Cantonese Delights

I ate at Yue at Times Square a couple of months ago – the group under which the restaurant is operating is progressively expanding in 2021 in all fronts and Yue is one of their latest venture and first focusing on Cantonese cuisine (the name Yue, which literally means Delight, has the same pronunciation as Canton). 

We were seated at the private room near the entrance this time, and the space was classily done albeit uptight (more suitable for business meals than casual ones, I reckon). Their a la carte menu was typical of what one would find in a traditional Cantonese restaurant – with dimsum items during the day and a wide range of dishes from the elaborate delicacies such as abalone, bird’s nest and fresh seafood to Cantonese roast to some old-fashioned homestyle goodies.   

We started with a few hot appetizers. The deep-fried crispy duck blood was lovely, with the tofu-like texture from the duck blood curd lightly battered and coated with a layer of salted egg yolk crumbs for an interesting contrast of flavor. The deep-fried dry mushrooms is a twist to the traditional crispy eel, with the mushrooms cut into long strips, deep-fried and finished with a sweet Shanghainese vinegar glaze. I am usually not a fan of yam, but the pan-fried Japanese yam was decent, sliced thinly, fried with constant basting of soy sauce on top for the rich and crispy “crust”.  

The Braised Bird’s Nest stuffed in Chicken and Pork Tripe was given a poetic name of “Phoenix and Swallows”, back in the days when this dish was considered a delicacy saved for the most elaborate feast. The whole chicken (Phoenix) was deboned, then stuffed with “bird’s nest” (Swallows) and in turn, the whole bird was then stuffed in the pig’s stomach, sewed up and slow-braised in superior broth by means of double boiling. Before serving, the whole casserole was brought to the table and the whole stomach (with the stuffing) was carefully carved and served with the soup. One can’t beat that for being theatrical and the soup was delicious with all the flavor from the ingredients that went in.  

The deep-fried Marble Goby fish was another beautiful dish, with the whole fish fried in sizzling oil and finished with sweet soy sauce and finely chopped scallions on top. The crispy chicken was done in a similar manner and I love the scallion oil adding to the flavor of the juicy meat and super crispy skin basted to the deep bronze color. 

I had mixed opinions of the next few hot dishes that followed – while I thought the taste of the braised pomelo skin was a bit weak and lacked the spongy texture and the sweet and sour pork portion was small (and I wasn’t a fan of extensive use of fruits in the dish), I did enjoy the braised Japanese radish with supreme broth. The radish, or daikon, was finely cut into julienne thickness and cooked in the thick and rich supreme broth, which reminded me of the classic Tan Cuisine (the imperial style cooking inspired by Cantonese cuisine)  

We finished our savory courses with two dishes in vastly different style. While the fish soup (mixed with Japanese kuzukiri and tofu sheet) was light and comforting, the fried rice in claypot was rich and powerful with whole bowl of crab roes mixed in for the unbeatable, emphatic umami flavor. Desserts was a mix of traditional and modern style too – with the traditional warm tofu pudding served in a wooden bucket and also chilled mochi stuffed with mango. Both were delicious.  

Old-school Cantonese cuisine may be something of a lost art, but I am glad there are new restaurants making an effort to carry the torch and soldier on. 

(Dinner was by invitation)

When? December 13 2021
Where? Yue, Shop 1301, Food Forum, Time Square, Causeway Bay.
Menu Highlights? Braised Bird’s Nest stuffed in Chicken and Pork Tripe 豬肚鳳吞燕
Web: lubuds.com/portfolio-view/yue-times-square-causeway-bay