Pang's Kitchen, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

This is a later quest at my local neighbourhood Michelin starred restaurant. Pang's kitchen received it's one star last year serving top notch Chinese cuisine. It is a short walk from where we live and was already full when we arrived, proving its popularity, even on a weekday evening. 

After a very short wait to prepare our table, we ordered some popular dishes off their menu, described below. 

Our first dish to arrive was sweet and sour pork, shown below. This had strawberries in it as the differentiator between standard dishes that usually have pineapple. There are also nice small portions of battered pork meat in a sour sauce, cooked with chilli pepper for a bit of heat. A really good and colourful dish to start with.

Sweet & Sour Pork

Fried rice with salted fish and chicken, pictured below, was the next dish to arrive. The fish are chopped small pieces that add some great strong seasoning to the dish, which is mixed with chicken and shredded lettuce. This was the best dish of the night, with everything fried really well and tasting great.

Fried Rice

The photo below shows stir fried vegetables as our third dish. It is served in an impressive looking clay pot to preserve the heat as it still has the sizzling noise when placed on the table. It was cooked simply and well, with the greens still having crunchiness and basic garlic seasoning for the flavour.

Stir Fried Vegetable

The food is impressive but you pay for that quality, although the amounts are generous and we ended up taking a doggy bag home. Being located in Happy Valley probably adds to the price as well.

The restaurant holds 40 people and is quite representative of Hong Kong in that it was densely populated (i.e. packed) when we were there. The interior is rather dated, reminding me of Chinese restaurants back in the UK, and the tableware was a bit used. The service, whilst not terrible, could have been a bit more hospitable, given its status. Overall it is worth a visit, primarily for their food. 

Scores:

Food: 4/5

Presentation: 4/5

Service: 3/5

Setting: 3/5

Overall: 14/20

Total Bill: 458HKD, about £19 a head. 

We ate: All of the above.

We drank: Jasmine Tea.

I wore: Casual, 1 Michelin star attire.

Spices, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

I am back here with my wife at the Repulse Bay Hotel building, this time lunching at another restaurant, Spices, which is also run by the Peninsula Hotel.

Given its name, this place serves food from the Indochina region, as testimony to the trade that occurred in the area. Indeed, as part of the table set up, there was a small pot of star anise on our table shown in the picture below, giving of an aroma reminiscent of liquorice sweets.

Star Anise on the table

Drinks were ordered first and shown below. I went for the Lemongrass Peach Tea and my wife went for the Honey Melon, a seasonal special on offer. Both were refreshing but a little too sweet, though.

Our Drinks Order

For food we ordered Tom Yum Gong soup and Lamb Massala curry, which arrived at the same time. Both looked appealing, with the curry in a steel pan on a heater. The lamb was well cooked tender. The curry sauce was not runny, and had good flavour and heat from spice. The soup did look small, which reflected its price as one of the cheaper items on the menu. It had very nice spicy and zesty flavour and contained good sized prawns and quite a lot of mushrooms. 

Steamed white rice was included in the price of the curry and the portion the waitress gave us was fairly generous in comparison to the soup.

TomYum Soup & Lamb Massala

The Morning Glory vegetable, pictured below, came soon after, which was stir fried with garlic and chilli. This was probably the spiciest (there is a bit of a trend here) dish we ate, although we asked for less chilli.

Morning Glory

We decided to go for a dessert after the mains and went for the 'Khao Niaow Ma Muang', or the Thai mango sticky rice pudding. This was the best course of the day. The rice was white and black as a variant, which was sweet and sticky; the mango was fresh and there was a coconut based sauce draped all over it for added sweet flavour, which cooled our palates from the hot main dishes.

Mango Sticky Rice Pudding

The decor has a colonial feel but not opulent and one can feel relaxed in this venue. It is fairly expensive but that does not seem to detract customers as the place was popular with the indoor and outdoor seats pretty much taken. The quality of the food is pretty good, considering the geographic range it covers. Service was good as well, although not as attentive as the Verandah, which was expected. If you are planning a day out in Repulse Bay then a visit to Spices will do no wrong.

Scores:

Food: 4/5

Presentation: 4/5

Service: 3/5

Setting: 4/5

Overall: 15/20

Total Bill: 658HKD, about £20 a head. 

We ate: All of the above.

We drank: Lemongrass Peach Tea, Honey Melon.

I wore: 'Thai' purchased Fred Perry shorts.

The Verandah, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

I am here with my wife at the Verandah, a restaurant that is in the splendid old Repulse Bay Hotel building. It is run by the Peninsula Hotel and we had a Sunday brunch there. The colonial building sets the scene with Classic Victorian interiors and elegant table setting, shown below.

Table Setting

As this was a buffet, there are going to be a lot of pictures of the food that we took and ate to follow.

My first visit to the counters saw me take little nibbles of Samosa, Spring Roll, Siu Mai, Har Gow and Scallop, shown below. These 'canapés' were all very well made, with the scallop being the nicest item and overall a good starter to get the brunch going.  After this course the restaurant informed us of a cancellation and moved us to a window seat, which was kind of them. Next up for me was a plate of freshly shucked oysters and sashimi, which is not pictured but tasted good and raw, nonetheless.

First Plate

More cold dishes followed after the seafood in the shape of the picture below (working clockwise from the 12 o'clock position): Papaya Salad; Parma Ham and Melon; Duck Terrine; Mozzarella and Tomato; and Duck Breast and French Beans. All items were nice, with the duck breast being my favourite from this selection, more due to personal preference for this fowl meat. 

Cold Cut selection

I decided on some soup before the main course and served myself a bowl of Cauliflower velouté with smoked salmon and croutons added as nice condiments. This soup had a strong cauliflower flavour, was light and foamy but not quite warm enough.

Soup

Roast beef was the main dish ordered from the menu. A slab of fairly red Australian beef was served with a very well crafted potato gratin and some cute little vegetables to the side. The beef was OK and not too chewy but the gratin was the best bit of this dish, consisting of thin layers of potatoes mixed with a tasty cheese.

My Main Course

My wife went for the roast chicken for her main, pictured below, which I have to say looked and tasted better then my beef.

Wife's Main Course

Onto desserts now, and to the left of the picture below was a cake selection and a tiramisu on the right. The cakes were a chocolate one, light mouse and creme brûlée. The tiramisu was made at the counter, where the ingredients and laid out and placed in a small tea cup. The chef made with the right quantities of coffee and kahlua, and the result was a fabulous tiramisu.

First Dessert Course

I decided to go for a freshly made crepe pancake next, with a banana filling that I accompanied with some strawberry ice cream, shown below. This is quite a standard item in most upmarket buffets around in Hong Kong, and this version was no better or worse than others I have had.

Pancake

Lime soufflé followed, which was cooked out the counter. This was delicious, it was light with the sour lime going well with the sweetened egg mix. This was not the final last visit to the counters as I also got some water melon and pineapple, which are not pictured, and were the last things I ate that day.

Souffle

It is pricey but there is a lot of very good food on offer so you will not leave the Verandah hungry in the three hour time limit you are given, and it does carry the Peninsula brand. It is quite busy so bookings are recommended, but does not feel overcrowded. Desserts were best, with the Tiramisu and the Soufflé the standout dishes of the day. The service is mostly by yourself as it is a buffet but there are a lot of waiters serving drinks and main courses as well as assisting in clearing plates. Tea / coffee is served after the main course, with the tea served in proper leaves, which you would expect from this type of establishment. There is a live band as well for entertainment. So all in all a very enjoyable afternoon in a grand setting that is worth a try from anyone.

Scores:

Food: 4/5

Presentation: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Setting: 4/5

Overall: 16/20

Total Bill: 1400HKD, about £56 a head. 

We ate: All of the above.

We drank: Various fruit juices, Sangria and Earl Grey tea. These were all included in the price.

I wore: Smart Bally shoes.