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2024-08-12
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Normally I will cook in the weekend, or just have something simple outside. Today we decide to go somewhere nice for lunch after my annual medical and eye check and have booked Man Wah in Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.Having visited here a few times but all for dinner, it is actually my first lunch in Man Wah. We are seated at a table on the window side looking out to the Victoria Harbour and the old Supreme Court underneath. With good natural light, the environment is very comfortable and relaxin
Normally I will cook in the weekend, or just have something simple outside. Today we decide to go somewhere nice for lunch after my annual medical and eye check and have booked Man Wah in Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.
Having visited here a few times but all for dinner, it is actually my first lunch in Man Wah. We are seated at a table on the window side looking out to the Victoria Harbour and the old Supreme Court underneath. With good natural light, the environment is very comfortable and relaxing.
To start I have a glass of Louis Roederer Collection 244 ($318), a refreshing champagne based on the 2019 vintage. We also have the Snow Chrysanthemum ($80 each), with nice flavours and a darker colour, permeating with an interesting aged tangerine peel aroma. There is also a welcome drink of homemade White Bitter Melon Tea, seasoned with some lime and a bit of lemongrass, highly refreshing and appetizing.
We order a number of dim sum, with the manager helpfully arranging two pieces each so that we can try more varieties. Starting with Har Gau 筍尖鮮蝦餃 ($70), with a thin dough skin and the fillings of shrimp and bamboo shoot seasoned very well, having a nice bite. Delicious.
The Siu Mai 家鄉咸魚燒賣 ($70) has some salted fish mixed with the minced pork, with a few salmon roes on top. The savoury taste of the salted fish is delicate, adding flavours but not dominating, so even for people who normally do not eat salted fish this one would be good.
The Crab Meat Dumpling 羊肚菌蟹肉粿 ($112) has a generous stuffing of morel mushroom and crab meat, in a translucent thin dough skin, so able to look through inside. The fillings are good in taste, with the mushroom having its unique fragrance.
The Soup Dumpling 懷舊灌湯餃 ($208) is made in the traditional style, with the soup inside the dumpling and not immersing the dumpling in soup. With shrimp, scallop, pork, shiitake mushroom, and supreme broth, it is a truly luxurious and delicious dim sum to enjoy.
Next is Pan-fried Green Chili filled with Carp Fish Paste 煎釀虎皮椒 ($188). Using Japanese green chili, the spiciness is not too strong. The carp fish paste is homemade, very bouncy and the black bean sauce provides a wonderful savoury taste.
The Shanghainese Soup Dumpling 南翔小籠包 ($92) is thoughtfully put on a wooden holder, allowing us to pick them up without worrying to poke the dumpling skin to burst forth the broth inside. The minced pork is seasoned nicely, with the broth wonderful in taste.
The next dim sum is a recommendation from the manager. The Pork Belly Dumpling 中山金吒 ($80) has a funny water-drop shape, with red bean curd sauce and pork belly fillings. Its name comes from the distorted pronunciation of the master teaching the apprentice how to knead the shape. It is the first time I have seen this one and recommend trying it out.
The Pan-fried Rice Roll in XO Sauce X.O.醬珍寶蝦乾煎腸粉 ($198) comes next, with the rice roll made by the chef himself. with a perfect texture. After pan-frying with some soy sauce, the homemade XO sauce is added for its flavours and some spiciness, with some large Tai O dried shrimp on top. I applaud the chef’s effort to showcase local ingredients, and this is a great example.
Another of the recommendation from the manager is Iberico Ham Puff 伊比利亞火腿燒餅 ($112). The concept comes from the Shanghai puff, but reducing in size, and instead of using the harder Yunnan ham, the chef uses the 24-month Iberico ham, with a softer bite and also less salty. Adding the Taiwan scallions for more fragrance, with some sesames scattered on top, it is excellent and a must-try.
For dessert, my wife has Red Bean Cream 遠年陳皮湘蓮紅豆沙 ($128), with lotus seed and aged tangerine peel. Not too sweet, the aged tangerine peel is also very fragrant, but the beans have been cooked to the degree that they have broken down and having less ‘bite’.
My dessert is the Chilled Fig Cream 雲裳無花果甘露 ($148), with seaweed sago. Very Instagram-able, the staff used a glass jar to hold the fumes which comes from the liquid nitrogen, creating a pretty scene. Instead of using mango, the chef has opted for fig, and also replaces the sago with seaweed pearls to provide a healthier option. There is also no cream added to the dessert.
Service is very good, with the staff friendly and attentive, explaining the ingredient of dim sum and their origins to us. The bill on the day is $1,884. For high-quality dim sum in a fantastic setting and ambience, Man Wah is definitely one of the best restaurants in town.
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