Where to Feed Kids, Dodge Flying Cutlery: Hong Kong Dining
Where to Feed Kids Without Fuss: Hong Kong Dining
Cafe Deco Group via Bloomberg
Whoever said children and alcohol don’t mix hasn’t been to Top Deck, on the spacious upper deck of the famous Jumbo floating restaurant.
Whoever said children and alcohol don’t mix hasn’t been to Top Deck, on the spacious upper deck of the famous Jumbo floating restaurant. Source: Cafe Deco Group via Bloomberg
Where to Feed Kids Without Fuss: Hong Kong Dining
Cafe Deco Group via Bloomberg
Crab and oysters at Top Deck's Sunday Seafood Lunch Buffet.
Crab and oysters at Top Deck's Sunday Seafood Lunch Buffet. Source: Cafe Deco Group via Bloomberg
Where to Feed Kids Without Fuss: Hong Kong Dining
Fat Angelo's via Bloomberg
One restaurant that generally top parenting magazines’ list of kid-friendly diners is Fat Angelo’s.
One restaurant that generally top parenting magazines’ list of kid-friendly diners is Fat Angelo’s. Source: Fat Angelo's via Bloomberg
Where to Feed Kids Without Fuss: Hong Kong Dining
Fat Angelo's via Bloomberg
Barbecue ribs at Hong Kong's Fat Angelo's Restaurant.
Barbecue ribs at Hong Kong's Fat Angelo's Restaurant. Source: Fat Angelo's via Bloomberg
Finding time to have a quiet meal away from the children if you don’t have a full-time nanny is difficult for working parents in Hong Kong, meaning most dinners out have to be taken en famille.
That can be tricky in a city where many restaurants lack facilities to keep young ones entertained. So, armed with our lively and fussy six-year-old twins -- a boy and a girl -- and four-year-old daughter, we went hunting for the best in family-friendly dining.
Ideally, a restaurant needs to offer good value (it’s expensive feeding three children); flavorful, healthy food that satisfies young tastes; entertainment or toys to amuse the kids after they’ve eaten, and adult food for mom and dad.
Holiday Inn Golden Mile’s Bistro on the Mile in Kowloon has a weekend buffet brunch that is inexpensive (HK$238 ($30) for adults, HK$142 for children) and scores high for quality and healthiness. It offers steamed vegetables, lean meat and fresh fruit.
The twins hit the Chinese BBQ stand to indulge their favorite foods, one piling up a plate of prawns, the other a mound of vegetable rice. Meaty bangers (not bland hot dogs), wild-mushroom soup and light pastas also went down well. Needless to say, so did the Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
For the parents, the food was less inspiring, although the curries were good. The sushi bar had a disappointing range of fish, inexpertly cut into huge, unappetizing chunks.
Bistro does have lots of room, an important and rare commodity for the young diner. Our youngest has been known to defend her personal space with flying cutlery. The waiters were also tolerant of excitable young guests, even when they began using the decorative trellises as climbing frames.
Each child was given a pack of crayons and an activity book of games and puzzles that kept them quiet for a full 15 minutes.
Marriott Cafe
That couldn’t compare with the entertainer and coloring sets on offer at JW Marriott’s Cafe, an eatery the size of an airplane hangar with a buffet table to match.
A magician went from table to table doing tricks and telling jokes, which meant a fun meal for the kids and a pleasant rest for us.
The choice of food at the lunch buffet (HK$310/HK$220) was staggering. Our elder daughter homed in on the noodle bar, slurping back bowls of beef-noodle broth. The all-you-can- drink fruit juices were freshly squeezed and to all three’s liking. The kids’ menu was full of pastas and chips, which wasn’t to my son’s liking, though I enjoyed his leftover meatballs (HK$110).
Children and Alcohol
Whoever said children and alcohol don’t mix hasn’t been to Top Deck, on the spacious upper deck of the famous Jumbo floating restaurant, where the bubbly flows freely while the children create havoc in a well-appointed playroom stuffed with games and presided over by a nanny.
Our kids played contentedly for hours while we quaffed refilled glasses of a passable Veuve du Vernay and tucked into the Sunday seafood buffet (HK$388, HK$158), which also featured pasta, eggs Benedict, juicy lamb chops, Peking duck and the ubiquitous raw bar.
There were enough healthy and savory options to keep the kids happy too. The lean carvery beef managed to tempt our four-year-old for the 10 minutes she could spare between coloring books, and my son actually enjoyed the braised fish. If only we could get him to eat it at home.
Deep-Fried Prawns
Two restaurants that generally top parenting magazines’ list of kid-friendly diners are Fat Angelo’s, a local chain of Italian restaurants famous for huge portions; and Bubba Gump, an American company that specializes in prawns.
Neither scored high marks for adults. Fat Angelo’s spaghetti carbonara (HK$118) was soggy, the ribs pallid (HK$158) and the calamari (HK$98) rubbery, while Bubba Gump’s prawns were predominantly deep-fried and those that were steamed had little flavor.
For kids, each had its merits. On food quality, Fat Angelo’s Wan Chai outlet offered fewer deep-fried dishes, though most items were very salty. It excelled in kids’ activities, however, showering young visitors with balloons, hats and other knickknacks. The staff is also child-minded, offering courtesies such as high chairs that are often lacking at Hong Kong restaurants.
Bubba Gump’s in the Peak Tower, one of the city’s biggest tourist draws, had mixed success. The signature Shrimper’s Heaven (HK$188), with crustaceans prepared in four styles, kept our prawn-lover happy, while her brother -- whose favorite dinner at home is a fish pie made with creamed potato -- looked ill after trying a hush pup (HK$68) with similar ingredients. The youngest winced after one bite of the BBQ ribs (HK$198), one of the few non-prawn items, and gave them to me.
Service was poor and we had to ask for coloring materials. Nor is it cheap, with kids’ smoothies costing HK$65 a pop.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Shop 304 and 305 Peak Tower, 128 Peak Road, Hong Kong. Tel. +852-2849-2867 or click on http://www.bubbagump.com/locations/hong_kong.html.
Bistro on the Mile, Holiday Inn Golden Mile, 50 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Tel. +852-2315-1118.
Fat Angelo’s Italian Restaurant, Shop 4, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Tel. +852-2126- 7020 or click http://www.fatangelos.com/location5.html.
Top Deck, Top Floor, Jumbo Kingdom, Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Tel. 2552-3331 or see http://www.cafedecogroup.com/index.php?_topRm=6&group=restaura nts.
The Bloomberg Questions
Cost? Bubba Gump: HK$2,060; Bistro on the Mile: HK$1,234; Fat Angelo’s: HK$1,420; Top Deck: HK$1,375.
Sound level? Bubba Gump: Okay, though irritating Hollywood tunes were piped; Bistro on the Mile and Fat Angelo’s: Quiet; Top Deck: Merrily loud.
Inside tips? Top Deck has regular one-child-per-couple- eats-free offers. Kids eat for free at Bistro if you stay at the hotel. Fat Angelo’s children’s birthday parties have baby buffets, free soda refills and all the room excitable guests need. Window seats at Bubba Gump have views of the city.
Special features? Whelks at Top Deck; Grill station with baked potatoes at Marriott Cafe.
Will I be back? To Bistro on the Mile and Top Deck. Not to Fat Angelo’s or Bubba Gump.
Date place? No.
Rating? Bubba Gump 0; Bistro on the Mile **; Fat Angelo’s *; Top Deck ***.
What the Stars Mean **** Incomparable food, service, ambience *** First-class of its kind ** Good, reliable * Fair 0 (no stars) Poor.
(Mark McCord is an editor at Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer on the story: Mark McCord in Hong Kong at Mmccord2@bloomberg.net
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