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2021-05-03
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Many people believe that the evaluations in Michelin Guide did not favor Chinese food. And in a certain way it might be true, as there are only three Michelin 3-star restaurants in China, among them only one truly featuring traditional Taizhou cuisine (Xin Rong Ji in Beijing). With anticipation we came to its branch here in Hong Kong on the night, just beside the MTR exit on Lockhart Road, Wanchai. After walking up a flight of stairs and past some fish tanks displaying lots of live premium seafo
Many people believe that the evaluations in Michelin Guide did not favor Chinese food. And in a certain way it might be true, as there are only three Michelin 3-star restaurants in China, among them only one truly featuring traditional Taizhou cuisine (Xin Rong Ji in Beijing). With anticipation we came to its branch here in Hong Kong on the night, just beside the MTR exit on Lockhart Road, Wanchai.
After walking up a flight of stairs and past some fish tanks displaying lots of live premium seafood, we were seated at the main dining room, with soft lighting and a nice premium setting. Beautiful pieces of arts were displayed on the wall, and when walking to the washroom I also noticed many exceptional wines in cellar. A hint the restaurant aims for the very high-end clientele.
First we had Sweet Potato Stewed with Honey Sauce 蜜汁紅薯 ($77 half portion). A signature of the restaurant, the sweet potato is trimmed to a nice oval shape. Cutting it easily with a spoon, the sweet potato is very sweet and tasty, without any fiber on the bite. I am not normally a big fan of sweet potato but this one I like it very much. A must-try in my opinion.
Next we had Crispy Cutlassfish 黃金脆帶魚 ($299 half portion). There are six pieces, each one fried to the perfect golden brown in color with a crisp surface and a tender flesh, lightly seasoned to showcase its nice original taste. Another signature which is definitely worth trying.
Originally planning to pre-order a Peking Duck I ended up choosing to have Crispy Fried Baby Pigeons 脆皮妙齡鴿 ($128 each) instead. A smart choice in my opinion, as the duck would be too much for just two of us to finish. The 19-day young pigeon has been roasted beautifully, very juicy and tender. Marinated well, it was so great in taste I almost felt like licking my fingers when finished. Another great dish to have.
Finishing the starters we had Clam with Chicken Soup 清雞湯西施舌, and with the staff selling us to add Fish Maw to get more 'bite' ($328 each). The soup is very clear, without any hint of oil, exhibiting wonderful delicate flavors reinforced by the umami taste of the clams. The high quality fish maw has a nice firm bite, and overall the soup is truly nice, and reminded me of the best consommé I had tasted. Another example of how to highlight the original taste of the ingredients to the fullest.
We decided to order Steamed Cured Small Yellow Croaker 爆醃清蒸鮮子魚 ($480 each) as the staff strongly recommended this close relative with yellow croaker, but at a much more affordable price. The fish is steamed with huadiao wine, fantastic in aroma, and the fish meat is so silky soft that it simply melted in mouth. With a nice size around the length of a chopstick, it is great in taste and I basically finished the whole fish clean to the bones.
Another signature is braised sliced turnip home-style, but the staff told us the turnip was not in the best season and recommended us to try Braised Sliced Calabash Home-Style 家燒蒲瓜 ($128) instead. The broth was prepared with pork belly slices and dried shrimp, infusing the delicate calabash with wonderful taste, and the chef also cooked the vegetable to perfection, tender on the bite while not making it too soft and losing the texture.
Wrapping up we could not miss the Braised Sea Anemone with Sweet Potato Noodles 沙蒜燒豆麵 ($221). It was the first time I experienced sea anemone, with an interesting bite kind of remind me of sea cucumber but more bouncy. The sweet potato noodles also got a good texture, with the soup a bit too salty to drink, but certainly flavorful. Together with the bamboo shoot shreds and plenty of chives, the noodle is something worth trying out and no wonder it is also a signature dish.
With dessert my wife had Double Boiled Gordon Euryale Seed with Osmanthus Sweet Soup 桂花燉雞頭米 ($98) while I opted for Traditional Sichuan Ice Jelly with Brown Sugar Syrup 紅糖冰粉 ($68). The ice jelly is made from a special seed, with a nice bite but not any taste. Instead it picked up the sweetness from the brown sugar syrup and together with peanuts, sesame, wolfberry and flakes of rice cake, offered different texture and a nice dessert to try it out.
Our bill on the night was $3,247 and the service was overall very good, with the staff attentive, managing well the pace for dishes to serve, as well as frequent changing of plates and pouring tea. I noticed in the review some had said their service was bad and the food crazily expensive. While the staff did try to upsell us, they did not do it in a way that we felt pushy, and it is ultimately your own choice. We were recommended also to order half portion for several dishes (we are not aware there are such arrangements) so we did not end up having too much. Of course, if you order premium foodstuff like yellow croaker or conch, it can be extravagant.
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