Opinion | And what? Im done with double-barrelled restaurant names, and adjective-free menu minim

For a while now, it has seemed every new restaurant name in Hong Kong has an ampersand. There’s Butcher & Baker, Feather & Bone, Fish & Meat (now closed), Salt & Barrel (which changed its name), and Beef & Liberty. You could forgive me for occasionally getting some of them confused.

“What’s that place we’re going for a burger? Beef & Buns? Cook & Cleaner? Fries & Freedom?”

As trends go, naming a restaurant after what it serves is not going away. Feel like some Fish & Chick, Pizza & Chicken, or Bitters & Sweets? Soon, the London franchise of Duck & Waffle will open to offer … well, you know what they will offer.

I understand that, in these complicated times, folks are looking for simple answers. They want just the facts and the minimum of spin, even in their dining choices. Like populist politicians, people also want restaurants to “tell it like it is”!

However, I wouldn’t mind branding that was a little more inspired. Simplicity is all very well, but not when other food and beverage outlets are using the exact same formula. Would shopping be as much fun if the fashion boutiques in the IFC Mall were reframed as Pants & Dresses, Suits & Frocks, and Wedges & Totes?

The same plain, objectivist titling has crept into menus, too, especially in the fancier fine-dining kitchens. The more ambitious chefs will play down dramatic descriptions and assume sophisticated customers already know how each dish is put together.

The result is menu items like: “Hamachi, lemon, tomato, kombu” or “M9 Wagyu, truffles, artichoke, egg”. No explanation, no preparation info, and no context. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what you’re going to eat.

For something like “langoustine, pumpkin, risotto”, I would assume it featured an entire crustacean with a small side of pumpkin purée and a dab of rice. Instead it’s a nightmare for people on no-carb diets, because it’s actually a pumpkin-flavoured risotto with tiny bits of the seafood.

Perhaps it feels more artistic to leave descriptions so vague. I can imagine Michelin chefs dismissively yelling at menu editors, “My food speaks for itself!” Only fast food outlets sink so low as to use adjectives now. Maybe to boast about your food being “crispy and tender”, “charcoal grilled under flame”, or “deep fried until deliciously golden” is to cheapen it. You don’t see KFC marketing their bucket contents as “chicken, herbs, spices”.

Back to restaurant names. I used to think having a catchy sobriquet was critical to success. A good title would convey an establishment’s cuisine, and hint at the vibe and tone of service. An interesting name would inspire curiosity and entice diners to check it out for a meal.

Certain conventions are common. To use an address as a name – 22 Ships, One Harbour Road, 11 Westside – is a no-brainer, but it tells people nothing at all about the cuisine. To denote culinary style, venues are often named after a city or region, such as Portofino, Sabah, and Catalunya. If you have the ego of the late Sir David Tang, you can just put your surname on everything – China Tang, Chiu Tang and Tang Tang Tang Tang.

These days, I am not sure owners give much thought to their restaurant names. Did Dalloyau not have a Cantonese-speaking executive to realise their name phonetically resembles “big butt” in Chinese? Was the InterContinental Hotel too scared to tell Alain Ducasse that patrons might mispronounce Rech as an English word that denotes barfing? Similarly, did anyone else think the latter part of Serge et le Phoque sounds like the ‘F’ word?

Ultimately, I suppose, if the food is good an awkward name won’t matter. I still remember my younger self, along with my Beavis and Butthead friends, sniggering at Gaylord Indian and Man Ho Chinese Restaurant. And don’t even mention The Cock & Bull.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: What’s in a name? A plateful of trouble if you’re not careful

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