榮興小廚 Wing Hing Restaurant
Dan’s in town to spend the last of his summer holidays with me, and I feel I should bring him around all of Hong Kong’s best eateries. For Sunday lunch, he wanted to Cantonese and so we scoured openrice for tips. Because we wanted to hit the computer center, we decided on somewhere in Wanchai, and the comments led us to 榮興小廚 Wing Hing Restaurant.
And so the three of us braved the blistering heat and made way to the little lane in Wanchai known as Ship Street. You won’t miss the place: we stepped off the cab and saw the billboard screaming out its famous dishes in big letters overhead. We made our way to the second floor, where we saw the sprawling dining hall that was already teeming with people. We took a seat at a quieter corner, away from most of the crowds.
Its interiors are nothing to shout about. It looks like any other slightly run down restaurant that could need a minor uplift: better paintwork, newer chairs and tables and stronger soundproofing. But I wasn’t here for the decor or the view, or I would’ve gone to Victoria City. I was here for the food, and boy, did it satisfy.
鹹魚雞粒炒飯
We ordered four dishes for the three of us. I was mildly surprised that the 鹹魚雞粒炒飯 fried rice with salted fish and chicken cubes came first, within five minutes of our order. I thought it would come last, as is usually the case, but we were hungry. As you can see, the fried rice was a golden yellow, more so than any other I’ve had. C and I suspect it must have been the egg yokes. The wok hei is impeccable and every grain was coated with egg yoke though the rice still had a crunch to it. Personally, I love the pungent smell and taste of salted fish, and I felt that the yokes might have covered it slightly, but C and Dan both loved it.
啫啫唐生菜煲
Next up was the 啫啫唐生菜煲. I was slightly dissapointed when the waiter brought it over becuase the lid was closed, and you didn’t have the theatrics of seeing the billowing steam. And it didn’t help that it didn’t have the pungent smell either. Wing Hing is very generous with its portions, and the vegetables (which appeared very fresh) filled the claypot. There was also plenty of minced pork to go around. Dan thought it was a little salty, but I felt it was just right.
生炒骨
Next we had the 生炒骨 (pork ribs). These are Dan’s favourite and so I ordered it specially for him. After having to eat the disgusting American version, I reckon he would welcome something authentic. And he wasn’t dissapointed. The ribs, though not as meaty as if you ordered sweet and sour pork, were delicious. I love how they managed to keep the batter so crispy without being oily. This is a strong flavoured dish and is usually sour, sweet and sticky and the chefs hit home on all three counts.
葱油雞
But the highlight was really the 蔥油雞 (onion oil chicken). My educated guess is that they deep fry the chicken (like zha ji gai) and then quickly ladel onion-infused oil on it before plating. If you are like me, and love crispy chicken, you’ll love this even more. Firstly, the crispy skin is to die for. It’s crispy (duh) and the hint of oil on it just gives it another dimension. This chicken doesn’t suffer from the problem that many others do: tasteless and tough meat. Here, the onion oil is in every bite, and the meat is succulent. Even though it was half a chicken, the three of us virtually polished it off. Umm…actually, I ate most of it.
The impeccable food aside, it’s also extremely reasonable. For all that food, we paid just HK$250. The restaurant doesn’t add a 10% service charge either, which makes it even more worth it. I told the server that I would be back, and I fully intend to live up to that.
