For this trip I stayed at City Garden Hotel which is located near Fortress Hill MTR Station on Hong Kong Island. The hotel’s restaurant Yue happens to be awarded with 1 Michelin Star. Since it was so convenient, it became the best choice for lunch on my last day after checking out of the room.

Gold Coast Starlight – HKD$68

Deep Fried Taro Dumpling Stuffed with Cheese, Fresh Shrimp Dumpling with Bamboo Shoot and Seafood Baked Pastry with Custard Filling

This is an award winning dish which was created from their other outlet at Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel and won the Gold Award in 2011 Best of the Best Culinary Awards Dim Sum Catergory, according to the description on the menu. The presentation was an instant winner and while the taste did not disappoint, the aesthetic competent scored higher.

龙井皇熏鸡 Smoked Chicken with Fragrant Tea Leaves and Soy Sauce – HKD$158

This is simply the best roast chicken ever. I don’t know how this is believable because roast chicken generally all tastes the same, but somehow the meat was so smooth and soft (and sinfully oily, but I like)! It didn’t have the usual toughness and tastelessness of average roast chicken. I didn’t detect significant tea leaves tastes though but everything else was good enough so no complaints.

Chicken Feet in Abalone Sauce – HKD$78

This is not a dim sum item but under the appetizer section, so expectations on the appearance and portion should be different. I am not a regular eater of chicken feet but everything was soft enough to be edible so I guess that’s good enough?

Daily Chinese Soup – HKD$188 (pot)

Just because we’re in Hong Kong. I can’t say I’ve been to Hong Kong without having any soup for all 4 days I can?

Crispy Spinach and Crab Meat Spring Rolls – HKD$46

Can never go wrong with crispy spring rolls.

Pan-fried Rice Rolls with Home-made Mushroom Sauce – HKD$58

I know it’s quite far fetched to compare it to Bo Innovation since the latter doesn’t even do traditional Hong Kong cuisine, but the rice rolls here were pale in comparison because the layers weren’t as chewy and taut. This one was listed as a Chef’s Recommendation but I found it to be just average.

Crispy Roast Pork Belly – HKD$148

This item wasn’t marked with a star on the menu indicating Chef’s Recommendation and indeed it was quite ordinary, especially when compared to the one we had earlier at Lei Garden. The standard was of course decent but many places in Singapore could actually do better (and even more in Hong Kong) so in that sense it’s not worth to get unless you are dying to have roast pork at the moment. I think what made it inferior was the way they cut it with too much meat and fats below, making it non bite size, reducing the ratio of crispy skin and less enjoyable.

Congee with Minced Pork and Preserved Egg – HKD$52

The porridge was nice, decent and easily better than many others I’ve had in Singapore, but in comparison to what I had at Ho Hung Kee the day before it simply cannot win. The congee itself was less flavourful and the texture wasn’t as ‘fluffy’ as. However, if you simply must see it on your table as a dim sum staple, it really is good enough and will suffice.

Steamed Maitake and Wild Mushrooms Dumpling – HKD$44 (3 pieces)

This dumpling is so prettily done isn’t it? The quality is good too, with properly done skin. The fillings was simply mushroom dominated so only take this if you like mushrooms (obviously).

Steamed Pork Dumplings with Bolestus – HKD$44 (3 pieces)

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings – HKD$44 (3 pieces)

And of course the must-orders for dim sum – the Siew Mai and Ha Kau. I generally have biased expectations in Hong Kong for logical reasons (like average there means good in Singapore) and these did not disappoint. Properly made skin and all.

This whole meal was really filing and can you imagine that I actually had a Po Lo Bao for breakfast before this and went for afternoon tea at Azure right after.

But in any case, when you’re in Hong Kong you must eat Dim Sum because even if you can find similar standards in Singapore (remember: Good in SG = Normal in HK), it’s going to be way more expensive anywhere else!