Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Tak Lung Restaurant

This traditional Chinese restaurant is located in San Po Kong, started in 1963 and now under the second generation. With the dedication of the owner throughout the years, the restaurant had established itself in the neighborhood and beyond. Even if it was not as famous as some other old tea-house in HK, there was quite a group of loyal customers down the years.

Recently there was news that the restaurant would be closing down in Nov, as the owner was feeling the weather of age and could not handle the hardship anymore with deteriorating health. Trying to try it out before that, I was fortunate to be able to book a table and took my mother and wife to sample it this evening.

There were a large crowd waiting outside the restaurant when we arrived by 7pm, apparently a lot of people was like us trying to pay homage here. Waiting a short while we got our table, and the decor was very traditional, and honestly it was quite messy and unhygienic. But we were not here for nice environment, but more for the food.

We forgot to pre-order the signature Grilled Ham & Chicken so could not try it out. Instead we had the 'Grandfather' Chicken ($218), one of the four most famous ways to prepare chicken in Canton. The chicken was first marinated with special soy sauce till 70% done, then smoked with tea leaves so it got a smoky fragrance on the skin. The chicken flesh was tender and juicy too. A good start.

We also ordered another traditional dish, Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetable ($100). Unlike many restaurants which tend to braise the pork belly till very soft, Tak Lung kept the meat firm and not having too thick a layer of fat, making the health-conscious less guilty in eating them. There was some preserved mandarin peel which added an extra aromas. A nice one but I would prefer there were more preserved vegetable included in the dish.

The other dish we had was Pea Sprout in Salted and Preserved Egg ($108). The pea sprout was young and tender, but maybe because of the salty egg was, the whole dish was just too salty for us. It might not be something the chef could control and in these traditional restaurants we might also not be realistic to expect the chef to taste the dish probably. A bit of a let-down.

Finally we had the Steamed Cantonese Sponge Cake ($88). It was generous in size and good for 4-6 people, with a spongy texture, and I would say it was a bit too sweet for the modern taste. But considering this from the traditional recipe it might be of the proper level. A decently good effort.

With three bowls of rice, the total bill on the night was $623. There were certainly lots of history and memories for a lot of customers, but for someone coming the first time without those emotional values, the restaurant might not be particularly impressive.