Limehouse

Want to find a resto great for dating a girl? She wants to try something different yet offer no suggestion? A place that is quiet yet no need to walk so far with her heels? A place that tables are spaced wide enough to give you two enough personal space? A place that allow you to have certain walkable distance to the nearest MTR station after dinner? A location with more than a few crossings which you can make you lame move in garbing her hand while crossing the street? ... Don't worry, I think I have a recommendation for you: it's Limehouse on Ship Street, Wan Chai. Hiding behind the narrow and slightly steep street, you will immediate spot this rather outstanding white structure with several bright spotlights shining in all directions. 

It somewhat reminds me of a small cottages near the coast but instead all you see from the inside would be concrete buildings instead of the great blue sky and sea. Decor was simple yet themed in a way that gives you a very homely / cozy atmosphere. Tables were arranged spaciously (or perhaps it was due the layout of the two floors structure) that my friend and I have personal space without whispering.   

The menu was very focused with a handful of starters and mains for your selection. Oppps, forgot to mention that this place offers English or what I like to call English-inspired cuisine. I personally prefer a more focused and specialized menu because I rather have quality food than a wide selection of items that are bad poorly executed. Anyhow, we started our meal with Petite Fish and Chips. The fries were alright, freshly fried and with the vinegar dippings, it was quite a treat. As for the fish part, they were alright. Don't expect a thick battered fish though, I think somehow they adapted to the Hong Kong style of which less batter was used. I personally prefer thickly battered fish and chips, then again, each to their own.

Duck Liver and Egg. Alright, to me the star of the show was not the duck liver but the egg part. A small lightly seared duck liver placed on top of a medium cooked egg shaped like those served in an Sausage and Egg Muffin from McDonald's. (I think I will get that for breakfast on Monday ... humm ... just mentioning makes me crave for it!) The combination of egg with the stronger duck liver flavor made it a dish I would return for. Did I mention how I loved the semi-liquid egg yolk that went quite went with the liver as well? Simple yet delicious.

For mains, I ordered the Not Exactly Bangers and Mash. Why I ordered that? Thanks to the interesting name of the dish, simple as that. So why is it called this funny name? Apparently the bangers were not prepared in a very traditional way or not even considered as bangers. Traditionally, Bangers or Sausages are made by stuffing the meat and fat into a tubular castings made from intestines of the animal. However, nowadays it often requires certain tools to help stuff the meat into the intestines, some are quite huge and requires time to prepare. After a brief explanation, apparently the bangers we ordered were made slightly different, instead of stuffing the meat into the intestine casting, the meat was "wrapped" by the casting. If you look closer at the picture below, you can see how loosely the sausages were.  Definitely Not Exactly Bangers and Mash. The sausages were quite good, yet different mainly because of the texture. Give it a try! What I find to be a good addition to the sausage was the use of tiny bits of fat. Without the tiny bits of fat, it would taste so different, the tiny little fats rule! What about the mash? hummm ... I wish I could have been smoothly and more flavorful.

My friend ordered the Lancashire Hotpot. For those unfamiliar with this dish, it is a rather traditional offering from Lancashire, England which consisted of lamb and onion, topped with sliced potatoes before being baked under low heat for quite a long while. Yep, it is quite that simple to make based on my knowledge. However, I have to admitted that I have no tried this dish too many times but I don't really recall it being so watery as served here at Limehouse, the jus should have been a bit more thick like a stew right? The meat was tender and flavorful, yet not overly gamey, but I really wished the jus was thicker! 

I am not sure what got into me but I really feel like writing today! So what am I going to talk about and blah?? Lamb! I might have mentioned it before (forgot which London post) but anyhow I will say it once again. Some people dislike lamb or mutton for its gamey flavors but ever wonder why some have stronger gamey flavors then others? Based on what I have been told (please correct me if I am wrong), male lamb produces a stronger gamey flavors than female lamb. Also, lamb under the age of 6 months would produce less or no gamey flavors due the lack of hormones in their system. In other words, it is the hormones that produce the the gamey flavors and lamb usually starting reaching that stage beyond the age of 6 months when puberty starts. Mutton, which is lamb beyond the age of 12 months usually, definitely has stronger flavors than lamb, both female and male lamb wise. Perhaps you can ask for female lamb under the age of 6 months when you order your dish next time? HAHA ... good luck! (Again, I am still doing some research for verification of my statement above, so for the time being, please treat the info as my own) 

Time for dessert! I had the lemon tart which was slightly too tangy for my liking. If you are a fan of lemon tart and citrus flavors, this tart is for you. 

Wow, home made Apple Crumble! A simple dessert to end the meal with. It was great, not overly sweet and the crunchy texture together with the soft diced apples mixture made it ... yum! A scoop of ice cream would be nice right? My friend C is a big fan of Apple Crumbles so I took a small bite and let you enjoy the rest. :)

Was it very authentic? Honestly I am not sure, perhaps as I mentioned English inspired kind of authentic? In any case, great service and lovely location with great decor (and unpretentious) in my opinion. Planning my revisit for casual lunch soon. This place to me is a causal joint when I want to enjoy a simple meal with close friends.

Likes: 

• Not Exactly Bangers and Mash - Cannot really compared with traditional bangers because they were not exactly bangers right? The tiny little fats made the world of differences! 
• Duck Liver and Egg - the star of the show was the egg! 

Dislikes: 

• Lancashire Hotpot - slightly watery, thought the jus should have been more ... stew-y

Avg Spending: HKD 200-300 per person

Limehouse
35 Ship St, Wan Chai
Tel: 2528 5818



View Larger Map