Accents, Americans and aviaries

Breakfast is averaging around $15HKD and lunch is $18HKD at the company Sodexho-operated canteen. So I decided to splurge on dinner. Big time. Felix is a swanky restaurant in the ultra luxe Peninsula Hotel. Acting on a tip from Frommer's, I called to inquire about the special early prix fixe dinner. I was told that I needed to order before 19:00 and that I could only have the table for an hour. That seemed very rushed but there wasn't much I could do.

After racing home from work and changing into "smart casual" (no short pants or sandals I was told), I walked over to the hotel. There's a separate elevator that takes you to the 28th floor where the restaurant is. As I walked down the hall to the dining room, the hostess greeted me by name (I would have burst out laughing had she actually said "We've been expecting you") and led me to a table by a window facing Hong Kong Island. One of my waitresses had a charming British-inflected accent and gave me the choice of still or sparkling water and further flustered me by asking the brand I wanted (I chose Vitell).

After making my selection from the early dinner menu, a small basket of breads arrived. There were mini batards with a nice crispy crust and soft interior, slightly sweet sesame rolls and a cracker-like cheesy (?) flatbread. My first course was a salad with delicious contrasts: the pancetta and blue cheese provided concentrated bursts of saltiness, while the warmed dressing helped bring out the flavour of the surprisingly good tomatoes. If I had to offer one complaint it would be that thinly sliced onions and frisee are really hard to eat with a fork.

For my main, I had the seafood stew with gnocchi which also had a nice contrast of flavours and textures. The dish contained fish (overcooked), mussels, shrimp (perfect), chorizo (too salty) and gnocchi (pillowy soft). As I was snapping photos of my meal and the room's interior, the couple next to me, retired Americans on vacation in Asia, started up a conversation. Among our topics were computer security (the line of work I'm in) and the technology-savvy woman surprised me by asking whether dynamic IPs helped protect you from attackers!

For dessert, I had a chocolate and banana tart. It had an ample amount of banana, but the ganache wasn't as warm as I would have liked. The praline topping was slightly salty which worked really well. Tea, served with two teapots and a strainer, was accompanied by a plate of two chocolates, one containing a giant macadamia nut, the other with a truffle centre.

As the evening progressed, the restaurant began to fill up. I kept looking at the clock, but I needn't have worried as I left at 20:30 without anyone quietly informing me that they needed the table. Felix was certainly an experience: the ambience, service and food were top-notch and gave good value for the money. I highly recommend a meal here.

Especially if it's on the company tab.

At night, I wandered into Kowloon Park with hopes of seeing the Sculpture Garden or the aviary or the banyan tree. I gave up after walking around in darkness for an hour but managed to take some long exposure shots.