Regal Terrace is not somewhere you go for the decor. When it was originally decorated, which one can only presume was the 1990s, the grandiose carpets and backlit neon flourishes must have been impressive. Now,15 or so years later, it looks dated. Coupled with the restaurant being two floors up in a bland hotel in Kowloon City and the waiters wearing mustard coloured uniforms, there is not much to impress. However, this is not an unusual problem at HK's many Chinese restaurants which tend to excel at the food rather than the experience.

Fortunately the quality of the food enables you to forget Regal Terrace's less than impressive interior design as the restaurant turns out accomplished Cantonese food. What is particularly impressive is, that despite the fact that many of its signature dishes are fried, the immediacy of the cooking means that the food still feels healthier than many of its equivalents. A good example of this is their stir-fried scallops with asparagus and walnut (HK$168) which cleverly contrasts fresh asparagus and precisely cooked scallops with sweetened walnuts. Half a smoked crispy chicken with tea leaves (HK$168) comes with crisp skin but fat and juicy meat meaning it is one of the better versions in Hong Kong. Deep-fried prawns with salted egg yolk and sautéed fresh milk (HK$328) were fried well and nicely seasoned with the salted egg yolk giving a rich pleasing rich flavour which demonstrated the skill of the kitchen.

The service is haphazard. At good moments it is attentive and eager to please but it can also be forgetful which leaves you having to chase your orders or request plate changes.

If you avoid Cantonese specialities such as abalone, dinner for two will cost HK$300 to HK$400 per person. If the service and decor matched the food, it would make the restaurant a bargain.