Man Wah 文華廳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It’s been a year since I last caught up with my buddy St Paul. He’s back in town for a little less than a week, and I was eager to reserve his time for a meal before he returns to the City of Angels.

Last year around the same time, we met up for lunch at Hutong (胡同) and knowing that he’s into Chinese food, I decided to call Man Wah (文華廳) at MO to see if they have a table for us on Ching Ming Festival. To my pleasant surprise, they did on such short notice (everyone in China for the week again!?).

St Paul and I are both pretty adventurous when it comes to food so it didn’t really surprise me that we made very quick work on the dishes to order.

Shanghainese soup dumpling, minced pork, conpoy, dried shrimp roe (蝦籽瑤柱小籠包) – This came from the set lunch. The wrapper was ultra thin and the broth surprised me  bit with its sweetness.

Morel mushroom and bamboo pith dumpling (羊肚菌竹笙餃) – The sticky wrapper with the bamboo pith web matched really well together with the diced morel mushrooms in the middle. Very nice.

Wagyu beef puff, black pepper sauce (黑椒和牛酥) – The puff pastry was really done nicely. I like the fillings of wagyu beef marinated in a pretty light black pepper sauce.

Steamed rice roll, barbecued Iberian pork (西班牙黑豚肉叉燒腸粉) – It came with a fair share of coriander bringing some lovely fragrance to the barbecued pork and rice roll.

Boiled soup with carrot and corn (甘筍粟米豬展湯) – This was a bit disappointing. Most high-end Chinese restaurants would be offering their double-boiled soup in their set lunch menu but not here obviously. Last time I checked, this was a Michelin starred, fine dining restaurant. Sigh…

Har gau, prawn, lobster, caviar, salmon roe (雙籽龍蝦鮮蝦餃) – Very cute presentation which had us scrambling for our smartphones for photos. Pretty delicate.

Wok-fried prawn, garlic, dried chilli (大千珍寶蝦球) – The wok-fried prawn was indeed jumbo-sized. This was beautifully cooked with garlic and dried chilli.

Deep-fried crab claw coated, minced shrimp (百花炸蟹鉗) – Another great dish. Deep-fried crab claw has always been a crowd pleaser since our childhood days and the crispy batter was making the shrimp mousse even more mouthwatering. It was served with its usual partner, a gluey sweet-and-sour sauce.

Fried rice, whole abalone, chicken, conpoy, mushroom, lotus leaf (原隻鮑魚飄香荷葉飯) – I thought I didn’t order too much but at this point, I was already more than stuffed. I did manage to finish most of this, including the abalone which was really succulent. 

Almond cream, egg white, sesame dumpling (蛋白杏仁茶湯丸) – Very nice texture thanks to the egg white and I liked the fact that the almond flavors weren’t over the top.

Egg tartlet, red bird’s nest, gold leaf (金萡血燕蛋撻) – We still got room for some crispy egg tartlets. This came with some luxurious toppings of red bird’s nest and gold leaf. Needless to say, it calls for a few more photos.

Petite fours (美點雙輝)

We missed the view cuz the hostess claimed that they could not arrange it in such short notice. She did say that if someone had a last-minute cancellation, it could perhaps be arranged but that was really the last time I saw her in this dining room. I did spot some empty tables by the window so I was curious if they have just dropped the ball there. For a restaurant with such pedigree and heavy price tag, I simply expected a lot more (both food and service).

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$$$

Address: 25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2825-4003

Website: www.mandarinoriental.com/en/hong-kong/victoria-harbour/dine/man-wah

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm daily