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2014-08-16
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When my friends from Canada were visiting Hong Kong and asked me to take them somewhere for authentic dim sums, instead of taking them to Lin Heung Kui, a hot tourist spot renowned for their old school dim sums and tea house experience, I decided to take them to Sun Hing Restaurant, a neighbourhood Cantonese restaurant in Sai Wan which is much less internationally famous than Lin Heung Kui.Sun Hing Restaurant serves simple, scrumptious dim sums, and their steamed custard buns are regarded by man
Sun Hing Restaurant serves simple, scrumptious dim sums, and their steamed custard buns are regarded by many to be the best in Hong Kong. Their unusual opening hours, from 3am-4pm everyday, makes it a popular haunt for late-night snacks, particularly amongst the students of nearby University of Hong Kong. There is no reservation policy at this down-to-earth eatery, so be prepared for a rather chaotic scene. I personally recommend coming at odd hours so that you can have a more relaxing experience.
Freshly made dim sums are constantly brought out from the kitchen. The staff here don't speak much English, but they are very friendly, and if all else fails, just point at what you want to order! The prices are incredibly budget-friendly, and our dim sum feast only came to around $50 per person.
(1) We started off with some pineapple buns with roast pork filling. The crust of the buns was deliciously thick and buttery, and the roast pork filling was well adjusted. I wished, though, that the buns were a bit fluffier.
(2) The bean curd sheet rolls followed. The deep fried bean curd sheets were incredibly thin and crispy, and completely won us over!
(3) I was surprised that notwithstanding the low prices of the dim sums, the ingredients were very decent, and the shrimps in these shrimp dumplings were flavourful, tender and juicy.
(4) The siu mai dumplings were excellently bouncy and flavourful.
(5) Glutinous rice balls are old school dim sums which are no longer available at some newer dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. The gluntinous rice had the perfect consistency, and was soft and sticky without being mushy or overly oily.
(6) The deep fried shrimp rolls had been left on the counter for some time and had already turned cold, but they tasted just fine. The shrimp rolls were attractively crunchy, and the shrimp filling was tasty and comforting.
(7) Deep fried milk is another classic dim sum which is not commonly available in Hong Kong. An airy, crunchy batter encased a smooth, custardy "milk" filling, and it was sheer deliciousness!
(8) The steamed chicken feet, which some of my Canadian friends politely turned down, hit the taste buds in the right places.
(9) The texture of the rice in this steamed rice with minced pork and cuttlefish was spot on, and the minced meat was fresh and flavour-packed. There was a tad too little meat in the serve, but that was forgivable.
(10) The star of the meal was definitely the steamed custard buns! These custard buns are often sold out quickly, so I was utterly excited that I managed to grab two portions of them!
These custard buns had the thinnest layer of steamed bun in proportion to the amount of custard filling I have ever tried. The filling was a work of art - accentuated by grains of salted egg yolk, the custard had the perfect level of sweetness and runniness, and it was an instant addiction.
(11) Lastly, we ordered some steamed sponge cake to round off the meal. It was airy and completely scrumptious.
If you are able to embrace the chaotic scene at Sun Hing Restaurant, it can be a fabulous place for you to show your overseas friends how we do dim sums in Hong Kong!
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