Yee Tung Heen (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I was invited as a group of 40 bloggers to attend a Chinese New Year celebration dinner sponsored by The Excelsior Hong Kong. The venue was set at Yee Tung Heen, a Cantonese cuisine restaurant located on the second floor of the hotel.

Following a complete renovation and overhaul in late 2011, Yee Tung Heen now combines their traditional decoration with a modern twist. This "modernization" movement also extends to their new menu as the catering team has added a modern flair to their authentic Cantonese cuisine.

On this special occasion, the team here has tailormade a degustation menu especially for us. And the best part of all, they have also provided us with all the wine pairing behind the sponsorship of Marks & Spencer. That was simply outstanding! 

All 40 of us started mingling with each other and exchanging new year greetings right from the get-go. Then dinner officially began following a brief introduction from the hotel's Director of Food and Beverages.



Our first appetizer of the night was a pair of braised live abalone. Each abalone was sliced into small pieces so we really didn't need to make sure of our fork and knife. 

The light-colored one was braised with wine and Japanese soya sauce. The texture was excellent but the seasoning was a bit light. The one in brownish color was braised with oyster sauce. I liked this one a little better although neither one really impressed me a great deal (4/10).



Next up was a double boiled soup with tea tree mushrooms, dried scallops, sea whelk and caterpillar fungus. It was served with a small clay pot which was often used to serve tea.

Apart from the possible medical benefits such as boosting stamina, lung capacity and kidney functions, the caterpillar fungus also provided this clear broth with great depth (7.5/10).




More seafood came in the form of a crab claw steamed with egg white and Chinese rice wine. That was again an excellent dish. Instead of the usual hua diao wine, the chef elected to use chinese rice wine to steam the crab claw and they worked brillantly together.

The only blemish was perhaps the excessive amount of ginger paste which was too dominant for both the steamed egg and the crab meat (7/10).



The seafood theme continued with a sautéed king prawn in supreme soya sauce. Not only was the "supreme" soya sauce not overpowering, but it has also helped to elevate the sweetness of the king prawn tremendously (7.5/10).



Finally a little bit of meat was served up in the next dish - a mini squash pot with Australian wagyu beef and vegetables. While I sat back to enjoy the craftmanship of the "pot" made with a small organic pumpkin, I could not help to notice the wonderful aroma coming out of the pot.

I tried to put about two spoonfuls of this diced beef and vegetables into a lettuce wrap and it was heaven (7/10).



Talked about a simple dish. You can't get any simpler than this - sautéed kale with ginger and garlic. I have always enjoy the sturdy and crunchy texture of kale (6/10).



Fried rice with assorted seafood was our last dish before we headed into the dessert part of our meal. While the fried rice did not disappoint with all the quality ingredients (fish, shrimps, vegetable, carrots etc), the seasoning (more like the lack of it) unfortunately provided the let-down (3/10).



The dessert platter comprised of a trio of sinfully enticing desserts. While the chilled sago cream with fresh mango and pomelo (middle) and strawberry mochi (right) were good, the winner belonged to the crispy red bean pastry (left) (5/10).



Last but not least, a banana-flavored macaron with chocolate cream.




Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: The Excelsior Hotel, 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com/excelsior/fine-dining/yee-tung-heen/