Social Place (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I don't know exactly why it's so hard for restaurants to keep up with what they do. Was just visiting one of my favorite dim sum places, Social Place this afternoon and couldn't help but notice that things have gone down a notch.



There were noticeably more empty seats here than usual.

 

Signature roasted white king pigeon ($38) - Luckily, this was still very good. Finger licking good.



Pork belly slider ($39) - A few places started serving this kind of pork belly buns a few years ago and now everybody is doing it. Their pork belly was decent but the sauce was a little too overpowering. Didn't like it.



Truffle shiitake buns ($49) - This is one dim sum that always led me back here. Still pretty good but a couple of other places are doing this dish now. I guess it's not too difficult to replicate this.



Crabmeat and vegetable dumplings ($49) - Mom's favorite dish. The wrapping was a little thick this time around. Moreover, it's a little heavy on vegetables and not nearly enough crab meat.



Deep fried prawns with egg yolk ($?) - As a seafood lover, I was obliged to try at least one seafood dish out. But this was very salty and it's not only from the egg yolk. To me, one of the most disappointing dish.



Chinese "chess" custard buns ($39) - OK. The buns were pretty good with a nice runny egg custard.



Sesame ping pong ($39) - Out of the two desserts, I like this one better. Not your typical sesame balls as the glutinous rice was pineapple flavored. For some reason, it felt a little like eating Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes (鳳梨酥).



I know the group behind Social Place has opened a new restaurant in Wanchai but have they also taken most of the kitchen staff with them?

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 2/F, The L. Place, 137-141 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 3568-9666
Website: www.socialplace.hk