Coast Opens

Aussie restaurant, Coast Bistro & Bar has opened in SoHo. Coast "proudly serving fresh produce" for all-day-grazing breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant's daily highlights include market-fresh fish air flown from Australia and New Zealand. Signature dishes include Lamb Shank and Chestnut Pie, Crab and Asparagus Risotto, and a variety of aged, grain-fed prime beef including Petit fillet, Porterhouse, T-bone and 1kg rib-eye.

At 4,855 sq ft, Coast is the area's largest bar and dining venue.

Gourmet Veggie Menu

Santa Lucia has introduced a vegetarian menu featuring eight gourmet creations as well as a four-course tasting menu. Dishes include Vegetarian Sashimi served with Honeydew, Wasabi & Soba Noodle; Roasted Garlic Soup; Wild Mushroom Puff Pastry accompanied by Cauliflower Gratin; Pumpkin Tortellini served in Brown Butter Cinnamon Cream Sauce accompanied by a Grilled Orange & Fennel Salad; and Apple Crumble Tart, served with Wild Berry Puree and Vanilla Ice Cream.

Opening of French Bistro

French Bistro, Pastis has recently opened on Wyndham Street. "This cosy and cheerily lit restaurant & bar boasts an authentic French atmosphere with leather banquettes, raw wood finishing and antiques flown in from France." As with the ambience, the food is not overly complicated.

Highlights from the menu include Homemade Duck Rillette and Escargot. There is also Beef Burgundy and Tiger Prawn Flambée. After the mains, Prices for most dishes range from $50 to $148.

Pastis is the first concept from Olivier Caisson and Jerome Spitzer of French Creations. Caisson, managing director of French creations says, "While French gastronomy is all about avoiding a ‘faux pas' here at Pastis we welcome you as you are. Wear what you want, eat and drink as you like and enjoy. After all what happens in Pastis, stays in Pastis'

Many of the recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. In order to ensure the authenticity of the food, Spitzer, operations director of Pastis, brought his mother over from France to train his chefs. He says, "Our concept is all about the products and staying true to what French bistro food is all about."

Warm Up with Hot Pot

With winter around the corner, Dong Lai Shun at The Royal Garden has a new hot pot menu. The restaurant's head chef Kenny Chan has returned from Beijing with recipes for new soup bases and other hot pot items which are hearty and nutritious and just right for the cooler days ahead.

Popular items include Guiyang-style Fish Soup, Organic Vegetable Soup, and Yunnan Wild Mushroom Soup. To complement these soup bases, Chef Chan has also brought from Beijing a supply of shoulder of Mongolian mutton, which can be sliced thickly or thinly. Sliced thickly, the meat is tender and juicy, while sliced thinly it melts in the mouth. Other new items include jumbo-size Mexican scallops, Beef Stomach and Chicken Soup, Chopped Mutton Soup, and Deer Tail Soup.