Pokka Cafe @ New Town Plaza, Sha Tin

Lunch

• Broccoli, Scallop & Cuttlefish with Rice Au Gratin

This particular restaurant was situated on the ground floor, and from the looks of its dusty 80s decor, it's probably been here for at least 10 years or so, probably since Yaohan closed down - yes, that Japanese department store that went bankrupt in 1997 - and made room for this row of restaurants.

It was a standard Japanese "family" restaurant serving all types of cuisines, from ramen to pasta to steaks, which was a nice thing, because one thing I've learnt eating in Asia all these years is that besides westerners, the only other people who can cook good western style food are the Japanese. It's true. The best French, Italian, English, Irish, etc. restaurants are run by native French, Italians, English, Irish, et cetraishes. Chinese western food just doesn't make the cut, and Indian western food is sadly feeble. It's not that I don't like Chinese or Indian food (I do), but I think the Chinese should stick to Chinese cuisine and the Indians should do likewise with Indian cuisine. But for some strange reason, the Japanese are able to cook western food properly. (See sidebar)

We were seated at a window seat, far away from the smoking section. The food came fast enough. My baked rice looked like any typical baked rice, baked in a circular yellow ceramic bowl. On top of the short grain rice was your layer of cheese and cream (a mixture which I could never really be sure of, for all baked rice dishes), mixed with slices of squid and scallop and chunks of broccoli, with a generous helping of prawn roe spooned on top. The colors matched perfectly - the sunshine yellow of the dish going well with the bright orange roe, calmed by the fresh greenness of the broccoli. Waiting for it to cool down so I could try a bite was such horrible torture.

The taste wasn't too bad. It was bland, as with all baked rice. The broccoli was done with perfect timing, being just hard enough to sink your teeth into such that you're eating regular broccoli. (For at most other places serving baked rice, any vegetable in the dish is usually overdone, but not here.) The seafood also not too strong, bland but good accompaniment to the rice overall. One thing which did stand out, though, was the fact that the rice on the side of the dish wasn't burnt a bit at all, which really showed the effort and research put into creating this.

But in the end, it was its price that killed it. Deserving all too well of three ticks, I just couldn't give it that many. Not at HK$72 a pop.

Total cost: HK$72
Rating: aaaaa

Sidebar: It seems like only the Japanese are able to recreate western cuisine. I have a theory as to why this is so. Firstly, having been conquered by westerners, Japanese taste and cooking techniques are suited for western cuisine.

Second is what I call the "set mentality". Unlike other Asian cuisines who put dishes in the middle of the table to share, the Japanese like to each have their own plate (or Bento, rather) of food in front of them, a trait similar to western cuisine. (Sure, the Koreans do it this way too sometimes, but one must remember they were under Japanese rule - and thus, influence - in the past.) This gives them creative space to conjure individual dishes which are suited for individuals, whereas other Asian cultures just can't accept the idea of "one plate per person", and thus are at a disadvantage subconsciously when creating western dishes for the individual. Just a thought.

Thirdly and lastly is the Japanese's ability to copy and improve on something. No, I'm not saying they just copy everything wholesale, like some other country I know of. The Japanese have a knack of taking a concept and improving on it. Take cartoons for instance. They took the concept from the Americans and made their own anime genre. Now, it's the American's turn to copy back, with little single beads of sweat on a character's temple when they get embarrassed. Think 'Teen Titans' or that spastically laughable series 'Totally Spies'.

But back to Japanese cooking western food. Even though they copy the dishes, they add their bit of fusion into it, with local cooking techniques (such as using a teppan to cook steaks; I think I've mention this before) and ingredients. You should try, for instance, Japanese mayonnaise, which just has an entirely different taste to it. Or Japanese Worcester sauce; same thing.