island tang is a hidden gem inside galleria. have heard about it for so long but never got to try since it is always full. it has an elegantly ancient interior decor which the expats love. have tried kowloon tang before but i like island tang more. dim sum like har gau and pineapple char siu buns are good. char siu is one of the best in town and i highly recommend it. the portion of the dishes is quite small. prob not the best choice to go there for large family gatherings but it's def a gd choice for a cozy tea session with a few gd frds once in a while!

One big plus for this place would be the decor and the feel of old HK. Quite different from the usual bright, noisy, crowded dim sum places around town.

Their dim sum are fresh and delivered to our table promptly. The 菠蘿叉燒包 is mini size, looks fresh, but sadly the bbq sauce was wayy too sweet. Sort of ruined the whole thing even though the bun was nice and hot and soft.

蝦餃 was great. Nice chewy and thin skin, fresh shrimps.

馬拉糕 was well executed. Not too sweet, nice and fluffy.

酥皮蛋撻 was just average. The tart base is not crusty enough. A tad too much dough.

Service was quite good. Nice place for dim sum and chat.

This Michelin 1 Star restaurant Islang Tang (港島廳港島廳) is apparently related to Shanghai Tang (上海灘), a famous upscale Traditional Chinese apparel chain. Some owners from here are said to also operate a couple of high end restaurants locally, including a similar 1 Star Japanese restaurant Wagyu Kaiseki Den. The menu at Island Tang is exactly the same during both Lunch and Dinner session, which is pretty rare for a Cantonese restaurant. Another one which springs up instantly in my mind is Man Wah (文華廳). Therefore if you want a mixture of dim sims or a la carte dishes, you could still order them during night time here, but only if they still have any of these items remaining....

- The Dim Sims aren't that innovative nor likely to spring any surprises compared to overseas Cantonese restaurants, but they are executed pretty well. It reminds me of my 2 experiences at Macau's Zi Yat Heen, which were executed well but a little behind its time.
- The A La Carte Dishes were also done pretty right. Not the top of the world quality stuff, but very decent and recommendable. The only problem is that this place is quite expensive for its smallish portion, compared to other Starred Restaurants in Hong Kong we have visited so far! Don't expect to walk away from here without spending at least $350 a person, even you're well planned!


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FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND THE FOOD PHOTOS, FEEL FREE TO VISIT:

http://foodofhongkong.blogspot.com/2010/11/islang-tang.html
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I rarely post reviews of my dinners these days even though I joined almost all the gatherings, big or small, organized by my friends. However, this night turned out to be such an amazing experience that I wanted to share with my friends.
A true memorable dining experience requires a combination of flawlessly executed dishes, attentive service, comfortable atmosphere, and of course a group of great companions, which isn’t easy to come by. But on Sat night it happened, and it was amazing in every aspect, with some impromptu “craziness” that turned the dinner to my favorite one in a long time!
The restaurant was occupied by only 3-4 tables last night (almost all foreigners). We sat in the semi-private room and received super attentive service. Dishes were served one by one as requested, and plates were changed for each course with the Island Tang’s logo facing 0°C to the diner every time.
For the service section, I think it is better than a lot of 3-starred restaurants.
Here comes the food:
1)蜜汁叉燒 Honey Glazed BBQ Pork
Look at these gorgeous 叉燒! Obviously carefully selected to get the almost uniformly “round” loin, it gives a great mouthfeel compared to the “flatter” kind of 叉燒 we normally had. The tenderness of the meat is not compromised even with the thickness, and each bite maintains a “chew” while still very easy to bite in.
Even it looks lean at the surface, the 叉燒 is very juicy when the marbling embedded in the meat. Honey and BBQ flavors are both spot on.
One of the very best in Hong Kong indeed.
2) 梨香炸釀帶子 Deep Fried Scallops with Pear and Shrimp Mousse
Already covered by others many times, this signature dish at Island Tang shows a great balance of “sweetness” between the seafood and fruit and the bouncy vs crunchy textures.
The presentation is contemporary. Who wouldn’t be attracted by these eye-candies?
Each one is constructed carefully so that each layer is about the same thickness. The little garnishes on top are cute!
3) 乾蔥焗生蠔 Oysters with Braised and Fried Shallots
Substituting the eels we had oysters this time with braised and fried shallots. The oysters are plump and juicy but the true star is the shallots! Full of sweetness and flavors, I swear I can have 2 bowls of plain rice just to go along with these shallots.
Even if you just give me the shallots I will still be happy!
4) 海山骨 Deep-fried spare ribs w shrimp paste
Juicy meat with robust shrimp paste. It’s hard to find deep fried ribs that are not greasy nor too salty nowsday.
5) 炸子雞 Signature Roasted Crispy Chicken
One of our main targets for the night! Someone said this is the best 炸子雞 in Hong Kong, and I wouldn’t disagree! The chicken meat was so silky (ok, I did take the leg meat…) complemented by the crackling crispy skin! Again, perfect seasoning not just on the skin but also for the meat! !
Look at the paper thin crispy skin in the picture! And you can see the juice flowing in the meat.
It is the best 炸子雞, at least among the ones that I had tried!
6) 柱侯醬燴和牛面肉 Stewed Wagyu Beef Cheek with “Zhu Haw” Sauce
Similar to the oyster dish, the leeks here seem to have overshadowed the beef cheeks as they are so delicious and bursting with leek aroma! That’s not to say the beef cheeks aren’t good. These tender nuggets have great beefy flavor, though I would prefer a thicker cut. The sauce again will be great with plain rice!

7) 荔芋鴨 Deep Fried Taro Duck
The taro duck is ordered as we are interested to compare it with the version we just had at Fung Lum. I SUPER LOVE the flakey coating surrounding the creamy taro puree. Tonight the fried patty was not greasy at all, which was complaint by others last time. This one is less “filling” than the Fung Lum’s version, which contained a super thick layer of taro with a relatively thin (and dried) duck meat underneath.
The proportion of taro to duck ratio is more adequate than Fung Lum's version in my opinion. You feel like eating delicious taro + duck and not just taro….
This may not be the most authentic version but I personally like this one more.
8) 乾炒牛河 Wok-Fried Rice Noodles with Sliced Beef, Silver Sprouts, and Yellow Chives
Classic Cantonese comfort food executed properly. Not heavy and greasy like your ordinary乾炒牛河. The beef is tender without any “special” treatment. I like this more than the one (with Chan Chu Fan) at Chairman.

9) 薑米蘆筍蛋炒飯 Fried Rice with Crushed Ginger, Spring Onion, Vegetable and Egg
Food has been great so far so we decided to try out more! Each grain of rice is separated (no clumps!) without unpleasant greasy coating of oil. The rice is cooked to the perfect texture, not too soft and maintaining a little bite.
The simplest fried rice demonstrates the great stir-fried skill of the chef.
10) 片皮鴨兩食 Crispy Roasted Duck – 2 ways
This is where our craziness goes! We are getting so hyper at the moment with our all-over-the-world discussions! Despite being stuffed we decide to place an impromptu order of Crispy Roasted Duck just before the kitchen closes.
With the usual condiments of cucumbers, scallions, and wheat crepes, the duck pieces are served with plain skin and plain meat.
The skin is crispy as expected, and the meat, while not juicy, is tender. We took a bit too much time to take picture so it isn't hot enough for me, but overall the duck delivered what I expected. The condiment sauce here is homemade and very delicious!
The 2nd way is the normal stir-fried diced duck meat. Plenty of other ingredients go into the stir-fry, with fried cruller being the most unusual. Not very surprising but nicely done nevertheless
11) 馬拉糕, 咖啡糕, 綠茶紅豆mochi Ma Lai Steamed Pudding, Coffee Pudding, and Green Tea Mochi with Red Bean
To round up the meal, the kitchen actually gave us complimentry coffee pudding and green tea mochi since they didn't have enough of the 馬拉糕which we originally ordered.
Always good to have complimentary desserts, esp. when it comes in duo.
The night ended with tons of laughters and great fun! I haven't been so satisfied with a meal for a long time, which is what drives me to post this review.
Overall, I had high hopes for the food before the dinner, but it turned out to be beyond expectation! It’s amazing how we, a group of people who simply love food, came together, and share some serious thoughts from food to gatherings, from daily lives to philosophy, and most importantly, a lot of hilarious moments! This is the MOST IMPORTANT element that contributed to a great dinner – your companions!
Thank you once again for being part of my memorable night!

Went for lunch today with boyfriend.
Tried:
1) Custard bun
2) Baked tomato Pork Chop rice
3) Scallop Dumpling
4) Red Wine Wagyu Beef cheek

Custard bun: too juicy, the content actually splahes to 1/2 a table away when i had a bite, quite embarrasing
Baked rice: rice was good, a lot of minced carrot in the tomato paste, which makes it quite sweet and nice, but the pork chop was v disappointing
Dumpling: tasteless
Wagyu Beef: Peculiar, but my BF likes it

Conclusion: Will never go there again

N.B. Toilet stinks and only 1 toilet seat for the whole restaurant!!

I’m flying to Paris tonight, but I’ve made arrangements for one last dinner before I go. A couple of friends wanted to try Island Tang (港島廳), and I was only too happy to oblige. I’ve always found the food to be simple and good.

We started with a few dim sum items: baked puff pastries filled with signature barbecued pork (蜜汁叉燒酥), baked barbecued pork buns in pineapple shape (焗菠蘿叉燒包), and vegetable and pork won tons with chili oil (紅油抄手). I thought the pastries were pretty good, the buns only so-so, and the won tons were nice and flavorful.

We also had a mixed platter with char siu (叉燒), soya chicken and marinated jellyfish. The char siu was very tender and nice, although it would have been even better with a bit of fat. The chicken was also pretty nice. Nothing fancy here, but everything was well-executed.

The scrambled eggs with mashed “Tai O” salted fish and chives (大澳鹹魚茸炒滑蛋) were awesome. This is a real homey dish found in places like tea houses (茶餐廳), and I was surprised to find it here. Lots of flavor from the fish and the chives, and we probably should have enjoyed it with some rice…

The pan-fried prawns with premium soy sauce and garlic (蒜香頭抽皇煎中蝦) were also a hit. Absolutely nothing to complain about here – again the execution was solid.

I was sure that everyone would enjoy the deep-fried de-boned duck coated with taro crust (荔茸香酥鴨), and I was right. The ladies absolutely loved the taro, of which there were three different variations – the mash on top of the duck, the deep-fried crust on top of the mash, and the taro chips on the side. I can have this dish all day long…

Finally, a veggie dish in the form of braised bean curd sheet with black fungus and bean curd stick (雲耳豆卜鮮支竹) to balance things out. A pleasant surprise to everyone.

The one disappointment for me was dessert. The sago coconut cream with water chestnut (椰汁馬蹄露) was really just sago cream with some water chestnut bits, as opposed to water chestnut cream with some coconut… Oh well.

I must say that the dinner turned out pretty well, and it was with a satisfied smile on my face that I headed to the airport to board my flight…

original blogpost with notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/04/eat-and-fly.html

A couple of friends were in town and wanted to try out Island Tang, the new Cantonese restaurant affiliated with David Tang. For some reason I had the misconception that it was a fusion restaurant, but once I saw the menu, it was obvious that the fare was traditional Cantonese. The setting, however, is classic David Tang.

We sat down and ordered a few simple dishes. Started with deep-fried prawns in sweet and sour sauce (吉列蝦球). The breading was light and the prawns were tender and juicy. Pretty good stuff.

The stewed wagyu ox tail with wagyu sauce (沙爹和牛尾煲) was really good, with the meat falling off the bone, and the "satay" flavor wasn't too heavy. The sautéed green kale braised with minced preserved sausages (臘味崧扒芥蘭度) was pretty interesting. The thick outer layer of the veggie was removed to make it more tender. The sausage bits included both regular and liver sausages, with the flavor of the Chinese wine coming through.

The final dish, and the one that put me over the edge, was the deep-fried de-boned duck coated with taro crust (荔茸香酥鴨). I was joking that this is the Chinese version of duck confit, but the truth isn't far off. The duck was crispy on the outside, with just enough fat to make it really yummy. Of course the taro crust was heavenly. I am normally not a big fan of taro, but the fluffy, deep-fried exterior - combined with the soft interior - was definitely a winning combination.

We left with our bellies filled, and appetites satiated. I had pretty low expectations going in, and this was quite a pleasant surprise.