Where To Eat

Sitting in the courtyard of The Repulse Bay -- Spices at at 6:45 pm, the moon, seemingly in its zenith on the evening of Wednesday, January 8, 2013, it was, truly, magical. 

A courtyard in a little garden, flora and fauna, placed all around, and the temperature, a mild 18 degrees Celsius, this was the type of bucolic splendour that inspires, poets, composers of music, lovers of the opposite sexes … and those that appreciate good food and quality wines – especially Champagne. 

Sipping on the bubbly nectar from a flute, filled almost to the top from an ice-cold bottle of Champagne Deutz, this was the setting that put this food reviewer in memory of the cool evenings, spent at The Changi Sailing Club of The Republic of Singapore. 

Aside from four other customers on this memorable evening, seated some distance away from this reviewer’s table, the courtyard was ours, all three members of the team from TARGET (泰達財經). 

A slight breeze started to blow and, almost immediately, out came the gas-fueled, outdoor heaters, making the evening breeze almost unnoticeable. 

On studying the selection of eclectic dishes from a number of Asian and Middle-Eastern countries, the following were selected to be sampled on this evening: 

Appetisers 

India
Samosa
Deep-fried Ajuwan pastries
filled with spicy vegetables
印度咖喱角
$HK108 

Singapore
Sate Lembu, Ayam
Beef Satays (Lembu)
Chicken Satays (Ayam)
星洲沙爹
$HK138 

Malaysia
Poh Pia
Deep-Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
served with chilled sauce
炸素菜春捲
$HK108 

India
Payza Ka Kulcha
Naan bread topped with onion and coriander
洋蒽烤餅
$HK45 

India
Kashmiri Naan
Naan bread with nuts and dried fruits
特式烤餅
$HK45 

Main Courses

Indonesia
Rendang Padang
Braised OBE organic beef brisket curry
with lemongrass, galangal and coconut milk
印尼巴東牛肉
$HK208 

India
Makhani Murgh
Roasted American chicken cooked with
Fenugreek leaves, tomatoes in creamy curry sauce
印度紅咖喱煮燒雞
$HK198 

Dessert Platter
$HK128 

Pen Deutz
$HK958 

The Food 

The first course was the Indian Samosas, the Ajuwan pastry shells, filled with vegetables that had been infused with Oriental spices. 

Then, out of the kitchen came, first, Kashmiri Naan, filled with nuts and dried fruits, following smartly by Payza Ka Kulcha, naan, topped with onions, mildly flavoured with coriander. 

From Malaysia, TARGET had ordered Poh Pia, vegetable spring rolls that had been deep-fried. 

Another glass of Champagne cleared the palate for the next course, this time from Singapore: Sate Lembu, Ayam – beef (Lembu) and chicken (Ayam) satays.  

Still not enough dishes to review this restaurant, adequately, from Indonesia came the Rendang (beef) Padang (an area of Indonesia from the Island of Sumatra). 

Another glass of Champagne, if you please.  

Rendang is braised brisket of beef, cooked in a mild curry sauce that is made from coconut milk, ginger root and lemongrass. 

It was delicious! 

Then … another glass of Champagne, naturally. 

Lastly, on the menu of Main Courses, was the Indian Makhani Murgh – roasted American chicken pieces, cooked with Fenugreek (this is a leguminous, annual Eurasian herb) leaves, tomatoes, mixed in an orange-coloured, quite spicy curry sauce. 

With the naan, it was out of this world! 

Then, to top off the meal, of course … there were two more glasses of Deutz – just to cool down one’s mouth. 

The Restaurant 

The service at Spices can rival just about any five-star food outlet at most of the best hotels in the Hongkong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 

The reservation for the evening had been made under a pseudonym so that nobody, outside of some of the TARGET staff, could have known of this medium’s intention, but it appeared that it would have made little difference even if this reviewer had been known since the guests at the other two tables were given equally good service. 

The interior area of the restaurant was full, so popular is this eatery that is owned and managed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd (香港上海大酒店有限公司) (Code: 45, Main Board, The Stock Exchange of Hongkong Ltd). 

There is no music and only the occasional giggling of a young child of about three years who was playing with his bicycle about 30 feet away from that part of the courtyard that is reserved for Spices. 

The restaurant can seat about 140 patrons, but one can imagine that, during the hot summer months, the courtyard would be somewhat deserted, with diners, opting for the air-conditioned comfort of the enclosed area. 

Therefore, at this time of the year, Spices is the place to visit for a delightful evening of food … and Champagne. 

TARGET’s team only drinks Champagne when one of them feels unwell, when it is obligatory to entertain, when it is somebody’s birthday, when a female staff member is getting married, at dinners when reviewing restaurants, in the quiet of an evening in order to lull one into drowsiness, but other than the above, none of this medium’s staff is permitted to touch the stuff.