Shop 401, 4/F Exchange Square, Podium, Central Tel: 2525 1163 Open: 11am-3pm, 6pm-11pm Cuisine: primarily Cantonese Price: about HK$225 without drinks and the service charge.
Ambience: I've been told this restaurant is busy during the day, but at night the place was less than half full. The room is large but tables are close together (above). There was a trio of musicians playing the night we were dining and their choice of tunes - which included a waltz and what sounded like a polka - could politely be called eclectic. We were happy they didn't come near us.
Pros: the restaurant was recently renovated and the decor is fresh, light and tasteful.
Cons: our main waiter. He was unfamiliar with the menu, we were served a dish we didn't order, and when he came back to tell us an item was no longer available, we had to ask him to bring a menu so we could choose another. Braised pomelo peel with dried shrimp roe (HK$88) had too much over-thickened sauce and not enough shrimp roe, and was too firm. Poached green sprouts with shredded conpoy in soya milk (HK$88) was dull and we ate only about a third of the portion. A starter (although it was served last) of deep-fried spare ribs (HK$28) had an off taste and we ate only one piece each.
Recommended dishes: braised conpoy, beancurd and vegetables in chicken broth (HK$48 per bowl) was a light-textured and subtly flavoured soup. Steamed chicken and sliced Yunnan ham (HK$149 for half, right) was probably our favourite main dish of the night. The chicken was perfectly cooked - even the white meat was moist, and the clean flavour was enhanced by the ham. Braised rice with preserved meat and preserved duck in casserole (HK$128) was rib-sticking comfort food. The rice had been infused with the flavour and oil of the fatty preserved meats. For dessert, we had glutinous rice dumplings with sesame filling in ginger tea (HK$20, and airy egg fritters (HK$38) which came with a tangled froth of multicoloured Persian fairy floss.
What else? The Square is part of the Maxim's restaurant group. It received a star in the 2009 and 2010 Michelin guide.
