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2011-01-17
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I work nearby, and was interested in trying out their 'Classic' menu for Tai Ping Koon's 150th anniversary (1860-2010). One sentence summary: not worth going at all, unless you have a desire for overpriced cha chaan teng food which relies on its image, rather than its quality. Detailed summary: while it's quite a pleasant break from eating at the hustle n' bustle of a Tsui Wah or Sun Chiu Kee, the decor, old-man-staff and dim lighting are about the only thing positive at this branch. Tai Ping K
One sentence summary: not worth going at all, unless you have a desire for overpriced cha chaan teng food which relies on its image, rather than its quality.
Detailed summary: while it's quite a pleasant break from eating at the hustle n' bustle of a Tsui Wah or Sun Chiu Kee, the decor, old-man-staff and dim lighting are about the only thing positive at this branch. Tai Ping Koon has been around for a while--and it shows. It has a reputation for a few things: Swiss Chicken Wings, Steak & Chips, Baked Portuguese Rice, Baked Pork Chop Rice, and so on.
Pros: The feeling of borrowed nostalgia as you walk in and see what a cafe might have looked like in the 1950s. They've made the effort not to update things which are far too common in Hong Kong: cheap, plastic furniture, poor lighting, bad interior design. Tai Ping Koon looks the part and it looks authentic.
-Swiss chicken wings were good, if not spectacular. I've had better wings elsewhere, but perhaps it's just the style: I'm not a big fan of 'wet' chicken wings in an overly sweet sauce. Tasted like they added honey to the Coca-Cola and then marinated the wings with soya sauce or something.
Cons: Everything else. The Russian Borscht soup was awful and tasted like a cross between ketchup and cabbage stew. A really poor example of a simple and actually quite fine dish when it is done right. But, as with most Borscht soups in HK, they are quite different from the proper Eastern European one, and rely too much on tomato paste / ketchup.
The 'classic' Canadian Angus Rib-eye with 'Salmis' sauce: I asked for medium-rare, and was given a raw steak that hadn't sat for long enough. Blood was oozing out, it was stringy, rubbery and full of tendons. I have never seen a steak in such poor condition as this, not to mention a steak that has been served to a customer. It was over-tenderized, and I have a hard time believing this was a real Canadian Angus rib-eye.
I have yet to work out exactly what is a 'Salmis' sauce: is it a salmon-based sauce? A misprint? The mystery continues. It tasted like the leftover steak fat drippings mixed with a touch of ketchup, water and corn starch. Completely missable. The fries were decent, and there was a single piece of broccoli and tomato, as is keeping with this type of steak dish.
The service: as soon as I had set aside my Borscht (I probably had about 1/4 of it) so I could continue reading my newspaper, indicating I no longer needed it, the previously attentive service dried up completely, as if I had just insulted someone or behaved out of line.
To sum up, unfortunately, Tai Ping Koon appears to be a restaurant which relies solely on its name or reputation, without guaranteeing any measure in the quality of the food. Sometimes, some things should be updated to reflect the times we live in, and food quality is most definitely up there at the top, particularly when you are paying HK$196 for a lunch set. I could have gone to any number of 4-5 star hotels and gotten a much better steak set than this poor excuse.
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