we have chosen fook lam moon (福臨門) as the venue for our farewell dinner with L, who is moving back to san francisco tomorrow after goofing around in hong kong for 3 years =) fook lam moon is THE upscale cantonese venue with its own exclusive farm supply. the restaurant is dubbed "tycoon's canteen" and prides itself in serving exquisite cantonese food such as shark fins and dried abalones. FLM won michelin one star back in nov 2008, although many local foodies consider the restaurant to trump lung king heen, which won a 3-star status in the same year. on the other hand, lung king heen does serve significantly different food quality depending on who the customer is while FLM is relatively more consistent - so the battle is still on.

cha siu: i am nearly addicted to bbq pork these days. the cha siu at FLM was leaner, mushier, and the honey coating was slightly too thick compared to fu sing. they also used a hint of food coloring during the roasting process which although was no big deal but i thought the kitchen would be too proud to use it. i like my cha siu at fu sing more.

fried battered frog legs with salt and pepper: normally i don't eat frog leg but this looked really good on the menu. the batter was just the right thickness and very light/airy; the frog leg had perfect spongy texture - tender but not mushy. it was so delicious that i had second (and third) serving...

sweet and sour pork: it was a much leaner cut of the pork ribs than i have elsewhere. the crust was a bit too chewy and thick, and the sweet/sourness scale was too light to my liking. the meat inside was overcooked. it wasn't my favorite dish of the night...

braised bamboo fungus, mushrooms, and other chinese vegetables: it was a very yummy dish. it was high quality wild bamboo fungus soaked in stock, crisp texture with a very clean taste.

crispy chicken: this is another signature dish at FLM. the skin was very thin and crisp; chicken meat was tender and low fat content, and tasted very "chickeny". also much less greasy than other restaurants.

baked stuffed crab with onions and fresh crab meat: the crust was baked/browned and inside was a mixture of (lots of) crab meat, julienned onions. it was flavorful and meaty, and the crab meat was very fresh and spongy.

braised dry bean curd: the bean curd was very tender inside and outer crust crispy but light.

smoked pomfret: it was then slightly overall pan-fried and the skin was crispy but not greasy. the meat carried a light sweetness and very aromatic. taste-wise, it was a delicious dish. however, overall presentation was very bad... the fish was falling out all over the plate like a jigsaw puzzle...

sweet walnut cream: the walnut cream was very intense and not too sweet. it did not add much milk to cream up the soup like most other restaurants, so it was all grounded walnut with a slightly sandy texture. according to H, walnut has great mix of vitamin B's that is good for your brain.

sweet almond tea with egg white and milk: a light sweet soup.

sesame paste bun: very intense sesame flavor and not too moist/gooey inside like other chinese restaurants.

lotus leaf steamed rice: this is another signature dish at FLM. the rice was loaded with dried scallops and crab meat, with shredded scrambled eggs and roasted ducks. it was very yummy and each rice grain was the perfect moist level - not too sticky nor dry. however, there was not much lotus aroma in the rice.

the night was also a college reunion so we did not order any upscale dishes like abalone and bird's nest. overall food quality was high, although there was no "wow" factor. for each individual dish i can right on top of my head name another place that serves better food quality, but FLM was able to score high in every dish. i also think there was a lack of creativity in the dishes, rather the chef was focusing on traditional food done to excellence, or not.

one thing i need to praise on is the service. waiters were prompt and friendly, and check was issued almost right away. also i was guided point-to-point on my arrival and greeted by all staffs during our exit - while they usually do it at western restaurants, many chinese restaurants seem to miss out this little detail.

original post with pictures: http://randomnomad.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/fook-lam-moon

Too expensive to eat at night, so it is better to have a Sunday afternoon dim sum. After doing a thorough research, we do target at what we are going to have:

Tradition shrimp dumpling - pretty little dumpling with a transparent wrap and a rich shrimp filling
Chicken praw - we did order again since it is not oily and the bones fall easily. Of cuz, the flavor is very good ... dunno how to explain, it is of great taste, strongly marinated
Chicken in 'Chuk Sang' Wrap - I have not eaten as I am not a fan. But they said it is good and I see the fillings are very full
Pan fried cuttle fish cake - its look is not appealing, yet the texture is really nice with strong sticky cuttlefish
Grilled goose/duck *sorry I have forgotten* - excellent! the skin is crispy and the meat is hot, it is true!
Pan fried mooli cake - lots of ingredients in the cake and well-fried, best to dip in spicy oil
Rice roll with fried stuffings - no wonder it gets reputation, it is a unique dish! apart from the fried stuffing, they add a bit of fish filling *i dunno what it is!* anywaz, the different structure can be felt - the outside smoothness, the inside crisp and stuffings!
Rice in lotus leaf - omg, really yummy. not oily and the strong lotus flavor is on every rice, and every spoonful of rice is great
Egg tart - texture likes 'just-baked' ... so, you know how good it is
Almond sweet soup with egg white - this is the only so-so dish among all. not bad, just that i had an eatery which is extremely good at

Nearly all the dishes are great, most of the staff are nice *most, not all* ... worths going again, but better with more people so that you can try more different dishes. Such a price range, the quality is really satisfying overall.

之前在灣仔工作,見幾就腳來過食LUNCH兩次,感覺OK. 今年父親節正日沒有去例牌去開的MARROITT, 又諗唔到去邊(爸喜歡中餐),6個大人就來了... 開始感覺還好,有一隊人講早晨,又講父親節快樂. 叫了一輪點心後(7-8碟罷,唔記得),叫些小菜,先開口叫了一隻乳鴿.那落單男人奇怪地加口說是BB鴿,我話係(我心諗,度度都係架啦,叔叔!!),另外要炸子雞半隻... 佢又以奇怪的口吻問"夠食架拿?" 感覺就不良好了... 我答佢話另外已叫了東西...

之後又叫了個基圍蝦福建炒反.最後叫糖水.叫了2個杏仁茶,1個合桃糊,1綠豆沙.因媽有少許糖尿,不能吃甜,想淺嚐爸爸的綠豆沙,而我老公就唔想食甜品. 一個楊姓女侍應(中老年)送來甜品,我問佢拿多一隻乾淨碗比爸媽SHARE,佢就態度唔好,送上最後一碗杏仁茶時,我話係我既,但佢就借左聾耳陳隻耳,一於好少理,夾硬老遠地"對"碗杏仁茶比媽咪(其實"龍小姐"就站在我身邊上糖水! (唔明點解咁既態度,唔比人SHARE得??)我再三話係我既,佢完全IGNORE我!! 我去咁多度都好少見到咁差的侍應,尤其是一度BOAST服務的地方.

最後佢負責幫我賣單,佢用挑戰性的口吻問,請問有無匯豐卓越理財信用卡或東亞白金卡! (好CHEAP!!) 我答道:兩張都有. (但東亞是與LAW SOCIETY聯營的白金卡,不一定用得)

直至比左14蚊左右的TIPS,佢先講聲多謝... 下次都係去返D civilized 的地方... e.g. Marina Club, 木球會, Marriott, Peninsula, IFC eateries (Lumiere, Cafe Costa...) etc...

大約隔星期就黎飲茶, 兼補足湯水~~

傳統點心, 款式樸實平凡, 絕無亂配創新之邪氣, 平凡中見真章, 就在此中尋 !!

叉燒包, 雞札, 蝦餃差唔多係每次必食既點心!!
叉燒包~~包與叉燒比較剛好, 不會叉燒過多爆漏情況, 看看包頂既開花, 就知有水準 !
雞札~~~雞有鮮味, 食得出用鮮雞, 冬菇夠厚夠香夠爽身,鮮淮山包住, 真係回味, 回味, 再回味!!
蝦餃及各式餃類~~餃皮不易難,不黐筷子,其他茶樓難遇到既好餃皮 !!

還有高湯煎粉果, 這個能遇上的話是一定不錯過, 一黎坊間已好少有提供哩個點心, 就算有, 水準亦不高, 但哩度既高湯濃, 煎餃不油 ~~

老火湯用料足, 材料與湯差唔多一比一, 湯又怎會唔夠濃郁呢 !!

或者好多人食中餐會忽略服務, 但福臨門可以話, 香港數一數二有高服務質素中餐 !!

我既願望係, 以後都可以係度繼續飲茶, 咁就已經好開心好滿足喇

我的一位小學女同學在二月中從美國回港探親，她說想飲茶，並希望與其他小學同學聚舊。可惜的是有聯絡開的小學同學已很少，而他們因為時間問題不能出席，最終此茶局只得她和我這個"閒人"了。

地點選擇方面，想起她現時在美國某大公司身居要職，似乎<福臨門>會是合適的選擇。而小弟去過<福臨門>兩次，都是尖沙咀店，正宗"富豪飯堂"灣仔店反而未去過。年初龍火兄曾在此搞茶局，因工作的關係無緣出席。

環境方面，尖沙咀店和灣仔店差不多，都是平實不浮誇的裝修，坐得舒適。比較而言，更愛尖沙咀店較清靜的環境。服務亦差不多，絕不會有白鴒眼。點心種類選擇方面，兩店是有少許差別的。

闊別五年的她，風采依然，更增添一份成熟女人味。事業有成，婚姻幸福，真令人羨慕。想拿點心紙給她選擇，她說無所謂。於是我便點了五款點心，及後欲罷不能，再追加兩款。

百花脆皮腸 – 原來只有灣仔店才有供應。微脆的腐皮包著蝦膠，再以腸粉皮包裹著。蝦膠彈牙爽口配合腐皮及煙韌軟滑的腸粉皮，的確相當不俗。與小弟早前在澳門<東怡軒>所食的脆皮一品腸有異曲同工之妙，分別在<福臨門>選用腐皮，而<東怡軒>選用薄油炸鬼皮。不過個人還是喜歡<東怡軒>的脆皮一品腸多一些。

栗米墨魚餅 – 亦是灣仔店才有供應。墨魚餅爽口彈牙，配合栗米粒，整體味道算鮮甜，不俗的一款點心。

雞絲蝦春卷 – 春卷皮炸得好，咬落清脆利落，沒有多餘油份。蝦肉及雞絲亦鮮甜。

蝦餃 – 比尖沙咀店出色，澄皮做得靚，蝦肉爽口及鮮甜，配合荀的化學作用，接近完美了！

淮山雞扎 – 坊間已很少酒樓選用淮山做雞扎了，其實最正宗的雞扎是以雞件、魚肚、冬菇、叉燒或瘦肉、豬肚為餡，再淮山包裹的，兒時吃的雞扎便是如此。後來酒樓為了節省成本，便以腐皮取代淮山，火腿取代叉燒。<福臨門>的淮山雞扎，雖欠豬肚，但都算是正宗的雞扎了。而不論魚肚及冬菇，都是採用上等貨色，雞件明顯是新鮮雞，靚魚肚吸收了雞件、冬菇及叉燒的汁，一流的味道，人生一大享受。比上次在尖沙咀店吃的雞扎更好(因為有些許碎骨及汁稍多油，與及叉燒變了瘦肉)，灣仔店的雞扎，可算接近滿分了！

以上提及的某些點心都好像比尖沙咀店稍為出色，不過當然有例外，例如：

梡仁馬拉糕 – 上次尖沙咀店的馬拉糕是無敵的，鬆軟程度及香味無與倫比。今次灣仔店的馬拉糕，咦？好像有些距離既？雖然如此，但仍然是出色的。

臘腸卷 – 灣仔店的臘腸卷的卷皮是傳統的做法，即前後留空露出少許臘腸。尖沙咀店則是卷皮完全包裹著臘腸，且加上類似叉燒包的蜜汁蒸。比較起來，尖沙咀店的臘腸卷又是滿分之作，肥美酒香加上蜜汁配上又熱又鬆軟的卷皮，放入口咀嚼時那種感動的心情非筆墨所能形容。至於灣仔店的臘腸卷雖然有酒香兼卷皮鬆軟，可是仍比尖沙咀店遜色。

由童年時的"牛黃妹"，到現在的成功專業人士，光陰似箭。我問她點心好吃與否？她說當然正，非常美味，不過更想試<蓮香樓>，哈，真的估佢唔到。可惜轉眼她又要飛返美國了，不知何時再回港。想起身邊不少舊同學及朋友都早已移民外國，真的"知己一聲拜拜遠去這都市，要靠偉大………. "，留下我這個"香港人"堅守香港。雖然近年香港已開始"大陸化"，但暫時還是美好的。

Another meal at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) with a group of guys (and girl) that seems to only dine here when we meet. Tonight, however, there would be changes to the menu. We had gotten tired of ordering the same old dishes - however delicious they might be - and asked for something completely different. So here goes...

Chicken soup with sea whelk and bird's nest (螺頭雞湯燴官燕) - OK so there was no sharks' fin today, but we had bird's nest instead. It's a pretty darn good chicken soup, except there are expensive ingredients. I'm not big on bird's nest but at least it's more environmentally friendly than sharks' fin...

Shredded soft-shell turtle stir-fried with pickled mustard stem (榨菜絲炒水魚絲) - I haven't had turtle in a very long time as I normally don't order it, but this was pretty nice, especially with the pickles. Yet another dish that's out of the ordinary...

Pan-fried twin eastern star garoupa (煎封雙東星斑) - I really liked this dish, even though this isn't the most popular Cantonese preparation for fish. I have always liked the way fish is braised, having been pan-fried first to have a bit of crispy and crunchy skin. Really enjoyable and a nice break from the normal steamed fish.

Deep-fried crab claw (百花炸釀蟹拑) - these giant claws must have come from Sri Lankan crabs, because there is no way they could be this big otherwise. The shell has been removed, then the claw was coated in a layer of shrimp paste and deep-fried. As we were armed only with chopsticks and spoons, the only way to get at this is to pick it up my hand and chomp... But I have to say that this was really delicious.

Wolfberry leaves in ham broth (上湯浸枸杞菜) - no pig liver this time, but I'm really happy that this veggie is back in season.

Steamed goose with plum and taro (梅子芋頭蒸鵝) - a really delicious dish. The taro was done separately and so nice, even for a guy like me who doesn't normally eat it. The goose was fatty and yummy - is there any other way to have it? There were also lots of goose kidneys inside the claypot, and it's been a while since I've had it at a restaurant (instead of mom's). I think this was generally very well-received.

Wontons in soup (上湯韭黃粒雲吞) - really nicely done here. The wontons were plump with a good amount of shrimp packed into them, and the flavors of the yellowed chives was just classic.

I was already stuffed (again) but couldn't leave without having a bowl of the almond cream with egg white (蛋白杏仁茶).

original blogpost with notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/03/menu-change.html

Came here for lunch due to impulse over a certain weekend, as funnily enough I've only been to dinner here previously and never did its yum cha.

My overall conclusion is simple. It was pretty much what we had expected, which is, its tasty Hong Kong style lunch and dim sims, which would have been satisfactory 25 years ago but is now greatly lacking behind the global trend. More about it later, but let's talk about the food first, from what I can remember:

1) Char Siu - 7 out of 10. Tender, but not artificially so. Not much taste on first bite but upon eating more pieces, realised that I would never coax any more marinade, honey or chargrilled taste out of it. Its the way food is done here. Its soft for the lean meat they were using, slightly tasty yet slightly bland, but its actually quite healthy and not heavy.
Expensive at $110 for barely a few pieces, but this Char Siu was definitely made for rich people watching out for their health.

2) Fried Lotus Cake - 2 out of 10. $110 for barely a few pieces, it was tough, chewy, has no taste, even over-cooked and no crunchiness of the lotus remaining. Sliced way too thin as well, around 2-2.5mm thick. Waste of money.

3) Fried Taro Dumpling - 7 out of 10. Not that impressive to be honest, but already way better than Yung Kee's oil soaked, fat filled rubbish. Slightly chewy rather than outright crunchy, slightly oily at the bottom that made the bottom appear transparent. Which shouldn't happen at this 'smaller than normal size' of taro dumplings but some oil managed to sip through into the inside. Great healthy fillings however, not junk mince thrown in for the sake of making a feeling. Attention was paid here. Not very happy with this but a Taro Dumpling along with the Prawn Dumpling in almost any restaurant is a true test of its skills. Fook Lam Moon is very good with other fried things we tried, almost perfect, but still, they could not nail the Taro Dumpling test.

4) Prawn Dumpling and Siu Mai - 8.5 out of 10. Very healthy and light fillings once again, taste is subtle and that's the way I like it. In fact I love the taste of the food in Fook Lam Moon the most due to this reason - its elegant and subtle, not over-powering. Skins on both dumplings however were slightly too soft (slight over-steam) for my liking, but that's being mean.

5) Rice Paper Roll - 9 out of 10. Smooth, great fillings, light soy sauce. Technically correct therefore the high marks. Obviously, did not expect any 'wow' factors but here, its good enough to get near top marks.

6) Egg Tart - 6 out of 10. I give a low mark because my flaky skin wasn't cooked enough, it was white (looked pretty though!) and it still had that raw dough taste to it. Egg custard also had little egg taste if any. The egg tarts here are the miniature size, therefore, the egg to flak pastry ratio means you're getting relatively more 'pastry' than eggs, esp. if the width of the pastry isn't much thinner than a normal sized egg tart. As such, the egg custard really ought to have enough egg taste to make up for this difference. Its like having a sushi nigiri, but with too big a rice but not enough fish, plus, the rice isn't cooked enough.

7) Had some more other items, which were pretty healthy tasting.


Judgment - Fook Lam Moon as I said, is still living in its past, especially for lunch. Its strong point is also its weak point - in reality its almost the opposite of places like Lung King Heen.

Here, the food is cooked almost to its maximum potential but still way within the normal expected standards. Its tasty, it feels lighter and healthier than many places, but there is little innovation to the selections, its ultimately too boring and also expensive. In Canton and Guang Zhou, some restaurants are actually developing more and more to catch up with the rest of the world, they put their heart into pushing forward Chinese cuisin and there are much more innovations in the Dim Sims and Cantonese dishes up North. Not only that, but overseas Chinese restaurants are following the same trend, be it Canada, Australia or Europe, etc. I've even had some really great Yum Cha lunches in Japan, which beats anything else I've tried so far in Hong Kong.

Fook Lam Moon meanwhile is being complacent. Its the kind of place that will get 1 Michelin Star but will never ever get another star in its lifetime. Its chefs will never win in an Iron Chef contest, because they're stubborn cooks who think they know best.

There is simply not much heart put into the food or drinks and generally towards furthering more improvements. The WINE LIST was pathetic to say the least, full of big name Bordeauxs too young for drinking and barely a few bottles of white Chardonnays (Mersaults, Montracets, Chablis?) from around the Burgundy region, with absolutely no chance of pairing up with the food nicely. No signs of a Gewurtraminer or Riesling or even a Sauvignon, little signs of Pinot Noirs Burgundies. Not even Wines by the Glass.

Lung King Heen in contrast, at least has put a heart attempting to make some innovative dishes and dim sims, some great wines, etc. They're not fully complacent over there, you could feel it reading the menu and from the food that they've at least given it a go (even if a half-hearted attempt).

The biggest similarity between the 2 places is that both cook less oily, healthier, subtle types of food. The differences however are much more than words can convey - Fook Lam Moon's food tastes better in general. Lung King Heen seems to be hit and miss with their food quality, some dishes had downright disappointing executions, something you'll hardly see in FLM. However over there its a bit more playful and you could still see room for improvement in the future, as they seem to still be developing and changing.

As such - I do agree that Lung King Heen > Fook Lam Moon in my experience. At night time especially, what you can get at Lung King Heen can sometimes give a 'wow' factor as they create some modernised versions of chinese dishes, even if the cooking isn't too good over there. The reason why this is important is because - surely, you don't expect all French restaurants in France to stick to cooking the same traditional dishes? Obviously someone has to make an evolutionary step - and that place, isn't Fook Lam Moon.

轉眼又過一年了。回首去年，可謂喜多於悲。展望來年，當然是希望身體健健康康，心想事成la

在這個特別的日子，跟太太特地放了一天假，安排了一整天的節目 (當然是以吃為中心la)，好不高興

問太座想吃些甚麼東西，她就說要到灣仔"福記"喝茶吃點心。近來大劉的八卦傳聞鬧得熱哄哄，看來這兒也滔上了點光，多了些像我們的這些"八仔八妹"來光顧呢

當然這只是說笑而已撇開那些八卦事不說，這兒點心晚飯的水準一向是有口皆碑的。就算大劉光顧與否，於我又有何干係 ? 還是說回吃，更實際得多

作為城中其一富豪飯堂，先打電話來訂個座是禮貌上要做的事。準時十一時半到達，裏頭裝修得一絲不苟。乾淨企理之餘，也沒有高貴名店那種拘束的感覺。侍者服務相當地貼身，看見茶杯空了就馬上過來加茶，在不需要他們的時候他們會自動走開，絕不會一直站在旁邊向你喋喋不休，這一點着實值得一讚

太太事先做了research，看見點心紙便馬上劃啊劃。小弟吃甚麼點心反倒沒有太大所謂，只要求來半包被稱為全城最佳的鮑汁荷葉飯，就已心滿意足了

用腐皮包裹的雞扎就吃得多，最傳统的用鮮淮山條包的就真的是首次遇到。相比之下，後者不那麼油膩之餘，淮山的清新爽口配上盡吸湯汁的魚肚，風味自然是更勝一籌了。何況這裏用的全是揀手貨 --- 雞件有鮮味且滑不溜口；魚肚完全沒有那種可怕的酸臾味且不會過淰；花菇很厚肉，爽身兼彈牙；义燒用的是脢頭貨色。所有的配料集合起來，小弟吃到的是一碟跡近完美的雞扎.....

太座很喜吃香口物，金粟墨魚餅定是沒有"走雞"了。外層煎得微微金黃，墨魚味濃，膠打得頗彈牙，而且粟米粒份量也不吝嗇。絕對在水準以上....

百花脆皮腸看似是普通的炸両，但吃進口卻是發覺別有洞天 ---- 在粉皮及油炸鬼之間釀有一層蝦膠，很有心思之餘更是美味之作。粉皮不厚且有米香，油條帶點脆，蝦膠鮮味。這可算是帶有海鮮味版本的炸両吧

太太一見到點心紙上有麻蓉包便馬上劃了個大tick。嘗過後卻感到有些失望 ---- 包本身不錯是很鬆軟，但麻蓉餡卻帶着濃烈的焦苦味。是小弟不懂吃或是失了應有水準 ? 真的不曉得

壓軸好戲的荷葉飯果然沒有令人失望。飯粒乾身得很，丁點多餘的油份也沒有；用料極豐 (瑤柱絲、花菇粒、雞及燒鴨粒、蝦乾等)，吃得出用上的全部也是靚貨。鮑汁令飯帶了多點鮮味，而且又全然上晒色。這樣的米飯，怎可能不好吃 ? 美中不足的是，似乎吃來吃去也吃不着那份荷香，有點兒大煞風景

不過無論如何，這兒的食物至服務也屬頂級水準。要吃高水平的傳統粵式點心，我想，這店必列在全港頭三位之中...

My last meal with my guests from Geneva took place at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門), the restaurant known as the tycoons' canteen (富豪飯堂). Having been here numerous times, I had no doubt that this place would completely cream Lung King Heen in terms of quality of the food...

We started with the roast suckling pig, which has got to be one of the best in Hong Kong. The thin layer of skin is so crispy and crunchy. The tiny legs of the pig are also great to munch on. Yummy!

Next came the baked crab shell (釀焗蟹蓋) with Worcestershire Sauce. After the horrendous crab claw at lunch today, my guests were transported to heaven with this dish. There was so much sweet crab meat here...

Once again I ordered the fried giant pomfret (香煎大鯧魚), which is smoked and then pan-fried. While the portion tonight wasn't as large as what I'm used to, it actually was enough given the number of dishes I have ordered. As yummy as usual. It still amazes me how big the pomfret is...

Stir-fried lobster with black beans and green peppers (豉椒炒龍蝦球) was a hit. For people who do not get to eat high-quality Chinese food, this is an unsual way to do lobster, but it is sooo good! The lobster was so fresh, so that the flesh was sweet and the texture had the right bounciness. Wow!

For veggie we had pea sprouts blanched in ham broth (上湯浸豆苗), since the pea sprouts are in season. While I love pea sprouts and can eat it day in day out, I was really hoping to have something out of the ordinary for the veggie dish. In particular I had hoped for wolfberry leaves, but apparently those are only in season during summer/fall... Oh well, gotta wait a few more months.

The final straw that broke the back of a few camels tonight was the claypot rice with preserved meats (腊味飯煲). The plate of liver and preserved sausages (潤腸，腊腸), preserved meat (腊肉) and the tasty duck (油鴨) was just awesome. What's even better is that we got to have the rice crispies (飯焦), which were so fragrant and crunchy. You can definitely hear it when your neighbor is chewing on it...

For dessert, many of us chose to have almond cream with egg white (蛋白杏仁露), while others had the walnut cream (核桃露). The almond cream was light and heavenly...

original blogpost with notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/01/tycoons-canteen.html

首次到富豪飯堂品銘，裝潢無心目中的浮誇，反而是清簡舒適。食材用料上乘新鮮，非一般酒樓可比，當然，食物價錢亦不便宜，但都算物有所值。

先來煎炸美點(香煎蘿蔔糕、五柳炸雲吞、鮮蝦腐皮卷)，油炸功夫唔錯，皮脆而不膩。尤其是鮮蝦腐皮卷，腐皮層次分明，口感非常鬆脆，內裡的蝦肉亦十分新鮮彈牙，好味。

再來即蒸美點。腸粉(爽滑鮮蝦腸、竹笙上素腸)皮滑餡靚；蚧皇蒸燒賣，鮮蝦切肉平均，口感佳，味道好；餃類(鮮蝦豆苗餃、蚧肉香茜餃、筍尖鮮蝦餃)更加出色，皮薄通透，賣相一流，味道亦佳，特別是有鮮蝦的點心，尤其好食。唯一較普通的是豉汁蒸鳳爪，無乜特別。

風味臘腸卷及蠔皇叉燒包質素都唔錯。包身夠熱夠軟身。臘腸瘦了一點，味道ok；叉燒包則很好食。因叉燒質素高的關係，另點了一客蜜汁叉燒，肉質非常軟腍起絲，味道很好！

飯麵點了鴛鴦雞絲飯及花菇斑片粥。鴛鴦雞絲飯賣相唔錯，有非常多蟹肉，唯獨雞絲少了一點，味道ok；花菇斑片粥則有非常多斑片，肉質鮮味，粥底應以上湯烹制，味佳，但如質地再綿一點會更理相。

最後甜點選了酥皮蛋撻仔、生磨杏仁茶及生磨合桃露。蛋撻仔唔錯，酥皮夠鬆化，蛋撻亦夠蛋香；杏仁茶偏淡，普通；合桃露則味較濃郁，夾雜着合桃碎，ok。

[17/1/2009, Sat]

早前富商大劉的花邊新聞,鬧得熱烘烘,成為全城熱話.連報章頭條也佔據,一時又成眾人的茶餘飯後的話題.老實講,他們的家事,與我何干?真是不得不感嘆,現今的香港人,幾時變得如此小家小眼?而這一種文化.是否那些八卦傳媒孕育出來?

沒有閒情去留意這些名人圈秘聞,不如去飲啖茶,食個飽吧.踏入09年,第一個周六的中午茶聚,便在大劉的飯堂 - 灣仔福臨門.新年來福臨門,除想吃好一點作這一年之始外,同時福臨門三個字,夠好意頭.

時間還早,店外沒有記者霸佔著,直行直入上二樓,我們兩圍人馬,坐在禮堂之內.整個用膳環境,幽雅而不落於俗套.我們沒有可能同名人共處一廳,所以拿起相機,店員也沒有去干涉.因為一直都覺得,在福記裏面拿住部"單反",都會令人敏感,是否有Paparazzi潛入?

上一次在夏宮陰溝翻船,今次的福臨門份屬一星.希望能補回上戰之失.坐下不久,眾人拿住點心紙研究,每人選一兩味,既然為富豪飯堂,價錢當然不便宜,單是一個普通點心要$50.但是來得福記,就一早有心理準備.新年第一餐茶聚,吃好一點也是應該.

點心款式大路,每一道也很有水準,荀尖蝦餃澄皮厚度適中,咬落有彈性,餡內的蝦肉同荀爽鮮.蟹皇燒賣很爽,有肉汁.臘腸卷用的臘腸是靚貨,吃下去油脂滿佈,甘香非常.包住臘腸的包身極為鬆軟,但又不鬆散,果然如是日未能出席的高達說高水準.平日去酒家也常吃春卷同腐皮卷,不過在福記下的春卷,口感crunchy,一咬發出清脆利落的碎聲,別處地方也感受不到,煎腐皮卷一樣地脆口,沒有坊間煎到油淋淋.金粟墨魚餅未吃之前有點低估,一吃之下,粟米的甜,同墨魚餅的鮮味彈牙感,即刻另眼相看.

淮山雞札一出場,雞札內的魚肚,往往成為兵家必爭之地.因為魚肚如海棉,吸收力強,連雞同冬菇的味道一同吸收,才是精華所在.結果席上真的有人只吃魚肚.用淮山代替腐皮,無非都係想大家吃得健康一點.煎蘿蔔糕貌似平凡,但蘿蔔糕內的蘿蔔絲佔一定比例,貨真價實.山竹牛肉吃落鬆軟,而又帶點爽口感.肉味亦濃,顯然沒有用到梳打粉"出術".百花脆皮腸,看似是炸兩,其實是腸粉皮,再包著用腐皮包住的蝦膠.又滑又脆又彈,口感三重奏.一次過滿足三個願望.

猶記得P記曾說過,全港最好吃的荷葉飯在福臨門,待吃罷點心之後,便來一客.一打開,色水對辦,每粒飯粒分明,做得很乾身,用上的材料有瑤柱,鴨絲,蟹肉等等.在外間少見,雖然是荷葉飯,但吃下去荷葉的香味不算很突出,比起上次陸羽茶聚,吃過的荷葉飯,有所不及.吃到飽,突然想起,忘了吃糯米雞,小弟十多歲扯衫尾跟家人的朋友去福記,吃過其糯米雞,印像深刻.事後回到學校,更向同學仔炫耀一番:{我昨日去左福臨門飲茶.}如今想起,那種少不更事的味道,依然記憶猶新.

新的一年,懶理外圍環境不明朗,經濟未必在短時間否極泰來,希望這餐"開年茶"後,笑若長伴你,一世無傷悲.福"笑"臨門齊齊歡喜.

本來不打算去的一局, 突然今天, 老闆不回香港, 1點可以走, 咁就攝入呢局.

到達後, 大家已經食到七七八八, 幸好, 一坐底, 最精彩的荷葉飯, 隨我而來. 果然是臨時殺到的, 口福順著來.

荷葉飯, 是福臨門其中一個精髓, 侍應好有技巧地把荷業打開, 淨此功夫已經打贏香港好多酒樓. 平常見的, 通常都只是用剪刀剪開一個方塊, 再打開荷葉就算. 一打開, 飯香味完全散發出來, 鄰檯的荷葉飯是比我們遲上好多, 但飯香竟可傳過本檯, 實在是佳品.

荷業飯, 做得不好的話, 你只會感覺到, 你正在吃飯槳. 這裡的頂級荷馬飯, 是粒粒分明, 如炒飯般. 每一粒飯, 是厹立不連體的, 沒有粘著, 沒有爛飯, 內裡蝦米, 冬菇, 雞肉, 粒粒明顯. 上次食過上環陶源的荷葉飯, 同這個比. 蚊比同牛比之差吧.

之後便點下甜品, 杏仁茶同合桃露. 合桃露明顯把杏仁茶比下去. 原粒合桃打碎, 飲落是淡淡肉, 合桃同水既比例約有 7:3. 濃郁的合桃, 香味固然一流, 滿是合桃肉的糖水, 十足料, 同十足水. 顯然是兩種東西. 粗粒, 細沙的分別, 相信, 這個粗粒合桃露, 稱得上糊中極品.

我遲來, 沒法品嚐到其點心, 有點遺憾. 不過, 能一到埗便食到精華菜式確實有福. 此店, 得到 "星"之後仍然保持一流及一視同仁的服務態度, 是值得表揚的. 門口依然有記者守株待兔, 福臨門, 依舊是名人飯堂. 可, 我們只是草根十數名.

This was quite a filling dinner with 9 dishes, which are as follows:

Stir-fried shark's fin (炒桂花翅) - light and fluffy as always, it's a great way to start the meal.

Charred fatty char siu - pretty decent, but not the best I've had.

Braised goose feet and abalone with lettuce (鵝掌原隻30頭鮑跟唐生菜) - very good stuff, although not exactly wine-friendly...

Stir-fried tripe (油爆肚仔) - very well done as the tripe had a crunchy, springy texture.

Stir-fried lobster with black beans and green peppers (豉椒炒龍蝦球) - delicious and fresh lobster, with the added kick of black beans.

Baked crab shell (釀焗蟹蓋) - lots of onions to add some crunchy texture, with fresh, sweet crab meat. Delicious as usual.

Deep-fried salt-and-pepper short ribs (椒鹽排骨) - I didn't get around to having this, because our host sent it back complaining about the lack of fat...

Pea sprouts blanched in ham broth (上湯浸豆苗) - one can never go wrong with this...especially when in season.

Claypot rice with preserved meats (腊味飯煲) - we asked for a 2:1 ratio between the liver and preserved sausages (潤腸，腊腸), the usual preserved meat (腊肉), and the wonderfully tasty duck (油鴨). This was a really nice way to wrap up the meal, although all the rice crispies (飯焦) were gobbled up by one person...

I finished with a bowl of almond cream (杏仁露), which was fragrant yet not too sweet.

original blogpost with note on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2008/12/lafleur-vertical.html

平時爸爸只當利苑做飯堂, 今日我叫佢試下呢度

爸爸是飯桶, 星期六日都吾飲茶,吾食點心, 同埋例吾睇餐牌, 自己想食乜就叫,或者叫經理介紹

首先要老鼠斑,送得飯ma, 佢只食老鼠蘇眉, 東星佢話係死魚喎

佢係利苑飲開個我覺得有Ｄ揾笨ge湯, 問人有冇, 人地話午市冇, 唯有飲冬瓜盅

經理介紹炒新西蘭聖子王, 再炒個菜, 蒸個兩舊水ge咸魚肉餅, and臘味飯

都ok la, 老鼠周圍都差不多, 反而肉餅好正

環境好過利記好多, 夠清靜

價綫好抵, 5個人, 2400, 利記個揾笨湯都八舊la

不過爸爸話人人歎茶, 得佢食飯吾自在wor

六月廿五‧晴

要選本地吃點心最好的地方，不是陸羽，而是毫不考慮的選這裡。

連續幾個星期日也都忙碌，好幾個星期也沒有與家人一起飲茶了，是日就一起來了這裡。訂了在三樓，十二時來到，大廳是空無一人的，但十二時半過後，已經是坐滿人。新裝以後，這裡的環境是企理了不少，始終是城中數一數二的請客地方，那會失禮？

這裡也是剔點心紙的了，也都是要了一般的點心，如炸雲吞、春卷、芋角、叉燒包、糯米雞、蝦腸、馬拉糕、鳳爪、鮮蝦粉粿等等的正常到唔正常的點心選擇，但水準是比坊間的酒樓高很多。炸雲吞及春卷熱辣辣的，做得外皮鬆脆又帶點微甜，內裡的蝦大大隻，彈牙鮮味，加上鮮肉及韭黃，美味；芋角做得皮鬆夠散，芋蓉夠香夠滑，不過如果說芋角，美心的也一點不賴；間間酒樓也做叉燒包，但做得好的實在太少。這裡的叉燒餡味美，皮鬆軟又不「立」口，示範之作；

糯米雞也很出色，不要說笑，坊間賣糯米雞的店子多不勝數，但做得到有這裡的有水準的很少。煮起的糯米是軟糯又不過腍，豬肉餡鮮味有肉汁，連蛋黃也晶瑩漏油的，唯一可以彈的地方，就是包得不夠細密，是爆餡的；馬拉糕是我最喜歡的中式點心之一，這裡的做得夠鬆軟，氣孔又多，平均而細密的。搣開一聞，很香的麥芽味道，立即打包多一籠歸家；其他的點心，表面上看是實實在在的，味道正宗，很有水準；也要了叉燒及燒肉各一碟，反而水準是不及坊間一些酒家的好，如叉燒夠甜好味，當然是脢頭肉的部份，但吃起來卻可以腍一點；燒腩很脆，卻不是我欣賞的燒肉模式，燒肉最好吃的當然是燒臘舖原隻開出來的了。

侍應們的服務是非常的「貼身」，這邊骨一落碟，男侍應已立即是換碟。茶一斟完，又立即來添水，是沒有什麼可以彈的服務水平。不過個人而言，飲茶來說，也可以隨便一點的。

有好水準，價錢當然不會便宜。這裡的小點45蚊，中點50蚊，大點55蚊，燒味及小吃是例牌百一蚊，茶錢也要15蚊一位。是日的午茶，吃得飽飽，兼要打包，每人便要近二百五。但找個日子，與家人同來吃吃有水準的點心吧，是千金難買的一個飲食經驗。