It is our beloved Queen's Cafe - a veteran of Russian cuisine catered to the bourgeoisie of the 1980s.
The very first Queen’s was opened in 1952 by a man who had apprenticed under White Russian chefs in Shanghai, which explained the existence of Ovaltine and Horlicks in the drinks menu alongside Russian coffee.
We knew their food menu inside out and there could only be two items that we must order: Russian cold cuts platter with potato salad and stuffed crab shells.
The salad tasted exactly the same as we had it 20 years ago and the latter was tender, juicy and cooked to perfection just like we imagined it to be.
If it wasn't a late dinner, I would have gone for their Borsch Soup too. Their recipe is one of the best - both flavourful and thickly filled with plenty of cabbage, celery, onion, carrot and herbs. Now that we know where that restaurant is, there will bound to be a next visit fairly soon for a few other of their hearty dishes plus their cakes from Queen’s Konditorei which are absolutely divine.
If you also want to savour the elegance of authentic Russian cuisine, you will have to make your way to Beijing because the one in here scores higher than the one in Hong Kong or Shanghai in all aspects. I just can't wait to go back.
No comments:
Post a Comment