Sunday 11 October 2009

Food Journey #26 - Dim Sum The Art Of Chinese Tit Bits (譽滿坊)

Have been exceptionally busy this week at work and thus, haven't had the time to blog about my previous adventure. For a change this round, I will be blogging about Chinese Cuisine with a peculiar name of Dim Sum The Art of Chinese Tit Bits located the heart of Happy Valley. Our group visited this restaurant on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival and it was definitely worth every dollar spent. Chinese cuisine is not something which I particularly enjoy every so often as I always find it very time-consuming & greasy. My experience at Dim Sum The Art of Chinese Tit Bits changed me to have 2nd thoughts on this perception and it is a restaurant whereby I will re-visit very soon. Ambiance: Very traditionally Chinese styled restaurant in Happy Valley with wooden chairs & tables and even accessories such as teapots are also very authentic. Not a very large spaced restaurant but nonetheless, it was very cosy and our visit on the evening wasnt too busy which was perfect for the occasion. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED & MUST ORDER Dishes: 1) Chinese Soya Chicken (Signature Dish): Flavourful, Tender, Succulent and one word -- MARVELLOUS. Can totally see why this is the signature dish and why a 3-day in advance pre-order for this chicken is required. Only question which I have is, since the restaurant used a fresh chicken for this dish, I wonder how much more the taste will further improve if an organic chicken was used? 2) Steamed Fish Maw Stuffed with Minced Shrimp: This was a dish cooked to perfection -- the steamed fish maw was very tender & soft and the portion of the minced shrimp was very generous. The shrimp was also very sharp & fresh in flavour which was extremely important. Portion sizes were just perfect and everybody on the table at least had 1 portion. Ladies out there - fish maw is mainly consumed by woman as a source of collagen which is good for your skin! 3) Steamed Cod Fish: This sounds & appears like a very simple dish but yet I have seen many restaurants totally screw up on this. Key area is not to over-steam the cod fish or else the fish will become very dense & flakey which is not something you want. The timing of the steaming procedure was spot on and apparently, the soya sauce used on the fish is a secret recipe from the restaurant. This is the sort of dish I am happy with to pair with a bowl of rice! 4) Prawn Dumpling: Sounds very odd to have dim-sum at night time but this restaurant serves it up in style. At $35 a pop at 2 Prawn Dumplings, they better be good dumplings and I was not disappointed. The Prawns were MASSIVE, I mean absolutely massive and you know it is fresh prawns by thd freshness of it. Slight let down was the pastry was slightly too thick which is not to my liking. Perfect pairing for this will be some Gui Lin Chilli Sauce. Should Try Dishes: 1) Vegetable Stew: Refreshing, Healthy, Fresh vegetables boiled together with ZERO OIL CONTENT in the broth. Enough said. There is a sense of pure-ness about the broth and unlike many other vegetable stews around town, I am very certain this does not contact any MSG content. 2) Fried Scallops with Broccoli: This was a hit & miss dish because the broccoli's were skill-fully cooked as it was not tough & to the stage of difficulty to chew. However, the scallops were the let down as you can still taste the frozen flavour as it was literally just been taken out from the freezer in the kitchen. Disappointment! 3) Fried Egg with Prawns & Scallops: Egg dishes are always my #1 choice of comfort food when one is extremely hungover and I can never get bored of such dishes. Again, the prawns are generously large & fresh but the scallops were same as above which you can taste the frozen flavour out of it. Nonetheless, regardless of the scallops, this is my favourite dish to go out steamed rice with a dash of Gui Lin Chilli Sauce! Dishnes NOT TO Order! 1) Chinese Style Lobster & Shark Fin Clam Chowder -- When I first ordered this, everything was the name of this dish was attractive and thinking it was HKD35 per bowl, what an absolutel steal. When I got the bill, realising that it was $85 per bowl, I was stunned. This was claimed to be the restaurant's signature dish and I really did not see why this was so highly praised. The Clam Chowder was extremely watery unlike the thickness of the American style Clam Chowders. On top, it was extremely difficult to find or even locate where the lobsters were. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT but if you have a fat wallet with cash lying around, please go ahead and order this. 2) Pork Siu Mai's (Pork Dumplings) -- I took one bite of this and was not pleased about it. It was extremely greasy and the taste of an inch of oil in your mouth is not very appealing. The Pig's skin that is used on the top of the pork-ball was in my opinion very grotesque. I dont think this will be the sort of dim-sum which the expat community in Happy Valley will be pleased to see. One should never regret about food but this dish is something which I will always regret in ordering. Our overall experience was very pleasant and it is the new discovery of Happy Valley. This restaurant has also become the hub of the Japanese and foreign expat community. Good hearty food along with flavourful Chinese tea is the key attraction. However, eating at this restaurant can be considerably pricey and some of their prices cna rival a 5 to 6 Star Hotel Chinese restaurants. Do check out the restaurant and let me know whether you think it is worth the money! NEXT UPCOMING REVIEW ON GEOFF's TWITCHEN : CLEARWATERBAY COUNTRY CLUB SUNDAY BUFFET Happy Eating & Drinking! Geoff Address: G/F, 63 Sing Woo Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong (跑馬地成和道63號地下) Tel: 2834 - 8893 Food Quality (5* the highest): 3/1/2* Price for Dinner (5$ = very expensive): ***
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5 comments:

  1. Hi Geoff,
    Your posts have kept me lingering here for quite a while, and i'm very much interested in reading all the details.

    Haven't tried Tit Bit so far probably i'm more of a creature on the Kowloon side. When it comes to enjoy nice dim sum at places that are not too crowded but reasonably priced, i would think of Jade Garden and Lee Garden .

    Ooop, my blog is on your daily read?! Thanks.

    Enjoy your stay in Hong Kong.

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  2. Hi there,

    Thank you for your comments and it is extremely meaningful to recieve such comments from a fellow foodie. Jade Garden & Lee Garden are both good and actually, one of my favourite is Jade Garden next to Starbucks on Leighton Road. Good food & good dinner indeed.

    Join our fan page and recieve regular updates:

    http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Geoffs-Twitchen/128763959419?ref=ts

    Tx
    Geoff

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  3. Great minds?!

    Should be there if i decide to sign up facebook, thanks.

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  4. Hi Geof,
    Man I love dim sum, I could eat it everyday no joke. It just touches my heart and sooths my soul. There is no other treat like Dim Sum, its quite an ambiance to have those waiter/waitresses push the carts up and down the aisle, Sieu Bao, Ha cao, siu mai, Yes 3 of each please. LOL thanks for sharing.

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  5. Hi Houston Wok,

    Tx for your comment snd Dim Sum is a great Chinese art whereby it also connects families on weekends. Unfortunately, at this restaurant which I reviewed, they do not have have carts running up & down the aisle but the quality of dim sum is top notch for sure.

    Happy Eating and stay tune for my other posts!

    Geoff

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