I keep hearing great things about the food at Man Ho of JW Marriott at Pacific Place so we decided to check it out one evening to celebrate papa's birthday. And I solicited help from Chef Jayson Tang to set up the menu for us as I was interested in trying some of the signature and seasonal dishes by his team.
We began with a simple appetizer platter, with 2 pieces of thick-cut char siu and a steamed mushroom and seafood dumpling. The dumpling was wrapped in the shape of a gold-fish and was lovely and delicious, and the char siu was outstanding with good balance of texture and taste. The meat was not the fattiest type but with a great bite and it's well-marinated and moist, plus the well-charred crust. Definitely among one of the best I have tried in a hotel restaurant.
Chef gave our next course a poetic Chinese name, which literally meant "Jade Pillow in a Golden Pond" (金池玉枕). In the middle of the deep dish was a piece of gigantic meat crab claw and underneath was prawn, steamed flat rice noodles and a golden-color sauce made with broth using the crab and prawn shells and egg yolks. It's visually pleasing and tasty - we tried our best to wipe the bowl clean not wanting to waste any drop of the super delicious sauce. (I couldn't say we weren't tempted to order some noodles to sob it all up)
Soon, our soup arrived in individual portion double-boiled and served inside a coconut. It was rich in umami flavor and soothing with a hint of coconut taste. Inside was a piece of soft fish maw and the translucent honey locust fruit added to the texture with slight sweetness.
We then moved to something more intense. I didn't know the menu beforehand but I secretly hoped there will be the braised pork tendons since I saw some pictures on social media and looked enticing. Then here it was just as I wished, with the braised tendons served in a rich gravy and braised pomelo skin on the side. This was a twist to the traditional version of using goose-feet instead of the tendon but I definitely thought this worked even better. And wrapping up the savory courses were a vegetarian dish with bamboo pith stuffed with sautéed amaranth vegetables in rice porridge, plus a bowl of e-fu noodles with "Hung To" crab sauce. Both were very decent.
A pair of desserts was served as a platter - the deep-fried sweet potato dumplings with milk custard on one side (topped with caramel and crushed pistachio), and the mango and pomelo cream served in a shot glass. Then there were the piping hot steamed Chinese birthday buns with lotus seed paste filling served in the traditional bamboo basket. all of them were solidly executed.
All around the dishes were wonderful and Chef Jayson probably converted a few new fans too in absentia.
When? September 12 2017
Where? Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, Level 3, JW Marriott, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Braised Pork Tendons with Pomelo Skin
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