Judging by the packed house, the wait to get in, and simply the virtue of being in Mong Kok, I had…read morehigh hopes for King of Sheng Jian (正宗上海生煎皇). Alas, I was mildly disappointed because everything I ordered was bland. Not a good bland where you think other dishes should fare well, but the kind of bland where most other (relatable ) items are likely to be the same. The scene was promising at first; super busy on a Wednesday night with a wait, and it was so cramped and tight inside that they had solo diners and small parties sit with each other. Sharing tables is a normal experience in narrow establishments, but I had a strange feeling when I noticed most everyone drowning their food in condiments + sauces (sesame oil, oyster sauce, vinegar, etc.). After filling out my order on their a la carte paper sheets, the first thing that arrived at the table was the soup dumplings (小籠包). There were a couple that had no juice / broth at all, which was semi-Canto-Dim-Sum like of this place. The two that did have broth was so bland that I immediately nervous of the same effect within their namesake dish, shengjian bao (生煎包). Turns out I was right, the broth was limited in each bun and like the others around me, I began dousing vinegar into my baos to get some kick out of it. It didn't help much. The next item was century egg over tofu (皮蛋豆腐), which was a tad funky but lacking in flavor overall. Next up was the recommendation to me by the server, a Sichuan dan dan noodle soup (四川擔擔麵) which was nothing short of an abomination. The broth was disappointing, but the noodles were equally lackluster. I eventually told the server, who apologized and offered something else instead of my sad bowl of noodles. So I ordered the vegetable steamed rice (菜販) with their local favorite, marinated chicken wings (土匪雞翼). The rice was okay with a little hot oil, but the wings were average at best. I really loved the look of the black sesame seeds sprinkled all over the wings, but alas, the marinade just could not save the meal. I hate being harsh, but there was literally nothing (food wise) I was gung ho about from the start. The service was adequate, the cash only prices are reasonable, but having tried a number of items on their menu only to find mediocrity is indeed disappointing. I am giving some benefit of the doubt by believing there are better days ahead, but it will be a while before I return.

I've been here twice and King of Sheng Jian hasn't disappoint. They're known for their Shanghai…read morestyle fried pork buns which comes in 2 or 4 per dish. My friend and I can't get enough crunchy and juicy buns, but we realise it's best to try other dishes too. Xiao Long Baos are a must have along with their Shanghai Veggie Rice. Pair the veggie rice with their pork ribs or chicken wings for a fuller meal. Dan Dan Noodles is a good call too. Next time we plan to try their omelettes. Of course, like most hong kong restaurants, this place is an "eat, pay and go" type place. They're pretty friendly about it all though and if you're a tourist, they'll try their best to communicate in english with you. The order form is only in Chinese, but the shop does have a simplified English menu floating around. Tip: Come earlier for dinner (around 6:30pm) to avoid the queue.

Review #300 is dedicated to a very special dish - The Drunken Squab…read more "Drunken" poultry is a famous Shanghainese delicacy that is often served as a cold appetizer. Drunken chicken is the most popular dish and is readily available even in the US, especially in areas like the SGV. Drunken squab is a lot more difficult to find in the US. Heck... just any good and fresh (not frozen) squab is hard enough to find in the US. Despite its name, this dish won't make you drunk, as the proper way of preparing it is to boil the wine first before using it as a marinade so that all the alcohol is evaporated, and the wine is properly reduced. Also, boiling the wine with some coarse sea salt and spices greatly enhances its flavor. The drunken squab here at Wu Kong was the best one that I have ever had. Period. The squab itself was fresh and the meat was flavorful. It was perfectly cooked so that the meat was tender. It was marinated perfectly so that the wine enhanced the natural flavor of the meat rather than overwhelming it. The wine was high quality premium stuff - very smooth and gentle to the palate -- and it was reduced properly to produce a rich flavor. This is a squab lover's dream come true. Before I forget... Everything else that we ordered were good. XLB's - They had the largest juice pockets of any XLB's that I've ever had. Each one contained at least one to two large soup spoonfuls of juices. The best way to eat them is to wait for it to cool down a bit (so you won't burn your tongue) and eat it in one bite. If you must take more than one bite, eat it over a small bowl so you won't lose those yummy and precious juices. Fried Dumplings - Also very very juicy. Be careful when you bite into it so that the juices don't squirt out. Scallion Pancakes - They were quite unique and were shaped like a donut rather than the thin pancake style generally found in the US. They were absolutely yummy, pan-fried to golden brown on the outside, moist and slightly chewy inside. Amazing. Cold Noodles - A great idea on a hot summer day! It was beautifully presented with 3 types of shredded meat on top and came with a nice setting of sauces, which included chili paste, a sweet soy sauce, peanut sauce, sesame oil, etc. Shanghainese Chili Stir Fry - Sweet and mildly spicy hot, this could be served with noodles, steamed rice, steamed buns (man tow) or scallion pancakes. Absolutely yummy and authentically Shanghainese! This place is quite expensive ($$$) but I assure you that it's worth every penny. If you decide to open up your wallet and spoil yourself with some of the best Shanghainese cuisine in the World, then this is the place. A solid 5-star experience, even by Hong Kong's high standard of Asian cuisine.

This is one of my favorite Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong. Spacious seating and fabulous…read moreShanghainese and Peking food. Very decent place for gatherings and groups. *Peking duck - it takes them about 45 mins to roast one so suggest you call them ahead of time to tell them to start roasting before you arrive. Great "gamey" taste with most of the fat "roasted away". The pancake is of the dry and thin type ... much better than what you will find at Peking Garden and a little bit less authentic compared to those in spring deer restaurant in TST. *Hairy crab set dinner - very very delicious. Every dish is covered with a lot of 蟹粉！ *Fried rice with egg white, conpoy and Chinese kale - delicate and balanced. Just the right amount of everything. they peeled off the "skin" of the Chinese kale so everything feels good and chewable in your mouth!!! Another good thing is that getting table reservation s quite easy.

Looking for a place to eat in the Sham Shui Po district, we came across this local wonton mein…read more(noodles) joint on Pei Ho Street. The prices on the wall advertised wonton mein for $19 ($2.50 US) a bowl and wonton soup for $24 ($3.10 US) a bowl. There were quite a few people inside eating, so we thought we would give it a try. We are glad we did. You get three huge wontons in the bowl and quite a decent portion of noodles to go with it. The noodles were al dente, just the way they should be and the wontons were delicious. As a matter of fact, the wontons were the best of all the ones I have tried in Hong Kong. Will definitely go back again for more delicious wontons in the future.

The yelp category for this place says Taiwanese, which when I looked at th dishes was a little odd…read more I was thinking more north eastern china so I asked the wait person "Is this place Taiwanese?" She said the husband is from Shangdong and th wife is Taiwanese. So we are both right. We had the minced pork gravy (Taiwanese) noodles and sesame shredded chicken (north east china) noodles and pork & chives dumplings (Beijing/Shanghai/other but not the south). 3.5 stars. I tried to ad Shandong as a category in Yelp & it didn't exist so I added Taiwanese. If Yelp is going to do a Chinese city, it's got to have all the Chinese foods as their categories.

3.5 star establishment…read more This charming no-frills place has some pretty bomb ass dumplings. We tried the original flavour ones as well as the mushroom chicken. Hands down the mushroom chicken were amazing in flavour, while the original ones lacked a bit of taste. Other items tried were the cold noodles which were pretty good and the tofu with century egg and floss topping (sounds a bit daunting for westerners but its a party in your mouth). I was recommended the sweet and sour prawns but to be honest, this was a miss for me. Soggy, gloopy sauce and very uninspired and sloppy. Best part? very price friendly for what you get. I know where to go the next time I have a dumpling craving!

I read something in the Hong Kong Tatler this past week indicating that this restaurant was one of…read morethe best places to experience the culinary delights of the Hairy Crab season, so my husband I and I went there for lunch on a Saturday. Not only were they serving whole crabs beautifully prepared over the really fat Shanghainese noodles that were sliced and mixed with green soybeans (I would not know the word for the noodle), but they had a variety of hairy crab dishes that had the crab mixed in as well. Not being able to read or speak Chinese (this is where my husband does all the talking and ordering), all I can express that the lunch experience was delightful. The restaurant itself is comfortably and elegantly appointed with seafoam greens, beige and lots of natural light from the windows that overlook the harbor. The room seems more upscale than what I can only say often seems like a dated feel with worn soft goods (ie chairs, carpets, curtains) that I feel from many traditional Chinese restaurants. Our server was exceptionally kind, friendly, informative and attentive. Although the room is touch upscale compared to other restaurants, we were casually dressed. The food was spectacular. Not everything, but portions of the menu were in English, but there are no photos of the food. The special menu items for the hairy crab season is only in Chinese. We really ate many items that came from the special hairy crab menu, including dumplings, noodles, a whole crab itself. There was one dish that was a shanghai noodle, mixed with crab and almost had the look of macaroni and cheese (just no cheese). It might be the best dish I have tasted since my time in Hong Kong. We also ordered the onion pancake and potstickers. This was my first hairy crab experience in general and this place was a safe harbor to do just that! I am not sure if my 5 star rating is due to the hairy crab menu and that experience or if I would rate it equally as high if we were there on some random Saturday in September. Our lunch was not cheap and in the ballpark of $1300HKD for the two of us, with the largest costs coming from the special dishes off their Hairy Crab menu for the season. Worth every penny though and really exceptionally Shanghainese food. My picky husband even agreed. We were there for lunch on a Saturday and arrived around 11:30am when they opened. We were able to get a table by the window, which was nice. By the time we left an hour later, the restaurant was packed.

Really delicious Shanghainese restaurant with authentic dishes all customized to order. These are…read moreprepared traditionally using traditional culinary methods - extremely labor intensive but a worthwhile experience.

We stopped by this place to have a little something to eat before we went up to the Hong Kong…read moreMuseum of Coastal Defense. This place makes some pretty good dumplings from scratch and you must also try their dau fu fa (bean curd dessert), It was very fresh, smooth and tasty. The pan-fried pork and beef buns were good as well. Their soy bean drink wasn't bad but I just prefer a stronger taste of soy beans. Their service is fast. Will definitely come back to try some other of their menu items.

A hole in a wall type Shanghai restaurant with delicious authentic food. You must order the…read moreShanghai fried noodles and fried dumplings! They are to die for!! We had the Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 as well, they were okay. The juicy meat was there but the skin was a bit thick, not practically good for the HK standard. Nevertheless, eveything else was delicious. If you go during lunch, they have lunch sets that include a dish, vege rice or white rice and a soup for less than $50 HK. One down side for westerners is that everything is in Chinese and I'm not sure if they have an Eng or a picture menu. If you don't read Chinese and are alone, you can look for the dishes you want in traditional Chinese and bring the list there. It's worth it for an authentic experience!!

Absolutely marvelous Szechuan food. Off the touristy beaten path - this is clearly a loved locals…read morespot. Portions are huge and fairly priced. And when they say spicy - they mean spicy!! I got the mala niurou. It was divine.