Review:
I’ve no idea why this restaurant is still going. One of those that should have died a death years ago.
Opened in the 70s, I presume that Red Pepper in Causeway Bay is one of the oldest Sichuan restaurants in Hong Kong and became popular as it was probably one of the only Sichuans around in those days.
Now it seems to survive on gweilo expats who couldn’t even point to Sichuan on a map, and tourists who don’t know any better than to read Trip Advisor. The management are just riding the wave because they can get away with not innovating or even providing a quality experience, (reminding me rather of the Stoep and American Peking).
It’s lazy, lacklustre and hopefully this lack of attention to what the competition are doing will result in their bankruptcy sooner rather than later.
It’s shabby, crowded with tables and the food is just not very good.
It’s also no cheaper than any number of other restaurants serving similar (but much better) cuisine in HK – San Xi Lou, Da Ping Huo, Yellow Door, Mum Chau’s in Lan Kwai Fong, Si Jie in Wanchai or even Hunan Garden, which again makes me wonder why on earth it’s still going.
Don’t really need to go into any more detail.
Avoid it.
Nuff said.
I’ll second that. I work just round the corner and have never had an urge to revisit since one distinctly blah meal there 10+ years ago.
Blah is very apt…
This place is still going because it’s listed in all the tourist guides and their food is very similar to American-style Chinese food. So when Americans come to this place, the dishes and tastes are familiar and they are satisfied. Three jobs back, I had an American boss who HAD to eat here every time he came to HK. He loved it here. He was a Vice President so we all kept our mouths shut to keep him happy.