Great Bistro

I was so thrilled to go back to Hong Kong to visit in February, 2008. Not only I could see my family and friends, but also, I could enjoy the fantastic food in Hong Kong. I have been craving for a great breakfast for a long while. So I decided to bring V to have breakfast at Great Cafe (they have since changed the name to Great Bistro). We arrived at 10:30 a.m. The menu had a relatively good selection from western style to Asian style to fulfill the needs of meatlovers, vegetarians or healthy-eaters. Furthermore, the cafe had a pretty good list of coffee, tea and fresh fruit juice. You could find fresh fruits, oatmeal, cereal, pastries and breads on the menu and different combination of sausage, bacon, meat, egg...

We both ordered the plate with scrambled (2) eggs & (2)sausages, served with fresh salad, roasted potatoes wedges and whole wheat country toast; and my favorite "Jamaican Blue Mountain" coffee. The coffee was brewed in the French press. We let the coffee to soak in the press for 4 minutes. There were 2 cups of serving in the French press. The price might be a bit high...around US$7, but definitely worth it!

Scrambled eggs may seem like a simple and easy dish, however, it needs care and attention. That was the key factor for a good breakfast. The scrambled eggs at the cafe were perfectly cooked. It was fluffy and moist...because they put a little bit of cream, good time and heat control during cooking. The sausages were good. They used butter lecttuce, cherry tomatoes, thin slices of English cucumber, red onion rings dressed slightly with vinaigrette. The roasted potato wedges were a little bit over cooked, but still good in taste. We could tell the toasts were freshly baked...because there is a bakery at the Great Food Hall.

Another thing I would give a good rating about this place is the service. The waiters and waitresses were attentive. In Hong Kong, most of the restaurants will charge for 10% service charge on the bill. There are not compulsary percentage of tips...it depends on the customer's satisfactory level. I usually will give around HK$5-10 for lunch (that is around US 75 cents to $1.25). Another great thing about Hong Kong is, no sales tax. The breakfast costs HK$200/~US$25.64 (including the 10% service charge).

We came back two days later for another breakfast. We didn't go for "Jamaican Blue Mountain"...had regular coffee instead. I could tell even the regular coffee was brewed with good quality of coffee. I ordered a plate with an Omelette (chopped bell pepper, onion and mushroom), Chocolate pastry, salad & potato wedges. V ordered a Ham & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich with salad & potato wedges. Without the gourmet coffee, it costs around HK$160/~US$20.

I definitely would recommend this place to the foodies!