Vista — Restaurant in Kowloon

I recently dined at Vista and unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired. While the main course was enjoyable, some of the other dishes fell short of our expectations. Here's a breakdown of our experience:

Appetizer - BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich: The BBQ pulled pork sandwich was disappointingly ordinary. The BBQ sauce tasted similar to what you'd find at a fast food restaurant, lacking any unique flavors. The bun lacked texture, making the overall experience underwhelming.

Pasta - Pappardelle with Truffle: The pappardelle in the pasta dish seemed to be homemade, but it was cooked to be excessively soft, completely missing the al dente texture that is expected in any Italian restaurant. Additionally, the truffle lacked any discernible aroma and the dish ended up feeling more like pappardelle with cream rather than a truffle-infused delicacy.

Main Course - Rib-eye and Grilled Octopus Tentacles: Thankfully, the main course redeemed our dining experience. The rib-eye was tender, beefy, and had a delightful grilled flavor. The grilled octopus tentacles were decent as well, adding some variety to the meal.

Dessert - Vista Classic Tiramisu: The Vista Classic Tiramisu was a major letdown. The so-called mascarpone was nothing more than a sweet foam with no distinct flavor, and it quickly turned into a liquid consistency. The ladyfinger lacked the customary dip in coffee, rendering it more like a plain biscuit. We brought our disappointment to the attention of the manager, who promptly replaced the dessert for us.

Replacement Dessert: The replacement dessert was only marginally better. The "mascarpone" had a slightly firmer texture, but it still lacked any discernible flavors other than sweetness. Rather than resembling a true tiramisu, it felt more like a biscuit with overly sweet cream. Considering the reputation and price of the restaurant, this dessert should not have been served to customers.

In conclusion, while the main course at Vista was enjoyable, the overall dining experience was marred by disappointing appetizers and an underwhelming dessert. The lackluster BBQ pulled pork sandwich and poorly executed pasta dish were a letdown. Although the restaurant attempted to address our concerns with the dessert, the replacements still did not live up to our expectations. Given the reputation and price point of Vista, we expected a higher standard of...

A high tea experience suitable for nobles ☕️🫖

Thanks to my foodie friend for the recommendation! This time, they took me to Tsim Sha Tsui for a decent high tea 🫢. I was super happy to learn that my friend knew Vista had launched a new menu - "Cheung Po Tsai" Afternoon Tea Set . We could sit on the 30th floor, enjoying high tea with an unobstructed view of Victoria Harbour. It was relaxing. 🌸

Upon entering, the environment was very tranquil, and I was immediately captivated by the floor-to-ceiling windows and the harbour view 😊. The staff were very attentive and arranged a suitable seating for us.

For the food presentation, since it was themed about "Cheung Po Tsai", a pirate, so the food were on a boat- ⛵️. When it arrived, the presentation looks great and special 👍. It even had a mysterious effect! The staff added dry ice to create smoke, allowing us to quietly appreciate such a poetic food presentation.

This afternoon tea set had an equal mix of savory and sweet items. The main sweet treats were provided by the renowned brand Paul Lafayet, while the savory items included caviar egg salad sandwiches, which had a great flavor combination. The snow crab and avocado tart was also quite rare to experience. The food were both visually appealing and tasty.

For this price, the two-person set aimed at enjoying the view and this beautiful, unique pirate boat. The afternoon tea. I personally feel, is worth it. Next time, I might try dinner as the view should offer a different charm, especially viewing new...

Atmosphere was great! Floor to ceiling windows of Victoria Harbour. However, this view is likely why even just a 2 course meal is $568 per person for alright Italian food. Each dish tasted decent but nothing was enjoyable enough to warrant coming back or even recommending this restaurant to anybody else. You could honestly get better Italian food for 1/3 of this price elsewhere in Hong Kong. Food aside, my friends and I were regrettably disappointed with the service. Throughout the night we encountered no problems, but when we asked for my friend's birthday cake at 10:45PM, it took 25 minutes and 1 follow-up for the server to abashedly let us know that they had dropped the cake. Although they did waive the $300 (!!) cake-cutting fee and provide us with four glasses of complimentary champagne, I still felt the 25 minute wait was unnecessarily long. I struggle to understand how dropping a cake, picking it back up, assessing the damage and letting us know takes more than 10 minutes, especially at 11PM when the restaurant is essentially empty by now. We ended up leaving at 12AM and due to this unfortunately various members of our party missed the last bus home.

TLDR: Good atmosphere, expensive food that tastes fine but forgettable, and the service...