Tian Xiang Lou 天香樓 (Hangzhou, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I'm off to Zhejiang (浙江) this week on a short business trip. It's my first trip back to Hangzhou (杭州) since 2024. We are staying very close to the West Lake (西湖) and with the hotel's proximity to the lake, it was only natural to kick things off with a boat tour. Watching the sun set from the water made it extra special. A lovely start to the trip.

Afterwards, we were taken to Tian Xiang Lou (天香樓) for dinner. While most Hongkongers should be familiar with the name, not everyone knows that this legendary restaurant renowned for its Hangzhou cuisine, actually started in Hangzhou. According to my AI assistant, it first opened its doors here in 1927 before expanding to Hong Kong and Taipei, where it became an iconic, award-winning name in both cities.

Tian Xiang Lou’s Hangbang cai (杭幫菜) is all about fresh, crisp, and tender textures, with a “light on oil (輕油), light on soy sauce (輕醬)” approach. It’s quite different from the Shanghainese cuisine we’re used to back in Hong Kong.

By the time we reached our tables, some of the cold appetizers were already waiting for us. The servers soon started bringing out the hot dishes, too — and before long, they were stacking them up to make room.

Apart from the ever-popular Dongpo pork (東坡肉) and chili prawns, there were plenty of local delicacies for us to try.

Tianxiang Soy-Braised Duck (天香醬鴨) — The duck was coated in a very intense soy-based sauce. Not bad, but for a duck of that size, I expected it to be a lot meatier.

Stir-fried eight-treasure vegetable (八寶如意菜) — This came with thin strips of soybean sprouts, carrots, spinach, wood ear mushrooms, dried tofu, winter bamboo shoots, and dried lily buds. My colleagues thought shiitake mushrooms were the eighth ingredient. As expected, the seasoning was very light.

Hangzhou-Style Smoked Fish (杭州燻魚) — The texture and flavor were exactly like those served in Hong Kong. Not bad.

Stir-fried beef fillet (小炒黃牛肉) — This reminded me of Hunan-style stir-fried beef, with a little spicy kick.

Stir-fried shredded pork with dried tofu (香乾炒肉絲) — The thin strips of dried tofu were the highlight here. I was hoping for some serious "wok hei", but that was nowhere to be found.



Beef tenderloin with mushrooms and greens (碧綠山珍牛柳) — The tenderloin was disappointingly bland and not nearly as tender as the stir-fried beef fillet.



Tianxiang-style mandarin fish (天香桂魚) — This turned out to be the crowd-pleaser of the night. The fish was really succulent and, most importantly, didn’t have too many bones!

We were finished off with a couple more vegetables, including this stir-fried potato ball dish.

And this one, we called it the Hangzhou-style vegetarian poke bowl. It came with slices of pumpkin, tomato, and gourd, along with green peas, fish puff (魚腐), and mei cai (梅菜), all beautifully arranged in a large bowl.

Everyone was itching to get back to the hotel for some rest, so it wasn’t surprising that we left quite a bit of food behind. Tomorrow will be an early start so let's hope that the check-in at the hotel would be a breeze.

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: No. 447 Yan'an Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省杭州市延安路447号

Closest Metro Station: Fengqi Road (凤起路)

Tel: +86 (571) 8707-6789

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 1:30pm, 4:30pm - 8:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/3e/ehLM

Lady M IFC (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I'm getting myself ready for the business trip next week but there were a few things I needed to take care of before I could start packing. That brought me to the Apple Store at IFC this afternoon. Although I didn’t get much resolved with my iPhone upgrade, I took the opportunity to check out Lady M’s new “Sesame Mochi Collection” afterwards.

Black and White Sesame Mochi Shortcake — The new collection includes a Black Sesame Mochi Mille Crêpes cake with roasted sesame and chewy mochi, but that wasn’t the one I was interested in trying. Instead, I had my eye on the other newcomer, the Black and White Sesame Mochi Shortcake.

Built on a rich black sesame base, the cake features white sesame from Kuki, a renowned Japanese brand with more than a century of history. The outer pastry cream combines Kuki white sesame and mascarpone, giving it a silky-smooth texture and subtle, elegant nuttiness.

The soft, slightly moist black sesame sponge, was beautifully matched with rich, fragrant white sesame cream, and freshly made black sesame mochi, all arranged in distinct layers. Together, they created a delicious combination of flavors and textures.

To me, it had all the elements of a sweet dumpling (tang yuan) with black sesame filling — except that it was presented in a totally different form and with entirely different textures. I found that very, very interesting.

Gâteau Nuage — Little nugget has been studying hard for his upcoming exam, so I got this for him to cheer him up a bit.

I’m heading straight home after picking up these sweet treats. There’s still a lot to do before the trip, including getting the data transferring from my old iPhone to the new one. Hopefully, I’ll get it all done soon.

Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 2096A, 2/F, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2865-1099
Website: www.ladymhk.com
Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm daily

Cheung Hong Yuen Kai Tak Sports Park 祥香園餐廳 啟德店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We’re back at Kai Tak Sports Park for another round of pickleball this morning. Somehow, we can always find an empty court here, while finding one anywhere else in the city center on a weekend is virtually impossible.

I have to admit, it was pretty good exercise playing semi-outdoor pickleball here under the roof. 

Afterward, we headed to Cheung Hong Yuen (祥香園餐廳) for a quick breakfast. Of course, it was the time that the kids woke up, realizing their parents weren’t around, and our phones started ringing off the hook almost simultaneously.

We knew exactly what to order, since Cheung Hong Yuen also has a branch not far from our home.

Pineapple buns with butter (菠蘿油) — Since they are famous for their local-style bakery goods, I had to take a flyer on this house specialty.

These buns are freshly baked in limited batches. Unlike some cha chaan tengs, which reheat pre-made buns throughout the day, Cheung Hong Yuen usually serves them piping hot straight from the oven, with a thick slab of cold butter for that classic hot-and-cold contrast. Not bad.

Hong Kong-style Milk Tea (凍奶茶) — Brewed the traditional bing sutt way, it’s perfect with the baked goods. The tea was pretty strong again today.

Milk oatmeal (鮮奶麥皮) — I don’t usually order this when I’m eating out, but sticking with this morning’s healthy theme, I decided to break the habit.

It was nice to work up a full-body sweat after this morning’s workout. Deeply satisfying and physically rewarding. Now, I just need a quick shower to cool down a little.

Food Rating: 5.1/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 1, G/F, Kai Yan Court, 6 Muk Lai Street, Kowloon City, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kai Tak

Tel: +852 5975-4011

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 9:30pm daily