So, as mentioned, back to basics. Can’t do a Central lunch special without covering the place right opposite me can we?
So that this blog remains edutaining, did you know the name Prêt à Manger was adapted from ze French “prêt-à-porter“, which means “ready to wear”? So yes, it means “ready to eat”. Because often people think of healthy, natural and convenient food as mutually incompatible, which is of course wrong as that’s how food started out before we invented microwave food and tin cans. Someone just has to make it fresh everyday, which is what Pret says it does.
One shop, alike in dignity to itself,
In fair Central, where we lay our scene.
So one fine day, when I nipped out for a quick lunch, I chose the Norwegian salmon and potato salad ($46), marble orange and poppyseed cake ($14) and mango and orange juice ($24).
The salad was decent, fresh, nothing was terribly wrong or wilted. The salmon was alright, not too strong in taste. I don’t usually add much dressing to my salads but that was OK too. I’ve only eaten one or two actually amazing salads in my life I think, sadly I don’t remember where but definitely had to be made on the spot – so I don’t ask for too much with salads in a box.
The mango and orange juice, as with all Pret juices, proudly proclaims that it’s made from all natural ingredients and on the back it only says “Ingredients: orange, mango”. Good to know there’s no artificial flavourings, colouring agents, benzine tripochloride hydroflouride, or whatever (try reading your food labels sometime).
The cake was alright as well, with the poppyseeds giving a nice tangy crunch. Did you know poppy seeds are from the opium poppy? That’s right, you too can get your drug on during a work lunch.
I also like their Peking duck wrap, it reminds me of the “hoisin duck wrap” from Tesco which I’d eat on the bus to university back in jolly olde England…
Service is usually cheery, and to tackle the lunch rush they have five cashiers with front-facing Octopus card readers – very handy. Oh, and the manager is cute too.
Total price was $84. As IFC goes this is one of the cheaper options, and it’s absolutely the closest place to my office outside the building itself, so can’t complain there. One downside though is that Pret’s coffee is generally not their strong point; you could say it’s down there with Starbucks and PCC as “mainstream coffee chain style brown water”.
That concludes my not terribly foodgasmic but down to earth, back-to-the-roots review. On the next episode of the Central Lunch Series, we take it back up a notch. All the way up.
Restaurant rating: NOM NOM NOM N- (out of five)
Address: Unit 1015, 1/F, IFC Mall, 1 Harbour View Street 中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場1樓1015號舖中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場1樓1015號舖
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7:30am-7:30pm, Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 8:30am-8pm
Tel: 2295 0405
Web: official, Openrice English, Openrice 中文
Hong Kong Nom Nom 