Thanks. Yes, that was what I was thinking as well. As we’ll most likely also go to Shanghai for a week, I thought perhaps best to go to the ‘original’ Yong Fu there. But I don’t even know if I’m right to assume there is a branche there.
Another question: what is a good Japanese omakase restaurant but with normal tables, not where you need to sit at the bar? I was intrigued by Kumoden (152 Queen’s Rd Central) but I see they only have high chairs sitting at the sushi bar. I’ll go with my (elderly) parents and they won’t be happy about that. Anything similar but more comfortable? Location is flexible.
Yes, I was wondering how to describe it. Look, there are dozens and dozens of sushi places all over HK, and in different price brackets. What I’m looking for is something that is a cut above the rest. Like the before mentioned Kumoden. But not something esoteric. Say, where they have an omakase menu for around 1000-1500 HKD.
No worries if it’s too broad a request, I’ll be starting my own research, just looking if anyone has a personal favourite.
So, everything is still on track for me to be in HK from mid November on, and for a week. This is my current itinerary.
Dinner one night around Temple Street night market, and then bits and pieces from Hing Kee, Wing Fat seafood, and perhaps Oi Man Sang in Sham Shui Po.
Dinner at Xinrongji, and another night at Seventh Son for seafood. The latter was recommended by my hotel’s concierge. I tried booking The Chairman through him, but is is fully booked until the end of 2024.
Lunch at Omakase Iki, and another day at Maxim’s Palace for dim sum. I was also intrigued by Duddell’s and Ho Lee Fook. Any opinions on the dim sum lunch?
And then I have a few openings left for lunch and dinner, but will leave that open for now. Also, we have booked club lounge rooms, so maybe a few days we may just eat at our hotel (heard great things about one of our club lounges, even apart from the free flowing Ruinart champagne! )
Excellent!!! HK temps will be in the low 70’s° in nov. Good walkabout weather for shorts and flip flops. Of course, the locals will be giving you the side eye as they’ll be in their puffer jackets.
Hong Kong tops my current to-fly list. Hoping to trip there after the CNY travel madness come January/Feb. Wanna also visit my ancestral home in Toishan (Kaiping) and hit a couple of destinations in Canton.
Hotel lounge privilege can be a bit of a golden handcuff, for me at least. So ez and tempting to just hang for breakfast, high tea and happy hour!!! Betting your HK hotel will have a killer High Tea, being ex-Brit and all.
Eagerly awaiting your write ups and photos! That’ll get my ass in gear, should I not have firmed already!
I also like Lau Sum Kee for old style, guy riding on bamboo pole egg noodle in SSP. If you make it to SSP, go to Kung Wo for some of the best tofu custard in Hong Kong.
Try sending a whatsapp message (+852 9339 0172) to Tasting Court if you want The Chairman like food. you can customize your tasting menu there.
Grab some mates and go eat at a Chiu Chow restaurant.
Even with all your experience traveling in the region? But yeah, HK is special. Pretty excited again to be visiting. The better I know a city, the more I want to come back.
I don’t typically book club rooms, and I was thinking really hard here even about the type of club lounge. This time is different because my 83-year old parents are joining, and they are less ‘experimental’ when it comes to food.
Plus I have a work event in HK for 1-2 days, so they are somewhat on their own then. And, like proper elderly people, they hate spending money when they are aware of it, so they won’t be ordering things like whiskey and champagne when a glass in a restaurant costs 15-20 euro. So, they will enjoy the club lounge!
We’ll be there for 7 nights and we’ll be spending 4 nights at the Cordis in Mongkok, and then the final three nights at the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai. Nice change of scenery.
Yes, viting Canton is also high on my wish list, maybe next year!
Thanks for the Sham Shui Po recommendations! I’ll definitely be spending some time there, as I want to check out Fuk Wing street (childrens’ toys street).
As for The Chairman - I’m not dying to go there, just wanted to experience it once for the hype. Personally, I’d rather go to more old fashioned places, as The Seventh Son seem to be. Thanks for the tip re tasting Court, I’ll definitely check it out.
there’s certainly a lot of hype with the Chairman, some will find it justified, some not. I personally enjoy dining there a few times a year but it is increasingly difficult to call their cuisine “Cantonese” as they introduce more flavors which are not classically Cantonese.
Booking for 1Q25 opened on Nov 1st so I think they are now done until March 2025, unless you know someone who can squeeze you in.
As far as Tasting Court goes, while there is some shared heritage with the Chairman, I think the only dish that is common across both restaurants nowadays is that flower crab. Or sometimes the smoked pigeon and the soy sauce chicken, depending on what is on offer at Tasting Court.
We’ve recently tried out a Chiuchow place in Tai Kok Tsui and made 3 visits in 3 months, including this pretty epic dinner:
This is where we take people for Chiuchow nowadays, unless they specifically want high end stuff. Oh these guys also have the cold flower crabs but we have been too cheapskate to order them.
I missed Maxim’s though it was on our list, but the dim sum (and more) we had at Forbidden Duck was very good. (Make a rez — it went from empty to completely packed in the blink of an eye on a weekday at the Causeway Bay location – there’s also Imperial Treasure nearby that @Google_Gourmet had mentioned).
It’ll be nice for your folks to have lounge privileges, especially if they are not conversant in Chinese. I’m presuming they are not as Hong Kong savvy as yourself, having a user friendly F&B lounge to relax in when desired should make their stay all the more enjoyable.
The club at Cordis covers all the bases with a nice Asian/Western breakfast, high tea and pre-dinner cocktails with small bites. I’d stayed at Langham Place Hotel (now Cordis) the 1st year it opened like 30 years ago. I remember meeting my HK counterpart in the club lounge a few times for pre dinner lubrications before strapping on our feed bags to gorge to excess outside. No high tea or breakfast on offer then, if I recall correctly.
Hong Kong will always be among the top of our destination rotations. Within the last few years, we’ve tripped to Chendu, Beijing, Xiamen, Guangzou and most recently the Shanghai area. We are more and more impressed and love China travel greater with each and every trip. Gets better and better each time!!
We will likely next bundle Canton, Shunde and Kaiping. Will hit Hong Kong as well, of course!! Have fun and hope you can squeeze Shanghai in also.
Yes, we’ll be visiting Shanghai as well! Almost a week, and again in a hotel with a club lounge. Incredible how much cheaper Shanghai already is in terms of hotel prices, as you alluded to previously. We can get the Mandarin Oriental in Shanghai for less money than the Cordis in HK per night. Both with club lounge access.
I’ll make a separate thread on Shanghai.
As for HK, I’m pretty excited about the club lounge in the Grand Hyatt - it seems a dining destination in its own right judging by the below pic and this youtube.
The Chairman really excels in a few dishes like their crab and taro puff. But their menu don’t rotate that much. If you haven’t been, it is certainly worth trying but you can also explore other options in town as well. For fine dining Chinese, Wing would be another good choice.
For dim sum, I would recommend Forum or Moon Bay which are both walkable from the Grand Hyatt. If you want something more traditional, Seventh Son serves dim sum at lunch. Since you will be there in November, should look out for hairy crab and snake soup which are the seasonal items at that time.
Any reason for Omakase Iki? HK has quite a number of sushi choices and if you want good sushi, can do better. I would recommend Saito or Kumogaku
Thanks! Yes, I have already flagged Moonbay as a potential dim sum spot. Any opinions on Ship Kee for dinner, also in Wan Chai? And do most restaurants still offer corkage and what is then typical rate?
As for Omakase Iki - no particular reason. Just a quick google search. Was already thinking of replacing that with Sushi Rin in TST, but your suggestion of Sushi Saito might be even better as I will already spending a lot of time at that hotel, because it is where my work event is!
Finally, some egg tart questions. Just seen Lucas Sin and Fuchsia Dunlop sampling egg tarts in HK, but where would you guys go for egg tarts in Wan Chai or Mongkok?
I’m an ex-big fan of Saito HK but haven’t been back in 2 1/2 years… It’s probably still among the top in town although I’ve heard friends bitching about the drop in standards.
you need to answer Fuchsia’s question regarding egg tarts before any of us can help you…
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