This article originally appeared in the latest July edition of Foodie: The Future of Food. Read it here!
I want some baby-back-baby-back ribs:
We’re always up for carnivore delights, so when we heard about the new pork-i-licious barbeque joint aptly named The Grill Room in Causeway Bay, we chortled with glee and braved chaotic Lockhart Road to give it a try. Located in the newly refurbished L Square building, The Grill Room is the second restaurant venture of Jason Yeung, who started with Flames Charcoal Chicken in Quarry Bay. The new Grill Room focuses on porky indulgences, although the menu also offers a variety of other grilled meats such as the peri-peri chicken, which follows the same recipe as that of Flames Charcoal Chicken, and beef short ribs. The ambiance is easy going, with the menu centered around rustic, sharing plates.
Porky Love:
We arrived for a lunch tasting, and sadly, were unable to try most sections of the menu as they were limited to dinner service. However, there was a good variety of dishes to salivate over, ranging from a grilled Wagyu burger, to vongole capellini, to mini ribeye, to the signature chargrilled pork ribs. We opted for the house special pork ribs, accompanied by fries and coleslaw. As a side, we went with the scorched corn kernels ($48), which came with a sesame oil dressing. We are huge fans of buttery, sweet corn, but the sesame oil was a bit overpowering. The corn would have also faired better if it had spent more time on the grill, as it lacked caramelisation and would have benefited from a hint of smokiness. The ribs are marinated with a housemade dry rub, then slow-cooked for eight hours before chargrilled over searing hot flames and basted with the “secret” house sauce. The menu promises fall-off-the-bone ribs, at the tune of $198 for a half rack and $268 for a full rack. Our half rack arrived with around six segments of ribs, which was quite generous for the lunch price of $128, and included either a salad or soup starter as well as a tea or coffee. The ribs were smothered in a sweet and slightly tangy barbeque sauce that wasn’t overpowering, and, although not exactly “falling of the bone”, had juicy porky flavour. We did wish that the ribs had more of a smoky chargrilled accent to pique the flavour profile. The fries were on the limp and soggy side, although we liked how the coleslaw wasn’t overdressed and maintained a good crunch.
Verdict:
An ideal place to go for a casual meal if you happen to be in Causeway Bay and craving some barbeque. The ribs were good although not life-changing. We liked the cheerful, easy going ambiance and the moderately priced menu.
5/F, The L. Square, No. 459-461 Lockhart Road.
Scan the QR code here:
