one dim sum - hong kong

Rating:  9 / 10

Aching calves are a thing in HK. Tho the public transport system is second to none, you rarely give up the chance to walk around Kowloon or Central craning your neck up to see the tips of skyscrapers, immersed in the fight for elbow space and kamikaze fast walkers. After a long and rewarding wander, the only acceptable resting spot is a Dim Sum house. No matter what time of day.

Fraught with the rumours that yet another low-cost HK dim sum spot had been bestowed a Michelin Star (it hadn't), I perused the menu and decided on two classics that I always try at new places and one unfamiliar one to stay dangerous. 

As is always the case with these types of meals, you should never dine alone. Dim Sum is for sharing, and by sharing I mean involving more people because then you can order more plates. I want to have one perfect bite of the whole menu, but sadly I have neither the stomach capacity nor the strength of finances for such frivolities.

I rarely see tourists order radish cake from menu's in Dim Sum places, and I often wonder why. For me it's one of the things I look most forward to eating. Especially if they have crisped up the outside and left the middle flaky and moist. They had.

The prawn dumplings and rice rolls were up there with some of the best I have ever eaten. The small deep-fried pork dumplings I shall report unsuccessful and skip the next time.

Service in Hong Kong is always about getting the plate of food to you, and relieving you of your money with as little dialogue and certainly no smiles. Once you get used to it -a business transaction after all- you glide in and out of restaurants without affording any mental fatigue from small talk.

One Dim Sum is, for the price, one of the best places you could hope to visit on your trip to Hong Kong.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.