Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Address: G/F, 59-65 Paterson Street, Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣名店坊百德新街59-65號地舖

Telephone: 2367 2710

https://www.towngasavenue.com/eng/cuisine/

最近有人送了3張$100的Flame at Towngas Avenue現金券給我，所以星期六便去了那裏吃午餐。我沒有上過Towngas Avenue的烹飪班，但有部分朋友都讚好。以為Flame的午餐不會太差吧，怎料食物真的非常普通。雖然每位$140-$200左右已經可以吃自助頭盤和甜品，餐湯，主菜及一杯Lavazza咖啡，但吃完這麼沒水準的一頓飯，真的有點兒不暢快!

Towngas Avenue has sent the community of aspiring chefs into quite a spin with its fascinating range of cooking classes, teaching everything from 3D chocolate cookies to chilli con carne. Flame is the restaurant run by Towngas Avenue, and I went for a meal there as my friend gave me $300 worth of coupons. Conveniently located by the side of Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay, the decor of the restaurant is modern and simple. A large floor-to-ceiling window gives the small dining room a more spacious feeling, but the trade-off is a lack of privacy as pedestrians on Paterson Street could look into the restaurant while you eat.

While the dishes on menu seemed attractive, the kitchen failed to deliver and I found the food’s standard below average.  The service was not exemplary, but it was hard-working and friendly enough. The service was not exemplary, but it was hard-working and friendly enough. The price for a set lunch ranges from $128 to $178, and each set includes an appetiser and dessert buffet, a soup of a day, a main course and a coffee/tea. It is indeed quite budget-friendly, but I would still not spend this amount of money on food that is neither special nor tasty.

(1) I tried some mixed greens, celeriac and apple with mayonnaise and mixed zucchini and eggplant from the salad bar. There were no points for originality, but at least the vegetables were fresh and I also enjoyed eating the smoked Scottish salmon.

(2) The Soup of the day was a chicken soup, and it was warm and full of flavours.

(3) We also tried the Truffle and Mushroom Soup (extra $20), which was delectable and soothing, with the mushroom bits giving complex texture to the soup.

(4) Eggs benedict is one of the best comfort foods, so I was very delighted to see the Eggs Benedict with Canadian ham on the lunch menu. The poached egg, ham and muffin were pleasant, but to my dismay, the hollandaise sauce was a complete failure and was practically melted butter.

(5) Mexican tortillas are also one of my favourites, so the Mexican Style Roaster Tortilla Rolls with butter lettuce, sweet corn and cherry tomato was ordered. It sounded like a vibrant vegetarian tortilla at first, but the vegetables’ flavours did not shine through and there was only an overwhelming taste of tomatoes. The tortilla was a bit dry, and I wished the filling was spicier and more tangy.

(6) The dessert buffet had a good variety, and I picked a few different desserts to try. The desserts were very pretty to look at, but not exactly tasty, and lacked complexity both in terms of taste and texture.

The restaurant serves Lavazza coffee, which seemed promising, so I decided to order a cup of latte. To our shock, the latte brought to us was cold! We told the manager about it and she was very apologetic and immediately made us a new cup. The second cup of coffee was piping hot, and tasted brilliant.

Conclusion: Nothing at this semi-buffet lunch was particularly outstanding; when it comes to food, I would have expected higher standards from an establishment that offers cooking classes!