68 Peel St, Central Tel: 2869 6927 Open for dinner only Cuisine: Sichuan and northern Chinese Ambience: Dark, retro, rustic Chinese furnishings with lovely, stylish touches such as cloth-bound menus written in Chinese and English in beautiful calligraphy. Diners tend to come in large groups, which is better for tasting more dishes from the tempting menu. Price: You can usually get out of here for about $200 per person for dinner without wine. Pros: This is one of the original branches of Shui Hu Ju, which gave way to sister restaurants Water Margin (in Times Square) and Hutong (at One Peking Road in Tsim Sha Tsui). Compared to the other two eateries, this place is more intimate with the feel of a neighbourhood restaurant. Cons: It can be quite loud, so wouldn't be good for an intimate dinner. Recommended dishes: Crispy mutton 'Peking style' ($158) is a must - succulent, tender, boneless meat with a crackling, delicate crust. Deep-fried chicken with chilli ($188) looks dauntingly spicy but isn't, as long as you don't make the mistake of actually biting into one of the dried chillies (they're there for presentation). Beef tongue with coriander and scallions ($88) features tender meat and wonderfully pungent aromatics, while fried green beans with salty egg yolk ($88) makes a vegetable dish rich and luxurious. A cold dish of jade vegetable with shredded ginger ($78) is a refreshing contrast to the spicy and heavy foods. Hand-made dumplings are also a good bet. What else? The menu is a lot bigger than it used to be but it's hard to get away from choosing the old favourite dishes. Don't come here on a first date - tables are close together, which makes a getting- to-know-you conversation quite awkward. There's a small private room upstairs that can be booked for entertaining large groups.
