Friday 19 April 2013

Food & Dining: Wah Fung Since 1941

Stony yet historical Pottinger Street, what's that on the floor?
Image from Locky's English Playground
Some of you might be thinking that Locky's English Playground is turning into a food blog. Well, of course not, it's just that these days I get a couple of half-day off and so I went to have lunch with my wife. Since she works in Central and I know very little about the food there, it is a great chance for me to share my view.

I must say, Centralians are very lucky to have so many eateries around them, unlike other neighbour districts like Admiralty or Wan Chai. 

Lots of choices, look at the geese!
Image from Locky's English Playground
This time, I come to Wah Fung, a Chinese roast expert since 1941. Yes, it is like Tai Hing, they both sell roasted food, but there are a lot more choices of food here and Wah Fung is not a chain restaurant, just one shop.
Cha-siu-licious!!!!!
Image from Locky's English Playground
Just by looking at the roasted geese, Cha Siu, spare ribs, chicken and squabs and I can tell that you are  already suffering from excessive mouth-watering syndrome.

Menu on the walls with English, no problem for English speakers
Image from Locky's English Playground
An interesting way of promoting their yummy signature dishes is to turn the photos from the menu into wallpaper and stick them outside the shop. Hey, who wouldn't want to try after seeing these fabulous-looking food? But wait, how many times have you tried food that looks good on photos but disgusting on plates? Will this restaurant be yet another addition to the all-show-and-no-go list? Let's see!

Image from Locky's English Playground
There is always a long queue of people during lunch hours, so you must try to avoid the crowd, but if you are going there with a handful of friends, you shouldn't have to wait for too long before getting your table. My wife and I waited for about 5 minutes and we were in.

Office lady seated at the table right at the door
Image from Locky's English Playground
When the number was called, we were shown our table and was asked to sit next to each other instead of opposite to each other to maximum the efficiency of customer flow, and almost immediately a waiter came to ask us what we wanted to eat. We haven't decided yet, quite obviously as I was still taking photos, and so we asked him to come back later.

Historic photos as menu front cover
Image from Locky's English Playground

The menu was pretty, with all those old photos of the restaurant tiled on the front cover, reminding you that the restaurant has a very good history and their food quality is not to be doubted if they managed to survive in the central business district of Hong Kong.

Pricey food, but only consider as average price in Central
Image from Locky's English Playground

Looking at the price of the food, my Wah Fung survival theory was confirmed -- this is how they manage to survive. Second thought, the food is not really too pricey, as lunches in Central crosses the $100 mark easily, so this place is actually just average price by the Central's standard, plus, they don't charge 10% service charge before 6pm, which is reasonable enough.

soya sauce chicken with spare ribs and rice he fen in soup
Image from Locky's English Playground
After awhile, the food came. My wife ordered the set with lemon tea, soya sauce chicken with spare ribs and rice he fen in soup.

hot milk tea, Cha Siu and roasted pork rice
Image from Locky's English Playground
As for me, I ordered hot milk tea, Cha Siu and roasted pork rice, both I think are $52 exact, which is about the price Tai Hing used to charge a year ago.

Another shot showing the roasted pork and Cha Siu, yellow mustard on a small dish
Image from Locky's English Playground
The taste? Soya sauce chicken was good, the breast was a big tough like most of the restaurants in Hong Kong, can't say it is special in any way. Cha Siu was partly tough, partly tender and partly fat, I dare say that this is the most common part of Cha Siu a thoughtful restaurant will offer if you don't give special request for the lean-ness of meat. The spare ribs and the roasted pork were amazing!!! Tender lean meat, crispy skin, rich but thin layer of lard in between! You'll say "Oh my god!" even if you are an atheist.

Chefs chatting with each other
Image from Locky's English Playground
Interestingly, the chef at the Siu Mei counter are not too busy, and most of the other diners are not enjoying Siu Mei. I wonder if they think the siu mei is actually below their standard, or that they have had siu mei too many times and they all decided to switch to other more homely dishes all on the same day. What I can say is, it was a great dining experience and I hope I can be back for more!


Scores:

Look:            ★★★★★ 5/5
Taste:            ★★★★☆ 4/5
Smell:            ★★★★★ 5/5
Textures:       ★★★★★ 5/5
Temperature: ★★★★★ 5/5
Overall:         ★★★★☆ 22/25



Vocabulary:
squab -- (n)[C] a young pigeon or dove
all-show-and-no-go -- (adj) from all show and no go -- (US slang) equipped with good looks but lacking action or energy
lean-ness -- (n)[U] from lean -- (adj)
lard -- (n)[U] a white substance made from pig fat and used in cooking
atheist -- (n)[C] someone who believes that God does not exist
diner -- (n)[C] someone who is eating a meal, especially in a restaurant
homely -- (adj) plain or ordinary, but pleasant:


Resources:

Pottinger Street @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottinger_Street

Food and Restaurant: Tai Hing @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/05/food-and-restaurant-tai-hing.html

Cha Siu @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu

Shahe fen @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahe_fen

Siu Mei @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siu_mei

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/all+show+and+no+go
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/lean_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/atheist?q=atheist
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/diner?q=diner
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/homely_1?q=homely