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2011-03-10
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After arriving at the front door at 10:25AM, we were seated in less than 5 minutes. Contrasted with the Mong Kok branch where the wait was over 30 minutes at the same time, this is a huge difference. The Sham Shui Po branch has much more seating and is a much larger restaurant.As other reviewers have noted, the service is a bit harried and a bit disorganized, and sharing tables is the norm for small parties. However, I consider this to be a standard part of the ambiance at traditional Hong Kong
After arriving at the front door at 10:25AM, we were seated in less than 5 minutes. Contrasted with the Mong Kok branch where the wait was over 30 minutes at the same time, this is a huge difference. The Sham Shui Po branch has much more seating and is a much larger restaurant.
As other reviewers have noted, the service is a bit harried and a bit disorganized, and sharing tables is the norm for small parties. However, I consider this to be a standard part of the ambiance at traditional Hong Kong dim-sum restaurants. The more important things were in order -- the utensils were clean, and the order was filled properly with no mix-ups.
Now, let's talk about the food!
1) The shrimp dumplings had a relatively thin wrapping, which was delightful. The shrimps themselves were not as 'crunchy' as I had hoped, but I still give this dish full marks.
2) The Portuguese-sauce tofu-roll dish was a new dim-sum item to me.... I could have taken the sauce and poured it over the rice and it would have been great! If you like curry, you should try this interesting dish.
3) The shrimp tempura with seaweed was also an unexpected fusion blast. They should serve this at sushi restaurants. The only downside is that the seaweed seems to have made the shrimp taste overly salty.
4) The fried spring rolls were visibly overcooked when they arrived, but not so overcooked that I would complain. C'est la vie!
5) The pork ribs with chicken feet rice dish had rice which is (probably) deliberately a little bit undercooked or harder than I am accustomed to. It seems nicer this way -- and I would order this dish again.
Food quality, presentation, and service level appear to be comparable at both branches, so I would come to this one if I were going again.
Compared to other dim-sum restaurants, I think this particular restaurant has hit on a mix of having the traditional setting with some more avant-garde fare to distinguish itself from other places. However, the quality control could use some improvement -- looking at other people's reviews, it's clear that we seem to have had varying experiences with the same dish.
I'll bring friends who are visiting Hong Kong to this restaurant for the novelty factor.
Note to all: If you want to know the Chinese names of the items ordered, please see the photo of the bill attached to this review. I wrote about them in sequence above.
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