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2014-01-01
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Happy New Year! One of my very good friend was visiting from the states to celebrate the holidays in HK and as she was staying in Yuen Long, I offered to meet her there since I haven't been there in a year or two. It was a good chance for me to get out of my usual area of activity and buy some notable souvenirs like winter melon cake and preserved meat as well. When I was trying to decide what to eat in YL, J told me about the lard with rice at Tai Wing Wah and how it was the best rice he's ever
As they don't take reservations during the day, we met up early at around 11:30am and only had to wait ~15 minutes for seats. We had to sit with other people though at a big round table, which was not a big deal since we were starving. It was only after we had sat down and asked the waitress about lard with rice that we realized it's only served at dinner time!! Darn! Well I resigned to ordering some dim sum for the 4 of us to share then. The dim sum was on average pretty cheap ranging from $15-$32 per dish. The choices were vast including your typical dim sum, clay pot rice, congee, pastries, etc. The only disappointment was that they stop serving steamed rice rolls after 10am.
Malay Sponge Cake with Custard - this is like a regular malay sponge cake with a twist with layers of custard filling. The cake arrived looking like it was haphazardly cut, and the waitress explained that it was hard to cut because the cake was freshly steamed. Didn't matter because the cake was really good! The sponge cake was soft and fluffy while the custard filling was fragrant and slightly sweet. Too bad that this was the only impressive dim sum we had that day.
Pig's Feet with Black Vinegar - the pig feet were not well marinated enough with the black vinegar so they were not as tart and sweet as others I've had. The pieces were also not cut evenly so we would get a big piece of meat and then several other tiny bits.
Stir-Fry Rice Cake with Egg - the rice cake was hard and sticky while the individual pieces all stuck together so it was hard to pry off a piece to eat. The egg was not well tossed with the rice cake so it was like two separate items.
Steamed Spareribs - one of my favorite dim sum dish to order usually. The spareribs here were well done with fatty pieces and flavorful meat. The meat was very tender as well.
Steamed Beef Balls - another solid dish. The steamed beef balls were very tender and bouncy, and I love dipping it into the accompanying vinegar sauce for flavor enhancement.
Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce - the chicken feet was not well marinated while the skin and meat was not soft and tender enough.
Glutonous Rice with Preserved Meat - the rice was a bit too wet and soft while not being flavorful enough. The preserved meat was abundant and generous though with pieces of chinese sausage and preserved pork belly.
Chinese Sausage Bun - this was a solid dish. The chinese sausage was thick and firm while the bun was soft and fluffy. The portions were pretty good as well as I think an entire sausage was used in one bun.
Shrimp Dumplings - the dumpling skin was really thick and hard! The shrimp filling was not too bad and the portion was big, but the skin was really disappointing.
Purple Yam Dumpling - the only other great dish we had was this purple yam dumpling dessert. This was the only time when the thick dumpling skin was the saving grace as it lent a chewy texture to the otherwise soft and mushy texture of the purple yam. The yam was slightly sweet and very delicious to eat.
Overall, the dim sum at Tai Wing Wah was pretty average and not really refined compared to other restaurants I usually visit on HK Island. Of course the price point was very different as the prices and portions at Tai Wing Wah were good value for the money. It was a nice experience to visit an old establishment like Tai Wing Wah but the dim sum wasn't worth the trek in my opinion. Perhaps the food at night would be a different experience. I still need to try lard with rice! Maybe next time!
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