Zentro Garden, a bar that saved my life

Zentro Garden's outdoor tables at night, still pretty nice,

but I was really doubtful if you could see the food clearly.

Arguably the nicest drinking place in Tung Chung,
the restaurant/bar offers al fresco dinning in a garden, especially for the Tung Chung residents.

This blog entry is dedicated to Zentro Garden, a bar that is more garden-like than many so-called back yard gardens in the overcrowded Hong Kong, a bar where a wooden bridge is the centerpiece surrounded by the sound of flowing water, a bar that’s arguably the best and convenient place for residents in Tung Chung or even in Discovery Bay.

And oh, it saved my life, too. Well, more or less.
Here is the background story: Like any sensible human being, ok, maybe just devoted football fans, the Fifa World Cup means the world to me, I breathe, eat and drink football in that one and only glorious month every four years. But apparently, my family didn’t see eye to eye with me and refused to tune in the football channel. When I was left confused and desperate, Zentro Garden came into rescue. I knew a new restaurant/bar was opened earlier this year, around February, but hadn’t yet had the occasion to chill there. A quick search on the internet told me there were a big screen and plenty of flatscreen TVs showing the beautiful games.

so the owner is a fan of Brazil?
I wondered how he felt when his team’s knocked out by the Oranje.

So, one minute I was on the verge of crying, and another, I was eating Malaysian Satay (chicken, pork or beef, half dozen- $60) and deep-fried whole chicken wings (4 pcs-$50) in a comfy cushioned bar stool cheering for my team. What a sweet, sweet comeback.

However, the focus of my rather frequent visits were always the indoor bar and snacks. ( btw, I love their fish fingers -$55 and Mini Chesses Burger 4pcs- $60, perfect for late night football) And I haven’t put much thought on it’s garden seats so I promised to return and try their dinner menu and enjoy its al fresco environment later.

And today, in a melting summer day of all days, I kept my promise and I was, immediately impressed by the nice garden vibe the restaurant radiated in the golden, dying sunlight.

a glass of ice tea in a hot summer day? PERFECTO!






lovely tiny pink flowers in the garden!

palm trees and setting sun, what a wonderful view.

Only when I was done absorbing the nature, although artificial but not any less calming, I drank some iced tea and realized the place served Indian curry and grill – my favourite combo! (oh, they also have pasta, paella and salad etc.) I know, it’s hardly the best dinner idea in the hot summer, but I just couldn’t say no to spicy, aromatic lamb curry, could I? What I could do, though, is to move back to the familiar air-coned indoor bar and enjoy the smoking hot curry and grill.

Caesar salad with grilled smoked salmon ($75)
Couldn’t pass a day without a refreshing salad.

Char-grilled T-bone steak (128)
Medium-well for us, typical avoid-bloody-meat Chinese :)

The T-bone was quite big in portion, and would definitely please any meat-lover! You could smell the char very well, and even the taste of smoke. Although it looked quite burnt for a medium-well, it’s still juicy and went well with the pepper sauce. The (stir-fried? Or grilled?) potatoes were surprising sweet and crispy.

Indian lamb madras with nann bread ($98).
This dish would make you sweat just by looking at its picture!

The tender lamb cube mixed very well with the complex, tasty and very hot curry and the companying white sour sauce. The curry, though strong and may numb your taste buds for a while, it didn’t override the taste of lamb. It also goes with saffron rice which I was told, was soft, not sticky and very savour. But I was in the mood of bread so nann bread for me and it didn’t disappoint me.

I would loved to try the blueberry cheesecake and cream brulee for dessert but I was so full my belly felt like it was going to pop any minute. Well, the new football season is coming real soon, I guess I’ve got plenty of time to try all the food on the menu.


P.S, All menus are in English, but the local Cantonese-speaking servers are very hospitable, however, you might need to stand up to get their attention if you are sitting at the back or deep in the garden.

Zentro Garden
ADDRESS:8 Tung Chung Waterfront Road, Tung Chung
TEL: (852)2802 8000

HOW TO GET THERE?

It's rather easy to get there from Citygate Outlets: start from the Burberry shop on L2, take the esculator down one floor, leave the outlet to the bridge that leads to the group of private housing. Keep taking the left turn untill you passby a few real estate agencies then Tao Heung chinese restaurant where you can find an esculator going down to the ground nearby. Zentro Garden is just three blocks away.

Zen out in the rain at Starz Wine Bar

Yes, the beer and nachos were really nice!

but can you notice that there was a guy holding an umbrella far away?

I knew it was going to rain. I could smell the rain in the stale air. If it’s just another Sunday, not a work-free Wednesday like today, I would have stayed at home.

Yes, you hear me right. I just had a luxurious day-off on a Wednesday. Imagine not having to wake up to the alarm, imagine starting a day with a big breakfast, imagine having the entire Citygate to yourself, and no crowds! Well, if you think nothing about these, I shall remind you that everyone else was stuck in the office working.

So, no, I was not going to stay indoor because of the stupid rain. And thanks to my unshaken determination, I stumbled upon the less-seen side of the Citygate Outlets at the place least expected- a bar.

Tables of gweilos around happy hour. Nothing out of ordinary.

The said outdoor bar, Starz Wine Bar, located on the plaza, next to the cinema box office and facing the musical fountain, was where I found peace (and a full bladder) in the rain. The place was not new to me as I have been there for a few times- usually to have a quick drink and some snacks while waiting for a movie or after an exceptionally compelling movie, to let any overwhelming feeling sink in.

It’s obviously a cool place to hang out with friends as the drink list is reasonably priced and impressively diverse, even for a bar. From milk to spirits, mocktails to coffee, fruit juice to beer, cocktails to house wine, I dare say even the pickiest drinker will have no trouble placing an ordering there. I am no beer-lover, but I was told that there are beer brands not often found in local bars like Victoria Bitter and Paulaner or draught beers like Hoegaarden ($28 for 1/2 pint), Boddington as well as Blackthorn Cider (I do hope I got the names right ).

And oh, one more thing, the bar serves Earl Grey and Camomile as well! Merely the presence of English tea in a bar deserves a mention, right? In fact, the only drink I could think it may lack is Chinese herbal tea, which would be a great addition as it relieves the heat from the fries, nachos and snacks available there.

Looking for a light bite, you can get waffles, wings or cakes while sandwiches, pasta and even all day breakfast are ready to fill any huge, empty stomach. I found the Panini there very juicily satisfying and the nachos and wings are pretty up on the scale for the standard of a bar kitchen. For tea set, you can get either waffle, cake or sandwich of your choice with tea or coffee for just $35. Not sure if it's because of the Outlet location, truly a bargain for a pre-show treat.

The nachos was quite fresh and crispy. Good choice for pre-dinner snack.

Anyway, after a rather disturbing and depressing movie, I, out of habit, went there and ordered a 1/2 pint beer, while waiting for a long-time-no-see flight attendant friend of mine. It’s not yet 6 o’clock, but most of the tables were already taken?! (and I thought I was the only one who didn’t need to work?!?!) Well, honestly, the heavy rain had washed away the stuffiness and cooled down the heat. The moist breeze was indeed pretty refreshing, making it incredibly comfy for a happy hour chill out.

Cool, refreshing draught beer with nachos. What more can I ask for?



It’s usually full of shoppers hanging out in the plaza.
Look at the palm trees, see the strong wind?

If you have passed by the musical-fountain-cum-plaza before, you will have encountered the typical scene of housewives and domestic helpers with bags of grocery shopping, chit-chatting on the benches while their kids run around the fountain, laughing . The shouting, the laughter and the talking plus the usual song of the world, all come together in a ball of buzzing noise.

Here are some old pictures I took. Just to give you the basic idea of how the plaza looks like on a non-rainy days.

The crowd on a normal day.

The musical fountain which provides countless photo opportunities.

Heard that it's said to be the largest outdoor kinetic fountain in Asia, not sure if it is still now.

Opportunities such as this.

He is the youngest photographer among the photo-taking bunch.

All kids will go crazy in front of the fountain, regardless of age or gender.

Typical way how girls take on the fountain.

And boys will be boys.

The fountain is not “kids-only”, just that kids are way more braver than teenagers. Proof.

But all the hustle and bustle was nowhere to be found, now that the rain had been persisting for more than 4 hours, everyone was rushing back home for a warm dinner. When watching the world slowly went by and spacing out, suddenly I realized how strangely quiet it was. Besides the occasional laughter from the other tables, all I heard was the tranquilizing sound of rain splashing on the ground. It’s surprisingly mind-cleaning. This was the first time I was there in the rain and I found peace.

The vivid colours reflected on the puddles. Pretty magical, right?

It’s a pity that I couldn’t wait for the musical fountain show because of dinner plan or else the show of water poles and dazzling neon lights dancing to the haunting melody would have sublimated the whole quiet, zen-inspiring experience.

Here is where the musical fountain should be, I am running the light show from my memory.

But, well, you can’t ask for too much, right?


Starz Wine Bar
ADDRESS: Shop No. G10A

TEL: 21090612
REMARKS: Opening hour 11am-11pm