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2009-08-13
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I actually previously wrote a long review on this, but my computer crashed and I lost the info. So bear with me if this is a bit too simplified on a 2nd attempt! Sometimes I genuinely feel that us locals should not 'reject' the inaugural HK Michelin publication so much, afterall, it has barely had the benefit of less than a year since its publication. Should it has it fair share of errors and disagreements with what might recommend otherwise. On the other hand? My biggest fear is that due to
Sometimes I genuinely feel that us locals should not 'reject' the inaugural HK Michelin publication so much, afterall, it has barely had the benefit of less than a year since its publication. Should it has it fair share of errors and disagreements with what might recommend otherwise. On the other hand? My biggest fear is that due to some egotistical reasons or what other excuses, that certain local shops with really high quality executions of traditionaly Cantonese food might escape their attention for the 2nd time around, if they refuse to listen to the ordinary folks. Although I shall also stress that - those of us who are adamant that 'foreigners' wouldn't be able to understand Chinese food perfectly, would only make us seem like ostriches pointing their behinds upwards toward the sky all day long. I have certainly seen numerous 'foreign food critics' whose knowledge of Chinese and also Cantonese food to be so profound and accurate, it surprised me that they even understood the chinese words meanings and nuaces and how its cooked. Let's not kid ourselves and think our Chinese souls are 刀槍不入 and allow a shameful history to repeat itself in the process. As much as we might understand French or British food, let's not assume that's wouldn't be the case vice versa.
9.5/10 金錢雞 -
If the Manor's version is the modernised healthy version, I think the Tak Lung's version can only be described as an 'Idealized' version, according to the wish of the chef and owner. From my memory bank, 金錢雞 in the past did not taste like this at all. It used to carry a lot more livery taste, the fat was chewy and yellow, the pork portion was ultra lean. The version here is slightly modernised but its just divine. The fatty layer might not carry as much rose wine scent as the Manor version, but it made up for it with its much more sophisticated malty-glaze and sauce.
8.5/10 台山焗蟹缽 -
Although 奄仔蟹 isn't considered a delicacy as such and is normally used in cheap congees or hotpots, I thought the porcelain baked crab dish here was just amazingly executed. The crabs' organs from roes to the greenish tomalley was melted right onto the baked egg dish in an oily way. The combination of taro bits as well as chinese black olives (欖角) really accentuated the dish to another level in terms of sophistication, the olives especially having an aroma that reminds me of a meaty summer truffle.
6.5/10 雞蛋焗魚腸 -
Due to the standard set by the previous dish and with me being the agent provocateur, we ordered this as a follow-up and had high expectations. I must say we were slightly disappointed, as this is nowhere near the best versions of the same dish I've had in the past and certainly can't compare to the West Villa version I encountered not so long ago. Here, it actually carries a bit of salty pork and what seemed like Westernised smoked ham rather than Yunnan ham. It mainly lacked the fish liver's oily taste which gives it the profound aroma, and the fish intestines were too thoroughly cleaned and soaked to give it any real character.
With the use of Cilantro stalks rather than also using more of the leafy parts of the same plant, it carried more of an aniseed flavour but lacked the aroma that could be possible if the leaves were imparted into the baked dish. Yes, this dish smells nice and eggy, but it was a bit soul-less without the main theme ingredient protruding and showing through beyond its mere presence. It might as well be as a filler - which this dish also doesn't have any chinese crullers. Left a lot to be desired and I don't recommend this.
8.0/10 失傳古法太爺雞 -
This is known to be a rare dish with an ancient recipe that has been lost through the years. It actually uses 龍崗雞, a highly treasured Cantonese chicken known for its chicken flavour but with a leaner and slightly tougher meat despite its large physical size. Smoked with aged pur erh, rice grains and cane sugar, I thought the chicken itself was cooked perfectly and it was quite tender without being artificially so. The chicken taste was detectable but it got a bit covered by the smoked-sugar. In fact, the cane sugar influence also covered the non-existent chinese tea smoke which I came to expect. Fortunately, this came with a very adequate shallots based sauce which surprisingly, complemented the chicken very well. I liked this but I guess I though the skin was too sweet in a sense.
8.0/10 山楂咕嚕肉 -
This is the famed southern Cantonese interpretation of the same dish also served in Northern China (which uses darker soy and vinegar based sauce) and adorns every table within sight this night, some people even opting for an upsized portion. This was quite nice indeed, the Hawthorn Sauce was definitely the real deal as its jammy and my nose could not pick up any vinegar whatsoever, which I'm highly allergic to as it makes my eyes water if I happen to smell it.
The batter was slightly too thick in my opinion but it served to retain its crunchiness even after the addition of the sauce, which 'hung' onto the bite sized meats and now I finally understand why this part is raved about, as its probably quite difficult to achieve consistently. I actually thought, truth be told, that the sauce could do with a stronger Hawthorn berry flavour - as it is now, it was a bit confectionery especially when it also carried a bit of cane sugar taste in the background. I liked how this came with fresh pineapples, green capsicums as well as bit of Hawthorn jellies on the side. This is very good indeed, although I do remember having better in Canton/Guangzhou a few times.
7.5/10 鴨腳包 -
This consists of taro, duck feet (bone-in), taro, lard and bbq char siu, tied around itself with a long piece of duck intesting. Apparently, this duck intestine must be 1 singular stringy piece or else the whole thing would collapse when it shrinks under cooking. I've actually never had this before but when I asked my parents, they said that they used to buy this all the time, sometimes even carried it into cinemas like it duck gizzards or pop-corn.
It was 'interesting', and the execution was actually quite good. I'm just thinking if this could have benefitted more if it used duck meat rather than pork, to stick with its core theme.
7.0/10 蝦籽柚皮 -
This polarised the table but we found out why. 1 piece of the pomelo skin (now nearly in season or close enough!) was much more tastier than the other thicker piece, because it managed to soak up more juice. To me, I've always loved this dish since a kid despite not having it for many years and I think there can be 2 approaches to how to cook this dish. One is when a lot of fish stock is used to poach the 'skins' and it infiltrates deeply into the fibres. The other is when the original citrusy taste can remain slightly intact, provided the bitterness is eliminated. I thought that the version here lied somewhere in between. The stock it was cooked in was slightly single dimensional, although the shrimp roe sauce made up with its unique umami taste. I also think the texture of the skins was slightly too soft..... The version I had at Manor was at least 2 notches above the version here though.
8.8/10 紅豆沙 -
This carried a fresher fruit zest flavour other than the older, aged zest influence. It was good as it is, as it was refreshening. It even managed to have a slightly gritty texture that dessert soup lovers desire, with perfectly cooked lotus seeds that were half way between crunchy and soft.
9.5/10 桂花糕 - I really liked this. It carried a lot of Osmanthus flower taste without the associated sourness, also the ripe goji berries gave it just that extra dimension. Perhaps what really surprised me is how the jelly base itself also carried a strong fruity flavour and it wasn't overly 'hard' like many other places, the osmanthus flower buds within also being quite aromatic. I went to Lung King Heen again right after this meal and the 'jelly' here surprisingly puts that into oblivion, but that's another story and review when I get around to it!
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Although this meal certainly was not flawless, I would also like to point out that not one single or multiple Michelin starred restaurant I have visited locally didn't suffer the same fate. It was highly satisfying in so many ways and I think it carried a lot of sophistication than it should - one could envisage that a lot of effort was actually put in to certain dishes this night, which gave it just that much more of an extra dimension that one could bargain for for the ridiculously affordable prices.
This is a gem of Hong Kong for certain and if I was a tourist from up north or from a Western country and relied solely on the 2009 1st edition of the HK Michelin Redbook, I would certainly have missed one very satisfying dining experience.
Some foods = '4-5'
Some foods = '3'
But in general, I think its edging enough close to a '5' or a very high '4'
張貼
