I had Cooking Papa’s version before, and it was fine. Perhaps because of my general disinterest in sweet stuff, I didn’t quite understand the accolades showered upon their egg puffs.
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I see. In that case, I may not have eaten at Harbor Village. Thanks for the information.
Well, everyone has a different expectation. I personally love Koi Palace, but some people hate it. I love the Char Siu Bao (Steamed pork bun) there.
I thought the dim sum at the Kitchen are ok (I ate there 1-2 years ago, but not this trip). The Kitchen certainly specialize small fry dishes and late night snack, which is the reason it is opened until 2 AM. Compared to Koi Palace and Tai Wu, The Kitchen is a faster pace and louder restaurant.
I was so happy to see the split pea coconut milk desert (馬豆糕) at The Kitchen. it is closest to what I remember when I was a little kid. Tai Wu and other restaurant (a few place in NY City) also has it too, but their version has like mixed stuff.
(Image from internet, not from The Kitchen)
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Harbor Village was always at the head of the class and everyone’s first choice destination.
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As I recall, Harbor Village was in Embarcadero 3. Part of which is now the Crystal Jade space.
We visited regularly for our frequent “company meetings”. 
It was in Building 4 overlooking the plaza. We too had a lot of firm lunches there; and there was one out of town fan who habitually called at the last minute as he was about to board an inbound flight to ask “can you meet me at Harbor Village at [names time] ?” He always ordered so many dishes that the waiters often asked: “Are you expecting more people?”
In Hong Kong, 老鼠斑 mouse grouper is actually Humpback Grouper
Where a wild one can be stratospheric in cost. It’s misleading to use the same Chinese name in the USA when they refer to different local species of fish.
Here, I guess anything goes. I have seen one place have “mouse grouper” listed as Coral Cod.
The brown marble grouper or brown spotted grouper could be known as tiger grouper or sesame grouper in Cantonese, not sure which one is which.
I’m hearing through the grapevine it may be possible to get/special preorder imported 東星斑 (Leopard Coral Grouper), likely caught off South China Sea at a couple or more SF Bay Area Cantonese seafood restaurants, but be prepared to pay $80 a pound or so.
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The brown marble grouper I think is the same as tiger grouper. Who has these in the Bay Area? Wild or farmed?
http://www.aquatechasia.hk/uploads/ufile_1332841236.jpg
Brown spotted grouper I think is the same as the sesame grouper
I think this guy is holding one:
Not helpful in identifying groupers, but this book has been sometimes helpful to me in identifying certain seafood in Cantonese/ Hong Kong restaurants.
香港海鮮採購食用圖鑑
If i see this book available as a ecopy, I’d probably get it too:
I have had Brown marbled grouper (老虎斑) in New York. I didn’t ask, but I am fairly certain it was farmed.
I’m told South China Sea area imported 東星斑 at the VIP tables at HKFL, but possibly one could call ahead and ask whether available and preordering is possible. The other is Koi Palace (a remote possibility) but that’s not a place I’m willing to drop coin for personal reasons.
http://travelsouth.hk/fishwiki/index.php/Main_Page if you want to use the vernacular / local fishermen naming convention for seafood caught and distributed/sold around Ap Lei Chau and Aberdeen Fish Market in Hong Kong. Leopard Coral Trout is what they call 東星斑 (not Brown Marbled Grouper)
Then again these guys label this fish “New York” for lack of a better name…
I recall the yellow croaker when I grew up actually had a yellow tint, like the wild one looked in the picture. I guess I am lucky enough to have eaten the wild one, and probably did my share to contribute to the species’ demise in the wild.
I did vaguely recall that the lion head croaker looked more like a miniature version of the yellow croaker, less ‘round’ that is. But that’s too long ago.
With the kind of stuff being pumped into the Pearl River Delta every day nowadays and in the past 30 years, I am not sure whether its a good idea still to eat much seafood from the waters around there.
Although if someone offers me a leopard coral trout, I am certainly not going to refuse!
I’ve visited HKFL for dim sum brunch many times, and for dinner once. I’m vegetarian, so I mostly end up with sweet stuff, which they do pretty well, while the rest of the group gets much more variety. Getting in line early matters a lot.
Dinner was unexciting - we suddenly had a group of 30 people who wanted to go to dinner, HKFL was nearby, and I’d had good brunches there. They could handle the group size easily (it was midweek, but that’s still a challenge almost anywhere), but the food seemed boring.
Though boring (I presume what was ordered can be found at other restaurants), how was the execution?
It was about 10 years ago; all I remember is general impression. But they handled the size of the group just fine.
