In celebration of my friend's birthday, the whole group decided to head to Peking Garden @ TST before heading to Salon de Ning for a further celebration. Booked a week in advance and pre-ordered a few special items just in case they are sold out. This particular outlet of Peking Garden is one of the busiest in Hong Kong (especially with tourists) and it was almost full house on this Friday night.
(1) Steamed Pork Dumpling with Supreme Soup (aka Xiao Long Bao)
Xiao Long Bao is like a standard item to order here or at other Shanghainese place. I seriously think the quality of this place has dropped over the years or maybe it is due to the busy hours. However, as I mentioned before, consistency is a key element for any good restaurant and maintain the quality even during busy hour is part of the formula. The xiao long bao being served had a very thick dumpling skin and there was so little soup / juice inside it as well. I think it is likely due to the fact that it has been placed on the steamer to keep warm since early evening since this is such a common items that they might as well pre-cook them.
(2) Quick fried shredded Eel
The serving order was not the most proper but I am okay with it since I am in a relatively good mood and I understand that kitchen management is not easy at all especially during busy hours. As for the quality of this dish, I think it was pretty good, the eel was relatively chewy and the flavors or the sauce was not too rich. If I am not a slight diet right now, I would have ordered some rice or plain steam bun to go with this dish. Not bad at all.
(3) Peking Duck
Another must order/standard item. After a very brief showing of the duck by the staff, it was being sliced somewhere in the far corner. Compared with the last few visits at this place and its Peking duck, the quality tonight was above average. The skin remained relatively crispy throughout rather than being soaky and chewy the last time I tried. However, the dough wraps were a bit too dried and thick as always. Am I asking for too much? hummm ....
(4) Beggar's Chicken (aka Wealthy Chicken)
This was my second time trying this special item, the first time was at Hong Zhou Restaurant. If I were to compared two, I prefer the one at Hong Zhou Restaurant for sure. The chicken being served here was very dry; even the dark meat portion! It was fun watching my friend crack it open with the silver hammer, but the most important is the quality of the chicken inside! Disappointing indeed.
(5) Pan-fried Bean Curd with Shrimp Roe
This dish reminded me of the Agedashi Tofu from Japanese restaurant but with thicker and more salty sauce. It was alright, nothing special about it, very ordinary.
This was my second time trying this special item, the first time was at Hong Zhou Restaurant. If I were to compared two, I prefer the one at Hong Zhou Restaurant for sure. The chicken being served here was very dry; even the dark meat portion! It was fun watching my friend crack it open with the silver hammer, but the most important is the quality of the chicken inside! Disappointing indeed.
(5) Pan-fried Bean Curd with Shrimp Roe
This dish reminded me of the Agedashi Tofu from Japanese restaurant but with thicker and more salty sauce. It was alright, nothing special about it, very ordinary.
(6) Braised Sea Cucumber with Crispy Rice
I did not try any of this dish because by the time I wanted to try, all of the crispy rice cakes were gone while plenty of the soup / dipping sauce remained. I guess I should have ordered an extra plate of rice cakes or maybe the restaurant should provide more from now on.
(7) Deep Fried Mandarin Fish with Black Vinegar Sauce
Although the dish name refers to black vinegar sauce, we can actually switch the the sweet and sour orange color sauce as an option. We picked to stay with the original sauce. It was very nice. The outer layer of the deep fried fish was very crispy and not too heavy on the batter. The fish meat inside was tender and silky smooth; the deep frying time was just right in my opinion. Together with the slightly sour sauce, it was very appetizing. (but it came near the end of the menu, not a good thing to have an appetizing feeling right?)
(8) Minced Peking duck meat with lettuce cups
The remaining meat from the Peking duck was shredded / minced and cooked into this dish. However, it was extremely salty and there seemed to be no traces of the meat anywhere?? Either the meat was minced very fine (which I doubt) or there were just little meat remained after the slicing (which I doubt again) or they simply used very little of the meat that remained. In any case, it was a very disappointing dish, very disappointing.
(8) Minced Peking duck meat with lettuce cups
The remaining meat from the Peking duck was shredded / minced and cooked into this dish. However, it was extremely salty and there seemed to be no traces of the meat anywhere?? Either the meat was minced very fine (which I doubt) or there were just little meat remained after the slicing (which I doubt again) or they simply used very little of the meat that remained. In any case, it was a very disappointing dish, very disappointing.
Likes:
- Quick fried shredded Eel - very nicely done.
- Deep Fried Mandarin Fish with Black Vinegar Sauce - not much of presentation but very well prepared in general
Dislikes:
- Minced Peking duck meat with lettuce cups - little traces of meat and extremely salty even with the lettuce cups.
- Beggar's Chicken (aka Wealthy Chicken) - meat too dry !
- Xiao Long Bao - skin / outer dough layer too thick and lack of meat juicy / soup inside.
Peking Garden Restaurant
3/F, Star House,
3 Salisbury Road, TST
Tel: 2735 8211
3 comments:
you have very high standards indeed :) i love a good peking duck. please tell me where i can get the best in hk!
Based on my personal opinion, here are some suggestions, each with its unique style:
(1) Ye Shanghai's Peking duck is pretty good; however, its style is different whereby the slices are mainly skin (very thinly sliced indeed)and without much meat to it compared with Peking Garden. Its wraps are very thin and heated as well. I haven't been back for a while because their overall food quality has become very inconsistent over the past few years in my opinion. (Ye Shanghai at TST)
(2) Lei Garden @ MK - I had a vague memory of tying Peking duck at this place before and it was pretty good, especially the thin wraps and the style here should be the skin type without much meat. (let me confirm you on this place later because my memories are worst day by day ... haha)
(3) 鹿鳴春飯店 Spring Deer - This place I have yet to try but I heard it is very good and booking requires at least 2 weeks in advance. However, based on some pictures from open rice, it is the meaty slices type with thick wraps. I personally prefer thin wraps and just the skin without much meat. I should be trying it in the upcoming weeks. (if I can get hold of a table that is)
(4) 東來順 Dong Lai Shun - the last time I was there, they sold out all the duck (because it requires advance ordering.) I heard it is pretty good as well so I will give that a try later for sure.
wow, that's very comprehensive! i like thin wraps with lots of skin and lots of meat! will wait for your thumbs up on the places you mentioned...
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