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2010-08-15
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So I'm a vegetarian and my boyfriend always takes me to vegetarian restaurants so I thought it would be nice to treat him to a nice meaty meal.We had heard mixed reviews on Blue-Smoke mostly that the food was amazing, but others that it was horrible.As soon as we were seated we were served a complimentary table dish consisting of deep fried mac n cheese balls, tempura fried okra, and pickled watermelon skins.The pickled watermelon skins are smth I'd never heard of before and never would've thoug
We had heard mixed reviews on Blue-Smoke mostly that the food was amazing, but others that it was horrible.
As soon as we were seated we were served a complimentary table dish consisting of deep fried mac n cheese balls, tempura fried okra, and pickled watermelon skins.
The pickled watermelon skins are smth I'd never heard of before and never would've thought to like, but they tasted amazing! In combination to the mac n cheese balls and the fried okra we were exremely please before we ordered, and even asked for a 2nd plate of the snacks to which our waiter obliged.
For starters we ordered the nachos (with beef on the side) and my bf ordered a bowl of the chilli.
The nachos had barely any cheese on them, and very little tomatoes or salsa so ended up being quite dry. The beef brisket on the side my boyfriend said was cold- as if it had just come out of the fridge. Perhaps they usually place the beef on the nachos and grill it with the cheese and so it's usually hot- but cos we'd ordered it on the side, maybe they'd forgotten to heat it up.
For the chilli my boyfriend was extremely happy, said it was really good with lovely flavours and served hot.
When our mains arrived- I ordered a Southwest Salad, and him the pulled pork. For sides we chose the mac n cheese and the creamed spinach.
The salad arrived with bacon on it which hadn't been listed on the menu so I had to send it back and ask them to return it vegetarian. The chef himself came out with the 2nd salad and asked us if our food was OK which I was really impressed with and really nice of him. The salad turned out to be very nice- with whole avocados (usually restaurants skimp on the slices).
The mac n cheese was nice. Baked with lots of gooey cheese and served hot which I thoroughly enjoyed. The creamed spinach was served fresh from the oven and not what I expected from a typical creamed spinach- there was barely any cream, but it was topped with melted cheese which gave it a really nice texture and flavour.
Unfortunately when my bf ate his pulled pork, again he said the meat was cold. The flavours were nice but it was served unheated but we were too embarassed to say anything, as we had already sent the salad back.
When we made the reservation the hostess informed us we could use our uBuyiBuy coupon for the discount, but when the bill came there was some discretion as it was not valid on that day. Our waitress later came with the and said they made an exception for us and we could use the coupon as the hostess had already told us we could, which we appreciated.
All in all, for me personally the Southwest Salad, the mac n cheese and the creamed spinach were delectable. I would go back just for the pickled watermelon and fried okra as they were delicious and I havn't seen that anywhere else in Hong Kong.
For my boyfriend, the chilli was delicious, but the braised beef and pulled pork were served cold and shortly after returning home he was stuck in the toilet for a few hours- no doubt from cold meat.
We would give this place another try, because the service was obliging but probably not for full price in case the meat turns out cold again.
I would go for the vegetarian options, but my bf would be iffy about ordering the meat (odd thing to say about a BBQ restaurant I know!)
We understand that they are newly opened- but come on, who serves meat cold like that, you'd expect more from that price.
Maybe we'll give this place another try in a few months and see if they at least learned how to serve hot meat.
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