Greeting upon arrival was welcoming and very warm. The host showed us to our table in a beautifully decorated dining room. We ordered the pork loin five spice, Peking duck and - as per waiter's suggestion - Chinese spinach. The pork loin five spice was wonderful, great flavor and texture. The Peking duck first course was the best I've had so far, again great flavor and texture. The Peking duck second course was very different, using a lot of pine nuts, which was nice. The Chinese spinach was completely overcooked, which surprised me, I was not expecting this to happen at a 2 star Michelin restaurant. The price of bottled water at the restaurant was excessive in my opinion; beware. Great food and service though!

Made a same day reservation for this Michelin 2 star restaurant as Lung King Heen (Michelin 3 stars) at the Four Seasons was fully booked for lunch. Arrived to the restaurant at the scheduled time and was presented a corner window table with a view of Langham Place.

Started off with the Roasted Suckling Pig and it was world class. The skin was very crispy and in perfect condition. All of the fat was removed and there was a layer of oyster sauce between the skin and very juicy and tender meat.Moved on to the roasted goose and bbq pork which were both okay.The jellyfish was very delicious. The most memorable jelly fish was the part with XO sauce. They used different parts of the jellyfish for each portion of the dish.The baked bun w/ beef inside was also excellent. The bread was very light and fluffy and the meat inside was excellent, not too salty or saucy.The crispy chicken was also world class. The fried vegetables on top of the chicken tasted more like lightly salted potato chips...wonderful! The chicken inside was juicy and moist.The wagyu beef with pumpkin was also world class. Flavoring was excellent and the beef was very tender.The soy sauce fried noodles is a simple yet elegant dish. The soy sauce was perfect and the noodles were in perfect condition.Lastly, the dessert was presented over dry ice. None of the items came out too sweet and they were all good to try.Service was friendly by the staff, definitely worthy of a Michelin 2 star ranking!

New Wine Room.
Buy wines here to drink in the restaurant without extra charges.

.Dining Room

.Michel Arnould Champagne -
This small producer of Champagne uses all Grand Cru Class Pinot Noir to make this exclusive bottle, imported by Langham Place Hotel directly. The nose is characteristically Pinot like, but interestingly it tasted like grape juice to me. It is also not as Brut ‘dry’ as it claims.

.貴妃醉蝦餃, 長腳蟹鮮肉小籠包 -
The Drunken Shrimp dumpling was filled with an alcohol spiked filling with bamboo shoots! Amazing stuff! The Crab Xiao Loong Bao on appearance didn’t look as attractively pleated, but in the mouth that sweet crab essence with lots of soup liquid bursted into the mouth. Lovely ~ 9/10

.金泊松露千層豆腐, 桂花醬杞子水晶肉 –
Some new dishes by Chef Tsang. I loved the Chilled Bean Curd, Black Truffle Paste and Gold Leaf , and who doesn’t love truffle? But it was the silky soft and tasty tofu which had me swooning! The Pork Terrine, Wolfberry and Home Made Osmanthus Honey was more Aspic like and is an interesting combination with the osmanthus flower. ~ 7.5/10

.茶壺松茸竹笙清湯 –
Chicken Consommé, Matsutake mushrooms, Chopped Bamboo Pith. This was rather Chicken-y and I couldn’t detect enough Matsutake mushroom influence. Serving soup in a Tea Pot is trendy nowadays as it is like tea tasting. ~ 6/10

.皇袍加身 -
Iranian Caviar on Lobster and Sea Urchin Sauce, on stir fried Egg White - I think this dish got everyone’s attention! It might sound like a seafood overload, some even consider this fussy but I thought it was brilliantly balanced! The main course dish is served on a $2,000 plate ~ 9/10

.鴛鴦百花雞 – Minced Shrimp Chicken duet
A traditional dish from Canton, the 2 variations here uses shrimp instead of traditional crab meat and are now slightly fried on the surface. The one on the right has a peppery wet sauce. The Pinot Gris hold up well with the chicken oil and pepper spice. ~ 8/10

.松露和牛禮物盒 –
Boxed Australian Wagyu Beef, Black Truffle
The mushroom duxelle was wrapped in wagyu beef then tied together with spring onion like a parcel. This dish was used to participate in a local Cooking Competition! The taste was excellent and it’s hard to keep this warm throughout. but I think the wagyu could do with slightly more wagyu flavour. ~ 8/10

.Suckling Pig stuffed with Minced Prawn and Strawberry sauce -
Didn’t get to try this as another blogger did, but thought I will post it for reference..!! Seemed yummy and the rice cracker below quite crispy.

.鴨汁鴨肉雲吞 -
Duck Ravioli, Duck Consomme with Steamed Eggs. Topped with some shredded Yunnan ham. This had a more Western feel to it but the ingredients are already used in Cantonese cooking. The duck mince was slightly dense today. Sits on top of a well steamed egg custard, this was a fun dish to eat. There was some truffle in there. 7/10

.甜夢仙景 –
Truffled Nuts Mooncake, Chilled Cheese Tart, Mango Crystal Jelly, Rabbit Coconut Marshmallow. These are the Autumn Moon Festival themed mini desserts ! With the dry ice effect. Carry me to the moon !!

******************************
The new Dining Space is bigger than before and looks slightly more grander yet Westernised. So were some of the newer dishes! I have always loved the food created by Chef Tsang here, but it does depend on what you order. Some of the old favourites like 炸子雞, 龍皇披金甲, 香蜜橙花黑豚肉, 松露金縷衣 and 乳豬 are always good here.

The Ming Court kitchen’s décor is inspired by the collection of Ming Dynasty potteries by leading Chinese artists. Executive Chef Tsang Chiu King gave Ming Court’s traditional Cantonese cuisine a 21st Century twist, a mixture of classic Cantonese dishes with some modern ones. Ming Court has replaced its wine menus with iPad, with a selection of over 400 wines from both old and new world. The everyday drinking wine was reasonably priced and affordable.

The best dish of the night was the shredded duck with black truffles and enoki mushrooms. It was beautifully presented in a heart shape. The duck was cooked with tendency and went really well with the black truffles. The black truffles gave the dish a long last finish; if a little bit of vinegar were added with the mix greens would make the dish to perfection. Braised fresh prawns with crab meat, spinach and steamed egg white in broth is a special of Ming Court. The broth was reasonably standard, and the soup has lacked the WOW factor. I presume the egg white was steamed/curdled in the bowl (gave it a very smooth texture) before the ingredients were added. I believe if the prawns were grilled before putting the whole lot together, it would give a new dimension to complete the soup! The stir-fried Japanese kurobuta pork loin with orange and honey sauce was somewhat below par. The kurobuta was crisp on the outside, but it was over cooked. However, I loved the orange and honey sauce, which wasn’t not over power by the sweetness and was reduced to syrup. The chef needs to get his timing right; else a Kagoshima black pig will be wasted again with his elementary cooking skills! The suckling pig is the restaurant speciality; therefore we ordered the special fried rice with suckling pig. The suckling pig was over roasted; the charcoal flavour lingered around my mouth, wasn’t very pleasant. The idea of using raisin to keep the fried rice moist with sweetness was brilliant. Overall, the fried rice lacked real excitement. The bird’s nest crystal extravagance presentation was a knockout, it made the ordinary extraordinary! The combination of mango and bird’s nest has a good sense of 21st century Cantonese cuisine. The sweetness intensity was just right! The waiter could be more caring by keeping the drinks topped up, replacing the tea to keep it warm and fresh without being asked. Overall this was an impressive meal; 2 Michelin stars seem to me fair for food of this quality.

We had dinner at this 2 Michelin star restaurant in the Langham Place Hotel in Mong Kok, in April 2011.

I really thought this restaurant was excellent with a mix of exceptional dishes and great, friendly service.

* Roasted crispy pork w/ 5 spices - Flat out delicious. Probably my favourite version of this dish tried on the trip. Pork had great flavour, the skin was perfectly crisp and the spice was spot on.
* Shredded Chicken in spicy sauce - Nice level of spice giving the dish a kick but not overpowering the other flavours, I liked the textural elements of the vegetables.
* Deep Fried Crab Shell with crab meat - Not bad, lacking a little bit in flavour. The weakest dish of the evening.
* Sliced spotted garoupa two ways - stir fried with premium mushrooms & deep-fried with sweet and sour sauce - good quality fish cooked perfectly both ways. Interesting contrast between the two styles and liked the dual presentation. Sweet and sour had great overall flavour balance and the mushrooms and stir fried garoupa had bolder flavours. Another highlight.
* Crispy Chicken and lotus root "chips" - Nice layer of crisp skin, chicken was moist and tender. Accompanying salt/spice mix brought out excellent flavour. One of the better versions of this dish on the trip.
* Shark fin crystal extravagance - shark fin jelly with mango pudding base - the presentation with dry ice was entertaining even if it was gimmicky, it certainly does a great job marketing the dessert to the rest of the restaurant. I like mango so the desert was tasty and while the shark fin was not essential, it was an interesting combination.

dinner gathering for friend's birthday!

龍皇披金甲: fusion of garoupa and shrimp. nice, but for fish like garoupa, i still prefer steaming or other kind of "less aggressive" cooking method; i love the natural freshness and taste of fish. with heavy seasoning and deep frying, it's a waste.

炸子雞: 炸蓮藕片 very good, crispy and salty. the chicken was nice and tender.

燒餓拼义燒: both were good, the bbq pork was tender and the goose had good flavor. however, for bbq pork, i vote for 西苑 or 富聲!

黑松露和牛生菜包: 生菜包 is always my favorite, this one is not bad.

海味雜菜煲: tasty

黑松露豆腐: nice. though similar to the 生菜包, actually i couldn't sense the slightest trace of black truffle aroma.

鮑魚粒炒飯: nice

desserts: 雷沙湯圓, 紅豆糕, 炸香芒卷: i tried the 湯圓 and 紅豆糕, good.

this is my 2nd visit, overall speaking, i felt better than the first time; i still remember that award-winning pork dish (with orange sauce....), which was quite bad actually with very dry and coarse, tasteless meat. that's why i didn't visit it again till this gathering which was arranged by friends.

not a must-go.
not a bad choice for casual dining gathering though, given that it's not at the high end of pricing and its convenient location.

I joined a group of chefs and foodies for dinner tonight at Ming Court (明閣), the Michelin 2-star restaurant. I had never been here due to its location, but figured I'd check it out after its promotion from 1 to 2 stars. The menu was preset ahead of time, including a few special requests.

Chilled bean curd sheet with shredded duck meat in chili sauce (井岡山腐皮火鴨絲) - definitely pretty yummy. The shredded duck was very tasty with just the right amount of spiciness, and a very nice bite. What a great way to start the meal.

Chilled drunken pigeon (太白醉香鴿) - the meat was pretty tender, and the taste of the Chinese wine was fairly prominent.

Stir-fried fresh shrimp with egg white (海生蝦炒蛋白) - very much like the Shanghainese imitation crab (賽螃蟹), prawns were de-shelled and stir-fried, then topped with a layer of soft egg white that wobbled. Vinegar added some additional flavors to the otherwise bland egg white, as one would do with the Shanghainese original. The deep-fried Indian mustard (雪菜) was good...

Braised shredded winter melon and mashed carrot accompanied with broccoli top with egg white (珊瑚素心燕) - this was actually very interesting, and pretty good. The yellow topping was not real crab roe, but made of carrots and egg white to achieve the same look. The winter melon was tasty.

We reached the turning point of the meal, where things went very wrong. We were on a schedule as some of us needed to leave by a certain hour, and for some reason the kitchen stopped sending dishes our way for about half an hour. They were clearly told to pace the dishes at intervals of around 15 minutes each, and we got pretty upset. The manager came to apologize, and said that the kitchen was extremely busy and overworked. That may be, but everyone else around us was getting dish after dish - except for us! This is certainly not the way a Michelin-starred restaurant should run its kitchen, and there were 4 chefs present at the table...

The next dish that showed up was the stir-fried sliced garoupa with assorted mushrooms and dried shrimp roe (蝦籽鮮菌麒麟斑). My first couple of bites were wonderful - the mushrooms were very tasty, as was the Chinese cabbage. The garoupa, however, was a total disaster. The taste was very muddy, as least to me and a few others. I debated about whether or not to swallow what I had put into my mouth, and eventually regretted not spitting it out. I'm pretty sensitive to muddy fish and I found it mildly nauseating, and I was surprised that a Michelin 2-star restaurant would be serving poor quality fish like this. We complained to the manager and ask the staff to taste the fish. The restaurant decided not to charge us for the fish.

Stir-fried pigeon eggs with crab meat, scallop, egg white and yellow oily crab roe (芺蓉蟹粉白鴿蛋) - this was much better, and actually pretty delicious. Definitely liked the very young pea shoots, and of course the combination of crab meat, scallop, egg white and crab roe was right up my alley. I've never had pigeon eggs before, and the translucent egg white was pretty interesting.

Crispy fried chicken (朗豪炸子雞) - special request was made to "age" this live chicken for 3 days after killing it. The result was very tender and juicy meat, and I had a large piece of the breast! Very well done.

Stir-fried giant garoupa stuffed with shrimp paste in soya sauce (龍皇披金甲) - a pretty interesting creation, where garoupa fillet was inset into a layer of shrimp paste. It would have been nice, except that once again, there was a hint of muddiness in the garoupa. By this time I've pretty much had it with this place.

Osmanthus jelly and mango pudding (桂花糕/芒果布甸) - this was comped by the restaurant for the poor service, and arrived with the dry ice presentation. Taste-wise the jelly was a little too tough and chewy, and probably the worst version I've had in a while.

Steamed custard buns with egg yolk (明閣流沙包) - the signature dessert certainly did not disappoint. The salty egg yolk filling was very runny, and incredibly delicious. At least the dinner ended on a very good note.

While the meal turned out to be fairly cheap - thanks to the fish being comped and some additional discount privilege we were able to use - I think it will be some time before I would have the desire to go out of my way for a revisit...

original blogpost with pictures: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2010/07/muddy-waters.html

Stir-fried shirmp with eggwhite $178: lots of eggwhite. the shrimp is fresh. tastes good!

Deep fried pork loin with orange and honey sauce $128: the pork is a little bit hard. the sauce is good.

Baked crab shell stuffed with crab meat and cheese $78x2: lots of crabmeat. light cheese. perfect!

Woyu beef and musrhoom giftbox $98: very very small. the beef was dry. not good.

Braised assorted musrhooms with fried bean curd sheet and dried shirmp roe $118: OK.

Ming court speical fired rice with diced abalone and eggwhite $168: tastless abalone. the rice was fried very good. large portion.

Deep fried mango roll with almond: sweet mango inside. crispy. quite good.

15% off with HSBC Platinum Credit Card.

Full review can be retrieved on www.geoffstwitchen.com

Finally I can at last focus on my food reviews in Hong Kong & I have definitely missed this side of action after writing so many articles for my restaurant visits in London, Paris & Lyon. Per my departure from Hong Kong to Europe, I recieved this very bright news that our beloved Ming Court from Langham Hotel has just be awarded with 2 Michelin Stars (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=810), now this is definitely great news for the restaurants on The Dark Side especially in Mong Kok. I have always heard many good things about Ming Court from industry peers so I decided to drop their PR Team a quick email, pull some strings to arrange visit to Ming Court on a wonderful Friday afternoon to check out a few dishes. Another reason for doing so is because I have recieved a lot of comments to review more Chinese restaurants therefore Ming Court is a perfect venue for this.

For those that always complain that The Dark Side is a trek & a mission, this is utter bulls*it. Ming Court is located in Langham Hotel & you can take a MTR direct from Central / Sheung Wan to Mong Kok MTR Station & exit out into Langham Place directly. Our visit to Ming Court on Friday lunch was spectacular, I arrived precisely around 1215pm and there was a queue outside the restaurant with a mixture of locals, foreign tourists which comprises mainly of Mainlanders of whom stank of Double Happiness Cigarettes & Westerners who looked very lost in the territory of Mong Kok. Sat down in a relatively quiet area & the 2 lovely PR ladies from Langham Hotel came out to greet myself (no names disclosed) & they are one of the nicest PR people around town for sure. Since they are the host, I let them recommend me their signature dim-sum, main courses & dessert in which I only had 1 request which was to check out their Christmas Dim Sum Set (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=607). Service was attentive not to the level of over-doing it which is typical in hotels whereby waiters / waitresses often drop by your table to check on the food, fill up tea & to upsell of course.

Browsing through Ming Court’s menu, what I particular liked was the fact that there are Premium Chinese Tea choices such as Aged Pu-Er, Premium Dragon Well, Silver Needles Tea on offer to guests at $40 per guest. This is a special touch to dining guests as some of us prefer to enjoy a fine cup of premium tea rather than the normal tea on offer which helps a lot of digestion after such typical heavy Chinese meal. What’s more, the ordering of food at Ming Court can be as personalised as you like therefore if a normal set of Prawn Dumpling is 3 pcs & you are a group of 2, you can order by 2 pcs instead which is a nice touch to avoid stuffing your face out. 5- 7 minutes later, the dimsum started flying out & this is what we ordered for our tasting today:

Pan Fried Bun with Assorted Mushroom (生煎野菌包) ($35 for 3 pcs) – This dim-sum attracted me when it arrived on the table as the shape of the maple leaf was extremely attractive. Slightly golden on the top which adds to a crispy texture with a healthy mix of assorted mushroom which was healthy. Since the bun was pan-fried, Props to the chef that it wasn’t too oily which is perfect for my palate. The flour used for the bun was soft but not to the point that the bun easily breaks apart when you pick up using your chop-sticks. Priced at $35 for 3 pcs, this is extremely reasonable considering you are dining in a Michelin 2 Star establishment. Great start to the meal! Highly Recommended!

roasted crispy pork loin with five spices (五香燒腩肉) ($78) – Roasted Pork Loin is an essential part of Chinese Eating culture especially during festive dates & celebrations. Was highly recommended by the PR girls to try out this Pork Loin which I had hesitations as I have never been a fan of pork ever in my life but just cannot reject their hospitality. The skin was Crispy, just like the cracklings we have from our Sunday Roasts in England & the pork loin was extremely flavourful with the 5 spice seasonings which consists of Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and fennel. Whoever invented the style of eating Chinese Roasted Pork Loin with French Mustard should be given a Nobel Prize for such invention as it is quite possibly one of the deadliest & the best pairings around. Highly Recommended!

Pan-Fried Turkey Pan-Cake (香煎火雞窩) ($45 for 4 pcs) - This was one of the Christmas Dim Sum Items which I requested as I want to see the method of the East meeting The West & how such Western ingredient of turkey can be blended into Chinese Dim Sum. It was similar to a spring roll with stuffed turkey & assorted mushrooms but pan-fried. It was steaming hot when it arrived on our table & the first bite was pure crisp & crunchyness which was delectable. The Sweet Plum Sauce drizzled on the top was unnecessary as it was very tasty to be eaten by itself therefore am curious whether it was for presentation purpose or to increase the flavour of the dim-sum. Instead, my recommendation is to eat this with some good hearty Sze Chuan Chilli Sauce which gives it an extra kick with the spicy flavour!

Chilled sliced abalone and jellyfish (凍鮑片海蜇頭) ($168) - A rather luxury dish which was also recommended by the girls. Honest saying, I love Jelly Fish as it is so chewy & best eaten with vinegar as a perfect starter to a wonderful meal. For those that rarely eat Jellyfish, the head part of the jelly fish is extremely valuable & much more expensive than the thinly sliced jelly fish you normally have when dine out. The Jellyfish head is a lot more dense & solid in texture. Sesame oil & a dash of chilli, chives & sesame is often used to marinate & prepare the jelly fish. Thn thinly sliced chill abalone is a perfect demonstration of the level of skills & art involved in Chinese cooking – so thinly that it was like a sheet of paper but yet with so much flavours. Look no further at the garnishes of the cucumber at the back of the plate, to achieve such level in slicing & dicing, a good old 10 + years in the kitchen must be required for this. It was an extremely refreshing dish, the sort of appetiser that is perfect for a hot summer in Hong Kong! Highly Recommended!

Steamed dumplings with shrimp and parsley shrimp (香茜鮮蝦白兔餃) ($45 for 3 pcs) - This was our 2nd set of Christmas Dim Sum which was perfect for the occasion. Technically, this is prawn dumplings that we get in every Chinese Dim Sum place but the slight extra touch is the parsley in the filling as well as the 2 dots of carrots which serve as the eye of the rabbit. Also, unlike its traditional prawn dumpling shape, this dumpling was moulded into a rabbit shape which was a rather gimmicky but slightly try-to-hard type of dim-sum. Taste was ordinary as I did not have high hopes for a themed Christmas Dim Sum as such which I am sure that regular Prawn Dumpling in Ming Court would have tasted better but it was more attractive & beautiful for the camera!

Steamed dumpling filled with shark fin, diced mushrooms, conpoy, ham and bamboo piths in consommé (魚翅灌湯餃) ($58) - So, for those that do not know or have not tried out the below dumpling, this is your Ferrari or Maserati version of dumplings. Looking at the ingredients involved – shark fin, diced mushroom, conpoy & ham which are all your expensive Chinese ingredients as part of the filling for this dumpling which is traditionally served in a broth. The taste of the Chicken broth was pure & clear, good sign that it wasn’t too over-sweet to show that no MSG was added. The steamed dumpling was hearty & generous portion size, nothing to complain about & the filling was also extremely generous. There was quite a lot of shark-fin in the dumpling & not to brag about this, there was so much that some of it was stuck in my teeth. Highly Recommended!

Soya Chicken + Honey Glazed Barbeucue Pork - Similar to the Crispy Pork Loin as above, Soya Chicken + Barbecue Pork (Char Siu) is essential to a Hong Konger’s diet, not that it is recommended to be consumed daily but just it is such a typical cheap eats in Hong Kong. To start, there was red-ness in the chicken meaning that the chicken was not a 100% fully cooked which was disappointing but the chicken meat was extremely tender & intensively flavoured with the soya sauce which rescued the dish. The barbecue pork (Char Siu) was awesome & kicked ass, it has been a while since I had such beautiful piece of Honey Glaed Barbeucue Pork. I loved it how it was slightly burnt on the outside which I am sure may not have been deliberate but the chared-ness adds a lot of flavour to the meat itself. There was a lot of barbeucued pork on the plate & so much that we couldn’t finish off such wonderful meat on offer!

Stir-fried sliced giant garoupa stuffed with shrimp paste (龍皇披金甲) ($238) - To win a Silver Award in 2009 for the Best of the Best Culinary Award, this dish is a MUST TRY & was special in every way. The Chinese name of the dish is special & neat which means The Golden Armour worn by the Dragon King which was a fancy name & one of those dish names that wins awards nevermind the taste. Presentation was special with a row of Deep Fried Prawn Heads + row of Stir Fried Garoupa stuffed with Shrimp Paste & Chinese Vegetables on the side & bottom as garnish. The taste of the Garoup with Shrimp Paste was extremely special in which it is definitely one of those comfort dishes best to cure a severe hangover. The sweetness & the juiciness of the meat was swirling around my mouth upon my first garoupa & there was a sign pointed by God that I must have at least 2 more pieces of such wonderful creation.

However, on my recent visit to Ming Court for lunch in which I ordered this dish again but it was slightly too oily & greasy this round which was a real shame. Nonetheless, the taste & presentation was still there but some extra consistency must be performed by the Chefs. Please take good note of this!

Ming court special fried rice with diced abalone and egg white (明閣鮑魚粒炒飯) ($168) - Just when you think we are about to hop onto dessert, we Asians need a bit of rice or carbohydrates after all as that is our daily essential diet. We settled for something which is relatively lighter & healthier after a pulsating lunch & what can beat a Egg White Fried rice with diced abalone. From my knowledge in cooking fried rice, to cook up a very hearty & delicious fried rice requires a good amount of oil to increase the flavour or as we say in Chinese, to inject the flavour from the wok using the heat. The rice was well cooked evenly & was extremely delicious even without the presence of egg yolks. Many other Chinese restaurants would have used a dash of good old ginger with the egg white on the fried rice to enhance the flavour but this was no where to be tasted at Ming Court. The flavour of the egg white blended in very well with the fried rice & the only slightly disappointment was there wasn’t enough diced abalone as the dish was quite bland mainly featuring the Kai Lan (Chinese vegetable) Stalk + Egg White. Definitely a healthier alternative option for those that are cautious about their weight!

Shark fin crystal extravagance (翅晶凝) ($68 for 4 pcs) - A good meal always ends on a high & the desserts at Ming Court did not disappoint either. Let me introduce you to Hong Kong’s first ever restaurant which used Shark Fin as part of their dessert, the Shark Fin Crystal Extravagance was a pure beauty + a stroke of genius by the chef. The top was a Shark Fin Jelly with the bottom a mango pudding. Presentation was mouth-watering & full of amazement as a black box featuring 4 pcs of the dessert arrives on your table with the waiter & waitress slowly pour cold water on the sides of the black box. The dried ice, which is packed at the bottom of the box undergoes a chemical reaction with the water & gives off steam & creates a smokey scenario which was extremely entertaining. Presentation was FAB but how about the taste as these 2 elements never quite go hand in hand & it once again proves that this theory is correct. The Mango Pudding at the bottom was solid & dense which is not a very appealing texture as it should nice, soft & creamy. The shark fin jelly on the top was boring – there was no flavour to it which was disappointing. On my recent visit, I again ordered this dessert for our group of diners and it certainly created a WOW factor amongst the diners but the taste & texture remained a disappointment. I suspect that afterall to win over your so-called food critics, somethings presentation & entertainment is equally as important as the taste but this case does not apply to myself.

Steamed golden cake coated with ground peanuts, sesame and coconut (黃金不煎糕) ($32 for 4 pcs) This was not a signature dessert at Ming Court but personally, I rated this higher than the Shark Fin Crystal Extravagance. Texture was very similar to one of those Sweet Cakes we eat during Chinese New Year & the extra genius touch was to add the sesame, coconut & the grounded peanuts which only improved the taste of the cake. Unlike the the above dessert, this was sweet which may sound stupid in writing but aren’t all desserts meant to be sweet & I would much rather if desserts as such are sweet & are kept sweet. You would rather have a customer complain about a dessert being too sweet and not too bland. Definitely a very delicious Western infused Chinese dessert!

Before my 2nd visit to Ming Court for a brilliant Sunday lunch, I picked up another brilliant press release from Langham Hotel regarding their festive Chinese New Year puddings which I am also pick up & check out. Just realised, that time of the year is around once again & time really flies. So today, we have 2 types of Chinese New Year Puddings, one is the traditional Turnip Pudding ($138) & the other is a Golden Sesame Chinese Pudding ($128) which is similar to the dessert above, if not the same. Only 500 pcs are produced for each type therefore, starting purchasing your cakes now.

After my experimenting with the cakes, I personally will recommend only one of 2 choices. For a more authentic & traditional approach, I personally highly recommend the Turnip cake by Ming Court which was brilliant & not too overly greasy – a big bonus point. Such cakes we eat during Chinese New Year are never meant to be healthy & definitely helps to contribute on the calories in your body. Taste was mildly flavoured & the flour used in the cake was at the perfect amount meaning that the inner texture was not too dense or too soft, perfect for a good bite. One slight improvement area will be to add more turnips into the cake but the only slight concern from the Chef’s Point of View is that the turnips will go off & rot very quickly therefore these cakes should be cooked & eaten within 7-days of purchase & opening. Best way to enjoy a piece of turnip pudding is to ip your turnip cake into X.O Sauce (a type of chilli sauce served in Chinese restaurants) & to savour the taste with a fine cup of Chinese Tea. It is also equally important to brown the layer on the top of the cake as that gives an extra dimension of slightly burnt flavour & crispyness. Highly Recommended!

All in all, my experiences at Ming Court was plesant & I have extremely happy with the fact that we finally have a good renowned restaurant in Mong Kok that has won the Michelin Star grading proving that these jack-asses from the Michelin Star panel judges are finally understanding the where the good food is & not only focusing in Hotel Restaurant Establishment or your so-called nouveau riche restaurants. My first visit to Ming Court was a very perfect visit whereby ambiance, service & food all matched up the standards & expectations but one can argue that was because I was dining with their PR ladies. However, 2nd visit was as a normal customer didnt quite reach the level of the first visit which was a major shame. Ming Court – consistency is what is required for a successful F&B branch & please keep up the good work as you are doing Chinese Food very proud! I salute you & Chef Tsang Chiu King (Executive Chef of Ming Court).

Background:

To share the enjoyment of 3 colleagues' luck, we pop-in this Michelin 2 star rated chinese rest for dinner.

Car park service is great, so as the counter, but once we step in the private room for the night, I can't said its the worst service I have ever came across but certainly ain't matching with its $$$ (a minimum charge of 5k for a room of 6 ppls)

We ordered the shark fins in four styles, which is great, then came the baked crab shell, which is average (very full as its made of carb meat and cheese). The fish is also good and so does the veg. Then came the problem of the ordering of food-serving as the roast pork fired rice came in before the last main dishes of abalone. In which we are all very full by then. All in all, the food standard is good.

The main issue is the service, with the amount of $$$ we spend, I think the services needed to match with it. The servant are not responsive and have no intention to either show us the way of the toilet and always looking at the watch which seems like asking us to leave...