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Midweek dinner meet with a friend over pub food. Having been educated overseas, we thought it'd be a good idea to reminisce some overseas food such as a pie, fish and chips and beer. We gave up on beer on the basis that we both had beer guts (or just a big belly) by age 25, but we couldn't resist the temptation of a pie and fish and chips. We headed upstairs where, according to fellow Openrice critics, the environment is quieter and was easier to talk in, and indeed we were not disappointed by t
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Midweek dinner meet with a friend over pub food.

Having been educated overseas, we thought it'd be a good idea to reminisce some overseas food such as a pie, fish and chips and beer. We gave up on beer on the basis that we both had beer guts (or just a big belly) by age 25, but we couldn't resist the temptation of a pie and fish and chips.

We headed upstairs where, according to fellow Openrice critics, the environment is quieter and was easier to talk in, and indeed we were not disappointed by the lack of noisy people. We were also able to get a clean view of the opening rounds of the French Open and watching Andy Roddick struggle in his 5-set defeat of some guy whom I cannot remember. My apologies.

So in addition to the beef and Guinness pie and fish & chips, we also ordered two non-alcoholic drinks (one was a fruit smoothie of sorts, the other a lime soda) and two alcoholic drinks (mojito and gin & tonic), which was plenty of fodder and liquid for us to eat, drink and be merry over a good three hours.

Beef and Guinness pie was better than simply having Guinness on its own. I had my first and last half-pint of Guinness a couple of St. Paddy Days ago and swore that I'll never have anymore of that liquid. The beef was probably like beef brisket, along with carrots and spuds. The pastry was very buttery; it doesn't mean it tasted good though.

Fish and chips was served with battered fish. I mildly regretted it as the batter was thick but crispy. The absence of fish didn't help with making the batter taste any better. The chips, however, were crisply fried, something that I always appreciate. The tartare sauce was strangely sweet - or is it supposed to be sweet?

Drinks, I had a lime soda and a gin & tonic. The lime soda was just soda with a wedge of lime, but the G&T was strong for my liking. Most of the time I don't appreciate strong G&Ts but somehow at that particular juncture I liked mine a bit strong.

One major grump about this place is its service. The Filipina staff looked as though they didn't want us to be here, and while some critics even implied the waiter staff were subtly racist in giving preferential treatment towards the Caucasians, I wouldn't go as as saying that. They look as though they hate their job, but it doesn't give them any right to deprive us of the chance to enjoy our meal without being subject to borderline-scornful looks whenever they come across our table.

That said, this is a decent pub atmosphere with good physical separation between the rowdy and quieter masses, where sports fans are bound to find something to relate to. This place will surely heat up during the upcoming World Cup, not to mention during HK Sevens and other sporting events that draw crowds.
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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Spending Per Head
$190 (Dinner)