Decadent Dim Sum

Lung King Heen's famous baked barbecue pork buns

Last Saturday three friends and I went to Lung King Heen, the three-starred Michelin Chinese restaurant in the Four Seasons Hong Kong for dim sum. I had booked the table back in late November to ensure we got a table.

It's pretty impressive how this place continues to keep its consistency particularly in dim sum, as I have now eaten it here three times, and for dinner only once many years ago.

Steamed rice rolls with lobster and water chestnut

There were a few new dishes on the dim sum menu and we decided to try some of them as well as order our favourites.

A new one was steamed rice rolls with lobster and water chestnut in fermented bean sauce (HK$230). This was definitely indulgent, but have you had steamed rice rolls with lobster before? This was fantastic -- very meaty but also included chopped vegetables and crunchy water chestnuts too.

Another was steamed lobster dumplings with egg white and sweet corn (HK$120). These dumplings were so large that they were served in pairs per bamboo steamer. Take a bite and inside it was choc full of lobster along with sweet corn. It sounds strange with corn kernels, but works well, again for texture and added sweetness.

Perfectly executed steamed shrimp dumplings

The baked goose puffs with chestnut in XO chilli sauce (HK$99) were topped with bonito flakes, perhaps an ode to the goose's nest? The pastry shell was very flaky and buttery, while the goose was also quite rich too and perhaps needed some acidity to cut the richness, as bonito flakes wasn't going to do that.

As for staples, the steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots (HK$99) was a star winner, so delicate, the skin translucent and the shrimp meat inside so delicious and filling.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken (HK$84 per piece). The abalone is sliced up so that you aren't obligated to shove the whole thing into your mouth and enjoy it in at least two bites. The pastry here was also top notch.

Pan-fried rice rolls in XO chilli sauce (HK$200) is a small portion for what you get; it is spicy, though that day I was battling a cold and couldn't eat as much as I would have liked. It was a dish that was a struggle to finish.

Baked abalone puffs with diced chicken a winner

The same could be said for the plate of char siu (HK$350). By the time it arrived I was pretty full and could barely finish two slices. 

However, the signature baked barbecue pork buns with pine nuts (HK$99) continue to be one of the best items on this menu. The filling features diced char siu mixed with pine nuts and enveloped in a bun that holds it together topped with a pineapple but dome for a touch of crispiness.

A friend new to Lung King Heen was about to rip the bun in half but we stopped her in time to advise her to eat it in bites instead. She was glad we gave her that tip and savoured each bite.

For dessert we had complimentary bowls of mango pudding topped with pomelo sago pudding! What a combo. It was only when we dug our spoons in did we realize there was mango pudding underneath.

Osmanthus jellies and puff rice cakes for dessert

We also had some petit fours of steamed osmanthus jelly, and puff rice cakes.

I was so full afterwards, but in particular sated by the food and really enjoyed the company too.

Lung King Heen
4/F, Four Seasons Hong Kong
8 Finance Street, Central
3196 8880 

Back at Lung King Heen for Dim Sum

Taking a picture of our dim sum dishes before digging in!

Over a year ago YTSL and I made a trip to Lung King Heen and we were in heaven biting into the barbecue pork buns with char siu and pine nuts.

Still dreaming about them, we came back again with another friend to give us the excuse to order more food!

The excellent rice rolls with char siu and preserved vegetable

We were given a late reservation of time of 2.15pm and we were worried there wouldn't be much food left, but in fact a few other diners trickled in after us. Even Chinese executive chef Chan Yan-tak made an appearance in the dining room.

One of our favourite dim sum this time was the steamed rice rolls with char siu and preserved vegetables (HK$100). That's not a combination you find in other dim sum places and now I'm wondering why not!

The preserved vegetables have a savoury taste and also help balance out the sweetness of the char siu. The crunchiness of the vegetables also adds a nice texture. The rice rolls were so thin and yet they didn't break when we picked them up. Amazing.

While I love har gao or steamed shrimp dumplings (HK$99) with bamboo shoots, I have to say these ones weren't particularly outstanding, boring in fact. Maybe it's because no MSG was added.

Baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken

I ordered steamed assorted mushroom dumplings with celery (HK$99) and this too was almost refreshing in a way, along with a bit of a crunch that was very delicate. The same could be said with the steamed scallop dumplings with vegetables and wild mushrooms (HK$99).

The baked whole abalone puffs with diced chicken (HK$82 each) were YTSL's highlight. She liked the east-west taste as the pastry is very buttery, the abalone cooked perfectly. We also liked the baked beef puffs with mushrooms and preserved vegetables (HK$99).

We eagerly anticipated having the baked barbecue pork buns with pine nuts (HK$99) and upon picking them up I was amazed at how thin the pastry was in holding the hot, sweet, gooey filling inside. When I bit into it, the familiar sweetness of the char siu was there, the fat taken out so it was all lean, but wait -- where were the pine nuts?

Barbecue pork buns with pine nuts

Mid-way through eating the bun I finally tasted them, but I remembered last time there were many more pine nuts in the filling. Was it cutting costs? Pine nuts aren't cheap either. Nevertheless the pine nut taste lingered in my mouth.

In the end with a mango sago cream dessert (HK$90) the bill came to HK$1,370 for three including service charge. It's not cheap but it's not Tim Ho Wan either! Saving up for the next trip to Lung King Heen...

Lung King Heen

4/F, Four Seasons Hong Kong

8 Finance Street

Central
3196 8888

Michelin Three-Starred Dim Sum

Lung King Heen's prized baked barbecue pork buns with pine nuts

After making a reservation almost a month ago, my friend YTSL and I headed to Lung King Heen, the Michelin three-starred restaurant in the Four Seasons Hong Kong for dim sum. She had tried it and raved about it and so I was curious enough to want to sample it too.

An idea of what the interior of the restaurant is like!

We sat down to lunch at 12.30pm, a bit surprised the place wasn't full already -- but then again perhaps tai tais want to sleep in on a Saturday...

YTSL suggested we order all the signature dim sum dishes, particularly the baked barbecued pork buns with pine nuts. Since there were two of us, the waiter told us most dishes came in three pieces and would we like to have two, with a price adjustment? What a novel idea.

However, we did keep the barbecue pork bun order to three pieces and YTSL was in bun heaven.

Baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken

The bun is fluffy and light, and manages to hold the filling, which is choc full of char siu and some pine nuts for added texture. The end result is a delicious combination that isn't oily or too buttery, meaty and slightly crunchy.

Another delicious pastry is the baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken, the abalone is small, sliced for easy consumption, but very meaty.

Steamed rice rolls are only available on weekends, so we made sure we ordered one of them -- the signature one of lobster and water chestnut in fermented bean sauce. It was very decadent, with lots of fresh lobster meat, added crunch from the water chestnut and very flavourful.

This week's weekend dim sum special was steamed beef balls, and they were executed well, very tender, and moist. We also liked the vegetarian steamed assorted mushroom and zucchini dumpling that was packaged in a translucent wrapper, very delicate and delicious.

1/2 portion of scallops with pear, shrimp paste, Yunnan ham

The steamed shrimp dumplings with wild mushrooms were a minor fault in terms of flavour -- it goes to show that the classic pairing shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots is done for a reason and shouldn't be altered. We liked the shrimp -- very meaty and crunchy, but the mushrooms didn't seem to go with the shrimps in terms of texture and flavour.

Oh well. Not to fret over. But we did like the scallops with a bit of shrimp in it, on a piece of pear base and encased in a white pastry with shrimp paste and Yunnan ham. Absolutely exquisite how it was packaged and executed.

We got a few desserts to try on the house, including a black sesame and walnut mousse (topped with bits of gold foil), osmanthus jelly, almond cookies, coconut glutinous rice cakes shaped like diamonds, and little balls of mango encased in desicated coconut.

A delicate flower with warm custard inside was delicious!

In the end both of us shelled out HK$460 each and the restaurant still wasn't packed by the time we left around 2.45pm. We were quite surprised to see other people eat quickly and then leave -- they must come here so frequently that it's not something they savour...

Lung King Heen

4/F, Four Seasons Hong Kong

8 Finance Street

Central

3196 8880

fourseasons.com/hongkong/