Poor service and disappointing dishes: Rùn in Wan Chai needs to up its game
- A meal at a five-star hotel should be memorable, but at Rùn in the St. Regis some dishes were too salty, and one was so underseasoned as to be almost tasteless
- A starter of Sichuan-style marinated shredded fish maw was light, refreshing and seasoned correctly, and there was one dish we all liked: fried bean curd
We’re well aware when visiting a new restaurant that we have to make allowances. The service team will not be familiar with their new working space so there might be some minor mistakes; the kitchen will not know what dishes will be popular so might run out of something.
So when we visited Rùn, the Chinese restaurant at the new St. Regis hotel, in Wan Chai, we ignored the big crash we heard in the dining room. It was surprising to hear a second large crash about 30 minutes later, but we looked on the bright side and were happy for the staff that whatever it was, it wasn’t ceramics and was therefore only noisy and clangy, but not breakable.
When we saw a waiter do a U-turn as he neared our table with a tray of gin and tonics, we thought that another group of diners must have ordered the same drinks.
But we did not expect to see him sniffing the contents of the glasses – in the dining room, in full sight of us and all the other diners – in an effort to figure out which glass held the Tanqueray and which held the Sipsmith, before he carried them back to our table and served them.
So when the waiter at Rùn informed us that they were sold out of the Peking duck and Iberico char siu – at 8pm – we were disappointed, but figured they must be good to be sold out so early.
The food we were able to order at this five-star hotel should have been up to snuff. Instead, several of the dishes were too salty, and one was so underseasoned it was almost tasteless.
Four of the eight appetisers were deep-fried. We chose one – deep-fried ice fish with garlic and seaweed (HK$148), which had a nice, light batter, but was too salty; we did not finish the small portion. In contrast, Sichuan-style marinated shredded fish maw (HK$188) was light, refreshing and seasoned correctly.
Roasted crispy pork belly (HK$198) was another oversalted dish, although it had succulent meat and crisp skin. “Not bad” was our unenthusiastic assessment of the baked pork spare ribs with brown sauce (HK$298). Roasted whole crispy baby pigeon (HK$148; we ordered two to share between four of us), on the other hand, was a complete failure. It was very dry and stringy – even the leg portion – and was the only dish that was undersalted; the meat had almost no flavour.
The best dish – and the only one we unanimously liked – was pan-fried bean curd with shrimp mousse, morel mushrooms and bamboo fungus (HK$228).
The bean curd – often called pi pa tofu because the shape resembles the musical instrument – had a delicate texture, with a very gentle crunch from the bamboo fungus. The morel mushrooms on top were large and meaty.
Fried vermicelli with crab meat, shredded pork and egg (HK$288) was, again, a little too salty – the intensity built up as we ate it, and although we each took a second small bowl, none of us finished it.
Rùn, 2/F The St. Regis, 1 Harbour Drive, Wan Chai, tel: 2138 6808. About HK$450 per person without drinks or the service charge
While you’re in the area
Great modern Indian dishes at Daarukhana in Wan Chai
Satisfying French and Cantonese cuisine at Roots in Wan Chai
