Got told by someone highly about this restaurant. I tried their restaurant in Olympic City in West Kowloon and their lotus leaf steamed rice did a magic on our very best friend who lost her appetite during her severe cancer treatment. This branch in Times Square serves the Beiing/Sichuan/Shanghai cuisine and it's on the same floor where all the high-end Chinese restaurants are (noted below).
1. This kind of deco. does attract someone who prefer something symbolic Chinese. 2. A big fish catcher on the ceiling.
3. the table ware. 4. I guess most of you should learn about this tea leaves from the classic kung fu movies. However, it became a bit bitter dry due to high heat boiling water and soaking for a long time.
5. appetizer - sauteed shrimp in light soy sauce. Pretty good. 6. Siu Lon Bao HK$68 - pretty good and the wrap is very thin.
7. Shan Dong Shred chicken HK$68 for half portion - the chicken itself is pretty good but the sauce is not so. Should be with more raw garlic. 8. Stir fried eel (HK$88) - a big big disappointment. See how soft the yellow leek is! When I saw it placed on the table, I immediately told "har... the chef did a big mistake! I told the waiter that it's wrongly cooked though I didn't get a taste! Yellow leek shouldn't be stir fried for over 10-20 seconds! The nice fragrance of yellow leek would go away! What a waste! Another big mistake is the overwhelming dark soy sauce. Though Shanghai cuisine is used with a lot of dark soy sauce, it shouldn't be that much. I asked for 2 big bowls of hot water to rinse that out. Then about the eel, I can't tell it's eel, as it's tasteles but just with dark soy sauce. The traditional way of this dish is to have the eel with some slight cornstarch coating and go for quick oil boiling and stir fried with chopped garlic and bean sprouts with dark soy sauce with sesame oil/sugar...etc. The yellow leek should be put at the final step at the heat being turned off.
9. The disappointment went on. This one is what they called big Ba Choy soaked in shark fin's soup - HK$68. First of all, it's not big Ba Choy. It'd be called Hok Dou 學抖(sorry my mac can't find the last word without the "hand" part). Second mistake is they cook this nice Hok Dou for a long time and that it lost the sweetness. Third mistake is they didn't cut out the root stem rotten part which made the dish a bit rotten smelly. Fourth mistake is the fin's skirt wasn't done in a right way. They should boil that fin's skirt in ginger/wine water for taking out the smelly part. 10. papaya, water chestnut and aloe vera sweet HK$25. The water chestnut should be cooked a bit to go with the papaya and aloe vera smooth texture.
11. My most favourite Shanghai dessert, mini rice dumpling in osmanthus wined broken rice HK$25, but it's hard to find a right one. This one is at average and I don't like they put sesame paste inside the mini rice dumpling. Supposed this one is to taste the nice balance of osmanthus and wined broken rice. 12. See how many people are waiting outside the shop. Some people eat the environment rather than the food, or under some influence from food critics.
3. the table ware. 4. I guess most of you should learn about this tea leaves from the classic kung fu movies. However, it became a bit bitter dry due to high heat boiling water and soaking for a long time.
5. appetizer - sauteed shrimp in light soy sauce. Pretty good. 6. Siu Lon Bao HK$68 - pretty good and the wrap is very thin.
7. Shan Dong Shred chicken HK$68 for half portion - the chicken itself is pretty good but the sauce is not so. Should be with more raw garlic. 8. Stir fried eel (HK$88) - a big big disappointment. See how soft the yellow leek is! When I saw it placed on the table, I immediately told "har... the chef did a big mistake! I told the waiter that it's wrongly cooked though I didn't get a taste! Yellow leek shouldn't be stir fried for over 10-20 seconds! The nice fragrance of yellow leek would go away! What a waste! Another big mistake is the overwhelming dark soy sauce. Though Shanghai cuisine is used with a lot of dark soy sauce, it shouldn't be that much. I asked for 2 big bowls of hot water to rinse that out. Then about the eel, I can't tell it's eel, as it's tasteles but just with dark soy sauce. The traditional way of this dish is to have the eel with some slight cornstarch coating and go for quick oil boiling and stir fried with chopped garlic and bean sprouts with dark soy sauce with sesame oil/sugar...etc. The yellow leek should be put at the final step at the heat being turned off.
9. The disappointment went on. This one is what they called big Ba Choy soaked in shark fin's soup - HK$68. First of all, it's not big Ba Choy. It'd be called Hok Dou 學抖(sorry my mac can't find the last word without the "hand" part). Second mistake is they cook this nice Hok Dou for a long time and that it lost the sweetness. Third mistake is they didn't cut out the root stem rotten part which made the dish a bit rotten smelly. Fourth mistake is the fin's skirt wasn't done in a right way. They should boil that fin's skirt in ginger/wine water for taking out the smelly part. 10. papaya, water chestnut and aloe vera sweet HK$25. The water chestnut should be cooked a bit to go with the papaya and aloe vera smooth texture.
13. BTW, this restaurant's Kwun Tong branch is getting back their name. I had a business lunch over there lately but couldn't take photos as that was a business lunch. Glad that they had one branch coming back. The original one in TST should be paid for a visit. 14. So these 2 high end Chinese restaurants are on the same floor, supposed this Modern China should be on the same level but I don't find it so.
6 comments:
This restaurant is good for noodle and siu lon bao. you order the wrong food. but funny the other more famous restaurants are not crowded like this one.
The price here is very similar to those in LA.
Do they have hot pot veggie rice with salty ham? Or any kind of veggie rice? My "must order" dish in Shanghai Restaurant.
The wine with sticky rice ball dessert in very good in LA.
I will take you there when you are ready to deal with the US Embassy.
This eel dish really looks unattractive.
I think even those in LA or BKK can do better than this eel here.
The eel dish in LA's Shanghai Restaurant is pretty good. The eel is fatter than this and the yellow leek look more "energetic" than this too.
Thanks Anonymous 12:31pm. You are right that I might order something wrong, but I chose those dishes with the symbol of Chef's recommendations. So now these dishes with such symbol could be like that, I couldn't imagine for those dishes without the symbols???
SS, your family's best friend taught me (indirectly) about how to make the vegetarian stir fried Shanghai eel. I made that one quite often at my school time. So do you know what to replace the eel as vegetarian? That's very nice and I will try to make it some time.
Re the mini rice dumpling in broken rice wine sweet, there are a few restaurants in Taipei and HK which are pretty good at it. So please don't bother with the one in LA. I would like to try Italian and Burger meal in LA if I will be there by any chance again... Right now, my US clients get accustomed to coming to HK for seeing me and since their first time of visit, they become regular to come here every year for Chinese food. So I am actually doing a trade war on tourism by attracting the American tourists into HK and BKK. Yes, I am also promoting Thailand. At least now one of my clients falls in love with Aleenta Phang Nga after my strong recommendation. BTW, Aleenta now gave me a very good rate even better than any websites and even with a complimentary spa program and meal...etc. as they are aware I'm referring quite a lot of customers for them. Unfortunately my tentative Feb. trip is now with them (but the April's one). I found 2 interesting resorts in Phuket and booked already. Stay tuned until CNY. :)
Hi SEA, I am glad you get more from our family friend than we do, what a waste on our side.
Will the ingredient for veggie eel be some tofu related thing?
OK, I will take you to In-and-Out Burger, Mi Piace Italian, and Japanese Food at Shabb in Old Pasadena.
Don't worry, we will concentrate in Pasadena. I usually don't go more than 10-mile radius.:)
SS, try to click Pixmation blog link. He has updated many tips of Japanese restaurants. One Mexican restaurant on Colorado Blvd. is quite nice.
That vegetarian eel is "dried mushroom" and with some cornstarch coating... I will give that dish a re-birth in due course. :) Interesting your family best friend was my indirect teacher...
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