Xin Dau Ji (Causeway Bay)

	2/F, Holiday Inn Express, 33 Sharp East Street, Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣霎東街33號智選假日酒店2樓
	Guangdong \| Chinese Restaurant \| BBQ


韓舍 (Yuen Long)	Morihachi ... (Central)	Thai Delig... (Wan Chai)

Date of visit : 31 Mar 2013 (Sun) 12:30 pm
No. of diners : 6
Average cost per head : $100
Food quality : 8/10
Environment : 7.5/10
Service : 7.5/10
Value-for-money : 8/10
Overall rating : 7.9/10

2 weeks after I had dinner in the North Point branch of Xin Dau Ji, I so happened to visit the Causeway Bay branch for Chinese dim-sum for the very first time. They accepted booking and I got a table at noon immediately without the need of waiting.

The average price of the dim sums was very reasonable, ranging from $15 to $26 for most of the items, and they claimed all the dim sums were cook-to-order. If given a choice, dinner is more attractive than lunch.

a) The Classic 3 - Signature Shrimp Dumpling 斗記水晶蝦餃 ($26), Shrimp and Pork Siu-mai 原蝦蒸燒賣 ($21) and Chinese BBQ Pork Bun 蠔皇叉燒包 ($15) – 7.5/10

Judging from these 3 typical dim-sum can almost conclude the overall food quality of a Chinese restaurant. Unlike the modern version of shrimp dumpling 蝦餃and wanton 雲吞in which large shrimps dominate the whole dumpling, the piece I had was of the right mouthful size. However, it got an overstated name which as the shrimp was not very fresh and the dumpling wrap was not in semi-translucent form. I haven’t tried the other two dim-sums.

b) More Buns - Signature Molten Custard Bun 斗記流沙包 ($18), Baked Chinese BBQ Pork Bun雪山叉燒包 ($21) – 7/10

Another claimed signature dish, however, the custard inside the bun was a bit dry and not molten at all.

c) The Deep Fried Family - Deep Fried Shrimp Wanton 鮮蝦炸雲吞 ($21), Slender Spring Roll with Shrimp 蝦枝卷 ($18), Deep Fried Silver Fish椒鹽白飯魚 ($38) and Deep Fried Glutinous Rice Dumpling Abalone鮑魚咸水角 ($26) – 7.5/10

When the deep fried wanton arrived, its skin was still coated with a layer of oil. The deep fried silver fish was scrumptious, each tiny fish was thoroughly coated with batter, lightly fried yet crispy from head to tail.

d) Offal - Cow’s Stomach in Black Pepper Sauce 黑椒金錢肚 ($21) and

Steamed Rice Roll with Pig’s Liver黃沙豬潤腸 ($21) – 7/10
The cow’s stomach was spicy and tasty. The steamed rice roll was much thicker than it should be, and the pig’s liver was not tender.

e) Lunch Set – Roasted Goose金牌燒鵝 (1/4 bird), Stir Fried Kale薑汁炒芥蘭 and Egg Noodles in Broth 上湯生麵 ($138) – 7.5/10

2 lunch sets were offered and the main difference was the choice of roasted suckling pig (quarter) or roasted goose. The egg noodle first arrived and the portion was generous. The kale was slightly above average. The roasted goose was decent with the lower quarter and tasty, the skin was a bit crispy.

f) Hand Chopped Cucumber手拍青瓜 ($28) – 7/10

This should be an easy and yet pleasing appetizer, however, the use of black vinegar was a way too diluted and a pinch of sugar was missing to balance the sourness.

g) Short Ribs and Rice with Black Bean in Clay Pot鼓汁排骨飯 ($32)

The waiter kindly reminded us an approximately 20 minutes waiting time was required and this set a high expectation on it. However, when the lid of the pot was removed, I was a bit disappointed as I heard no sizzling nor feeling the heat wave radiated from the pot.

h) Mango Pudding芒果布甸 ($18)