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In HK one would be able to eat different types of Chinese cuisine, but one surprising miss has been Hokkien. Despite some dishes can be found in Taiwanese restaurants, there are very few dedicated Fujian diners in town. So, when I heard a new Hokkien restaurant has opened in Island Shangri-La, we quickly booked to see whether it is authentic or not.Located on the same floor as the outdoor swimming pool, the restaurant is circular in shape, with full-height windows allowing natural light in. The décor is nice and relaxing, with cozy warm lighting, comfortable seating and murals giving a sense of garden, depicting flowers and plants matching with the greens in the poolside and the hills outside as background.We started with some small dishes, first being Aged Yongchun Vinegar Jellyfish Terrine 永春老醋海蜇凍 ($88). The jellyfish had been marinated in two different kinds of vinegar, with a nice balance of sweet and sourness, really help to stimulate the appetize. The crunchiness of the jellyfish and the soft terrine provided a good contrast in texture.For many Hokkien, the Deep-Fried Five Spice Pork Roll 閩南五香卷 ($118) would be a true test on the quality of the restaurant. This one checked off a few marks for me personally, with the tofu skin crisp, and the seasoning of the pork appropriate. Perhaps for some (including me) they would prefer to see more fatty pork added, but I could understand for modern diet this might not be welcomed.Each of us ordered our own soup, with me taking Blanched Jumbo Surf Clams in Chicken Soup 雞湯汆海蚌 ($108) while my wife had Fish Maw & King Crab Meat Thick Soup 帝王蟹肉魚肚羹 ($188). The chicken soup was clear, with delicate good flavors, having bamboo pith and Chinese cabbage in addition to the surf clam. Tasty and made you feel good as a healthy soup.The crab meat thick soup had an abundant of ingredients, with plenty of fish maw and crab meat. Delicious with a good umami note, I could smell the richness of the aromas even at a distance. For those who preferred stronger flavors this perhaps would be the better pick among the two soups, which could further adjust the taste with the vinegar and white pepper powder provided.There were different portions of the Xiamen Ginger Duck 廈門薑母鴨 and we had opted for the lower side 下莊 ($388). Served on a clay bowl with tealight to keep the sauce heated, the duck was tender and juicy, with a nice taste. But it was quite different from my expectation, originally thinking it would be more like a hot pot with soup, plus plenty of ginger. I was honestly confused.With the portion of each dish relatively small, we decided to add Chrysanthemum Shaped Fish with Sweet & Sour Sauce 菊花魚 ($458). The fish fillet had been deep-fried with very thin batter, still keeping moist on the texture, with the delicious sweet and sour sauce reminded me of a similar dish from Shanghai, but this one was more refined in presentation and taste.For staple food we had Home-Style Wok-Fried Mian Xian with Dried Seafood 家鄉海味炒線麵 ($328). Again, the taste was quite good, having plenty of dried shrimps, fish cake, cabbage, carrot, spring onion, naming just a few, but the texture of the mian xian was quite different than those I am familiar, with this one a bit thicker and more similar to the Cantonese rice noodle.For dessert I had Gelidium Jelly with Honey 蜂蜜石花凍 ($68). The texture of the jelly was similar to bird’s nest, and it was something we often enjoyed in summer while I was young. This is an up-level version though, with fresh fig and blueberry, sweetened by premium quality honey. A nice one to choose from especially given it was the only cold dessert available.My wife had “Orh Nee” Sweet Taro Paste with Japanese Pumpkin 金瓜手工芋泥 ($68) instead. The taro paste was smooth and not lumpy, with appropriate sweetness but not excessive. There were some toasted sesames scattered on top to bring additional fragrance to the dessert which was a smart idea. Comparing the two desserts this one would be my recommendation.Service was good, though the staff was very soft-spoken, and we could not hear well his introduction to the dishes. Another highlight was the tea. The restaurant had her own tea sommelier and a good assortment of different types for tea-lovers. The bill was $2,187 which was a bit pricey considering what we had, and while food was nice, it might not be your cup of tea if looking for authentic Hokkien dishes. continue reading

很喜歡這間餐廳 我是被它的裝修吸引的 很華麗 還有喜歡戶外露天的的地方 我6:00去還影到日光相真的太美了 點了一個蕃茄湯 一個廈門潤餅 裏面有很多材料我還加了$100有皇帝蟹肉 食這個也很飽 continue reading

Dishes have light taste, came in small portion but overall decent. Would recommend the Deep Fried Five Spice Pork Roll and the Deep Fried Hand Chopped Prawn Roll. We found the Xiamen-style Popiah mediocre at best (far cry from authentic ones). The Chrysanthemum Shaped Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce was tasty (the selling point that it’s chrysanthemum-shaped wasn’t evident at all, more like curled up fish fillet). The experience was horrible though - while it started great with friendly receptionist, two of the three servers for our table were rude. They took our plates while we were evidently still eating (with the intention to change to new plates…, one time the waitress even insisted one of us to transfer food to the new plate she wanted to provide), loudly and abruptly interrupted our conversations at several occasions (asking us to look at the dessert menu at the same moment he served our main dishes, and we were in the midst of our discussion; shoving the bill to us while we were deep in our conversation). The meal didn’t end well, too - they didn’t prepare the birthday request even reconfirmed the night before. We know it’s complimentary but it’s still another bad experience.The ambience is nice and cozy and would have enjoyed the meal better if the crew was better trained or had better attitude. continue reading

媽媽生日，佢想食依間所以揀咗依間慶祝，金鐘香格里拉8樓都算易搵，預早已經book咗星期六中午，餐廳地方唔算太大，坐枱都唔算多，但不過都寬躺和舒服…裝修grand , 而出邊係酒店泳池。叫咗四個菜另外兩款甜品，一個三黃雞，一個炸蝦早，一個海蜇凍和一個拼盤。甜品嗌咗2個花生湯和芋泥…. 首先簡單啲講全部都好食🤣🤣同有特色, 其實都好少食福建菜….. 首先講講過海蜇凍真係餐前小食一口一件，但係真係做得好好味, 個炸蝦早等咗小耐, 但好香口。三黃雞感覺好正, 調個味出嚟酸酸甜甜好正，易入口，但雖然細細件，大家小心都有骨呀😂 個拼盤本身有6片包乳豬嗰啲包皮，跟住佢有九格配料放進去包住再食，好好味⋯⋯最後甜品尤其是個花生湯真係好出色，再用油炸鬼點來吃更加好味….好夾。最後大家留意如果其中有人生日嘅可以同佢哋提早講聲，佢係有一個生日麵送，媽媽話都好味喎😃 continue reading

一出𨋢已經有置身於花園 🪴 嘅感覺，喺泳池旁邊，就係以前 Waterside Terrace 的位置，現在改建成室內，以綠色做主調，加落地玻璃。準時到達，安排到梳化位。侍應好快奉上 welcome tea - 玫瑰花茶 🌹 一小杯。當日點了套餐（$488）及額外加兩個小菜。前菜有永春老醋海蜇凍 Aged Yongchun Vinegar Jellyfish Terrine：用上醋及海蜇製成嘅啫喱，酸甜醒胃。永春老醋係福建特產，中國四大名醋之一。另一個家鄉小食係閩南五香卷 Deep-Fried Five Spice Roll：閩南節慶不可缺少嘅一道佳餚。餡料及味道一流，外脆內軟。加埋個甜辣醬，正。 帝王蟹肉魚肚羹 Fish Maw & King Crab Meat Thick Soup：一句講晒好足料，好好味。胡椒粉另上，因應個人口味，自行添加。爆炒海蟶子 Stir-Fried Razor Clam with Black Bean Sauce：蟶子冇過火，夠入味，送飯好正。 廈門薑母鴨 Xiamen Ginger Duck：好 impressed, 肉質非常嫩滑，夠入味，味道唔算太濃太鹹，亦都唔肥膩，讚！精選時蔬-蒜蓉/清炒/豬油渣：我哋要咗豬油渣鶴藪（即係白菜仔），正常蔬菜 🥬 菜色，就唔多講啦！手工包心荔枝肉 Sweet & Sour Lychee Pork：閩南風味小菜，酸酸甜甜，手工肉丸，送飯一流。 蜂蜜石花凍 Gelidium Jelly with Honey：呢個凍甜品由石花菜海藻熬煮而成，天然果凍，加上水果，已經好 refreshing，令人回味。😋 蜂蜜 🍯 係 on the side, 自由配搭。 補充，當日友人生日 🎂，餐廳奉上 complimentary長壽麵連雞蛋一碗，相當有特色及貼心。🥰 當日午膳非常滿意，期待再次光臨。 continue reading