Celebrating 40 Years

After my first visit to the restaurant 2 months ago, I returned to Hoi King Heen earlier this month again, this time for a special menu presented by Chef Leung Fai Hung, who’s celebrating his 40 years working inside the kitchen. I love the meal during my last time out here so I was looking forward to the dinner hosted by the hotel PR team and specially prepared for us by Chef Leung as part of this tasting menu available til end of this year.

The special menu features some of the classic Cantonese dishes given a contemporary touch, either in terms of ingredients used or in presentation. We started with the appetizer served in a nice lacquer layered box with three different dimsum snacks inside. The crispy rolls filled with pork brain was the most interesting one with delicate, creamy texture and an unique gamey taste using an ingredient (pork brain) rarely used these days. It was followed by a hearty bowl of Cantonese double-boiled soup – this one prepared using pork and sea conch – and served with a tofu cut into chrysanthemum petal shape (taken from the classic Huaiyang cuisine) and shaved black truffles on top. It’s beautifully presented with rich aroma from that of the truffles.

We then had a few seafood dishes and all of them outstanding. For a master and veterans in Cantonese cuisine like Chef Leung, steamed fish should be something of a piece of cake, but the one we had was even up one level with fine presentation, served in individual portion on a fancy porcelain deep dish, with a piece of fish fillet – perfectly steamed of course – and topped with dried salted fish, julienned preserved meat, white baits and a rich crystal gravy made of superior broth. I love the complexity of flavor and everything seemed to work in harmony together.

The next course was based on the classic Cantonese Gong Nam Bak Fa Gai (江南百花雞), which the whole chicken deboned, poached, carved and served with minced shrimps underneath. Here Chef Leung served with a slight twist, using minced lobster and carabineros in addition to spotted shrimps, and served with salted egg yolk crumbs and bits of sweet potatoes, both for adding some delightful colors and for the textures. Again, top marks for presentation and also overall flavor, and I love that texture of the tender chicken with that of the bouncy minced shrimp and lobster paste.

Steamed crab with fox nuts (with the texture similar to young lotus seeds) was another old-school Cantonese dish that’s not commonly seen on the menu these days, and here, it’s served in a specially designed utensils that resembled the whole crab, with the crab meat picked and steamed with the crab roes and soft fox nuts inside the crab shells. It has a mild flavor but the umami taste from the fresh crab came out nicely. And our last savory course was steamed rice with minced beef patty and dried citrus peel, a home-style dish served with soy sauce and lard on the side. I love the subtle aroma from the vintage citrus peel paired with the soft meat patty made with wagyu beef – this made great comfort food.

A few desserts were served – ranging from the traditional birthday buns and the almond cream with egg white which is Chef Leung’s signature dish, to the deep-fried milk rolls (which I had the last time too) and the mandarin with milk tea custard that looked more like a western-style dessert than a Chinese one. We all enjoyed having the company of Chef Leung preparing the almond cream in front of us with perfect taste, with toasted walnuts and white sesame added on top for extra texture and a hint of smoky touch.

The menu came with wine pairing with quite a few interesting selection of wines (my favorite was the Austrian gruner paired with the chicken and shrimp paste) and I also enjoyed the tea pairing with six different cups served throughout the evening, from the milder and aromatic jasmine pearls tea or the longjing green tea, to the richer vintage pu-er tea for the beef with rice. It’s icing on the cake to the amazing experience at this legendary Chinese restaurant shared by great company at our table.

(Dinner was by invitation and based on a special menu available for limited time only)

More pictures can be done in my Flickr album: www.flickr.com/photos/g4gary/albums/72157698907426762

When? October 5 2018
Where? Hoi King Heen at Intercontinental Grand Stanford, B2, 70 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Steamed Spotted Graoupa with Salted Fish and Preserved Meat
Drinks?
2015 Muller-Grossmann Kremstal Gruner Veltliner Trocken, Austria
2017 Philipp Kuhn Riesling Tradition Trocken, Pfalz, Germany
2006 Chateau Vieux Clos Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe
2012 Giovarnni Dri Ramandolo DOCG, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Web: www.hongkong.intercontinental.com/en/hotel-restaurant-and-bar/hoi-king-heen