Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Yong Fu 甬府

There are many big names in China which has opened outlets in Hong Kong in recent years. Having visited Xin Rong Ji last year, we came today to Wanchai Lockhart Road to try out Yong Fu 甬府, a newly crowned Michelin 1-star restaurant in 2022, which offers authentic and high-end Ningbo cuisine.

Coming through the large sliding door we were shown to our table on the ground floor main dining area. Seated comfortably at the large table, the place has an ambience of soothing luxury, with apparent emphasis on decorations, including nice ceramic displays on the wall recesses, wooden panes with beautiful traditional patterns, and a large chandelier depicting waves with fish, highlighting the restaurant is famous for its fresh seafood directly coming from East China Sea.

The first dish was Steamed Shepherd’s Purse Dumpling 黑松露野菜石榴包 ($152). Fancy on presentation, the use of dried ice to create a misty feeling showcased the small dumplings like treasures. The very thin dough allowed us to see through to the finely chopped Shepherd’s Purse, a type of mustard vegetable with a unique taste, with the chef adding a bit of truffle to enhance the aromas. A wonderful starter.

Since the restaurant is famous for its seafood, we asked for some recommendations. We forgo the popular wine marinated crab as my wife could not eat them raw, so instead opted for something not on menu, the Mantis Shrimps on Ice 冰鎮溏心蝦蛄 ($499 half portion). The mantis shrimps had been cut open to allow easy eating, and true to the recommendation, each of them had yolk. The marinade used to cook the mantis shrimp was very good in taste, infusing the umami and sweet shrimp meat with great flavors. Although a bit expensive, it is well worth trying out.

Another wonder from the sea we ordered was Jellyfish on Ice 冰鎮海蜇 ($498). Thinly sliced in big pieces, the jellyfish has an amazing texture, super crunchy on the bite. The dipping sauce is another highlight, complex in flavors with elements of aged vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil, with also the sourness of the aged vinegar adjusted perfectly. Another must-order in my opinion.

Then we had another signature dish, Chiang’s Taro Soup 蔣公芋艿羹 ($78 each). Named after Chiang Kai-shek, it was a dish he would order every time he went back to his hometown Fenghua in Ningbo. The thick soup is kept warm on tealight, with great fragrance once the lid opens, and the creamy texture of the soup, together with the wonderful taste of taro and lard residue, completely captured my palate. Even though it might seem unhealthy, it is definitely another must try.

To the main dishes, we picked Braised Cuttlefish with Dried Bamboo Shoot 筍麩菜烤目魚 ($598). The thick, meaty cuttlefish was braised to perfection, soft and without any rubbery bite, with the sauce nice in umami taste. I could not tell the small pieces in the dish was in fact bamboo shoot, but rather like olive vegetable in Guangdong cuisine, in both taste and texture. The chef added some pork belly pieces to braise with the cuttlefish to give the dish more fragrance with the fat.  Another nice dish if you do not need to worry about cholesterol.

The other main dish was Golden Whelk in Sour Soup 酸湯黃金螺 ($498). Golden whelk was a delicacy in Ningbo, on the appearance it was like a small sea whelk, and the chef had cooked them in a sour soup, which had got a bit of chili to spice it up. The golden whelk has a good bite but not tough on texture, with nice umami taste. The soup could be consumed together as well to give a bit of kick to the palate. Generally good, but we found a few pieces still got some sands. Not so bad as to ruin the dish but affected our overall enjoyment.

Wrapping up on the main dish we also had Traditional Braised Winter Melon 家燒冬瓜 ($168). Although it looks simple, this is my favorite in the evening, with the winter melon first stir-fried with vegetable oil and lard, then infused with a tasty broth prepared with Chinese ham and dried small shrimps, served on a warmer to keep the temperature. Even with the big portion and after all the dishes, we managed to finish the whole. Another of my recommendation.

We could not resist the temptation and ordered the Ningbo Sweet Dumplings 寧波湯圓 ($36 for 2 pieces) for dessert. Homemade everyday by the chef, no wonder it is another signature, with the skin of the sweet dumpling very soft and thin, wrapping the black sesame fillings of nice sweetness. To make it less heavy, the chef cleverly just use water for the soup, with a bit of osmanthus flowers to give a bit of fragrance. Very good.

Service was good, and the staff did make good recommendations. I am however surprised to see on social media afterwards that the restaurant is promoting a tasting menu, but it was not showing up on the menu provided and neither did the staff introduced, despite knowing there are only two of us in the evening. The bill on the night was $3,033 which was not cheap but considering the quality of the food it was worth trying it out.