Looking for a unique dining experience in a part of Hong Kong that most people have never heard of — let alone visited? Hidden away in secluded corner of Lantau Island, Tai O Lookout offers a carefully curated menu of local comfort food and international favorites in casual surroundings, which are surrounded by subtropical flora and fauna.
In This Post
Welcome to Tai O Lookout!
Tai O Lookout is the sole food and beverage outlet at Tai O Heritage Hotel Hong Kong, a small boutique hotel located near the fishing village of Tai O, one of the few surviving fishing villages in Hong Kong.
The restaurant is housed within a contemporary wood and glass structure adjacent to the hotel, a heritage site which is a former marine police station that was tastefully repurposed into a boutique hotel with just nine rooms.
Tao O Lookout occupies a very comfortable space. The glass-enclosed dining room surrounds diners in the subtropical splendor of Lantau Island and offers sweeping views of the South China Sea.
Chinese-style redwood booths were rescued from the old China Tee Club, and suspended ceiling fans add a subtle sense of nostalgia to the stylish contemporary space. The restaurant was named after the police station’s rooftop lookout.
I spent one night at the hotel with a good friend, who lived in Macau. We had lunch there after checking in, dined there that evening, and had breakfast there the following morning before checking out.
All of the other diners in the restaurant also appeared to be guests at the hotel. But this restaurant would definitely make an excellent pit stop for day trippers visiting Lantau Island!
Read my review of the hotel here: Hong Hong: Heritage Hotel on Lantau Island Hits Most of the Right Notes
The Menu at Tai O Lookout
Tai O Lookout serves breakfast, afternoon tea, and dinner. There are both set menus and à la carte selections.
At breakfast, there is a Sunrise Breakfast with à la carte choices as well as three Breakfast Set Menus: the healthy breakfast, continental breakfast, and Chinese breakfast.
For afternoon tea, there are à la carte choices on weekdays and set menus on weekends and holidays. For dinner, there are set menus with a choice of main courses. The à la carte menu includes house specialties, light meals, mains, and sweets.
Tai O Lookout serves the usual selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including a short — but thoughtfully — curated mix of American, Australian, French, Italian, New Zealand, and Spanish red, rose, sparkling, and white wines.
Many of the restaurant’s signature dishes and drinks feature local ingredients such as shrimp paste and mountain begonia, which is described as “a miraculous tea tree leaf” that is indigenous to Lantau Island.
The Mountain Begonia Cheesecake — a house specialty — is not to be missed!
Our Lunch at Tai O Lookout
During our visit, there was a set lunch, which included soup, a choice of three main courses — chicken, fried rice, or spaghetti — and dessert with coffee or tea.
We were planning to go on a long hike through the mountainous terrain after lunch, and we also wanted to splurge at dinner, so we decided to go light at lunch and order a la carte.
The Japanese style warm fresh abalone on Tai O fish maw with white wine jelly was delicious. The hamburger with potato wedges was also divine — and very reasonably priced! The curry laksa was good, but we’ve had better.
Our Dinner at Tai O Lookout
We had built up quite an appetite hiking along the mountainous trails adjoining the hotel — the terrain was absolutely breathtaking — so for dinner, we both opted for the set menu, which included an appetizer, soup, a choice of three main courses, and dessert.
The mains the night we dined there were Australian beef tenderloin, white cod fish with caviar sauce, and spaghetti with wild mushroom tomato sauce (vegetarian).
What a mixed bag!!!
We loved the forest mushroom vol-au-vent, a type of puff pastry, with guacamole and salad . The Tai O fish maw and wine jelly were tasty, but the abalone was rubbery and tough.
The soup was a deep sea lobster bisque with a “touch of black truffle.” I found it a bit harsh and couldn’t finish it.
For the main course, my dining companion opted for the white codfish with caviar sauce. She said both were tasty, but the portion was a bit small.
I ordered the Australian beef tenderloin with dry fish red wine sauce, and I loved it. The meat was tasty, well seasoned, and perfectly cooked. The dipping sauce was delicious. Ditto the portion.
Especially good were the crusty potato wedges. (I had potatoes at each meal, and they always proved to be the star attraction.)
Still hungry, we decided to share a braised lamb shank with red wine sauce off the a la carte menu. The lamb was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was yummy.
The dessert — bird’s nest Italian penne cotta — was a disappointment. I decided not to waste my calories on it.
Our Breakfast at Tai O Lookout
Our room packages included breakfast, and we could order it any time we wanted during our stay, which was a very thoughtful touch! Not sure if this policy still holds.
Anyway, it was nice not having to race down to the restaurant before 10.30 am, when we would really prefer to sleep in. Or perhaps going for a mid-morning run first and returning to the hotel for a late morning or early afternoon brunch.
Included was a choice of fruit juices or fruit and coffee or tea. There were three types of cereal on the menu, but only one type — corn flakes — was available. The selected pastries amounted to several slices of standard issue wheat toast — a bit disappointing.
The main course was a choice of eggs sunny side up or an omelet with tomato, cheese, and mushroom with ham, pork sausage, and bacon. And more of those yummy potato wedges.
I’m not a big fan of hotel breakfast buffets, so I was satisfied with the breakfast as I prefer having my breakfast cooked to order. Many guests, however, might expect a bit more choice.
We were not charged for additional cups of coffee, which was nice. However, it would have been nicer if we had been offered more coffee rather than having to ask for it.
But these are just quibbles. Overall, the food was tasty and the staff seemed friendly and eager to please. The smiles seemed genuine.
The Parrot’s Nest
The bar at Tai O Lookout is called Parrot’s Nest. It was named after the eponymous officers’ lounge at the old police station before its closure.
The bar’s signature cocktail, the Parrot’s Nest Special, blends rum, Cointreau, lychee liqueur, lemon juice, and mountain begonia juice — a creative nod to the same local ingredient featured in the Mountain Begonia Cheesecake.
The Verdict
We loved the ambiance, and the staff were lovely. They obviously we very eager to please. The food was a mixed bag. Some dishes were excellent, but a few were disappointing. I understand there is a new menu, so I would love to give the place another try.
How to Get There
There are basically two ways to get from the bus terminus in Tai O to the restaurant: on foot or by water taxi. If you walk, it will take about 20 minutes.
If you go by water taxi, will cost HK$10 or HK$20 per person, depending on whether you go by speed boat (faster and more expensive) or hitch a ride on the cruise around the harbour (cheaper and you share the boat with others).
Location — Tai O Lookout
Tai O Heritage Hotel, Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
