Lai Ching Heen (麗晶軒), Hong Kong
I was on my way to visit my parents in mainland China and made a stop in Hong Kong. The restaurant was located just next to the famous Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, with a great view of Victoria Harbour. In fact, halfway through the dinner, I saw a Red Junk Boat. I got a nice seat facing the window, though not right next to it.
Table views
The menu was simple and represented Cantonese cuisine. It was shorter than a Western-style tasting menu. I had very high expectations for the soup, namely, Buddha Jumping Over the Wall. It turned out very good indeed.
Menu
Before any dish, I would like to mention the sugar-coated walnuts. They were super nice, sweet but not too sweet. The coating was very consistent and not too thick. The waitress also provided three savoury soy sauce and vinegar-based dips, and three chilli paste-based sauces. I did not use much of them, though I should have.
Dips and sauces, and walnuts
The first dish, also a cold dish, was very Cantonese. The jellyfish had literally no taste by itself but provided a very crunchy, crisp texture. It absorbed the strong chilli and vinegar flavour, which burst inside the mouth immediately. It was a great way to freshen up the palate. The celery topping balanced it out with a strong bitter flavour.
The right side was a cold scallop on a crispy cracker base with a caviar topping. The scallop was much firmer and denser compared to a warm one, but also had a lighter, more delicate scallop flavour. The caviar topping also had a lighter taste here. Although I am not sure whether I like it in general, I would say it served as a great palate refresher.
Chilled Jelly Fish, Pickled Pepper, and Chilled Scallop on Toast, Oscietra Caviar
The highlight of the night would be Buddha Jumping Over The Wall. First of all, I did not know why this famous soup was translated literally rather than phonetically as Fotiaoqiang (similar to Xiaolongbao). The soup commonly contains abalone and other seafood (here, cod and clam), chicken, and various mushrooms (here, morel mushroom, bamboo pith, and shiitake), in a well-prepared broth, which is often made by combining chicken, pork, and Shaoxing wine.
The main theme here was umami. The broth was clear but packed with umami flavour! All the ingredients were perfectly cooked; they were likely cooked separately and assembled later. The abalone had a wonderfully firm yet smooth texture and a strong umami flavour. Both the cod and clam were dried and re-hydrated, though not fully; this concentrated the fresh, umami flavours. All the mushrooms were amazing. The surface of the morel mushroom had absorbed the broth. However, the mushroom itself still tasted earthy and was slightly chewy. Bamboo pith, which itself had a very neutral flavour, was soaked in the broth, with its unique net veil intact. It separately provided a crunchy texture. Shiitake had the strongest flavour of all the mushrooms, but in a much smoother, softer texture. Lastly, the black chicken leg was still firm and surprisingly juicy. I also want to mention that I could still taste the chicken flavour on top of the broth.
Buddha Jumping Over The Wall
Now let’s move to the dish I disliked for the night—the Wagyu beef. In my opinion, the wagyu was not suited to this style of cooking, as the way it was rendered out all the fat and made the meat very dry.
The stewed turnip and Wagyu cheek were too dry, as I could not bite through the cheek, which was like a stone. However, the daikon (turnip) was very nice, having absorbed all the beef flavour. The deep-fried Wagyu tongue was very questionable. I could only taste the coating flour. The tongue was also dry, as it was difficult to chew and was tasted nothing. Last was the pan-fried wagyu beef on top of deep-fried, chip-like noodles. It was way too dry as well, and I could not chew through the beef at all. I basically skipped the deep-fried noodles too, as I became tired of eating them.
Kagoshima Wagyu Combination: (1) Stewed Turnip, Wagyu Cheek in Marsala Sauce (2) Golden Wagyu Tongue, Spicy Salted, and (3) Fried Egg Noodles, Kagoshima Wagyu, Chives, Bean Sprouts
This was an okay restaurant. The soup was the highlight, but the mains were very disappointing. I enjoyed the Cantonese cooking style, which often uses a lot of oil to emphasise the main flavour of the ingredients. Additionally, there was a great view of Victoria Harbour.
🐼 Score: 3/5
