“People would drive all the way here from Sai Wan for a bowl of black bean ribs with rice,” waitress Shek Wai Ling told us a few years ago when we first wrote about the place.
#HONG KONG MONGKOK DIM SUM HOW TO#
How to be a Hong Kong local: 10 tips on faking it It isn’t called the “canteen of the wealthy” for nothing.Įven though the place is frequented by the rich and famous, anyone can rock up to Fook Lam Moon and feel like a billionaire. The first thing we encountered at Fook Lam Moon was a Rolls-Royce Phantom pulling up at the main entrance, dropping off a weary looking man and his two hungry offspring, who bounced noisily to the door of the Hong Kong dim sum restaurant as though they were visiting grandma’s house.
The xiaolongbao and shrimp dumplings, however, are bland in comparison. Sliced garoupa and black truffle are paired in slippery rice rolls. The siu mai is made of Kurobuta pork wrapped around a soft-boiled quail’s egg. It’s perfectly barbecued to give it a mildly charred surface and juicy insides. Mott 32’s char siu uses Iberico pork and is glazed with Yellow Mountain honey. The dark and spacious loft-style space underneath a bank building in Hong Kong is nothing like a proper dim sum restaurant – even the service is kind and attentive.īut we’re sold once the barbecued pork arrives. These siu mai pockets are filled with deliciously runny quail's egg. The restaurant also offers a 270-degree Victoria Harbour view.įood is eaten with exquisite jade tableware. The crispy fried taro net topped with an abalone may be the best deep-fried taro mash in town. The crispy shrimp with avocado dumplings and mango mayonnaise is fresh and crunchy.
Yan Toh Heen Superior Dumplings is the most popular combo – it includes a dumpling with steamed scallop, black truffles and vegetables, a steamed lobster and bird’s nest dumpling and a steamed dumpling with king crab leg and vegetables. It was recently upped from one Michelin star to two.īut local dim sum fans have been worshiping it since the 1980s, before the InterContinental hotel took over the space from The Regent in 2001.
If you’re looking for a first and only dim sum experience, there aren’t a lot of places that can rival Yan Toh Heen. The prices are a bargain, with dim sum dishes ranging from HK$12 to $17 ($1.5-2). Other San Hing specialties include quail’s egg siu mai, deep-fried milk and various seasonal dishes often not listed on the menu, such as osmanthus jelly during the summer. Photographs on the wall show Canto-pop star Eason Chan giving props to San Hing’s lau sa bao – signature yellow custard “quicksand buns.” Staff frantically churn out a wide selection of dim sum, stacked into giant bamboo towers.Ĭustomers perpetually hover around the food arrival counter, while an unending stream of new customers mill about looking to snatch seats. In the small hours the shop is a madhouse, especially on weekends. Located in Kennedy Town, San Hing technically opens at 3 a.m., though customers arrive earlier to secure seats. The tables are shared by a mix of elderly folk, celebrities and drinkers on a last stop before home. This is the place to go for a dim sum fix at dawn. The Sham Shui Po branch, the second Tim Ho Wan after the Mong Kok store, is still said to house the best chefs. The radish cake actually tastes like the white radish it’s made from.Īnd of course there are the char siu (barbecued pork) baked buns, now widely imitated but never matched. The siu mai is packed with fat shrimp and succulent mushrooms. The beef balls are firm but tender, with plenty of coriander. Simply, this is what dim sum is meant to taste like. Saying the quality is high and ingredients are fresh is an understatement. The good news is Mak’s opened six larger locations around Hong Kong – and many more franchises overseas.ĭespite changes, Tim Ho Wan is still worth it, wait and all. The most stress-free way to tour Hong Kong's busiest streets
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