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Lauren Crothers

Mezzanine,  Mandarin Oriental, Central

Tel: 2825 4005

Open: 6.30am-midnight

Cuisine: International.

Price: About HK$450 per person, without drinks and service charge.

Ambience: Lovely interior with window seats overlooking  Statue Square.

Pros: Good service, and excellent presentation of food.

Cons:  Although the interior has been  beautifully designed, the restaurant lacks the intimate atmosphere you'd want for  an evening meal. It's lovely and bright during the day, making it a popular lunchtime place, but it doesn't easily  make the transition to dinner,  when it  feels  cavernous and empty.

Recommended dishes: The yellowfin tuna tartare (HK$108),  accompanied by fennel salad and avocado relish, was a lovely starter. Vietnamese spring rolls (HK$78) were one of the  highlights, beautifully presented and served with a garlic chilli sauce that gave  them a kick.

For  mains, we asked for the herb-encrusted rack of lamb (HK$228)  medium-well.  One piece was perfect and succulent, but the other  was too rare. The dish came  with a  bowl of creamy potato gratin,  which was slightly undercooked, although we enjoyed the flavour. Baked yellow snapper (HK$178) was light and tender,   served with vegetables on a creamy bed  of potato mash.

Given its proximity to the  well-known cake shop, the desserts were nothing short of spectacular. The berry crumble (HK$88)  was piping hot and served with a divine wild-honey ice cream. The chocolate coulant (HK$88), with  a molten melted chocolate centre that oozed onto the  plate, was more filling than we expected - not that we were complaining.

Anything else? Pre-renovation, the hotel's cafe (then known as the Cafe) was on  the ground floor. Cafe Causette and the Mandarin cake shop have moved up to  the mezzanine level.



Cafe Causette