1,900rmb per person NETT
A day at elBulli, natura and Brian McKenna/Da Dong dinner combined 30,000rmb per table of 10pax NETT
If you are interested in any of the events please send an email to adriabeijing@room-bmk.com.
Reservations: This extraordinary event will no doubt be highly coveted and there are strictly limited places.
To attend, please lodge your reseration request at adriabeijing@room-bmk.com before 18 October 2009.
All requests will be answered on Monday 19th October, and due to expected huge demand we cannot guarantee spaces to everyone.
-END-
So there you have it. I only count three events, so not sure what the fourth unmentioned one is. Good luck to anyone wanting to go and I look forward to hearing how it comes off.
Unfortunately I am going to on a mission in North Africa over that week, and won’t be able to attend – so I’m a little gutted as I won’t be going to Spain in the foreseeable.
Here are all the deets – but be warned, in the email I was sent from the organisers, they said they’d received 4000 emails about this last week alone, so as space is limited, I’d get your booking requests in smartish:
About the event.
Review:
Popped along for lunch at the new Mrs Jones restaurant at the top of Pottinger St a few days ago.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Concept Creations venues so far as their service has generally been really good and friendly. However, I have to say that lunch was a bit horsey horsey tiger tiger and that’s forced me to invent a new category on my blog, (hit and miss to the those not in on the Mando reference).
Food: Italian. My companion and I opted for a 3 course set lunch.
We both had salads to begin with, which were let down by the overcooked mush of carrots, and an indifferent mix of leaves and Parma ham.
My pasta main was disappointing, primarily because it was bog-standard bought pasta – literally the farfalle I buy down at the supermarket.
Now, I think that’s a bit of a cop out. Fresh pasta using organic flour would be cheaper to make than buying mass produced dried stuff, and definitely less expensive than some of the very good quality dried pastas, and is super easy to make – so why serve your customers the boring bought stuff, when you can make a selling point out of having fresh, organic pasta instead?
My companion’s main course on the other hand was very tasty – Chicken with olive mash and a creamy mushroom sauce.
What absolutely saved my meal though was the stunning lime curd tart for dessert. Fresh from the oven. This was a stroke of genius.
Perfect light pastry, a warm delicately textured and flavoured lime filling and a really good vanilla custard creme on the side that was a great accompaniment. No holding back here – it was superb.
Drinks: Didn’t have a look at the wine list, so can’t comment on that.
Ambience: This venue has always been a nice space, the decor is warm and inviting, and the seats comfortable. It is however a bit rough around the edges.
There is paint peeling off the walls at the entrance for example, and that just confuses me – is this a new restaurant, or are they just using the space to see if this concept works before redecorating? I don’t know, but again this makes me think they have a bit of a lackadaisical attitude to this venture.
Service: The service was very friendly and attentive, although the restaurant was not busy – if it had been, then the one waiter may have been overstretched.
Cost: $98 for a three course set lunch in Central is good value.
Location: Entrance is at the top of Pottinger Street just down from Wyndham St, where Soda used to be. Upper Basement, Harilela House, 79 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: 25228118
Overall, I consider the glitches I encountered as teething problems and would definitely go back for lunch in a few weeks time.
Between the two of us, exactly half the dishes were definite misses and half were definite hits, so it would be churlish to not give them another go.
However, at the moment my vote of Caustic or Candy is to be withheld, and instead I must create a new category – mama/huhu.
马马虎虎 – ma ma hu hu; (Horsey Horsey Tiger Tiger) definition is so-so, hit and miss, passable, careless.
Review:
The three things I like most about Cecconi’s are the jade green leather chairs, their rabbit ragu, and sitting at their bar drinking Proseco on tap.
As I mostly stay in Mayfair when I’m in London, Cecconi’s is always on the list for lunch. (The Wolseley is for breakfast/brunch, Cecconi’s is for late lunch/post-shopping glass of vino), always somewhere else for dinner.
I’m not sure why I don’t think of Cecconi’s as somewhere I’d eat dinner, but it’s never even occurred to me to do it.
Since so many hedge funds have gone pop in London, I can only assume that it’s not quite so crowded for lunch, but I still prefer to go post-2pm so it’s a little less busy, and I know I don’t need to book ahead.
Food: Italian. They serve a very wide variety of dishes, breakfast through dinner. There’s something for everyone, and the ingredients are top notch.
They have a tapas bar that serves Venetian specialities all day, and the carpaccios are real good too.
When it’s cold outside nothing beats a bowl of their rich, gamey rabbit ragu, and I have to admit to usually asking for it with mash rather than pasta, and was pleased to find out the first time I asked that I am not alone in this rather Irish request.
Drinks: Their wine list has a strong bent towards Italy. There are near 20 wines/champagnes served by glass and 10 served by carafe which is very useful. Bottles of wine are all over £25, and as they are catering to the Hedgey crowd they do have a long and wide list. My usual lunching companion also very much enjoys their Bloody Mary’s.
Ambience: Lunch is always packed, and it’s best to book ahead. There are generally two types of people who come here at this time – finance bods, and ladies who are shopping on Bond Street – so it’s a mixture of mullets, gout, pearls and Birkins.
My favourite place to perch is at the bar. A wonderful solid marble affair where you can chat to the staff, see them preparing the tapas and I just like the general sociability of it all.
Service: Waiters are very friendly and accommodating in my experience – not even a sniff when I ask for mash in an Italian restaurant.
We have received short shrift when we’ve turned up without a booking bang on lunchtime though. The receptionists can be a bit jaded when they are busy…
Cost: It’s Mayfair, and it’s part of the Soho House group, so it’s not cheap. We don’t usually get out with paying less than £50 for lunch for two, and that’s keeping it to a drink and a pasta. Easy to rack up the bill if you are there drinking and snacking for a couple of hours, as it just puts you in the mood to kick back and enjoy yourself.
Location: 5 Burlington Gardens, Mayfair. Tel: 0207 434 1500
Review:
And whilst I’m on the subject of the pustulating canker on the arse-end of Lan Kwai Fong that is Rat Alley – why, oh why do so many usually sane people keep telling me that Cul de Sac serves one of the best burgers in town? And that their poutine is a revelation?
After so much insistence I did try both once and, in bamboozled exasperation, I had to inform the poor mite who had dragged me there that the burger was quite possibly the worst I’d had to endure since a pit-stop at a burger-van on the A14 outside Kettering nearly 20 years ago.
Thin, grey, mealy and tasteless – both burger and bun.
And well, the poutine was just a flabby, greasy mess.
Next time you throw caution to the wind and indulge in so many jelly shots at Al’s Diner that at 2am you are actually peeing green and finding it difficult to focus, just pop to the 7/11 or the kebab shop for your fix, instead of drunkenly insisting to your cohorts they are about to experience an awesome taste sensation if they will only accompany you round the corner and up the hill instead.
Get a grip. You are wrong.
Review and an open letter to Uncle Alan:
So when I first arrived in Hong Kong I understood that we called the place of much cheapness that was Wing Wah Lane “Rat Alley”, simply because of the rats – and believe me there were many.
I lived in Lan Kwai Fong for a couple of years on what used to be the wonderfully quiet Wo On Lane (that backs onto Wing Wah), and we used to fight pitched battles with the wily creatures on late night returns home.
More recently, Rat Alley has earned its sobriquet for a wholly different reason – the restauranteurs are the rats now, charging crazy prices for the slop they call food and serve in their establishments.
Yes, I know that the landlords will be blamed for putting up the rent – but Christ – you’re probably in the most lucrative entertainment district in Asia bar Rappongi Hills!
I’m sure there are all sorts of bar owners who would love to pay top dollar for some of that commercial space, and we’d actually have a truly pedestrian friendly piece of LKF Magaluf to hang out in. Sling a roof across that space, add some sort of ventilation and you could have an awesome year-round courtyard.
I used to have a soft spot for the crazy chap who owns Good Luck Thai (and seemed either to be preternaturally cheerful, or just perpetually pissed), but now I understand that he runs most of the establishments on that strip so competition is diminishing, and I’m not quite so enamoured as I was before.
The only reason I went recently was that some poor tourist idiot had heard it was a good place for al fresco dining and was already there by the time I’d arrived to meet him.
It’s time those restaurants went bust, and we got some proper venues in there, or that the LCSD had a moment of inspiration and set up a proper food night-market à la Singapore.
Actually, scrap that. Can you even begin to imagine the monstrosity that would be an LCSD produced “authentic” night market?
Come on Mr Zeman – if you can afford to set up LKF in Chengdu, why don’t you go the whole hog in HK and grab a hold of Wing Wah Lane too and deliver all those poor tourist saps from their misery?
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