Recap of my recent trip to HK.
Kicked off with dim sum lunch at 2* Yan Toh Heen at the Intercontinental hotel.
Signature jade place setting
Started the meal with a tea recommendation by the ‘tea sommelier’ - Mandarin Pu-erh. Pu-erh tea aged 5 years in mandarin peel. Starts off fruit forward with the delicate aroma of the mandarin peel taking centrestage during the first infusion. The pu-erh becomes more pronounced with subsequent infusions. Interestingly the tea never turns too strong or bitter as typically encountered with lower quality teas. According to the sommelier the pu-erh sourced is of extremely high quality and the tea is offered at a loss to the restaurant.
First course - Braised Whole Abalone and Seafood on a Crispy Taro Net. Luxe fried taro, yup, that’s an entire baby abalone atop the taro ball.
Trio of dumplings - Steamed Scallop with Black Truffles and Vegetables Dumpling, Steamed Lobster and Bird’s Nest Dumpling with Gold Leaf, Steamed King Crab Leg Dumpling with Green Vegetables
Crispy Lobster Dumpling served with Supreme Broth - Amazing broth, subtle and delicate flavors. Crust of the lobster dumpling was delicate and light.
Very well made siu mai ( Pork and Prawn Dumplings with Crabmeat Roe) very light and springy. Good ratio of shrimp to pork.
Har gow - not the thinnest skin, otherwise very well made.
Steamed Garoupa, Prawn and Scallop Dumplings - forgot to take a pic of the super cute dumplings, attached from Openrice.
Suckling pig (Jinling Suckling Pig is coated with maltose and air-dried for
four hours. Traditional charcoaling makes the skin crispy and the meat
tender.) - wonderful crispy skin, although Fook Lam Moon’s version later in the week surpasses this.
Double Boiled Fish Maw and Sea Whelk - Amazing broth and ingredients.
Finished off with Fried Rice Wrapped and Steamed in a Lotus Leaf
Very expensive and high quality dim sum experience, sadly it was marred by the dismal service. Lunch took a little over two hours, time between courses were wayyy too long and service really fell apart during the 2nd half of the meal. Very visibly short staffed in the almost full restaurant, quite unacceptable for the price and reputation.
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. My Chinese born uncle mostly ate as you do in L.A. - Mexican, Italian, American. But once in a while he would order a big table at a Chinese restaurant downtown. It was exciting for us kids. For him it was probably a feeling he wanted to recapture - the importance of the customer (not the chef) gracious service and the presentation of dishes. Like you didn’t know the name of the chef at the Michelin star Yan Toh Heen. That’s great, and unheard of here.
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