Central Hong Kong: Right in the Heart

The Hui

I used to think that it wasn't possible to have dimsum for a working lunch, given that you only have an hour. However, after having lunch at The Hui, and observing just how packed it was at lunchtime, dimsum might actually be a good idea for lunch.



If you don't order too much, food comes relatively quickly and you're done in about forty odd minutes. The trick is in getting a reservation though; lunches in Central are ridiculous, rather like hordes of inmates being set loose for a day.



I'd actually walked past The Hui on my way to work a number of mornings, without ever realising what it was. Located just off Lan Kwai Fong, in a commercial building, with an escalator as its only egress, it's really quite easy to miss.



While the usual dimsum suspects were quite well done, what I really enjoyed was the winter melon soup seafood rice. Almost akin to Teochew porridge, the soup was clear and sweet, the rice grains were perfectly plump with bite; the whole dish was refreshing.



The carrot cake was also excellent; generous cubes of crispy, starchy radish, the Chinese equivalent of complimentary bread to work up an appetite (except this one's not free).



The custard buns were a little rough around the edges (circumfrence, whatever), and the custard tasted a little artificial, but perhaps I was just being picky.



Xiaolongbaos make every dimsum lunch better. There doesn't seem to be much of a xiaolongbao culture here in the same way as there is back home - no accompanying black vinegar and ginger.

Central may be an odd place to come for dimsum, but it certainly beats trekking all the way to Tsim Sha Tsui or Maxim's for your dimsum fix.

The Hui
3-4th Floor, Entertainment Building
30 Queen's Road Central
Tel: 852 2877 3993

Isola

IFC has a couple of pretty fancy restaurants, catering to the well-heeled investment bankers who can expense their meals.



One of these is Isola, an Italian restaurant and bar that is a real pain to find, sandwiched between Lane Crawford and Longchamp on the third podium. Reservations are a definite must for dinner, as even booking a table for two at 7pm, I was told I had to clear off by 8.30pm. Sure enough, by 8pm the place was almost completely full, on a Tuesday night.



Boasting an attractive open kitchen, Isola clearly has a white theme, with tablecloths, linens and even decorations in a pearly hue. It's cliched, but sensible, as it makes it much easier to control the lighting tone with minimal artificial lighting.



One of the prime attractions, of course, is the night-time sea view. For the full effect one could probably sit outdoors, and I imagine in winter those seats need to be reserved weeks days in advance. Even in the restaurant though, the view is pretty good.



A shame, then, that the food is somewhat short of spectacular. While it's understandable that prices reflect the high rents in IFC, I did think the pizzas and pastas suffered a dearth of interesting ingredients and creativity.

The pizza I had was generous on the button mushrooms, but not much else. Still, the chefs clearly have some skill; as the crust was wafer thin and not the least bit oily.



Great place for a date, as long as you've got an expense-paid account.

Isola
Level 3, IFC Mall, Central
Tel: 852 2383 8765
Website

Central Hong Kong: International Food in International Alleys

M at the Fringe

One of the best things about eating in Hong Kong is finding good food in the unlikeliest of places. From holes in the wall to swanky restaurants, first impressions are always the wrong impressions.



M at the Fringe seems follow that line of thought. Located in a strange old building that looks like a public toilet, the only indication that there might be a restaurant there is the lone menu that's pinned up when you enter the dark entrance.



Going up, the hallway is strangely dim and silent, and a red stairwell leads up into the unknown. As my friend said, it seemed like something out of Disney's House of Horrors.



Entering the restaurant itself though, all fears are dispelled. The walls are painted in artsy hues, a massive flower decoration in the centre of the restaurant commands attention, and the service is courteous and friendly.



Though empty at first, the restuarant very quickly filled up, and seeing as how M at the Fringe has the reputation of being one of Hong Kong's best restaurants, it would be a very good idea to secure a reservation.

Food here is eclectic European and defies classification; drawing inspiration from French, Spanish, Italian and almost every other European cuisine.



The gazpacho was done in two styles: traditional Andalucian red and creamy ajo blanco, both cold. The traditional was excellent, sweet, piquant with a hint of basil and tomato oil. The ajo blanco however, was less enjoyable, being extremely creamy and possessing a strange, powdery texture that I did not like at all.



The squid ink risotto, however, was absolutely amazing. Perfectly executed, each grain reached that sublime point of almost fusing, but still retaining their individuality. More importantly, the squid was not at all rubbery, and the flavour of the ink and acidity of the lemon juice cut through distinctly. The entire thing was finished in a few minutes.



One of M's specialities is their version of suckling pig, a mammoth order of pork with crispy crackling, served with glazed apple and fennel, in a pork sauce. I'm not a big fan of pork, and the huge portion was too much for me to finish. The crackling was quite addictive, though.



The name of my dessert was "It Takes Two to Mango", which I found really amusing. What it entailed was a triumphal mango souffle, served with a cold mango sorbet. This was an excellent dessert - the mango souffle towered out of its ramekin, and the flavour of the mango mellowed some of the richness of the egg. Paired with the cold sorbet, it reminded me why mango is one of my favoured fruits.



What M at the Fringe is apparently very famous for, is their pavlova. A crusty baked meringue topped with fresh fruits, whipped cream and passionfruit sauce, I can't think of a sweeter way to end dinner.

M at the Fringe
2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Tel: 852 2877 4000
Website

Te

Hands up anyone who's ever had Japanese pasta. Can't imagine there can be that many.



Te's a really interesting eatery that's good for a quick, appealing meal. Found it, coincidentally, on Sook's Food Notes, after she tried it while in Hong Kong. Almost impossible to locate unless you know what you're looking for, it's above the 7-11 along Cochrane Street.



A Japanese restaurant specialising in Italian pasta, Te has managed to effectively fuse the two traditions: Japanese efficiency and Italian cuisine. Upon ordering and paying for your food at the counter, the staff immediately begin cooking your meal (you can actually see it happen - it's an open kitchen), and it arrives in about the amount of time it takes you to find a seat.

The secret to their ruthless efficiency is that everything is prepared - the pasta has been pre-cooked and freeze-dried in exact portions, the clams are sealed in vacuum-packed bags in exact portions, there's a squeeze bottle of garlic oil handy...you get the idea.



Recommendations include the mentaiko pasta and the spaghetti Japonese, which is basically vongole with Shimeiji mushrooms.

The flavours are excellent, the pasta is al dente, and the concept is unusual. Te is a great place for lunch or dinner if you're in a hurry, or just looking for some really good pasta even if you're not.

Te
1/F, Cheung Hing Commercial Building,
37 Cochrane Street, Central
Website
Tel: 852 2110 6910

Lotus



Lotus is an Australian style bar-restaurant that has a lot going for it. It looks like it would be equally at home in bustling Lan Kwai Fong or trendy Soho, yet it occupies a modest spot on one of Central's most innocuous streets.

Featuring a modern Asian menu by a talented young Australian chef, and boasting possibly the most creative drinks on the island (by one of these new-fangled mixologists), Lotus is a great place to lounge around for drinks or to enjoy a good Asian-style dinner.

I say Asian-style because while the menu is clearly Thai-influenced, there are plenty of non-traditional elements to spice up the act. Also, unlike other Thai restaurants, the portions here are quite generous, and it took us great difficulty to finish just three dishes.

One of which was a cassia bark chicken with black vinegar caramel Sichuan salt and pepper. The contrived name notwithstanding, it was actually really good. We were given a whole chicken, which had a crispy layer of skin brushed with black vinegar and caramel, giving it a sweet yet tangy flavour. The chicken itself was meaty, and had a bit of crunch due to a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

To go with that, we had a Pheanang curry of slow braised beef cheek with Thai basil and chilli. Another slow-cooked beef dish, but this time in Western fashion. The beef was fork tender, and the curry was somewhat sweet, redolent with the aroma of the meat and the fragrant basil.

After all that, the stir-fried Asian vegetables with Thai basil and tofu seemed a little ordinary, but they were competently done and rounded out the meal nicely.

Lotus occupies a useful midway between the really cheap eats off the streets and the decidedly swankier joints around town. Popular with a chic crowd, who come to enjoy the drinks more than the food, Lotus is the sort of place that has something for everyone.

Lotus
37-43 Pottinger Street, Central
Tel: 852 2543 6290

Lin Heung Tea House

I must admit to being fairly disappointed with the dimsum offerings in Hong Kong. People keep telling me I've been going to the wrong places; but dim sum and Hong Kong are a bit like France and foie gras - so deeply associated with the cultural identity of the place that the foreign psyche has been indelibly ingrained with the belief that one cannot possibly be dissatisfied, no matter where one goes for the food in question.

So when I found a few oblique references to Lin Heung ("Fragrant Lotus"), one of the last remaining traditional teahouses in Hong Kong still serving dimsum, I was instantly intrigued.



As it turns out, I'd walked past Lin Heung previously, and wondered why there was such a long queue snaking out the door (I use the term loosely - there isn't one).

Authentic old-school dimsum plus long queues? I'm there! What particularly attracted me were the reports that the dimsum baskets still came served on trolleys, and it was "dimsum conducted in the same way as in the 60s".



The problem, of course, is that in the 60s, no one spoke any English. Also, no one got their own table. Sure enough, these wonderful traits have been preserved, so it's best to go with someone who speaks Cantonese, and with the possibility of having to share an exceedingly cramped table in mind, because the place gets exceedingly crowded during lunchtime.



Basically people have to hover around tables and swoop the moment the other patrons leave. If you gamble wrongly, it could mean another fifteen minute wait. The cacophony of chopsticks clacking, of old men greeting each other and tea being poured is pervasive, as are the odours of pork lard and rice flour.

If you're here with friends - make sure they know what to expect. I was soaking up the sounds and smells, but my friends from Hong Kong looked distinctly uncomfortable, probably unused to the colloquial nature of Lin Heung, a far cry from the normal civilised dimsum houses.



Still, you're here for the atmosphere, and no one could accuse Lin Heung of being gimmicky - not even when the dim sum comes on metal trolleys pushed by little old ladies. There's no menu; you just pick what you want off the carts.



Granted, the food isn't as refined and delicate as some of the posher dimsum joints. But it's still delicious; made and served in a fashion that bespeaks custom. Har gao, siew mai, cheong fun...all the perennials are here; you just have to find the right cart.

Lin Heung Tea House
160-164 Wellington Street, Central
Tel: 852 2544 2556

Central Hong Kong: Oodles of Noodles

Mak's Noodles

I know my sister's poured cold water on Mak's noodles, but it's widely touted to be the best noodles in Hong Kong, so I figured I had to try it.

To be fair, I didn't do an apples to apples comparison with Tsim Chai Kee, since I ordered a bowl of beef brisket and wonton noodles from Mak, and Tsim Chai Kee doesn't serve beef brisket noodles.

While Mak's noodles certainly weren't bad, they lacked the springiness of the ones at Tsim Chai Kee. Also, for the money you pay (HK$38), the small bowl that you get really isn't very worth it. However, it was quite interesting to see the staff at Mak's filling the wonton and jiao zi. The precision and speed of their operation is truly quite amazing - they're like automatons.

Mak's Noodles
77 Wellington Street, Central
Tel: 852 2854 3810

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle

Well, my sister's already posted about this place and their over-sized dumplings, but suffice to say it's definitely a good place for a noodle fix.

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle
98 Wellington Street, Central

Law Fu Kee Noodle Shop



Further up the road, Wellington Street joins Lyndhurst Terrace, and opposite Tai Cheong Bakery is a convenient noodle house called Law Fu Kee. While perhaps not as famous as the noodle shops on Wellington, it's still a decent and respectable place.

Law Fu Kee has two other outlets in Central, one on Des Voeux Road Central and another on Queen's Road Central.



The noodles they serve aren't quite as fine and springy, but they're generous with the beef brisket, and they price themselves fairly competitively. Apparently, they're more famous for their congee than for their noodles, but I'm not that fond of congee, so I haven't been able to verify this.

Law Fu Kee Noodle Shop
50 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
Tel: 852 2850 6756

Kau Kee Noodles

Hong Kong's justifiably famous for its noodles, such as wonton or char siew noodles. What seems to be really popular among the locals as well, is a steaming bowl of beef brisket noodles.

The beef is braised till it's all but falling apart, and the tendons and fatty tissue have become soft and gelatinous. Served with a hearty beef broth, the flavour of the meat and flecks of beef permeate the whole bowl, making it hard to tell what's noodle and what's beef.



Apparently, one of the most famous places for beef brisket noodles is this shop called Kau Kee on Gough Street. You'll find them on wikipedia and one most Google searches for beef brisket noodles in Hong Kong. So famous are they that (like Mak's), they close at 8pm everyday. Unlike even Mak's though, Kau Kee does not appear to open on weekends.

So I was really looking forward to trying a bowl of exclusive beef brisket noodles at this place.



Surprisingly though, they don't appear to serve the traditional beef brisket noodles; or at least, the beef brisket noodles you see all over Hong Kong. Firstly, they don't use the normal thin, stringy Cantonese noodles, but the much coarser mee pok type noodles. Secondly, the beef brisket and soup are much lighter coloured and less savoury than is usual, putting me in mind of the well-known contrast between light and dark bak kut teh.



It's a matter of taste, really. Kau Kee's version of beef brisket noodles presents a much cleaner taste, a little unctuous, but there's not denying that the soup is pregnant with the flavour and aroma of the beef. It's not as robust as the traditional beef brisket, which I suspect is darkened with perhaps dark soya sauce, but it was a refreshing change.

Kau Kee Noodles
21 Gough Street, Central
Tel: 852 2850 5967

Man Yuen Noodle House

In Hong Kong, like most other Asian cities, the best food used to be found in makeshift roadside stalls, which would attract the locals from all over.

These dai pai dongs were cheap, quick and served wholesomely good traditional food. Sadly, with rapid urbanisation and development, a lot of these dai pai dongs have been forced to close when their leases expired.

There was a huge uproar when the popular Tai Cheong Bakery was forced to move out of its old premises in 2005, but happily enough instead of closing down, it simply moved to a new location opposite the road.



One of the oldest surviving dai pai dongs in Hong Kong is Man Yuen Noodles, and it too faced the same fate. Forced to close due to the non-renewal of its lease, it instead moved just a few feet away to occupy a new shopspace at the corner of Elgin Street and Hollywood Road.



Truly a hole in the wall, Man Yuen is one of my favourite places to come for noodles, because it's cheap, tasty and the service is pretty good. As a family business, you quickly recognise all four staff members after about two trips here.



The beef brisket and wonton noodles are a steal at HK$22 (HK$16 if it's just one ingredient), and they're generous with the brisket. Within minutes a steaming hot bowl of noodles appears before you, rich and satisfying like nothing else. The soup is remarkably oil-less, and the brisket is stewed with ginger and bay to give it an extra hearty kick to warm you up.

Man Yuen's a great place to come when it's drizzling outside, and you want nothing more than comfort food cooked the old-fashioned way.

Man Yuen Noodles
68-70A Hollywood Road, Central
Closed Sundays
Tel: 852 2291 0308

Central Hong Kong: So Good, it's Soho

Living and working in Hong Kong's Central District for a month means that I've got plenty of chances to check out things to eat in the area. It just so happens that there are quite a number of good eats in this exciting district.

Unfortunately, as I only just got my hands on my camera, not every entry will have photos to go with it.

The Press Room

Located just below the new CentreStage appartments, the Press Room is an American-styled bistro serving hearty wholesome favourites like steak, pasta and meatpies. The cuisine is eclectic, but mostly Western-type food.

The restaurant's understandably popular with the expatriate crowd, but is nice enough in its own right, with dark wood panelling and chalkboards setting out the specials for the day.

The Press Room also does an excellent brunch, where I ordered quite possibly the largest burger I've ever eaten in my life. The thing was so enormous that it kept me full all the way to dinner.

I can't imagine most people would come to Hong Kong looking for pasta and ribs, but if you're here for the longer haul, it's the sort of place to come to for a nice, relaxing meal along with a robust glass of wine. Even better if you have a date, I suppose.

The Press Room
108 Hollywood Road, Central
Tel: 852 2525 3444

Nambantei of Tokyo

Soho's an interesting part of Hong Kong, a bit like Singapore's Holland Village. I hesitate to call it a cultural melting-pot, but I will grant that it's the one place you can find plenty of international food and watering holes clustered together, and where the patrons are young savvy Hong Kongers (probably educated overseas), or expatriates enjoying a night out.



Nambantei is a Japanese yakitori restaurant, grilling up and serving skewers of chicken, beef, pork, mushrooms, assorted seafood, and even goose liver. Every order is typically two skewers, and quite yummy.



They go a bit heavy on the salt here, and watching them throw handfuls of salt at the grill is slightly alarming. Strangely enough though, the generous seasoning seems to work.

This is one of those restaurants you come to knowing you'll spend a while eating, so stock up on good jokes and conversation skills.

Nambantei of Tokyo
G/F, 55 Staunton Street, Soho
Tel: 852 2559 6221

Tribute

After Chubby Hubby blogged about this place, I thought it sounded pretty good, plus it was pretty close by.

Billed as a Californian-Chinese restaurant, Tribute actually serves fairly contemporary modern European fare. Dinner is a prix fixe affair, about HK$400 for a four-course dinner.

The restaurant is quite tiny, accommodating about 20 people, but fortunately I was able to get a table even without making a reservation. It features an interesting counter with a view of the chefs preparing food, although the drawback of the small space is that you get an earful of the next table's conversation.

I had the grilled roasted duck breast to start, which was expertly cooked and served with a lightly sweetened sauce. Tender and soft, it felt a bit unusual having duck cooked in such a Western fashion in a city where you're more likely to find crispy roast duck in a derelict noodle shop down the road.

After that was a light pasta course, with little pasta squares (what do you call ravioli halves?) served with a light and simple dressing of olive oil, and a modest sprinkling of what might have been fennel.

I particularly enjoyed my main course of grilled roasted lamb saddle, wrapped in seaweed with pinenuts, accompanied by a rich lamb jus. The jus was perhaps a bit salty, but that's in the nature of jus. Though I had my doubts about the pinenuts at first, I was pleased to find that they added a welcome texture to the lamb, complementing its succulence with a toothsome crunchiness.

What really took the cake though, was dessert. I'm something of a panna cotta fanatic, and I'm really particular about the taste, texture and trembliness of my panna cotta. So far, incredibly, none of the panna cotta I've tried in Singapore have matched my (admittedly high) expectations.

For once though, I didn't regret ordering the panna cotta. Silky, creamy and meltingly smooth, it was flavoured with a touch of grappa and dotted with vanilla seeds. The only thing they could have improved on was in the fruits they supplied with it. Three blueberries and a gooseberry just don't cut it.

Tribute
G/F, 13 Elgin Street, Soho
Tel: +852 2135 6645
Email
Website

Bricolage 62

Bricolage 62 is the sister restaurant of Tribute, and is located only 20 metres away. Nestled next to an old-fashioned teahouse, Bricolage 62 is like something out of Harry Potter - my eyes just slid completely past it, never realising it was there, till I actively tried looking for it.



Almost claustrophobically narrow, Bricolage 62 redefines 'small', seating only up to 20 people. Apparently it's a cafe of sorts during the day, but becomes a bar-lounge at night.



Unfortunately, Bricolage 62 does not quite live up to the standards set by its sister. While definitely an attractive chill-out option, the food it serves comes in almost nibble sizes, inadequate for a hungry diner looking for dinner. In fact, we were so hungry even after eating here that we decided to wander around Soho in search of more food, which led us to the next restaurant on the list.

Bricolage 62
62 Hollywood Road, Central
Tel: 852 2542 1991

Yi Jiang Nan

Just because you're in Hong Kong doesn't mean you have to keep eating Cantonese food.

Wandering around SoHo, I came across this small, Szechuan eatery. Having had a big dimsum lunch at The Hui, I just wanted something cheap, light and nutritious for dinner, preferably nothing oily and fried.

Yi Jiang Nan seemed to fit the bill quite well, and I recall seeing it recommended on a few websites (okay, maybe that makes it a bit touristy, but don't knock it).



The decor is tasteful enough, with wallpaper depicting idyllic scenes of flowing rivers and green hills, with traditional Chinese houses and boats in the foreground.

As with most Chinese restaurants, they offer a stunning variety of teas even before you sit down, for which you'll be charged HK$20 - not exactly cheap. Then again, they do give you a whole teapot, so it probably makes more sense to come with company.



While lots of options jumped out at me, I was there alone, and didn't feel like gorging myself, so I settled on a bowl of noodles. Unfortunately I wasn't brave enough to order the super-spicy lamb noodles, instead having a bowl of clear soup noodles, served with poached chicken and vegetables.

While perhaps not the best Szechuan restaurant around, it's a good alternative to the endless Occidentalism of Soho.

Yi Jiang Nan
33-35 Staunton Street, Soho
Tel: 852 2136 0886

Review: Keyaki

Call me suaku but until earlier this year, I had never been to Keyaki, at Pan Pacific hotel. In fact, I didn't even know that Pan Pacific had a Japanese restaurant, although apparently they have Japanese restaurants of the same name at every Pan Pacific, including those in Jakarta and Malaysia.


Anyway, accessible from a walkway on the 4th floor, the restaurant is designed as a 17th century Japanese farmhouse. You had to walk through a nice Japanese garden with koi ponds to get to the dining area and the whole thing is kinda lined with Japanese pebbles, rocks and bamboo. It's a nice oasis feeling, in the middle of the city.


Also, the Keyaki in Singapore is apparently one of the oldest and most traditional institutions for Japanese food, especially Japanese beef and teppenyaki. The restaurant is decently sized, with different counters and a large-ish dining room. A good number of the patrons, on the occasions I went there, were Japanese, usually businessmen and some excitable housewives out for a ladies lunch. The restaurant is a little dark and old for my tastes.

The sets are fairly good and extensive though not all are cheap. I believe the cheaper sets are about $30-40 while the more expensive beef-centered ones can run about $90-140. I don't remember exactly what the service staff's reply was but I believe that the sets also apply to the weekend.


We were having a very simple lunch, so I ordered some sashimi, which was alright but not that spectacular and a plate of teppenyaki beef, which is their specialty.


We also had some grilled lobster, very sweet and succulent and a small dish of vegetables.


The dessert was the usual green tea ice cream with azuki beans but it was a very good, smooth yet flavourful ice cream.



Keyaki Japanese Restaurant
The Pan Pacific Hotel 4/F
7 Raffles Boulevard (S)039595
Tel: 68268335