ok, i admit, i am a creature of habit and it's not that easy to get me into doing something out of my pattern. once in a while, i do and results are most enjoyable.

zest is just down from our office building so we go there a lot for lunch. in fact some people call it my "cantine" which i guess is not very flattering a term... but, really, we do go there because the lunch special is probably the best value in hong kong. i mean the flavours and the quality of the food they serve is just unbelievable for a lunch special. And so, we go there a lot.

anyway, i always think of zest as my "lunch restaurant". because i have my "chicken vindaloo" restaurant just as i have my "people watching" restaurant. you know, the kind of restaurant i go to for a specific reason and not always for the food (before i got married, i had my "favourite waitress" restaurant...).

and so, tonight, i decided to break the pattern and try zest for dinner. wonderful idea! and how refreshing to break habits sometimes! the team was super kind as they always are with me, bringing my cup of hot water without my asking for it. full of little attention and politeness - i feel at home here i thought! however, equally, it is the food i was delighted with. the first bite of my risotto was absolutely wonderful. an explosion of taste in my mouth. enough to make me stop and think. Wow.

and the fillet with chanterelle mushrooms... wonderful. served tagliatelle style with a sweetish balsamic vinegar sauce, it was actually a perfect match to my slightly stewed, dark berries cabernet sauvignon from chile.

the only thing i do not like about zest are those odd square-shape plates that always make my knife and fork slide off and drop on my knees. so, beware of your table manners...

a lovely dinner nonetheless. i will consider coming for dinner again soon!

appetizer: pumpkin risotto, crispy sage, aged pecorino with masi pinot grigio 2006

main: beef fillet, mushroom chutney, pickled chanterelles with errazuriz cabernet sauvignon 2005

zest - 57 wyndham st., central, hk tel. +852 2526 7993