stimpy

Yeah, some of my best Cantonese, or any other style in China, has been in a large group with local colleagues doing the ordering. I just leave it up to them because I would have no clue. Most of the best restaurants I've been to don't even have English menus. And when I do find an English menu it is severely dumbed down.

That said, Man Wah at the MO is pretty good and definitely will cater to both locals and visitors.

And probably the finest overall Cantonese restaurant I've ever been to is Jiang-Nan Chun at the Four Seasons Singapore.

evergrn

Fook Lam Moon has good food, but it does not make sense that their dim sum is pricier than Spring Moon or Ming Court when the service/attentiveness level is at least a couple notches below. Lei Garden's been a hit and miss... part of it is that the experience can vary a bit depending on the LG location. For visitors to HK, I still think that, when it comes to Cantonese and particularly dim sum, your best bets often tend to be inside hotels. My HK friend says the best food he's had has been with a large group of family/friends at membership type establishments... places like that don't help us visitors.


I don't really eat French, but I've had some fabulous Italian in HK over the years. I wouldn't necessarily write off trying that stuff in HK, even if you're European.


I can understand your passion for hotels and high-end, but yes definitely try some local places in HK. Otherwise you'll miss out on great wonton noodle soup, cha chaan teng, some great Thai/Malaysian food.

1010101

I agree that the best quality food is often in hotels, but i think if you are after a true experience of Cantonese cuisine that slightly chaotic service is part of it. Hundreds of people sat around huge tables, with noise and food coming at you from all directions.

tentseller

The best are definitely the private clubs. Compare to that experience I would say the hotel offer the best alternative to the public especially visitors in small parties.

FLM is great when you are a regular and is up to date with red enveloping the staff every CNY. Lei Garden as a multiple outlet is less so; but their service is inconsistent.

There are excellent French, Italian and Spanish dining in HK that rivals other world class cities.

Re local experience: Kau Kee brisket was named the best in the world in a travel magazine write-up of best 50 food in the world. (Read in airline lounge, did not recall the exact name of the magazine)

mkjr

Lei Garden at Times Square was better than at IFC. As to private clubs, I had an amazing meal at the American Club with a local friend. But the best meal I have had was at Lung King Heen....[of which my wife, Cantonese speaker, did all the ordering for us]. I honestly did not think it would be as good as I had read, but it actually was.

I agree that some people underestimate that where Hong Kong has always excelled is with continental cuisine.

iluvcruising2

We enjoyed Tim Ho Wan tremendously during our recent trip and apparently the outlet at Sham Shui Po was awarded one Michelin Star. But obviously, this place isn't considered fine dining by any measure.

This is a video I made of our Tim Ho Wan experience at Sham Shui Po. The Dim Sum is very good. Their Char Siew bun is famous.
https://youtu.be/hJmWPYmXumE

christep

A further downside to places like Tim Ho Wan is the apparent need of some many people to photograph or video their food. You don't get that (much) is truly classy places.

tentseller

Can you compare the HK THW with the S'pore THW outlets?

JohnRain

I can definitely confirm that. I enjoyed Man Wah more than Lung King Heen and Tin Lung Heen.

theworld

Come on, this is HK. I am now surprised if I go to a restaurant and people are NOT taking photos of their food.

JohnRain

This is common practice everywhere nowadays, even in the poshest restaurants in Paris and I don't really see the problem. What I really find annoying though is that in HK some people wear totally inappropriate attire (Hawaii shirts) in 3 star restaurants. That is something I'll never get used to. I knew people don't dress up but there should be limits to what is acceptable. To be fair though, this is not something exclusive to HK as it's also starting to happen in Europe. It's just that in HK I noticed it in every upscale restaurant I went to.

Internaut

Have made a reservation at Yan Toh Heen for tonight. Since I last ate at the Intercontinental's Chinese restaurant, it has picked up two Michelin stars. I'll let you all know what I think.

JohnRain

Please do. Generally speaking, I find Michelin stars in HK to be less useful than elsewhere based on my recent experience. I had dinner at Lung King Heen (***), Tin Lung Heen (**) and Man Wah (*) just last week and I enjoyed Man Wah just as much as Lung King Heen.

njxbean

Take pictures

JohnRain

+1

And don't wear a Hawaii shirt...