The story belonged to Chef Patrick and his wife Anne. It outlined their first meeting in a restaurant where they used to work back home in the Netherlands. They eventually became lovers and later husband and wife. After spending most of their lives in their native country, they were ready for a new chapter in their lives making a move to Hong Kong and opening 238 Restaurant in Sheung Wan.
The husband-wife team followed the same approach which has made them successful back home - Chef Patrick working his magic behind the stove while Anne directed traffic in the dining room.
There was only one change - their cuisine. At 238 Restaurant, Chef Patrick is no longer serving his patented haute cuisine. Instead he's making ‘tapas style’ French dishes with European influences.
Yes French tapas. On the menu, expect to find Chef Patrick's signature dish - creamy lobster soup with seafood among other house specialties, all with more than reasonable prices. And you would love the generous portions too!
This afternoon, we decided to kick things off with the bitterballen, one of Holland's favorite snacks. Stewed beef perfectly deep fried and served with a bowl of Dutch mustard ($50). That was an ideal way to start lunch (7.5/10)!
The crispy texture and buttery taste reminded us a lot of the Spanish croquettes.
After a lovely snack, a couple of the tapas-size starters were next. First up was this homemade goose liver pâté, served with crispy bread and fruit marmalade ($90). The goose liver pâté came with a generous portion and it was perfect to go with the plum puree (7/10).
Less impressive was the smoked salmon roll with salad and ginger vinaigrette ($80) (5/10).
The 3-course lunch set was highly recommended and it came with a bargain price of only $125.
Out of the three starters available, we had the green salad with poached fish and curry dressing (4/10).
For main course, we had this pan seared halibut with red sweet pepper and onion which was nothing short of brilliant. The halibut fillet was seared to a nice golden-brown color giving it a perfect balance of flavor, texture and color (7/10).
Most European restaurants tended to serve very simple dessert (such as ice-cream) for their set lunch but not here at 238. On this particular afternoon, we had a caramel waffle cake with caramel mousse that was very fulfilling.
I liked the waffle cake for its rich cinnamon flavor (who could resist cinnamon!?) and the marshmallow-like texture of the caramel mousse was simply irresistible.
Good hearty food and great value for money. 238 Restaurant is a great find in a district desperately needing a culinary superstar. And 238 might just become one some day.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$
Address: 238 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Tel:+852 2517-7322
Website: 238restaurant.com
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The worst beef burger I ever had!
ReplyDeleteThis was an experience we will remember for us ... Went to this restaurant yesterday with some other friends and as it was fine(I had a mushroom salad and fish (maybe a overcooked as it was very soft) with rice, I decided to bring 2 French friends today.
My friends ordered the menu and as I did see a home made burger that looked nice that someone else ordered, I decided to try it with cheese. It was supposed to be made with American beef, home grounded. No cheap for HK$ 180 with 10% service charge but as it looked good, why not. I ordered one, medium cooked.
It was served after maybe 15mn. It looked nice, but at the first bite, I was wondering what kind of meat it was.... It was very greasy and tasteless... I asked my friends to taste it. Same comments, they could not find out what kind of meat it was.... I decided that I was not going to eat it. Waitress was not happy but I returned it. She came back with a plastic box showing some ground meat... showing much more grease that meat...
After some time, she asked me if I wanted something else and I took some pork with rice that was in the $125 menu. It was eatable.
At the end, the bill came in.... Adding insult to irony, I was charged full price for the hamburger.... so $180 for something that was really bad! instead of charged for a portion of the menu (did not get the salad nor the desert...) ...
No apologies, not thank you, no nothing.....
Definitely 238 Restaurant will be a restaurant that we will avoid and tell our friends to avoid!