North and South Restaurant

KENNEDY Town may not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a day out, but it is well worth a visit. It is mainly residential, but is packed with countless interesting little shops.

Among them are restaurants of all sizes and varying cuisines competing for customers.

Hidden in the middle of Belcher's Street is the small North and South Restaurant which specialises in Shanghainese food. Despite its size it seems to attract a sizeable crowd with queues forming outside and different parties sharing tables.

We arrived at 7.30pm on a Saturday to find it almost full. From our table, which provided a good view of the hustle and bustle outside, it was clear little attention had been paid to the interior decor - other than the recurrent use of green which even extended to the waitresses' uniforms - and the wall mirrors which gave the illusion of space.

We started with cold soy bean milk ($6), a favourite in northern Chinese restaurants, while glancing at the menu's wide variety of noodle dishes, from $15 to $38, with dumplings priced as low as $10.

The menu is extensive and we spent a long time pondering what to order. Our waitress came by three times and seemed puzzled as to why it was taking us so long to make up our minds. The dishes are typically Shanghainese, so we finally decided to stick to the more traditional choices.

We ordered deep fried pork chop as our appetiser. The portion was huge. In fact it was so big that it could have served at least two. Priced at $18, it was good value for money. The pork was nicely fried and not overly greasy. It was crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside and went well with steamed rice.

The chicken with Chinese wine ($38) was also a large serving, but apart from its size, it did little to impress. The chicken tasted as if it had been frozen for too long. The wine sauce, though strong and delicious, did nothing to revive the taste.

A Shanghainese meal is never complete without dumplings. The steamed dumplings with spicy sauce ($22 for eight pieces) were delicious. Served with chilli oil and a sprinkle of peanuts, they left a strong impression on the taste buds. The skin of the dumplings was thin and delicate, and the filling, made of pork and vegetables, was generous, though the pork could have been fresher.

Better quality meat also would have improved the xiao long bo ($18 for five pieces), though the skins were well made and the soup inside was nice and steaming.

The sliced eel with noodles in soup ($38) was served in a large, deep bowl though the portion size no longer surprised us. Unfortunately, that was the only remarkable thing we could say about the dish. The texture of the eel and the noodles was mediocre. The soup was salty, and so greasy that a layer of fat emerged once it had gone cold.

We decided against desserts although the selection looked interesting. Traditional Shanghainese delights such as mashed red bean pancake ($12) and black sesame dumplings ($15) are just some of the sweet treats on offer.

One cannot help but marvel at the fantastic prices and generous portions that North and South has to offer, but it could do with paying more attention to the food and the quality of the ingredients.

North and South Restaurant, 51 Belcher's Street, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. Tel: 2872 5785. Open: 11am-11.30pm