MONGKOK’S Merry Michelin Munchies!

Story & Photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet

The implacable Travelling Gourmet visits Hong Kong’s ravishing restaurants…

MAKING my way to the Langham Place Hotel in Mongkok from Eaton Smart Hotel off bustling Nathan Road was a snap. I turned right from the hotel, and after 3 minutes brisk walk in the cool, misty morning, I was in Jordan MTR station. Just HK$4 and 2 stops later I was in Mongkok station. Exit E1 brought me to huge Langham Place Mall. In the next tower was the futuristic ultra-modern Langham Place Hotel. At the entrance I was greeted by two large statues of Red Guards now happily embracing materialism and capitalism. Very sardonic! It is the only “Art Hotel” in Hong Kong with over 1500 expensive paintings & sculptures by Chinese and Hong Kong artists, all over the hotel.

These red Guards have forsaken Communism for Capitalism, Ha! Ha!

I am here today to try the cuisine of their Award Winning Tim Sum Restaurant named the Ming Court as well as their Japanese gourmet restaurant Tokoro which is recommended in the Hong Kong Michelin Guide. Ming Court has 2 Michelin Stars so I am really looking forward to trying the food. This fine dining Cantonese restaurant has won the HotelClub 2012 Award for Most Delicious Tim Sum Spot!

 I shall also try some of the specialities in the Japanese Restaurant paired with premium Scotch Whisky.

Terrific TIM SUM!

Ming Court’s Tim Sum like its outstanding Har Kow is made with live prawns. They were wrapped in a transclucent skin only 1 mm thin. The leaf shaped Mushroom & Mixed Vegetable Bun has fragrant golden sesame seeds on the base. An ‘avant garde’ Tim Sum is ‘Millefeuille’ of Tofu layered with mildly sweet ueber-fragrant Black Truffle sauce. On top was a big piece of 24k Gold leaf!

Goldfinger would love this!

Ming Court’s delightful signature dessert!

An outstanding dessert which I call Mango & Bird’s Nest ‘reconstructed’ for the 21st Century, impressed me greatly with its dry ice smoke effect presentation! The top layer of the 3 x 3 x 3cm cube is a layer of gelee with bird’ nest and below…luscious mango pudding with large brunoise of mango fruit. My palate was wooed and won over by this unique sweet!

A ‘superbe’ dessert!

Pretty and friendly Flora who looks like a Hong Kong movie star, showed me the Wine Cellar for Ming Court with over 450 labels of cosmopolitan wines from places as varied as Belgium and England! As a wine connoisseur, I recommend Chef T’sang’s  Braised Flaming Japanese Kurobota Pork Loin in Red Wine with balanced and robust Chateau Angelus Grand Cru Classe 2004. This wine was the choice of James Bond in the movie “Casino Royale”.

TOKORO Japanese restaurant & Whisky Bar here is well worth a visit. On feature that intrigued me is that all the restaurants here have their menus and carte des vins displayed on ‘i-Pads’. There is even a ‘Wine Matching’ feature to help you choose the best wines to go with your Chinese cuisine.

With my Sushi Morawase comprising Snapper, creamy Salmon Belly plus Kampachi, helpful Sommelier Zachary recommended a 12 year old Highland Park Whisky from the Orkney Islands. Its smoky and floral notes were enhanced by the wasabi spiked soy I put on the sashimi! The wooden birdcage shaped dining booths here are unique, and can be rotated for privacy or to accomodate families dining together. Specialising in Robotayaki, I adored the tender Minced Chicken and large 28cm long Emperor Prawn grilled to smoky perfection.

Robotayaki ‘a la minute’ served smoking hot!

A splendid slice of the sea was the sweet Silver Cod marinated in Miso. USA Angus beef pink and moist and juicy inside was the icing on the cake! Seat yourself at the open kitchen to see all the cooking action as Japanese Head Chef Nishimura Daisuke slices, dices, peels and fries all the yummies for you ‘a la minute’! Itada ki mas! Enjoy!

The Travelling Gourmet & Japanese Head Chef Nishimura Daisuke

MING COURT

Langham Place

Mongkok, 555 Shanghai Street

Kowloon

Hong Kong

Tel: 852 3552 3388

Ambience **** Cuisine **** Service ****

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Tokoro Robatayaki & Whisky Bar

Level 3

Langham Place, Mongkok

555, Shanghai Street

Kowloon, Hong Kong

Tel: 852 3552 3330

Ambience ****     Cuisine ****       Service ****

HotelClub Hotel Awards 2012

This flagship programme honours exceptional hotels from the most popular destinations around the world. President of HotelClub, Jermy Bellinghausen explained, “Ultimately, we want to encourage our members to experience all that this city (Hong Kong) has to offer and these awards will hopefully benefit travellers in helping them make more informed choices when booking hotels in Hong Kong. According to our data, Hong Kong has long been a favourite city for travellers from Singapore, ranking consistently as the number two most popular destination after Malaysia.”

Claire Wong, Director of PR explained over lunch in Hotel LKF, “HotelClub has over 6 million members worldwide. Yes, membership is complimentary.” I asked why should travellers use HotelClub?” Claire commented,” Travellers should us HotelClub because of our simple to use Rewards program, our weekly flash sales offering fantastic deals in popular destinations and our Best Price Guarantee – If you book and pay for a qualifying hotel room rate on the HotelClub website, and then find the same room type, in the same hotel, for the same dates, at a lower price on a website other than http://www.hotelclub.com or http://www.ratestogo.com online, after taxes and fees, we’ll refund the difference!” As The Travelling Gourmet I can only say, That is  a really good deal!”

About HotelClub

HotelClub is a world leading global accommodation website, which was established in 1996. HotelClub provides over 73,000 accommodation choices in over 7,400 cities worldwide throughout 141 countries. Through its unique rewards program, HotelClub Rewards, members earn member Rewards (1 Member Reward = 1 USD) of up to 7% of the value of every booking made, which can then be redeemed on future hotel bookings. The company operates three websites – HotelClub.com, RatesToGo.com and AsiaHotels.com. HotelClub is part of orbitz Worldwide Inc, a leading online travel company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.