Monday, July 14, 2008

Taste of OCT

Jia and I went to 92 Degrees Coffee Club at the Huaxia Arts Center in Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) Friday for a late dinner. We arrived well after 8, and were seated in the back where it was empty and quiet (something we appreciated). After a normal dinner time, 92 Degrees was far from crowded--there were only a few tables with customers.

The restaurant is decorated in a style befitting a New England bed & breakfast. There's even a selection of books and magazines in English and Chinese for customers to enjoy while having coffee. There's even seating outside for the days when it's not too hot and humid in Shenzhen. It's a relaxing atmosphere for a meal. However, we could hear the movie theater through the wall.

The menu has a nice selection of Western dishes. The majority of the dishes are steak and fish. Jia settled on a Spanish steak and cream of chicken soup. I ordered grilled chicken and a mushroom and chicken pizza. Obviously, I didn't eat it all. Dishes like the steak and chicken come with a variety of sauce choices served on the side.

The steak was tender and didn't need any sauce on the side. However, the chicken tasted much better with the mushroom sauce, though I was tempted by the red wine sauce. Jia says the soup was very good, but I'm not a fan of too many cream soups. The pizza reminded me of some Italian restaurants back in Jersey--plenty of toppings and cheese, and almost no sauce. It also tasted good cold the next morning.

There's also a nice selection of reasonably priced imported beers at 92 Degrees (most of them are 28 or 38 RMB). Unfortunately, the beer menu is only in Chinese (unlike the rest of the menu, which is translated). I chose Tucher Doppelbock--a beer I've never heard of that tasted quite good.

92 Degrees Coffee Club is a great place for a quiet celebration or just a pleasant night out. Maybe next time we'll sample the coffee and dessert.

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