Photographs on the wall show Canto-pop star Eason Chan giving props to San Hing’s lau sa bao – signature yellow custard “quicksand buns.” Staff frantically churn out a wide selection of dim sum, stacked into giant bamboo towers.Ĭustomers perpetually hover around the food arrival counter, while an unending stream of new customers mill about looking to snatch seats. In the small hours the shop is a madhouse, especially on weekends. Located in Kennedy Town, San Hing technically opens at 3 a.m., though customers arrive earlier to secure seats. The tables are shared by a mix of elderly folk, celebrities and drinkers on a last stop before home. This is the place to go for a dim sum fix at dawn. ![]() The Sham Shui Po branch, the second Tim Ho Wan after the Mong Kok store, is still said to house the best chefs. The radish cake actually tastes like the white radish it’s made from.Īnd of course there are the char siu (barbecued pork) baked buns, now widely imitated but never matched. The siu mai is packed with fat shrimp and succulent mushrooms. The beef balls are firm but tender, with plenty of coriander. Simply, this is what dim sum is meant to taste like. Saying the quality is high and ingredients are fresh is an understatement. The good news is Mak’s opened six larger locations around Hong Kong – and many more franchises overseas.ĭespite changes, Tim Ho Wan is still worth it, wait and all. It’s family run and puts a fun twist on classic regional dishes: always start with some fresh dim sum, while the Hong Kong-style wind shelter stir-fried whole crab is a showstopper dish that leaves us fighting over who gets the last piece.The most stress-free way to tour Hong Kong's busiest streets I also have fond memories of eating with friends at Plum Valley (20 Gerrard St, W1, .uk). Their hand-pulled noodles are second to none, perfectly finished with hot oil and ground chilli wrapped around the ribbons of noodles. Otherwise, Xi’an Impression (117 Benwell Road, N7, .uk) might not look like much from the outside, but it’s where I like to go for authentic and typical Xi’an local food. The chilli beef and cuttlefish were outstanding. You just say what you like and how spicy, then waves of small plates arrive at the table we had about 18. Hunan (51 Pimlico Road, SW1, ) is fantastic because of the concept of having no menu - it takes away the pressure and chaos of ordering, and you’re left in the hands of the masters. It is easy to eat your way through the menu and then return for more. The pork chop is excellent, as are the stuffed chilli peppers, and the magical aromatic beef noodle soup. But the inside scoop is that everything else on the menu is also up to par. Here you can watch the chefs folding the famous xiao long bao, a steamed dumpling with soup inside. Another I love is Din Tai Fung (two in WC2, one in W1, ), an offshoot of the famous Taipei shop in Taiwan. The secret at A Wong is to ask about the latest dish of the day. I also love the way he takes vegetables to extraordinary heights, so much so that I almost want to turn vegetarian. His dumplings are out of this world, and Andrew makes traditional dishes his own, like his Peking duck. ![]() Chef Andrew Wong’s dishes are constantly evolving and changing - always for the better. Why? Because it is true Chinese-London food that does not stand still. My all-time favourite Chinese restaurant in London is A Wong (70 Wilton Road, SW1, .uk), especially if I want to splurge. It’s unique to what we do, and it’s good to try dishes that celebrate that. Those kinds of dishes really exemplify a Chinese mouthfeel, the chilliness and the cartilage texture. I love the offal and welk dishes at Ma La Sichaun (37 Monck Street, SW1, .uk). I’m also a massive fan of Sichuan food my grandma was Sichuanese. New Loon Fung is also a reference point for me after I’ve been developing a dish for a while, I can lose sight of what it’s meant to taste like, and going back to New Loon Fung I can recalibrate myself. I go religiously every Sunday with my family for dim sum, and it’s nice to have food so close to Hong Kong in London. Somewhere else I love is New Loon Fung (42-44 Gerrard Street, W1, 020 7437 7332). Here, Dumpling Shack (Old Spitalfields Market, E1, .uk) isthe same. In China and Hong Kong, street stalls often make just one dish and have spent generations and generations to perfect it. I love businesses that specialise in one thing and do it really well.
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