Tuesday 14 January 2014

Sun Tung Lok

Gourmet dim sum



Sun Tung Lok, a 2 star Michelin Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong specializing in shark fin dishes, it has been established for over 40 years and it has now relocated inside a shopping mall by the ever busy Nathan Road. Sun Tung Lok created a massive buzz when it was awarded 3 Michelin stars back in 2011, one of the only 2 Chinese restaurants to do so in the world at that time (Lung King Heen is the other one). The restaurant has adapted over the years in terms of cooking style, it has now a much broader range of offerings such as dried seafood. I heard it has some of the finest dim sum at lunch time so I booked in for a weekend visit to check it out.

Sun Tung Lok


I was glad I booked in weeks in advance as the restaurant was fully packed on my arrival and had to turn away all the walk in customers, unlike most Chinese restaurants, the decor of Sun Tung Lok is a lot more contemporary with smaller spaces in the two main dining halls. The house special: Shark's fin dumpling in supreme soup was indeed very supreme, light but packed full of delicate flavours with a lovely mixture of crystal clear shark fin and other fine seafoods. 

Shark's fin dumpling in supreme soup

Both the scallop & prawn dumplings and steamed minced fish dumplings with shrimp were presented in a beautiful manner, I really enjoyed how the chefs spent all the extra time to take the presentation to another level which is extremely rare in dim sum dishes. All the ingredients were fresh and sweet, The scallop and prawn dumpling was wrapped in a paper thin layer as it should be while the minced fish dumpling had a good balance of flour and fish meat. 

scallop & prawn dumpling
steamed minced fish dumpling
Steamed preserved vegetable and pork bun

The two abalone items: Baked abalone puff had a good seasoning and a lovely rich flavour, but the glutinous rice with abalone was another level, it was pan fried with egg yoke on the surface which gave the rice a lovely crispy edge, the abalone was soft and smooth, along with the diced chicken in the mix, it was full of savoury and robust flavours. The desert dish: Deep fried glutinous ball stuffed with custard and bird's nest was also executed to a high standard, the custard blended perfectly with the bird's nest to create a light but flavoursome desert, to top it off the sesame gave the dish a lovely nutty aroma.
baked abalone puff
 glutinous rice with abalone
glutinous ball stuffed with custard and bird's nest

I've got to say my dim sum lunch at Sun Tung Lok turned out to be better than I expected, the standard was a lot better than your every day dim sum joints but that also reflected on the price. It was classy with a good use of premium ingredients, it was one of the best dim sum experiences I've had over the years, service was also of a quality standard as you would expect from a high end venue. Do bear in mind, like most Chinese restaurants, dim sum are only served at lunch time and at dinner they offer al la carte menu and focus on premium seafood dishes.


Food 4/5

What I paid: 
£30 per head with tea

Average cost without drinks and services :
£25 - £100




Shop D, 4/F, Miramar Shopping Centre, 132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

http://www.suntunglok.com.hk/

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