Madame Fu is a restaurant with lounges, bars and private dining on the top floor of a former barrack block. There was some initial confusion about the existence of lifts to the restaurant. I was pointed in the vague direction and told “in the middle”. I ended up in a cargo lift and had to walk past the restaurant kitchen. It turns out there is a guest lift that I missed!

The restaurant interior was a pleasant surprise. It is cosy and breezy at the same time – no doubt due to the palm tree standing proudly in the middle of the room. Vivid artworks by Beijing abstract artists such as Mao Lizi, Yuan Zuo, Feng Lianghong and Li Di adorn the walls and seats were comfortable.

The menu and the décor of the restaurant is a nod to “Roaring 20’s” Shanghai with a whiff of the west in the desserts which feature sweets such as crème brûlée and chocolate cake.

We opted for starters of crispy pork belly served with mustard sauce (HK$120), the deep-fried baby oyster mushrooms drizzled with honey (HK$85), and the salt and pepper crispy tofu (HK$75).

The deep-fried baby oyster mushrooms was a wow moment. It reminded me of the typical Shanghainese baby river eels deep fried in light batter. But once you bit into the crispy and honey-sweet batter, the aroma and taste of the oyster mushrooms was pungent and delicious.

The rice stew with abalone and minced duck (HK$258), and steamed grouper fillets with glass noodles and fresh chilli (HK$380), were also winners.

The pièce de résistance was the rice stew served with four small abalones on top. The rice had fully absorbed the gravy but remained at a comfortable level of dryness. The little bits of minced duck and spring onion added depth to the dish’s texture. We ended our meal with a generous serving of aromatic osmanthus tea fragrant jelly (HK$45).