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Lauren Crothers

Regal Kowloon Hotel, 71 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: 2722 1818

Open: noon-3pm, 6pm-11pm

Cuisine: Italian

Ambience: We  ate at Zeffirino on a quiet, rainy Tuesday, so the large space felt all the more cavernous. On busier nights,  it probably exudes more warmth. As with some hotels, there's  a feeling that the 1980s never really  ended - background music included songs from The Phantom of the Opera,  and we expected the  cast of Dynasty to walk in at any minute. But,  in a way, this was quite endearing.

Price: HK$520 per person without wine and  10 per cent service charge.

Pros: The staff were  helpful and pleasant, if a  little eager to whisk away our plates as soon as we'd finished.  In general, the food   was satisfying, meticulously prepared and well presented.

Cons: One look at the  large and awkward menu may scare off some diners - some of the prices seem high. A rethink of the antipasti prices, for instance, would ease the pressure  on the wallet.

Recommended dishes: Shrimp salad (HK$188) was pleasant - the shrimp cooked in garlic and chilli with slightly dry grilled artichokes, lettuce and cucumber. It needed a little dressing to pull the ingredients together. Warm seafood salad (HK$148) was better value, with fresh seafood,  a good assortment of vegetables and generous  splashes of sauce. Turbot fillet with crabmeat topping (HK$268) was  delicious, the fish complemented beautifully  by a flavourful Mediterranean tomato sauce. Although the turbot  didn't need the crabmeat, it was a nice touch and looked good on the plate. Grilled sea bream (HK$248) was  cooked to perfection and came with grilled asparagus, new potatoes and caramelised onions. We ended the meal with two delicious desserts. Warm chocolate cake with vanilla sauce (HK$98) was a light and molten delight, and puff pastry with orange cream (HK$88) was one of the stars  - sweet, simple and refreshing.

What else? The a la carte menu changes twice  a year and the seafood is flown in from Lithuania and Italy.



Zeffirino