Friday, February 6, 2009

Fung Shing (鳳城酒家), North Point, Hong Kong

This time I went back to this renowned Cantonese classic cuisine restaurant in North Point. There are quite a number of Fung Shing restaurants and I was told only this one and the one in Prince Edward's (Mongkok) are the original ones. About this one, the services are so so. The waitresses kept bombing us for the Menu $1,680 or $1,280...etc. or some expensive dishes. It's a bit annoying. In general, the good is quite ok, except the steamed rice. Again and again, I stress so much on how they cook rice. I don't like the fresh steamed rice mixed with some left-over rice and that they pour in the left-over rice into the fresh rice when it's not yet well done. Besides, they should keep the left-over rice for fried rice. No need to mix it. It's like we do it at home. Quite a number of restaurants have this common mistake which I really find it offensive to the food.
1. Chicken legs in salty spice sauce. This one is pretty good and the salty spice sauce is also good, aromatic and salty to the right level. 2. Pig's intestine - this one is very difficult to make it right, either not chewy or hard to chew. Besides, the cleaning process is the point. So This one is recommended if you go to Fung Shing.
3. Dried Scallop sauce over baby spinach - the chef is very good in controlling the stir frying of baby spinach. The sauce is just at the perfect mixture and taste is good too. Good job! 4. the famous deep fried chicken - the signature dish of the Shop, HK$220. The source of the chicken is not right. It doesn't have the taste of chicken. However, the deep frying is very good. Actually it's not deep frying. I should call it as hanging and dipping frying. The Chef needs to hang it over a big wok of hot boiling oil. Then the Chef will shower the chicken with the hot oil until the skin is crispy enough. So the meat inside won't be dried! That's why this chicken is quite expensive because of the skill of this hanging frying.
5. pan fried lotus stem with minced pork patties - supposed the outside is a bit crispy and aromatic with the lotus stem and the minced dried shrimp and mushroom. However, it's just so so. The tea restaurant called Five Star in Wanchai, Jaffe Road, opposite to Luk Kwok, did a very good job on this patty. So they should go there and check up what this dish's essence is. 6. stir fried Kai Lan in ginger sauce - pretty good but the ginger taste is not enough. However, don't follow what Suzie Wong taught about her way of stir frying Kai Lan. She used a full bowl of ginger juice for this dish. Imagine stir fried Kai Lan with a bowl of ginger juice - what do you think?
7. stewed goose web with spiral shell - the sauce is pretty good and the mushroom and goose web were stewed in a nice texture. 8. Shrimp on toast - another signature dish of the Shop. This one is good too and the oil temperature was controlled perfectly - crispy and dry. Must try.
9. BBQ pork - I think it's so so. It is the best part of the pork - half lean and half fat but the BBQ skill needs to be improved. Should have been a bit more burnt and the pork wasn't marinated well. They should put more Chinese rice wine to marinate it. 10. Sweet and sour pork - ok this one is perfect. Color-wise, sauce-wise, deep frying-wise are good! Note the sauce is just enough to cover all the ingredients. Must try too!

11. stir fried sticky rice - quite disappointing. It's too wet and soft. Supposed this one the rice should be separate and the Chinese sausage should have been more aromatic. 12. Baked Sago pudding - quite good but the cover is too hard to chew. Should be lightly crispy. The lotus paste underneath is quite good.

2 comments:

Stella said...

Oh my goodness, they are all my favorites, especailly the first 5 and the last 2. Sticky rice is always my favorite. However, I cannot eat much as my stomach cannot take sticky rice very well.
I also went to Phonenix(Fung Sing) today to buy chicken wing and curry fish ball. As their curry is like those Japanese curry(not too spicy). The curry flavor is mild so it will not cover the taste of the food.

in the sea said...

Next time, if you take sticky rice, try papaya to eat with. That's also why Som Tum is with sticky rice.