Saturday Morning Dimsum

I have been to Tin Lung Heen at The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong a few times previously but this was only my first time going there for a weekend brunch with dimsum dishes when I visited a couple of weeks ago. Just like other hotel Chinese restaurants in town, during the day they offer a combination of dimsum items and other a la carte choices on their menu, and with even more variety during weekends. After all, having dimsum is one of the local favorite past-time.

This morning we were served a customized menu presented in individual portion rather than dishes to share. Two rounds of dimsum dishes were served in a mini-platter – first being the more traditional ones and the second on the contemporary side. The steamed shrimp dumpling, or har gau as it’s known in Cantonese, was presented in a mini bamboo basket with the translucent wrapper of just the right thickness and combining with the plump shrimp filling giving it a good bite. Ham Sui Kok, or deep-fried glutinous rice dumpling, was an interesting one, served with chopped scallop stuffing rather than minced pork as in the traditional version, adding to it an unique umami flavor.

For the second round of the dimsum platter, my favorite was the freshly baked barbecued pork bun with a slightly sweet dough (with the texture reminded me of brioche but with a thick sweet crust on top) and inside was the juicy honey-glazed barbecued pork filling. The xiaolongbao (or Shanghainese soup dumpling) was prepared with a twist, adding in scallops and crab meat in addition to the minced meatball filling and served in a giant ceramics spoon. I love the delicate soup/jus inside the dumpling too.

A soup course was probably not what I usually had during morning dimsum meal, but the double-boiled chicken soup that we had was great. It’s served in a young coconut shell and inside was yellow croaker fish maw and slow-cooked consommé with rich meat flavor and a hint of the refreshing taste from the coconut water that was added in. Our last savory course was a simple plate of char siu served with sautéed choi sum on the side. The char siu was roasted using extra fatty Iberico pork loin with a rich honey glaze, and served in thick chunk. That two pieces alone were substantial like a meal!

One of the desserts was served in platter-style, with the hawthorn and preserved plum jelly being the one I loved most. Shaped like the traditional hawthorn flakes (an old-school local snack) and tasted like one, it certainly brought a sense of nostalgia to me with the familiar rich flavor of the hawthorn berries. Just when we were about to call it an afternoon, the restaurant staff brought to us a basket of steamed Chinese sweet “birthday” buns as a surprise course, to celebrate the birthday of our host S, bringing a sweet end to a casual Saturday brunch with simple but great food and awesome company.

(Meal was by invitation of the hotel. More pictures on my Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/g4gary/albums/72157683322740033)

When? July 8 2017
Where? Tin Lung Heen
Menu Highlights? Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Fish Maw in Baby Coconut
Web: www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/china/hong-kong/dining/tin-lung-heen