RELENTLESSLY GOOD
Seated within moments. Orders taken meticulously, and -- I hasten to add -- without pen or paper. A solid start for CHINA TANG
We did something we never do and took the set menu, the dearer one, around HK$1,200. Everyone at the table agreed. And, in truth, as the waiter disappeared, I regretted the choice. "Oh God, I thought, here comes the reheated banquet!"
Well, lunch opened with honey-roasted barbecued pork, marinated baby spinach, crushed walnuts and sesame; alongside marinated Yunnan tamarillo with diced aloe and preserved plum sauce. What a way to begin. Every mouthful distinctive, and each dish a proper complement to the other. "Fasten the seatbelts", I thought. "The train wreck is coming."
Wrong again!
The next course was trio of dim sum: steamed scallop dumpling with black garlic; steamed crab meat dumpling with cuttlefish mousse and conpoy; steamed assorted mushroom dumpling. The black garlic was pungent and strong without ever bullying the plate. The crab dumpling was a delightful little pocket, elegantly balanced by the cuttlefish. The mushroom was the quiet one, and all the better for it.
Then came the double-boiled winter melon soup with chicken, crab meat, prawn, ham and mushroom. I had heard the table describe winter melon as a cross between pumpkin and bitter melon. I hate bitter melon. (More clenched jaw business as the course was set down). Readers, I stopped mid-spoon and discretely listened around the table, to establish I was not the only person making noises sounds more appropriate for intimate congress. I was not.
Dessert is generally a no-no. Throwing caution to the wind, noting the absence of sugar / butter / gluten, I selected the chilled ice jelly with imperial bird's nest, walnuts, peanuts, assorted fruit and a rose mint syrup.
Lord have mercy!
A masterclass in restraint. And a tickle on the palate with every considered mouthful.
In short, CHINA TANG was not too much, not too little, just right, with enough space between courses to catch a breath. The service was effortlessly attentive -- teacups refilled seconds after they emptied, staff gliding in and out without the feeling of imposition or a hint of fuss.
The decor is smart, elegant and particular. The waiters are adorably smart in thier uniforms. The restaurant itself seems to compromised of a main dining room with a few smaller ante rooms.
The only downside: the washrooms. After the epicurean drama of lunch, the washrooms were just..... washrooms. That's hardly a problem
Across the board, CHINA TANG delivers (deftly) in spades
SUMMARY: 10 10 10 10 10 across the board. read more