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2009-09-09
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for our casanova club reunion, we went to fu sing shark fin seafood restaurant (富聲魚翅海鮮酒家), one of the most talked about dim sum places recently thanks to a TV show hosted by a famous food critic “ah so” (actually to be more accurate, she’s a food columnist instead of critic). contrary to comments posted by many foodies, fu sing never makes it to the michelin hk/macau list – neither star-rating nor bibs gourmands.fu sing is owned by mr. lo tak kwong, who runs a 70-year old large dried seafood who
fu sing is owned by mr. lo tak kwong, who runs a 70-year old large dried seafood wholesale company in hong kong called wing tai (永泰行), hence the owner’s nickname “abalone lo” (鮑魚盧). the restaurant was founded ~5 yrs ago as a private kitchen specializing in elaborate chinese food with expensive materials such as shark fins and abalone. then as words spreaded and the restaurant expanded to host the general public, the menu also introduced more modernized dishes, emphasizing top-grade ingredients with innovative composition and healthier cooking method. choice at any time is limited, but they change their menu from time to time.
bbq pork ribs 叉烧(cha siu): the signature dish at fu sing. it was, like the old chinese gluttons call it, half fat and half lean meat, giving you just the right amount of caramelized fat that melts in your mouth. the trick to roasting good cha siu is to use pork meat near the neck (脢頭), marinate it with sugar, roast it in an old style coal-heated oven, and finish with honey glazing. this is admittedly one of the best cha siu i’ve had in hong kong, the meat very tender and a very nice honey glazing – i do not know what kind of honey they use, but it’s different from other cha siu i’ve had in hong kong. marvelous! who cares about love handles?
roasted pork ribs 冰烧三层肉: another signature dish. “3 layers” means a crisp roasted skin, then a thin layer of fat, then the meat. it was also very good, but i wouldn’t mind if they fatten it up and use “5 layers” instead (an extra layer of fat between the lean meat). you really don’t need the salt or mustard as seasoning!
Deep-fried bummalo 椒盐九肚鱼: one of my favorite dishes and always goes perfectly with beer. bummalo is a lizard fish with soft bones that can be eaten when fried. fu sing nailed this dish, with a very airy/fluffy batter on the outside and juicy meat in the inside. but i prefer slightly more garlic for flavoring.
siuchuan chicken 四川口水鸡: spicy chicken with red chili, (lots of) oil, and a bit sesame sauce. some rice vermicelli at the bottom. the meat was tender but not mushy like xi yan…
chinese cabbage in claypot 沙煲唐生菜: while it smelled SOOO good with the garlic chips and clay pot roasting, portion was pathetically small and as J put it, less than 2$ worth of vegetables…
Puff cha siu buns 酥皮叉烧包: when i sunk my teeth into the bun, my heart stopped and fell on its face – the bun was so yummy! there’s a thin layer of puff on the outside, crisp and airy, but soft enough so that when you bite it wouldn’t crumble down. the cha siu mixture inside had just the perfect balance between fat and lean meat, and sweet cha siu sauce.
shanghai xiao long bao 上海小龙包: i didn’t eat it, but my friends said it was pretty good.
fried turnip cake 炸萝卜糕: instead of the regular pan-fried turnip cake you get at other dim sum restaurants, fu sing deep-fried its turnip cake to give a slightly chewy crust and inside still a moist, juicy turnip. the only thing i have to complain is that there wasn’t enough turnip.
lotus bun 寿桃包: the bun was big! it’s about palm-size (excluding fingers). inside the bun was white lotus and a huge, oily, juicy preserved egg yolk. it was very good, and i ranked it the third best lotus bun in hong kong after lin heung tea house and superstar seafood restaurant (TST).
overall the food was very good. the restaurant was clean and we were seated in one of those smaller rooms, so noise level was not a problem. the only negative was the service here, which partly has to do with the fame and partly has to do with the staff-to-customer ratio (michelin is 2-to-1 to 3-to-1. at fu sing it’s probably 1-to-15). but if food is good, i don’t mind putting up with snobbish waiters for 1.5 hrs.
original post with pictures: http://randomnomad.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/fu-sing/
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