For our CNY meal while in Hong Kong, the fam and I decided to hit up Budaoweng for some hot pot goodness. This was definitely a change from the other more casual (think streetside, hole in the wall) eateries that we've dined at throughout the rest of our trip. Budaoweng is much a much more upscale joint, located on a high floor in the iSquare mall and boasts gorgeous panoramic views of the harbor.
Tom Yum broth is my go to, and the one at Budaoweng is my shizz. The red, savory, tangy broth here is loaded up with generous bunches of coriander and huge prawns and clams. The broth is perfectly seasoned, and I would be happy with a huge pot of this alone with some rice.
The menu features a ton of other items that you can select to toss into your hot pot, ranging from fresh veggies, meats, seafood and dumplings. We decided to order a platter of marbled beef, a mix of veggies, tofu, meatballs, noodles, and a platter of seafood. They definitely DO try to upsell you hard here, and the seafood platter was a result of that. The seafood was nice and fresh, but at almost 800HKD, such seafood is almost shamefully wasted in my opinion if you're only throwing it into a pot to be simmered into oblivion. The portion of marbled beef was generous, and the cuts were thick and the meat was extremely tender. The veggie mix was especially fresh, and they offered a very good selection including lettuce, mushrooms, bok choi and watercress. Tofu and noodles were standard. I wasn't impressed at all by the meatballs. Skip that and order another platter of meat instead.
I know better than to complain about service in Hong Kong, but for a restaurant that seems to be striving for upscale... The service here is anything but. For me, this is what made the meal just an average one. We came during an odd hour (in between lunch and dinner) so the restaurant wasn't especially busy, but we still had a hard time flagging down our server and there was a mix up with some of the items we ordered. As mentioned, the servers do push their seafood as well. In the middle of the meal, they took away our sauce/garnishes for some reason and put it on an empty table. When we tried to retrieve it ourselves, someone came by and insisted on carrying it for us. Extremely awkward. read more