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2014-10-19
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The Location: The International Finance Center (in short: IFC) is a prominent commercial building complex with offices, high-end shopping, cinema and eateries located in the heart of Hong Kong built right at the edge of the waterfront overlooking the Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon Peninsula.The Place: From within IFC shopping mall which has been constructed above Hong Kong MTR station, Pure RED (in short: RED) can be found on its 4th floor. RED is a modern restaurant with outside bar and plent
The Place: From within IFC shopping mall which has been constructed above Hong Kong MTR station, Pure RED (in short: RED) can be found on its 4th floor. RED is a modern restaurant with outside bar and plenty of outside space that must be visited. Please note that this review is purely based on RED’s outside bar.
RED Bar has a menu tailored to Western taste offering snacks, a variety of meat and pasta dishes as well as pizzas. As for drinks, at RED you may find soft drinks as we know them, smoothies, coffee beverages (iced and hot) as well as all kinds of cocktails as well as wine from around the planet. Choice in terms of food and beverage is vast.
RED is an absolute must-visit venue due to the fact that it offers an outdoor dining and entertainment area. There is tons of room to chill, sit, stand, dance, and even for kids to play. Most interestingly, the space on this roof garden is considered public space meaning that the general public can access it and make the best of it without necessarily having to purchase anything from RED, but being able to mingle with guests from RED and even share a sofa or table. Food and drink can be brought along and consumed there. The crowd that hangs around at RED is usually Western, with more and more locals finding out about this location; depending on the day and hour there might be individual groups of ladies from the Philippines (usually helpers) that also find this hang out place appealing. IFC/RED staff take care that everything is well-organized, clean, and proper; people that show up on that roof garden usually know how it’s ticking and usually clean after themselves very willingly, without being asked to do so.The Food & Beverage: The food offered by RED Bar is pretty good. I tried the tapa-style snacks, Pasta and Pizza, and loved all of it. There are many snacks to choose from – fries, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, spring rolls, and so many more; the Pizzas follow the Italian style, so they are think crusted and not overloaded with toppings; I had also tried the Penne Bolognese and it was cooked “al dente” with Beef minced meat on tomato base with fine herbs; all in all pretty good food in terms of ingredients used, combination of ingredients, cooking style, presentation, and of course taste.
My friends and I loved all the cocktails we tried, and we tried a good variety of them. In addition to that, the smoothies were very tasty, creamy, healthy and not overpowered with added sugar; the latte and espresso I tried were delicious too – the coffee beans and coffee machine, not knowing the brand, must be of high quality.
The Price: In general, when it comes to prices for snacks, cocktails and most importantly pizzas, all of that is totally overpriced in Hong Kong; RED makes no exception here; what I appreciate a lot is that RED does not add any additional dollars on top, in comparison to its competition, for its prime location with its spectacular view, light show, and spacious outdoor area; I’d say the prices for food and drinks are fair, no complaints whatsoever.
Bottom Line: When it comes to having to use the restrooms, only “guests” of RED may use the restrooms inside the restaurant, all others need to get into IFC which is not a big deal. There is only one thing I disliked which is not RED’s fault at all, every now and then, depending on the wind, a nasty smell of poo coming from the waterfront comes this way.
I love RED Bar with its snacky-type of food, amazing cocktails, and fabulous outdoor space. The food and drinks are great, the atmosphere is vibrant, the crowd is diverse representing a good mix of people, staff is friendly and accommodating, the place is modern and clean, and the view of the Victoria Harbour and Kowloon Peninsula is spectacular. Great hangout.
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