First Place Coffee — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

My friend and I had one of our worst Hong Kong experiences at this cafe. We planned to work here and ordered two drinks and a dessert. The tables were so small that we had to sit at separate ones, as one couldn't fit both of our laptops along with our orders.

Shockingly, after an hour, a staff member requested that we move to sit together at one table. They said they needed to push our table together with another empty one to seat three new customers, claiming we were "occupying seats for four people." This is ridiculous: if you come alone, you can have a table; if you're with a friend, you must share. The staff spoke to us as if they were entitled to make this demand.

I quite understand that space is limited in Hong Kong. However, that doesn't mean I should give up the space we had rightfully claimed. I might have been glad to do them a favor if asked politely, but it was not my obligation. The staff's attitude was like they were giving us an order, which made us feel very uncomfortable and disrespected. I'm perfectly fine with sharing a table in a Cha Chaan Teng, but not in a cafe.

I will not come to this cafe again, never and ever.

Btw, the dessert is overpriced and...

First Place Coffee is a relatively new place along King's Road in the Tin Hau neighbourhood. They have a fair sized indoor seating area and are open from 8am to 6pm (weekdays) and 10am to 6pm (weekends). FP offers a fairly typical coffee shop food, coffee and non-coffee menu and service is friendly.

I stopped here recently and was served a good espresso tonic. Espresso was nicely flavoured, blended well with tonic water, it made for a refreshing coffee drink, good for hot summer afternoons. I also liked the affogato menu on display at the counter, would be interested in trying one of these coffee desserts next...

Had a simple Americano black. It was the best coffee I've ever had. It started off "normal" and then all the flavours opened up on my tongue like stepping through a dense rain forest canopy into an amazing vista of clearly defined tastes. The Banofee to Drink was a slower burn. First sip - yes this is nice. But then it doesn't let go, like that hug you really needed from a good friend.

I thought "this must be a championship barista" and yes, there is the certificate I expected to see

I know this is a bit OTT review but it's how I felt...