I have just one word to describe HEXA, the newest member to OTE - Spacious. Just look at the outdoor patio!
Of course, it doesn't hurt to possess a 180-degree panoramic view of the Victoria harbour too.
HEXA is divided into two "wings" thanks to an escalator right in the middle. On the right-hand side is an area with a mix of cool colors highlighted by dark furniture and metallic decorations.
On the left-hand side is a big dining room with a much warmer color tone delivering a totally different mood.
Apart from its modern decor, the first thing that jumps out about HEXA is its contemporary Chinese cuisine. The food menu promises some pleasant surprises from their house specialties including smoked chicken with Longjing tea leaves (龍井燻太爺雞), king prawns two-ways, tossed in mango purée and golden salty egg yolk (鴛鴦蝦球) and fried puntalette "Yangzhou" style (揚州炒米型意粉).
Steamed shrimp dumplings (水晶蝦餃) ($55) - I have been reading about their signature steamed bamboo charcoal shrimp dumplings which is black in color but it's nowhere to be found on the menu. So, we went with the traditional har gow. This was pretty tasty.
Steamed pork dumplings with black garlic (黑蒜燒賣) ($48) - Next up was one of the restaurant's signature dim-sum. The steamed pork dumplings were pretty ordinary but there's a nice kick provided by the black garlic flavored "pearls" on top.
Steamed wild mushroom dumplings (野菌水晶餃) ($42) - Pretty delicious and nice to have it without black truffles for a change.
Puff pastry with wagyu beef and black pepper (和牛黑椒酥) ($68) - The puff pastry was nice and flaky and the diced wagyu well seasoned but I thought a little heavy handed with the black pepper sauce.
Spring roll with shrimps and sea urchin (海膽蝦春卷) ($58) - Like the puff pastry, the spring roll was nicely executed with the perfect crispy shell. A little more sea urchin would really send me home a happy camper.
Steamed rice flour rolls with BBQ Kurobuta pork (黑豚叉燒腸粉) ($56) - The rice flour rolls were soft and thin while stuffed full of BBQ pork made with Kurobuta pork. Pretty nice and at this point in time, the steamed pork dumplings were the only one that failed to impress so far.
Baked BBQ pork buns with buttered crust (雪山叉燒包) ($48) - There are two BBQ pork buns served here but honestly, who would ditch these ones with buttered crust for those boring traditional ones with oyster sauce anyways?
The crust was a little crispy and I like the fact that they didn't over-do it like a pineapple bun. The BBQ pork sauce was spot on.
Baked bamboo charcoal buns with egg custard cream (竹炭流沙包) ($48) - We felt a little hard luck not to be able to lay our hands on their bamboo charcoal shrimp dumplings so these baked bamboo charcoal buns were the perfect consolation prize. Nothing beats a bunch of sizzling hot buns with egg custard cream oozing out from the middle!
Deep fried fresh milk custard (黃金炸鮮奶) ($48) - Our last dim sum was deep fried milk custard served with sugar on the side. This was more like a dessert but no one was complaining having dessert early.
This was where the wheels began to fall off. Just before finishing up all our dim sums, we started to realize that there were two dishes missing in action - Yangzhou fried rice and a vegetable dish so we called our server over. He then went over to the counter and seemingly checked in the system before coming back and confirming that everything was in order. He even told us what the two dishes were. Okay, fine so everything is under control right? Wrong~
As it turns out, the guy didn't really look into the system. All he did was to check the handwritten order form and he had it written down on the back. The only (and most important one) thing he forgot to do was, to check in the system to see if he had keyed those into the system. So, when we asked about our orders again for the second time, this time to a more experienced server (He was wearing something more formal like a jacket so I was thinking he's more senior), it was found that the two missing dishes were not inputted into the system. Now, I was fuming.
The senior guy now started walking towards our table again. I was expecting him to be a little apologetic about their mistake but at this day and age in Hong Kong, I guess I must be dreaming. Instead of saying something apologetic, he just rudely said, "Do you still want them or what?". I was like, what the funk are you talking about? We never said we didn't want them, just that your colleague totally forgot to input them into the system. He was given a second chance and still he didn't check the system. Now, this guy finally realized that I wasn't just upset, I was ready to kill so he took a step back and tried a little more polite tone, "If you still want them, we will make them for you immediately." Of course, we want them, we were still starving I told him.
Fried puntalette "Yangzhou" style (揚州炒米型意粉) ($158) - Our pan fried puntalette finally did arrive. I personally had lofty expectation for it because for one, it's one of HEXA's signature dish and secondly, I thought it's a very nice twist to our traditional Yangzhou fried rice. Instead of rice, they used these rice shaped pasta to give it a different bite.
This was really nice with good "wok air". Yes, we waited much much longer for it but it's at least worth the wait.
Sautéed kale with ginger and black sugar (薑糖芥蘭) ($98) - Finally, something green after all the meat and seafood.
I just love the crunchiness of these sautéed kale. They had some ginger and black sugar sauce all over the kale to give it more flavors to work with. Not bad.
I was still a little upset so instead of ordering dessert and running the danger of another missed order, I decided to go for the bill. It's a real shame coz they have such a good venue here with that spacious outdoor patio. The harbour view is terrific and I thought the lunch menu has a lot to offer. But it turns out to be another classic example of good food ruined by poor service.
Would I come back for a second time? My little nugget seems to love it here so I would still consider it but if the service team does not improve over time, then they are just shooting themselves on the foot really. Hongkongers have very high standard for customer service, and considering what they're charging here, they better deliver (good service)!
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop OTE 101, G/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2577-1668
Website: www.hexa-hk.com
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