Christmas Lunch @ Main St. Deli, Hong Kong

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas. Mine started out not so great. I woke up feeling ill, and I had not only caught a cold off my son, I had also somehow gotten a stomach bug. We had decided to do Christmas a little different this year, to enjoy a festive lunch held by one of the nice hotels - the ones that require a deposit with the table reservation - instead of inviting guests over to squeeze in our tiny apartment for a roast turkey lunch as we did in the previous four years. I was really disappointed to have to cancel the expensive lunch buffet plans, but at the same time I was glad that we weren't hosting Christmas otherwise my illness would have affected more people than just our family. By late morning I wasn't feeling so sick, and I decided to salvage part of our Christmas celebrations and make the effort to go out for a light lunch (still not well to take on a buffet), but by then most good places were already fully booked. I recalled that the turkey we ordered from Main St. Deli at the Langham Hotel for last Christmas was pretty good, so hubby rang them to make lunch reservations and thankfully they could take our last minute booking.

Main St. Deli was great for a casual Christmas. Inspired by New York's famous 2nd Avenue Deli, Main St. is Hong Kong's first New York style deli. There were party hats (feather hairbands for the ladies) and glittery party horns on the table which helped add to the festive mood. The service was a little patchy, but I understand that the kitchen must have had massive catering orders to fulfill that day. The 3-course festive menu was reasonably priced at HK$338 (+10%), and there were two options for the appetiser and dessert courses, and three options for the main course. We even got a visit from Santa!

The Chocolate Milkshake was seriously good. We ordered it for the boy, but we had to order another one because we couldn't stop drinking it:

Hubby's appetiser - Cream of Spinach. Very tasty, and the thick slice of rustic bread was a good accompaniment:

My appetiser - House-smoked Salmon. This was also really good. Not too salty or strongly fishy:

Hubby's Roasted Turkey with Roast Vegetables, Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce. Excellent choice, and even the 3-year-old approved. It's no wonder many people choose to get their Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys from Main St. Deli:

My main course was Pan-fried Swordfish - unfortunately this was average at best. The fish was a little overcooked, and everything was just a little boring - I can do better at home. Go for the turkey if you're here for the festive menu:

Christmas Pudding with brandied custard - delicious spicy fruit mince:

Pumpkin Pie. I've never had traditional pumpkin pie before, but this was very much like a pumpkin-flavoured cheesecake. It was yummy:

All-in-all, this was not a bad save to Christmas day. I still couldn't eat much, but hubby was happy to eat more for my sake. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and just enjoying each other's company - the boys spent quality time assembling Lego vehicles from our son's new set, and the boy loved playing on the mini keyboard we got him. This Christmas was a nice laidback change to the previous few Christmases, and I could enjoy a relaxing time with my family.

Main St. Deli
Lower Lobby Level, Langham Hotel
8 Peking Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Tel. +85 2 2132 7898