Best Cantonese Restaurant in the World?

So how do you top Michelin stars for lunch and dinner? You follow it up with a Three Michelin-starred restaurant of course!

Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel is the only Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong to be awarded the highest possible accolade from Michelin of Three Stars – and only one of two Three-starred restaurants in the city (the other goes to the same hotel’s French restaurant, Caprice).

In fact, I’ve done some research and as far as I can see, this is the only Chinese restaurant in the World so far to have been awarded Michelin’s top prize. So, I guess we can deduce that, according to Michelin, Lung King Heen is the best Chinese restaurant in the World…

Exciting stuff indeed, and I was beside myself when Mr Greedy Glutton agreed to take me there for dinner (I justified this by pointing out that on our first night in Hong Kong we had gone to a hole-in-the-wall noodle joint and, ahem, I had paid…). Regardless of the justifications for being here, here we were and determined to make the most of it.

Much is made of the view from Lung King Heen, with floor to ceiling windows providing sweeping vistas across the harbour to Kowloon. Unfortunately low fog was set in throughout our stay so we couldn’t take advantage of this. The service, though it has to be said, was impeccable – discreet yet attentive and friendly, as they steered us through the menu knowledgably to make our choices:

Pan-fried Prawns with Chilli and Shallots – a plate piled high with enormous prawns in a sumptuous sweet and spicy sticky sauce

Australian Wagyu Beef Cheek in Casserole – this was outstanding, the beef so tender it was almost gooey.

Stir-fried Vegetables with Beansprouts, which was laced with scrumptiously sticky beancurd strips

All accompanied with an incredible Fried Rice with Lobster and Seafood – my only regret with this was that I wasn’t staying at home where I could take the leftovers home for my lunch the next day.



Well, I’m not really experienced enough to judge whether this is the best Cantonese in the world (I understand that a lot of Chinese restaurant ratings are based on their ability to produce outstanding results with the likes of Birds Nest, Sharks Fin, Abalone etc – none of which I am particularly partial to). But it was probably one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of eating – and definitely a notch up from the previous night’s meal at one-starred Lei Garden. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens if and when Michelin come to Singapore…

Lung King Heen - http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/lung_king_heen.html

Another Star for Dinner

I was still bursting to the brim from my fabulous late lunch, but as I had dared to go there without Mr Greedy Glutton in tow, I was forced to sacrifice my figure to join him for dinner just a few hours later. Slightly disgruntled that I had notched up my first Michelin Star without him, I managed to placate him by booking another starred restaurant for dinner, choosing Lei Garden in Wan Chai – basically due to its proximity to our hotel.



The restaurant provides a cosy comfortable setting, despite its grand size, and we were given a table with a great view of the weird and wonderful contents of the fish tank, where we spent much time wondering exactly who orders a fish that’s almost the size of our table…

Once we finally got round to the menu, we were fairly modest with our ordering – choosing just three dishes: The Braised Boned Pork Ribs with Sweet & Sour Sauce, served with steamed buns – this was beautifully succulent, the flesh just falling apart under our chopsticks and melting in the mouth, the sweet and sour sauce perfect for dipping the buns into.




Beef Cubes with Spring Onion and Scallion – perfectly tender cubes of beef and vegetables tossed in with a slightly spicy sauce



And the King Prawn in Superior Soy Sauce – which surprised us by arriving as just one prawn each… however we forgave the frugality when we tasted the sauce – sticky and tangy and delicious.

This was a great way to follow up my first flirtation with a starred establishment, and our satisfaction continued when the bill arrived – around SGD$120 for both of us, including a couple of beers each.

So I finished my first day in Hong Kong feeling very satisfied, very spoilt and yes, very full.

Lei Garden, Wan Chai, Hong Kong - http://www.leigarden.hk/

World’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant

As soon as I discovered that Hong Kong is home to the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world, it went straight to the top of my list of lunch spots to try. Tucked away on a back street in Kowloon, the unpretentious – almost shabby – surroundings of Tim Ho Wan are not what you would normally associate with a restaurant awarded the most sought after accolade in the culinary world. But then Michelin doesn’t award stars based on ambience or service, rather they concentrate on the following important aspects: Quality and compatibility of ingredients; Technical skill and flair that goes into the preparation; Clarity and combination of flavours; Value for money; Taste and Consistency.

In addition to its Michelin star, Tim Ho Wan has also recently featured in several local Hong Kong newspapers and magazines, and word has quickly got round that this place is serving up some of the best Char Siew Bao in town. The throng of people crowding the pavement waiting patiently to take a seat, was therefore inevitable – even though I had deliberately avoided the lunch rush and arrived after 3pm.



The crowd was good-natured though, with everyone united in their excitement of what lay ahead. Within just a few minutes I had made a whole crowd of new friends, with everyone wanting to know how I, as the only non-local among them, knew to come here; checking what I had ticked off from my list; and ensuring I had included Char Siew Bao (“They’re the best!”).

So strong was the camaraderie, that when one man realised he no longer had time to wait and handed my his ticket – thus vastly bumping me up the queue, nobody took offence – they all congratulated me on my good luck and seemed genuinely excited for me.

So just 30 minutes into my queuing time, I found myself squeezed into the corner of the little café – although I admit I did feel slightly guilty when my lunch companion told me she had been waiting one and a half hours to eat.



And so finally to the food. Of course, having continually heard that “they’re the best!”, it would have been foolish not to try the Char Siew Bao – and wow, they certainly delivered.



Baked, not steamed, the pastry with its crispy sugary coating, melted in the mouth, revealing sticky, sweet, succulent pork within. Now I don’t want to be melodramatic here, but I almost cried on my first mouthful it was that good.



The Har Kau was equally impressive – not only were the chunky prawns fresher than fresh, but even the translucent casing tasted good…



The Mixed Vegetable Dumpling with Sour & Spicy Sauce was a tumble of beautifully fresh vegetables, lightly sautéed in vinegar and doused in a spicy sauce to stunning effect



And the Siew Mai offered up bundles of juicy pork and prawns.



I had ordered what I thought was far too much just so I could taste a selection of dishes – after all, this is the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world, and indeed my meal only came to HKD$58.00 (about SGD$10.00). However, it was so scrumptious I just kept on eating – telling myself “just one more”, and by the time I’d finished having “just one more”, somehow all the baskets were empty.

So yes, I can happily say that Tim Ho Wan really is worth the wait. Needless to say, don’t come here if you are in a rush - I’ve heard that the queues can last up to 3 hours! I guess you could always nip round the corner to the Ladies’ Market and stock up on knock-off handbags while you wait... but just make sure you don’t miss your number being called or you’ll end up at the back of queue again – trust me it happened to someone while I was waiting… and yes, he almost cried.

Tim Ho Wan - 2-8 Kwong Wah St., Mong Kok, Hong Kong