Man Wah 文華廳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It’s been a year since I last caught up with my buddy St Paul. He’s back in town for a little less than a week, and I was eager to reserve his time for a meal before he returns to the City of Angels.

Last year around the same time, we met up for lunch at Hutong (胡同) and knowing that he’s into Chinese food, I decided to call Man Wah (文華廳) at MO to see if they have a table for us on Ching Ming Festival. To my pleasant surprise, they did on such short notice (everyone in China for the week again!?).

St Paul and I are both pretty adventurous when it comes to food so it didn’t really surprise me that we made very quick work on the dishes to order.

Shanghainese soup dumpling, minced pork, conpoy, dried shrimp roe (蝦籽瑤柱小籠包) – This came from the set lunch. The wrapper was ultra thin and the broth surprised me  bit with its sweetness.

Morel mushroom and bamboo pith dumpling (羊肚菌竹笙餃) – The sticky wrapper with the bamboo pith web matched really well together with the diced morel mushrooms in the middle. Very nice.

Wagyu beef puff, black pepper sauce (黑椒和牛酥) – The puff pastry was really done nicely. I like the fillings of wagyu beef marinated in a pretty light black pepper sauce.

Steamed rice roll, barbecued Iberian pork (西班牙黑豚肉叉燒腸粉) – It came with a fair share of coriander bringing some lovely fragrance to the barbecued pork and rice roll.

Boiled soup with carrot and corn (甘筍粟米豬展湯) – This was a bit disappointing. Most high-end Chinese restaurants would be offering their double-boiled soup in their set lunch menu but not here obviously. Last time I checked, this was a Michelin starred, fine dining restaurant. Sigh…

Har gau, prawn, lobster, caviar, salmon roe (雙籽龍蝦鮮蝦餃) – Very cute presentation which had us scrambling for our smartphones for photos. Pretty delicate.

Wok-fried prawn, garlic, dried chilli (大千珍寶蝦球) – The wok-fried prawn was indeed jumbo-sized. This was beautifully cooked with garlic and dried chilli.

Deep-fried crab claw coated, minced shrimp (百花炸蟹鉗) – Another great dish. Deep-fried crab claw has always been a crowd pleaser since our childhood days and the crispy batter was making the shrimp mousse even more mouthwatering. It was served with its usual partner, a gluey sweet-and-sour sauce.

Fried rice, whole abalone, chicken, conpoy, mushroom, lotus leaf (原隻鮑魚飄香荷葉飯) – I thought I didn’t order too much but at this point, I was already more than stuffed. I did manage to finish most of this, including the abalone which was really succulent. 

Almond cream, egg white, sesame dumpling (蛋白杏仁茶湯丸) – Very nice texture thanks to the egg white and I liked the fact that the almond flavors weren’t over the top.

Egg tartlet, red bird’s nest, gold leaf (金萡血燕蛋撻) – We still got room for some crispy egg tartlets. This came with some luxurious toppings of red bird’s nest and gold leaf. Needless to say, it calls for a few more photos.

Petite fours (美點雙輝)

We missed the view cuz the hostess claimed that they could not arrange it in such short notice. She did say that if someone had a last-minute cancellation, it could perhaps be arranged but that was really the last time I saw her in this dining room. I did spot some empty tables by the window so I was curious if they have just dropped the ball there. For a restaurant with such pedigree and heavy price tag, I simply expected a lot more (both food and service).

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$$$

Address: 25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2825-4003

Website: www.mandarinoriental.com/en/hong-kong/victoria-harbour/dine/man-wah

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm daily

RC Restaurant 紅雞冰廳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It's Ching Ming Festival (清明節) today and I'm bringing little nugget out to do some tomb-sweeping and pay respect to his grandfather. It was raining a bit like it usually did on Ching Ming festival but otherwise, everything went smoothly. Afterwards, we went our separate ways with Jelloman and little one going to meet their friends and I headed off to see my buddy St Paul who's in town for a funeral.

I had less than two hours before lunch and with rain pouring harder and harder, I decided to stop by Kowloon City to find myself a shelter and kill off my spare time. Luen Fat Restaurant (聯發茶餐廳) was my first choice but as soon as I saw the small lineup in front, I quickly switched to my Plan B, RC Restaurant (紅雞冰廳) which was located just next door.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) – I thought the tea wasn't strong enough today but even without the perfect balance, it was creamy and silky smooth. 

Egg omelette with ham and toast (多士炒蛋火腿) – Pretty decent. I asked them not to sprinkle any fresh chives on top and for the most part, they did a fine job doing just that.

Satay beef noodle (沙嗲牛肉一丁) – This was supposed to be one of the signature items here. The broth, as its color already suggested, was very rich in flavors. Same goes for the satay beef but it was way too flavorful that I could hardly taste the flavors from the beef which was why I liked the one from Sun Wah. The beef with satay sauce from Sun Wah was never over the top so you could actually enjoy the natural flavors from the beef.

Next up, I'm going to meet up with St Paul and his queen (actually his princess). Really looking forward to this cuz it's been a year since we last saw each other.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 2B Hau Wong Road, Kowloon City, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sung Wong Toi

Tel: +852 2653-3166

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 9:00pm daily

Sun Thai Restaurant Tsim Sha Tsui 新泰東南亞餐廳 尖沙咀 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I'm back in Tsim Sha Tsui to meet my hair stylist tonight after briefly stopping by the area this morning for a medical appointment. I have been thinking about where to grab my early dinner before my haircut and this Thai restaurant called Sun Thai Restaurant (新泰東南亞餐廳) suddenly came to mind since it was often seen with long lineups of customers whenever I walked past their entrance.

The popular Thai restaurant hidden in the basement of a commercial building is a lot more spacious than I thought.

I didn't have time for a big feast so just a simple pad thai with prawns would do the trick for me. This certainly wasn't bad. It was very authentic and even the décor was very much in traditional Thai fashion flashing a lot of wood.

The drink list was pretty comprehensive and not surprisingly, I was able to spot the good old iced Thai milk tea in the mix. It was a little late for caffeine so I would just leave it for my next visit.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 1A, G/F & B/F, BCC Building, 25-31 Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui / East Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2117-7003

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm daily