1.Dim Sum
After we ordered, before the wine was served, 4 sources are placed - X.O. sauce, broad bean sauce, Yu Kwen Yick chili sauce and soy sauce. Share chopsticks are placed after request. Two guests shared one pair.
The wine: Chablis Premier Cru, Les Vaillons, Domaine Long-Depaquit. Floral aroma, smell fresh, but tasted normal.
a.Marinated walnuts with sesame as amuse-bushe: it tasted not fresh and crispy enough.
b.X.O. Sauce & broad bean Sauce: the former one tastes unsavory, too many dried-shrimps and the ingredients are too hard to bite; the latter one is better, tastes ok.
c.Braised whole abalone and seafood on a crispy taro net ($64 p.p.)
原只海鮮鮑魚脆芋盒
Taro nest is earth-shape topped with a small abalone, which is cut in half. It is stuffed with fresh shrimp, fresh crabmeat and scallop. The taro nest with seafood tasted very nice and fit well with the Chablis, while the abalone was nasty like softened chewing gum.
d.Steamed prawn and bamboo shoot dumplings ($56)
晶瑩筍尖鮮蝦餃
Dumpling wrapper was too thick but the shrimp inside was hot enough and fresh, not as prawn as stated. However, there is no taste of asparagus.
Steamed pork and prawn with crab roe dumplings ($56)
蟹黃蒸燒賣
Too many shrimps with the pork, tasted like the shrimp dumplings mentioned before.
Crispy Spring roll with shrimp, dried-squid and Chinese celery ($48)
芹香土魷蝦春卷
Fragrant celery with squid is a very traditional ingredient in pan-fry cooking method, it creates a special taste when it’s stuffed in spring roll, whereas the stuffing was too little reflecting the flour roll’s thickness. It affected the texture and became very pinguid.
e.Steamed lobster and minced shrimp dumpling ($64 p.p.) 金葉龍蝦餃
The appearance is very impressive (The dumpling wrapper is made in yellow color which matched the theme and also the golden leaves – not translated in the menu). The piece of lobster as a topping got cold quickly. The sliced celery gave a very strong flavor and fit well with the minced shrimp and scallop. Nevertheless, the stuffing is the same as the taro nest with abalone by only replacing the minced taro with celery.
f.Steamed barbecued pork buns 蜜汁叉燒包 ($44): Normal taste as restaurants and the bun was too soft and sticky.
Baked sweet-corn buns with diced chicken and garlic 蒜蓉美國雞粒焗玉米餐包 ($48): Both of the bun (made in grain with sesame on top) and the stuffed ingredients had a pale taste; the chicken was overcooked without sweet-corn taste or neither garlic flavor.
Wok-seared minced Wagyu beef buns 和牛生煎包 ($48): It tasted nothing special with the attracting name. There is no Wagyu beef’s flavor – probably because the meat is minced. Assuming the beef was indeed Wagyu beef, it is a waste to use it in steamed buns.
g.Steamed shark’s fin dumpling in soup with Hokkaido king crab leg ($110)
北海道長腳蟹魚翅灌湯餃
This was the most laudable dim sum we tried and all appreciated on this tasting trip. Although it is not the traditional ‘Guen Tong Gau’ – the soup is outside the dumpling, the soup is sufficiently delicate and the crab meat with shark’s fin (翅裙) are delicious. In spite of the large dumpling wrapper with unpleasant texture, the crabmeat stuffed tastes toothsome. The cost performance of this dish was the best that day. Yet the portion is as much as a soup dish – Double-Boiled Shark Fin Marrow with Brassica. It also provides the red vinegar with sliced ginger, which is considered as the vinegar is for better digestion to shark’s fin and the ginger is for crab meat according to Chinese medical theory.
(*正宗灌湯餃：猶如放大版的灌湯小籠包，湯和餡料全被封在餃皮內。吃的時候，把皮搓開，湯汁才會流出來。初見于《隨園食單》)
h.Steamed rice flour cannelloni with shredded roasted duck, conpoy and chives
韭黃瑤柱火鴉絲腸粉 ($80) (This translation is very interesting – ‘火鴉絲’)
The rice roll did not provide a good mouth feel and the stuffing is normal, and the portion is abnormally large.
(*cannelloni: Italian food – roast meat wrapped by pasta roll) – not suitable to translate ‘腸粉’
Steamed rice flour cannelloni with fresh shrimps鮮蝦腸粉
Too many whole shrimps are stuffed in the rice roll, which makes the dish salty. Sometimes when the stuffing is designed too much, the dish will fail.
i.Roast Pork Belly with crispy crust
脆皮燒腩肉
Normal-level. It’s crispy but the fat and the meat combination is not good enough to let the food melt in the mouth. Yet there is a very considerate design – sliced cucumber, carrot and turnip are provided on the side, which can be considered as a move to reduce oily effect.
3.Signature Seafood Dish
j.Golden Stuffed crab shell with crab meat焗釀蟹蓋
The server there recommends it. It is stuffed with fresh crabmeat, onion, milk and it provides watery feelings. However, the shape of the crab shell seemed not to be pruned. Besides, there is no shredded lettuce to reduce the oily feeling.
4.Dessert
k.欣圖雪果山
It is interesting and it was very impressive. However, the ‘snow mountain’ started to melt down and the fruit fell of it when we stood up to leave.
l.楊枝甘露
The presentation is special and nice. The saucer is designed particularly with the mixture of water and dry ice. Therefore, when it was placed on the table, it created theatrics. And yet the taste is too milky and bitter because of the low quality of pomelo.
m.靈芝龜苓膏 – No comments
n.燕液百合蓮子露
Bird’s nest and the sweet soup were separated when served. The sweet soup is made by minced lotus seed therefore the taste is very strong. It is nice eventually.
•Opinions from colleagues during the meal
