The Chinese Library in Tai Kwun, Central: fine regional dishes in a beautiful setting
- From the Sichuan ma po tofu to Hunan style steamed cod fillet with fermented beans, the food was delicious
- The Chinese Library is operated by the Aqua Group and decorated in its trademark elegant style
Like all the other restaurants in the Aqua group, the interior of their latest, The Chinese Library, is a beautiful, elegant space. It’s next to Statement, the group’s British restaurant, in the Tai Kwun complex in Central.
The menu says it serves food from different areas of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Guangdong.
We tried two dishes from the appetiser section. Squid noodles with spring onion vinaigrette (HK$88) was nice and refreshing. The squid and cucumber were very finely julienned before being mixed together and tossed with a clear vinaigrette that had a light touch of Sichuan peppercorn.
Even better was the dish described on the menu as crispy aubergine with sakura shrimp and green string beans (HK$138). The thick batons of fried aubergine weren’t exactly crisp; they had a thin crusty coating. And although there were sakura shrimp in the dish, the topping tasted more of salted fish (and the bill we received at the end of the evening listed it as “aubergine tossed with salty fish”).
But it was a delicious combination – the subtle flavour of the bean curd was a good backdrop for the stronger taste of salted fish.
