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2016-06-22
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Le Pain Quotidien is a huge chain of restaurants that also feature a bakery that is found throughout the world. Founded by Alain Coumont, it started in Brussels and now has over 200 restaurants worldwide. And now there is one in Hong Kong. Location? The newly rebuilt Lee Tung Avenue.The first time I dined at Le Pain Quotidien was at the Dubai airport. Yes, they even have one there. I was waiting for a flight transfer and Emirites had given me a meal voucher for a free meal. Even though they only
The first time I dined at Le Pain Quotidien was at the Dubai airport. Yes, they even have one there. I was waiting for a flight transfer and Emirites had given me a meal voucher for a free meal. Even though they only offered me a sandwich and a pastry (it was free after all), I thought it was incredibly good. Upon hearing they were opening in Hong Kong, I was looking forward to it.
The restaurant is divided into two sections. They have a bakery on one side where they sell take away baked goods and is not very big. The restaurant area is quite large with both outdoor and indoor seating. Indoor seating has a huge communal table. A common trademark found in all the other branches.
Finding a table was a bit daunting. Past reviews said the service was pretty rude (or nonchalent as it's so typically French). I would suggest to try and get a table via the outside entrance. You do stand around for a bit but at least someone will see you as opposed to entering via the inside entrance where you are ignored. Or you can just seat yourself.
Menu is in the form of a card. It is in English only. Anything with eggs, sadly, is only served on weekends. That was disappointing as I had come on a weekday and was all set for a frittata. Anyways, came at lunch time and they do not offer lunch sets. Everything is a la carte. Water is only provided upon asking.
I noted that at the table, there were jars of various jams and hazelnut spread. Their version of Nutella. There are reasons that Nutella is not only the original but the best. Their version was a bit too chalky in texture. The jam that was the best was the marmelade. Not too sweet with a bit of bitterness from the orange rinds. It was no wonder this was the jar that was half empty.
Raspberry Lemonade ($35). While waiting for boyfriend to arrive, I ordered a drink. Refreshingly sweet. This had a nice balance of tartness from the lemons and the sweetness of raspberries.
Meatballs a la Liegeoise ($168). Otherwise known as Belgium meatballs. The meatballs were soft and fluffy. The sauce was rich and sweet which I quite liked. Plump raisons were found in the sauce as well. It was served with potato wedges and a couple of slices of baguette. The baguette was fairly good. Tearable and good enough to soak up the sauce. The potato wedges were really disappointing. Soggy and limp, they covered it with dried out cheese.
Chicken Curry and Cranberry Tartine ($88). This came with a tiny pot of mint cranberry harissa chutney that complemented the topping on the bread. This felt and tasted super healthy. The chicken curry topping was fairly good but I do not get the addition of strings of carrots on top. The bread held up well with all the topping laid on top.
Food was ok. I think the sandwich I had at the Dubai airport tasted much better. Service, once seated, was very friendly and courteous. I would return again but probably without boyfriend next time as he groaned it was too healthy and he wanted some greasy man food. Next time I'll try the pastries because they looked much better.
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