Okay. So welcome to the Western districts. It's not nearly as hipstery as Sheung Wan (上環)/Western market, but it's getting there. The neighborhood isn't Kennedy town - it's Shek Tong Tsui (石瑭咀). History buffs would note that this was the Red Light district of the olden days - if you saw the 1987 cinema classic Rouge (胭脂扣), well, it took place here back in the 1920s, before World War II turned Hong Kong upside down. The Belchers is where the rich folks live, and HKU is further north. Queens Road West is "little people country" where the working stiffs live, and as such, supermarket and shop stalls are still here, the local bakery still have fresh egg tarts and milk breads (方包), and you got your neighborhood greasy spoons selling pre-made dumplings and "dirty noodles" (揦鮓麵, fast cook noodle made by joints that are often noted for the proprietor's lack of sanitary prep surfaces) There are some changes to the local landscape in the area once the MTR rolled around, but for the most part, fullbore gentrification has yet to impact the area.
So that brings us to the A+ kitchen...what the hell is it? Well, it's a bit of a mixed bag. It's a great breakfast diner and a mediocre Cantonese dinner joint both at the same time.
So, what's with the breakfasts? The menu contain some very decent value - 31 HKD (about 4 USD) will get you a fresh omelette, a traditional rice vermicelli noodles or a bowl of pasta noodles with smoked duck medellions, along with a solid cup of milk tea or coffee. As someone who immigrated decades ago, that's one of the things I missed about old school HK...kicking back in a diner via a French toast (butter and golden syrup) and a cuppa slight bitter (pre-seasoned with some Black-and-White condensed milk, served with its distinctive cup). The place is clean, roomy, and when you compare it to the grimy noodle joints in the area slinging congee (白粥) and rice roll (豬腸粉) combos for 28HKD each, this place all of a sudden becomes a spectacular deal. The food quality is solid and the portions generous.
Now, what's with the dinner experience? Well, for one, it's kinda expensive - portion sizes aren't great and your menu choices are just so-so. Second, the food quality (both ingredients and prep) are rather mediocre. We got the soup du-jour, which was some pork bone soup with pickled veggies, but other than it being salty, it was bland. The Grouper in a corn sauce simply showed off how poor the fish quality was. The kai-lan with beef was okay but nothing to write home about. The appetizer cold-dish of jellyfish and cured pigs-ears tasted like it was leftovers from a few days ago.
As a breakfast joint, it's a solid 4. As a dinner joint, it's a 2. Average it out and it'll be a 3. I am not sure if it's A+, but I'll give it a passing grade, but only for breakfast. read more