Holt's Café — Restaurant in Kowloon

With Restaurant Week back for a summer edition, Holt's Cafe again saw diners scrambling for limited tables. Had the salmon for starter and chicken for main - while not the star local dishes of this "tea house" styled cafe, the Chinese options don't seem to match the value.

There was nothing to fault about the food. Salmon Gravlax, a dinner set regular, is available in the special event lunch menu and spot on. Chicken breast is moist and tender, the mash is silky smooth, but the combination lacks charm and perhaps only heavy lifters would look forward to so much protein on a plate.

Presentation of the mango pudding is a pleasant surprise. In lieu of evaporated milk, a pot of mango puree is served on the side complemented by a sticky sesame crisp. Everything done to perfection. And if you miss the conventional milk topping, there is cream under the crisp to add that dairy twist.

But here the bread duo is the showstopper. Both the rustic bake and the local-cafe-inspired soft roll have the right texture, the rustic being a tad tougher than usual but goes great with olive oil. The moist innards indicate relative freshness, perhaps a benefit of lunch service. Attention to the bread basket reinforces the solid food evidence that high standards are still well observed at this Rosewood flagship two years after opening.

But still, one star is lost to the oddly noisy ambience. The space lacks soft furnishings to tame the acoustic echo - perhaps diners' chatters bouncing back and forth on hard flooring and wall panels are a special "tea cafe" feature, but this elegant space is not where you can keep conversations private. I was seated alone in the purple sofa chamber and that echo from the main dining room was so bad at one point I could hear crisp chatters coming out of the wall, sounding like those oral history speakers installed in museums.

The idea behind a Rosewood-reinterpreted tea cafe is noble, but the split-screen menu seemingly extracted from a cliché steak house and regular Chinese diner falls short of being inspirational. While there are a handful of classic items from a true local tea cafe, there is no sign of attempts to up the game. Playing safe on your first day is a wise approach, but two years have passed since Holt's Cafe opening and it's about time to rethink what can be done on top of the current offerings to truly embody the city's can-do spirit and borderless culinary imagination.

Without giving the culinary team room to create, it's questionable whether the current standard can still hold in a...

The service was extremely poor, especially to the staff in the front desk. I went there with my daughters around 5pm, the staff told us the tables inside were not available but the outside was still open, so she asked us if would like to sit there. I was hesitated because the weather was getting cold on that day, so I said we could have a look, then we refused as it was a bit windy. After we got inside, I asked if we could wait to get a table inside, she said no because they would close soon and would be available again at 6pm, but there’s no table available until 8pm according to the availability. My kids were starving so I asked if I could order the same popular bbq pork rice from in room service, she said no, it‘s different and was not from the cafe.

Surprisingly, at the time when we were talking, there were 2 people walking in and successfully got a table inside( obviously the table can have 3 seats), so I asked the staff why they could have a seat. She said because I wanted to sit outside! How ridiculous! I was shocked by the fact that as a super 5-star hotel, they don’t have a sense of first come first serve. It was super disappointing.

But this is not the worst!

We then decided to go back to our room and check the in room serving menu, which has the exactly same food on it. So I called and asked if they are from the Holt’s cafe, the person said yes, which means the staff in the cafe lied to us! I don’t know if this is a 5-star hotel service standard.

Overall, the food was good, the staff in the front desk was terrible, but other staff...

The ambiance is modern contemporary elegance, if you want to try Cantonese style hawker food with more decent environment and additional western cuisine to choose from it’s the perfect choice.

We were greeted by Chef Jacky who cooked our Chinese food items. He certainly is one of the most talented chefs I have met. The taste of the perfectly charred Char Siu, and the tan tan noodles, still lingered in my mouth. Simple items are always the hardest to cook.

The menu offers a delightful mix of local and international cuisine. The medium steak was cooked to perfection, particularly like the peppercorn sauce. The Papaya Salad was refreshing, and the traditional Cantonese dishes we had was siu Mei, perfect to go with a glass of red wine. The Sesame Cream Dessert (don’t actually know its name) was a unique and delicious end to the meal, a well done pastry with some Japanese twist in flavor.

Holt's Café also boasts an excellent selection of wines, perfect for pairing with their diverse menu. The service was outstanding, with attentive and friendly staff who made our dining experience top-notch. The only thing was there was a big group on that evening and they obvious was drunk so was a bit noisy, but it was just an unfortunate occasion and overall the value for money is great.

Overall, Holt's Café exceeded all my expectations. The combination of exquisite food, impeccable service, a great wine selection, and a beautiful setting makes it a must-visit. I can't...