Where To Eat

Amigo restaurant of Happy Valley, Hongkong Island, is, perhaps, among the best – if not the best – stand-alone restaurant in the 416 square miles that constitute the Hongkong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

But, Oh My Goodness! Watch out for that number of the serving staff and the roving Filipino musicians, all of whom hope to put their grubby little hands into your pocket, one way or another, the moment that they have the first opportunity.

Amigo, which first saw the light of day as a Western-styled restaurant, located in Wanchai, Hongkong Island, in 1967, was created by Mr Yeung Wing Chung (楊永松) who, for many years, used to sit in the superbly furnished restaurant, watching customers come and go. 

TARGET (泰達財經) visited Amigo on Friday, September 13, at about 7 pm, in order to see how the restaurant had fared since this medium’s visit, many, many years ago. 

Well, it is doing very well, indeed, and appears to have a very good following of local clientele who appear to be among the very wealthy of the territory since the serving staff appears to know most of them simply by looking at them, without having to refer to the reservation list. 

To be sure, the service at this restaurant is as good as it gets and the cleanliness of Amigo is second to none. 

On the evening of this medium’s visit, this was that which was ordered for three people:

Set Menu
(4-Course at $HK890)

Foie Gras Chaud Aux Navets
Seared Fresh Goose Liver with Turnips
香煎法國鵝肝

Consommé Aux Cepes, Morilles et Truffle
Truffle, Cepes and Morel Consommé
松露菌，牛肝菌，羊肚菇清湯

Loup De Mer Poele dans une Sauce au Truffle avec Crevett
Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Shrimp in a Truffle Sauce
脆煎鱸魚配海蝦松露菌汁

Cream Brulee Au Chocolate
Glazed Chocolate Cream
巧克力脆糖燉蛋

A La Carte Menu

Soupe A L’Oignon Gratinée
French Onion Soup
法國洋蔥湯
$HK140

Potage Veloute Aux Palourdes
Cherry Stone Clam Chowder
鮮蜆肉周打湯
$HK175

Escargots Provençale (Half Dozen)
Snails Baked with Garlic Herb Butter
蒜蓉焗田螺 (半打)
$HK240

Port-Monnaie D’Océan
Lobster simmered in White Wine and Garlic, baked in Filo Pastry, dressed with Caviar
鮮龍蝦錢袋

Queue De Boeuf En Casserole
Ox-Tail Stewed with Carrot, Shallots, Mushrooms and Turnip served with Egg Noodles
紅酒燴牛尾
$HK420

Rognons De Veau A La Moutarde De Dijon Sauce Madera
Veal Kidney sauté with capes, leeks, Dijon mustard and Madeira wine
芥苿，馬爹拿酒，大蒜拌牛仔腰
$HK420

Ginger Soufflé
$HK100

Vanilla Soufflé
$HK100

Coffee

The Food

One could not criticise the food, the generous helpings, the presentation or the freshness of the ingredients … with the exception of the deserts.

In fact, the deserts were the only real weakness.

Of special mention was the foie gras that was, absolutely, perfect.

It was very obvious that the person in the kitchen of Amigo knew what he or she was doing when it came to the preparation and presentation of this dish which, at times, can be tricky to prepare, especially for the rank amateur.

Suffice it to state that the goose liver slid down this reviewer’s gullet, leaving a tingling sensation of richness that lasted long after all of the liver had vanished from sight.

The consommé from the Set Menu was another winner. It was only too apparent that a great deal of thought had gone into the making of this soup that tasted very richly of mushrooms.

From the a la carte menu, the French Onion Soup could have put a number of fine-dining restaurants at five-star hotels to shame: It was absolutely delicious.

As for the cherry stone clam chowder, although this reviewer is not a particular fan of cherry stone clams, the chowder that was prepared, using these marine bivalve mollusks as the base, was simply out of this world.

All of the fish dishes were excellent, but the one main course that will be remembered on this visit to Amigo was the sautéed veal kidneys.

In the United Kingdom, this dish is often found in the swankiest restaurants of the best hotels in major cities, especially in London. Amigo has decided that to include sautéed veal kidneys on its a la carte menu.

Very few restaurants in Hongkong include kidneys, anywhere.

And Amigo’s rendition of this typically British dish was, in a word, utter perfection.

As for the deserts, the least said about them, the better. 

The Ambiance

One of the many pleasant attributes of Amigo are the manners of the diners, at least on TARGET’s visit. 

There were some children in the restaurant and all of them were perfectly behaved, all dressed, as the saying goes, in their Sunday bests.

These children, aged between five years and 10 years (TARGET’s estimate), talked almost in whispers, but when they did raise their voices, their parents quickly reminded them of their manners.

There was never a rush, in between the many dishes that TARGET ordered, and all of the dishes were served piping hot for the most part.

No fast food at Amigo.

Toward the end of the meal, a three-man band of Filipino musicians made their rounds of the diners and played, sometimes at extraordinary lengths, some of their favourites – and awaited the inevitable tips that they expected to receive for their work.

When this medium requested the bill, the waiter, dutifully, brought it over and waited, somewhat impatiently, to note how large was the tip that had been added to the bill.

Seeing that the tip was not in four figures, the waiter simply took away the receipt without so much as a thank you.

The total bill was $HK4,460.50 and so one must be of the opinion that the serving staff expected a tip of at least $HK1,000 to make them happy.