Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts

HONG KONG: Exploring Michelin Guide Restaurants in Mongkok

June 22, 2018

HONG KONG: Exploring Michelin Guide Restaurants in Mongkok


If you are booked in a hotel in Mongkok, it will be worth visiting these three dining places to find out why they are listed in the Michelin guide. They are listed in the Michelin street food section which evolved into a new category in 2018 called plate Michelin, which doesn't earn them a star or a title as bib gourmand, but are considered by Michelin inspectors to serve quality food.

The three dining places I chose is just 250 meters to 1.5 kilómeters from each other. So it will be easy to do food tasting in these restaurants. As you can see in the map below, they are just near each other




My suggestion is for you to visit Soupreme first for the Matsusake soup, then eat pan fried shrimp, truffle and signature buns at Cheung Hing Kee. Then eat the famous Michelin desserts of green tea lava cake with green tea ice cream and Mango Napoleon.


SOUPREME


Unfortunately, when I visited Soupreme, it was closed. So all I did was take a photo of the front. It would have been a wonderful experience since they have consistently been in the Michelin list in 2016, 2017 and 2018.






WHAT TO ORDER:
Matsusake soup (45 HKD)

You can get discounted vouchers at klook.com.






CHEUNG HING KEE


The branch I visited and shown in the photos is the branch in Tsimshatsui. This is just to give you an idea of the price and what to order. They also have a branch at Mongkok, about a kilometer from Soupreme and a few meters from the third Michelin restaurant I'm recommending. 


WHAT TO ORDER:

Signature Pan-fried buns + Pan-fried buns with shrimp
(2 pieces each) (35 HKD)
Pan-fried buns with black truffle (2 pieces) (16 HKD) 


They were listed in the 2016 Michelin guide.
In the photo are other items in the menu. 


The buns are pan-fried. 
They taste like large crispy xiao long bao.
It's bigger than the ordinary xiao long bao. 
It's like xiao long bao coz there's soup when you bite into it. 
The bottom is crisp because it's pan-fried. 


JOYFUL DESSERT HOUSE 

I will rave about the Joyful Dessert House because they make the most fantastic desserts. They truly deserve being in the Michelin list for 3 consecutive years: 2016, 2017, 2018. If there is one thing I would say, this is worth going all the way to visit even if it's out of your way. 







WHAT TO ORDER

Green tea lava cake with green tea ice cream (64 HKD) 


If you are a matcha lover, you will love the full-bodied matcha flavor of the cake and the oozing matcha lava. Heavenly! 


Mango Napoleon (64 HKD) 


You can see the lightness and crispness of the pastry


Even the drinks are really good. If you happen to visit in the mid-afternoon, one drink is free when you order the Mango Napoleon or the Green tea lava cake. 
Matcha milk
(36 HKD) 


Honey Peach Slush
(40 HKD)
For discounted vouchers like the one below, you can purchase those at klook.com 



THE 2018 MICHELIN GUIDE STREET FOOD LIST







HONG KONG: My Guide to Dining at Maxim's Palace City Hall

March 10, 2016


HONG KONG: My Guide to Dining at Maxim's Palace City Hall

Why Dine at Maxim's Palace City Hall?

Lonely Planet accurately describes the place as a  " 'palace' (that) offers the quintessential Hong Kong dim sum experience. It's cheerful, it's noisy, and it takes place in a huge kitschy hall with dragon decorations and hundreds of locals. A dizzying assortment of dim sum is paraded on trolleys the old-fashioned way."




It's a popular place among local residents and tourists that's why you need this guide to help you enjoy this experience and avoid the line and the crowds.

THE BEST TIME TO ARRIVE
Opening time from Mondays to Saturdays is at 11:00 AM. Arrive at least 10 MINUTES BEFORE OPENING TIME. We arrived around that time ON A MONDAY and there's a short line of people already. But when they open at 11:00 AM, you can enter immediately and choose your seat. This rule may work only on weekdays because at 11:00 AM, the locals working nearby are not yet on their lunch break.

Most diners, especially locals who are on lunch break, arrive 12:00 PM. At 12:30 PM, the restaurant is full and a long waiting line can be seen outside. Our leisurely lunch lasted from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. We saw the line outside when we left the restaurant.

The restaurant has 50 tables and can accommodate 632 people (source: Maxim's website). Despite the large capacity, it still becomes full at lunchtime.


THE BEST PLACE TO SIT

The best place to sit is at table in the middle of the restaurant.


This is our table.
It is located in the middle of the room.
The trolley carts with dimsum originate from the white door you see at the back.

This is the view from our table.
When the trolley carts leave the kitchen, it doesn't take long till it reaches our table.

Our table number
Most tables in the room can accommodate 4 persons.

Tables for big groups (of 10 people) are located in the room's perimeter.
For big groups, the best table are the ones near the window.



OPTIMUM NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN A GROUP

The optimum number of people in a group is FOUR. Four people can order 13 different items and not overeat. So if you're eight people in a group, you can order 13 different items but you must get 2 orders per item or kind so everyone will be able to taste all 13 items. 



PRICE

The total cost of our meal is 700 HKD, or 175 HKD per person.

Dimsum prices are cheaper Mondays to Fridays.

Take note of additional charges.



WHAT WE ORDERED

Steamed rice roll with shrimp

Bean curd sheets with shrimps, pork and mushroom

Steamed glutinous rice with preserved meat

Steamed shrimp dumpling

Siu mai

Salted egg yolk custard buns



Baked barbecue pork puff (char siu puffs)

Our dessert

Taro pudding with rock sugar

Taro pudding with ginger juice

Mango sago with grapefruit and mango soup



HOW TO ORDER

1. You choose dimsum from these trolley carts going around the table. The names of the dimsum are displayed in front of the cart.



2. After placing on your table the dimsum item you choose, they place a stamp on the meal card. From this card, they compute your total bill.






ADDRESS
1 Edinburgh Place
3rd Floor, Lower Block
Hong Kong City Hall
Central

OPERATING HOURS:
Monday to Saturday
11:00am - 3:00pm, 5:30pm - 11:30pm

Sunday and Public Holiday
9:00am - 3:00pm, 5:30pm - 11:30pm