❤️ This was my first meal eating alone in Hong Kong, and I didn’t expect to hit a landmine on my first choice...
Each post will include actual dining photos; even if it’s just a picture of a drink, to avoid some users pretending to dine by not including dish photos.
Overall rating: 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑
📍 Located on Portland Street between Yau Ma Tei and Wong Chuk Hang, there are plenty of seats inside.
🚗 I’m not sure if there are parking spots available nearby, but there were no street parking spots.
💬 I originally wanted to treat myself after walking the whole day in the mountains and thought I’d choose a good restaurant, but my heart was hurt by this first Hong Kong-style restaurant experience.
First of all, the staff was extremely impatient. We might have hesitated a little, but we could feel the impatience from the staff. Luckily, the staff eventually spoke Mandarin with us, and we managed to place a simple order.
Then, I noticed water dripping from the adjacent table. Although it was cordoned off, it still looked terrifying... I was afraid it would spray onto our seats.
This is when I realized that restaurants in Hong Kong don’t provide paper towels. I found that there was no tissue on the table, but fortunately, I always carry some with me; otherwise, I might have had to go to the restroom to get some.
But the worst part was that both sets of chopsticks were extremely... smelly. Even after wiping them with alcohol wipes, there was still a strong odor. This first experience was quite shocking... (shakes)
Food quality: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
Service quality: 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
Restaurant atmosphere: 🌕🌑🌑🌑🌑
Price-to-value ratio: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
📍 Wong Kok, Portland Street, Man Sun Building, Hong Kong
☎️ +85221482389
⏰ 05:00-00:00
💰 No service charge
🚇 You can take the subway to Mong Kok Station and walk about five minutes to reach it.
For detailed food reviews, please continue scrolling down ❤️
❤️ Today I treated my friends from Hong Kong again and went to the Ying Kwan on Nathan Road, which is a traditional dim sum place (since I heard from friends that authentic dim sum is rarer at night), but I didn't expect them to be open so early. Each post will have actual dining photos, even if it's just a picture of a drink, to avoid some users pretending to dine without attaching food images. Overall rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
📍 Located on the seventh floor of Chuang Hing Plaza on Nathan Road in Mong Kok, you need to take the elevator from the first floor. There is a lot of seating available and they also provide restrooms.
🚗 I'm not sure where to park, so it's recommended to take public transport.
💬 I really didn't know that Hong Kong-style dim sum opens this early; after staying in Taiwan for so long, I thought it was only for lunch or dinner... (I suddenly recalled that Jiangxing seems to be 24 hours). This time, it was also a friend's enthusiastic invitation for a treat, so I chose some local snacks that might be harder to find in Taiwan.
Since I arrived at the restaurant first (the restaurant is closer to my hotel), I told the staff that there were about four of us and got seated. They asked if we wanted tea, but the staff spoke Cantonese and didn't speak Mandarin, although they patiently listened to me speak Mandarin. In the end, I only ordered Pu-erh tea, and later found out that ordering tea costs 15 HKD per person.
Interestingly, this was the first time I experienced a restaurant without tissues (actually, I thought it was strange that there was only roll toilet paper yesterday). Hong Kong people told me this is normal (but as a Taiwanese, even snack bars have tissues; a restaurant without tissues seems abnormal to me 😆).
But I really ordered too much; I was so full my stomach felt like it would burst... I can only recall a few dishes that I remember.
Peking duck only starts serving at 11 AM, and even pre-ordering isn't allowed. It falls short compared to some roast duck places in Taiwan; it’s just slightly better than what you would find at roadside stalls in Taiwan. (I had anticipated it for so long, and was completely disappointed).
The black gold custard bun does have the liquid filling; I think the custard flavor is just right, but it's super hot, so you must be careful while eating.
The carrot cake is the local Cantonese version, but I don't know why it came a bit cold. However, being able to taste the whole radish in the cake adds to its authenticity!
The vegetable and shrimp dumplings were quite nice too; the fresh shrimp meat blends well with the vegetable flavor~
The golden chicken dumplings, I truly forgot how they tasted, but that cute little chicken shape is definitely something girls would want to order.
Lastly, my friend ordered a few dessert items, but it seems I only captured the pan-fried coconut cream golden cake. It's like toast made with coconut milk powder and has a delicious flavor~
But I sincerely recommend trying the seafood in Hong Kong; it's larger in portions and tastier than in Taiwan!
Food Quality: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Service Quality: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Restaurant Atmosphere: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Price-to-Value Ratio: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
📍 7th Floor, Chuang Hing Plaza, 601 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
☎️ +85222346199
⏰ 07:00 - 22:30
💰 A 10% service fee is added
🚇 You can take the subway to Yau Ma Tei A1 exit, it's about a 3-minute walk from there.
For detailed food photos, please continue to scroll down ❤️
🌟 Ronggui Dry-Fried Spare Ribs Rice 🌟
Located in Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, this place is known as the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine. The dry-fried spare ribs are a distinctive dish of Cantonese cuisine. I originally intended to eat at a more famous restaurant called Rongbian Spare Ribs Rice, but it only operates until noon, so I looked for another restaurant with a similar dry-fried spare ribs rice.
Actually, it was close to the end of business hours when we arrived, but the waitress, Yilan, was very nice and introduced us to the menu.
Of course, we ordered the specialty spare ribs, pig tails, and fish skin among other dishes.
Additionally, a fun thing in Guangdong is that they wash their cups, bowls, and dishes with tea water first (as seen in the picture). They firmly believe this cleans away the dust...
🎖️ Dry-Fried Spare Ribs
This was a must-order, and as soon as it arrived at the table, the aroma of the crispy ribs caught my attention. The outer layer of the ribs was pan-fried to a golden, crispy finish (the plate was, too, having turned yellow from the roasting).
Each piece of meat was juicy and flavorful, with a slightly charred surface hiding tender and succulent pork underneath, accompanied by a special sauce that provided a savory flavor that melted in your mouth, making it hard to resist having piece after piece.
The essence of this dry-fried spare ribs lies in the slow cooking process, which gives the ribs a chewy texture while remaining tender. The sauce is rich but not greasy, perfectly pairing with the white rice, leaving a lasting aftertaste.
🎖️ Dry-Fried Pig Tails
Actually, it was my first time trying pig tails. Compared to regular spare ribs, they were a bit more tender, but the flavor was quite good, with the sauce being absorbed nicely after being dry-fried, which was awesome.
On the side, there was a jar of medicinal wine, and that inside should be a snake... terrifying.
🎖️ Wai Yuen Dining Hall 🎖️
Located in the city center, Wai Yuen Dining Hall is famous not only for its variety of dishes but also for its egg tarts, which are a must-try delicacy. Here, in addition to enjoying a hearty meal, many diners make it a habit to order a freshly baked egg tart. Wai Yuen Dining Hall offers two classic flavors of egg tarts: Original Egg Tart and Coffee Egg Tart.
🎖️ Original Egg Tart
Beloved by diners for its crispy crust and rich egg custard aroma, each bite offers a delightful combination of smooth filling and crunchy shell, perfectly complementing each other, making it irresistible.
🎖️ Coffee Egg Tart
This variant adds a unique coffee flavor to the traditional recipe, with a subtle bitterness of coffee blending into the creamy custard, creating a distinct texture that is especially favored by coffee lovers.
All egg tarts at Wai Yuen Dining Hall are baked fresh daily, meaning that every tart you enjoy is straight out of the oven and filled with a warm, fragrant aroma. These egg tarts are often in high demand, making them an excellent choice for either dessert after a meal or an afternoon snack. Not only does Wai Yuen Dining Hall offer a rich variety of dishes, but its egg tarts also add to the charm of this dining hall, making it a delightful place to linger.
Because the egg tarts are freshly baked, the boxes may have some condensation that can make them less clear in photos. Additionally, you can choose a combo of one Original and one Coffee Egg Tart.
There is also a job posting at the entrance for those interested.
Shihong Porridge and Sauna Chicken
I've been too busy these past few days to post anything, but I'm happy to finally arrive at the Shunde edition today XD
Shunde is undoubtedly a representative of Cantonese cuisine, and this restaurant specializing in chicken is truly a prime example. Every day, a steady stream of guests come here, and if you're visiting on a weekend, please prepare yourself accordingly.
Their chicken is steamed (often referred to as sauna-style), with the meat cooked to perfection, paired with four vegetables (sweet potato, pumpkin, winter melon, and loofah). The staff will assist in placing the ingredients in the pot, before covering it with a lid, allowing the steam to fill the pot completely. After setting the timer, you can return to uncover your pot before the countdown ends~
The chicken comes out extremely tender, and when dipped in soy sauce (which contains ginger and chili), it offers just the right hint of salty flavor that enhances the chicken's natural sweetness—absolutely delicious!
We also ordered their large oysters, which are indeed huge and incredibly fresh, as that's the essence of enjoying oysters.
The juices that flow from the steamed chicken are not wasted; they collect at the bottom, creating a delicious chicken broth with the chicken bones. It's truly exceptional, and anyone visiting Shunde must not miss this place!
It’s very delicious, and the portions are just right, not too much leftover that you have to force yourself to eat until you’re too full. The seafood is fresh too. There aren't many items on the menu, but each one is delicately and thoughtfully prepared.
There were no disappointments at all; everything was great. Highly recommend!
Roasted goose: The meat is tender, and the skin is slightly crispy and delicious.
Golden sand white bamboo shoots: The bamboo shoots are fried first and then coated with salted egg, which tastes great. Although the white bamboo shoots are fried, they are not oily.
Black fish roe fried rice: I would rate this as average. There isn't much, and the flavor is okay. Each person could eat about two bites, but that's actually sufficient; you don't need to eat a lot of rice.
Big chicken soup: Absolutely amazing! On a scale of 100, I would give it 200. It’s super rich, so rich that I thought they must have added some thickener. The soup is smooth and extremely rich, very impressive.
Stir-fried yam with asparagus: Delicious! It can be considered a refreshing representative among exquisite flavors, with a moderate level of saltiness.
Dongpo rice: This reminds me of Xu's private kitchen's "dark soul" rice, which is Dongpo pork served with a fried egg and white rice, basically a high-end version of braised pork rice. It's tasty.
Butter Matsutake Crab Meat: This is fried with butter; it's a bit lighter in flavor compared to typical stir-fry places.
Steamed leopard grouper: The texture is incredible; you can actually enjoy fish meat that is bouncy and chewy. I even ate the fish head.
Tofu milk: It’s actually fried cheese balls, which are also delicious, but I feel like they would go better with some jam; otherwise, the pastry is quite rich.
Sanheyuan is a combination of Cantonese cuisine and Hong Kong-style tea drinking, with stir-fried dishes and snacks to choose from. Recommended place for elders to celebrate their birthdays! (I don’t usually go there myself, but I look for a good place to have dinner with the elders)
Sanheyuan uses QR code to order food, and the taste can be customized. When ordering, you can choose options such as "reduced salt"/"no MSG added"/"less oil"!
There was no adjustment for this meal. Some of the dishes tasted a bit heavy in the middle, but I personally think they are quite good for the meal. I will give them a reference before deciding whether to adjust the saltiness or not. In addition, the small portions are quite large, even though it says for 2-3 people,
But it’s definitely more than just that. It’s recommended that you order a few more types but all in small portions.
Recommended dishes:
☑️Salted fish and chicken fried rice
There’s pot energy! tasty! It’s salty and salty without any adjustment, and even though it’s a small portion, there’s still leftover after sharing it among six people! delicious
☑️Mushroom-roasted tofu
My dad ordered this. I wasn’t looking forward to it at first, but it was so delicious that I almost died laughing. The tofu is made from egg tofu. The tofu is tasty and not too salty. Everyone praised it.
☑️Stewed Beef Tendon and Brisket in Zhuhou
As soon as my grandpa saw it, he said he wanted to order it. The stewed beef tendon was really soft and tender. Grandpa had bad teeth but he could bite it normally. It was delicious! (This dish goes with rice. Remember to reduce the salt if you usually eat lighter meals.)
☑️Crispy chicken half $499
The portion is ample and the chicken is delicious. The price for half a chicken is great~
☑️Hong Kong style carrot cake
You can choose to fry it crispier! Delicious~
In fact, the overall food is really delicious. The dishes I ordered this time are all excellent and the taste is highly customized. The elders were also very happy with the food. They have even said that they will visit again during the next festival~
However, I personally think Sanheyuan’s stir-fried dishes are better than dim sum!
Recommended to everyone who is worried about where to have dinner with elders in Taipei!
🔱 Fan Lou 🔱
"Fan, white wormwood, also known as wormwood in ancient times.
In areas with lush grass, river shrimps are large and meaty, making shrimp dumplings delicious and smooth.
"Fan Lou" is famous in Xiguan for its shrimp dumplings, hence the name "Fan Lou".
From Guangdong to Shanghai, Fanlou has always been the number one restaurant in Guangzhou in my heart.
Fanlou doesn’t have many branches in Shanghai, but luckily there is one in the nearby Impression City.
As you sit down, you choose tea first. Today I chose Pu'er and black tea. The tea tastes great and will make you want to drink it all the time.
Cantonese-style teahouses are all about one cup and two pieces, which means you order a pot of tea and then eat two snacks. But if everyone did this, they would probably go out of business XD
The must-order item when visiting a teahouse is always red rice sausage.
✔️ The red rice sausages are all freshly steamed, with fried dough sticks inside and shrimp rolls inside. The soft and glutinous red rice sausage is full of toughness. It is wrapped in mesh rolls and shrimps. It is crispy and tender. It is refreshing and a little crispy. It can be said that it is a layered dish and highly recommended. Must be five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ Next is their signature, Shrimp Dumpling King
The crystal clear dumpling skin is filled with very thick shrimp meat. There are probably three to four shrimps inside. It tastes very good and is highly recommended. Get another five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ Tiger skin chicken feet is also their specialty. It falls off the bones as soon as you suck it. It is very delicious and the peanuts on the bottom are also another speciality. Four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ Squab, the squab has been sold out many times, I finally ordered it this time
The combination of the tender meat and the crispy texture is perfect, earning it another five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ps. There is a pigeon head underneath, so be careful before entering...
Taipei’s long-established Cantonese restaurant | Bib Gourmand recommendation (2018~
~2023)
A total of 13 of us ate a table dish for NT$8,200 and ordered an extra order of the popular fried chicken (whole chicken for NT$800)
Table dishes must be reserved in advance, and you can bring your own drinks (no wine glasses, no corkage fees). Cantonese food is more flavorful, and we did not eat it with rice. It is recommended to add some drinks and wine to enjoy.
The following is a personal review:
📍Salt baked medium shrimp
★★★☆☆
You can eat it without peeling the shell. The fried shell is very crispy. I don’t think this is a special dish.
📍Crispy duck with taro paste
★★★★★
Featured dishes! The skin is crispy on the outside, paired with soft and dense taro paste and fragrant duck breast on the bottom, it’s amazing! Foodies who like to eat taro paste should not miss it!
📍Colorful platter
★★★☆☆
A decent braised food platter, including braised beef tendon, braised chicken gizzards, barbecued pork sausage, cashew nuts, and braised pork slices.
📍Kyoto Spare Ribs
★★★★★
The spareribs are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside under the thin gravy. The seasoning is sweet. This dish is very special, recommended!
📍Steamed Grouper
★★★★☆
The big dish, the fish meat is fresh and tender, the seasoning is of a certain level, overall it’s okay!
📍Scallion oil tripe
★★★★★
You need to eat this dish as soon as it is served, otherwise it will become hard as it cools down. It is a very special dish. The sauce has a sour taste from vinegar, which is very refreshing.
📍Vermicelli beef stew
★★★★★
The vermicelli that absorbs the soup is very tasty, the taste is very thick and not too greasy, paired with the delicious beef slices, it is super delicious!
📍Braised sea cucumber
★★★★☆
The sea cucumber looks like black fungus. It tastes tasteless but has a very special texture. The thickened sauce clings to the sea cucumber.
📍Popular fried chicken
★★★★★
Highly recommend this addition! The chicken skin is very crispy and just right, and the meat is tender and tasty! Being recommended by Michelin is worthy of the name!
📍Straw Mushroom Kale
★★★☆☆
The whole dish is thickened with gravy to allow the sauce to adhere to the straw mushrooms and kale. Fortunately, it’s relatively lackluster!
📍Emerald scallop soup
★★★☆☆
This soup is often eaten during banquets, but fortunately it doesn't have much special features.
Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Recommendation
https://guide.michelin.com/tw/zh_TW/taipei-region/taipei/restaurant/tsui-feng-yuan
Chuxianglou-Xiguan Old House
If you come to Guangdong, you must come to the teahouse to have refreshments.
I have eaten at Lao Guang Xin Yi and Fan Lou before, this time I came to try the same time-honored Chu Xiang Xi - Xiguan Lao Hao
After sitting down, I will ask you what kind of tea you want to drink, then the tea will be brewed, and then you will take your order slowly.
The main store of Chuxianglou is also located in Xiguan, Guangzhou. It is a teahouse that comes to Shenzhen from Guangzhou.
It can be seen that this restaurant is trying to innovate to a certain extent, and there are many new dim sum dishes.
For example, the morning snack - Shaqima
It tastes like it was made by the store itself. It's not that sweet or sticky.
Has a soft texture
Next is the classic Ushikawa. The beef is very big and very fragrant.
Shrimp dumplings are also a must-order dish in the teahouse
As long as the shrimps are delicious and paired with a pop-able skin, shrimp dumplings are a great dish.
Finally some chicken feet
The boneless chicken feet that the old lady gnawed on...
After eating the above four items with my colleagues, we were quite full.
There was an old man at the next table, so he ordered four steamed dumplings and drank tea for an hour.
At the same time, he was holding a piece of paper and doing calculations. He looked at it and saw that he was the rent collector. Sure enough, your uncle is your uncle.
Finally, I feel that although Xiguan Old Restaurant tries to be innovative in its dishes, overall it is not as delicious as Fan Lou and Lao Guang Xinxin~
I can only give 2 stars~