Gi Kee Restaurant

Remember my previous post about finding good food in the diviest of places?  Well, if you thought Sister Wah was already a strange place to find good eats, then our choice of dinner spots was even more so.  Recommended by my uncle, Gi Kee is not really a restaurant at all.  In fact, it is takes over the food court at the Wong Nai Chung Municipal Services Building during after hours.  Cordon Bleu trained head chef Chan Chung-Fai puts out food that is beyond the plastic stools and scummy floors of the run-down food court.  However, this is the setting and as such, the prices are very reasonable for fresh seafood and carefully crafted signature dishes.

We started off with a big plate of Garlic Fried Mantis Shrimp which was a real treat.  These were aromatically crispy on the outside while the tail meat was still moist and springy on the inside.  It was naturally sweet, briny and there was an appealing taste of the sea.  This was amped by the boatload of fried garlic and peppers which added the necessary savoury umaminess.  Hot on the heals of the shrimp was the Stir-Fried Clams in black bean sauce.  These buttery and plump clams had a tender chew to them.  They were briny and sweet which worked well with the salty and garlicky sauce that had a touch of spice.

The Garlic Fried Chicken was attractive too due to its rich deep hue as well as the mound of fried garlic on top.  It ate very well with rendered crispy skin and tender lightly-brined meat.  The dark meat was juicier than the white meat, but it wasn't too dry.  The plethora of garlic meant that the umaminess was kicked up a notch.  My favourite dish of the meal was the Steamed Razor Clams with garlic and vermicelli.  These were buttery and plump with a firm rebound.  They were naturally sweet and briny with the benefit of another mound of garlic.

For our vegetables, we had the Red Fermented Tofu Buddha's Feast sporting vermicelli, eggplant, baby corn, bean curd skin, bak choy and mushroom.  I found the veggies on the softer side including the vermicelli.  Flavours were sweet and mild where I thought the amount of fermented tofu was too conservative.  I was a bit apprehensive of the Salad Spareribs as I'm not a huge fan of anything mayo with my meat.  Well, this wasn't any different, but at the very least, the pork ribs were tender and the sauce was slightly sweet.

Lastly, we had the Baked Oysters with onions and peppers.  I found the oysters to be really large, plump and briny.  The starch coating got a bit gummy from the moisture during baking, so that wasn't appealing.  In terms of flavour, it was rather mild with only some savoury elements and some pepper.  Again, for the kiddies, we got them both a fried rice and some Yee Mein.  There was not much to say about the rice, but the yee mein was pretty average since it was rather wet.  It did taste okay though as the seasoning hit the right balance between salty and sweet.  For a place that is located where it is, Gi Kee offers up some pretty good eats and supremely fresh seafood.  If you can make it out to Happy Valley, it is certainly worth a try.

The Good:
- A good selection of live seafood
- Pretty solid eats
- It's got that secret divy location thing

The Bad:
- Not the most glamorous dining arrangements 
- Don't expect a lot of service