Casual and friendly, Cardamon Street creates food that will have you coming back on the regular
We are big fans of supporting independent restaurants that make food injected with lots of love. From fine dining ventures like Arcane to the amazing comfort food served up at Confusion Plant Based Kitchen to the delicate delights at A.O.C. Eat & Drink, there’s nothing like finding a great new restaurant in Hong Kong. Enter Cardamon Street, the newest eatery on Elgin Street that blends Indian flavours with a range of western dishes, creating hearty food made with love.
Why are we crushing on Cardamon Street?
Pull up a seat at this SoHo joint, and get ready for the deliciousness. Staffed by a friendly team, we were immediately struck by a menu that caters to all groups, with clearly labelled vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options – #winning.
Broken down into salads, appetisers, sliders, tacos, curry, biryani and desserts, there’s lots of tasty things to choose from, and we kicked off with the Indian Mezze Platter, that included a chickpea, eggplant and tomato dip, each of which was delightful, and served with rosemary and zaatar parathas and crudites.
Next up, I tucked into the amazingly tender Beef Fry, which was one of my favourites of the evening. Cubes of tenderloin in a curry pepper sauce melted in my mouth, and I will most certainly be back for more.
My vegetarian dining companion wanted to try the paneer crudites, and I was surprised how tasty these cheesy croquettes were, especially when served with the jal jeera sauce.
It was hard to know what to go for next, but we settled on a platter of tacos. I think it’s great that you can choose three different types, and we opted for the aloo, the paneer and the fish. The fish taco was an absolute standout for me, while my companion strongly recommends the potato version for any vegetarians or vegans out there.
The vegetable quinoa biryani put an interesting twist on a traditional biryani with the use of the South American grain. I’ve got to say that this was another surprisingly good dish, and really tasted like an authentic biryani, but a little healthier at the same time. I’d be interested to see what the lamb version is like.
Just because I hadn’t eaten enough, I finally had my arm twisted to try the Cardamon special roasted chicken, one of the Chef Specials. Served with dal, jeera rice, raita and salad, this was big enough to fill me up on its own and was a great dish, featuring wonderfully tender chicken and great sides, luckily they let me take what I couldn’t finish home.
Though completely stuffed, my dining companion made me share the beetroot halwa dessert with her, and I’m so glad we ordered it. The addition of the beetroot was genius and went so well with the ice cream – superb!
Will we be back?
Our feast at Cardamon Street was of glutinous epic proportions, but I will definitely be back to try more of the menu. The variety caters for a diverse range of eaters and the friendly service is second to none.
I want to give a shout out to the bar man for his thoughtful mocktails. I loved the Cardamon Trio Berry that blends strawberries, raspberries and blueberries with cardamon syrup, lemon juice and ginger ale.
My dining companion was a fan of both the Clove Fashion and the All-Spice Apple Margarita, that apparently tasted a little like drinking apple pie.
Keep up the great work, Cardamon Street!
Cardamon Street, Ground Floor, 38 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong
