My next 2 meal reviews in succession are going to slightly compare the Cantonese food trends stretching from the past to present, itself heavily influenced by micro-regions inside Canton, such as capital city Guangdong itself, Chiu Chow/TeoChew near the sea, Shunde region and even the Hakka nomad settlements into Canton. I am starting to see that Hong Kong and Macau’s Cantonese food style are developing and diverging into about 3 slightly different styles nowadays, so I just wanted to post a review about my thoughts and put this into online as Historical reference for future generations to come and which I won’t ever see for myself. Coincidentally, both of these Cantonese restaurants I will cover are just a few steps away from each other but you can definitely see their divergent directions of approach.
Tycoon Tann -
The name itself already suggests it’s aimed at the Classy Clientele.
In fact some of us foodies do think it’s also secretly aiming slightly at the Expats market and demographic crowd in Central. Yet, the recipes we encountered here were actually quite traditional but with smart twists and fine tuning. The Chef here used to work in the Dragon King & Dragon Seal 龍璽酒家 Group, which is very famous as that owner chef 幟哥 is a Celebrity Chef himself and well travelled.
There are 3 floors -
All floors have slightly different design styles
Abalone Puff, Spring Roll, White Siumai with Scallop & Pork,
Prawn Har Gow Dumpling platter – $138
The Abalone puff pastry seems to be popular in HK nowadays, especially when Hong Kong Lung King Heen got their Michelin 3* status and their sister restaurant 2* Zi Yat Heen in Macau also does the same. The version tonight here had some diced chicken cubes too underneath and a buttery aromatic pastry case. The other dim sum items were also executed well. ~ 8 to 9/10
Hungarian Mangalica Hairy Hog BBQ Charsiu, Honey Sauce, Rosemary - $288
Truth be told there is very obviously a Charsiu war out there nowadays and restaurants are competing with each other. They all Claim they are the best, and quite often this defensive stance means they haven’t tried better to compare. With different Spanish Iberico pork cuts, Japanese Kurobuta or Hungarian Mangalica ‘Hairy’ hog, however this to a customer has never been the real key for the best Charsiu if you ask the real foodies. Macau Hotels have been doing imported Multiple-Countries Black European based Pork Charsiu’s for many years and in this aspect HK is only catching up as a late comer. But guess what I really think? I still haven’t seen restaurants do a British Berkshire or Middle-white pork, or a Japanese Agu Pork Charsiu version if you really want to be gimmicky and they would definitely work very well too. Throughout HK there are so many local shops using just local Chinese Pork that tastes equally well at 1/5th to 1/3rd the price too. The key element for Charsiu has always been about the Marination and Roasting technique method rather than the meat itself. If you go to Malaysia or Guangzhou, sometimes even Singapore or Macau, many shops use different fattier pork cuts and their micro-tuned marination techniques achieve amazing results too. OK I think I deviated a little too far - the version here was quite decent and served on a warm plate with an open flame beneath, a nice touch! The Rosemary herb is interesting because whilst it was more a decorational purpose, I decided to toast it a bit on the spot, because I believe Mangalica Hog’s meat can be enhanced by it if you think from the Italian or Hungarian’s wild boar meat recipes. ~ 7 to 9/10
Mangalica Pork -
I have had some really lovely Hungarian Mangalica b4 in my life. Their Salami’s are always to die for. I think for this time it can be more wild in flavours if that makes sense. It was good but a bit clean.
Baked Crab Carapace -
Many Cantonese restaurants serve this but they do use different Crab types, and some of the restaurants you know they use the instant picked type, the flavour is really unmistakable. The common problem is that too many places serve mouldy meat, too thickly sliced raw onions, too gooey cheesy. The version here I can report back is one of the best in HK, comparable to 2* Yan Toh Heen’s version and even more thickly cut strandly here. ~ 10/10
Soy Sauce Simmered Chicken in Casserole – $190 /half
This used a local yellow skin chicken and was ever so tender. The base sauce literally begged for some white rice. Very good. ~ 8.5/10
Sweet & Sour Kurobuta Pork Fillet with Fresh & Dried Figs – $238
I have my own take on this Globally famous recipe. It should be coated with a Hawthorn Berry & Plum based sauce. Not just tomatoes, vinegar and red food coloring. I can’t work out when this became so complacent in this world, in the past this is paired with Young Ginger when in season. Nowadays its with Pineapples, Bell Peppers for color contrast, and this time Figs.. I thought the meat was a bit hard myself this time ~ 6.9/10
Sauteed Wasabi Wagyu Beef Cubes – $628
As mentioned on Instagram, I liked the Wagyu Beef oily flavour but for me the big diced pineapples distracted the experience a bit. Overall this was still good, or may be I am too sensitive to the acidic Pineapples. But looking at the portion it was quite pricy too.. ~ 8.5/10
Peking Duck Skin with Caviar – $468
This is to me not worth $468 as a dish, sorry if I have to be frank. I expected at least double the proportion or more. Since it was still New Opening, they did think about whether they should add Tian Mian Jiang sauce… Of course they need to, its part of the original recipe to complete the Beijing Package. I think the Peking Duck can also have more meat, the Skin can be crispier or crunchy. ~ 6/10
Signature Fried Rice with Abalone, Eggs, Conpoy, Sakura Ebi Prawns – $328
This performed really well but I think the price is blown out of proportion. It is a rice dish after all, even with Abalone and exotic ingredients to support it. Though it tasted really nice accurate, but the only point I can pick out is that the Sakura Prawns can be more toasted fragrant. ~ 8/10
Purple Sweet Potato Skin Dumplings, in a Gingery Soup -
A twist on the original White version. This was well received just as I was becoming too full… after all I am not a dessert person except when I am in France, Taipei or Japan. Although I grew up with this I must admit I became a little tired of eating out lately. ~ N/A
Price: HKD $500 to $800 + 10% Per Person
Food: ♕♕♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕♕
Address: G-2/F, Ming Fat Building, 74 Wellington Street, Central
中環威靈頓街74號明發大廈地下至2樓
Ph: 3125 3228
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