5 Gimmicky Restaurants You Should Try For An Alternative Dining Experience

5. Green with envy – Applegreen

Since the beginning of time, salads have always been felt a bit like Jeremy Renner:

torn4thor tumblr/ www.torn4thor.tumblr.com/post/52122566805

…dejected, cast out and sobbing secretly in solitude while we fawned over your typical steak/ chicken main courses (Robert Downey Jr). For once, a chain is finally shining the spotlight on the greens. Don’t get us wrong, Applegreen still offers conventional main courses for those who crave something heavier, but with mouthwatering salads like the sesame orange chicken and the salad pollo mexicana, we’re pretty sure you’ll want to forfeit your carbs for veggies. Salads at Applegreen come either in half or full portions. Restaurant staff will happily explain that the former is enough for 2/3 servings, and the latter for 4 and above. Experience, however, tells us that one could easily finish a full sized salad on their own and still have room to share a side with a buddy (we recommend the portobello fries), so order away and don’t hesitate!

RCSTM OpenRice/ www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/photos.htm?shopid=32108&photoid=1281341&tc=sr2pht&con=photo

4. Run Forrest Run! – Bubba Gump Shrimp Company

Inspired by the 1994 Forrest Gump film starring Tom Hanks, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what this seafood chain specialises in. Deep fried shrimp, steamed shrimp, shrimp cocktail…you name it, they’ll have it. If, however, seafood is not really your type of thing, the spectacular view of Victoria Harbour from the Peak is sure to make for a memorable dining experience. And if Hong Kong summertime fog is being a prick and mucking up the view, the adjacent souvenir shop is filled with Forrest Gump gems that is sure to capture every cinephile’s heart.

AYU OpenRice / www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/photos.htm?shopid=16517&photoid=983851&tc=sr2pht&con=photo

3. Giant pizza! – Paisano’s

With branches in most tourist areas in Hong Kong, chances are, you’ll already have discovered Paisano’s on your own, the wondrous chain that specialises in immense 24 inch pizzas. We still felt the need the need to include Paisano’s in our list though and re-introduce it to all our readers, because what’s more gimmicky than pizza slices the size of iPads?

dra. W OpenRice / www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/photos.htm?shopid=83174&photoid=916181&tc=sr2pht&con=photo

2. Party like Gaga – Ozone

Curry fishballs, siu mai and cramming into trains last minute without making the doors rebound…there are many things Hong Kong people do better than anywhere else. Apparently, building rooftop bars is one of them. Having set the record for being the highest bar in the world, a night out at Ozone is a must if you fancy being a bit posh. Who knows? You might even bump into Lady Gaga, who reportedly frequented the bar when she was in Hong Kong for a string of gigs in 2012.

Jessica T. / www.foursquare.com/v/ozone/4d98ba6ad7366a31290e0e0b/photos?openPhotoId=51a22611498e5f4005c6294d

1. DIM SUM PICNIC – One Dim Sum

One Dim Sum is not your average dim sum restaurant, in many ways. First of all, with a store the size of approximately 1/4 of a basketball court, One Dim Sum is more of a “Ca can tang” x dim sum restaurant hybrid. Gone are the huge round tables with the swivelling glass “food conveyor belts”, replaced by rows of tightly packed rectangular tables more reminiscent of Tsui Wah. Second of all, they let you do phone-in dim sum takeaways, offering you the potential of actually picnicking with dim sum if you wanted to. Third of all, with no service charge, “tea levy” of only $3 per head, and dim sum prices ranging from $13 to just over $20, eating at One Dim Sum truly offers quality food without ending up with a bleeding wallet.

…we should also mention that it happens to have a Michelin star. No biggie.