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2016-07-31
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Hang Zhou Restaurant has always been one of my all time favourite Chinese restaurant in town. It is one of the few restaurants in Hong Kong that specialises in Hangzhou cuisine, which is sort of similar to Shanghainese cuisine but only more delicate with flavours that are more subtle. It's recommended by lonely planet and the Michelin guide and it's an establishment that's been around for ages. More importantly, here you can get real authentic Hangzhou food at reasonable prices right in the cent
Now back to the food, 2 of us spent a total of HK$500 for lunch on a weekday and here are what we had:1. Drunken mud snail 醉泥螺 ： I am not quite sure what the proper english name of this is so I apologise if it's not called mud snail. Anyways, these tiny mud snails with soft shells are marinated raw in yellow wine, with a texture that is similar to clams. They are often eaten in the Shanghai and Ningbo area. The flavour is extremely intense, it's like the taste of seafood mixed with sweetness explodes in your mouth. It's something that you would like if you like drunken crabs. I personally like it but because the taste is so intense, I can't take too much of it.
2. "Evergreen" cold salad 凉拌万年青: Again, I don't know what the proper name of this vegetable is but according to the restaurant, this is some kind of local vegetables in Hangzhou. The way it's made is very similar to 凉拌马兰头, cooked and seasoned simply with sesame oil and salt and eaten cold. The only difference is that the texture of this vegetable is more coarse. Overall, a refreshing dish.
3. Duck in sauce 招牌酱鸭 : This is a classic dish where the duck is marinated and cooked in soy sauce and spices such as nutmeg, star anise and cinamon and then left to dry. It's salty with concentrated flavours and the texture is a little dry, but this is the way this dish is supposed to be. A well made dish.
4. Stir fried eggplant with Hangzhou chilli 杭椒小茄子 : This is a simple vegetable stir fry. The chilli is a tiny bit spicy and I think the eggplant has been slightly deep fried in hot oil in order to retain its purpose colour. The colour of the dish is appetising and I like the combination of the chilli and eggplant. However, some may find this dish a bit too oily.
5. Deep fried stinky tofu 乾炸臭豆腐 : Another well made dish, the tofu is deep fried to perfection and it's not oily at all. Like the stinky tofu from street vendors, the tofu here comes with a chilli sauce and sweet sauce. For those of you who are put off by stinky tofu, don't worry, it has the fermented tofu taste but it's not stinky at all.
6. Fish ball with water shield soup 莼菜鱼圆汤: Water shield is a vegetable that is used to make soup in Shanghai / Hangzhou. It doesn't come with a strong taste but it's got a funny slimy texture to it. The fish balls here are not the same kind of fish balls that you eat with noodles. Instead, the fish balls here are soft and fluffy, hand made with grass carp fish (鲩鱼) . The soup has a light and delicate taste with shreds of Jinhua ham for added flavour, perfect for the summer.
The restaurant gave us red bean soup for free as dessert, it's nothing spectacular but it's free.
Just a side note, we came here for lunch on a weekday and managed to get a reservation half an hour before we arrived at 12:30pm. The place is quite spacious, so getting a table for lunch, if you don't come in a big group, should not be too hard.Posting the lunch menu here - as you can see, prices are reasonable for the quality of food
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