Café Neo - (Hong Kong)

 Thanks for the Invitation from a well acquainted friend at her new post at Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon City – the old Hong Kong Airport district!    Kowloon City is without doubt a local foodie’s paradise destination especially for good Thai,  Desserts and Chiu Chow style food.    Although it is smacked in the middle of the city,   it is also one of the very rare areas in Hong Kong where one cannot directly access here by MTR Trains.   For a HK Islander myself I had to search for a right bus to arrive here but don’t let that serendipitous experience intimidate you,  since some of the best foods in Hong Kong are enclosed right within this very famous labyrinth part of town..   It’s almost like they have a food culture here all by their own accord.  (They might be too bored in this enclosed area haha and decided to concentrate on cooking better food!) 

 

 

Regal Hotel’s own House Red Wine -
From Chile.  This was mostly New World like and is a crowd pleaser.

 

 

 

Crab in Puff Pastry, 
Tuna something -
Sorry I really can’t remember the total description but I did noticed that I couldn’t taste much crabs and the puff pastry wasn’t too crispy.  The tuna was cooked better and more pink than my photo and better received though.    That is buffet food in general -  some try to impress more by visual but taste can be another matter.  Which do you value better ?  ~  6/10

 

 

 

Sashimi Platter -
Part of the buffet, with Salmon,  Octopus,  Snapper,  Tuna and Kanpachi. 
All pretty decent for buffet style eating.  They were kept in the right cooler conditions although it is obviously missing the more expensive options such as the fattier tuna parts or sea urchins.  To me I don’t expect too much from buffets when they need to watch out for costs and profit margins too especially when it is so affordable here.  It’s like asking whether the chicken or the egg is willing to come 1st!   I think this was decent enough by buffet standards.     ~  7/10

 

 

 

Crab Legs & Claws,  Prawns,  Shelled Scallops,  Mussels,  Crawfishes -
Unlimited servings.   I actually really liked their crawfish here as they were briny and had a lot of good tomalley in the heads.   Unfortunately there are no Oysters here but others make up for them   ~  7/10

 

 

 

The Raw and Cooked Seafood Bar -
Normal in Hong Kong buffet restaurants nowadays,
it still returns to their margins in the end. 

 

 

 

Salad Bar -
Within expectations.   I like how they have purple cabbage here.

 

 

 

 

Teppanyaki grilled Goose Foie Gras with Apple Compote and Balsamic Vinegar -
This is almost too cliched.  The apples to me were quite over-powering.  The balsamic in the meanwhile was judicially added.  The 1st batch of goose gras were good but more on the cooked side,  upon a 2nd request they were much more better seasoned and cooked.  You can experiment all night long though as it is part of the unlimited buffet.   ~  5/10 to 7.5/10 

 

 

 

 

Lamb Chops and Truffled Foie Gras Burgers -
Both were done moist enough by buffet standards…  

 

 

 

The Truffled Foie Gras Burgers -
Sounded just like the 22 Ships version,  but here available for unlimited refills.
These were actually quite decent and not far behind the other places offering similar..   I had a couple.

 

 

 

 

Truffled Seafood Pasta -
I heard this was good but I ended up forgetting to trying them out when I got distracted by other food.   It will be more truffle paste based by visual.   It is not fine-dining afterall ..

 

 

Australian Organic Chicken with stuffing and Truffle Paste -
This was my favourite dish of the night.  It was slow cooked and was very flavourful yet tender.  As someone who has lived in Australia for decades I can’t help but think the best Australians chickens are exported nowadays.  Great local chickens there must be sourced at the farm by yourself but the supermarket versions are pretty ordinary.  The best chickens are commanding price premiums overseas indeed ..  Aust Beef is also better in export quality than those available locally,  unless you are well acquainted with the local wholesalers.    ~  9/10

 

 

 

 

Black Truffle Flame Drunkard Prawns -
This platter also contained a few shellfishes and crustaceans thrown in.  The thickish sauce could be eaten with the bread or naans that they provide as a side..  Slightly lemon-grassy too.  ~  8/10

 

 

 

Chicken Curry -
I took this photo but didn’t get to try it out.  Looks legit enough.

 

 

 

Fish Cakes with Truffle Sauce -
They looked good but at the end of the day were a little too dense and fishy for yours truly to appreicate.  ~  N/A

 

 

 

Noodles Station -
It seems like Buffets are incomplete without a proper noodles station when you’re in Asia,  and overseas it will be replaced by a Pasta station.   

 

 

 

Dessert Train -

 

Bread and Butter Pudding -
At least they attempted to try making one!

 

 

 

 

Mini Portuguese Tarts -
Not bad either and cuteness aside..  Done decently

 

 

 

DIY Waffle Machine -
I was surprised to find this here, which gives the customers more freedom with making their own food.  The waffle batter mix was already mixed for your convenience,  so one cannot change the recipe easily on the fly.  It certainly won’t be one of those doughy Liege Waffles from Belgium made from a dough.   But this ended up better than expected..

 

 

 

DIY Waffles with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Spread -
Their waffle batter was decent,  and me insisting them to be cooked to my own degree worked out to be fine too. Wished I had more of this as it was so fun… particularly if you don’t have a cast iron waffle machine at home.  ~  8/10

 

Mango Mille-Feuille -
Pastry was a little stale to me,  but the mango slices were good.  Sorry for being frank.  ~  6/10

 

 

 

Chocolate Ganache Cake -
This is so expected nowadays in buffet restaurants,  but the version here was dense enough and not too sweet.   Just right and all shiny.   Everyone has their own interpretation of what they expect of such a cake,  let’s not concentrate on that but I personally was happy with this version.

 

 

Children’s Area -
On Quality and Quantity of food alone I think this was ok.  But upon learning about their 50% to 35% discounts to HSBC Cardholders or those who register through their Facebook accounts…  I did think a middle-tier buffet from only around $178 + 10% here is definitely representing very good value for money indeed.   I was told this would last until October 31st..  This really is a bargain in any sense and I miss playing around with their waffles machine and the well cooked Organic chicken.

 

 

 

Price:   $360 per Person   (Meal was by invitation by the Hotel, thanks!)
Ease of Access:  4/5
Food:  ♕♕♕ to ♕♕♕♕

Address :  九龍城沙浦道30-38號富豪東方酒店地下1樓
B1, Regal Oriental Hotel, 30-38 Sa Po Road Kowloon City

Ph:  2132 3502