Saturday, May 26, 2018

Red Sugar at Kerry Hotel 紅糖 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Red Sugar (紅糖) at Kerry Hotel is one of the few Chinese restaurants on my short list which I failed to check off earlier this year. Instead of waiting for an upcoming occasion, I decided to bring mom and Jelloman there for a casual lunch this Saturday afternoon.



Located on the waterfront of Hung Hom (formerly the Hunghom Pier), Kerry Hotel boasts a stunning harbour view which can be seen right here from Red Sugar.



Talented and well-traveled Ken Yu (余偉經) is the hotel's opening Executive Chinese chef. Last time I heard of Chef Yu, he was still holding the same position at YEN Chinese Restaurant at W TaipeiPrior to joining W Taipei, he cut his teeth at Cuisine Cuisine at The Mira Hotel, Hyatt Regency in Tsim Sha Tsui, The Venetian Macao and Michelin starred Lei Garden. With close to 30 years of experience in the kitchen, he's known for his innovative take on Cantonese cuisine and is a master in the art of plating.



With Chef Yu's pedigree, I wasn't a bit surprised to find all these interesting dim sums and snacks on the food menu.



Pan-fried rice rolls with homemade XO sauce and soy (XO醬豉油皇炒腸粉) ($68) - Fairly tasty but surprisingly not as spicy as I thought it would be. A decent start (but I certainly won't mind more XO sauce!).



Hung Tong shrimp dumplings (紅糖蝦餃皇) ($75) - Very nice wrapper and the shrimps were pretty tasty. A little bigger than the usual bite size but perfectly fine with me.



Steamed wild mushroom dumplings with black truffle (松露野菌餃) ($68) - Came with a ultra thin wrapper made with what I thought was parsley (or celery). That was a nice match with the diced wild mushrooms. The black truffle was spot on.



Steamed red rice rolls with crispy prawns (脆蝦紅米腸粉) ($68) - Along with the steamed wild mushroom dumplings, my early favorites from this early dim sum lunch. The crispy prawns added some nice texture to the delicious rice rolls and the red rice provided pleasant nutty flavor with an earthy tone. Very nice.



Steamed pork belly buns (蝴蝶燒腩卷) ($68) - An interesting Taiwanese twist in the dim sum menu. Why am I not surprised (with Chef Yu's background)?

"Butterfly pork bun roll" is just a fancy name for a Taiwanese-style gua bao (割包). I thought the buns were pretty nice and pillowy. My little nugget loves it.



Deep-fried turnip cake with mashed shrimp (百花釀蘿蔔糕) ($68) - Fried turnip cake stuffed full of minced shrimp in the middle. I thought the portion was a little small but I just couldn't stop eating them. And you just don't see this on the dim sum menu everyday (and everywhere)!



Deep-fried roasted goose and mushrooms puff (一品燒鵝酥) ($75) - Very cute puff in the shape of a swan with diced roasted goose and mushroom filling. I like the pastry which was really flaky working well with the flavorful filling.



Diced abalone and chicken puff (鮑魚雞粒酥) ($75) - The highlight of the meal! This came with a whole braised abalone on top. The abalone was definitely not bad; but the puff a bit powdery for me.



Chilled mango sago cream with pomelo (楊枝甘露) ($68) - Everyone opted for dessert instead of more dim sum, rice or noodle and who could blame them. On a hot summer day like this, I thought this chilled mango sago cream with pomelo would be the perfect thirst quencher. It's not as perfect as the one served at Summer Palace but I like the balance of bitterness and sweetness. 



Chilled almond jelly (錦鯉杏汁糕) ($68) - A dessert picked for me and my little one. He loves anything fish shaped and I love anything with rich almond flavor.



This meal was much better than the one we had at YEN Chinese Restaurant at W Taipei (which was our last experience with Chef Yu's dim sum). Not to be overlooked were the attentive service and amazing harbour view. Now, I am seriously thinking about coming back soon for their dinner menu.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 7/F, Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong, 38 Hung Luen Road, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Whampoa
Tel: +852 2252-5888


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