Going to HK... again!

[micheniche]

Hello peeps,

I will be going to HK again and this would be, unfortunately, my third and final trip to HK as my parents are getting quite tired of going to HK every year and they want to go some place else. Not me though...

Anyway, I have some requests to ask from you chowhounders:

1. Can anyone recommend a good Japanese place in HK that specialize in sushi and ramen? Or any Japanese place that will guarantee blow my head off!
2. Do you think Tim Ho Wan is worth a visit. Some blogs have been singing praises about it but I'm very skeptical. Apparently, there is a new branch in IFC, I heard?
3. Laduree vs. Jean Paul Hevin vs. La Maison. Which one?
4. And my parents wanted to go to Sai Kung but I assume that Sai Kung must have lots of seafood restaurants. Do you guys have any preference? I don't want to fall into a tourist trap!
5. Cuisine Cuisine: Should I go to the IFC one or the one at Mira ( i will be staying at the Mira but I have tried the one at IFC and it left me a HUGE Impression. BTW, I think Cuisine Cuisine stuff is so much better than LKH!
6. There's this shop selling barbecued meat at the Central market near LKF. Should I go there?
7. Is T'ang Court worth going to?
8. Since it is my last visit, any places that I MUST GO? i.e. Italian cuisine etc?

Places that you should not recommend to me as I've been there before :

Yung Kee
Lan Fong Yuen
Crystal Jade
LKH
Caprice
Tai cheong
Tsim Chai kee
Fu Sing
Manor Seafood Rest.
Australia Dairy Company
Kam Wah Cafe
Tsui Wah LKF

Thanks thanks thanks!

[e_ting]

1. Can anyone recommend a good Japanese place in HK that specialize in sushi and ramen? Or any Japanese place that will guarantee blow my head off!
Sushi - Sushi Sase, or Kenjo
Ramen - MIST for non-traditional ramen, but I wouldn't call it fusion exactly (e.g. chicken soup base). I'm not a fan of Butao - basically there's no decent Hakata-style ramen in HK imho.

2. Do you think Tim Ho Wan is worth a visit. Some blogs have been singing praises about it but I'm very skeptical. Apparently, there is a new branch in IFC, I heard?
There is a new branch in IFC yes. Be prepared to line up.

3. Laduree vs. Jean Paul Hevin vs. La Maison. Which one?
No Laduree, pop-up only. JP Hevin.

4. And my parents wanted to go to Sai Kung but I assume that Sai Kung must have lots of seafood restaurants. Do you guys have any preference? I don't want to fall into a tourist trap!
Loaf On

5. Cuisine Cuisine: Should I go to the IFC one or the one at Mira ( i will be staying at the Mira but I have tried the one at IFC and it left me a HUGE Impression. BTW, I think Cuisine Cuisine stuff is so much better than LKH!
Really you like CC?? Anyway. If you must, go to the Mira branch.

6. There's this shop selling barbecued meat at the Central market near LKF. Should I go there?
Not sure which one you're talking about...

7. Is T'ang Court worth going to?
Yes. Get the crispy chicken. Go for dinner rather than lunch. Note it's pan-Chinese, rather than just Canto (Ming Court is mostly Canto)

8. Since it is my last visit, any places that I MUST GO? i.e. Italian cuisine etc?
Otto (Charles has kindly linked to my blog post!) and Amber are my two favourites in HK for non-Asian.

Hope this helps!

[PhilD]

Tim Ho Wan is now open at the IFC - it is in the level below the in-town check-ins of the airport express station (head down the escalators to the airport express platforms).

Quite a long queue at 12:30 and it is quite a small restaurant. Most people seemed to be doing take-away though - we didn't wait. One of my team headed down at 3:00 this afternoon and bought back some very good char sui baked buns - the wait was approx 15 mins (I work in the IFC).

[klyeoh]

So glad you brought up Amber, e_ting - it's often overlooked by other Chowhounds but has been my fave French-continental restaurant in HK after Caprice & L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, ever since my first time there in 2008:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/500215

Been back there again a couple of times since and had never been disappointed :-)

[Charles Yu]

Ref: 6 - Could it be 'Yat Lok' on Stanley Street?! If so, don't miss out on their Roasted Goose. At par if not better than Yung Kee??!! Especially when they are fresh out of the oven!

[K K]

Or Lung Kee on 5 Gage Street (that should be right across Lan Fong Yuen?)

Was told that Yung Kee's roast duck is even better than their goose....

[Charles Yu]

Preparation, seasoning and marinade are the same for the two. Verdict as to which is better depends on whether you like 'chewier' texture ( goose ) or 'mushier/more tender' texture ( duck ).
Guess it's almost like having sushi where one uses Wild Pacific Salmon as neta in one and farm raise Atlantic Salmon in the other?!!

[e_ting]

Ah yes, just went to Lung Kee yesterday - very good crispy roast pork there. Another famous BBQ store in Central (mostly for char siu) is Kam Wah.

[ckcrunch]

Sushi Sase is excellent (they have an excellent lunch set for ~$300 - a great value). But for dinner, I find the omakase at Sushi Fuku-Suke or Tenzen in Causeway Bay to be better value.

[klyeoh]

If you're after Italian in HK, try Umberto Bombana's 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo:
http://www.theworlds50best.com/region...

I'm a fan of Chef Bombana since he was helming Toscana at the old Ritz-Carlton back in the 90s.

[micheniche]

Will be reading reviews on this restaurant soon!

[micheniche]

Hello there, I made a rez for 8 1/2. I was impressed by the reviews at open rice. The pictures are good enough to make me hungry!

Will tell you what i think about it when i actually dine there!

[Charles Yu]

I'm sure you'll have a great time.
Here's another review by our fellow chowhounder blogger 'e_ting' to wet your appetite!
http://www.e-tingfood.com/2011/10/8-1...

[M_Gomez]

Thank you, Charles. Now I want to go eat at 8 1/2 in Hong Kong!
And by the way, my husband is getting jealous, as he said I'm always saying "Charles Yu said this, Charles Yu said that". Ha-ha!

[Charles Yu]

'Yu' are most welcome!! Hope one day when I visit S'pore or HK again, you, myself, Fourseasons and klyeoh can get together for a chowmeet or two!!

[NilesCable]

Charles, I hope you will be in HK again in March for a third annual chowmeet. I will be there from 21st to 25th of March 2012.

[Hot Chocolate]

1. Zuma (the Sunday buffet is an awesome value)
2. It's in the subway station part of IFC in the basement.
3. I thought Laduree was a pop up stand ? It's still around ??
5. The Mira is far superior to the one in IFC.
6. Nah, just order it at Cuisine Cuisine at the Mira
8. hmm ... TBLS, Mirror, I really like Yun Fu for the decor as the food is nice and the decor is awesome, otto e mezzo for white truffles, and also it's hairy crab season.

[micheniche]

Thanks!

[K K]

You may want to do some more research on openrice.com (they have an English site for those who cannot read Chinese) but this is what I've been reading up to think they may hold some merit.

Sushi - 鮨佐瀬 SUSHI SASE in Centra, 49 Hollywood Roadl - from blog writeups, the head/chef owner came from the Hokkaido flagship restaurant. The interior, decoration, and counter, fish selection is close to that of high end Japanese sushi restaurants. Some say the chef's best work is if you go omakase with the cooked side dishes (of which the stewed/simmered cooked octopus is suppposed excellent). It's on the pricey side though.

Ramen: 豚王 Butao Ramen, also in Central. Beware of possibly crazy lines of 1+ hr wait. Owner Meter Chan and his partner hired Japanese ramen chefs from a restaurant after trying upwards of several hundred ramen joints in Japan. Ippudo, a very well known Japanese ramen chain with a branch in New York, has opened in Hong Kong as well. Finally Hokkaido style ramen can be found at Hakodate Japanese Restaurant 函館元祖北海道拉麵 in Quarry Bay, shio broth.

Have you tried clear broth brisket soup with or without noodles at the specialist shops?

If so, Sister Wah in Tin Hau, Kau Kee in Central (also has crazy lines before the restaurant opens), and Kwan Kee (although further away in Tai Po) are the best in town. This is probably more satisfying than won ton noodles.

[micheniche]

I don't eat beef so the brisket stuff might not work.

I actually have been using openrice for my first two trips but I want to listen from others as well. Hehe. :) Also using chowhound is more convenient. I can narrow my list down easily.

Not too interested in ippudo... but BUTAO. BRING IT ON! 1 hour wait? What am I going to do?

[Johnny L]

You can always wait with me as I'll probably be there sometime during the next 3 weeks =)(leaving tomorrow).

As for places I do plan to eat I will be trying:

Iroha: specializes in Japanese BBQ, famous for their wagyu beef but they have a good selection of everything.

Yardbird: fairly new yakitori joint from a former executive chef at Zuma and worked at Masa in NYC as well.

Tonkichi tonkatsu: famous for specializing in japanese style panko crusted fried foods, I'm going for the tonkatsu in hopes I can learn something to improve mine.

Probably hitting up Ippudo as well since I live in California and we have none.

[Elgreenholio]

I really enjoyed Bo Innovation when I was in HK. Very different in presentation and style. You'll either love it, like I did, or dislike the molecular approach.

[micheniche]

No Bo innovation. Although one of my chef friends told me about it... no. I had enough of fusion stuff and i think that sometimes, it is well executed (leaving you thinking " ingenious!" or "awesome" or just downright awful (which leaves you wondering, "is this person trying to impress?", "this tastes weird".

[morisaur]

have you actually been?

i wouldn't knock it based on that kind of bias if you haven't. they had some of the better food i had in hk.

[e_ting]

I can't say I liked Bo very much on my visit. However, I had the chance to chat to Alvin Leung (Bo's chef) recently and he seems to have gotten the hang of cooking as something people should enjoy rather than out-there engineering designed to shock/excite. He also said he'll be in the restaurant more from now on (he'd been filing a TV show recently, and prior to that, basically touring the world to spread his Chinese x-treme "gospel" blah blah.)

[Charles Yu]

I would go to Ming Court instead of Tang Court!! They also have a 'wine room', the first of such kind in a Chinese restaurant! Do a nice job with wine pairing!

If you haven't been to Sai Kung, its definitely an interesting place to visit. I'm always mesmerized by the seafood displays every time I visited there! Two notable ' bring your own seafood' restaurants are 'Chuen Kee Seafood' and 'Loaf On'. Personally, I prefer the latter.

For the sheer experience of eating the 'cheapest' Michelin star food on earth and the awesome freshly baked to order B-B-Q pork buns, Tim Ho Wan is worth a try. The one at Sham Shui Po has a shorter line!

Dim Sum at the new ' Tin Lung Heen' at the Ritz Carlton for the spectacular view from the 103rd floor and food that will garner a star or two in the next Michelin guide??!!

[micheniche]

Between chuen kee and loaf on, why would you prefer the latter? :) Any reason I should?

I will look up on tin lung heen. hehe

[Charles Yu]

Loaf On is smaller, neater and cozier. Food is also better ( not just seafood but other traditional Cantonese dishes ). However, Chuen Kee does offer some sort of Harbour view if you are lucky enough to get a window table!.

[micheniche]

Is a reservation necessary for Loaf On?

[micheniche]

Also, continuing from the other post... When you said Hoi King Heen, is it for Dim sum or ala carte?

[Charles Yu]

SK, being a huge tourist and local attraction, reservation is definitely necessary for weekends. Hoi King Heen for dinner. Haven't heard from anyone regarding dim sum quality??!!

[micheniche]

Thanks for the tip.