After hearing such great things of this Michelin-starred restaurant, I had to give it a try.
Went down on a Saturday afternoon. As I turned the corner from Dundas Street onto Kwong Wa Street, I could already see a crowd of people gathered outside waiting for a table.
It was chaotic even just trying to get a number. The receptionist out in front of the restaurant was handing out numbers for the guests. The ticket doubles as the menu which is in Cantonese. An English menu is available, but you must specifically ask for the English menu else you will be handed a Cantonese menu like everyone else. The menu is limited to small range of typical dim sum dishes.
Our wait time was just over two hours. All guests must wait outside till their number is called. The restaurant is tiny and seats around 20 guests. The facilities are very basic and the restrooms are typical of local Hong Kong style restaurants.
Once we sat down and handed over our selection of items, the food came quickly. Between the two of us, we ordered seven dishes which was just enough without feeling overstuffed.
We ordered the shrimp and the beef rice rolls. They came steamy hot and were excellent. The rice flour was thin and silky as it should be.
The shrimp dumplings was fairly standard. However, the pork and seafood dumplings were particularly good. The texture was soft yet tender and the flavours blended well together. Usually, the pork flavour overwhelms everything else.
The baked BBQ pork buns were fantastic. The bun was light and crispy without being greasy; and the BBQ pork was mild and sweet without chunks of fatty meat in the cheaper varieties.
The deep fried salted meat dumpling was another pleaser. The skin was crispy and light without being greasy; and the filling was piping hot and tasty.
The steamed egg sponge cake was a little disappointing. Although it was light and airy, it tasted rather bland much like eating cardboard.
Overall, an 8.5 out of 10. Even though the food was terrific several points do count against the entire experience. First, the unorganized and long waiting process to get a table. Second, the service was sub-par along the crowed and rushed feeling being at the restaurant did not allow me to fully appreciate the wonderful food I was eating.
But despite these minor short comings, given the unbelievable value and the great food, I will be coming back for seconds.
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