Cuisine: Taiwanese. Price: About HK$180 per person without drinks and before adding the service charge.
Ambience: The Hong Kong branch of this chain famous for xiao long bao wasn't nearly as busy as the original we'd been to in Taipei - at least not during Saturday lunch. The dining room has a view into the kitchen crowded with cooks cutting the dough, rolling it out and filling the dumplings.
Pros: It's a clean, efficiently run operation with friendly staff.
Cons: Some of the other dumplings were not as good as the xiao long bao. Steamed vegetarian dumplings (HK$50) were bland while the wrappers on the pork and shrimp shao mai (HK$68) were too thick. Deep-fried pork chop (HK$44) had good flavour but the meat was too soft; we suspected it had been tenderised with baking soda.
Recommended dishes: The steamed pork dumplings, better known as xiao long bao (HK$58 for six, left), are just as good as our memory of them from the Taipei restaurant, with plenty of broth, tender filling and delicate but resilient wrappers. The crab and pork version (HK$68) didn't have much of the flavourful roe (it was mostly crab meat) but they were fine for the price. Hot and sour soup with shredded pork and bean curd (HK$32 a bowl) was one of the best we've tasted in Hong Kong: the broth wasn't too thick from cornstarch, and the spice - from chilli oil and white pepper - was well balanced with the vinegar. Preserved duck tongue with Shaoxing rice wine (HK$68) was tender and well-infused with the wine. Chopped wild vegetable (Indian aster) with bean curd and sesame oil (HK$38) was a refreshing cold dish.
What else? We haven't been here at night but have heard it is much busier at dinner, so be prepared to wait for 30 minutes or more.
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