HIDDEN inside a park along Yan¡¯an Donglu, the ZIN wine bar & grill is mostly known by wine lovers who visit it for its collection of hundreds of wines. It is possible to enjoy several glasses of wine for about 100 yuan (US$12), sitting in the varied corners of the bar with their different styles of decoration, listening to the latest music. In the daytime, however, ZIN is quiet and relatively deserted, because few people know that it also offers lunch meals.

I love to sit there, outside in the small, quiet back courtyard surrounded by a man-made brook, eating a sumptuous lunch. It might seem a little ridiculous that the water in the brook is only supplied for a few hours every day, to save resources, but it displays the city¡¯s thrifty personality. Fortunately, the brook is ¡°alive¡± during lunch time. Although mosquitoes and passing beggars are a nuisance, I still have a pleasant lunch.

Chef Michael Song said the food was based on Italian cuisine and there was a specially designed oven for making pizzas. Yet to me, the food did not belong to any cuisine other than ZIN¡¯s own style.

Grills play a major role on the menu. I ordered the grilled king prawn & jumbo scallop and the house signature crispy sausage pizza. The seafood, though a little overcooked, was still succulent, especially with its molten butter sauce. The mashed potato accompanying this dish was the best I¡¯ve ever tasted, aromatic and velvety.

The eatery offers daily set lunches from Monday to Saturday with antipasto buffet, pizzas, soup, dessert and coffee. However, there are not many choices on the buffet table so the set lunch may not be enough to satisfy a big appetite. Hungry diners would be better ordering one of the main courses from the a-la-carte menu. For an extra 20 yuan (US$2) they can enjoy the set lunch as well.

ZIN wine bar and grill

2, Lane 66, Danshui Lu

Tel: 6385-8123

Average cost: 88 to 178 (US$10 to 21)