Lower G/F, 46-48 Cochrane St
Central
Hong Kong
“The bortsch is really good, I have to take you there”.
And so it was that I ended up at Russian restaurant Ivan the Kozak, a name that would normally give me a moment’s pause for thought. Ah well, another one to add to the Hong Kong food diary I guess.
Situated in a small alley like street part way up the length of the pedestrian escalator in Central, this is not a restaurant in a location with much random passing traffic. As such, the fact that they were fully booked on this Tuesday evening is testament to their popularity. There was a table free only if I agreed to be out within just over an hour.
Popularity is a funny thing. There are plenty of eating establishments that are immensely popular, and it really makes very little sense, and there are some places with good people serving great food which deserve greater patronage than they get. A lot about popularity is obviously down to subjectivities; my preferences are different to yours, what I deem to be good value is probably different to what my unknown neighbours think, but nonetheless…well…you know what I mean.
I muse about this because of the main courses ordered during this meal, but I will get to them later.
Ivan the Kozak’s décor is arguably a bit kitsch (I’m sure that someone out there would call it ‘period authentic’), but it has been decorated in such an obviously homely and heartfelt way that the experience of being there is actually welcoming, and does not slip over into the realm of wanting to escape a particularly bad theme park.
