Cheese cheese!

I walked into Caprice at the Four Seasons for my Friday Lunch Club meeting yesterday feeling pretty down and walked out feeling satisfied and very grateful.

It was my first time to lunch at Caprice. I had lots of reservation going to nice french restaurants in Central as there are lots of "to see and to be seen" going on. I think the quality of food is more important than the decor or the presentation (nice to have but it's not going to stop me from eating a stew! I guess that makes me one of David Fishman's folllower).

The food was good. I am not a big fan of lamb but the lamb shoulder pastilla with sweet harissa and young green herbs was actually my favourite dish from lunch. The distinct flavour of lamb was there and contrary to my usual reaction, it was very inviting. I finished everything and I mean everything including the gravy before my fellow lunch club members did.

My mood improved as we went through the courses. By the time the cheese arrived, I was already a very happy person. Then came the 4 year Comte. Let's just say I was very glad that I ate my cheese caveman style and was able to smell the cheese on my finger in the afternoon.

I wanted to share the cheese with my family and asked if I can buy 200g. Instead, Mr Cheese gave me a big wedge of Comte. I felt so indebt. I should visit the restaurant again for sure but I should also bring something homemade as a token of my appreciation.

I want decent fastfood

Ok, I know the title doesn't make sense but if you walk around my office during lunch time, you will understand what I am talking about.

The options for lunch within the vicinity of my office is very limited. You either book a table at a restaurant (that means you may need to take a taxi/tram to get to the destination), bring your own lunch, or buy from one of the takeout places. Eating out is a luxury that I cannot afford to have more than once every two weeks. When you have a toddler at home, you end up spending all your lunch hours running errands, anything from going to the bank to fighting for the last pumpkin costume at the shop in Wan Chai. Bringing my own lunch can be disastrous. Either I eat that during breakfast time (and still need to get lunch) or I completely forget about it. The third and most "viable" option is to buy from one of the takeout places.

The location of my office is not great but the shops around were alright. There was a fastfood chain starting with a C that sold reasonably priced and clean food. They rotated the menu frequent enough that I rarely ate the same thing two days in a row. There were usually two to three items on the menu that I could choose from.

One day, the group decided to rebrand the shop. An upscale outlet occupies the same spot now. The decor is modern and you know they got some interior designer to fix the place up. The same group of staff are now in a different uniform. The price at least doubled. I was not happy about it. Why would I want to pay USD 7 for a lunch that isn't really edible? I am not a foodie but I know how I like my vegetables. Not drown in oil nor boiled to a mush. The spinach they sell at the upscale shop must have been cooked in boiling water for at least ten minutes. When I order sweet and sour pork, I don't mind the cubes are half meat half bone (in fact I like it that way) but definitly not fried dough. I don't care if they offer different types of cheese for my sandwich because I only like cheese that are good enough to be eaten on its own then something that has been sitting in a big refrigerator for weeks before making its way to the sandwich counter.

Can't I have my old shop back, a place where they sell reasonably priced and clean food? Am I asking for too much?