"Wise man say: If at first you don't succeed, remove all evidence you tried."

A review of Chopsticks by Dan W.Griffin written on Monday 8th of October 2012

Recently, at Bath's Hong Kong Bistro I was fortunate enough to chomp on a plate of Pad Thai. It was so wonderful that much like one would kick-start a gerbil with a brick, so it kick-started a train of thoughts that began with a reminiscence of a hotel in Thailand where I floundered about in the pool awaiting a seemingly-inevitable harpoon. My thoughts danced about a little further (pausing momentarily on a woman in Thailand who did something rather disturbing with a ping-pong ball for money) before finally settling on the idea that the only thing to make Bath's Hong Kong Bistro more authentic was for Bruce Lee to leap out of the kitchen and karate-chop me in the neck.

It could, of course, easily be determined that the latter was not the most rational of the thoughts buzzing and pinging about in my head that day, particularly given that Pad Thai is not one of the mainstays of Chinese cuisine and that Bruce Lee is sadly long-dead. It was however, yet another dish from the Hong Kong Bistro that compelled my taste buds to dance a merry jig and swiftly despatch a memo to my tummy to inform it that it would soon be very happy indeed.

I have visited the Hong Kong Bistro on more than one occasion, albeit only for lunch, and unlike making a visit to my bank, not once have I ever been so disappointed with the experience that I have pondered hurling through the door a wildly-shaken box of wasps.

While Bath's Hong Kong Bistro does not necessarily pride itself on either its decor or its service, it would be fair to suggest that the reason is simply because it does not need to. There is nothing wrong with either thing, and I would describe both as simple and effective. Sure, I would not object to being hand-fed truffles by supermodels while I sat on the back of a small platinum horse, but this is not the place for such necessities. Bath's Hong Kong Bistro is more a canteen for quick, awesome food, service with an absence of French waiters being snotty, rude and stereotyped, and for daydreaming about Bruce Lee or the cartoon character, Hong Kong Phooey.

In terms of price, it is roughly half as expensive as something that costs twice as much. My Pad Thai was, for example, half the price of almost six sandwiches from Waitrose, but in terms of value-for-money, unless someone shows me somewhere I can buy a clone of Cheryl Cole for thirty quid, there is little comparison in Bath.

On the whole, to conclude and at the end of the day an' that (know what I mean, innit?) Bath's Hong Kong Bistro is an excellent place for lunch. I may actually go there for dinner one day too. You should visit them very soon.

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