Hong Kong: San Hing 新興食家

As we had a morning flight to catch out of Hong Kong, we planned to do an early morning Dim Sum breakfast in San Hing as it opens at 3am and was rated on CNNGo as having very good Liu Sha Bao 流沙包 (golden custard bun). The stars were aligned too, as we bunked over at our friend’s pad in Kennedy Town which ended up being only 200m away from San Hing. This is the view we got when we left her pad to trot to San Hing – it’s really cool to be staying just a few steps away from the harbour.

Totally random but I spotted this pretty Body Shop Tram on our way there.

The moment we entered, we felt all eyes on us as we were the only odd ones out. At 7am, everyone there was a retiree clutching newspapers and Yum Cha-ing as part of their morning routine. You probably get the clubbers post-clubbing in the wee hours of the morning; but at daybreak, retirees rule at San Hing. It was packed to the brim but we managed to squeeze past the crowd into a corner of the back section and shared a table with an elderly man.

There was no menu so we just ordered the usuals and scanned the many media clippings on their wall for recommendations. Let’s start with the Liu Sha Bao that even Eason Chan recommends.

As its name dictates, the filling of the Liu Sha Baos at San Hing really gush out out, unlike the almost-solid ones we often get in Singapore. I quite liked it as it wasn’t overly oily, didn’t have too much salted egg, and had a fragrant coconut milk taste. A pity it wasn’t served piping hot so by the time I snapped a few photos it was already cold.

We also ordered the Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao), Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf (Luo Mai Gai) and Rice Roll with Prawns (Har Cheong Fan). All were pretty good! I especially liked the skins of the cheong fan and har gaos, they were thin, fresh and moist enough. The glutinous rice could have done with a bit more sauce/flavour. On hindsight I should have ordered the Quail Egg Siew Mai too but I completely blanked out as we rushed to order.

For “dessert”, I wanted the Osmanthus Jelly, but was told they only serve it in summer. So I ordered the Deep Fried Milk which is also one of their signature dishes and the waitress said they don’t have that either. But anyway it popped up on our table like 1 minute later, so I’m not complaining. I’ve not eaten this before so I didn’t know what to expect. Unfortunately this was served cold and hence felt very greasy :( But it was still semi-crispy on the outside, and the inside was basically a milk-flavoured custard. Not exactly salty or sweet, just milk-flavoured. Still I could imagine that served piping hot, it would have tasted 10 times better.

San Hing to me, felt like a neighbourhood Dim Sum place catering to the nearby residents and probably the clubbing/night shift crowd who want supper (given the weird opening hours). It isn’t exactly a place for refined Dim Sum, or to sit and linger as it has extremely uncomfortable surroundings. But that said, the retirees there seemed to have no qualms about zen-ing out and reading their newspapers over copious amount of tea. If you do enjoy a good Liu Sha Bao or are looking for a late night/early morning Dim Sum feast, it’s worth a trek.

Price: $ (<30 SGD for 2 pax)
Location: 10 Hau Wo St., Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island (nearest MTR is Sheung Wan/Central, you can take a cab from there)
Open daily: 3 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Hong Kong: Man Wah 文華廳 (*)

I must admit that I haven’t exactly been too wowed by Dim Sum in Hong Kong yet, though Tim Ho Wan comes the closest because of its sheer value and excellent baked char siew baos. Hence for this short trip, I aimed to venture into the higher end of the Dim Sum resty spectrum, but not Lung King Heen or Fook Lam Moon since I read quite polarising reviews. Man Wah, located at Mandarin Oriental Hotel has been highly rated by foodies and on OpenRice, many long proclaiming that it’s deserving of at least one Michelin star which it just received. Interestingly though I only made a reservation the night before our Saturday lunch, there were still tables available.

Although you can’t see it (the sun was very bright and my photography skills are lacking – sorry about that!), Man Wah overlooks Victoria Harbour. The view is simply gorgeous! A postcard perfect view of Hong Kong, really.

And the decor is lovely too, very elegant and classic oriental without being too old fashioned and opulent.

I also liked the pretty tableware. We ordered Pu-Lei tea which was at the right intensity throughout the whole meal, not too bitter. We waited for our friend who was late for almost 40 mins before we ordered but not once did the staff hurry us to order or made us feel uncomfortable (though I personally did as it was quite a posh/old money place). In fact they were quite warm and friendly.

We were served a very generous portion of their awesome Signature X.O. Chilli Sauce, and during the meal they actually gave us a new serving and cleared our half eaten one (ahh what a waste!).

We were served an appetiser of Deep Fried Anchovies and Peanuts. The anchovies were lightly dusted with flour and deep fried. Quite yums.

The Beef Tenderloin Puff with Black Pepper Sauce 黑椒牛柳酥 (98 HKD) is one of the signature dim sum dishes. It was quite good, the beef was tender and I liked their black pepper sauce.

The Tiger Prawn with Bamboo Shoot Dumpling 筍尖蝦餃皇 (88 HKD) was different from other Har Gaos I’ve had because of the addition of bamboo shoots. And it works because the sweetness and crunchiness of the shoots complement the prawns quite well. Skin was also thin and moist, a must in my book for Har Gaos!

The Pork Siew Mai with Truffle 松露菌燒賣 (88 HKD) didn’t fare as well for me because the truffle didn’t taste as strong as it should have been. Still, it was an okay Siew Mai.

I can’t remember much about the Barbequed Pork Bun 蠔皇叉燒包 (68 HKD) so it must been okay. I guess nothing can beat the Baked Char Siew Baos of Tim Ho Wan!

We ordered the U.S. Pork Neck, Kuei Hua Flavoured Pear, Chin Kiang Vinegar 桂花梨黑醋脆豬柳 (198 HKD) as it seemed quite raved about (it was on the more pricey a la carte menu). Pork neck sounds potentially yucky but I can assure you its texture is like nice fatty pork, but without the big jiggly fatty bits that I usually tear away. The osmanthus flavour was infused into the pear and I guess you were supposed to eat the pork with bits of pear but I don’t think my dining companions bothered. I did like the tangy pork neck on its own though. Essentially, IMO it’s a very nuanced and classy take on 糖醋排骨 (Sugar and Vinegar Pork Ribs).

Another signature a la carte dish, this was the Double Boiled, Silk Hen, Pearl Clam, Wolfberry, Chinese Herbs 竹絲雞石斛杞子燉珍珠肉 (208 HKD/bowl). I admit I ordered it partially because of the words “Silk Hen” and “Pearl Clam”. It was super flavourful in the nourishing no-MSG way, and it better be with that price tag I guess :P Definitely not your average chicken soup.

We were surprised that we were served complimentary petit fours – Mango Coconut Custard Pudding and a Baked Walnut and Lotus Paste Pastry. Both were delicious, especially the walnut pastry! We all agreed on this one. The pastry was so buttery and had a nice, slightly burnt smell if you know what I mean. We didn’t order more dishes since we were saving stomach space for Sift Patisserie next door, but after this course I was really very full.

Even the toilet is gorgeous, I couldn’t resist a picture.

Overall all the dishes we ordered were quite good, and very sophisticated in quality – there was none of that greasiness/lard in a lot of the Dim Sum in Hong Kong which I really don’t like. Service was just excellent. But I guess to me it was a little pricey for the quality (especially dishes on the a la carte menu), since you can get similar quality dishes at a fraction of the price in Hong Kong and even Singapore. You are definitely paying for ambiance, service and location; since the lower end experiences in Hong Kong usually have none to speak of. Still, there were still other interesting sounding Dim Sum dishes like Roast Goose Puff in Yanmin Sauce and Minced Pigeon with Chinese Celery Dumplings that I would love to try next time…after I’ve tried Fook Lam Moon and Lung King Heen ;)

Price: $$$-$$$$ (300 HKD per pax for the above)
Location: 25th floor, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 5 Connaught Road, Central

Website: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/man_wah/

Hong Kong: Tim Ho Wan 添好運 (*)

I’m not sure if this place needs any further introduction. But since this is probably my favourite Dim Sum place in Hong Kong so far – and I’ve tried a few of the popular ones – here goes.

Tim Ho Wan is the cheapest Michelin star restaurant (awarded 1*) in the world despite its less than present ambience and service. The owner Pui Gor was a previous chef of Lung King Heen of Four Seasons and believed that good quality Dim Sum should be made affordable for the masses – hear, hear! We arrived at 940am feeling smug with ourselves for coming before opening hours (10am), but a long queue was already present – we would definitely be in the second or third seating (each is about 20 pax).

A mad mob forms around the wait staff who gives out/calls for queue numbers. We were in the third seating and given a time to report later. When we came back, we had to wait again and by the time we went in we probably waited for almost 2 hours! Needless to say, we were famished and a little grumpy (you have been warned). We also had to share a table with another couple (from Singapore too).

Spot the star! While I’m not a big fan of the Michelin guide, I think that by including the very affordable and local Tim Ho Wan is symbolic and a move in the right direction. Wonder if our hawker stalls would make it on the list when Michelin comes to Singapore ;)

The menu/order chit. While many complain that it’s limited, almost all the usual Dim Sum items are there so I’m not sure what the fuss is. Please note that some of the English translations don’t really make sense though.

We started with a bowl of Congee with Lean Meat and Preserved Egg. I thought it was a little watery, but flavourful.

My sisters-in-law love their veggies so this was Steamed Spinach Dumplings with Garlic.

I thought the Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf was quite tasty.

I quite liked the Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimp as the rice roll was thin and moist, and the prawns sweet and crunchy.

This is probably their signature dish, the Baked BBQ Pork Buns. It was AWESOME. I don’t normally eat Char Siew Baos, but I was a convert instantly. All Char Siew Baos should be made like that!

The pastry was so buttery and fragrant, and the honeyed char siew filling so sweet and delicious. Perfect.

The Pan Fried Turnip Cake was good too! Gee, could this place really deserves its star?

I’ve had many better Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce in Singapore, but this was decent too.

The Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Siew Mai) was moist and tasted quite porky. Quite good since a lot of places do bad Siew Mai. No pictures of the Steamed Shrimp Duplings (Har Gao) which was better than average and had quite a thin skin, but wasn’t awesome.

This looks like brains doesn’t it? :P Supposedly another of its signature dishes, Steamed Beef Balls with Orange Peel and Beancurd Skin. I thought it was quite interesting and the doneness of the beef was just nice.

And we ended with the Osmanthus Jelly with Goji Berries. Hands down my favourite Chinese dessert ever. I could eat this everyday as I love the subtlety and fragrance of osmanthus (something like jasmine). The flavours in this one was quite prominent – they must have infused a lot of osmanthus flavour as otherwise you probably can’t taste anything.

When the bill came, we were surprised that it cost us only about 7 SGD per person (there were 4 of us) for all the above dishes! Yes granted that the HKD is quite weak against the SGD now, but that’s still insanely cheap and the quality was well worth at least 4x the cost in my books. Every dish was at least above average and in fact mostly good. While it may not the best Dim Sum in HK (though I’m not sure what is), but for the affordable price it’s definitely the best option and you won’t walk away feeling disappointed. Granted that you don’t have ridiculously high expectations just because it’s 1*. Must trys include the baked char siew bao and the jelly. If you are hardcore enough, I would recommend queueing up from about 9am to get the 1st seating; and if you can’t be bothered – you can also do takeaway and skip the wait.

Price: $ (<10 SGD per pax)
Location: Shop 8, Taui Yuen Mansion Phase 2, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mongkok, Kowloon. There are 2 more locations in Sham Shui Po and IFC Central.
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm
Tel: +852 2332 2896

London: Yauatcha (*)

We  had dim sum at Yauatcha in Soho, the sister restaurant of Hakkasan, as our friend who was staying in London brought us there. From the onset, it’s a stylish and buzzing venue and looks like a place where one could “see and be seen”. While the food was generally okay, I thought it was a little pricey and overrated given the 1 Michelin star rating. Then again I’ve also had really good dim sum in Hong Kong and Singapore at Hong Kong and Singapore prices, and it is more of a contemporary Asian/Cantonese place, so I’m being critical here. What you definitely can’t miss here are the baked venison puffs. The pastry is fragrant and the filling juicy, flavourful and tender.

Other than that, we also had the usual suspects of har gau, sticky rice in lotus leaf with chicken and dried shrimp and prawn cheung fan. Not pictured were the pork and preserved egg porridge and stir-fry beef ho fun. The menu was quite comprehensive and there were also many other main dishes but we didn’t try any. It certainly makes a decent dim sum meal in London if you’re not fussy about the prices. I haven’t tried the Royal China in London which I’ve heard it’s quite good (since we have one in Singapore) so I can’t compare between both.

What I liked about Yauatcha was that they had huge dessert (non-Cantonese) and drink (including cocktails and Chinese teas) menus. The cakes and macarons were encased in a jewelry display cases, and looked super inviting from the outside of the resaurant. We ordered the selection of ice cream and macarons to share. While a few flavours were Asian (like jasmine macaron), not many were which I thought would make it much more interesting and in line with the theme. Since it’s open all day, it could be a nice place to have afternoon tea if you can get past the mental barrier of having it in a Chinese restaurant.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Price: $$-$$$
Location: 15-17 Broadwick Street, Soho, London, W1F 0DL
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7494 8888
Website: http://www.yauatcha.com/soho/