I'm from new york city and my family is from Hong Kong. I went to this location since it stated it…read morehad authentic Cantonese style and it sounded like it was a typical restaurant in Chinatown, NY (maybe I shouldn't have read that review). This restaurant was a bit of a disappointment. I was with my parents at the time so the host spoke Cantonese with them, they speak French as well, but I'm not sure about English. It's not typical Cantonese food or style.
The decor is nice, clean and has a traditional look with chinese characters framed and a tiny fountain running in the background. The service was amazing and very accommodating. The host was very personable and you can tell that he was trying for his restaurant. They had all these recommendations set up from books and other websites.
The host recommended a lot of fried foods which already I get skeptical about. The fried soft shell crab was delicious and was seasoned with a lot of salt and pepper. The dipping sauce had garlic, lemon juice and more seasoning. I highly recommend the soft shell crab since it had a lot of flavor that mixed well and worked well with the fried soft shell crab.
We also ordered the fried oyster pancake (under recommendation). It was alright, but nothing amazing when you just ate fried soft-shell crab the plate before. The fried oyster came with a vinaigrette-type sauce which again was too much for my palate after the lemon/ginger sauce from the soft shell crabs. Maybe if I had eaten something else I would have a stronger opinion about the matter.
Then we tried the lemon chicken (under his recommendation) and it was fried chicken breast with a very sweet sauce with some lemon juice. It was too sweet for my taste, but I also don't like too sweet things.
The one dish we went off suggestion was beef haw-fun (thick noodles with beef). This had a very strong ginger taste and the beef pieces tasted old. I couldn't help but feel that the food was old and they were trying to hide the taste of it which is why every recommendation was a fried dish.
The crowning dish was the dessert - simply cut mango pieces. The mango was very ripe, sweet and melted in your mouth. The fruit was fresh and DELISH. They told me that the fruit was from South America, but I don' know where. (Funny enough, the host even recommended us to get the fried ice cream - opted out)
The place is kinda hard to fall upon. It's a block and a half from the metro Nationale station, but if you weren't looking for it, you probably won't find it. Even the host stated that their customers are either regular in the area or off recommendations from other people.
4 dishes, a bowl of rice, 3 beers 1 tea and a plate of mango estimated 80 euros - it was a bit pricey. The Menu is only in French and Chinese. I feel this place deserves a second chance, but there are needs for improvement.
