By Wang Yuanyuan

Nothing is more delightful than enjoying a good Western meal with friends after work, but dressing up for a fancy restaurant is not required for a casual gathering. If you are looking for a popular place with a casual atmosphere and quality food, the Taste Cafe is worth a try.

Having earned a reputation with Hong Kongers and expats at Luohu Commercial City, next to the Luohu Checkpoint, the cafe also has a branch in the Huaqiangbei area. With a main course costing about 68 yuan on average, the cafe has become popular for good Western meals.

Taste Cafe has a variety of food and drink, from juicy steaks, special home drinks to delicious Japanese ramen.

After a Caesar salad in marinated salmon and aloe vera and a creamy crabmeat and pumpkin cream soup, the hot plate combo of sirlon steak, lamb rack with silver cod is one of the most popular main courses on the menu. The aroma of sizzling meat on the hot plate is bound to stimulate the taste buds.

Learning from a well-known Hong Kong chef, the cafe also serves a range of pasta in traditional Western and Hong Kong styles. Stir-fried angel hair, bacon and clams with herb pasta is a good alternative when you don’t feel like eating too much meat.

If you like a cup of iced milk tea on a warm afternoon or after dinner, you must try the special iced milk tea. Many people do not like iced milk tea because the taste dissipates when the ice melts, but the cafe serves it with tea-flavored ice to solve the problem.

Special coffee-flavored ice is also used in iced coffee to retain the taste. Although you can find all kinds of hot and iced coffee at the cafe, the special Hokkaido coffee is the most popular with diners.

Speaking of drinks, another recommended beverage is Genmai Cha with Ryoku because this is the only place in the city where traditional Japanese drinks are served. All the ingredients are bought in Hong Kong and the taste is exactly the same as in Japan.

The cafe also offers diversified set business lunches for people searching for a quick bite at noon. A delicious, quality lunch and a quiet noon break will cost only about 20 yuan. From Chinese dishes with rice and Japanese ramen to Italian pasta, you can always find a dish to your liking and don’t forget to choose a drink from the set to go with the food.

(Edited by Stephanie Yang)