The News Room Diner

I had high hopes for this place looking at the menu, it had some good traditional american menu items and I thought I would considering how busy the place was it would be a great spot to grab a bit to eat.
I was hungry enough I would have eaten the menu given a chance, which is probably what saved this place from getting a 2 star review… I ended up ordering the macaroni and cheese as the price was good and I hadn’t had a decent Mac’n’Cheese in a while. The size of the serving looked good when it arrived, and it looked like real Mac’n’Cheese but due to hungry I started shoveling it into my mouth before checking how hot it was… burning sensations followed which slowed me down from inhaling anymore until it cooled down. The food was just a bit too bland, it was a bit watery and didn’t have enough cheese sauce to make it an amazing Mac’n’Cheese… so yes if this place improves it’s recipe there is hope!
The bonus was free WiFi which allowed me to check some of the other Unilocal reviews and questioned my decision to eat here but it was too late… the staff were friendly and efficient but very busy most of the time so if you are in a rush grab them when you have a chance and you might need more than one or two attempts to capture their attention.

It was certainly eye catching to locate at a prominent spot in TaiKoo Place. It was a bit late for my lunch (2pm-​ish), but at the same time I was lucky to avoid the peak hour. I didn’t struggle much to decide trying this diner, as it appealed me with two very interesting elements: its name, which resembled one of my recent TV drama favorites, The Newsroom, and its décor, which inspired from the artwork of Roy Lichtenstein, a pop art artist from the States.
The setting didn’t change much from the previous shop, where it featured a bar area at the front and dining area at the back. I liked it two years ago, and I picked a seat at the bar area. The décor was really detailed, excepts the odd placement of one or two Andy Warhol’s work mixed in the sea of Lichtenstein’s.
I tried to order a lunch burger set («tried» is the key word here). The staff behind the bar wasn’t quite attentive, despite the fact that I sat right in front of him. He was busy cleaning and tidying up stuff after the lunch hours, I could understand that, but ignoring one of the only 4 customers at that time (again, 2pm-​ish) wasn’t really impressive.
I did order my burger set, and got to enjoy the view of the street. Burger came a bit late, which the waitress did notice and apologize. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I didn’t really mind. The burger was good, both of the beef and the buns were a little bit too dry though. The chips were not my usual favorite, but I could tell there are people who liked this way of making the fries.
And after I finished the burger, I was more than full. I was wondering what kind of dessert the lunch set included, and so I asked. Turned out only a burger and a bowl of fries were ordered, but not the lunch burger set, so the dessert was not included. Again, I didn’t mind, just because I was happy not to have to eat anything more. But in a parallel universe where I wasn’t as chill out as I was that day, it could have been a very different experience.

Been there once during the first week of September 2014. Up till now, I still regretted it.
Their French toast (HKD78) was supposed to be served with bananas, maple syrup and butter, which, except for the absence of butter, it indeed had been. Unfortunately the bread — albeit thickly sliced — was rough and chewy on the outside, whilst on the inside it was too dense and doughy. The «egg» crust also failed to coat the bread as evenly as a pain perdu ought to be.
Another of our orders was the «Judy Garland» burger combo (HKD170), which includes an «original burger», French fries and a drink. (1) We requested ‘medium rare’ for the burger, but were served a ‘medium’ and lukewarm beef patty sandwiched between two pieces of somewhat stale English muffin-​like buns. (2) French fries were skin-​on but curiously lacked potato flavour. And they were soggy… (3) We were given a choice of soda or milkshake for the drink, but the chocolate milkshake we were served tasted more like a smoothie of heavily sweetened chocolate-​flavoured syrup. Not exactly «comfort food» so far as I am concerned…

When you have shiny glass and steel complex the size of One Island East full of brokers and bankers, you can be sure that a crop of trendy restaurants will pop up in vicinity to relieve said ‘city’ types of their hard earned dollars. One of these is the News Room. It must be said, they know their market — on my last visit there was a sign out front offering big Citi Bank discounts.
I’ve eaten lunch at the News Room on many occasions. It’s nice to sit outside and have a decent bite to eat without waiting too long. It must be noted though that the is some weird bylaw for the area which means that if you sit outside, you order at the bar, and the wait staff have to leave your food on a table by the door and you have to go in and collect it — they aren’t allowed to carry it across the pavement. But it’s totally kosher if you do.
Anyway — apart from the fact that these table s are also used by the smokers, I usually go for the express lunch special and have generally enjoyed my food.
This last visit was a bit disappointing though. I don’t know if it was the fact that it was a public holiday, or that we were sitting inside for a change, but the usually friendly staff all seemed a bit ticked off and they got both our orders totally wrong. I’d still say give the place a go, but next time I visit I’ll be making sure to sit outdoors.