Quick Thought on Duddell's

A couple friends and I were in Duddell's last week at lunch to try out some of their food. It's housed right above the classy Shanghai Tang flagship store on Duddell Street in Central. I personally loved the decorations of this 2-storey restaurant, with spacious dining area (I prefer the quieter second level where we were seated), dedicated space for art programs and exhibitions, a well-stocked bar and garden terrace for outdoor dining and just chill out. That's usual for a restaurant, especially a Chinese one in Hong Kong. It still got quite crowded and noisy during lunch time, but at least it's not packed as other places.


We were here on an invitation for a tasting but it didn't feel that way at all. Rather it's a good time to catch up with old friends while enjoying the food that was presented.

I don't have dish by dish description this time, but I think most of their food was nicely executed, apart from the fact the front house staff kept giving us wrong information about the dishes we were having. You have to watch our stunned face when we split open the steamed bun in the bamboo skewer said to be with barbecued pork filling then realized that was in fact with minced chicken with coriander instead, or the chiuchow dumpling being mistakenly described as shrimp dumpling, which left us scratching our heads. Despite the little mishap in the tongue, they tasted good - that's all it matters at the end of the day. Well, the head chef of the restaurant came from the Michelin-starred Tang Court so you knew they were serious about delivering top-notch food in addition to offering a fancy venue.

I also loved their barbecued pork - it's the sweet and tender type with just the right proportion of fat (though some may find it a bit too fatty). I think I must have finished half the plate that were supposed to be shared among us 3. Other dishes we have tried included a few more dimsum items, stir-fried vegetables and fried noodles. All were common items on any Cantonese restaurants in town and they were tasty. The place did come with a price premium, but I think it's still on par with other restaurants in the neighborhood of the same level in terms of decor and food quality.

There were still the usual teething problem just like any other new restaurants, but I definitely see the potential of this turning into a star in the Cantonese fine-dining scene. It's the venue that I would have in mind if I need somewhere to entertain out of town guests, or a place to impress.

Thanks Duddell's for the kind invitation for this lovely lunch.

Where? Duddell's. Level 3-4, Shanghai Tang Mansion, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong
Menu highlights? Barbecued Pork with Honey
Web: duddells.co

Dimsum Platter - Steamed Chicken and Pork Bun with Coriander, Steamed Lobster Dumpling with Shrimp and Scallops, Steamed Yam Dumplings with Chive and Peanuts (aka Chiuchow Dumplings)

Stir-fry Seasonal Vegetables (Chinese Mustard Greens)

Barbecue Pork with Honey

Fried Noodles with Shredded Squid