The food was inventive and most of it was good. We had the truffle har gau, the black garlic siu mai, the char siu bao, the dan dan xialong bao, the grouper fillet dumpling and the foie gras taro dumpling. The best was the truffle har gau. The essence of the truffle came through without overwhelming the har gau. The black garlic siu mai was a pleasant surprise as the sweetness of the black garlic complemented the sweetness of the shrimp. The dan dan xialong bao sounds better than it tasted. It reminded me of kimchi for some reason. I think the original/crab roe version is superior. The grouper dumpling was a bit fishy despite the strong ginger. The foie gras taro dumpling is definitely a miss. Deep fried foie gras is just overkill in richness and gets suffocated in the heaviness of the taro.
Like many other HK restaurants, the service needs a lot of improvement. This is my second attempt at eating at DSL. When I went a couple of weeks ago, I didn't have a booking and was told that it was fully booked at 12:15. However, the restaurant was at least 1/3 empty. The hostess said that the bookings were for 12:30 and they were going to be packed! We said we'd wait, but they told us that the wait was "very long". I asked for specific time and they just repeated 'very long.' Interestingly, they told the couple who came right before me (who also had no booking) to just wait for the next table. That couple had called and were told to just come they'll be seated. I asked whether I should just call them so they'll tell me the same thing rather than "very long" wait.
My second time around, I made a booking so didn't have to wait. But there was a couple who got there before me without a booking and were told by the hostess that the place is "fully booked". It was 2/3 empty. We were seated in the back and there was a whole other section further back that was completely empty. The couple in front of us were peeved and the hostess told them to wait for bar seating. This is just so bizarre. Why is DSL turning away business?!!! Even when I left at 12:15 it was barely 2/3 full. But they were still turning away people!! Why???!!
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