Mukmeem 木棉 醉心粵味 COCO Park店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

For months, my friends have been raving about Mukmeem (木棉 醉心粵味), a contemporary Cantonese restaurant with branches in most major shopping malls in Shenzhen. I don’t usually go for Cantonese cuisine when dining in SZ (except for dim sum), but while I was at COCO Park counting down the time for my rapid train ride back to West Kowloon, this seemed like a convenient and appealing option thanks to its proximity. Time to give it a try?

This is right next to The Qiantang Tidal (錢塘潮), where I had my first-ever dining experience in Futian two years ago!

Stir-fried choy sum with lard (豬油渣炒菜心) (¥48) – Who could say no to lard? This came in a very generous portion as always seems to be the case with vegetable dishes in SZ. Just nice crunch.

“First Love” sweet and sour pork (初戀咕嚕肉) (¥88) – I had trouble relating “First Love” to sweet and sour pork, to be honest; just reading the name off the menu gave me goosebumps. Still, I decided to order it since it’s their signature dish.

The pork was nicely coated with a thin layer of batter, giving it extra texture and flavor. I could see why everyone around me had ordered this. That said, I thought it didn’t quite measure up to Tao Tao Ju’s signature version mainly because of the temperature. What I like most about TTJ’s take is how it's hot and juicy on the inside while kept cool on the outside with ice. This version, while satisfying, didn’t quite have that same wow factor.

I was also puzzled by the green apple 🍏 was it just decoration? Luckily, my server solved the mystery for me. There was something sweet hidden inside, he said. Turned out to be vanilla with apple compote. A nice touch!

That should do it for my first trip to Shenzhen in 2026. I mistakenly bought ticket to Shenzhen North rather than Futian but still managed to accomplish what I set out to do.

Food Rating: 5.9/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop L4-002, L4 COCO Park, 268 Fuhua Road 3rd, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福华三路268号星河COCO Park 一期L4层L4-002号铺

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 (755) 8321-9713

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/e3/ihcJ

Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

For whatever reason, I’ve only been taking Thursdays off from work lately. And since that happens to be the regular day off for Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司), I haven’t been able to visit during my scheduled holidays.

Good thing today’s a Friday.

I decided to take the afternoon off and head to Shenzhen. With some extra time before my train departure, I thought I should swing by this tourist hotspot in Jordan for lunch. To my pleasant surprise, the wait wasn’t long at all.

The iced milk tea was, again, delightfully creamy—something I can always count on here! 👍🏻

Noodle soup with barbecued pork — something to keep me going as I spend the afternoon playing my favorite games in SZ. This was pretty decent.

The butter toast remains one of the best I’ve had at any local cha chaan teng (茶餐廳). Crispy, and reliably satisfying.

One thing that always adds to the dining experience here is the interaction with the staff. Interestingly, I felt that service has improved quite a lot — perhaps ever since they received a wave of attention on social media a few years back.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Jordan
Tel: +852 2730-1356
Opening Hours: 7:30am - 10:00pm (Fri - Wed)

Wing Lai Yuen Whampoa 詠藜園 紅磡黃埔天地美食坊 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

A lot of my friends know that I’m a huge fan of the late Mr. Chua Lam (蔡瀾). I don’t just admire his vast knowledge of food — I’m also truly intrigued by his philosophy about life, and his embrace of being a hedonist.

I first heard about Wing Lai Yuen (詠藜園) and its dan dan noodles thanks to Mr. Lam. When the restaurant first opened in Whampoa, I was actually in the first batch of guests to try its signature noodles.

Wing Lai Yuen is a legendary Sichuan and Shanghainese restaurant in Hong Kong, world-famous for its Dan Dan Noodles. Founded in 1947 in Diamond Hill, it has a rich history tied to royal recipes.

Spicy dan dan noodles (擔擔麵) ($43) — The dish came in both spicy and non-spicy versions, but I told my server that it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t spicy.

I love the broth. It wasn’t overly intense. The peanut butter flavor was also more subtle than the one from a few other famous Shanghainese restaurant chains. To me, it tasted exactly the same as it did more than two decades ago.

Steamed dumplings in chili oil (紅油炒手) ($58) — I have a couple of presentations coming up in the next few weeks. To preserve my voice, I ordered a non-spicy version of the steamed dumplings served in chili oil. A non-spicy chili oil, really?

I thought the steamed dumplings were pretty delicious. Interestingly, the sauce tasted more like a sweet soy than chili oil to me. Regretfully, I had to bite the bullets here; otherwise, I probably won't be able to speak in a couple of days. 

Mr. Chua Lam has touched a lot of hearts through his remarkable work — his passion, knowledge, and zest for life have inspired me as well. He will be deeply missed by all of us who were lucky enough to learn from him and enjoy what he had to share with us over the years.

Food Rating: 5.9/10

Price: $$

Address: Shop 102-103 & 105, 1/F, Gourmet Place, The Whampoa, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Whampoa

Tel: +852 2320-6430

Working Hours: 11:00am - 3:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm daily