Apologies for the lack of blogging activity as I have been fairly busy over the past month. A lot of my time has been taken up moving house so this entry is the first one in Happy Valley, which is where I now reside. We were taking a break from cleaning our new flat and stopped here for lunch with my parents-in-law. The restaurant does not have an English name so the phonetic translation would be 'Yu Moon Fong', which I will abbreviate to YMF. It's on one of the main streets in the area and a few minutes walk from our new abode.
As we entered the restaurant was virtually empty but that is because they were expecting a large party soon. Therefore we were lucky in that there was a spare table for us four diners. We sat down and were advised by staff to order quickly before the party arrived so we duly did so.
As YMF is a Chinese restaurant, they do dim sum for lunch so we ordered nine dishes to share. Here is how we got on:
Siu mai: these pork and prawn dumplings were garnished with shark's fin on top. Whilst the dumpling was nice the shredded fin did not really add much, just some exclusivity and controversy.
Fried rice wrapped in lotus leaf. For this dish the rice is first fried then wrapped in the leaf and steamed for extra flavour and a smoother texture, which equates to a nice item.
Har gow with lobster meat. A premium take on the the classic prawn dumpling. Tasty with good pastry but I prefer a whole prawn as opposed to small pieces of meat.
Deep fried dumpling. This spherical dumpling was served very hot and had a chives and pork mixture inside with a light batter to cover everything.
Char siu bao. Barbecued pork bun was tasty, with light, fluffy pastry on the outside and hot sweet pork filling inside.
Ham shui gok, which has the literal translation of 'savoury water dumpling'. This is a deep fried item and had a delicious sweet crispy outside and a pork-based filing inside. Probably the best dish of the lot.
Chicken rice. This little bamboo steamer that contained rice, which was topped off with nice chicken pieces. Under the chicken were two small slices of abalone to make it more classy (and expensive).
1000 layer cake was the only sweet dish we had. There were actually probably only seven layers of sweet glutinous rice and egg yolk sponge. It was ok, but nothing special.
Spring roll (not pictured). Hot and crispy on the outside, packed with a meat filling in the inside. Usually cut in half to make them more bite size but they did not do this but that did not detract me from the lovely taste.
YMF serves some really nice food (albeit at high temperatures) and is a good local restaurant. The decor is clean and functional and not pretentious. The service was friendly, quick and efficient. It is probably a bit pricier than other restaurants in the area but you pay for that bit of quality and Happy Valley is one of the more affluent areas of Hong Kong, so I would recommend this place.
Scores:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5
Overall: 13/20
Total bill: $442, so just under £10 a head.
I ate: All of the above
I drank: Chrysanthemum tea.
I wore: Casual clothes suitable for cleaning.
As we entered the restaurant was virtually empty but that is because they were expecting a large party soon. Therefore we were lucky in that there was a spare table for us four diners. We sat down and were advised by staff to order quickly before the party arrived so we duly did so.
As YMF is a Chinese restaurant, they do dim sum for lunch so we ordered nine dishes to share. Here is how we got on:
 |
| Clockwise from top left:Siu Mai; Fried Rice in Lotus Leaf; Har Gow; Chive Dumpling; Char Siu Bao. (Top right Corner: Savoury Water Dumpling) |
Fried rice wrapped in lotus leaf. For this dish the rice is first fried then wrapped in the leaf and steamed for extra flavour and a smoother texture, which equates to a nice item.
Har gow with lobster meat. A premium take on the the classic prawn dumpling. Tasty with good pastry but I prefer a whole prawn as opposed to small pieces of meat.
Deep fried dumpling. This spherical dumpling was served very hot and had a chives and pork mixture inside with a light batter to cover everything.
Char siu bao. Barbecued pork bun was tasty, with light, fluffy pastry on the outside and hot sweet pork filling inside.
Ham shui gok, which has the literal translation of 'savoury water dumpling'. This is a deep fried item and had a delicious sweet crispy outside and a pork-based filing inside. Probably the best dish of the lot.
 |
| Top:Fried rice in lotus leaf. Bottom: Chicken Rice with Abalone |
Chicken rice. This little bamboo steamer that contained rice, which was topped off with nice chicken pieces. Under the chicken were two small slices of abalone to make it more classy (and expensive).
 |
| 1000 layer cake |
1000 layer cake was the only sweet dish we had. There were actually probably only seven layers of sweet glutinous rice and egg yolk sponge. It was ok, but nothing special.
Spring roll (not pictured). Hot and crispy on the outside, packed with a meat filling in the inside. Usually cut in half to make them more bite size but they did not do this but that did not detract me from the lovely taste.
YMF serves some really nice food (albeit at high temperatures) and is a good local restaurant. The decor is clean and functional and not pretentious. The service was friendly, quick and efficient. It is probably a bit pricier than other restaurants in the area but you pay for that bit of quality and Happy Valley is one of the more affluent areas of Hong Kong, so I would recommend this place.
Scores:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5
Overall: 13/20
Total bill: $442, so just under £10 a head.
I ate: All of the above
I drank: Chrysanthemum tea.
I wore: Casual clothes suitable for cleaning.
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