Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Man Yuen Restaurant 文苑飯莊

This Chinese restaurant is located in Wong Tai Sin, in the shopping centre of Tin Ma Court, one of HK’s oldest housing estates. Under CK Poon, the former general manager of Forum, the famous Michelin 3-star, and Chef Adam Wong, this restaurant aims to achieve the same prestige, but in a district that no one will come to think of regarding fine cuisine.

The restaurant is spacious, with good lighting, neat and modern décor, exhibiting a friendly and high-end ambience. On one end there is a large cellar, featuring a nice assortment of good wines. After bringing us some honey walnuts as a starter, the staff helpfully provides us some recommendations on the dishes.

We start with Pan-Fried Honey-Glazed Golden Oyster 龍眼蜜餞金蠔 ($218). There are four pieces of gold oyster, with each fatty and moist, having the surface glazed with the more delicate and fragrant longan honey. The chef also adds a bit of finely shredded fried ginger and some chopped spring onion on top to remove the minerality of the oysters for those who are very sensitive. A great start.

Next, we have each ordered a Five Snake Soup 太史五蛇羹 ($188 each). The snake soup is authentic in taste, with plenty of shredded snake and chicken meat, wood-ear, shiitake mushroom, and aged tangerine peel. Adding the finely shredded lemon leaves, chrysanthemum leaves, and crunchy doughs enhance the fragrance and texture. It’s been a while since I have a snake soup and this one delivers.

One of the recommendations the staff made is Baked Prawns with Vermicelli in Hot Pot 薑蔥大蝦粉絲煲 ($268). Served in a sizzling hot claypot, there are plenty of spring onion and ginger to give nice fragrance, with the vermicelli absorbing the flavours of the prawns to make it super tasty. The prawns are meaty and nice, with quite many pieces as well. Good in value and flavours.

Another traditional dish we order is Slow-Cooked Pomelo Peel with Shrimp Roe 蝦子慢煮柚皮 ($138). The pomelo skin has been properly processed, without the bitter notes and weird taste, very soft in texture. Paired with a thick, nice abalone sauce, with plenty of shrimp roes dusted on top, gives a delicious savoury taste. Even the vegetables on the side are trimmed beautifully to add to the presentation. The attention to details is apparent.

Another of the recommendation is Flowery Grouper in Two Ways 杉斑兩吃 ($680). The first one is Stir-Fried Fillets with Seasonal Greens 翡翠炒球. There are many pieces of the grouper fillet, cooked perfectly to remain tender, with broccoli and bell peppers. Seasoned well, even without oyster sauce it is enough in flavours.

The other is Fish Head & Belly with Bitter Melon in Hot Pot 涼瓜燜頭腩. My favourite in the evening, the fish head and belly are really delicious, with the black beans and soya sauce bringing forth the flavours, served in the sizzling hot claypot. The bitter melon and bean curd sheets are equally good. The only suggestion is that the staff should ask the kitchen to serve this dish a bit later when we still have a table full of food.

Service is good, with the staff attentive and friendly. The bill on the night is $1,920 and considering what we have I would say the price is reasonable. I look forward to this restaurant to continue receiving recognition, and perhaps soon we may see it being spotlighted in the Michelin Guide?