Sun Tung Lok Chinese Cuisine     新同樂魚翅酒家  

I have to admit that this post is an amalgamation of several visits in one, since I do have a habit of having dim sum on my own, it was necessary for me to return a number of times so that I could try something new each time.

Situated on level four inside Miramar, patrons need to cross the footbridge in order to reach the renowned Chinese restaurant Sun Tung Lok. Initially awarded three Michelin stars in 2011, it unfortunately lost a star this year, however with what I have tried so far, it definitely ranks quite highly for me in terms of taste and quality of food.

First impressions of the restaurant, the dining area is not large with several tables comfortably spaced out, but I came to realise that there is another section to the dining area on the far side which is half hidden by a wall. I am usually seated in the first section of the restaurant inside one of the couched areas on the side and I find the atmosphere to be quite comfortable with a hint of casual elegance.

As a pre-meal appetiser, a small saucer of plum dust coated guava is usually served. I really enjoy this as the guava is always pleasantly sweet and the slight sourness of the plum dust enhances the flavour of the guava which never fails to open up the appetite.The XO sauce braised ox tongue seemed to be quite a signature appetiser and had been praised in many reviews. The ox tongue was cut into perfectly bite-sized cubes and presented pyramid style. The tenderness of the ox tongue varied pending on which parts of the tongue you pick up. Generally I find that the center of the tongue is the softest and most fatty area while the outer parts tend to be more meaty and slightly tougher. The cubes of tongue were quite flavourful from the marinade and the XO sauce was spicy enough to give a mild burn. I would say it was decent, but I have had better ox tongue elsewhere.On one of my visits, I had a big craving for 'phoenix claws'. I wanted to order them with the traditional black bean marinade, but Sun Tung Lok only offered them braised in abalone sauce so I had to make do instead. It was served piping hot in a small claypot and there were around seven small sized chicken feet. The texture was perfect. Braised until silkily soft, the skin and tendons were so easily sucked from the bones and all the collagen goodness just melted in the mouth. It was an absolute pleasure to eat~The steamed minced beef balls were also very good. Two generously fist sized balls of finely minced beef had a pleasant bouncy texture with the occasional crunch of water chestnuts. The addition of 15-year aged mandarin peel gave off a heady fragrance as it reached the table, and served to enhance the flavour of the beef. On its own, the beef was already tasty enough, but a small spoonful of the slightly sweet vinegar sauce 'git jup' gave it an extra oomph especially since they added pepper to it. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this.

Steamed dim sum, well dumplings to be exact are always a must order for me at any dim sum outing. Aside from the fillings meeting the requirement of being fresh and of quality, the outer glutiinous skin needs to be of the perfect thickness where it is translucent enough to glimpse the filling and it must be soft yet retaining a slight chewiness. Sun Tung Lok excelled at this. Of the four types of dumplings I have sampled so far, none have disappointed.

The scallop and shrimp dumplings were pleasantly plump with filling providing a meaty mouthful with each bite. Even though I am not a fan of mentaiko, it was good to see that they added it after the dumplings had been steamed saving them from being overcooked and becoming rubbery in textureVegetarian dumplings are my standard. Whenever I see this on a menu it is almost an automatic response for me to order them. I quite liked the version here as the mushrooms and bamboo shoots were nicely diced and still retained shape unlike some other restaurants where the filling is just mushy. The filling also emanates 'wok hei' which adds more flavour to the dumpling in general.The shrimp dumplings were chubby in appearance with pretty pleats and showed the slight blush of the shrimp beneath the skin. The freshness of the shrimp was evident from the crunchiness in texture and the juiciness of the dumpling was pleasant, no doubt from the pork fat used. The steamed garoupa and vegetable dumplings were part of their specials menu. Appearance wise they were quite interesting, but a little odd with the addition of the black glutinous skin. As with the trend, they were generously filled with a mixture of garoupa and what I assumed was garlic chives. They were decent, but I think I would have liked them better if they used another type of vegetable.So far so good, I have yet to be disappointed

I was elated about tonight's dinner because first I had not seen my friends for a long time and second I wanted to try Sun Tung Lok for ages. Last year in 2011, Sun Tung Lok was rated 3-star Michelin, this year the rating went down to 2-star. Nonetheless Michelin is only a reference, it's always better to try and judge it yourself.

Although we dined on a Tuesday, the restaurant was quite empty given its fame. The decor was classy, so was the utensils on the table. The ivory chopsticks definitely signifies the status of this restaurant, but its different shape and coloured chopsticks did not seem to be appreciated by the younger generation. Anyhow, it is good to experience a real pair of ivory chopsticks as I don't think I have ever seen one before? Hm...not sure.1) Roast suckling pig stuffed with minced shrimp ($30 ea) (8/10)
Nice presentation with impressive syrup garnishment. The piece was served in a mouth piece size which was smaller than I thought. The roast suckling pig was crispy but rather oily, so was the minced shrimp at the bottom. They both delivered vivid taste and the combining taste was delicious. I also reckon it would go very nice with the sweet seafood paste if they would offer some.2) Pan fried bean curd stuffed with minced shrimp in abalone sauce topped with shredded ham ($32 ea) (4/10)
To be honest I was not a big fan of Pan Fried Bean Curd as it is usually rough and soggy, but Sun Tung Lok's Pan Fried Bean Curd was actually quite smooth! With a breath taking plate presentation, the dish was very appetising. The abalone sauce slightly brought up the simple taste of tofu. The nicely placed shredded ham disappointedly delivered no taste at all, what a waste! The plate was quite flat in taste overall.3) Braised prime rib of beer with house gravy ($128 ea) (10/10)
My best dish of the night. The portion was unexpectedly huge when compared to the first two plates, fortunately we had it halved between two people. The rib was extremely tender and the meaty taste was brought up to the next level by the house gravy sauce. I would recommend to adjust the amount of gravy pour on top, it is a bit too much in my opinion.4) Fragrant Shogun Oysters in Clayport ($68 ea) (4/10)
The giant Oyster was a shock to everyone on the table, it was juicy and mild. The oyster possessed no fishyness which might possibly be brought down by the large amount of basil in it? I was surprised that they added Sichuan Pepper(花椒) in the claypot, but the dish had no spiciness at all! There was also a generous portion of vermicelli but was soaked all brown with the sauce and hence tasted too salty and soggy. I dislike the dish because of the imbalance taste between the flat oyster and savoury vermicelli. If you like Chinese style oyster in claypot, I highly recommend you to try Kin's KItchen instead.5) Baked stuffed sea conch with Portuguese sauce ($88 ea) (6/10)
The dish was one of the main highlight of the night as most people was excited about it. Presentation was again very nice especially with the conch shell itself being the food container. If you never had seafood in a shell with Portuguese sauce, you might find it nice and interesting. Personally I have had it once in a wedding banque, and I found this dish nothing special. The portugese sauce had overtaken the taste of conch, the dish eas rather filling overall.6) Baked abalone puff ($60 ea) (8/10)
Puff is always one of my favourites in dim sum category, and Sun Tung Lok's Baked Abalone Puff definitely did not fail me. The puff was thousand layered, very light and fluffy. The abalone bits within the puff was flavourable and the sauce was at the right saltiness. Even with a sweet top layer, the dim sum tasted exceptionally nice.TO CONCLUDE...

Service was absolutely excellent in Sun Tung Lok in all aspect and definitely what a Michelin starred restaurant should have. They eagerly asked me twice to put my handbag on a chair which I had left it on the ground. The eagerness made an akward scene which kind of made me embarassed, so I ended up putting it on the chair next to me lol. Yet, the serving time was overly long, it took around 20 minutes for each of the first two dishes to arrive. Although the garnishing is nice, isn't 20 minutes per dish a bit too much when there was only 8 tables taken for the night? It is like eating French in a Chinese restaurant. All in all, I generally enjoy my experience here and will definitely come again to try out their dim sum!

I think Sun Tung Lok's status sort of shocked everyone, with its rise to 3 michelin stars quickly after its move to Kowloon side. This visit was a trip to try out their 'higher end' dim sum (i say this because dim sum in HK is often not very expensive, being a breakfast / brunch type food for many), and whilst overall quite good it wasn't exceptional or mind-blowing..

It's been my wish to go to Sun Tung Lok for over 10 years and this wish has finally been realized (thanks to my best friend, Mr. C). Always thought that there is only shrink fin to eat but actually there are many other "ordinary" food too. The best thing is that it's not as expensive as expected.
Don't know how to describe each dish in English but don't know how to type Chinese too. Can only say they are yummy yummy and yummy. It's really a once in a life-time experience that will be remembered for life.