Ho Hak Shan Tung

Date of visit: 10th July 2010

Ho Hak Shan Tung @ Sai Ying Pun Second Street

Having had my eye on this little restaurant since its opening, I finally got to try this place for lunch with my brother. We arrived at 1.30pm to find only one other table occupied. He asked "Is this place any good? why is it so empty?" I had my doubts too, but set aside these thoughts and looked through the menu.

We first debated on whether we wanted appetizers, which we then decided against because we wanted two kinds of dumplings. So our next question was whether we wanted dan dan mian or  jia jiang mian.... I would've gone for the latter but my brother chose the former so the former it was.

Milk tea ($10) - here they used evaporated milk instead of my preferred choice of condensed milk. Not bad but not ideal. 

Dan Dan Mian (Noodles in Spicy Peanut Broth) ($26) - the version here is quite different from the Shanghainese restaurants' we've tried. It is quite watery, but still has strong flavours of peanut and chilli in. The ground meat (pork?) was quite lean too. The noodles reminded me of the ones I had in Sha Tin 18 - al dente and thick, with no noodle being the exact same size, most probably because they are hand-cut! I didn't really like the broth, but would try another noodle dish gladly if I come again.

Ten Dumplings - half were Shandong Fresh Fish Dumplings and half Vegetarian Dumplings ($33)

 These dumplings were massive - bigger than I had seen before for sure. I would've preferred them to be cooked less long, as the wrappers were overly soft for me. I'll bear that in mind on my next visit to tell them to cook the dumplings for a shorter period. 

Anyway, I was half expecting them to be pre-made (either frozen or refrigerated) but found out they were made-to-order. How do I know? Well when I first bit into one of the fish dumplings it was pork. I told them this, and the waiter/cook came to identify the mishap and said he'd make (wrap) new ones for me and took away the other 4 'fish' dumplings. 

Meanwhile I tried the vegetarian dumplings, which were filled with mostly green vegetables, not like the mushroom and cucumber(?) filling in Din Tai Fung. I also detected a tiny amount of sesame oil present to give it a much appreciated flavour. I would choose these vegetarian dumplings over DTF any day, but the wrapping used here is another matter...way too soft!

the inside of a vegetarian dumpling...

Our Xiao Lung Baos ($25) (wrongly translated as 'Little Dragon Buns' on their menu!) had a very nice pleat, but the wrappers seemed too big for the pork fillings...

One of the five dumplings had 'deflated', because of a puncture in the wrapper as well =(

The dumplings taste-wise was not bad - the all-pork filling was well seasoned and juicy. In the remaining four dumplings there was quite a lot of juice, and was even better with a little ginger and black vinegar. Although the skin was very thin, it was not elastic enough (like DTF's) and so they broke much easier if one isn't careful when transferring them...  

Last to arrive was the fish dumplings which earlier had been sent back... Indeed the chef had made fresh ones for us and we were genuinely grateful. The wrappers this time was not overcooked either! They had a slight bite to it. The filling was a type of white fish that was quite meaty, minced with some spring onions. Again, with vinegar these dumplings were lovely. These were my brothers preference between the two (fish and vegetarian) dumplings we ordered. 

Would I come back? Yes! Prices here are very reasonable for a hearty meal, and there is quite a long menu. Even with several visits I would still not be able to cover all the appetizers / dim sums / hot dishes / noodles / rice dishes available here!

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥♥

Price: $$

Ho Hak Shan Dong 

Shop A1, 143 Second Street, Hoi Shing Building, Sai Ying Pun, 

Western District,  Hong Kong 

Tel: +852 2117 9680