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Readers who have not been to Hong Kong will be confused by the pricing in different hours and the meaning of "small" (小), "medium" (中) etc way of labelling dishes. This short post attempts to explain them.
In Hong Kong, there are five meal hours (as compared to three in Singapore) and they are as follow:
1. Breakfast (before 1100)
2. Lunch (1100 - 1400)
3. Afternoon tea (1400 - 1630)
4. Dinner (1800 - 2100)
5. Supper (after 2100)
Note that these timings are not fixed and it will vary slightly from place to place. In addition, the restaurants change their menu (and price) for every meal. This means that what is available for lunch may not be available for dinner and if it is available, a higher price may be charged.
Dim sum is available for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. It is usually the cheapest for afternoon tea followed by morning tea (i.e. breakfast); lunch tea (i.e. lunch) costs the most. I believe it is structured this way in order to control the crowd coming to the restaurants (something like the CBD charge). Afternoon tea, being the most affordable has the least variety in most cases.
Finally, the indicators of "small", "medium" etc. do not refer to the portion/size of the dim sum being offered. It is an indication of price. Therefore, please do not tell the waiter/ waitress that you wanna change a "big" dish to "small"; he/ she will probably give you the weird look if you do that. The afternoon tea is cheaper because the "small" to "big" dishes are usually priced 25% to 40% lower. In addition, the tea charge per pax is also priced lower.
Showing posts with label Dim Sum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dim Sum. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Maxim's Palace @ City Hall (大會堂美心皇宮)
Maxim's Palace @ City Hall is widely featured in local and overseas magazine; it is said to be one of the best dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong and whenever I dine there, I will notice that at least more than 50% of the diners are non-locals. But is it really that good? Yes, somewhat. I enjoyed the setting of the restaurant. It is one of the few restaurants remaining in Hong Kong where we can order directly from the dim sum trolley. In most restuarants nowadays, you order by using a pencil and tick at a dim sum menu. Ordering from dim sum trolley reminds you of the good old halcyon days of yum cha (yum cha means drinking tea literally; it is another way of saying a meal of dim sum). In addition, you get a pretty good harbour view (not so now as it is now filled with cranes doing reclamation work).
There are actually eight branches of Maxim's Palace, with a ninth one opening at Cityplaza in August. The rest of the seven branches are located in Mong Kok (Grand Century Plaza), Sha Tin (New Town Plaza One), Tuen Mun (Tuen Mun Town Hall), Kowloon Bay (Telford Plaza Phase One), Kwai Fong (Metroplaza), Ma On Shan (Ma On Shan Plaza) and Tsuen Wan (Luk Yeung Galleria). Maxim's Palace belong to the Maxim's Catering Limited (http://www.maxims.com.hk/html/opening.htm).
Maxim's Catering Limited is the largest restaurant chain in Hong Kong and offers not only Cantonese cuisine but also other Chinese cuisine, Japanese, Southeast Asian and Western cuisines. It started out in 1956 by S.T. and James T. Wu, with its flagship restaurant located in the basement of the former Lane Crawford Building in Central. However, it did not offer any Cantonese cuisine at that time. Instead, it serves French cuisine and was a nightclub. Lol. It decided to enter the market for Cantonese food in 1971 because of its success in the Osaka Expo '70 in providing excellent dim sum. It opens its flagship store (called Jade Garden 翠園) at Star House in Tsim Sha Tsui. It became an instance success and more restaurants sprung up, taking various names such as Maxim's Palace (美心皇宮), Maxim's Chinese Restaurant (美心閣/美心大酒樓), Maxim's Golden Court Restaurant (美心金閣) and Seranade Chinese Restaurant (映月樓).
Following that, it ventures into Chao Zhou cuisine and later on, other types of Chinese cuisine such as Beijing, Hunan and Sichuan. It expanded into other regional cuisines such as Japanese and Thai in the later years. It was also one of the first Catering group that offers the concept of "Chinese fast food". The numerous branches of Maxim's MX around Hong Kong offer reasonably priced Chinese style fast food; Maxim's cakes can also be found everywhere in Hong Kong and in every MTR stations! In 2000, Starbucks Coffee gave Maxim the rights to operate its coffee outlets in Hong Kong. In addition, 2006 saw Maxim collaborated with Genki Sushi (元気寿司) and Sen-ryo (千両) and it was given the special rights to run their restaurants in Hong Kong.
Let's have glimpse of its price.
City Hall branch:
小-HK$25; 中-HK$32; 大-HK$37; 特-HK$40; 頂-HK$44; congee-HK$37; cheong fan-HK$37; har gow-HK$37; tea-HK$12 per pax.
Kowloon Bay branch:
小-HK$16; 中-HK$20; 大-HK$24; 特-HK$30; 頂-HK$33; congee-HK$21; cheong fan-HK$24; har gow-HK$26; tea-HK$9 per pax.
Morning tea hours: 0730-1130, tea-HK$6 per pax (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
Afternoon tea hours: 1400-1630, 小-HK$12; 中-HK$14; 大-HK$16 (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
Mong Kok branch:
小-HK$15; 中-HK$20; 大-HK$24; 特-HK$28; 頂-HK$32; congee-HK$20; cheong fan-HK$23; har gow-HK$26; tea-HK$9 per pax.
Morning tea hours: 0730-1100, tea-HK$6 per pax (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
Afternoon tea hours: 1400-1630, 小-HK$10; 中-HK$12; 大-HK$14 (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
You will realize that the price is different for different branchs, with the one in City Hall being the most expensive (for obvious reasons). The dim sum there is also the best, especially the 鮮竹卷. Oh yah, the siu mai in the City Hall and Kowloon Bay banches are very good as well; may be even better than the one in Ming Court.
When you reach City's Hall's Maxim's Palace, you will be greeted by this rather impressive gold sign.
The tradition push-cart dim sum is retained in Maxim, a reminder of good old days in Hong Kong when you can see the dim sum before deciding on which one to pick on.
The usual fare - siu mai, har gow and char siew puff.
This is a special dim sum that is found in Maxim's Palace (not sure whether it's available in other dim sum restaurants though). It is a combination of the common pastry in Hong Kong known as po luo bun (菠羅包, literally translates to pineapple bun) and char siew and it is given the name as char siew po luo bun (叉燒菠羅包). It is a perfect combination and taste splendid. A must-try!
This is the 鮮竹卷 that I mentioned earlier on. There are 2 versions - oyster sauce based (shown below, known as 蠔油鮮竹卷) and soup based (known as 上湯鮮竹卷). The soup based one usually use fish to brew the soup over a couple of hours. Personally, I prefer the oyster sauce based one and the best I have tried in Hong Kong is in this branch of Maxim's Palace. Interestingly, Mong court doesn't serve this dish.
This is also the best glutinous rice dumpling that I have tried thus far. It is very fragrant and not as salty as the one in Ming Court. In addition, take note that the leave used her is in a brighter shade of green as compared to the one in Ming Court and other branches of Maxim's Palace (as well as most other dim sum restaurants). Does this explains why it tastes so well?
This dish is called 鮮蝦腐皮卷. It is basically prawn wrapped in special kind of skin known as 府皮. This is also the same skin that is used ot make wu xiang (五香卷) in Singapore. I read that this dish originates from a local delights in Shanghai.
Oh well, for once, I forgot what this is called. :(
The usual fare - char siew bun and ham sui gok. I still prefer the bun in 蓮香樓.
Taro puff is its name and it's a traditional dim sum. It is well made and literally melt in your mouth when you bite it.
Dim sum style egg tart. I read that together with spring roll, it is one of the dishes found in the menu of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast (滿漢全席).
The following dim sun is only found in Maxim's Palace. It is called 粟米炸蝦筒, literally mean prawn wrapped in the shape of a roll. It tastes better without dipping into the mayonaise provided.
Maxim will roll out a trolley consisting of a bucket of beancurb at times. If you see it, grab it for it tastes superior compared to many in Singapore. Choose from orange sugar (黃糖豆腐花), syrup (山水豆腐花) or ginger syrup (薑汁豆腐花).
There are actually eight branches of Maxim's Palace, with a ninth one opening at Cityplaza in August. The rest of the seven branches are located in Mong Kok (Grand Century Plaza), Sha Tin (New Town Plaza One), Tuen Mun (Tuen Mun Town Hall), Kowloon Bay (Telford Plaza Phase One), Kwai Fong (Metroplaza), Ma On Shan (Ma On Shan Plaza) and Tsuen Wan (Luk Yeung Galleria). Maxim's Palace belong to the Maxim's Catering Limited (http://www.maxims.com.hk/html/opening.htm).
Maxim's Catering Limited is the largest restaurant chain in Hong Kong and offers not only Cantonese cuisine but also other Chinese cuisine, Japanese, Southeast Asian and Western cuisines. It started out in 1956 by S.T. and James T. Wu, with its flagship restaurant located in the basement of the former Lane Crawford Building in Central. However, it did not offer any Cantonese cuisine at that time. Instead, it serves French cuisine and was a nightclub. Lol. It decided to enter the market for Cantonese food in 1971 because of its success in the Osaka Expo '70 in providing excellent dim sum. It opens its flagship store (called Jade Garden 翠園) at Star House in Tsim Sha Tsui. It became an instance success and more restaurants sprung up, taking various names such as Maxim's Palace (美心皇宮), Maxim's Chinese Restaurant (美心閣/美心大酒樓), Maxim's Golden Court Restaurant (美心金閣) and Seranade Chinese Restaurant (映月樓).
Following that, it ventures into Chao Zhou cuisine and later on, other types of Chinese cuisine such as Beijing, Hunan and Sichuan. It expanded into other regional cuisines such as Japanese and Thai in the later years. It was also one of the first Catering group that offers the concept of "Chinese fast food". The numerous branches of Maxim's MX around Hong Kong offer reasonably priced Chinese style fast food; Maxim's cakes can also be found everywhere in Hong Kong and in every MTR stations! In 2000, Starbucks Coffee gave Maxim the rights to operate its coffee outlets in Hong Kong. In addition, 2006 saw Maxim collaborated with Genki Sushi (元気寿司) and Sen-ryo (千両) and it was given the special rights to run their restaurants in Hong Kong.
Let's have glimpse of its price.
City Hall branch:
小-HK$25; 中-HK$32; 大-HK$37; 特-HK$40; 頂-HK$44; congee-HK$37; cheong fan-HK$37; har gow-HK$37; tea-HK$12 per pax.
Kowloon Bay branch:
小-HK$16; 中-HK$20; 大-HK$24; 特-HK$30; 頂-HK$33; congee-HK$21; cheong fan-HK$24; har gow-HK$26; tea-HK$9 per pax.
Morning tea hours: 0730-1130, tea-HK$6 per pax (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
Afternoon tea hours: 1400-1630, 小-HK$12; 中-HK$14; 大-HK$16 (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
Mong Kok branch:
小-HK$15; 中-HK$20; 大-HK$24; 特-HK$28; 頂-HK$32; congee-HK$20; cheong fan-HK$23; har gow-HK$26; tea-HK$9 per pax.
Morning tea hours: 0730-1100, tea-HK$6 per pax (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
Afternoon tea hours: 1400-1630, 小-HK$10; 中-HK$12; 大-HK$14 (Mon-Fri except for public holidays)
You will realize that the price is different for different branchs, with the one in City Hall being the most expensive (for obvious reasons). The dim sum there is also the best, especially the 鮮竹卷. Oh yah, the siu mai in the City Hall and Kowloon Bay banches are very good as well; may be even better than the one in Ming Court.
When you reach City's Hall's Maxim's Palace, you will be greeted by this rather impressive gold sign.
The tradition push-cart dim sum is retained in Maxim, a reminder of good old days in Hong Kong when you can see the dim sum before deciding on which one to pick on.
The usual fare - siu mai, har gow and char siew puff.
This is a special dim sum that is found in Maxim's Palace (not sure whether it's available in other dim sum restaurants though). It is a combination of the common pastry in Hong Kong known as po luo bun (菠羅包, literally translates to pineapple bun) and char siew and it is given the name as char siew po luo bun (叉燒菠羅包). It is a perfect combination and taste splendid. A must-try!
This is the 鮮竹卷 that I mentioned earlier on. There are 2 versions - oyster sauce based (shown below, known as 蠔油鮮竹卷) and soup based (known as 上湯鮮竹卷). The soup based one usually use fish to brew the soup over a couple of hours. Personally, I prefer the oyster sauce based one and the best I have tried in Hong Kong is in this branch of Maxim's Palace. Interestingly, Mong court doesn't serve this dish.
This is also the best glutinous rice dumpling that I have tried thus far. It is very fragrant and not as salty as the one in Ming Court. In addition, take note that the leave used her is in a brighter shade of green as compared to the one in Ming Court and other branches of Maxim's Palace (as well as most other dim sum restaurants). Does this explains why it tastes so well?
This dish is called 鮮蝦腐皮卷. It is basically prawn wrapped in special kind of skin known as 府皮. This is also the same skin that is used ot make wu xiang (五香卷) in Singapore. I read that this dish originates from a local delights in Shanghai.
Oh well, for once, I forgot what this is called. :(
The usual fare - char siew bun and ham sui gok. I still prefer the bun in 蓮香樓.
Taro puff is its name and it's a traditional dim sum. It is well made and literally melt in your mouth when you bite it.
Dim sum style egg tart. I read that together with spring roll, it is one of the dishes found in the menu of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast (滿漢全席).
The following dim sun is only found in Maxim's Palace. It is called 粟米炸蝦筒, literally mean prawn wrapped in the shape of a roll. It tastes better without dipping into the mayonaise provided.
Maxim will roll out a trolley consisting of a bucket of beancurb at times. If you see it, grab it for it tastes superior compared to many in Singapore. Choose from orange sugar (黃糖豆腐花), syrup (山水豆腐花) or ginger syrup (薑汁豆腐花).
RATINGS:
1. Taste - 8.5
2. Ambience - 7.5
3. Service - 8.0
4. Average spending - HK$120 to HK$200 (based on 3-4 dim sum dish per pax). 10% service charge.
Address: 2/F, City Hall Low Block, Hong Kong (中環大會堂低座3樓)
Tel: 2521 1303
Directions: Alight at Central MTR Station and exit at Exit K. Upon exit, walk towards your 6 o' clock position and cross Charter Road, after which you will see a subway. Go through it and follow the signpost to City Hall.
Other informations:
1. Commentaries on New York Times
2. Commentaries on Openrice
Monday, July 21, 2008
Ming Court (明閣), the best dim sum in Hong Kong?
Most of my friends know that I am crazy over dim sum. To me, dim sum is the ultimate of food indulgence and represents the epitome of Cantonese cuisine (點心是粵菜的精髓). Therefore, whenever my friends wanna go to Hong Kong for a holiday, the most common question I receive is, "Where can I try the best dim sum?". "Best" is really subjective and in a more philosophical way, it is in your heart. Haha.
The siu mai contains one huge shrimp on top; it doesn't have the caviar that is found in the siu mai in most restaurant. It doesn't have the mushrooms that are found in almost half of the restaurants. the meat is very fresh and keeps you craving for more.
The xiao long bao is not as good as it is suppose to be. The skin is rather thick and hard. Try it only when you have a craving for xiao long bao.
The char siew cheong fan is better than a lot of restaurants; my only complain is that if the skin is made thinner, it will be more perfect.
The dish below, cheong fan in XO sauce is rather unique. Such dishes are usually not found in top tier restaurants. Anyway, it tastes pretty good and the XO sauce is made by the chef in Ming Court. However, it is a little oily and it will not be the dish that I will want to order in a dim sum session.
This is one of the best custard bun that I have tasted. Be careful when you bite it though as it is piping hot and it will burn your mouth! The custard flows out like lava and the feeling is really magical. Eating custard bun will never be the same again.
I think this dim sum is not found in Singapore. It is called hum sui gok in cantonese. It consists of dried prawns and fresh pork on the inside, coupled with unique sauce. The skin tastes like the apple pie skin in MacDonalds. The one in Ming Court is really crispy and the combinations of the ingredients inside made it one of the better ones that I have tasted in Hong Kong.
Ha, this is the dish that brought out quite a lot of laughter when I went food tasting with Wai Zin, Jiahao and Jiahuan (you guys will know the joke). The quality of a char siew puff is judged by its crust and filling and how both combine to give you a synergic taste. A buttery crust is preferred, one that kinda melt in your mouth. The char siew must not be too sweet nor salty; it must be moderate and definitely not paste-like. There must be some char siew bits for you to chiew on. Ming Court did quite a good job and on the whole, the char siew puff is good.
The glutinous rice dumpling is good albeit a little too salty. I prefer the one in Maxim's Palace in City Hall as it is more fragrant. Having said that, this is one of the better ones you can try in Hong Kong.
Spring roll, a common dish but yet how many restaurants can make it really stand out. Ming Court did a fine job in this. One of my Hong Kong friend, who do not usually eat spring roll in restaurants, remarked that this is the one she will try again when she returns.
This is a contemporary dim sum - a fusion of cheese and salmon in a egg-tart like crust. It tastes great and I remembered that Jiahao likes it very much. Haha.
Alright, we are done with the main dishes. Here comes the dessert. This is gui fa gou, one of the signature dessert in Cantonese restaurant. If har gow, siu mai and char siew puff is to test the dim sum quality of a restaurant, then gui fa gou is to test the chinese dessert skill of a Cantonese restaurant. Good ones are hard to come by and this is certainly one of the better ones you can get in Hong Kong.
Here comes the highlights, the signature dessert of Ming Court. It is called shark fin in crystalline block. It consists of 2 layers - the jelly layer and the mango pudding layer. The jelly layer is where you can find shark fin in. The dish was serve in a spectacular manner - see the "smoke"? It is actually dry ice! The 4 blocks are placed on top of a tray and below it lies dry ice. Before serving, the waiter will pour water below the tray to generate this magical effect. Certainly a must try in Ming Court! Does it tastes good then? You bet. :p
Alright, after every meal, one will definitely visit the washroom. The washroom in Ming Court is classy and most importantly, it is environmentally friendly. After washing your hands, you wipe it dry by using cloths (which are washable).
Address: 6/F, Langham Place Hotel. 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong (上海街555號朗豪酒店6樓)
Seriously, there is no place that is good at making every type of dim sum. One may be better at making siu mai (燒賣) and another may be better at making char siew bao (叉燒包). The utopian restaurant will have all the best dim sum in one collection but it does not happen exist in real life. If you want to taste exceptionally good bao, you may want to try 蓮香樓; for good ambience, 陸羽茶樓 will be the top choice; for siu mai and har gow, 美心皇宮 @ 大會堂 or 明閣. For creative fusion dim sum, 鴻星海鮮酒家 @ 銅鑼灣; and the list goes on and on.
But...
Why did I choose Ming Court (明閣) as my first food blog entry? Is it the best? A must-try? Well, yes to a certain extent. Ming Court has a special place in my heart; it gives exceptionally good service that's somewhat personalize. Most importantly, all the dim sum that we tried there are way above average. Some of the dim sum may not be the best in Hong Kong but if you want a good dim sum experience, Ming Court must be added to your list. To date, I've tried Ming Court five times with my friends (both locals and Singaporeans) and they have sung praises of its dim sum.
But there's somewhat an irony here. Yes, Ming Court serves one of the best dim sum in Hong Kong; but it is also the place that has one of the least variety. Its dim sum is also one of the most expensively priced. Listed below are the names of the dim sum served and the price (correct as of July 2008):
點心(dim sum)
1. 魚翅灌湯餃 (steamed dumpling filled with shark fin and diced mushrooms, conpoy, ham and bamboo piths in consommé) - HK$55 per pax
2. 笋尖鮮蝦餃 (steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots) - HK$35 (4 pcs)
3. 原隻鮮蝦燒賣 (steamed pork dumplings with fresh shrimps) - HK$35 (4 pcs)
4. 鮮肉小籠包 (steamed pork dumplings in shanghai style) - HK$33 (4 pcs)
5. 玉豆帶子腸粉 (steamed rice pasta rolls with scallops and green beans) - HK$40
6. 菲黃鮮蝦腸粉 (steamed rice pasta rolls with fresh shrimps and chives) - HK$40
7. 蜜汁叉燒腸粉 (steamed rice pasta rolls with barbecued pork in honey sauce) - HK$40
8. 香滑牛肉腸粉 (steamed rice pasta rolls with minced beef) - HK$40
9. XO醬炒腸粉 (sautéed rice pasta rolls in xo sauce) - HK$40
10. 紅棗妃子棉花雞 (steamed sliced chicken with fish maw, red dates and medlar) - HK$35
11. 梅菜叉燒包 (steamed barbecued pork buns with preserved vegetables) - HK$33 (3 pcs)
12. 沙嗲炒蘿蔔糕 (stir-fried diced turnip cakes with satay sauce) - HK$40
13. 明閣流沙包 (steamed custard buns with egg yolk) - HK$33 (3 pcs)
14. 安蝦咸水角 (deep-fried glutinous dumplings with shrimps and assorted meat) - HK$33 (4 pcs)
15. 檸汁叉燒酥 (baked barbecued pork puff pastries with lemon juice) - HK$33 (3 pcs)
16. 濃雞湯浸牛肉球 (simmered beef dumplings in chicken stock) - HK$33 (4pcs)
17. 香蔥嫩雞窩餅 (pan-fried pastries with onion and chicken) - HK$35 (4pcs)
18. 上素蒸粉果 (steamed vegetarian dumplings) - HK$33 (4pcs)
19. 生煎野菌包 (pan-fried buns with assorted mushrooms) - HK$33 (3pcs)
20. 迷你珍珠雞 (steamed glutinous rice dumplings with chicken wrapped in loctus leaf) - HK$33 (3pcs)
21. 杏香蝦春卷 (deep-fried spring rolls with shrimps and almond) - HK$40
22. 芝士三文魚酥 (baked puff pastries with salmon and cheese) - HK$35 (4pcs)
23. 香煎墨魚餅 (pan-fried cuttlefish cakes) - HK$35 (4pcs)
24. XO醬風爪排骨 (steamed spareribs and chicken feet in xo sauce) - HK$33
甜品(dessert)
25. 原盅燉官燕 (椰汁,杏汁,薑汁,紅棗,冰花,花旗蔘) (double-boiled superior bird's nest soup with your choice of coconut milk, almond cream, ginger sauce, red dates, crystal rock sugar or American ginseng) - HK$398 (per pax)
26. 蟠桃大壽飽 (chinese birthday bun filled with loctus seed paste and salty egg yolk) - HK$25 (1pc)
27. 妃子桂花糕 (chilled jelly with medlar and canela) - HK$32 (4pcs)
28. 擂沙湯丸 (glutinous dumpling filled with sesame and coated with ground peanuts) -HK$32 (4pcs)
29. 榛子千層糕 (steamed layered sponge cake with hazelnut cream) - HK$32 (4pcs)
30. 法式蓮子燉蛋 (doubled-boiled egg custard with loctus seeds) - HK$38 (per pax)
31. 雪蛤燉紅棗雪耳 (double-boiled harsma with red date and snow fungus) - HK$48 (per pax)
32. 楊支甘露 (chilled sago cream with Chinese pomelo and mango) - HK$38 (per pax)
33. 香芒布甸 (chilled fresh mango pudding) - HK$38 (per pax)
34. 生果拼盤 (seasonal fruit platter) - HK$38 (per pax)
35. 麻香金絲蛋散 (deep-fried egg crackle with sesame) - HK$32 (3pcs)
36. 翅晶凝 (shark fin in crystalline block) - HK$68 (4pcs)
明閣茗茶 (Ming Court Premium Tea)
1. 中國茗茶 (Chinese tea) - 普洱, 壽眉, 香片, 烏龍, 水仙, 鐵觀音, 龍井, 菊花 (pu er, white peony, jasmine, oolong, shui xian, tie guan yin, dragon well, chrysanthemum) - HK$16 per pax
2. 特選中國茗茶 (premium chinese tea) - 遠年普洱, 洞庭碧螺春, 信陽毛尖, 頂級龍井 (aged pu er, bi luo chun, xin yang mao tsim, premium dragon well) - HK$40 per pax
3. 特級中國茗茶 (deluxe chinese tea) - 水金龜鐵觀音, 四川峨眉毛峰, 四川蒙頂甘露, 鐵羅漢鐵觀音 (shui jin gui tie guan yin, sichuan e mei mao feng, silver needles tea, tie luo han tie guan yin) - HK$60 per pax
Ok, I'm finally done typing out all the dim sum and tea list. It took me quite some time as I am not well-versed in typing out chinese characters. There are a total of 36 types of dim sum and you audience must be thinking that I must be kidding since I've said that they offered one of the least variety of dim sum in Hong Kong. Hang on there. Most Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong offered at least 50 types of dim sum (I will introduce them slowly along the way). If you benchmark against Singapore, yes, Ming Court does indeed offer a large variety. But here, we are benchmarking against Hong Kong and surrounding regions. If you take a peep into the dim sum menu in Guangzhou, you'll be in for an even larger surprise!
Oh yah, Ming Court offers quite a large variety of tea. This is not unusual for a top notch Cantonese restaurant. The ordinary tea (costs HK$16 per pax!) is of pretty good quality compared to most other restaurants (except probably Luk Yu). They offered high quality tea as well but it is too huge a price to pay for a meal. For those who have yet to try dim sum in Hong Kong, you may be bewildered by the large variety. I think ordinary dim sum restaurant in Singapore offers only one type of tea (red tea?). If you don't know what tea to order in Hong Kong, a good starter will be tie guan yin (鐵觀音), jasmine (香片) or white peony (壽眉).
Another thing is, the price quoted are in HK$. I will not attempt to do the conversion here as exchange rate flactuates (today's rate is S$1.00 = HK$5.77). In addition, as there is worldwide inflation, I cannot guarantee that the price quoted today will be the same as your next visit.
When you reach the entrance of Ming Court, you will be greeted by courteous staff. I recommend you to make a reservation before you go in order to avoid disappointment. The interior design of Ming Court is typical that of a high class Cantonese restaurant, with expensive artwork displays, ornaments and smooth lightings. The photos below give you a glimpse of the entrance and interior of Ming Court.
When you get seated, you will be greeted with a set of utensils shown below. Note that there is no bowl; instead you have two plates - a small one on top of a large one. This is typical of a high end Cantonese restaurant. You dine on the small plate and it will be constantly change throughout your meal. One the right you will see two pairs of chopsticks and a spoon on the middle. You are given two pairs of chopsticks in case you drop one accidentally. Haha, I am talking rubbish here. The white one is for you to take grab food in the common area (i.e. food lying around the table) and the black one is for you to grab the food on your plate. Don't ask me why but I think it is more for hygiene purpose.
The siu mai contains one huge shrimp on top; it doesn't have the caviar that is found in the siu mai in most restaurant. It doesn't have the mushrooms that are found in almost half of the restaurants. the meat is very fresh and keeps you craving for more.
The xiao long bao is not as good as it is suppose to be. The skin is rather thick and hard. Try it only when you have a craving for xiao long bao.
The char siew cheong fan is better than a lot of restaurants; my only complain is that if the skin is made thinner, it will be more perfect.
The dish below, cheong fan in XO sauce is rather unique. Such dishes are usually not found in top tier restaurants. Anyway, it tastes pretty good and the XO sauce is made by the chef in Ming Court. However, it is a little oily and it will not be the dish that I will want to order in a dim sum session.
This is the chicken steamed with red dates and medlar. Tastes really good and surpasses that of most restaurants.
This is one of the best custard bun that I have tasted. Be careful when you bite it though as it is piping hot and it will burn your mouth! The custard flows out like lava and the feeling is really magical. Eating custard bun will never be the same again.
I think this dim sum is not found in Singapore. It is called hum sui gok in cantonese. It consists of dried prawns and fresh pork on the inside, coupled with unique sauce. The skin tastes like the apple pie skin in MacDonalds. The one in Ming Court is really crispy and the combinations of the ingredients inside made it one of the better ones that I have tasted in Hong Kong.
Ha, this is the dish that brought out quite a lot of laughter when I went food tasting with Wai Zin, Jiahao and Jiahuan (you guys will know the joke). The quality of a char siew puff is judged by its crust and filling and how both combine to give you a synergic taste. A buttery crust is preferred, one that kinda melt in your mouth. The char siew must not be too sweet nor salty; it must be moderate and definitely not paste-like. There must be some char siew bits for you to chiew on. Ming Court did quite a good job and on the whole, the char siew puff is good.
The glutinous rice dumpling is good albeit a little too salty. I prefer the one in Maxim's Palace in City Hall as it is more fragrant. Having said that, this is one of the better ones you can try in Hong Kong.
Spring roll, a common dish but yet how many restaurants can make it really stand out. Ming Court did a fine job in this. One of my Hong Kong friend, who do not usually eat spring roll in restaurants, remarked that this is the one she will try again when she returns.
This is a contemporary dim sum - a fusion of cheese and salmon in a egg-tart like crust. It tastes great and I remembered that Jiahao likes it very much. Haha.
Alright, we are done with the main dishes. Here comes the dessert. This is gui fa gou, one of the signature dessert in Cantonese restaurant. If har gow, siu mai and char siew puff is to test the dim sum quality of a restaurant, then gui fa gou is to test the chinese dessert skill of a Cantonese restaurant. Good ones are hard to come by and this is certainly one of the better ones you can get in Hong Kong.
Here comes the highlights, the signature dessert of Ming Court. It is called shark fin in crystalline block. It consists of 2 layers - the jelly layer and the mango pudding layer. The jelly layer is where you can find shark fin in. The dish was serve in a spectacular manner - see the "smoke"? It is actually dry ice! The 4 blocks are placed on top of a tray and below it lies dry ice. Before serving, the waiter will pour water below the tray to generate this magical effect. Certainly a must try in Ming Court! Does it tastes good then? You bet. :p
Alright, after every meal, one will definitely visit the washroom. The washroom in Ming Court is classy and most importantly, it is environmentally friendly. After washing your hands, you wipe it dry by using cloths (which are washable).
Yah, I guess that should be it for my first comprehensive food entry. I hope it's not too boring. Yes, I did not try all the dim sum in Ming Court and so I cannot comment on those that I have yet to try. If opportunities arise, I will try them and comment on future entries. Better still, you can try them out and let me know what you think. ;)
RATINGS:
1. Taste - 8.5
2. Ambience - 8.5
3. Service - 9.
4. Average spending - HK$120 to HK$200 (based on 3-4 dim sum dish per pax). 10% service charge.
1. Taste - 8.5
2. Ambience - 8.5
3. Service - 9.
4. Average spending - HK$120 to HK$200 (based on 3-4 dim sum dish per pax). 10% service charge.
Address: 6/F, Langham Place Hotel. 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong (上海街555號朗豪酒店6樓)
Tel: 3552 3300
Directions: Alight at Mong Kok MTR and exit at Exit E1. When you walk out, you will see Langham Place Shopping Mall. Walk through it and you will reach Shanghai Street. Langham Place Hotel is at your 11 o' clock position.
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