Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sheung Kee Delicacy 嫦記



My sense of anticipation turned into extreme disappointment this evening. It was not a feeling anyone wish to experience (too often) in life or for any encounters for that matter. Once can hope for the best or prepare of the worst. I know it is lame but so are many life lessons as well. Anyhow, on this Friday evening, a few of my friends and I decided to pay Happy Valley a visit. We picked the famous cooked food stalls at the top floor of the Wet Market building there. During the evening, the whole food court / stall consists of only two restaurants and the only way to distinguish one restaurant from the other is by the color of the plastic table cover and the color of the tea pot.



As soon as we arrived on the top floor by lift, staff from both restaurants literally BLOCKED our way out from the lift doors. Amid the yelling and confusion, we randomly picked one which turned out to be Sheung Kee Delicacy 嫦記.



(1) Shark Fin Chicken Soup
I remember reading an article several months ago by Angie Wong of TimeOut Hong Kong titled Under the table: Save the oceans, regarding shark fins and Chinese cuisine. It was quite an interesting read indeed. One of the famous items at this place is the shark fins soup with seemingly plenty of shark fins at a reasonable price. However, I am not an expert in shark fin and I really have no idea if those that were served tonight was of top quality. All I know is that I enjoyed the soup. There were plenty of ingredients in the pot including a large chuck of chicken and I really enjoyed it not really because of the fact that it was shark fin soup but because it was Chinese soup which I lack and heart.



(2) Steamed Pork Cake with Squid
The steamed pork patty was really disappointing. Not only was it dry, it was extremely firm! The diced squids were equally dry and tough with high elasticity similar to that of "thick rubber-band." The whole patty was stuck to the dish firmly, a sign that not enough oil, fat or greasy was used. This particular way of cooking was definitely not the traditional approach with the mixture of fatty pork as described by Jodi.



(3) Deep Fried Garlic Chicken 風沙雞
The diced garlic were under-fried, the pale brownish color was one of the indication. In my opinion, it should be of dark brownish color with a crispy texture to it. However, the fried garlic were slightly soft and moist, not what I had in mind. The necessary flavors were there but that was not the only factor to make a good dish. The chicken was alright, no surprises there.



(4) Scramble Egg with Prawns
Back when I was less lazy, I would cook more often and this is one of my favorite dishes to cook. It is not an easy dish to master (especially at home) and I am still learning and experimenting with various methods best suited for "home cooking," which means with the use of electric stove and as little oil as possible. The scramble eggs were slightly overcooked and the prawns were frozen. It was alright I guess.



(5) Steamed Tofu
Presentation wise it was nice but the tofu used was the firm and rough type which I think was not the most suitable choice. I think the softer silken type would be better. Also, there was a slight sour taste to the tofu. Good that the flavors of the sauce did a good job in covering that short-fall but still a disappointing dish in my opinion.



I am thinking, maybe I should do a Sheung Kee Delicacy 嫦記 vs Gi Kee 銖記 standoff for my reviews? hummm ....



Likes
  • homely atmosphere
  • service very responsive
Dislikes
  • Steam Pork Patty / Cake - too firm, too dry, squid too dry and tough!
  • Under-fried diced garlic
  • slight sour taste to the tofu
Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Sheung Kee Delicacy 嫦記
Shop 2, 2/F, Cooked Food Stall,
Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley
Tel: 2882 2994


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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh no that's terrible! I had better luck with my visit to Sheung Kee. First of all I didn't get the yelling cos it was late at night and secondly all the seafood we had was fantastic! Lucky!

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