Hong Kong - To Eat
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Joy Hing Roasted Meat
(265-267 Henessy Road 1.1km from Excelsior Hotel)
Nearest Wan Chai Station
Joy Hing
is a small joint located on ground level which had both a local and a
surprising number of expat diners. Free seating as usual and you can help
yourself to their condiments. (Amazing Chili as well as plum sauces. Ask for
their chives and garlic condiment which is often served with their chicken. You
don't need to have the chicken in order to enjoy this though.)
Ordered On:
17July2015
Meat
platter for two. Choice of Roast Goose, Char Siew and Roasted Pork.
The basic
trifecta of roast eats when in Hong Kong.
Char Siew
- For future reference, one can select the type of cut they'd like for their Char
Siew. Namely, extra fatty, lean or the more charred bits which we were eyeing
from the patron seating across from us.
Goose -
Served warm as though just fresh from the oven, and thus far one of the fattier
and better goose I've tasted. Where there is fat, there is flavor and boy does
this deliver in folds. However, my compatriot thinks it maybe be duck which was
served which tasted like a scam going on. (More to come when the total bill
came. Read on...)
Roast
Pork - To Hong Kong Standard.
X2 Milk Tea HKD16
Free House Soup upon request.
Total
paid HKD254. Fed2
Once a
must take away for my friend, but the pricing was way to steep from his usual
take aways orders, that it left him with second thoughts to do a take away
later.
A basic
rice with char Siew and Duck from the menu goes for about HKD33 but once you go
for a combined platter sufficient for two (off menu) they seemingly hit you
with a fat bill. The goose serving, pictured was about 100HKD and the rest
another 100HKD.
Although
from a taste stand point alone, the goose and other meats was indeed better
than those located nearer to some of the other places in causeway bay, but
price point wise, it did leave a sour after-note. In fact it felt like a little bit off a scam, that
when foreigners order off menu, prices are jacked up. A whole goose would have
gone for about 300+HKD. You do the math.
For
approximately the same price for a goose with rice and side order of vegetable,
one can go across the street to Kam'sRoast Goose, Michelin Recommended joint,
for approximately 100HKD++, and
spare funds to top off with egg tarts at milk tea at Honolulu coffee shop where Jacky Cheung and Tang Wei filmed “Crossing Hennessy”(Both yet to be reviewed).
No joy
here, at Joy Hing Roasted Meats. Good but perhaps a switch on the meat and
jacked up prices. Order individual combination plates for regulated
prices.
ABBATip
- For
future reference, order individual plates over the combination meats to share
and ask for the pricing first. It maybe common practice amongst some
restaurants to jack up prices when going of menu.
- Select
your choice of cuts for Char Siew.
Honolulu Cafe
Am sure
most cafes in Hong Kong have pretty much the same standard of pineapple buns
and egg tarts. This place best known for their egg tarts which is favored by the ex-governer favored.
Ordered
On:
09March2016
Came here right after Kam's Goose located down the road (Towards Causewaybay).
I should have read my own review to remind myself that the buns here are served cold. A better alternative is at Hong Lin Restauruant, which is also known for their Pineapple Bun and Tea!
Fed3
Ordered
On:
24thJuly2015
Polo Bao
(Pineapple Bun)
*A little disappointed. They served the Polo Bao cold?
Usually its served warmed with a nice cold cut of butter on the inside. We had to ask for it to be heated up, but they just nuked the thing.*
Ying Yang
Milk tea
Egg Tart
Fed2
Total72HKD
An
alright place. For one to grab their sweet tooth fix, or breakfast and visit 'made famous' joints to try out their foods. Nearby
are Joy Hing Goose and Kam's Roast Goose (Michelin recommended, yet to be
reviewed).
Fu Xing Sharks Fin Restaurant
(Michelin recommended)
Opens only at 11am
About3-4 items on Dim Sum Menu are ONLY AVAILABLE on WEEKENDS/Public Holidays
A short
walk from Excelsior Hotel. Recommended by others as, once you've had Dim Sum
here, you can stop looking to other locations for good Dim Sum fix. Not to
mention that this Restaurant is also Michelin Guide Recommended. Located on the
second floor of the iconic round about overhead bridge.
ABBATip:Avoid the roast. They do push for it, but its way over charged and not all that great. (Read review of it dated 22July2015. Stick more to their Dim Sum specials and the one's that have special mention here. Not all are great, but most of them are home runs for sure with double orders.
*Stand out orders:
- Shanghai Dumplings with Chilli
- Spring Rolls
- Steam ball with salted egg yolk
Ordered On:
10March2016
Steamed Juicy Meat Dumpling, Shanghai Style
*As good, if not better than Din Tai Fung's famous xiao long baos! Super juicy on the inside and good flavor. However, still the topper is Lei Garden's crab xiao long baos. A golden soup on the inside!*
Chili Steamed Dumplings x2 re-ordered*Good Order*
*Its really good. Sweet interior with a soft, smooth skin. The secret is definitely in the sauce as well! A nice warm chilli oil that's light in heat and not over bearing. The sweet, soy sauce at the bottom compliments these dumplings and the mixture is absolutely stunningly. We were dipping other things into that sauce. Its that good.*
Deep Fried Spring Roll x2 re-ordered
*Really nice. Loads of ingredients stuffed in a freshly fried roll. Goes very well with the vinegar dipping sauce.*
Tripe
*Hong Kong does tripe a little differently. It is very flavorful and it served in its full form. Worth the try and its one of those things, its either you love it or its just not for you.*Steamed Stuffed Fish Maw with Prawns*Pretty okay*Glutenous Rice Balls
*Its a nice dessert. Mochi/tang yuan, elegantly done*
Fried and Stuffed Dough Fritters, steamed in Rice Flour*Its a nice textural play on the pallet.
Crispy interior with a soft silky exterior. Pretty delicious!*
Steamed rice rolls with prawns and pine nuts.
*Pretty standard, but also probably not as amazing as we were already quite full by then.*
Steamed Ball with Melting Salt Egg Yolk*MUST ORDER*
Glutenous Rice*To Standard*Beef Ball
(reviewed as below.)
Har Gao
*To Standard*
Sui Mai
*To Standard*
Complimentary serves of Dessert
Mango Sago
*Like Hui Lau San, this mango dessert was perfect.
Full of mango flavor, creamy and delcious!*
Total Fed 4 Total HKD922
Having been here a 2nd time and trying more of their orders, its definitely safe to say, stick to their Dim Sum Menu. They do try to push for their so called specialty items (often expensive and/or over rated like the char siu on a hot plate reviewed below.), but most of the Dim Sum orders are of good quality and made-to-order (steamed only when ordered).
Waiting for food may take a while (30mins even though we were the first few there.) I'd return, but probably for a weekend/public holiday to try some of the other dim sum which looked really good. They were however frustratingly NOT available on weekdays.
Pricey but you are paying for quality.
Ordered
On:
22July2015
Standouts:
*A contender
to Tim Ho Wan BBQ pork bun. King's Cuisine comes in a close second.*
*Unbelievable.You've got to get this and no sharing! We double ordered this.*
Century
Egg Porridge
*A good standard with loads of ingredients and bit found inside.*
Walnut
chicken pie
*A nice
sweet filling. Something unique and one of their signatures.
Leans towards
sweet over savory. Can try but nothing fantastic.*
Rest of
the Orders
Xiu Mai
*To Std*
Har Kao
*To Std*
Chicken
Feet
Rice Roll
with pork and sweet sauce
*Nice
thin wraps, with sweet pork and an interesting addition of onion. Really good*
Steamed
beef balls
*Good
sized but didn't really fancy the chives that went in.*
Fried
fish Maw with fish paste.
*Pricey
for such a small serving actually. You do have your distinct layers, but the
skin could've been crispier. Good flavor but in my opinion
still looses out to
King Cuisine Roast Pork and at Yat Lok*
Hot Plate
Char Siew HKD180
*Promoted
by the serving staff that this was a recommended order, we bought into her
marketing stint and gave it a try. A lot of flair during its presentation, but
it failed to deliver the wow in flavor. Meat was a little lean with only some
meat bits having some fat. Not too bad, but not justified by its price point. Its the same meat, along with onion which goes into their steamed rice rolls.*
Fed4.
Total HKD940
Overall
consensus, it's alright but it doesn't have that wow factor with the exception
of the few mentioned dishes. If without the additional hot plate char Siew and
roast pork orders, price point would make it much more palatable. For the same
price, it was shared that one could have their Dim Sum at City Hall Maxim Place at a more traditional Di Sum joint. Going early is an absolute must. Click herefor review.
The
special standouts mentioned above are definitely the must orders. You can pass on the roast pork and hot plate dishes, as they definitely are over priced. I'd return for those few
specific dishes mentioned, and definitely for the salt egg custard buns. The
rest to standard dishes you can get pretty much anywhere else. Overall, in my
opinion, I find that the misses at this place aren't as high as other, run of the mill Dim Sum Joints previously reviewed in Hong Kong. Free Wifi
is available on site.
Hoi Kei Yi Xiu Lap Restauruant
(located in Borington Market)
Wanting
to try other eats from Borington Market, we tried a seemingly popular
fish dish from watching locals ordering them on a previous day.
Ordered on:
23rdJuly2015
Fish with pickled vegetables HKD40 each
*A fresh
water fish, believed to be Song Fish. Nothing really special really. Because
its a fresh water fish, there's little flavor to the meat itself. A return for
one, but a once off for another.*
Chicken served atop vegetables HKD63
Kang Kong with bean paste HKD28
Pork Trotters along with pork soup came complimentary.
Total
Fed3 HKD180
Separate order of Mutton Curry 40HKD
Spicier
than it's counterpart across the hall, but falls short. Not bad,
but there's a
reason why everyone goes to Wai Kee for mutton. Halal certified mutton in HongKong, and a must for others.
Overall,
not worth the tried tested, Mutton Curry alternative at Wai Kee. Their chicken
was fairly good, but am sure, one is pretty much splitting hairs to say which
chicken and/or duck was better. One can give a miss to this place with better alternatives around.
*NOTE TAG MAKING SERVICES CLOSED ON SUNDAY!!!*
*Some other guys shop who does the same thing but open on Sundsays at Itaewon* 
