銀杏館 (已結業)

Item: 銀杏館
Rating: 4
Author: fullerton

Gingko House

3.5

50 食记

味道

环境

服务

卫生

抵食

1201

荔枝角

$101-200

多国菜有机食品

fullerton

等级3

Jao Tsung I is a renowned Hong Kong calligrapher, artist, poet and Chinese studies scholar, and a row of houses were restored in the tranquil hills of Mei Foo to commemorate and share his work and vision in September 2013. The once-hospital now houses several ongoing exhibits, and have five houses named after the traditional pillars of Chinese culture: Music, Chess, Poems, Calligraphy, Painting, which are available as hostels for the culturally-minded. I stayed in Block C - Poems over the weeken

Jao Tsung I is a renowned Hong Kong calligrapher, artist, poet and Chinese studies scholar, and a row of houses were restored in the tranquil hills of Mei Foo to commemorate and share his work and vision in September 2013. The once-hospital now houses several ongoing exhibits, and have five houses named after the traditional pillars of Chinese culture: Music, Chess, Poems, Calligraphy, Painting, which are available as hostels for the culturally-minded. I stayed in Block C - Poems over the weekend, attempting to soak some culture into me.
There was only one restaurant within the estate, Gingko House, which was situated in one of the white exhibition houses. That left me with little meal choices, as the next nearest eatery could only be reached by taking a shuttlebus (every 30~40 mins) to either Lai Chi Kok or Mei Foo. So I booked lunch at Gingko House on Sunday (Saturday was full).
The first Gingko house was a volunteer-devised restaurant in Central to allow the elderly to achieve self fulfilment after retirement, by means of operating a catering business. The concept was quite successful and the Jao Tsung-I Academy branch is already their third branch. Different from their previous businesses, this branch offers buffet lunch instead of a l carte, and the menu was both chinese and western, with an emphasis on vegetarian dishes.
Staying true to its artistic surroundings, the inviting interior was speckled with small calligraphy and antique pieces. The place itself was generously spacious and tidy. For some reason the air conditioning was cold enough to keep a snowman from melting; I wondered how the elderly staff managed to get through a work day in this cold.
Nonetheless, service was very pleasant and surprisingly fast; and even though the nice old waiter never seemed to be in a hurry - my finished dishes were always whiffed away within minutes.
The food itself was just ok, but the point of the restaurant was not to showcase culinary skills, and I was sufficiently satisified with the quality of the buffet. The food was noticeably subtle/bland, interpret as you will, due to an emphasis on minimizing oils and unhealthy msg during the cooking process. Some of my personal favorites were the chinese style vegetarian粗齋, which gave a nice chew with the subtle pungency of fermented beancurd sauce(南乳). The fried rice with seafood in cream sauce came under a layer of melted and toasted cheese, adding a rare element of buttery creaminess and saltiness that the other dishes didn't provide.
I was very full at the end but managed to stuff my face with the crumbly but also very mild chocolate cake and the fragrant 桂花糕.
I didnt realise that 3 hours had already passed by when I finally left. The food wasn't top notch, but the comfortable and relaxing atmosphere more than made up for that. If you have seen enough of rushed restaurants that are out there to squeeze the cash out of you, this place will put you at ease again.
:||Good For||::
A comfortable and healthy meal in a serene environment; good for long chats about modern Chinese art ;)