The tomahawk steak is definitely not for the faint of heart. Dining at Craftsteak recently in Soho, we decided to try the US bone-in tomahawk steak being featured as part of a special promotion until the end of July.

Named the tomahawk due to its distinctive shape, the steak is sprinkled with sea salt and grilled over a wood fire here. Wood stoves are not common in Hong Kong, so we were looking forward to tasting the difference.

The tomahawk steak is big. The one served at Craftsteak weighs about 40 ounces (1.13 kilogram) and serves two to three people. It's a huge steak with a large bone along one side and looks like, well, a tomahawk.

We asked for the steak to be cooked to medium and enjoyed a delicious glass of prosecco while we waited for our food to arrive. We were told the steak would take a little longer to cook, understandable considering its size, so we started with a salad of watercress, pear, and blue cheese (HK$98)($12.64) and the Crab-Waldorf cocktail (HK$138).

The slightly peppery flavor of watercress went well with the sweetness of the pears and tangy blue cheese. I would have preferred a little less salt in the dressing however. The Crab-Waldorf cocktail was less colorful than expected, but was packed with lots of crabmeat, fresh apple, and celery. Perhaps a few walnuts would have improved the presentation of this dish for me.

The tomahawk steak arrived soon after we finished our starters. The side dishes - grilled baby asparagus (HK$68) and black truffle mac and cheese (HK$68) - arrived at the same time.

We were asked when we placed our order what sauce we'd like to accompany our steak. There is a choice of six sauces and three condiments on the menu. We tried the full range of sauces - bearnaise, blue-cheese cream, bourbon peppercorn, steakhouse, forest mushroom and port wine shallot.

The most popular sauce is the steakhouse, which is a slightly sweet, slightly spicy barbecue sauce. Though I enjoyed tasting the incredibly tender and succulent meat with the sauces, the sea salt and charring were enough flavoring for me. If I had to choose, my preference would be for the more acidic sauces, as they helped to reduce the richness of the steak.

As for the side dishes, the grilled baby asparagus was cooked until tender with a little crispness. The black truffle mac and cheese was cheesy and rich with the delicate earthy flavor from the black truffle sauce. I almost always order the mac and cheese when I see it on a menu. The secret to really good mac and cheese is using good cheese in the sauce. At Craftsteak, the addition of the black truffle made it even better.

For dessert, we enjoyed the summer berry compote with vanilla sauce (HK$68). Not heavy, sweet with a hint of sourness, this was exactly what we needed after our decadent meal.

Craftsteak is a great place for a meal with someone special or for groups. We saw a number of couples and a table or two with three to four diners. Service was friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient.

sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/31/2013 page12)