Restaurants

The façade of Royal China Group’s original branch is inconspicuous among the various Chinese restaurants along Queensway, save for a fluorescent sign announcing ‘dim sum daily’. Inside, the large room is decked out in the firm’s trademark shiny gold and black lacquer: elegant, if reminiscent of Hong Kong restaurants circa 1955. The dim sum here is renowned; a long list includes lesser-seen varieties such as churros-like strips of crisp fried dough wrapped in cheung fun – a Hong Kong breakfast favourite, best dunked in a sweet soy dipping sauce. The evening menu, while ambitious (with interesting combinations such as stir-fried scallops with strawberries), is less impressive. A cold starter of marinated jellyfish was over-complicated, doused in a chilli sauce that was a touch too sweet. We preferred the chef’s special of assorted seafood and meat broth with diced winter melon, which contained generous amounts of prawns, crab meat, and shiitake mushrooms. Another speciality, stewed pork belly with preserved cabbage, was again marred by over-sweetening, though the meat was pleasantly fatty and tender. The evening crowd is eclectic, from lone diners reading Chinese novels to loud punters in football shirts. All seemed to be relishing the food.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009