KUMO KUMO Wongtee Plaza 皇庭廣場店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

With Christmas just around the corner, there’s surprisingly little holiday spirit in Hong Kong especially inside the city’s shopping malls, where festive decorations are noticeably sparse. That was certainly not the case in Shenzhen. 

Over the past two weeks in Futian, we were greeted with Christmas cheer at almost every turn — twinkling lights, elaborate displays, and plenty of festive vibes. Even restaurants and cafés were getting in on the action, rolling out limited-time holiday creations including a delightful surprise from cheesecake specialist KUMO KUMO, known for their pillowy Japanese cheesecakes at wallet-friendly prices (think $30–$50 a pop).

Tonight, while strolling through Wongtee Plaza (皇庭廣場) in Futian, a limited-time-only creation, “Snowy Magical Cheesecake (雪絨魔法芝士蛋糕)” caught my eyes.

True to its name, the cheesecake came dressed for the occasion, its surface blanketed with delicate coconut flakes that looked just like freshly fallen snow ❄️. Underneath the soft, airy cheese mousse was a layer of tangy raspberry cheese cream adding not just a pop of color, but a festive red-and-white combo that felt oh-so-Christmassy.

At just $49, it was a sweet little indulgence that delivered on both flavor and holiday spirit. It's a price I am more than happy to fork out.

Food Rating: 4.6/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: Shop G-Z-37, Level G Wongtee Plaza, 118 Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华三路118号皇庭广场 G层 G-Z-37号铺

Closest Metro Station: Convention & Exhibition Centre (會展中心)

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm (Sun - Thu), 10:00am - 10:30pm (Fri - Sat)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/b0/biRk

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Chuen Cheung Kui 泉章居 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Chuen Cheung Kui (泉章居) is a storied Chinese restaurant that has been around for more than 70 years. Touted for its salt-baked chicken (鹽焗雞) and chicken with scallion oil (蔥油雞), this Hakka cuisine (客家菜) institution once had several branches across Hong Kong, including one in Mongkok — just steps away from where my parents used to live. Needless to say, it was a big part of my memories with them, as we dined there quite often.

Like many restaurants in Hong Kong, the group downsized significantly during COVID and is now left with just one remaining branch, in Sheung Wan.

Since I was in the area shopping for a jacket for St. Paul’s wedding, I decided to swing by Chuen Cheung Kui to see what they had in store these days.

Just like the good old days, they’re still serving set menus centered around their signature chicken dishes. Guests can choose their preferred soup with either two or four main dishes.

Of course, no meal at Chuen Cheung Kui would be complete without their salt-baked chicken. It’s been at least a decade since I last had it, and just like before, the meat was silky smooth and full of flavor.

Perhaps instead of takeaway, we should plan a proper sit-down dinner here for nostalgia’s sake.

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop C, G/F & 1/F, Alliance Building, 133 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sheung Wan

Tel: +852 2388-7488

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm daily

Dim Sum Library (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Since we’re getting our usual dim sum fix at Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居) in Shenzhen regularly, we haven’t been doing dim sum locally for a while. But today is the perfect chance. Little nugget has a school event in Admiralty, and it’s been a while since we last visited Dim Sum Library; the stars have aligned.

I remembered this place being really dark, and it’s virtually impossible to take good pictures of your food here (Still is).

Deep-fried taro puff with foie gras (鵝肝芋角) ($78) — I remembered them having a version of their deep-fried taro puff with snails (田螺芋角), which was really tasty, but this one wasn’t bad either. 

The batter was really flaky, the way it should be, and not surprisingly, it worked well with the taro, minced meat, and foie gras.

Black truffle shrimp dumplings (黑松露蝦餃) ($78) — They have three types of har gow here and this was the most popular one at least among us, thanks to the black truffle.

Hokkaido king crab and sea urchin spring rolls (海膽蟹肉春卷) ($108) — One of my favorites here, thanks to the umami-rich combo of king crab and uni.

Traditional xiao long bao (灌湯小籠包) ($78) — The "dan dan" version would’ve woken me up instantly, but with the older folks around, the traditional xiao long bao felt like the better choice.

Crispy cod roll with Yunnan termite mushroom (雞樅菌鱈魚卷) ($88) — One of the few dishes we had never tried before and this certainly looked like an interesting dim sum item.

Thought the cod fish worked really well with the crispy batter (like the deep-fried fish fillet from fish and chips). 

Crispy rice rolls stuffed with squid mousse (花枝響鈴炸両) ($92) — Besides the Hokkaido king crab and sea urchin spring rolls, this was my second favorite dish here. The crispy rice rolls, stuffed with deep-fried tofu bells (響鈴), was a clever idea—and when you factor in the delicate squid mousse, you’ve got a winner here with amazing textures and flavors.

Soy braised e-fu noodles with prawns (蝦球炆伊麵) — The e-fu noodles itself was alright but the orange-colored prawn sauce looked (and tasted) way too artificial to me.

Rice flour rolls with Iberico pork and spring onions (香葱黑毛豬腸粉) ($92) — I can always count on the steamed rice rolls here. Just very very nice texture, and the lovely patches of barbecued pork were spot on.

Chinese toona and shrimp dumpling (香椿菜蝦餃) ($82) — There are three types of shrimp dumplings here! This wasn’t bad, but after enjoying the truffled version, the bar was set a little high.

Mango Pomelo Sago ice-cream (楊枝甘露雪糕) ($58) — I told little nugget it tasted more like an exotic fruits ice-cream (mango + pineapple + coconut) than one flavored with mango pomelo sago cream.

Other than a couple dishes that didn’t hit the mark, the rest really made a strong impression on us this afternoon. Perhaps we should start coming back more often.

Food Rating: 6.8/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 124, Level 1, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 3643-0088
Website: www.dimsumlibrary.com.hk
Opening Hour: 11:30am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:30am - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)