BLACK SHEEP CAFE

This groovy Shek-O restaurant looks like it was designed by someone who was smoking some strong Maui-Wowie. With it’s outdoor bamboo terrace and thatched roof ceiling the place looks like it could be a tropical hangout somewhere in Bali or Thailand. The thing that makes the place exceptional is the surreal detailing: original flower arrangements which look like works of art, toilet walls which overflow with orchids, a tank swarming with colorful fish around a huge branch of coral, sarong tablecloths in every color of the rainbow and sculptures of planets and galaxies hanging from the ceiling. At night, the place is lit by black lights, a spinning disco ball and handmade candles. To get to the dark bar in the back, you pass a sign called “Planet Time” and somehow you feel like you've been transported to another mind-altered world.

The restaurant is not actually on the beach; rather, it's on a small colorful back alley in Shek-O village. Next to the restaurant is a cute Chinese temple and across from it is a little family-run noodle joint. The music they play is exactly what you'd expect to hear on the beach. Bob Marley, Nelly Furtado, the New Radicals, Wyclef Jean etc...

Despite the fact that the place kind of looks like a joint where backpackers hang out, the food is surprisingly top-notch, especially the pizzas. There’s even an appropriate “magic mushroom pizza”! (Don’t worry, they’re normal mushrooms..)

The menu is written on a blackboard and changes from time to time. They have soups and starters and the main courses can be anything from chicken, steaks, to the fresh seafood catch of the day. Pretty much everything is good.