Named after the ancient Egyptian Sun God, Ra is located along the bustling stretch of seafront bars and restaurants in east Tsim Sha Tsui. The Middle Eastern restaurant is divided into two parts, a Mediterranean-inspired indoor dining area and an alfresco dining area set in front of Victoria Harbour. Though the seats are comfortably spaced out, the alfresco area is a bit too dark and more efforts needs to be made with the table setting, or at least there should be a placemat on the table. On Friday and Saturday nights, Ra has belly-dancing performances, perfect for those who look for a more exotic dining experience and not afraid of loud music.

With a focus on Egyptian cuisine, it is delightful to see a good selection of Middle Eastern dishes on the menu, but we also find it a bit odd to see four Mediterranean pasta and rice dishes. We start off the night with Ra’s signature Middle Eastern mezze sampler. The traditional mezze consists of pita bread with hummous, baba ganoush (egg plant dip), kofta (Middle Eastern meatballs), mozzarella sticks, falafel, merguez sausage and boiled fava beans with spices. The platter is delicious, especially the dips, but the kofta and mozzarella sticks would have been better if they were hot. Our other starter of lentil soup has an abundant amount of lentils, carrots, onions and leeks blended in, and the soup is rich and creamy with lots of flavours. Next was the sea bass tagine. The grilled sea bass comes with a red harra sauce, vegetables and a bowl of couscous. Though the taste of the fish is fine and the texture is soft, the dish is too oily for our palate. On the other hand, the couscous is great and works magically with the vegetables and sauce. We also order a rather generously portioned roasted lamb shank. Despite the size of the meat, it is cooked well and tender throughout. Ra only serves three different kinds of desserts and as the banana filo pastry was not available, we order the rice pudding and chocolate mousse. The rice pudding gives out an aromatic rice and coconut scent with a nice chewy texture. Unfortunately, the chocolate mousse was much less successful, having a texture that is a bizarre cross between mousse and ice cream, as well as being far too sweet.

Ra provides ten different wine by the glass, while its selection of wine by the bottle ranges from HK$280 to HK$650 from areas such as Spain, New Zealand, Australia, and France. The choice of labels are predictable but there is always sangria for those looking for something unexpected.

The servers at the restaurant are attentive to diners’ needs, yet due to the noise and dark surrounding, it can be hard to get their attention and it would be better if they are more active in explaining the different dishes when they arrive at the table.

A full three-course meal with wine comes to about HK$400 per person, which is decent value given the location and quality of the dishes.