Poor Dimsum at Sweet Dynasty 糖朝 on 6Apr2015

steamed pork ribs & chicken feet rice

steamed pork ribs & chicken feet rice

we had some time in the morning before flight departure on 6.4.2015.

originally we were booked for lunch at lei gardens at elements mall where we would be doing a city check-in to the flight & taking the airport express. but because the lunch at lei gardens times square was really a let down, quite unsatisfactory, we canceled the reservation  at elements.

also we had to refund the standard on-loan octopus card we bought on arrival. we purchased the octopus card at hk$150 inclusive hk$100 stored value & hk$50 refundable deposit, but only used about hk$30. there was discounts per trip but also an admin fee of hk$9 for refund so we did not save much however the octopus card gave great convenient taking the mtr & the star ferry, and if we had take the city bus or tram too. 🙂

及第粥 mixed congee

及第粥 mixed congee

we did not want to go to yat lok at central or to cam’s at wanchai, so we walked around looking for a roast goose stall.

in the end we settled on sweet dynasty 糖朝. we used to frequent it when it was at canton road. we liked especially the congee & also the rice topped with steamed pork ribs, chicken feet or chicken with mushrooms. it relocated to hankow road a few years back.

we again ordered the steamed pork ribs & chicken feet rice. it was really good especially drizzled with the mildly sweet sauce. this was where i modelled my hk style steamed sausage, mushroom & chicken rice (香汁蒸蘑菇鸡饭).

ate too much rice as a result.

及第粥 mixed congee

及第粥 mixed congee

we had the 及第粥 mixed congee. congee is always good, very smooth. the pig stomach & innards i liked & my wife took the kidney & liver, so pretty good for all.

but it was no better than the congee at canton paradise OR at crystal jade. 🙂

fried carrot cake

XO fried carrot cake

XO fried carrot cake was good, flavourful, nothing special & not my favourite.

roast duck & soy sauce chicken

roast duck & soy sauce chicken

the roast duck (not goose) was quite pathetic actually, felt like reheat in microwave oven zero crispiness in the skin (actually must not order this next time if there is a next time)-

can forget about comparing with yat lok roast goose.

not even as good as joyful palace at clementi food loft, not even comparing with canton paradise excellent roast duck.

the soy sauce chicken looked miserable but the breast meat was actually moist, tender & sweet. actually better than the complimentary roast chicken at superstar restaurant the evening before. 🙂

black sesame tau huay

black sesame tau huay

the black sesame tau huay is my wife’s favourite.

somehow this time i did not find any attraction there.

we paid like hk$450 at sweet dynasty 糖朝, 50% more than the excellent dimsum at timhowan & nothing like it, & quite ex really at S$80 for 3pax for hk dimsum…of course in singapore it would cost about that for better food.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Value Saga Wagyu 佐贺和牛 6-course Set @ Superstar on 5Apr2015

japanese wagyu

saga wagyu 佐贺和牛

what was very good value but perhaps not the best in culinary sophistication was the premium saga wagyu 6-course dinner set we had at the flagship stall of the superstar group restaurant on 5.4.2015.

there was uncertainty from the beginning that this what looked like a very traditional chinese kind of restaurant could manage a wagyu steak well. superstar group do have teppanya & 燒肉牛蔵(和牛專門店yakiniku gyukura restaurants, so initially i booked yakiniku gyukura but they replied that the wagyu set was only served in 2 superstar restaurants & recommended their flagship at tsim sha tsui mansion at nathan road.

premium wagyu 6-course set

premium saga wagyu 佐贺和牛 6-course set

there was nothing to fault really about the menu & quality of ingredients. the preparation & presentation though was not quite the best.

geoduck sashimi

geoduck sashimi

wife wanted to go light after too much eating & decided not to take the set, and instead just ordered a mirugai (geoduck) sashimi. it was good. not a big portion, can’t remember now but probably hk$298.

geoduck sashimi was sweet & succulent, but it was a small geoduck clam, so it was nearer the ends & did not have the large inside flesh that the excellent if expensive geoduck platter we had at  budaoweng 不倒翁 hotpot at isquare.

crispy roast chicken

crispy roast chicken

& the restaurant gave us a fee 1/2 roast chicken, apparently for any spending above hk$200. not the best chicken, still it was pretty good.

crystal pork & tofu

crystal pork & tofu

set started with crystal pork 肴肉& deep-fried tofu. both were competent in look & taste for a good chinese restaurant. tofu was crispy outside & silky inside. 🙂

sharksfin soup

sharksfin soup

sharkskin with compoy & fishmaw was average, not the standard of good chinese restaurant sharkskin soup.

japanese wagyu

japanese wagyu

the main draw was the japanese saga wagyu 佐贺和牛. they were pricing it at a special hk$308 for 100g & hk$498 for the set.

we asked for medium rare, which according to them was 五分熟 50% cooked. it came about medium rare to rare. beef was very marbled. the piece looked bigger than 100g. anyway japanese saga wagyu at about S$55/100g was a good price.

it was indeed a very good steak, good marbling melt in the mouth. i felt though that somehow the temperature was not right. it was not charred enough (not enough maillard reaction to impart the flavours) & the meat felt like steamed, somehow the marbling, fragrant flavours were not quite there.

don’t know but just did not have the memorable “wowed-over” feeling that we had at imahan hakata at fukuoka!

nor also the excellent A4 ohmi wagyu at me@oue.

my own chargrilled wagyu steak

for comparison, my own chargrilled wagyu steak

well, it was not even as flavourful as my own chargrilled wagyu steak! (above photo).

maybe belief is important? lack of belief affects taste. don’t know!

stonefish soup

stonefish soup

stonefish soup was very tasty. it was their signature dish. as a accompanying side dish for a premium wagyu 6-course set, i thought it was very good. not sure it could be consider a top signature dish standalone.

stonefish soup

minced wagyu fried rice

the minced wagyu beef fried rice was to me also average though son thought it was very good. i thought it did not have the same wok hae & intense flavours like-

the unagi chahan (fried rice say) at either zen OR en japanese dining; nor

the fragrant spicy fried rice at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

baked lotus paste sago

baked lotus paste sago

the baked lotus paste sago was a attempted fusion dessert dish. hmmm…i would prefer a creme brûlée or portugese egg tart the ones at marco polo continental club lounge was exquisite!

will i go back again??? i wonder myself….

on paper, this should be a very good deal. but actually i can do without the other dishes (nothing much there to miss really) and just take the wagyu at hk$308. still hk$308 is a bit of money, and not sure i want to leave my fate with the chef and hope for a hk$308 wagyu to turn out for the best. hmmm…

c.h.e.f andy

Expensive Below-par Food @ Lei Gardens Times Square on 5Apr2015

venus clams with sweet peas

venus clams with sweet peas

had expensive below par lunch today at lei gardens @ times square on 5.4.2015.

this was so different from the excellent lunch i had at 2 michelin star lei gardens at tsai yee street洗衣街 ‎mongkok outlet in 2013.

they had 2 seating & we booked 11.30am. we went to have a short walk at the mid-level escalators & stanley street & decided to eat some small portion of roast goose at yat lok.

so maybe we were a bit full & not great appetite.

lei gardens times square

lei gardens times square

service was quite polite actually. these days service pretty ok though they were always busy to have much time with you.

lie tong 鸡骨草例汤

lie tong 鸡骨草例汤

we had a lie tong 鸡骨草例汤. HK$148 for 1pot, maybe should have the 1/2pot HK$98.

it was ok i guess, but these days, my helper made such great soup on the slow cooker at home. also my memory of 鸡骨草例汤 at imperial treasure nanbei was that it was such a tasty soup this one really paled in comparison.

chicken feet in abalone sauce

chicken feet in abalone sauce

we ordered the hicken feet braised in abalone sauce HK$42. wife & son preferred the usual dimsum deep-fried chicken feet which we found out was just hk$32. 🙂

my son said he did not realise how nice the dimsum at timhowan were until compared with the much poorer ones here. in fact i think all of crystal jade, imperial treasure, tunglok & canton paradise are better.

radish pastry

radish pastry

the radish pastry was ok.

char siew fun cheong

char siew fun cheong

the char siew fun cheong was poor. skin was very doughy & tough.

noodles in lobster broth

noodles in lobster broth

we took the recommendations which had the venus clams with sweet beans (top photo) & the noodles in lobster broth combination for HK$298.

the venus clams was the only dish that was good. the lobster broth noodles was tasteless, really a surprise for me. somehow the food did not agree with us.

c.h.e.f andy

Street Food Yat Lok Roast Goose & 新源牛腩牛杂面 on 4 & 5Apr2015

beef noodles soup 新源牛腩牛杂面

beef noodles soup 新源牛腩牛杂面

we had a most enjoyable lunch at amber at landmark oriental mandarin plus there were great hors doeuvre at marco polo continental club lounge evening cocktail, so we did not plan for dinner on 4.4.2015.

beef noodles soup 新源牛腩牛杂面

beef noodles soup 新源牛腩牛杂面

i wanted to try my favourite beef brisket noodles, so i took a short walk from our hotel on canton to hankow road where 新源noodles stall was located. it was expensive here, single item was hk$45. i ordered a combo 牛腩牛杂面, so it was hk$55.

beef noodles soup 新源牛腩牛杂面

beef noodles soup 新源牛腩牛杂面

新源 had several stalls in the area & i used to have them & they were good. however this time it was quite mediocre. soup was average not very sweet & flavourful. likewise the briskets. the stomach & lung were more infused with flavours. overall it was not very satisfactory.

any of the 牛腩面 i took anywhere previously was better than this e.g. at shamshuipo the last time (& indeed even at the food republic on canton road).

金湖牛腩面

金湖牛腩面

& the price was exorbitant!

later as i passed by haiphong road on the way back to hotel, i recalled that this golden lake stall (above photo) was pretty good too, & the price i saw was hk$33 c/w hk$45 at 新源!

queues at hermes

queues at hermes

there were queues at hermes as i was leaving hotel at 9pm, and same queue when i returned at 9.30pm…

queues at chanel

queues at chanel

& the same at chanel!

IFC

IFC

star ferry hk terminal to central covered link way from

star ferry hk terminal to central covered link way from

the next day, we were going to have early lunch at lei gardens at 11.30am.

so we thought we would go to central, walk along the mid level escalators & steal a bite at yat lok roast goose at stanley street.

yat lok roast goose HK$140 drumstick quarter

yat lok roast goose HK$140 drumstick quarter

to me, Yat Lok 一乐 has the best roast goose in hong kong. but of course i did not try many in hong kong to make the comparison. i had it at yung kee, at food republic on canton road, at 1 michelin star tim’s kitchen & at restaurants like tau heung’s 稻香超级渔港 previously. yat lok’s was by far the best.

it did not disappoint this time. we ordered a hk$140 drumstick quarter to share. my wife & son all enjoyed it very much.^^

yat lok HK$40 fried dumplings

yat lok HK$40 fried dumplings

the fried dumplings did not look great, but actually it was very tasty though kind of oily!

queue at kam's roast goose

queue at kam’s roast goose

queue at kam's roast goose

queue at kam’s roast goose

after lunch at lei gardens at times square, i went for a walk. i wanted to check out kam’s roast goose at wancahi area. this restaurant was started by the son of the founder of yung kee & has garnered 1 michelin star.

there was quite a long queue at about 2.30pm. i did not intend to eat here & anyway i was too full from lunch. will give it a try next time.

c.h.e.f andy

Sumptuous Weekend Wine Brunch @ Amber Landmark Mandarin Oriental on 4Apr2015

#2 whole abalone with braised oxtail sauce

#2 whole abalone with braised oxtail sauce

wife booked 3pax weekend wine brunch at amber at landmark mandarin oriental on 4.4.2015.^^

amber has 2 michelin stars 6 years in a row & is the no.4 in asia & no.24 in pellegrino’s world’s top 50 restaurants.

this 1 of the places you have to leave credit card details and will be charged in full if you cancel within 48hrs. i am not sure if it is a new practice but we booked 2pax degustation dinner at joel robuchon maybe 4yrs ago & did not have to do that. & we had been to caprice at four seasons, and pierre at the other mandarin oriental and did not have to do that.

anyway we were happy to try out this place, and our faith were more than rewarded. this was simply the best meal we had in hong kong, not comparing joel robuchon’s degus dinner which cost more than twice this lunch.

baguette, olive & onion bread

baguette, olive & onion bread

after a very pleasant morning stroll along the peak circle walk taking in the hong kong skyline, we took a cab form the peak to landmark mandarin oriental which only cost us hk$55.

we started with a nice champagne.

the baguette and olive & onion bread from the bread basket were warm & very good, with both salted & unsalted butter.

6-course weekend wine brunch with 4 paragons of wine (champagne, 2 whites, 1 red)

6-course weekend wine brunch with 4 paragons of wine (champagne, 2 whites, 1 red)

weekend wine brunch was a 6-course (though that included cheese & 2 desserts) with selection of 4 wines at hk$888.

we found out that it was really an excellent deal even c/w weekday set lunches w/o the wine. so it was an excellent decision & wonderful lunch.

 foie gras lollipop

foie gras lollipop

squidink pita

squidink pita

squidink pita

squidink pita

we had 2 amuse bouche. both were good.

the foie gras lollipop in raspberry jelly had beetroot on one side & some crackers? on the other.

the squid ink pita was better, can’t remember maybe it was some cheese, anyway just remembered it was savoury & nice.^^

#1 foie gras terrine with suckling pig - very good

#1 foie gras terrine with suckling pig – very good

#1 foie gras terrine with suckling pig - very good

#1 foie gras terrine with suckling pig – very good

1st course was served with a riesling which i liked best of the 2 whites & champagne. all were nice anyway.

my son & i picked the foie gras terrine with suckling pig (interleaved) as our first course. it was very good, very flavourful & substantial.

#1 hokkaido sea urchin with caviar

#1 hokkaido sea urchin with caviar

wife picked the hokkaido sea urchin in lobster jelly with caviar topped with a gold leaf (which came with a hk$260 supplement). uni was sublime of course but the S$46+ supplement made no sense to us.

#1 hokkaido sea urchin with caviar

#1 hokkaido sea urchin with caviar

we all love uni of course, but we are not short of taking them, and we had whole tub of uni in japan for 1500yen (fukuoka recently) & lots of them at kuriya dining for the S$62 chirashi lunch with big serving of uni.

uni is uni. no culinary skill involved, is there?

#2 whole abalone with braised oxtail sauce

#2 whole abalone with braised oxtail sauce

#2 whole abalone with braised oxtail sauce

#2 whole abalone with braised oxtail sauce

second course was served with another white chardonnay.

for the second course, wife & i had the whole abalone that came with braised oxtail sauce & oxtail!

it was really well done. the abalone was so well braised or sous vide it was pure tender & the oxtail sauce was an excellent match. the 2 pieces of oxtail were also very tender & tasty & robust. wife loved this though for me, i still prefer the chinese or japanese braised abalone in brown sauce, and the chinese dry abalone over the japanese fresh ones.

son decided to venture a bit & took the battered frog legs. i tried a bit. I must say it was very good, enough for me to say that fie the choice of the whole abalone & the frog leg (it was a no brainer before), i am not sure i will automatically pick abalone every time. 🙂

#3 sole with mussels & razor clams

#3 sole with mussels & razor clams

the mains were served with a selection of red. we picked the spanish wine which was very good.

for the 3rd course, wife had the sole with mussels & razor clams. i think it was excellent, the best you could do with a fish. the sole was very tasty, tender and also firm in texture.

#3 pyrennes lamb

#3 pyrennes lamb

#3 pyrennes lamb

#3 pyrennes lamb

son & i had the pyrenes lamb shoulder. it was braised to perfection & smoked, very tender & smooth consistency w/o strong gamey taste. it was exquisite for a lamb shoulder.^^

#4 cheese platter - reblochon, comte & camembert (all 3 cheese were good, i like comte best, very tasty)

#4 cheese platter – reblochon, comte & camembert
(all 3 cheese were good, i like comte best, very tasty)

we had 2 plates of the cheese platter above for 3pax. it was lots of cheese. i liked all 3 cheese = reblochon, comte & camembert. i liked comte best, very flavourful almost like blue.

raspberry mousse + chestnut mousse on meringue with pear

chestnut mousse on meringue with pear+blackcurrent sorbet

we didn’t think much of the chestnut mousse on meringue, kind of sweet not accustomed to the taste! any sorbet, blackcurrent or otherwise, was good. 🙂

#6 raspberry sorbet & chocolate mousse

#6 raspberry sorbet & chocolate mousse

i liked the raspberry sorbet & chocolate mousse much better.^^

flat white

flat white

we were served coffee & petite four to round of the lunch.

this was the best meal i had in hk, a very memorable one, and i will definitely come back again with my wife.^^

c.h.e.f andy

Peak Circle Walk on 4Apr2015

the peak tower

the peak tower

after a nice breakfast at marco polo hk continental club lounge, we set off to victoria peak for our morning peak circle walk on 4.4.2015.^^

victoria harbour

victoria harbour – IFC on the right

crossing the river

victoria harbour – IFC on the right

as marco polo hk is near to the star ferry terminal, instead of walking to tsimshatsui mtr station we decided to take the ferry to star ferry central pier. ferry was hk$2.80pax (hk$2.0 mon-fri). took 9minutes. we found out the next day that it was hk$3.40 (hk$2.50 on mon-fri) on the upper deck. we used our octopus card so it was a breeze.^^ star ferry was voted the best ferry ride in the world by The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW). you can see why. you get the skyline of central with IFC towering prominently.

in my last trip i had dinner at rainbow restaurant on lama island, & the free ferry provided by the restaurant took us past the night lights of aberdeen, with enchanting views of deep water bay & repulse bay, forming a beautiful neckless. it was a wonderful sight.

as we were 3pax & it’s a long way from central pier to the peak tram. so we planned to take a taxi which was at the taxi stand at central pier, no waiting. it was a nice journey up victoria peak costing hk$65. the cost of the peak tram was hk$28 single & hk$40 return & you could expect a very long queue on an easter weekend!

in the direction of aberdeen & deep water bay

in the direction of aberdeen & deep water bay

taxi deposited us at the peak market side opposite the peak tower tram station. nice view of aberdeen, deep water bay & repulse bay direction.

the peak tower

the peak tower

the peak tower is an icon. you could see people on the sky terrace. it is exorbitant, hk$83 if you combine with peak tram return, otherwise hk$48 & you can again expect long queues.

we took the peak circle walk. it’s about 3.6km and took 1 hr on a flat paved road. usually we took harlech road,

the last i was here with friends 2years ago in 2013, we decided to go to pak fu lam reservoir & did not take the peal circle walk.

this time we took lugard road as wife wanted to view the hk skyline first. above photo is peak tower from the start of lugard road. usually we see it at the end starting the circle walk from harlech road.

IFC

IFC in direction of kowloon bay & kai tak

central skyline with IFC standing tall in the direction of kowloon bay & kai tak.

view from the peak4

IFC in direction of kowloon bay & kai tak

here you see IFC & across the harbour on tsimshatsui side the taller ICC which houses the elements mall.

IFC & ICC2

hong kong tallest building = ICC (elements mall) & IFC

her’s a clearer shot.

IFC & ICC

IFC in direction of kowloon bay & kai tak

beautiful sight.^^

tsingyi

tsing yi

here we see tsing yi island with the road bridge.

tsingyi2

tsing yi & tsing ma bridge to hong kong disneyland & chek lap kok airport on lantau island

the airport express crosses over near the top of tsing yi, then connect to ma wan via the tsing ma bridge then to lautau island where hong kong disneyland & the big buddha & gong ping 360 cable cars are located and onwards to chek lap kok airport.

no the sky terrace =

not the sky terrace = view from rooftop of peak galleria (free access)

after the walk we went up to the rooftop of peak galleria to have a free view of hk skyline & admire tha paying folks over at sky terrace.

victoria harbour

not the sky terrace = view from rooftop of peak galleria (free access)

we took a taxi to landmark mandarin oriental where we were having lunch at amber. it cost hk$55 & point to point rather than queueing for the peak tram then walk few km.^^

c.h.e.f andy

Marco Polo HK @ Harbour City 3-6Apr2015

view from marco polo hotel room

view from marco polo hotel room

we stayed at marco polo hong kong hotel (located at harbour city kowloon) during this trip 3-6apr2015.

there are 3 hotels at harbour city belonging to the marco polo group. there is prince hotel nearer to kowloon park & haiphong road (where we stayed last time), gateway hotel in the middle & marco polo hong kong nearer star ferry terminal.

this time son was travelling with us. singapore airlines return airfare from london to hong kong was like £50 more than return to singapore, and the timing coincided with our trip to hk, which was bad really as we would have preferred to stay in singapore with our son, but anyway we made the best of it. 🙂

hotel room

hotel room

hotel room

hotel room

we stayed at the continental club floor, which is kind of expensive for me, but it has its privileges.^^

at the other hotels, room are small & do not accept 3pax so you end up paying for 2 rooms. here we have a 500sq ft room at the 17th floor, which is very spacious even with the extra bed.^^

and view was great. we were directly overlooking 1881, which was formerly the navy police headquarters. and the victoria harbour. 🙂

tray of nuts

tray of nuts

& the food was amazing. there was complimentary daily breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktail with hors d’oeuvres.

i stayed on many a club floors in my time working for various companies. the best food i had was a family staycation at ritz carlton in singapore like 20yrs ago. the food, wine & cheese were just incredible. i cannot really remember now except that it was very good, but this marco polo club floor food, wine & cheese were just as great!^^

(3)dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

wine & coffee

you can order coffee (flat white, cappuccino etc) but i am now taken by nespresso so i had a restricto (10) with creamer after many a cuppa with my good friend after our weekly 10km runs. a real enjoyment, this. 🙂

there were white & red wines. i liked the chateau los boldos, a chilean red, but the australian red was just as good. 🙂

dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

cheese, a chive dumpling, pressed foie gras cone, another cheese

the cheese were excellent! the chinese dumpling was very good. i took a second, and the chinese dimsum next morning was great too.

(2)dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

mushroom vegetable skewer

the skewer was very good.

(6)dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

classy spicy dumpling 抄手

and what a classy way to present a spicy dumpling 抄手. ^^

(5)dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

fruits, fish, goat cheese cherry tomatoes skewer, spicy dumpling etc

(7)dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

goat cheese cherry tomatoes skewer

mango scallop

mango scallop

vegetable skewer

vegetable skewer

(10)dinner time at club lounge 5.30pm

fruits

the magnificent hors d’oeuvres started at 5.30pm. made life difficult for us as we had to plan around it, after all we wanted to eat out in hong kong. haha!^^

on the first day 3.4.2015, it was quite perfect though.

we arrived 12.30pm at the airport, took the airport express to elements & the complimentary bus to marco polo & checked in at the club floor. so our plan was to have dimsum at timhowan at shamshuipo at 3pm.

so the 5.30pm hors d’oeuvres came in nicely as our next was a late night dinner at budaoweng at 9.30pm. ^^

breakfast

smoked salmon & parma ham

breakfast2

smoked salmon & parma ham

breakfast3

smoked salmon & parma ham

breakfast was equally scrumptious.

steak for breakfast

steak breakfast

there was a breakfast menu which include steak, egg omelette, wanton noodles etc.

on the second day we were having a heavy weekend brunch at amber so i had a light breakfast. on the last day 6.4.2015, i ordered the steak. it was good, not like super super, but good.

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good Beef Hotpot @ Budaoweng 不倒翁 iSquare on 3Apr2015

USDA beef

USDA beef

as planned on the first night, we went to budaoweng 不倒翁 hotpot at isquare near our hotel at 9.30pm on 3.4.2015. this late night discounts used to be 40% before, but now it was 20% for the entire menu including drinks.

since we had a late lunch at timhowan shamshuipo, this was rather a good arrangement, except that we also had a bit to eat at the club lounge at marco polo hk hotel. 🙂

we had the usual must-order large portion 金牌肥牛 at HK$368, which was the USDA marbled beef.

budaoweng 不倒翁 hotpot

budaoweng 不倒翁 hotpot

HK$758 geoduck, bamboo clams & grouper

HK$758 geoduck, bamboo clams & grouper

geoduck

geoduck

bamboo clams

bamboo clams

we decided to have geoduck sashimi. it was very expensive though at HK$48 per tael (两) 37.5g。that would make it HK$1280 about S$228/kg = really ex man!

we decided to take their promotion platter which had a portion of geoduck sashimi, grouper head & belly & roar clams. that was HK$758 before 20% discounts. this also very ex. not that much geoduck sashimi, 2 pieces of razor clams & some grouper 头腩, which is a really cheap dish in HK.

1/2 order prawn dumplings

1/2 order prawn dumplings – HK&88

we had 1/2 order (4 pieces) of our favourite prawn dumplings. it had 3 huge prawns inside.

vegetable tray

vegetable tray

& a vegetable tray.

condiments & sauces

condiments & sauces

there were very good condiments & sauces. they charged like HK$22pax.

fruit & jelly

fruit & jelly

they served a complimentary fruit & jelly.

dinner was very enjoyable, but came to be rather expensive after 20% discounts (HK$1800 for 3pax) as we also ordered an expensive sake.

the service was very good actually. servers were polite & responsive. but they tended to push things. one served poured the cane drinks 竹蔗for us. the difference now was that we said we didn’t want it & she took it back. in the past servers in HK would show you a black face. they may still do now at other places. this one was ok.

another practice both here & at lei gardens, the servers tended to hang around, the body language expecting tips. but there was already 10% service, especially when they charged for everything from soup base to condiments & for here sake was very ex too. anyway they do what they need to do, we tip when we feel we want to tip…hahaha!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent Dimsum @ Timhowan Shamshuipo on 3Apr2015

crispy char siew bun

crispy char siew bun

had excellent 4pax dimsum at timhowan at sham shui po, fuk wing street.^^

last time i dined here was in 2013. just as good this time.

son arrived HK airport 1/2hr later, and we managed to take airport express & hop onto the free bus transfer & checked in at marco polo hk at harbour city by 2.30pm.

timhowan shamshuipo

timhowan shamshuipo

timhowan shamshuipo

timhowan shamshuipo

we were at timhowan at sham shui po at 3pm. there was a queue (this was good friday & we waited about 15mins).

fried carrot cake

fried carrot cake

liver fun cheong

liver fun cheong

we ordered 3 of the 4 signature dishes, namely the crispy char siew buns, the panfried carrot cake, and the liver fun cheong.^^

they were all good. somehow the crispy char siew funs were much better than singapore, very crispy & not so sweet. panfried carrot cake was kind of standard.

char siew fun cheong

char siew fun cheong

both the liver & char siew fun cheong were very good, very smooth & the sauces was just great.

pork rib chicken feet rice

pork rib chicken feet rice

pork rib chicken feet rice

pork rib chicken feet rice

we loved the pork rib chicken feet rice. it was excellent! we had 2 orders to share among 4pax.

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs

steamed chicken feet

chicken feet

we also had the steamed pork ribs & chicken feet separately. they were both very good. the chicken feet was the usual deep-fried ones & very different from the abalones sauce ones we had the next day at lei gardens which cost more & not so nice.

ham shui kok盐水饺

咸水饺

we liked the hamshuigok 咸水饺 too. nice!

har gau

har gau

& we had 3 orders of har gau. these were very good, same as what we had in crystal jade, imperial treasure & canton paradise in singapore.

we had one later at lei gardens times square & it was quite below par, really what we came to expect in HK.

sham shui po shopping street

shamshuipo market…lots of electronics & gadgetry

price came to HK$302 (S$54) for 4pax, higher than the usual S$8 to S$10 here because we ate a lot.^^

it was a great makan first stop for us in HK.

c.h.e.f andy