Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Xing South Beauty

This high-end Chinese restaurant is located at Nan Fung Place in Sheung Wan, focus on contemporary Shandong and Sichuan cuisine, with the menu designed by the famous Lu Shang Lu and Qiao Jiang Nan, plus some select dishes from other Michelin restaurants in China.

The restaurant is spacious, with the tables in the main dining hall nicely separated to ensure privacy and comfort. The décor has plenty of cultural elements, like using a traditional drum as the table base and lantern-like lamps on the ceiling. But there is also a strong sense of mainland Chinese restaurant design.

For starter we had Smoked Chicken Shreds with Crispy Scallion 脆葱手撕諸城燻雞 ($298). The traditional Shandong Zhucheng smoked chicken was flavourful and delicious, hand-shredded to remove the meat from the bones, to combine with some deep-fried crispy scallions to add an extra layer of fragrance. Very good.

Next, we had Mashed Chicken Ball with Egg White and Matsutake in Chicken Soup 松茸清湯雞豆花 ($198 each). The chicken soup was clear and without any oil, but intense in wonderful flavours. In the middle was a white mashed chicken ball that was mixed with egg white, soft and fluffy, plus some matsutake mushroom to enhance the smell.

The other starter was Mixed Pork Ears with Scallion 章丘葱白雲脆耳 ($238). A pleasant snowy white presentation, the finely shredded Zhangqiu scallion white was mixed with shredded pork ears, with a good crunchy texture. Compared with the smoked chicken this dish was much lighter in taste and would ideally be served first for better effect.

For the main dish we had Stir-Fried Pork Kidney 魯上魯爆炒腰花 ($298). This was a signature dish of Lu Shang Lu in Beijing, with the stir-fried pork kidney beautifully carved on the surface, tender and easy to chew, infused with the dark sauce for a wealth of wonderful flavours.

Lastly, we had Braised Hairtail with Scallion 葱燒渤海灣帶魚 ($498). The meaty hairtail from Bohai Sea was braised in a thick sauce, together with plenty of scallion, with rich flavours, having a mix of savoury and sweetness. The fish meat was tender, while it had been pan-seared to bring forward the delicious fish oil.

Service was good, with the staff attentive and friendly. Together with the aged pu’er to enjoy throughout, the bill on the night was $1,967. Considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would rate this restaurant an Excellent 75 points, worth returning.