A HONG KONG KIND OF AUGUST

The city’s best brunches – both boozy and foodie

香港8月

美酒與佳餚兼備的城中最佳早午餐

YOU’RE READING THIS, we hope, when the sun’s shining. Right now, this writer is about to round up animals two by two and load them onto the Star Ferry to see out the seasonal heavy rains.

For you, it’s now August, and probably too hot. So we’ll focus on indoors things that Hongkongers love to do. Like: eating. Like… brunch.

First, we have to mention our favourite. Blacksalt (1), tucked away on tiny Fuk Sau Lane in Sai Ying Pun, only has a handful of tables, so you’ll need to be fast to reserve for its platefuls of Indian-inspired eggs, dosas and sinfully strong coffee. (Plus: on Sunday afternoons there’s a dog adoption drive outside – hang around to see cute puppies.) Elsewhere in Sai Ying Pun, Nate Green’s Rhoda (2) does things like eggs benedict with steak, corned beef hash and chorizo and fried potatoes from its elegant open-plan space on Des Voeux Road West.

Then there’s the new-ish brunch at polished 12,000 Francs (3) on Elgin Street. Order Bloody Marys, sourdough doughnuts with chocolate glaze (for starters – we weren’t sure either at first), and wagyu steak and eggs. And Bloody Marys and champagne and Bloody Marys and champagne…

Further afield. On silvery Cheung Sha Beach on Lantau Island, Bathers (4) is the all-new, sexed-up version of The Beach House – but still doing the same huge breakfasts and Bloody Marys re-styled as Bloody Madams.

But our favourite brunch still remains the one where we chase it with tea rather than bubbles. In Chuen Lung Village, 20 minutes from Tsuen Wan in the New Territories, Duen Kee Tea House is a dim sum buffet of hot little parcels of siu mai, xiaolongbao and lo mai gai stacked high in steamer baskets. It comes with the added bonus of being near enough to trek up Tai Mo Shan (5) afterwards (or beforehand).

我們希望，你是在一個陽光普照的日子裡閱讀這篇文章。筆者現在正要將各種動物成雙成對的聚在一起，把牠們送上天星小輪，好躲避季節性暴雨。

現在是8月，正值炎暑盛夏，不宜戶外活動。因此本月我們放眼香港人喜愛的室內活動，例如品嚐美食，或是去吃個豐盛又美味的早午餐。

首先要提的，是我們喜愛的小餐廳黑鹽（ 1）。它位於西營盤一條小巷福壽里內，只有幾張枱，為免向隅，最好盡快前來。餐廳供應南印度風味的蛋類菜式、dosa薄餅和香濃誘人的咖啡。每逢星期日下午， 店外都會舉行犬隻領養活動，到時會見到不少惹人喜愛的小狗。至於由大廚Nate Green主理的餐廳Rhoda（2），亦是位於西營盤，就在德輔道西。餐廳以開放式設計，寬敞而優雅，這裡的班尼迪蛋配牛扒風味絕佳，鹹牛肉煎馬鈴薯餅亦不俗，還有西班牙香腸和炒馬鈴薯，任君選擇。

中環伊利近街有最近新開業的餐廳12,000 Francs（3），裝潢明亮雅緻，可以嚐到美味的早午餐。我們還未決定，頭盤要先來一杯Bloody Mary雞尾酒，還是點一客朱古力酸種酵母冬甩。之後還有和牛牛扒配蛋，然後再來Bloody Mary，接著是香檳，再來Bloody Mary，接著是香檳，美酒停不了……

郊外也有精美的早午餐。離島大嶼山風景優美的長沙海灘旁，有全新開幕的餐廳Bathers（ 4），它的前身是The Beach House。改頭換面之後的新餐廳更吸引，依然供應份量巨型的早餐；至於Bloody Mar y，則改良成具餐廳獨特風味的Bloody Madam，值得一試。

配上美酒的早午餐固然吸引，但飲茶仍然是我們至愛的早午餐。從荃灣乘車約20分鐘，就可抵達位於新界川龍村的端記茶樓。這裡堆滿一籠籠新鮮熱辣的點心，有燒賣、小籠、糯米雞等，以自助形式供應。遠近馳名。茶樓鄰近大帽山（ 5），飽餐一頓之後，可以順道行山；或者行山之後，來這裡以點心慰勞自己。