After a successful day at the races on Sunday where our good mate- jockey Dougie Whyte- rode three winners, a few of us decided we needed something different and some food with a kick to it.
With this being our mission, we headed to Chicha in Peel Street which serves a wide variety of Peruvian dishes.
I had been to Chicha last year for the first time and, despite the rave reports, I found the dishes ordered that night too be way too salty for my taste- and inedible.
This time, what my friends ordered were perfect- some delicious starters comprising beef, pork belly and chicken dishes and then overdoing things by ordering a roasted chicken dish- a very large portion that looked like the bird had been injected with steroids- which left us feeling bloated and probably looking like beached whales.
Chicha is pretty good though the regular drinks, like a simple vodka lime soda, were very weak whereas the background music- kitschy “jazz”- doesn’t exactly set the right mood.
As for the service, it was helpful without being intrusive though we were amused by one of the waitresses there.
From Perth and only in Hong Kong for two months, she was friendly, led us to our table, took our orders, and, when asked if she knew anything about horse racing in Western Australia, she caught our interest by saying she was into horse racing in a “big way.”
However, some of her answers to racing in Perth and a trainer she mentioned didn’t quite “connect” with what we know about racing down there.
Still, we asked if she’d ever gone horse racing in Hong Kong and whether she’d like to. She hadn’t but wanted to, so, we invited her, she said something like “goody goody” and we gave her a name card in case she wanted any help to get in.
Perhaps our questions scared her off, but- whoosh- she disappeared from serving us and never even made an effort to ask us if we enjoyed our meal etc whereas we took back the name card which was left on the table as it was apparent that she was making very small talk.
In a city where most of those working as waiters and waitresses in the bars and restaurants in the Soho, Lan Kwai Fong and Wyndham Street are mainly from Nepal and the Philippines, Hong Kong is slowly seeing more and more expats being hired- as chefs and the service sector.
No problem at all with this- in fact, let’s get real here and face the fact that a white face in Hong Kong can take you far- except when having to stomach bollocks and phoniness.
It can put one off frequenting or recommending a restaurant and, sadly, this girl undid memories of some very good cuisine with Chicha only remembered by us for one weak waitress.
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