Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Liu Yuan Pavilion 留園雅敘

This Michelin 1-star restaurant has certainly attracted a lot of Shanghai customers, and is a good indication that its cuisine is authentic and living to the expectation of the picky clientele. It is very popular and so reservation is a must and there are two seating time, in which we booked the first slot and come by 6pm.

This is in fact our second time visiting this restaurant. But last time we did not order some of their specialties. Seated at the booth sofa behind the bar counter, it offers better privacy and is ideal for smaller groups. The décor is pretty simple, emphasizing more on food than the ambience. 

To start off we had Drunken Chicken 花雕醉雞 ($120). The chicken had been marinated well with Chinese yellow wine to infuse with nice aromas and the unique flavours, in a balanced manner. Many restaurants had either added too much wine making the chicken tastes bitter, or too little and unable to highlight the umami note, but this one definitely got it right. A good starter.

The second dish was the seasonal Stir-Fried Hairy Crab Cream with Mung Bean Noodles 蟹粉炒粉皮 ($480). My mouth started to water when it was served, with the golden yellow hairy crab cream fully covering the mung bean noodles underneath. After adding a bit of the special vinegar, the intense flavours from the crab cream was simply amazing. The mung bean noodles were a perfect companion, with a nice chewy texture. Highly recommend especially if you like hairy crab.

The Pea Sprouts in Supreme Broth 上湯豆苗 ($150) might seem ordinary, but doing it well warranted attention and skills as well. This one scored a high mark, with the pea sprout tender and without fibre, and the supreme broth was able to infuse the vegetables with lots of flavours and umami, and the small amount of shredded ham further enhanced the overall experience. 

The true star on the night was Steamed Hilsa Herring Fish 清蒸鰣魚 ($1,500 for half tail). Requiring one hour to prepare, the fish was big in size, with the chef putting Chinese ham, dried shiitake mushroom and wine lees on top, and plenty of Chinese yellow wine sauce, to steam. The staff then helped to remove the scales and then cut the fish into sections. The wonderful taste from the fish oil, mixed with the yellow wine, the savoury flavours from the ham and the fragrance from the dried mushroom, was simply out-of-this-world. While the fish had many thin bones so requiring attention in eating, the two of us easily finished the whole fish. Really good one. 

Wrapping up we had Rice Dumplings with Wine and Osmanthus 酒釀丸子 ($32 each). The dessert was good, with the wine lees and Osmanthus provided a nice fragrance. It was a bit sweeter than I would prefer, but not excessive. The rice dumplings were small in size, with a good bite too. 

The service was good, with the server friendly and polite. She advised us that the fish was fairly big, so we did not end up ordering too much. The bill was $2,589 which was reasonable considering what we had on the night. If you want to have some good authentic Shanghai dishes, this one will be a good choice.