Look who just stepped in to check on his son who's doing his apprenticeship at the restaurant!
Tucked away at bustling Li Yuen Street East (No.9 on the street, thus the name), the nostalgic diner offers traditional dim sum that few modern Cantonese restaurants even make these days, along with Chiu Chow-style marinated delicacies (think sliced goose meat, goose feet and wings).
They did a great job putting in blinds and curtains to ensure that diners didn't get distract by the busy surroundings.
I love the design of the food menu too, taking a page out of our traditional Chinese "tung shing", a divination guide and almanac based on the Chinese lunar calendar year.
Lovely!
All the dishes are listed both in Chinese and English.
Wild ginger tossed shredded chicken rice (沙薑手撕雞飯) ($99) - A dish highly recommended by our server. The shredded chicken was pretty tender but the wild ginger was running too wild for my palate in such a way that it totally overpowered the sweetness of the chicken.
Shrimp Dumplings (筍尖蝦餃) ($42) - The dim sum menu is championed by Chef Wong Yiu-Por, formerly head dim sum chef at Island Tang who came out of his retirement to lead this project. So, I had to make sure that I ordered lots of dim sum this afternoon.
Leading things off was their bite-sized har gow. The thin wrapper was perfect and so were the shrimps stuffed in the middle. Very delicate and tasty.
Steamed pork dumplings with black truffle (黑松露北菇燒賣) ($42) - Very lovely bouncy texture and the black truffle flavor was nice and subtle.
Rice flour rolls with crispy seafood roll (響鈴海鮮腸) ($59) - One of the most popular items on the menu I was told. This was pretty tasty. Always love minced prawn mousse and youtiao (Chinese donut) wrapped together by a thin layer of rice flour.
Rice flour rolls with satay sauce minced beef (沙爹牛肉腸) ($49) - The rice flour rolls were again very nice but the satay sauce was a bit overpowering.
Baked barbecued pork buns (焗菠蘿叉燒包) ($33) - These were made in the shape of pineapple buns. Very nostalgic.
The baked buns were really spongy, the way we always like them to be, and the diced barbecued pork and sauce were perfect.
Wild mushroom dumpling in matsutake bouillon (松茸野菌灌湯餃) ($49) - My favorite dish this afternoon and it wasn't even close.
The dumpling made with wild mushrooms, minced pork and Yunnan ham was really really delicious but what impressed me the most was the bouillon made with matsutake mushrooms. Few places do these kinds of dishes anymore because this takes a lot of time and effort which makes this dish even more heartwarming.
Baked abalone and cheese tarts (焗芝士鮑魚撻) ($42) - Another signature dish here that is not to be missed.
Runny cheese matched with diced abalone and meat on a crispy, buttery tart. Yum~
Noodle in matsutake bouillon (松茸菌湯麵) ($49) - Something for my little one. I suspect it's the same bouillon from the dumpling I enjoyed earlier. Judging from how quickly he finished the bowl of noodles, it had to be pretty good.
Steamed honey and brown sugar sponge cake (蜂蜜黑糖糕) ($29) - More nostalgic dim sum, this time a dessert we haven't had for a long time.
The steamed sponge cakes were flavored with honey and brown sugar. The slightly chewy texture had us wanting more!
It's always nice to enjoy high-quality dim sums in Central without breaking the bank. I think I will come back pretty soon when the restaurant is still largely under everyone's radar.
P.S. I hate going to dim sum restaurants where afterwards, I needed to drink tons of water because of the MSG. No such problem after my meal at Nove.
Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 9 Li Yuen Street East, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2180-6799
Website: www.facebook.com/novechinesekitchen
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