This Cantonese restaurant is located in City Hall and has been in this location as long as I can remember, certainly with a long history. It is still having dim sum carts at lunch, and a popular place drawing many people, for both the experience and the quality of their food. The queue is usually very long, and they do not take reservation as well for lunch. Today, though, we come here for dinner.
It is quite quiet with the restaurant opening only half of the space, and for this section it is only half full. The setting is typical Chinese restaurant style, brightly lit, but at least the tables are not that close to each other to offer some nice space for conversation. The overall ambience is clean and decent.
We order a few of the recommended dishes, starting with Sweet and Sour Pork 菠蘿咕嚕肉 ($128). The sauce is of the right balance in sweet and sourness, very delicious, with the deep-fried pork fillet having only a thin batter on the surface. While this is a common dish almost all Cantonese restaurants offer, it is a test of the chef’s skill and this one scores a good mark from me.
Next is Hakka Stuffed Tofu Pot 客家釀豆腐煲 ($158). I was pleasantly surprised to taste the salted fish mixed in the minced pork stuffing, as many restaurants nowadays are skipping that. Also, there are some large clams and a big fish head in the pot, along with meatball and Chinese celery, to increase the umami taste of the soup. Great to see how the chef is able to bring extra flavours to a common dish.
The final one is Steamed Leopard Coral Grouper 清蒸東星斑 ($388), which is offering at discount. The fish is quite big in size, and while for some people it might feel a tiny bit over-cooked it is actually good for me. I also liked the lighter soy sauce used.
For dessert my wife has Red Bean Soup 紅豆沙 ($40) while I go for Mango Pudding 芒果布丁 ($48). The red bean soup has plenty of bean beans and thick, quite good in taste, while the pudding is decent, wrapping up a satisfying dinner for us.
Service is good, with the staff friendly and attentive. Often in these traditional restaurants there is a feeling that the staff are not very happy, and that ultimately got reflected through the services, but it does not happen here. The bill on the night is $924 and overall good value for money, and we already start to discuss whether we should choose here for our regular group dinner in future.
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