Casual lunch @ Green (Hotel ICON), Hong Kong

Did you know that there are such things as "training hotels", which serve as training grounds for students who are studying hotel and tourism management? We stayed at one such hotel on our recent trip to Macau, and we loved it! The service was impeccable with great attention to detail by students who are eager to please the customers - a five star service without the five star price tag. Hotel ICON in Hong Kong is the world's first fully integrated teaching and research hotel, built by the HK Polytechnic University for training their students. We dropped by the hotel last Saturday for an early lunch at Green, which is open all day (7am to 12am) - great for hungry people who are stuck in the area with a couple of hours to kill in between appointments, outside of ordinary restaurant hours. The hotel staff was great and very helpful, and I found the lobby's decor to be quite pleasing to the eye.

The hotel's lobby and entrance from our table at Green:

One of the defining features of Green is the largest indoor vertical garden, designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc, the inventor of the green wall. It is huge, and a very striking feature. I wonder how easy it is to maintain a vertical garden.

Hubby, son, tables and chairs alike are dwarfed by the huge vertical garden:

Service was adequately attentive, and the food was served relatively quickly (we were the only lunch customers at the time; the other customers were there for coffee and light snacks). We ordered from the a-la-carte menu as we didn't want to wait another hour for the lunch menu to become available. The food is on the pricey side, but quite normal for a hotel café restaurant, and this is reflected on the food quality.

Enjoyed a cappuccino while waiting for the food - the milk froth is demanding a good sprinkling of cocoa! That macaron-like biscuit was unexpectedly crunchy, but delicious all the same with a nutty flavour:

Delicious warm fresh bread, served with butter and tapenade:

Calamari (HK$88), for the 3-year-old, who loved munching on the deep-fried squid but not so keen on the dip (he doesn't like mixing food). We adults also enjoyed the crispy squid:

Hubby ordered Escalopes de Veau 'Viennoise' (breaded veal cutlet with caper garnish, HK$200). This was done quite nicely - the breading was crispy yet the veal was still moist and tender:

I got the Grilled Sea Bass Fillet (HK$188), served with artichokes, onions, tomatoes and black olives. This was a generous chunk of sea bass, but perhaps a little overcooked. It was still quite moist and tasty:

For dessert, we enjoyed Apple Streusel with Vanilla Ice Cream (HK$78). Delicious soft apple filling encased in a buttery shortcrust pastry with a crunchy crumble topping and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (you can see the vanilla flecks):

We enjoyed lunch at a leisurely pace and watched as the dining space filled up with the lunch crowd. The lunch set menu looks quite enticing, and is more affordable than ordering a-la-carte. Green is worth a visit if you happen to be in the area and looking to have decent food in a comfortable atmosphere.

Green
G/F Hotel Icon
17 Science Museum Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Tel. +85 2 3400 1300