New restaurants in Hong Kong: Sichuanese and Cantonese dishes done well at Shang Gang Wei
- Each cuisine is differently flavoured, but the dishes at this Causeway Bay newcomer worked well and were served in the right order
- Barbecue chicken was perfect, so flavourful it did not need dipping sauce
Shang Gang Wei isn’t the first restaurant we’ve reviewed that serves Sichuanese and Cantonese dishes. I still think it’s an odd mix because the cuisines could not be more different – the former is spicy and assertively flavoured, while Cantonese food is known for its subtlety and lightness. But, as at the other restaurants we’ve tried, it works at Shang Gang Wei – as long as the dishes are eaten in the right order, from subtle to strong.
It’s a modern, quiet place; there were only a few other diners on the night we visited. Our waiter recommended several dishes, and the food came at a good pace.
Barbecue chicken with special sauce (HK$248 for half, HK$488 for whole) was excellent. The meat was tender and moist, and so flavourful it did not need any of the three dipping sauces (the classic spring onion, satay, and Thai chilli sauce).
Marinated sliced pork rolls with minced garlic (HK$75) was just spicy enough, and wasn’t too cold (too often, it’s served straight from the fridge, which mutes the flavours). The pork had been rolled around pieces of crunchy raw cucumber, and although the meat was lean, it was still tender.
Spicy hot sliced Angus beef with glass noodles (HK$198) was tongue-tingly spicy, with thick strands of fen pei noodles, sliced celtuce, lotus root and tender meat. Spicy honey barbecued pork with pea noodles (HK$88) looked scarily spicy, but the broth was well-balanced. The meat was too lean, though.
Deep-fried shrimps with salted egg yolk was our least favourite dish. The shrimps were overcooked and therefore too firm, and the heads weren’t that juicy.
Dessert of pan-fried pancake (HK$58) was delicious – a thin, crisp-chewy crepe with a generous amount of purple yam, which was a nice variation on the usual mashed red bean.
Shang Gang Wei, Shop 102, 1/F Lok Sing Centre, 19-31 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2812 2280. About $295 per person without drinks or the service charge.
Other restaurants serving both Sichuanese and Cantonese dishes
Try the dish that will leave you speechless at Fooklore
New & noted: Hoi Wan Heen, Tsim Sha Tsui – Chinese food at its best
Golden Valley restaurant review – regional delights in Wan Chai
