Chocolate mousse, creme brule and a light-as-air souffle are just some of the delicious bookends to a meal at ABC Kitchen. Provided to China Daily

 

Hong Kong

I had a chance to eat at A Better Cooking (ABC) Kitchen in the Queen Street Cooked Food Market a couple of months ago, and shared a couple of their dishes with friends. It was an unplanned visit. We had been to a restaurant opening earlier and though we did sample a few dishes, we were still hungry and decided we wanted to have the roast suckling pig at ABC.

It was late on a weekday evening, so getting a table was easy though this little Italian eatery is very popular and reservations are usually recommended.

The roast suckling pig is the most popular dish on the menu. I'm told that this is the same roast suckling pig that used to be served at M at the Fringe where the chefs apparently used to work. We loved it.

Thin, crispy skin covered tender, succulent meat. There was no thick layer of fat that I always feel the need to scrape off (apologies to the purists who think this is a big no-no).

I can see why this is a house specialty and why it is one of the most ordered dishes on the somewhat limited menu. Still, this is a cooked food market that we're dining in, so an extensive food and wine menu was not expected. They do offer a limited wine menu, but as there is no corkage fee, it's a good idea to bring your own bottle if you have something you like in particular.

The other main course on the menu I wanted to try was the Angus rib-eye steak with roasted whole bone marrow and French beans. Not because I'm a steak fan, but because I am a big bone marrow fan. The evening that we visited after the restaurant opening they had run out of bone marrow, so I was a little disappointed. However, the steak was done well and delicious nonetheless.

I did have a chance to sample the bone marrow on another visit and am happy to report that it hit the spot - soft, creamy and rich. The bone marrow is thoughtfully served with a small spoon, but I think I would have done better with a straw.

As a starter, the mussels in white-wine sauce is an excellent choice. Fresh shellfish are served in a creamy but not overly rich sauce that is perfect sopped up with homemade herb dinner rolls. The other starters included a salt-cod cake with seared scallops and a pan-fried foie gras with gooseberry chutney. They're all good but the mussels were by far the most tasty.

For dessert, we had the chocolate mousse, crme brulee, and the Grand Marnier souffl. The chocolate mousse disappeared too quickly and we had to order another one. It is a chocoholic's dream. Both the crme brulee and souffl are also great ways to end the meal, and are much lighter on the palate.

Eating in a cooked food market isn't for everyone, but while dining there we ran into people we knew and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It's certainly worth a visit. Set lunches are under HK$100 and dinner is about HK$200-300 per person.

You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

For China Daily

(China Daily 07/24/2011 page13)