New Hong Kong restaurants: Prestige House – mixed results on an expensive night out in Repulse Bay
Most of the seafood is priced per person at South Side restaurant, where our meal had its ups and downs, most notably when the steamed minced pork with preserved vegetables had to be sent back – but when it returned it was stellar
We had our choice of tables in Prestige House at The Pulse in Repulse Bay, on Hong Kong Island’s South Side, because there were very few diners in the large restaurant. It’s an expensive place, with most of the seafood priced per person. We ordered carefully and managed to get out for under HK$600 (US$75) per person.
Barbecued pork with honey sauce (HK$320) was disappointing. The waiter said it was made with local pork, but it was oddly mushy, and the sweet marinade hadn’t penetrated into the meat. We were told it was cooked to order, but it was tepid.
Sautéed prawn with salted egg yolk (HK$180 each) was delicious. The prawn was large, plump and sweet, with a bouncy texture and sufficient amount of egg yolk. Steamed spotted garoupa with dried tangerine peel served on a lotus leaf (HK$320) was another excellent dish. The fish slices were thick, fresh and perfectly cooked, and the tangerine peel did not overwhelm.
Crisp baby pigeon (HK$120) could have been blotted better – there was oil on the serving plate when we picked up the pieces. But the meat was hot, succulent and intense, and did not need any of the seasonings served with it.
My first taste of the steamed minced pork with preserved vegetables (HK$240) was so shocking – and not in a good way – that I thought something was wrong with my palate. I waited for my guest to taste it and she confirmed what I thought: “This has no taste”. It was so flavourless we suspected the chef had forgotten to season it before putting it in the dish.
