Restaurants

Service at Alan Yau’s ground-breaking dim sum destination is hit and miss; on this occasion, the three waiting staff at the door were too busy schmoozing with a regular to acknowledge the growing queue of customers. Finally seated in the sultry lounge-like basement den, we could admire the glowing fish tanks and starry ceiling lights. Our fellow diners were a mix of young professionals, Chinese families and suited businessmen. The meal, a succession of freshly prepared dim sum, was highly impressive – in the main. The kitchen creates magic out of the perennial favourites: har gau have the obligatory al dente skin and crisp, juicy prawns; chicken congee (rice porridge) was luxuriously velvety, given spark with the addition of salty preserved vegetables and fried shredded shallots; sticky rice was appropriately fragrant from being encased in lotus leaf wrappers. A twist on the classics didn’t go unnoticed; the venison puffs were even better than the original barbecued pork version. On the other hand, our turnip cake was bland and overloaded with chives, without any of the flavoursome chinese sausage and shiitake mushrooms normally included. It’s also a shame that the pots of tea come without leaves, discouraging subsequent brewings.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009