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2009-07-06
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Previously a bit apprehensive to try here because this used to be filed under another English name on Openrice that's different from the Michelin Red Book and I have not even learnt to type Chinese on the computer back then - I wasn't sure if this was even the same place and therefore worth risking! That's until someone else reminded me that this is infact part of the 西宛 group: as I've always been a supporter of that restaurant (despite the inconsistencies there), I was no longer hesitant givi
As soon as we arrived, we instantly recognised one of the Manager/Part Owner who also patrons CWB 西宛 in the past. What a relief! Ordered the following - this was during very early June 2009.
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古法金錢雞 - This wasn't Ordered in Advance by us, but luckily they had some spare ingredients to make them fresh for us on the night. The 冰肉 layers were thinnish, translucent and clear with a distinct Aroma and Scent from the alcohol it was pre-soaked in - this was definitely going to be better than many other local versions from restaurants to the numerous Roast Shops still selling it, which are often too 'chewily tough' and yellow in colour. It reminds me of 波士頓餐廳's 火焰牛柳 a bit too, due to the wine taste as well as the preparation method involving a stick! Or should I call it Chinese Tandoori chicken?
The Chicken Livers (鳳肝) were thin and still moist, which is actually very rare to experience in Hong Kong as most places serve 'dried up' liver slices by roasting them at the same time - although this was slightly too thin and lacked the gamey taste I desired. Obviously, the BBQ Charsiu pork bit was going to be good as this chain is well known for it, I've certainly had really great albeit slightly too sweet charsiu in West Villa before. I honestly thought this was prepared too sweet however, too much honey glazing, it covered the Fatty Layer and Liver and also the Pork meat's taste a tad.
桂花鹹魚炒銀芽 - I wanted to have young bean sprouts for some reason as they're hard to source overseas in the thinner state. This in fact doesn't carry any '桂花' at all, its just a name for the eggs and instead of wok frying shark's fin. It has plenty of fried eggs and some salted fish pieces, the latter seemed to have been toned down somewhat by processing. I thought this was excellently done, it even had a very sophisticated 'Wok Chi' which didn't destroy the integrity of the bean sprouts yet somehow enhanced it.
姜葱焗蠔 - Every joe bloe restaurant sells this these days, with the extra-large sized American 'bucket' oysters. Having said that, this was done exceptionally well, the oyster were actually fried first before being subjected to heat in the pre-heated 瓦堡, thereby also soaking up the sauces and the aromas and contribution of juices from the freshly added Scallions and Gingers. This was better than all versions I've tried recently, including Happy Valley's Pang's kitchen, 仁保小廚, or a similar dish in Lei Garden.... why? It was perfect in texture, sauce balance and taste, aroma, etc. The 'dead' oysters weren't too fresh tasting but perhaps fresh live oysters wouldn't work as well - who knows? Amazingly executed dish. Only problem was that the gingers were a little bit raw.
竹笙銀杏蝦籽柚子皮 - One of my uncles is a self-proclaimed expert on cooking 柚子皮 haha and I remember once we went to 西宛 and he thought it was good but not great - which I did concur with him somewhat. In reality the Pomelo's are NOT in season yet until around 2.5 months later around Autumn Moon's festival, however I guess it doesn't matter because this 富瑤 doesn't need it, also it tastes better than the CWB 西宛 version. When this arrived it was strangely 'aromatic'.... Let's break it down into the components:
.. 蝦籽 Sauce - This was slightly too starchy but somehow fluid, it was balanced in taste.
.. 銀杏 - Perfectly textured, half-way between soft and chewy.
.. 竹笙 - The only weakness of the dish if I could call it that. These weren't cooked together as an integration of the dish, in fact it was pre-soaked in some kind of soupy, colder water to give it the extra crunchiness. This made it taste like water upon chewing and it was also cold inside.
.. 柚子皮 - At first, I thought the aroma came from the sauce above. However it finally occurred to me that much of the slight smoky taste and aroma came from the core component. These were very succulent, not much 柚子筋 inside yet wasn't cooked to over-soft either. A very delicate hand by the kitchen. It actually carried a separate, potent character from the 蝦籽 Sauce surrounding it - I suspect this was pre-soaked and cooked in Roasted then grinded 埔魚干 soup, as it reminded me of Yeung's Noodles topping.
雞尾包 - Its strange to order such a dessert for dinner isn't it? However this was the 'special' of the night plus they'd run out of the 雪影杏汁包 AGAIN. Luckily the 雞尾包's tonight were perfectly baked, the inside filling of desiccated coconut and sugar was very refined.
Dessert Soup - A complimentary bowl of 芋頭紫米西米露, this was again perfectly cooked in everyway. Nothing to elaborate on.
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I think this meal was very expertly executed in every way. It actually surpassed some previous dinner experiences at 龍景軒, 庸記, 西宛 or Lei Garden, etc. The closest would have been a meal a few years ago at 福臨門 (even though their lunch is good but very boring yet dinner is cooked to perfection) or recent meals in Macau's Cantonese restaurants, as here the seasoning is spot-on perfectly balanced between the Old Traditional and Modern Style Cantonese food, also not carrying the too often experienced 'rustic styled oiliness' that seems to be rather common in Hong Kong and Canton, it also had the 'wok chi' when required and most dishes were 色.香.味.俱全 It also suits the slightly health conscious and I think it best suits people in their 40s-60s or what I would say are the Baby Boomers generations who want the best between the past and the present.
Having said that, I hope they would listen to the following advice.
Although all dishes were perfect in taste and cooking except for a thing here or 2 trivial things, a rarity locally in my personal experience - I find this restaurant to have very poor dinner menu selections..... so poor, it was actually quite boring, out of sync with reality and it was not possible to order a 'balanced' meal in entirety. I had actually ordered some of the above dishes due to necessity but not out of preference - as a lot of the dishes weren't even available. For example, 1 ordered 3 types of Chicken dishes and they were all unavailable, even though only 1 of them needed Advanced Booking. Also ordered 富瑤炒排骨, which I would imagine is a signature dish but it was unavailable again. 雪影杏汁包 was unavailable. There was something else I ordered that wasn't available. I understand that this place also does good supper or boiled style food too like Goose Intestines and Tripes and Squids and fried noodles, also steamed seafoods, but that's not what I came here for at 8pm - when everything wasn't available.
Imagine if a tourist group visit here and they can't find much that they like? Do you expect them to Advance Order certain dishes or even know how to order them? I doubt anyone, not even local eaters or highly experienced diners could just walk right in here and expect to get a balanced meal at all without pre-planning. On the night we visited, there were 2 tables with foreigners, so it does attract such customers... If they improve their menu selections and keep up with the food execution standards, I would not be surprised if they get a Michelin Star on top of their mention in the end.
A Low-mid '5'.
In fact the first '5' I have given to a local Cantonese meal.
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