Reports on Hong Kong dining

[Sinbad]

Looking for a recommendation for a modern/contemporary Chinese restaurant in HK. I'll be staying on the Island and prefer a place there, but I can always hop over to Kowloon if necessary. I prefer something a little bit more modern and I'm not particulary interested in the Shark Fin/Birds Next type of dishes. Price is not a major issue but focus is on food.

Also, a recommendation for a Sichuan restaurant would be most appreciated.

[ecr]

Sichuan Da Ping Huo for Sichuan food. Never mind the upscale setting, this is delicious, authentic, home-style Sichuan food, and I like the set menu bec you get to try 12 different dishes. There are two seatings a night, and expect your meal to take 2 1/2 hours for the later seating, 2 hours for the earlier. It's on Hollywood Road.

[HKDave]

Sichuan, very authentic, not expensive by HK standards, reservations essential:

Man Jiang Hong, 1/f 482 Hennessy, Causeway Bay, entrance is around the corner on Percival St. tel 2838 8811

'Modern Chinese'... hmmm, this sounds like a question for aprilmei.

[origamicrane]

hey just going to hitch hike on this thread currently in hk too

and looking for the macau restaurant that serves roast baby pigeon (yu garp)

now there's meant to be too in tsim sha tsui on a road running oppostie to mrt station. anyone got an address for either of them?

thanks in advance

[HKDave]

hey just going to hitch hike on this thread currently in hk too

and looking for the macau restaurant that serves roast baby pigeon (yu garp)

now there's meant to be too in tsim sha tsui on a road running oppostie to mrt station. anyone got an address for either of them?

thanks in advance

←

It's on Lock Road. That's the road behind the Hyatt, parallel to and one block west of Nathan Road. Macau Restaurant is near the Haiphong Road end of Lock Road. Tsimshatsui MTR Exit A1 is very close.

[origamicrane]

hey just going to hitch hike on this thread currently in hk too

and looking for the macau restaurant that serves roast baby pigeon (yu garp)

now there's meant to be too in tsim sha tsui on a road running oppostie to mrt station. anyone got an address for either of them?

thanks in advance

←

It's on Lock Road. That's the road behind the Hyatt, parallel to and one block west of Nathan Road. Macau Restaurant is near the Haiphong Road end of Lock Road. Tsimshatsui MTR Exit A1 is very close.

←

cool thanks will got here for lunch tomorrow :)

[origamicrane]

went yesterday

yummy really nice juicy and flavourful.

and the pork chop bun was nice too :)

will have to go back to try the curry crab next time.

actually went to Tai ping Koon for their giant souffle have to admit it taste wasn;t amazing but it was definitely a feast for the eyes!! a souffle the size of my head (big!!!)

[SBonner]

I'm in HK for five days later this year and would like any suggestions for Chinese restaurants with great selections of wine by the glass.

Thank you,

Stephen

Vancouver

[Ben Hong]

Hmmmm?? From my experience with the "second tier" restaurants (where the food evokes less guilt in the mind and less pain in the wallet) I am of the belief that these places are not the ones that one would look for fine wines in. The restaurants that I would not go to, that is the top tier group (unless it was for business or a banquet), you might find that they would "maybe" sell you wine by the glass.

If the Chinese are going to drink any alcohol with their meals, it would be a Napoleon or something with Xs and Os in the appellation. At the very least a Johnny Walker Blue, if a person is feeling a bit penurious. For the average Chinese ,to order a wine by the glass would be tres, tres gauche as the very act would be looked on as stinginess personified, selfishness incarnate, and evocative of a feeling of being down on one's luck.

With regards to fine wines, the majority of the Chinese are not connoisseurs or even experienced imbibers. That is maybe the only gustatory shortcoming that we have.

Of course all of the preceding is from my own feelings, observances and experiences, so don't take it as "da gospel". Others with different and better viewpoints will chime in.

[canucklehead]

I agree with Ben that you will be probably looking at pretty high end Chinese places in HK in order to get wine by the glass. These will be mostly french wines and expensive (heavy artillery petrus', margaux, etc...).

Part of the reason for not having wine by the glass is that wine storage (given climate and storage space issues) is very difficult in HK - and the restaraunt will not want to have a half opened bottle at the end of the evening. Also - Chinese food is usually eaten in large groups so a bottle of wine could be consumed by the table fairly quickly. And as Ben also pointed out - Cognacs and other spirits would probably be a more common choice.

Hotel Chinese restaurants will benefit from having expertise in wines from the hotel's other restaurant and may offer selections by the glass. Your best bests are Spring Moon at the Peninsula and perhaps Summer Palace at the Island Shangrila. I don't think the chinese restaurant in the Mandarin Hotel is that great - but you may want to check that out also.

Outside of Hotels - the only place that I can think of that may offer this kind of service is Fook Lum Moon (high end Cantonese) which has a very high proportion of Japanese clientele. The private clubs may also have wine by the glasses with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and HK Country Clubs being the best bets.

My favorite HK restaurant is Farm House in Causeway Bay (NOT the crappy chain of western style food places) - which serves excellent home style Cantonese food - they would have a good wine list - but I would be very surprised if they offered wines by the glass.

SBonner - I will ask around my HK friends and see what they say.

[SBonner]

Hmmmm?? From my experience with the "second tier" restaurants (where the food evokes less guilt in the mind and less pain in the wallet) I am of the belief that these places are not the ones that one would look for fine wines in. The restaurants that I would not go to, that is the top tier group (unless it was for business or a banquet), you might find that they would "maybe" sell you wine by the glass.

If the Chinese are going to drink any alcohol with their meals, it would be a Napoleon or something with Xs and Os in the appellation. At the very least a Johnny Walker Blue, if  a person is feeling a bit penurious.   For the average Chinese ,to order a wine by the glass would be tres, tres gauche as the very act would be looked on as stinginess personified, selfishness incarnate, and evocative of a feeling of being down on one's luck.

With regards to fine wines, the majority of the  Chinese are not connoisseurs or even experienced imbibers. That is maybe the only gustatory shortcoming that we have.

Of course all of the preceding is from my own feelings, observances and experiences, so don't take it as "da gospel". Others with different and better viewpoints will chime in.

←

Thanks for the feedback...fortunately we have friends at the Jockey Club and Yacht Club so I'm guessing the wine options are a possibilty there. My wife and I usually drink wine by the bottle but with 6, 8, or 10 course meals it would be nice to have a wider variety of wines to taste and drink. Cognac and Scotch are okay at night but abit much for lunch...even when I'm on holiday.

Thank you.

Cheers,

Stephen

Edited August 16, 2005 by SBonner (log)

[annachan]

I agree with others that it's difficult to get wine by the glass. I would really recommend some higher end hotels (Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, Excelsior, etc.) for that. And of course, the Jockey Club and the Yacht Club would definitely be good options. I think the Craigengower Cricket Club may serve wine by the glass at their Chinese restaurant as well.

[aprilmei]

I can't think of any Chinese restaurants here with "great" by the glass selections. In fact, it's rare even in Hong Kong Western restaurants to find really extensive wines by the glass (there are exceptions, however). For most Chinese restaurants - if they have a wine list at all - you have to buy by-the-bottle; if they do sell by-the-glass it's limited to one red and one white.

I don't know about the clubs, though, because when I go to dinners there, the whole meal with appropriate wines have already been selected. So I've never actually seen any of their wine lists.

Canucklehead is right that if a Chinese restaurant does serve wine, it will be expensive and mostly French bottles, primarily Bordeaux and Burgundies. And he's also right about Farm House being very good. It's in AIA Centre, Causeway Bay.

[hzrt8w]

I'm in HK for five days later this year and would like any suggestions for Chinese restaurants with great selections of wine by the glass.

←

What is your yardstick for "great" selections? French? Californian?

Hong Kongers prefer brandy (Cognac... from VS to XO), yes... drink during dinner not after dinner... over wine.

Hard to find Chinese restaurants which serve wine. Let alone with great selections. Let alone by the glass.

[HKDave]

Hong Kongers prefer brandy (Cognac... from VS to XO), yes... drink during dinner not after dinner... over wine.

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This was true years ago, for those that could afford it. I can't remember the last time I saw a bottle of XO on a dinner table here. That trend has thankfully been fading out, and now serving Cognac with the meal would be considered old-fashioned or even gauche. You are more likely to see wine being served at a classy Chinese dinner in HK these days. When Frescobaldi hosted a recent wine dinner in HK, they did it in a Chinese restaurant.

The best wine selections in HK Chinese restaurants are indeed the ones in hotels or clubs, where they can draw off the same list as their western F+B outlets. I haven't been to any with a great selection by the glass.

[jokhm]

Title description says it all. I'll be coming to Guangzhou and then on to HK for a total of 10 days. The GZ trip is all taken care of and a big group of Hunanese are going to show me food until I drop. HK however, is another story, as I will touring the Toy fair by day and eating with my vegetarian-Canadian co-worker by night. I'm sure there are great vegetarian chinese food places, but I am not terribly interested in that.. Still want to know if you have seen or been to great ones though. My focus is on getting a good Indian food fix while I'm in town, simply because it breaks my wallet in Beijing and Shanghai, and it isn't always that great either. Every time I'm in HK I have the urge to eat indian food everywhere, but I never know where specifically to go. I'm the absolute worst with choices and decisions, so I just don't go for indian while I'm there. That, and I'm usually not with vegetarians, so I want as much of the best HK food as possible!!!

making sense? mmm

[HKDave]

The place for cheap Indian eats in HK is Chunking Mansions, a warren of run-down apartments on Nathan Road beside the Holiday Inn. There are restaurants scattered throughout the buildings. Previous post on Chunking Mansions here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=758047

For something much more upscale, but still Indian and veggie-friendly, there's Veda: http://www.veda.com.hk An Indian veggie friend of mine considers this his favorite restaurant in HK. There's a menu with prices on the website.

[jokhm]

Ah great. So you think I can easily find what I'm looking for CK mansions? Great. I've walked by a million times and because I don't have a clear idea on which restaurant to trust exactly I just continue walking! So now you mention Khyber Pass... Excellent. I can't wait. Veda looks amazing.. but I'll have to inquire on my co-workers budget. I'm pretty sure it can be fit in..

He's also a bit too easily anxious to walk into places he probably shouldn't be in. He had police trail him in Guangzhou once because of his choice of solitary-night-walk path. Thanks again, and I'll let you knowo how it is. Finally good Indian food without the flight back to Canada..

[HKDave]

Khyber Pass is not radically better than other Chungking Mansions (sorry about the earlier spelling, 'Chungking' is correct) dives, but I've eaten there many times and it's cheap by HK standards, reliable and has some veggie dishes. If you don't look like a tourist, ask them for the '10% discount you gave me last time'! They also deliver in the neighbourhood.

More HK veggie places here: http://members.tripod.com/hkveg/ - weird interface.

And here: http://www.ivu.org/hkvegan/gb/hkrest.html

A place in TST both mention is Branto. I haven't tried it, but have heard good things.

A few more Indian places I've tried, all veg-friendly:

Ashoka, in Central: upscale.

Gaylord, on Lock Rd in TST: classy, popular with the upscale Indian family crowd, but the cooking doesn't impress.

Koh-i-noor, locations in TST and Central: relatively cheap, an option if with someone who is too frightened to go into Chungking Mansions.

[aprilmei]

I agree with HKDave about Veda - it's excellent. Expensive but worth it; the food is very different from most of the regular Indian restaurants in Hong Kong.

I've also been to Branto's and I like it a lot. It's a pure vegetarian Indian place. It's across the street from the Kowloon Shangri-La.

[Tae.Lee]

excellent!

i'm going to HK in january for my honeymoon, and my fiance is semi-vegetarian [she eats seafood and eggs], so this is good info.. cheers!

some of the temples also serve vegetarian meals too, if my research is correct..

Edited December 29, 2005 by Tae.Lee (log)

[anil]

There are lots of seafood restaurants in the outlying islands which are relatively inexpensive. I would avoid CK Mansion for Indian food; they are inexpensive alright.

Lin Po Monestary offers Vegetarian meals.

[jokhm]

That Branto's sounds great, and I'll likely be staying nearby too. Any of the monestaries known for particularly good food??

[infernooo]

Hi there,

I posted this some time ago, but since I have been back, I still stand by my recommendations.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...1entry1009151

[hzrt8w]

Lin Po Monestary offers Vegetarian meals.

←

I think you meant "Po Lin Temple" in Lantau Island? I had their famous vegetarian lunch at the temple a few years back. I think it's a hype. Or perhaps they didn't serve the best vegetarian dishes unless you buy some premium tickets. My impression of it was only so-so. Perhaps my expectation was too high.

I do like visiting the temple every time I went back to Hong Kong. It has gone through many changes over the past 30 some years. Since they had built the giant buddha statue, they drew ever more tourists. It used to be a one day trip to visit Po Lin: Taking a ferry from Central to Mui Wo, then transfer to a small bus to climb up the >1000 ft elevation. After the Chek Lap Kok Airport was completed, you can take the subway to Tung Chung and transfer to a small bus to climb up there. It cuts the travel time significantly. The latest I heard... they are building a cable car to go from Tung Chung up to the temple. It was due to open for operation by Chinese New Year 2006 but I am not sure if there are delays. The cable car would be really convenient. Definitely worths visiting. I think it's okay to taste their vegetarian meal but just don't have high expectation.