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Michelin Guide Hong Kong 2009


Sher.eats

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The title of this thread should be reviewed. It seems to invite 'reactions' as well as 'analysis'. I simply chose to provide a reaction, along with some of people not posting on a forum.

Analysis seems to be the choice of others and that's fine, but at the same time, some of you decided to analyse my reaction, and that's fine too. It just seems that dissenting voices are not welcome, and established status quos have to be defended at all costs, which in turn reminds me of how the farcical HK Michelin guide came into being in the first place.

I sat down to a nice New Year's dinner last night in KL with some friends visiting from HK, and believe me, we did spend quite a bit of time being outraged over various things, the Guide being one of them. But I'm sure as far as most of you are concerned, they are only irrelevant and anonymous strangers who's opinion don't matter. Much like how I feel about board huggers.

"Coffee and cigarettes... the breakfast of champions!"

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The title of this thread should be reviewed. It seems to invite 'reactions' as well as 'analysis'. I simply chose to provide a reaction, along with some of people not posting on a forum.

Analysis seems to be the choice of others and that's fine, but at the same time, some of you decided to analyse my reaction, and that's fine too. It just seems that dissenting voices are not welcome, and established status quos have to be defended at all costs, which in turn reminds me of how the farcical HK Michelin guide came into being in the first place.

I sat down to a nice New Year's dinner last night in KL with some friends visiting from HK, and believe me, we did spend quite a bit of time being outraged over various things, the Guide being one of them. But I'm sure as far as most of you are concerned, they are only irrelevant and anonymous strangers who's opinion don't matter. Much like how I feel about board huggers.

I thought moving back to actual restaurant discussions (Tak Lung) would have done it...

1) As the starter of this thread, I do appreciate your opinion, I just want to know why you think it is so bad. Criticisms without reason = bashing/flaming.

2) I appreciate your changing of "all people" to "some people"

3) If you don't consider what we wrote on page 2 to be criticisms then....oh well

4) I'm pretty sure we post here not for ego, we genuinely love food and are willing to share information and opinion for the betterment of all. Coming from an admin, your comments were disappointing to say the least =\

Edited by Sher.eats (log)

~ Sher * =]

. . . . .I HEART FOOD. . . . .

Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy. - Anon

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  • 10 months later...
  • 5 years later...

(LKH) Lung King Heen (or “view of the dragon”) is arguably the most well-known Chinese restaurant in the world. Its popularity shot to the roof when more than 5 years ago it became the first Cantonese restaurant to ever receive Michelin 3-star award. The amazing part is that LKH has managed to keep the accolade without any issue. I’ve actually been here twice, mainly for dim sum during lunch: with my family (1st visit) and with my wife (2nd visit during our honeymoon). However, last month I came alone for dinner to savor the Chef’s tasting menu – this way, I can have a more ‘complete’ picture about the restaurant’s quality. My experiences here have been satisfying though I never thought it’s a convincing 3-star place like some other restaurants in Europe and Japan. It probably makes sense since LKH, similar to many other high-end Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong and/or Asia, is usually capable of serving more than 100 dishes. It’s simply impossible to produce that large number of items flawlessly and consistently at the highest level (moreover, it opens 7 days a week) despite the fact that Chef Chan Yan Tak, the LKH’s executive chef, commands about 25 chefs in his kitchen.   

 

Let’s talk about the food. My meal began with tofu-like stuff with carrot and baby corn. Then, the staff brought in 3 kinds of ‘sauces’: chili oil with shrimp paste, XO sauce containing tofu & mushroom as well as chili oil with ‘bird’s eye chili’.

Some dishes that I like were:

-LKH appetizer combination, very popular here. Roast goose with plum sauce (nice skin with not so-tender meat – not as good as yung kee’s), Crispy suckling pig (crunchy skin with some fat underneath; went along well with its meat in sweet hoisin sauce & thin mantou – solid though I prefer the skin from baby pig), and Barbecued pork with honey (fatty, very tender and not too flavorful; probably the best among these 3 items)

- My favorite dish of the night was braised abalone (small portion) and garoupa fillet in supreme sauce. Both 'items' were outstanding and perfectly executed. The abalone was tender and clean; the garoupa was mild and delicate; the oyster sauce was just right and not cloying. A beautiful combination

 

LKH has a huge and fresh & top quality prawn with its nice natural flavor but inherently not so sweet. It was simmered with butter and garlic – quite pleasant. My main course was Wok-fried wagyu beef cubes (safe option); they were quite tender and flavorful with the right size and portion. The morel on the side was minimal and alright while the capsicums were useful for 'balancing' if one thinks the beef was too rich. The rests were just alright (not disappointing, yet not memorable either). I was referring to hot & sour soup with lobster wonton and fried rice (the grain is nicely separated but the flavor was light) with crab meat and conpoy. The least appealing part was the dessert: crème brulee with ginger, very sweet and a bit inferior to the one I had in western fine dining place. The kitchen should’ve prepared Chinese-style sweet instead.

 

Located in the 4th floor of posh Four Seasons, it goes without saying that the interior would be (somewhat) luxurious but thankfully not overwhelming. The elegant dining room has high ceiling and feels open; the tables are well-spaced and the harbor view is beautiful. However, it’s not my favorite. I think Caprice, located at 6th floor, and Pierre (at the Mandarin Oriental) has a better “angle” for the view – sorry, a bit picky here. The service was very good – professional but hardly personal. Staffs were polite, thoughtful and knowledgeable. As a lone diner, they brought me some magazines to read. Fork and knife were provided but I was more comfortable eating with chop stick whenever possible. My cup of tea was mostly full all the time. I drank Yunnan preserved Puer tea (vintage '99) and it was excellent (having intense flavor and aroma)

 

In general, I was pleased with my dinner. It was not cheap. It’s Hong Kong after all and I ate during the period when USD (and hence HKD was really strong). My meal truly highlighted Chef Chan’s principle to deliver tasty flavors by using high quality, fresh & local ingredients. The technique was mostly classical Cantonese, but often with some modern twist – the Chef always wanted to learn and improve. I learned this from the maître d’ since Chan Yan Tak himself was on 1+ week holiday when I dined there. I would give 93/100 for my meal (about 2 ½* by Michelin standard). It was marginally better than Yan Toh Heen, Tin Lung Heen and Sun Tung Lok.

 

Here are the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/118237905546308956881/LungKingHeenHongKongChina#

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