It seems that everyone these days are having to tighten their belts and the first thing to go are the non-necessities. One of those is eating out, and while hongkongers love to eat out, and this is not likely to change, more and more diners are looking for value-for-money dining experiences.

One option the fits the criteria is Jen Cafe, this hotel cafe offers the evening diner a choice of an international buffet or a la carte. On this occasion we went with the a la carte as I had already tried the buffet on a previous visit.

Making an Effort

My friend and I decided to both start with a soup. I went with the Crab Bisque and my friend went with the Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil. I found the presentation of the mushroom soup a little off-putting as the oil (truffle oil) had separated out from the cream and looked a little like an oil-slick, but it had a divine truffle aroma. While I found the soup to be a little thin and without real mushroom intensity, it had a generous amount of truffle oil, which lifted the soup and made it highly enjoyable; my dining companion loved it and thought it had good flavour depth.

The bread that the soup was served with was hard, as if it had been heated in a microwave, which always makes bread have the texture of cardboard. Like many hotels it was served with individual mini containers of butter; my socially-responsible dining companion thought that serving butter this way was not helpful to the hotel's carbon footprint.

One of the drawbacks of food writing, yes there are some, is the unconscious comparisons that are continually made. I realised this when I was thinking to myself that the stock used for the bisque could have been more intense, like one of the best bisques I had tried at another restaurant. When I stopped thinking like that I realised that the soup wasn't half bad, not five-star, but then I was not in a five-star establishment. To the kitchen's credit there were nice chunky pieces of crab in the soup and the serving was generous. As a postscript to this experience I have since had bisque at a popular French restaurant that paled by comparison to Jen Cafe's.

Hit and Just Miss

We had also decided to share the Duck Salad, which turned out to be one of the best dishes of the evening. The duck breast was served on a bed of rocket, with cherry tomato, green pepper, almond silvers and large slices of parmesan cheese. All the ingredients went well together and the nuttiness of the cheese and almonds countered the sweetness of the duck; it was perfectly dressed. Again the salad was quite a generous portion and it could easily be ordered as an appetiser.

For mains we went with Grilled King Prawns and Thai Beef Salad (the restaurant has an international menu like many hotel cafes). The three, large prawns looked great, and would have tasted great too if they hadn't been overcooked. The chunky chips had been perfectly cooked and tasted good, but the mixed vegetables were a little overdone. The sweet and sour gravy (there is a choice of sauces with the grilled options) was delicious.

The Thai beef salad had all the authentic spice aspects that this salad should have and I really enjoyed all the different flavours that were going on but unfortunately the beef was overcooked. This salad usually comes with rare or medium rare steak, but this was well done and a little tough as a result. And, while I could appreciate the chef's presentation of large pieces of beef I thought that it didn't look that appealing. This dish only just missed the mark, the spice was spot on, the flavours were spot on, the ingredients were fresh...if only the steak had not been overdone. The good thing is that with a little tweaking this dish could quickly tick all the boxes.

Refreshing End

The dessert options are quite limited, consisting of fruit or a variety of cakes. Not feeling like cake, as were full, we went for the Fresh Fruit Platter, which was fantastic. Fresh fruit is not hard to get right, but what made this a fantastic fruit platter was that all the fruit was at its peak flavour-wise and as a result the mango, watermelon, dragon-fruit, rockmelon and pineapple, were all bursting with refreshing energy.

The only real thing that let the meal down was the overdone mains, which is easily fixed by both the kitchen and by the diner...say something if your food is overcooked. For the location and price range the food at Jen Cafe is worth a try.

Ambience, Service, Price

The largish space has an airy, light feel. It has been tastefully decorated and some of the modern design elements take it beyond being a cafe. There is a choice of communal tables, individual tables and sofa seating.

The wine choices may be limited but the prices are some of the best in town and there will be something for all tastes.

Service at Jen Cafe is some of the friendliest, yet at the same time professional, I have come across in Hong Kong. The staff have obviously been given proper training and have been taught to read customers to know the best way to approach them. One of our waiters sat down on the sofa with us while we ordered, which we thought a really nice touch, as if we were in someone's home, but I also observed them being more formal with other guests. My dining companion, who is in a training field, was impressed with all the staff.

The buffet is popular and the quality of the food has improved from my first visit; on the night we went all buffet diners received complimentary soft-shell crab. Prices for our soups were $65 and $68, the salad was $98 and the mains $108 and $198 (prawns).

If after dining at Jen Cafe you feel like a night-cap head to the 28th floor, the hotel's SkyLounge is open to the public after 8pm.