Monday, May 21, 2007

Green T House: E-fu noodle surprise

Cyberport is not one of the most exciting malls in Hong Kong. So when I first heard about Green T House (T: +852 29896036) I was not in a hurry to go check it out. But then, Saturday's plans for a outdoor BBQ dinner on Jumbo's Top Deck got nixed due to stormy weather and so our group of 8 ended up at Green T House for dinner.

Cyberport is a very quiet mall. Even on a Saturday night, the mall was practically empty. I was looking for the restaurant and actually walked into the wrong restaurant. Fortunately, one of the waiters pointed me in the right direction: "It's opposite, see the white wall." I saw the white wall, but i didn't really see the restaurant. It was only when I got closer that I saw the very subtle entrance to the restaurant. Inside, the decor was dramatic, like a theatre set. It's a bit Robert Wilson meets The Hempel, very white. There is one very long dining table. For most of the evening, aside from us, there were only 2 other diners.

Green T House is actually quite well-known in Beijing (it's actually even harder to find there), conceived and founded by Zhang Jin Jie, who in addition to being a chef of "modern Chinese" cuisine is also an accomplished classical Chinese musician. It's a combination of tea house/restaurant/art gallery/events space.

We all ordered the 8-course tasting menu at HK$880 per head. The food, while beautifully presented, and competantly prepared was slightly lacking in the Wow factor on the taste buds. There's not much risk-taking nor playfulness with the flavours. Someone in the group mentioned that, for a Chinese meal, we were lacking carbs, so asked the waiters if they could serve us some rice or noodles. The waiter then suggested they prepare some E-fu noodles for us. To which we agreed without any thought to cost. Afterall, how much can E-fu noodles cost? Well, it turns out, that a side serving (it was served with the lobster course) cost HK$140 per head!! To be fair, the truffle-flavoured E-fu noodles were the most memorable of all the dishes served, but HK$140 for a small portion of noodles is just silly. The total bill including wine came out on par with a meal at Pierre or Robuchon. Rents at Cyberport are way lower than Landmark; Green T operating on very healthy margins (but then again, they're not exactly pulling in the crowds. at least not on this particular saturday night).

Green T House is a stunning setting for a party, but be forewarned about the price of a side of E-fu noodles.

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