At first glance, you may mistake Chung’s Cuisine in Stanley for a European-style café. A marble bar greets you at the entrance while the open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows leading to an outdoor patio create a great sense of space. The set-up is a polar opposite of the crowded and bustling environs of the Causeway Bay branch.
Billed as a no-MSG eatery, there are also no service, tea or condiments charges, which will easily save you $50 or more if you are eating with a big group. Trying the dim sum (of which there are more than 40 items), we start with a premium siu mai and prawn dumpling ($12), sold by the piece and individually steamed. While the dumpling is succulent and juicy, with just the right chewy thickness to the wrapper, the siu mai falls short on the middle pork filling, which tastes like machine-ground meat. The scallop topping, however, is generously sized and somewhat redeeming.
We also try the baked barbecue pork buns ($30), which have a crisp and sweet pineapple bun topping. There’s also the deep-fried mini spring rolls ($30) with mayo dip instead of the usual Worcestershire sauce. The steamed pork spareribs in black bean sauce ($35) are too fatty for our liking but the highlight is the reinvented classic of stir-fried noodles with beef ($88). The silky but not oily flat rice noodles are lightly coated in a sweet soy sauce and tossed with red onions, which tempers the flavours. With slices of tender beef and crunchy bean sprouts, this is one of the best versions of this dish we have enjoyed in a while.
In the evening, the menu includes more fine dining items such as crispy skin chicken with lotus roots and braised abalone. With limited options for good quality Chinese on the South Side, Chung’s Cuisine is a welcome change. Leslie Chan
Shop 301, 3/F, Stanley Plaza, 23 Carmel Rd, Stanley, 8300 8006. Mon-Fri 11am-10.30pm & Sat-Sun 10am-10.30pm. Lunch for two: around $280.