AZIZA Sai Ying Pun — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

I made a dinner reservation at Aziza after hearing and reading good reviews regarding the food and service. Unfortunately, I was left underwhelmed and disappointed.

Whilst ordering both food and drinks, we were rather unapologetically informed that half of the items on the menu were not in stock - a poor start to the evening. It took over 20 minutes for our cocktails to arrive, which were more like poorly made mocktails – barely alcoholic and a complete rip-off for the price we were charged.

The starters were unspectacular. The hummus was grainy and over-spiced, and you would certainly get more authentic wara inab elsewhere. Moreover, the waiter serving us “forgot” to bring us the pita bread that was supposed to come with some of the starters ordered, requiring us to prompt him. The only partial saving grace were the falafels, which were crisp on the outside and pillowy-soft in the middle.

For mains, we ordered a chicken tagine with white rice, as well as wraps served with French fries. The “tagine” was basically a watered-down, oversalted tomato gravy with chunks of barely cooked vegetables, although the cook on the chicken was satisfactory. The wraps were soggy and poorly built, whilst the fries were limp and tasteless.

However, the cherry on top of the cake was yet to come. When it came to payment, I handed my credit card to the waiter serving us, expecting to receive a bill to sign in return. I was horrified when he returned with both the credit card and an already-signed bill, casually stating that he had “randomly signed for me”. Never have I ever had a bill signed on my behalf without my consent in any of my dining experiences, and this was the last straw.

Needless to say, I will not be returning to Aziza anytime soon – not unless the management seriously evaluates how the establishment is being run and makes drastic improvements.

Would...

What a great find in Sai Ying Pun. Just across the road from the bottom of Water street this wonderful Egyptian restaurant has popped up in our neighbourhood and we are so pleased to have discovered it.

Since everything is in lockdown (again) the wife and I decided to visit for a cheeky lunch date

We opted for the set menu and were blown away by the quality and taste of the food, but also the value for money. The set menu consists of a starter, main, drink and dessert.

For our starter, we went for the hummus and the chilli feta…of all the dishes we tried were fabulous but the feta was our favourite. It was punchy and tangy and perfect with some warm pita bread. YUM

For the main, we opted for the lamb Kofta, and the chicken shawarma and both were abundantly seasoned and so tender. Both dishes come with a side salad that was fresh and the dressing (a pomegranate molasses and sumac) was divine. In addition, you get to choose either rice, cous cous or veges. My wife went for the rice which she adored / devoured and my veges were cooked to perfection and again, beautifully seasoned.

I have been lucky enough to spend a little bit of time in Cairo and I’m happy to report that Aziza felt and tasted very authentic to me. Abundance of those amazing Egyptian spices and best of all, the food, service and overall ambiance of the restaurant is excellent. We will be back and...

Uncertain why there are so many positive reviews on their food. I even cross-checked with other food review sites to ensure this was the same restaurant. We ordered our food online and it was the worst cooking I have tasted. We coined it perhaps, without prejudice, "chop suey food" for locals? Didn’t know Middle Eastern food (one of my favourite cuisines) could be made to taste this bad and indigestible. Their portions were also remarkably petite and overpriced. This especially applies to their side dishes such as pita bread and tabbouleh. We ordered the Aziza chicken and could appreciate the grill aroma. The moussaka, hummus and pita bread really didn't settle well with even my usually strong stomach. The delivery packaging was fine and employees seem friendly and eager to help too. Perhaps their main chef was on holiday when we ordered? Ambivalent to give this premise a second try even though they have a 4.1 stars...