Greyhound Cafe @ Harbour City 海港城 (Hong Kong)

There was such a hype when Thailand's Greyhound Cafe opened its first overseas outlet a few months ago at the IFC Mall, Hong Kong. Bookings were required a few days in advance for lunch and dinner. I have been there twice and both during off-peak hours because I have heard mixed reviews on its service during other times. My experiences at the IFC Mall outlet was not quite memorable on the service as well as food. Of course given the fact that both my visits were during the first few months of opening, things may have improved by now. I guess a revisit is required? Oh wait, this post is not about the IFC outlet but the recently opened Harbour City branch across the Victoria Harbour. Since this visit was an invitation by Harbour City, it would be quite difficult to accurately judge its service (which was great of course) or even perhaps the food. What I can say and do want to share is that my experience at this outlet was more enjoyable for various reasons. One being the wider selection of items only available at this outlet and the another being how I can actually have a complete conversation with my friends without yelling at the top of my lungs!


Let me go through the usual suspects here at Greyhound Cafe. (I think I should head over to Bangkok to do a quick comparison perhaps?) The Greyhound Famous Fried Chicken Wings was a definite must  just because it is the so-called signature dish. Many complained about the wings being quite dry but I keep an open mind on this because they were consistently dry on different occasions across outlets and the same applies back in Bangkok as well. Perhaps they wings were meant to be on the dry side? It reminds me of Nagoya Tebasaki (fried chicken wings) which is suppose to be on the dry side somewhat due to the double (twice) fried recipe. Not only does the texture matters, the flavors can be equally important which we should not ignore. If you prefer juicy wings, sure, some may prefer them dry maybe? What about me? I prefer juicy wings yet drier wings are perfect to go along with beer, just like pairing jerky with beer!

The Greyhound Iced Tea is the signature drink with the ice cubes chilled from the tea instead of plain H2O so the flavors would not be diluted as the ice cubes start to melt. I think they made a slight improvement with the iced tea to suit local preference, which is to reduce the sweetness. I still recall the shocking sweetness from the iced tea I had on my first visit to the IFC Mall outlet when they first opened. Did I mention it is quite an addictive beverage?

Please excuse Rita of Mochachocolata-Rita and her hungry pose for the Pork Stick. I had to stop her from eating before I take a few shots of the dish! It was fun fighting over those sticks! Let the duel begins!

The Salmon Carpaccio was simple yet flavorful. The dipping sauce or the chili sauce on top made it a very appetizing starter. Surprisingly thin but anything thicker would make it quite ... heavy.

Alright, here we go again! Please excuse Rita's love for carbohydrates. It was the Fried Tiger Prawns with Thai Spices and Rice that put that big smile on Rita's face! I quite liked the mixture of spices and flavors but a bit more sauce would be better to go along wit the rice.  

The Pita Pizza with Seafood Stuffing was perhaps their version of quesadilla. We actually re-ordered this ... twice? That should say something about how we liked it right? If I have to pick one thing to criticize about this it would be how the seafood stuffing was not event distributed!! The first "slice" I had was all prawns and the second piece I had was all squid! I liked both but I would love to have both the prawns and squid in one single bite! :)

The Spaghetti with Thai Anchovy was a dish of mixed feelings. I mean you either love it or hate it depending on your love towards Anchovy. While I am a fan of anchovy, you have to make sure to consume this dish while hot!! If you let it cool down just for a moment, the intended flavors would forever be gone and much would go to waste. 

Oh this Coconut Crepe Cake is one of the items that is only available at this particular outlet. Limited supplies per day, the coconuts used are shipped from Bangkok and must be made fresh every day. Like Rita said, this is OUT OF THIS WORLD, MUST TRY! I have to agree with her, perhaps because I am a dessert fan plus I love coconut! For those who visited the Bangkok Greyhound Cafe and tried this Coconut Crepe Cake, you may have spotted how the Hong Kong version only has TWO layers instead of THREE layers in Bangkok. Why? Too many reasons if you ask me, one being the cost of course.

If you are not a coconut fan, try the Mango Crepe Cake for something equally refreshing to satisfy your sweet cravings.

I didn't try this Coffee Mania because I was too busy tackling the coconut crepe cake in front of me. I had to fight off multi forks from all direction trying to have a piece of it!

Once again, thanks Harbour City for the lovely invitation and it was a great gathering of friends as well.  The experience at this outlet was a much more pleasant one compared with my experiences at the IFC Mall branch a while ago. Just to be fair, I should revisit IFC Mall outlet to see if any improvement has been made. Happy Eating!