The Press Room boys have done it again. The owners of the popular Press Room and Classified have their fingers on the pulse of what's hot and what's not, and their latest venture, The Pawn, has generated a table booking frenzy. One of the winning features is, without a doubt, the significance of the location of The Pawn at the newly restored heritage building at 62 Johnston Road.

62 Johnston Road is one of the few remaining Chinese heritage buildings in Hong Kong. The previous life of this historical location consisted of a row of four tenement houses with an adjoining fa?ade, completed between 1888 to the 1900s, of which the top three stories were for residential purposes, while the ground floors were used as shops. The Woo Cheong Pawn Shop, which architectural historians date back to around 1899-1900s, was the defining occupant of this building, and clearly the name of this new modern British restaurant draws inspiration from this old Hong Kong occupant.

Each of The Pawn's three stories has a distinctive identity of its own, but the overall effect is that of a lived-in and nostalgic historical space. Designed by homegrown artist and film director Stanley Wong, the dark wood worn floors, dim yellow lighting, antique-ish imperfect wooden tables, old English landscape prints and old school British patterned wallpaper, all conjure up the effect of a cross between an English boarding school and a London gastro pub experience.

The first floor lounge and bar, the Living Room, boasts lovingly worn-in leather sofas and a nice balcony for traffic watching. Specialty draft beers, bottled UK beers with fantastic names such as Doom Bar Bitter, London Pride and Organic Honey Dew, ales, wines, ciders and single-malt whiskies are not the only appeal here, the snack menu is all about the comfort food, a strong representation of full-on traditional English bites. Not only can you order a Ploughman's Platter, Scotch Egg with Mustard Mayo, Devils on Horseback, or Welsh Rarebit, but can even scroll through the Vintage Cigar menu to get a quick fix on the balcony.

Situated on the second floor is the dining room, with Executive Chef David Tamlyn, hailing from London, serving up simple modern British fare. A glance through the clip-board mounted menu is like a small trip down memory lane, for those who spent their early years in British boarding schools. Refined adaptations of boarding school classics include Sunday roast (only on Sundays, of course), a choice between Lamb Shoulder, Corn fed Chicken or Game Hen, complete with Yorkshire Pudding and Roast Potatoes. Maybe a fresh Ham Hock Salad to start, or Fish and Chips with Peas and Homemade Tartar Sauce as another entr option. Side dishes include thick cut chips (fries to Americans out there), or a less typical green option of Cabbage and Bacon. Hold out till the end for a deliciously caramel-ly Sticky Toffee Pudding, Eton Mess (can you get more British than this dish!) or Lemon Trifle.

Another popular feature of The Pawn is the abundance of outdoor spaces, paradise to Hong Kong smokers. In addition to the outdoor balconies on the first floor bar and the second floor dining room, the Roof Garden on the third floor is a semi-covered roof garden and bar, which is open daily subject to weather conditions. On the day of our visit, the smaller outdoor dining tables were all filled up, while tables inside were packed with large tables with groups of eight or more. It's all about one big happy comfort food meal, comprising of adults playing out their boarding school dining fantasy.

The paint has yet to dry at The Pawn and little details still need a bit of ironing out, but given Hong Kong diners' interest in dining in this historical building, plan to book way ahead in order to bag a table for lunch or dinner on the second floor dining room. Another option is to book the private room which seats up to a total of 12 guests or take out the third floor Roof Garden for private hire. If all else fails, go for the cheaper option and just crash the bar for a quick British food fix. It's not everyday you get to order Pork Scratchings.

(HK Edition 05/08/2008 page4)