New Hong Kong restaurants: Old Bailey serves superb Chinese dishes from Jiangnan at Tai Kwun, Central
From the Liangxi crispy eel to mala xiaolongbao to sautéed river shrimp, Old Bailey impressed with a variety of wonderfully prepared dishes from a Chinese region that encompasses Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou
It took us ages to decide what to order at Old Bailey because the menu was far too tempting. What we ate didn’t disappoint.
The restaurant, the newest establishment by the Jia Group, specialises in the cuisine of Jiangnan, an area that includes the cities of Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou. It is an elegant space with a lively, somewhat noisy atmosphere.
Our helpful waitress recommended the fresh local bean curd with sesame oil (HK$38). It was a perfect starter – delicious, cooling and palate-whetting. Liangxi crispy eel (HK$98) was also excellent. The pieces had a gentle crunch and a thin coating that was not too sweet.
Shengjianbao – pan-fried Iberico pork dumplings (HK$68 for three) had a juicy, flavourful filling encased in a light, tender wrapper. They were so good that one of my guests insisted on ordering a second portion. The wrappers of the mala xiaolongbao (HK$98 for four) were thin but resilient enough to hold up to the soupy filling that had a nice gentle touch of Sichuan peppercorns.