Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Tai Ping Koon 太平館餐廳



I am a loyal diner at Tai Ping Koon (太平館餐廳) not only for its consistency in terms of food quality but also the homely feeling of its environment. It seemed to have the same decor as 5 years ago when I first visited and with the same strong air conditioning blowing right on top of your head! Don't expect top-notch services but do except skilled and extremely responsive services from the team of experienced staff. Tai Ping Koon is very famous for its Swiss Chicken Wings or more accurately the so-called Swiss sauce (瑞士汁). While items with Swiss sauce were good, my favorite item remains to be the ox-tongue.



(1) Tea
I am a coffee person but for some odd reasons, I ordered tea tonight. I am glad that I did because otherwise I would not have the chance to see something I haven't encountered for a long while which is the stainless steel "tea filter"! Of course you may see it in those upscale establishment serving traditional English after tea sets but at local Chinese food joints, it is becoming a rare item. Well, it wasn't the greatest tea but it was comforting especially a DIY cup of tea instead of those Hong Kong styled milk tea with everything added already.



(2) Boiled Corned Ox-tongue
It was salty but it was salty in a very delicious way. It looked plain but not the taste for sure. When I say the salty flavor was very complex, it was very complex indeed. It may sound crazy but I was making the following noises while eating this with spoonful of rice: HUMMM, YUMMM, HUMM followed by another series of HUMMMMs. It was a simple boiled ox-tongue yet very satisfying indeed! Soft and tender: who needs wagyu beef, this ox-tongue almost melted in my mouth as well!



Likes:
  • Boiled Corned Ox-tongue - salty but in a good and delicious way.
  • Boiled Corned Ox-tongue - soft and tender! almost melted in my mouth
  • Boiled Corned Ox-tongue - generous portions
  • (ooops, did I repeat my Likes? ... o well)
Dislikes:
  • Air Conditioning too strong and too cold!
Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Tai Ping Koon Restaurant
6 Pak Sha Road, CWB
Tel: 852 2576 9161
http://www.taipingkoon.com/home.html


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14 comments:

KK said...

I've been going to this very CWB location since I was a youngster, although the last time I ate there was 2002. I remember seeing Lai Chi (celebrity) there with someone during the previous visit.

My wife complains that all the entrees don't come with any decent vegetables (either boiled veg or lettuce). So her experience was not very good.

But I still love this place a lot.

Jason said...

@KK: Thanks for dropping by my blog! Wow, you should give it a try after so long. You never know, you wife might like enjoy the experience more this time around. :)

Jason said...

@KK: just read your other comments that you no longer live in HK. If you come by HK again in the near future, you HAVE to try this place for good old time's sake!

Jin said...

what??? no big ass souffle?!? :) i always order their oxtail soup and baked chicken rice. but after reading about how much you enjoyed the ox tongue, that's definitely what i'm gonna order next time!

Jason said...

@Jin: really tough to finish that huge souffle by myself!!! ... unless I go on a hunger strike for 2 days then maybe I can tackle the ox-tongue & the souffle ... HAHA

Greentea00 said...

tried it once in the TST branch..the experience was ok..food was good but the waiter was a bit 'cocky' i would say ..but after reading your blog, i guess i'll give it a go tonit-- CWB one and see..but i guess u r right..for old fashioned hk westernizd restaurants or even those famous old shanghai/peking restaurants..Most of these old staffs are quite stubborn but they really know what they r doing with their food and pace..so will see tonit..i 'm not a fan of ox tongue, but really wana try that 'head-like' giant souffle..I had the swiss sauce chicken wings and fried swiss sauce beef ho fan last time in TST and they r quite good..so probably may try other dishes tonit..

Jason said...

@Greentea00: I think the stubbornness and characteristics of the staff at these kind of old -fashioned HK western restaurants are the main reasons why they are so unique. Maybe they have been in their comfort zone for too long that they just don't really care to a certain degree. To put it nicely, they are just acting their true self maybe. :)

Yea, do give the souffle a try for the sake of the experience. ... do share with us know how it went later :)

Jin said...

Jason, you can always ask me to come along next time, you know! I'll spare you from the 2 day hunger strike and finish all your leftovers hahaha!

Greenteaoo, although I can't really say much about the souffle's taste as it is not sweet and flavorful enough for my liking, I'd still suggest you try it when you go. It's actually fun eating and cutting thru it, it's all air!

Jodi said...

Your review make me want to visit this place again! I also find the ox tongue very tasty. So is the "smoke" pomfret (though I don't think the fish is really smoked), and the souffle. I agree with KK that the side vegetable is really plain and boring but that's the way it is for old fashion "fusion" restaurant. Hey, this is fusion food, no?
I have been to the branch at Stanley Street. The waiters were very efficient and experience. Much better than many of those fashionable and swanky place where the young wait-staff are mostly untrained and completely clueless.

Jason said...

@Jodi: Of course it is fusion! 50 - 60 odd years ago it was! HAHA ... Many of the young wait-staff are not only untrained and clueless, they are just ... really not that into their job! It is all about professionalism! Those older wait-staff might be rude at times but at least they know what they are doing and they are darn good at their job.

I recall seeing some young wait-staff somewhere using two fingers to pick up dirty dishes because they were afraid to "get down 'n' dirty!" with their job ... sigh.

KK said...

@Jason

Yeah now I know about all these great HK food places, some that even existed when I was living there but never knew about :-(.

At TPK I always order beef tongue with macaroni.
But in 2000 and 2002 I managed to try the Swiss Chicken Wings, Baked Souffle, smoked fish filet, and I think the onion pork chop and that roast pork leg dish.

This place has always been an old school favorite even though many people don't like this place anymore. Somehow the old waiters wearing burgundy tuxedos, standing around while you fumble your wallet to pay for the bill, has some charm to it.

Jason said...

@KK: I never thought of it as a sort of charm but now that you mentioned it, you are right, especially when they return with your change on those metal plate, holding, waiting and looking at how much extra tips you would leave behind ... HAHA ... it does have some charm to it indeed!

KK said...

Yeah...EXTRA tips. I remember 9 years ago when I went back and had lunch with friends and relatives, we had to recondition ourselves that you have to leave spare change in coins, in addition to the 10+% service charge. Even before paying the bill, the old waiter dude dropped it off our table. My cousin told him, "please give us a few minutes" in Cantonese. The old guy just stood there like a trained dog until we paid!

Jason said...

@KK: haha, that's exactly what I meant by "charming" and for your information the same behavior remains the same over all these years. :)

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