Mavericks

I hike there on a weekend from Mui Wo pier. Throughout the hike I saw quite a few beaches but they were all a-​washed with trash. The beach Mavericks is on was much longer and nicer in comparison.
At first take, the menu was not cheap. But ok, it was a very nice décor and environment facing the beach so that justified it only if the food and service matched the price.
I ordered the Double Decker burger with the fries, and a lemon tea. The FRIES!!! they’re to die for, if only I don’t need to make a trek every time I want something like those heavenly buttery savoury crunch. They’re perfectly salted and peppered on the outside, with just the right amount of crunch and still buttery soft in the middle. I could have this any day!
The burger itself had a really nicely toasted bun, the bottom was larger than the top, which really help keep the burger together while you bit into it. Although named a «double decker» the patties inside don’t actually stack on top of each other. instead they overlap maybe ¹⁄₃ of the way. I had it medium and it was still quite juicy. I just thought it lacked a bit of taste/​salt in the patty.
The ice tea was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t your generic sugary ice tea you get everywhere, it was actually unsweetened, like they’ve just brewed the tea and put in some lemon in it. Normally I would’ve probably liked the fact it actually taste more like tea than soda, but after this hike, I had to ask for some syrup to go in it.
Overall great meal (perhaps it was also my post hike appetite as I ate the WHOLE DAMN THING), great atmosphere. I would definitely recommend it to others. The only qualms I have about the place was the service. All the waitresses were really young (teenagers?) and the one that was servicing us was not the brightest lets just say. she was not attentive and missed actually seeing us when she’s already looking out way — multiple times. She also had to come back to double check out orders — twice. And when we asked for the bill, she attempted to take away our food even though we were still finishing up. This kind of service is not quite forgivable, esp when I’m paying for upwards of 140 for a burger. Unfortunately this waitress kinda annoyed me enough to impact my meal. I really hope it was her first day of work, otherwise I’d expect her to be fired!

Being the only western restaurant in Pui O, it attracts a lot of the foreign crowd. It offers comfortable seating with shade and nice cold beers — it’s how I discovered Young Masters! I am surprised it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg eating here.
Yet, I still prefer my curry fish balls and shumais from the old school convenient store a little bit further down the beach :)

Mavericks. Everyone seems to be loving this place at the moment. Certainly amongst my crowd, it is the hot place to go. But then again, I don’t think my crowd are always right, and after a visit last Sunday, I think they may be changing their minds about it too.
Before Mavericks, there was a Mediterranean restaurant that didn’t seem to ever do that well. Now, a lick of paint and a rebrand later on this one venue, it seems like Pui O beach is now an Aussie surf hang out — rad, bro! Frankly, the beach is as it always has been, a very nice bit of sand, with calm sea conditions and a government cordoned swimming area. However, now someone has gone fake Banksy on the wall of a restaurant and hung a couple of surf boards up, it’s become Bondi — well, at least now as crowded as Bondi.
Ok, so the location is as lovely as it has always been (albeit a little busier now), it is still an absolute slog to get to if you don’t have a car. Taxis and buses from Mui Wo or Tung Chung are crowded and infrequent.
The restaurant itself is fine. It’s cool for the young kids, ‘cos you get to sit on skateboards and see wicked slogans about being rad, epic, or just plain maverick. I’m so in with the kids, in’it blood?! They do serve a decent range of beers, ciders, wines, spirits, and to be fair they do have a chunk of prime real estate looking right over the beach and sea. I just find it hilarious that the place is filled with middle aged ex-​pats and middle class locals, none of whom have ever been on a surf board, let alone been rad, epic or maverick on one.
What is good here, is the food. The fish and chips is large, hearty and tasty, the nacho wontons are an interesting idea (and could do with being a bit bigger), the burgers are big and juicy. The menu is not the biggest, but there are enough choices, if you are not vegetarian that is. Being kind to animals is obvious not rad. The prices are around HKD150 for a main course.
Be a bit wary of the service when you come here. The junior staff are great and really pleasant. I’m not sure if half of them are old enough to be drinking, let alone to serve drinks, but hey, maybe I’m just getting old. However, the owner seems to be stressed and frazzled a lot of the time, so he can be particularly brusque, which is a nice way of me saying me is a little angry man who needs to calm down a bit. Maybe he should go surfing. I hear it’s rad.
Come for the food, the view, and the cold beers, but expect a trek to get here and a cool (as in cold!) welcome.