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2016-09-21
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This week we went to Mongkok, which I haven't really walked around for a long time, and visited this small eatery specializing in Shanghai Pan-fried Buns. Located in Soy Street, very near the minibus station going to Homantin, we were fortunate that there were available seats so we didn't need to wait in this busy restaurant. We ordered the signature Pan-fried Buns, 'Bandit' Chicken Wings, Chicken Vermicelli, along with a Hot and Sour Soup. The buns are quite nice, with the bottom pan-fried to
We ordered the signature Pan-fried Buns, 'Bandit' Chicken Wings, Chicken Vermicelli, along with a Hot and Sour Soup. The buns are quite nice, with the bottom pan-fried to give crispy texture while there are plenty of juice in the fillings. There are some sesame sprinkled on top with a bit of spring onion too to give extra flavors. Just be careful as juice could burn your tongue since it was very hot.
The chicken wings are decently prepared, with some black sesame sprinkled, and there is also a light cumin spicy notes. Nothing like the skewers with very strong cumin aromas that you might have tasted in other places, I like the delicacy of the flavors for these wings. They are also pan-fried well to have a good color but still moist and juicy inside.
The chicken vermicelli is only so-so, with the chicken shreds quite bland. But adding the sauce would overpower the flavors and making the chicken simply having no flavor. Having made one at home a while ago, I know now the attention required to marinate well the chicken to give the shreds a nice taste without overly relying on the sauce. But unfortunately I could not find in this dish.
The hot and spicy soup is another common dish and I always regarded it as a true test of the quality of the Shanghai restaurant. This one I found to be of decent quality, certainly having the right hotness but still a pinch insufficient on the sourness. There is also not many ingredients in the soup, but that again is nothing surprising considering the price level.Speaking about price, the whole meal cost $64 which is very reasonable. In such neighborhood I could imagine the high rental the landlord is charging so with all the four dishes only costing that amount it was a testament of the belief of the owner in providing a meal of good value for the general public, which is admirable.
My rating is 40/100, mainly because of the no-frill atmosphere and simple basic service, but overall it is not bad at all.
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