The aptly named Stir Fry King. Photo: Ho Lee Fook
Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/good-eating/article/3178447/ho-lee-fook-review-cheekily-named-hong-kong-restaurant Good Eating
Ho Lee Fook review: cheekily named Hong Kong restaurant channels kook, kitsch and Chinatown clichés with classic banquet-style Cantonese cuisine
- Head chef Archan Chan trained in the Chinatowns of Australia, so brings a cosmopolitan take and knowing nod-wink flair to this lively take on Cantonese classics
- With wait staff in yellow tuxedos, traditionalists might find the kitsch suffocating – but this Elgin Street hang suits a second or third date who enjoys fun, honest food
Classic salt and pepper tofu at Hong Kong’s Ho Lee Fok restaurant. Photo: Ho Lee Fook
FARE A reinterpretation of robust, banquet-style Chinese cuisine.
AMBIENCE With ceramic mahjong tiles and a huge golden ingot at the front door, this establishment plays on being kitsch and on interpretations of Chinatown in the mass media.
COST Starters and appetisers are under HK$200 but there are quite a few market price items, so be prepared to spend over HK$800 per person, or more if you’re drinking.
WHO TO BRING A second or third date who enjoys fun, honest food.
TURN-ONS Aligned with the theme of the interiors of Ho Lee Fook, head chef Archan Chan trained in the Chinatowns of Australia. Her culinary style is ingredient focused and robust, returning to the roots of banquet-style Chinese cuisine.
The evening kick-started with salt-and-pepper tofu with crispy garlic and kurobuta pork char siu, honey-glazed and charcoal-grilled, which are well executed but we were looking for a surprise.
This came in the form of steamed live razor clams with glass noodles, fried and aged garlic in premium soy sauce. The different types of garlic were a symphony of aromatic ingredients, while the unmistakable wok hei in the glass noodles reinvigorates one’s love for old-school Cantonese cuisine.
There is a special section on the menu to showcase chef Archan’s affinity with the wok and we had a taste with the stir fry king dish: a medley of flowering garlic chives, yellow chives, chilli, peanut sprouts, cuttlefish, crispy anchovies and sun-dried shrimp – this unassuming dish whets the appetite and you just want to keep eating it with white rice.
TURN-OFFS The wait staff in yellow tuxedos might be a tad too kitsch, if it’s possible.
DRINKS There is an emphasis on Asian whiskies as well as speciality cocktails. All your bases are covered when it comes to wines.
Ho Lee Fook, 3-5 Elgin Street, Central, 2810 0860