Another very good teammate of ours is retiring very soon. Like my ex-boss ahead of her, I tried not to think too much about her imminent retirement but I knew the day would eventually come. She's someone I have a lot of respect for. I am going to miss her at work, perhaps more so than my ex-boss.
After a big farewell party last week, I am meeting up with her for a special farewell lunch this afternoon, just the two of us so we could have some private chats. Thinking about the lunch venue gave me some headache last month but since I wanted to play it safe, I decided to go back to Tin Lung Heen (天龍軒). It's a place I like to spend time with my family and visitors from overseas. And I wanted only the best for her.
My main objective of coming here was to treat my teammate to an exquisite abalone meal so I have been keeping a close eye on their lunch menu for weeks. It was still there when I checked a couple of weeks ago but today, surprise surprise, it was replaced by their "normal" executive business lunch menu! Please tell me it's not true!!! 😭😭😭
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So, we settled with the executive lunch menu which always started off with these two.
Barbecued pork with osmanthus flower honey (桂花蜜汁叉燒) – When I thought Tin Lung Heen was a safe bet, I was thinking that they would always have a killer barbecued pork, a signature item on their menu since their opening. But it turned out to be a nightmare.
There were a few things wrong with these two slices of char siu. For one, there was almost no charring and therefore no smokiness at all. Then, the heavy-handedness of osmanthus flower honey making it way too sweet. But that's not ALL. The one thing that made this a total failure was its texture. No marbling and fat, and the excessive tendons and sinews made it too chewy. I certainly didn't expect that from their top-quality Iberian pork which is best known for its tenderness. I was also disappointed that our servers didn't realize that we had trouble finishing our char siu and therefore came up to ask why. I was hoping for some Michelin starred service which was never there.
Steamed turnip cake with preserved meat and conpoy (瑤柱臘味蘿蔔糕) – No fish maw and XO sauce this time. A little dry and a bit custardy.
Double-boiled pork shin soup with fig and Asian moon scallop (豬腱無花果燉日月魚) – One of the few bright spots this afternoon. Very soothing for the palates.
Pan-fried scallop with minced spring onion served with crispy rice cracker (蔥茸窩粑煎帶子) – They have cut the scallops a little thin making these a little overcooked. I missed the red pepper purée which was much much better companion to the scallops and rice crackers. The wok-fried Chinese kale with ginger sauce (薑汁炒芥蘭) was fine.
Wok-fried beef rib with black bean sauce (豉椒炒牛肋肉) – Now, I'm looking at the wok-fried beef ribs and along with the scallops, we could've been having braised six-head Australian abalone. Not a very good trade-off.
Fried rice with diced abalone, goose and shrimp wrapped in lotus leaf (蝦乾鮑粒荷葉飯) – At this point, I was so stuffed so I didn't manage to finish my fried rice which I thought was decent.
P.S.
I was also counting on Tin Lung Heen to deliver on this very special day but they really disappointed me with their efforts. Now, they have found themselves on my black list...at least for the foreseeable future.
Food Rating: 6.3/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 102/F, The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Kowloon
Tel: +852 2263-2270
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/china/hong-kong/dining/tin-lung-heen
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Fri), 11:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Sat - Sun)
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