Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Amy's Kitchen 天樂餐廳

This traditional HK style western restaurant is located in Western District on HK Island, offering the famous 'soy sauce cuisine' which became a specialty style in town, with one of the most well known restaurant being Tai Ping Koon. Knowing that the late owner used to work there and brought with him the recipe, we came tonight to try out its different signature dishes.

The restaurant is pretty small in size, with a few tables but plenty of warmth, and actually by 7 pm it was already fully occupied, with many diners frequent customers, and Amy, the late owner's wife, and the other staff able to greet many of them by names, showing how popular this restaurant is, and also the relationships they are able to cultivate throughout the years.

The first one we tried was Stir-Fried Rice Noodle with Shredded Pork 乾炒肉絲河粉 ($88). Steaming hot, this is a fantastic example of how we would call 'wok steam'. The chef is able to stir fry the rice noodle and everything under high heat, with the rice noodle distinct and not sticking to each other. The bean sprout, spring onion and shredded pork providing contrast in texture and the seasoning was also spot on. If you prefer the sweeter soy sauce style one I think it would be equally good too. Good one!

Next we had the signature Swiss Sauce Chicken Wings 瑞士雞翼 ($68 for 4 pieces). Very good in taste, the use of the sweet soy sauce and other herbs to create this wonderful Swiss sauce obviously contributed to the great flavors, but the chicken wings I like those from Tai Ping Koon more because of the firmer meat texture. A bit subjective, yes. Nevertheless I would still rate this dish a good one because the sauce was so amazing.

Then it was another of their signature, Amy's Kitchen Deep-fried Stuffed Chicken Thigh with Dried Apricot 天樂甜心雞卷 ($148). The story goes that originally the chef used raisin for the stuffing but upon the recommendation by celebrity Cherie Chung, changed to apricot. The chef used a chicken thigh and removed the bone, then stuffed with dried apricot before deep-frying, to get a crispy skin and the apricot slightly jammy. There was also a special sauce from made from mustard and cream which also paired well with the chicken and the fettuccine. A creative and interesting dish worth trying.

Last we had the Souffle 焗梳乎厘 ($78). Yes, it took quite a while to prepare but I would say the wait is well-worth. Beautifully presented, the souffle is fluffy, with the outer part golden brown and so appealing, while the inside is airy on texture. The sweetness is also appropriate for me, and I could not resist scooping it non-stop, with my wife complaining I had eaten most of it in no time. Definitely worth ordering.

The bill on the night was $382, which was very reasonable and honestly I nearly asked Amy to check the bill when I first saw that. Yes, it was not located in the prime commercial or shopping area, but seeing how the restaurant decided to offer a much more fair price for customers and how the interactions go during my experience as a new customer coming, I can understand how the restaurant has built its loyal clientele over the years, and what made this restaurant special - the heart.