Brunch at the Gold Coast

Atrium Lobby Lounge Gold Coast Hotel, Tuen Muen
Visited 2nd March

I love the Hong Kong institution of the Sunday brunch buffet. It offers an easy way to catch up with friends or celebrate in a relaxed and casual atmosphere; in this case it was the final day of Naomi's parents' Hong Kong holiday. While the Tuen Mun Gold Coast is not Hong Kong's most convenient location, it does offer a fantastic spread every Sunday. The Atrium Lobby Lounge where the buffet takes place is a large open area with views of the water and Lantau Island. The low tables and chairs are comfortable, the service friendly and the band strumming in the background surprisingly good.

Successfully surviving any buffet is a skilled strategy of portion size and pace, but the huge variety of top quality food offered at the Gold Coast Hotel means even seasoned players often end up uncomfortably full. The immense selection includes maned stations serving omelettes, fresh pasta, filet mignon, seared scallops, foie gras, roasted meats, Peking duck and waffles. There's also breakfast cereals, a big choice of seafood, salads, dim sum, hot Asian and western dishes, good bread, cheese and impressive desserts including a chocolate fountain. Drinks aren't missing and there's as much fruit juice, punch, wine and sparkling as you can handle. On this visit there was also the addition of a 'make your own hot chocolate' station, with a choice of different coco count chocolate to melt.

I like the Sunday brunch buffet at the Gold Coast Hotel. The food is of top quality, the selection broad and the drinks free flowing. The friendly staff and relaxed atmosphere means that it's perhaps a little less formal and pretentious than many of the brunches offered at other hotels. For $300 a head it's certainly good value and the only problem is managing to walk the couple of hundred metres to Med-Star for a final 'cleansing ale'.
Visit restaurant website.

Med Stars

Ground Floor, Gold Coast Shopping Mall, Tuen Mun
Visited 14th September

The first week back to work after the holidays is always a struggle; but five days later Friday night seems to make everything OK again. Naomi and I met a mate for dinner and drinks at the Gold Coast. Though the Gold Coast is a bit of a hike from the Tuen Mun town centre and KCR station it's worth trudging across to be able to sit by the water and watch the setting sun traverse Lantau Island. Med Stars is one of the restaurants in the small shopping arcade; inside it's an ugly industrial pub dominated by a huge TV; outside is a total contrast with tables, umbrellas and views of the water.

Drinks at Med Stars are reasonably priced and the couple of cold Tiger beers I drunk were refreshingly good value at only $22. The menu has a pretty large selection; mainly basic Western dishes, but there's also a BBQ char-grilling meaty treats. I started by giving the barbecue a workout and ordered a grilled sardine; the little charcoaled critter was delicious, and an absolute steal for only $13. For a main I ordered grilled tuna fillets which were served with a wasabi based sauce and vegetables. For a $138 the two chunky bits of tuna were a very generous serve and were pretty tasty despite being well over-cooked. Naomi enjoyed her fat club sandwich which was simply served with chips and my mate loved his lamb chops (though he always loves lamb chops so I'm not sure if that's saying much). We shared a bottle of Dona Paula Merlot 2005; a wine I liked, though Naomi thought was over priced and dominated by off putting sour, green flavours.

Yuen Long seems a long way from the beach and when I crave a view of the ocean I often find myself at Med Stars. The beers are cheap, the food's basic, but good and the service is efficient. It's the sort of place were you can waste a whole day or just drop in for dessert and a nightcap. I've got a quite a few friends who live at the Gold Coast and many of them are well over Med Stars as it's the only decent pub in the vicinity, yet I like it and recommend it for a beer or casual meal if you're in the area.