Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - T'ang Court

This Chinese restaurant is located in The Langham Hong Kong, being one of the only five Cantonese restaurants in the world awarded the coveted Michelin 3-star status. Reflecting China's golden age, the Tang Dynasty, the restaurant has lavish furnishings, offering authentic culinary masterpieces to diners. In fact we used to come here quite often many years ago, and visiting the place tonight brought back many of those good memories.

First we started with an appetizer of the signature Baked Stuffed Crab Shell with Crab Meat and Onion ($200). Coated with bread crumbs and bake to a beautiful golden brown color, the crab shell is stuffed to bursting with nice white crab meat, and together with the onion is able to bring out the original delicate flavors. The crust is thin and adding a few drops of Worcestershire sauce added a nice contrast in taste. As good as always.

Then came the soup. I had the Shredded Duck, Fish Maw with Mushroom and Chinese Chives Soup ($150). The first seep of the soup brought an intense flavor of shiitake mushroom, balanced with the taste of roasted duck. The supreme soup base is also rich and delicious. There are plenty of fish maw too. It is a thick soup so also very filling. I also like the chives which gave a fragrant note in the finish.

For the main dish we had the Stuffed Sliced Grouper with Shrimp Paste and Baked in Port Wine ($660). My favorite in the evening, this creative dish is prepared by stuffing the shrimp paste onto a slice of grouper, then baked with a port wine sauce on top. The port wine got a nice savory and sweet taste and infused into the fish and shrimp paste, but not masking the great flavors of those individual pieces. Great in harmony and demonstrated how the chefs brought new idea and execution to another level.

The other main dish we had was Stewed Chicken with Conpoy and Fish Maw in Chicken Broth ($480). A big contrast to the other dish, the flavors are much more delicate, with the chef deliberately aiming to highlight the original taste of the chicken, supplemented only by the flavors in the broth and conpoy. The texture of live chicken reflects in the quality of the meat and skin readily. My only suggestion is that the sequence of this dish can be rotated with the fish so our palate would be even more receptive.

I ordered Chilled Sago Cream with Mango ($65) to wrap up the meal. The mango apparently is not in the best season so is not particularly sweet and tasty, and neither is the pomelo. The sago cream is a bit too thick for me, so overall this might not be the dessert for my liking.

The restaurant did provide another dessert for us though. With a piece of Osmanthus cake and a Chinese pastry reminiscent of a mini pear, this dessert is certainly appealing in the look, and also delivered a nice taste. I am impressed by the pear-like pastry, with a cake crust wrapping red bean paste. Not too sweet, it is a great finale for the meal.

The service is good with the staff attentive but not intrusive, but I would like the staff to explain more the dishes so we can understand more the ingredients and cooking techniques involved. I always think that could help elevate the overall dining experience but most Chinese restaurants did not do that unfortunately.

With a bowl of rice and congee, the total bill on the night was $1,854. There is a 15% discount as I am a Langham Supper Club member. Considering the great ambiance, the nice food, good service and the fame of the restaurant, it is of nice value and my recommendation.