We hop to Juxing Home (聚興家) a few MTR stops away in Mongkok for lunch on Sundays every now and then whenever we have a bigger group and want something slightly more than just a casual meal. While the place is often packed with customers at nights (it's also known as a popular late night hangout spot for chefs), during the day it's much quieter and hence more comfortable (with the food just as good)
Some might consider this restaurant on the fringe of the busy Mongkok to be "hole-in-the-wall", but it just resembles any typical neighborhood eatery with the simplest interior and fish tanks outside with the seafood available to order. There were only 3 tables of customers on the day of our visit so most of the dishes we ordered arrived quickly and straight from the kitchen still piping hot.
During our last visit with ten or so of us we managed to go through a number of their dishes on the menu. The egg custard with clams (花甲蒸水蛋) has always been my favorite dish here - it's perfectly done with pieces of venus clams placed in a bed of steamed egg custard, soft and silky. I love its delicate texture and the rich umami flavor from the clams commonly found in local waters. The deep-fried squid was done in perfect golden color and crispy with nothing but salt, pepper and fried garlic as seasoning. Using fresh squids instead of the frozen ones made a noticeable difference. The fried pork meat patty was another dish we order every single time - the minced pork was mixed with bits of salted fish and water chestnut and pan-fried like a burger patty. It sounds simple but this is one of the best versions I have had in town.
We went with two fish course this time - first the Marble Goby fish (筍殼) deep-fried whole and served with sweet chili soy sauce on the side. It certainly took skills and experience to have this perfectly done with the crispy skin and delicate meat just cooked through. Chef Wu specializes in both Cantonese and Sichuan cooking and the "Sichuan-style Bubbling Fish" (沸騰魚) we had was outstanding. Thick slices of tiger garoupa fillet were "swimming" in the spicy soup base prepared with fish bones and meat. The presence of the chili "mountain" on top of the dish may look intimidating but the soup was surprisingly rich in fish flavor and not too spicy, and the Sichuan peppercorns gave this an extra kick. We finished the dish (served in a large porcelain pot) in no time - fish and broth and all.
The beef in chili oil was the other Sichuan dish we ordered. It's a notch up in spiciness, with slices of local beef cooked in the red hot chili sauce. The beef, coming from local butchers, was not the fatty type but with good meaty taste and a firm bouncy texture. The "Stir-fry King" (招牌小炒王) is a common dish served in many local restaurants but I always love the version here with plenty of seafood tossed in along with dried shrimps, garlic chives, nuts, bell peppers and best of all, fatty pork with a good mixture of textures and flavors.
Normally we would do just one poultry dish but this time we ended up with two. The salt-baked chicken is the signature here, done in the traditional way in a salt dome to keep the meat moist and juicy. Took a while for the roast pigeon to arrive - as the ingredients only arrived in the morning and took time for the kitchen team to season the birds and have their skin properly air-dried so the skin would come out perfectly crisp when hot oil was poured over. Definitely worth the wait, and each of us had half a pigeon and in my case, half a pigeon plus 5 heads and necks (they were the best bit, I reckon). We finished with a hearty bowl of fried noodles, with nothing but oil, soy sauce, leek and bean sprouts along with the bouncy egg noodles.
Went easy on wines on a weekend afternoon with coincidentally two "second" wines of some famed Tuscan vineyards. Love the Guidalberto (second wine to Sassicaia) which opened up nicely upon opening, plenty of black fruits and ripe plums, rich and full-bodied yet with the smooth tannins softened up on the palate. It definitely benefited from 10 years of aging. The beef in chili oil will usually kill any wine with tannins but this one worked well. The Lucente, second wine to Luce, was more the classic Tuscan style (merlot and sangiovese blend), a tad softer, more of the red fruit characters with a hint of peppers.
My friend and I were just talking about the upcoming Michelin Guide and made our wild guesses on who's in and who's out when the list is revealed later this month. I don't believe Juxing Home is the typical type that will get the star recognition (they have been a solid choice for Bib Gourmand though), but judging from the dishes and cooking we have been enjoying at this place, the place is just as good as any on that prestigious list. If in doubt, just ask any of the chefs from those starred restaurants who regularly dine here.
When? March 26 2023
Where? Juxing Home, 418 Portland Street, Mongkok
Menu Highlights? Sichuan Bubbling Fish with Tiger Garoupa
Drinks?
Champagne G.H. Mumm RSRV Cuvee 4.5 Brut NV
2013 Tenuta San Guido "Guidalberto" Toscana IGT
2017 Emiliana "Ge" D.O. Colchagua Valley, Chile
2019 Tenuta Luce "Lucente" Toscana IGT
Web: (Michelin Guide) guide.michelin.com/hk/en/hong-kong-region/hong-kong/restaurant/ju-xing-home
No comments :
Post a Comment