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With another day of visiting family, we were not in control of our own destiny - where we were going to eat for dinner. Yah, it's not like we can just force our relatives to eat where we want to eat! So we ended up at Wang Jia Sha in the City Plaza Mall in Tai Koo Sing. For those familiar with the mall, it has a ice skating rink in the middle. Just watching people skating there made me really want to lace them up myself! Nah, they were actually quite good and I guess I shouldn't have assumed no one could skate in HK!
Onto the dinner, we had a feast which included Braised Slices of Beef Shank. This was pretty typical with thin slices of fairly tender beef that was a touch dry in spots. The flavours were balanced though not being too salty nor sweet with the background hit of five-spice. We also had the Wine-Marinated Chicken that was mostly dry and chewy. Even though this was free-range chicken, it shouldn't have been this way. The skin was nicely gelatinized though and the wine had penetrated the meat. With that being said, it wasn't really that strong either.
Next up was the Mung Bean Noodles with chicken, cucumber and sesame dressing. This was a pleasing dish where the noodles were buttery soft with a slight rebound. There was more than enough tender chicken and cucumbers to go around. However, the amount of sesame dressing (even thought it seemed like a lot) was insufficient to provide an impact. It was nutty and slightly sweet. Although being a simple dish, I really enjoyed the Century Egg with tofu and pork fluff. The soft and silky tofu was topped with enough nutty century egg and pork fluff so that it was tasty. The sauce wasn't too salty either.
Looking quite simple, the Stir Fried Shrimp was a pleasing dish. It featured small shrimp (weird saying that) that were buttery with a cold-water snap and just cooked through. The light glaze was sweet and only a touch salty. I liked how there wasn't much moisture on the plate which meant the wok heat was enough. For the second time this trip, we had Xiao Long Bao, but this time with crab. It was super apparent when we bit into it as the soup was briny, seafoody and sweet. The filling was fairly moist and tender while the dumpling skin was thin except for the top twirl.
We didn't end there with the dumplings as we got the Potstickers that featured a crunchy and well-browned bottom. The dumpling skin was medium-to-thick thickness and was soft with an appealing chewiness. Inside, the filling was tender, held together well and did not feature any fillers like too much veg. Now the next dish was all veg in the Sauteed Spinach in consomme with fried garlic. As expected, the flavours were more subtle here where the garlic was necessary to add some punch. Even though it was sitting in broth, the spinach wasn't mushy while the flavours did penetrate.
Bathed in a good amount of sweet sauce, the Stir-Fried Eel with flowering chives was a study in textures. The gelatinous skin of the eel made things buttery and soft. There was plenty of it as they didn't skimp. The plethora of just cooked flowering chives added both a crunch and a certain brightness to the otherwise heavy dish. On the lighter side, we had the Vermicelli with Napa Cabbage Hot Pot with pork belly, squid meatballs, dumplings and mushroom. However, it was completely over-seasoned being pretty salty. On the other hand, the amount of ingredients did dissipate the saltiness.
Aromatic from the stir-fry of oil, peppers and snow cabbage, the Fried Chicken was pretty flavourful. On its own, it wouldn't have been that impactful if it weren't for the flavoured oil on top. Despite the dark meat being tender and buttery, the white meat was dry and slightly chewy. The richly hued skin was nicely rendered where it was a touch crispy and edible without being heavy. I thought the Smoked Duck with bao was pretty decent featuring a light smoke and just enough salt. The meat was a tad dry and chewy though while the skin was mostly rendered. It went well with the fluffy bao on the side.
We ended things off with a Fried Rice with gai lan stalks. It was chewy, nutty and not overly greasy. The ample amount of veg helped add a nice crunch. However, there was far too much salt as each spoonful required some tea to water it down. For dessert, we had the Deep Fried Red Bean Pastry. Featuring what was essentially spring roll wrapper as the outside, the whole thing was pretty crispy, albeit oily. Inside, the red bean paste was predictably sweet. It was pretty much standard for this type of dessert. In fact, I found the food pretty typical for a chain restaurant. It is definitely serviceable but not super memorable. But if you want a convenient location and predictable food, Wong Jia Sha fits the bill.
The Good:
- Overall serviceable food
- Fairly good service
- Convenient location
The Bad:
- A bit hit and miss
- Salty
Although there is more Dim Sum to come during my stay in Hong Kong, our first one (remember, the previous one was in Macao) would be at the Michelin-Star rated Lei Garden. To me, it seems like they throw that designation around like free newspapers in Hong Kong (ie. Tim Ho Wan). However, I went in with reasonable expectations despite this. The reason we were here was because this was to be a family (my HK relatives) Dim Sum meal which was close to everyone.
Right off the bat, we started with some fried items including the Fried Glutinous Dumplings and the Wu Gock (Deep Fried Taro Dumplings). The glutinous dumplings were small and lightly crunchy. This was due to the thin layer of glutinous rice. It was not greasy, which is no minor feat for this dish. The filling was full of tender pork, but there was too much onion. As for the wu gock, they were crispy, yet the layer of taro was rather mealy. It was also not greasy. Inside, the lean pork filling was nicely sauced and was mild tasting.
For the kiddies, they really enjoyed the BBQ Pork Buns as they featured a very thin layer of bun. It was on the chewier side though, yet held up well to the ample amount of lean and tender pork. The rich hue of the glaze was appealing and also was very flavourful with a depth of sweetness balanced by an equal amount of savouriness. The Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) was a little dry, but the 50/50 ratio of rice and filling balanced things out. The tender ground pork as well as a nice chunk of salted egg yolk meant there was some nice flavours going on.
Onto some standard Dim Sum dishes, we had the Beef Meatballs and Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet). We found the beef meatballs to be on point with a bouncy rebound texture. The meat was processed until smooth, so there were no chewy portions. They were seasoned properly where they could be eaten without the Worcestershire sauce (but we still used it). Also, there was just enough greens so it was balanced. The chicken feet were buttery on the outside, but a bit firm underneath the skin. It was full-flavoured and garlicky albeit a bit salty.
Looking like it may need a bit more sear (although it was still seared enough), the Lo Bak Goh (Daikon Pudding Cake) was tender and fluffy. There was a wealth of natural daikon flavour as well as being well-seasoned. In addition to needing more sear, I would've liked more cured sausage to vary the flavour and texture. Coated with a thin and light batter, the Fried Squid was pretty good. Each piece was lightly crispy and easy on the grease. Furthermore, there was plenty of saltiness for impactful flavour. The squid itself was tender while retaining an appealing chewiness.
Continuing with fried, we got multiple orders of the Spring Rolls because we had a multitude of kiddies as the table. These were no ordinary spring rolls because underneath the crispy outer wrapper, there was another layer of crunchy noodles. The filling was also an interesting combination of crunchy celery and bouncy well-seasoned shrimp. That same shrimp could be found in the excellent Ha Gau. These featured a thin chewy elastic skin. Inside, the shrimp was the desired texture where there was a buttery snap. The seasoning was just right being balanced with a hint of sesame oil.
Onto some Rice Noodle Rolls, we had both the vegetarian version as well as the BBQ pork. Guess which one I enjoyed more? Since I'm a meatatarian, the lean slices of pork were up my alley. Moreover, the rice noodle itself was thin and beautifully textured. It was soft while retaining a chewy elasticity. Interestingly, the vegetarian one was much softer. Again, for the kiddies, we ordered something that was somewhat of a risk being the Xiao Long Bao. Okay, these were pretty decent for a Cantonese Dim Sum service. The skin was a touch thick, but actually quite good while the filling was moist and flavourful. There was some soup to be found too.
As a filler, we got the Ho Yip Fan (Fried Rice in lotus leaf). This was very good featuring tender rice that was not soft (still nicely chewy and aromatic). The flavour of the lotus leaf had impacted the rice in a good way as well as the brininess from the dried scallops. Loved how it wasn't too salty either. For dessert, we had the Custard Buns sporting a silky salted egg yolk centre. It was sweet and runny and encased in minimal bun. Overall, we enjoyed the dim sum at Lei Garden, it was high quality and carefully prepared. However, the service wasn't up to par though as it was not very attentive.
The Good:
- High quality dim sum
- Seating is not too tight
The Bad:
- Service is not up to par
- A bit pricey
After a pretty rough ride back on the ferry from Macau, I was really not in the mood for food... Let alone a buffet... However, my uncle had other plans as we ended up heading to one of his favs - PLAYT at The Park Lane. As the name suggests, it is located in the Park Lane Hotel and was formerly named Cafe One. However, the same setup remains with stations dedicated to seafood, sushi, Chinese (including house-made Dim Sum), pizza, International, made-to-order noodles and a wealth of desserts.
Other than the large selection of seafood, in particular shellfish, the most enticing station was the Sushi and Sashimi. Prepared to order, there was a selection that included hotate, amaebi, tuna, hamachi, salmon, snapper, yellow herring fish roe and octopus. My favourite of the bunch was the sweet and buttery hotate and tender hamachi. There was also a selection of nigiri and a few maki rolls. Again, everything looked rather appealing and in fact, most of it was good. Of course, the most appealing to me were the mirugai, abalone and hokkigai. The sushi rice was a bit on the gummier side, but it was acceptable.
Onto the Seafood, we found smoked salmon, conch, crab, shrimp, mussels, lobster and freshly shucked oysters. They didn't skimp on the details as there was a plethora of sauces to go with the 2 types of oysters - Cumbrae and Isigny. I enjoyed the Isigny more as they were smaller and sweeter. Both were appealingly briny though. As for the other shellfish, the mussels were plump and the shrimp were meaty. I thought the lobster was slightly overdone, but still good nonetheless. The crab was okay, but then again, I'm not a huge fan of this type of crab.
One of the more surprising things about the buffet was the Dim Sum. Normally, most buffet joints serve frozen Dim Sum acquired from a 3rd party. Not here. Everything is house-made and it showed. The Ha Gau were very impressive for a non-Dim Sum restaurant. The skin was thin with a nice elasticity while the shrimp filling was in large chunks and had a nice sweet buttery snap. I thought the Siu Mai was equally decent with a rebound texture as well. It was on the denser side though. Adjacent to the dim sum was a selection of Chinese Food including BBQ. If that wasn't enough, there was freshly made-to-order pizza as well.
Some of the dishes in the International Food section were quite good including the Lamb Curry, Red Wine Ox-Tail and Tandoori Chicken. Apparently, they have specialized chefs that prepare each type of cuisine. So the Indian food was pretty legit. Not the best I've had, but definitely serviceable for a buffet. I thought the paella suffered from sitting too long, but it's a buffet... A rather hot item was the foie gras served on crostinis. These were buttery, but a touch overdone. Heck, they even had Bird's Nest Soup served in their own little bowls. I thought the silky viscosity of the soup to be on point while the flavour was pleasing. There was plenty of crab to make up for the modest amount of bird's nest.
For Dessert, there was an impressive array of goodies including Bird's Nest Egg Tarts featuring a flaky if not a bit pasty tart shell. The egg custard was pretty good (on the firmer side) and was not really all-that-sweet. Other than that, there was a selection of hard ice cream, cakes, chocolate fountain and fresh fruit. I only went for the fruit since I was super full at this point, but as you can see the buffet didn't lack variety. Furthermore, the quality was fairly high with all things considered. No wonder the place is super-busy. At the same time, we didn't feel rushed nor were there many long lineups either. Plenty of food to go around.
The Good:
- Wide selection
- Decent quality
- Didn't run out of the popular items
The Bad:
- Some things don't hold up in a buffet such as the paella
- Chinese BBQ was okay, but the display didn't look so hot (things were cold)
After a day filled with unique and interesting local eats in Macau, we resigned ourselves to generic boring eats in and around our casino resort (The Parisian). In fact, with some credits, we were faced with dining at Le Buffet once again for lunch. However, one look at the voucher and there were some better options including the resident high-end Chinese restaurant, the opulent-looking Lotus Palace hidden deep within the overwhelming amount of uber-expensive company shops. We weren't expecting much, but hey, the place looked nice.
We decided to take advantage of their set lunches which included a selection of eats. We ended up getting 3 of them and then added a bunch of a la carte Dim Sum items as well. The first to arrive were the requisite Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumplings) and Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumplings). Okay, any ideas of this place being only a facade was erased by these 2 dishes. Sporting a thin elastic skin, the large chunks of sweet shrimp were buttery and crunchy. I loved how the bamboo shoots were rinsed properly so that they were no longer pungent. As for the siu mai, there was a good amount of shrimp and shiitake. They were packed with flavour while the texture was meaty with a rebound.
My son was really happy to see the next 2 dishes arrive. The first was the Shrimp Spring Rolls presented in an interesting, yet not particularly easy to photograph plating. They were thin and crispy with the ends coated in 2 types of sesame seeds. We found them to be easy on the grease inside and out. The shrimp filling was sweet an buttery with an appealing snap. Neatly prepared, the Roast Pork with hoisin and scallions already hidden inside was on point. The thin layer of skin was lightly crispy and almost airy. Underneath, the pork was tender and succulent.
Normally, a BBQ Pork Bun is nothing to get excited about, but these ones were on point. Featuring a thin layer of fluffy bun, the whole thing was actually filling which was full of lean pork in a balanced sweet and savoury sauce. As a result, the bun was full of flavour and meaty texture rather than the usual dense version with too much bun. Sporting the same lean filling, the BBQ Pork Pastries were also very good. Somehow, the filling was sweeter and there seemed to be hits of caramelized onion, The pastry itself was buttery and flaky with an appealingly crisp exterior.
Still on the BBQ pork theme, we had the BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Roll as well. I really enjoyed the rice noodle as it was thin and almost translucent. It was soft with an elastic rebound texture. Inside, there was no shortage of lean pork mixed with a balanced amount of cilantro. Hence, it wasn't overwhelming. I also loved how they served the side of sweeten soy hot, so that it didn't cool down the rice noodle roll. Included with the set meals was the choice of carb, so we chose the Seafood Fried Noodle. As evidenced in the picture, there was much more seafood than noodle. Everything was on point including the chewy noodles that were subjected to proper wok heat.
One look at the Phoenix Talons, it was pretty obvious that it wasn't going to be scrawny nor underdone. They appeared to be plump and buttery and with one bite, it was confirmed. It isn't often that we find chicken feet this plump, but somehow, it seemed like I was eating a substantial amount of food despite the bones. I found the seasoning to be just right bordering on being salty. Prepared with unique flavours, the Basil Beef Short Ribs also teemed of rosemary. Hence, the dish was aromatic and definitely different than the usual black pepper sauce. Texturally, the ribs were appealingly chewy while being tender.
With a light egg coating, the XO Daikon Pudding Cake were on point taste and texture-wise. The soft cubes still retained a bite while the daikon flavour came through. Although there was plenty of XO sauce used in the wok toss, the dish was only mildly spicy where the brininess from the dried shrimp and scallops being at the forefront. Most important of all, the dish was easy on the grease. We also got the Braised Pork Belly as part of the set meal and despite being a bit difficult to cut up, it was ultimately super tender and moist. The fat portion of was buttery and delicious. Silky, sweet and only lightly salty, the sauce was a nice match to the mild-tasting pork.
Also part of the set meal, we had the Steamed Pork Patty which was meaty and soft. It wasn't salty nor was it fatty either. It was sweet with a natural pork flavour. Each set meal included a soup, so we chose 3 different ones for variety. The first, Spinach and Crab, was visually stunning in rich deep green hue. It was very mild-tasting with the brightness of spinach. The Chicken & Mushroom Soup featured bits of Virginia ham that added rich saltiness that wasn't overwhleming. The natural sweetness of the chicken was at the forefront as well as the Earthiness of the shiitake. Similarly, the Lo Foh Tong which consisted of chicken, pork and fuzzy melon was also lightly sweet with natural flavours. I liked how they didn't overseasoned the soup and allowed it to stand on its own. From all the dishes we tried, it is pretty clear that Lotus Palace is a legit place to have high-class Dim Sum. Don't hesitate to try it if you are at the Parisian.
The Good:
- High quality food
- Outstanding service
- Nice dining space
The Bad:
- On the pricier side, but worth it
- Unfortunately the mall is dead, so there isn't much atmosphere
Posts
With another day of visiting family, we were not in control of our own destiny - where we were going to eat for dinner. Yah, it's not like we can just force our relatives to eat where we want to eat! So we ended up at Wang Jia Sha in the City Plaza Mall in Tai Koo Sing. For those familiar with the mall, it has a ice skating rink in the middle. Just watching people skating there made me really want to lace them up myself! Nah, they were actually quite good and I guess I shouldn't have assumed no one could skate in HK!
Onto the dinner, we had a feast which included Braised Slices of Beef Shank. This was pretty typical with thin slices of fairly tender beef that was a touch dry in spots. The flavours were balanced though not being too salty nor sweet with the background hit of five-spice. We also had the Wine-Marinated Chicken that was mostly dry and chewy. Even though this was free-range chicken, it shouldn't have been this way. The skin was nicely gelatinized though and the wine had penetrated the meat. With that being said, it wasn't really that strong either.
Next up was the Mung Bean Noodles with chicken, cucumber and sesame dressing. This was a pleasing dish where the noodles were buttery soft with a slight rebound. There was more than enough tender chicken and cucumbers to go around. However, the amount of sesame dressing (even thought it seemed like a lot) was insufficient to provide an impact. It was nutty and slightly sweet. Although being a simple dish, I really enjoyed the Century Egg with tofu and pork fluff. The soft and silky tofu was topped with enough nutty century egg and pork fluff so that it was tasty. The sauce wasn't too salty either.
Looking quite simple, the Stir Fried Shrimp was a pleasing dish. It featured small shrimp (weird saying that) that were buttery with a cold-water snap and just cooked through. The light glaze was sweet and only a touch salty. I liked how there wasn't much moisture on the plate which meant the wok heat was enough. For the second time this trip, we had Xiao Long Bao, but this time with crab. It was super apparent when we bit into it as the soup was briny, seafoody and sweet. The filling was fairly moist and tender while the dumpling skin was thin except for the top twirl.
We didn't end there with the dumplings as we got the Potstickers that featured a crunchy and well-browned bottom. The dumpling skin was medium-to-thick thickness and was soft with an appealing chewiness. Inside, the filling was tender, held together well and did not feature any fillers like too much veg. Now the next dish was all veg in the Sauteed Spinach in consomme with fried garlic. As expected, the flavours were more subtle here where the garlic was necessary to add some punch. Even though it was sitting in broth, the spinach wasn't mushy while the flavours did penetrate.
Bathed in a good amount of sweet sauce, the Stir-Fried Eel with flowering chives was a study in textures. The gelatinous skin of the eel made things buttery and soft. There was plenty of it as they didn't skimp. The plethora of just cooked flowering chives added both a crunch and a certain brightness to the otherwise heavy dish. On the lighter side, we had the Vermicelli with Napa Cabbage Hot Pot with pork belly, squid meatballs, dumplings and mushroom. However, it was completely over-seasoned being pretty salty. On the other hand, the amount of ingredients did dissipate the saltiness.
Aromatic from the stir-fry of oil, peppers and snow cabbage, the Fried Chicken was pretty flavourful. On its own, it wouldn't have been that impactful if it weren't for the flavoured oil on top. Despite the dark meat being tender and buttery, the white meat was dry and slightly chewy. The richly hued skin was nicely rendered where it was a touch crispy and edible without being heavy. I thought the Smoked Duck with bao was pretty decent featuring a light smoke and just enough salt. The meat was a tad dry and chewy though while the skin was mostly rendered. It went well with the fluffy bao on the side. 
We ended things off with a Fried Rice with gai lan stalks. It was chewy, nutty and not overly greasy. The ample amount of veg helped add a nice crunch. However, there was far too much salt as each spoonful required some tea to water it down. For dessert, we had the Deep Fried Red Bean Pastry. Featuring what was essentially spring roll wrapper as the outside, the whole thing was pretty crispy, albeit oily. Inside, the red bean paste was predictably sweet. It was pretty much standard for this type of dessert. In fact, I found the food pretty typical for a chain restaurant. It is definitely serviceable but not super memorable. But if you want a convenient location and predictable food, Wong Jia Sha fits the bill.
