Regal Palace 富豪金殿 used to be adorned with a Michelin Star status for quite a number of years, but checking the list recently, even any mention in the guide has been omitted completely. It used to be one of the best Cantonese restaurants in town for a while, and upon my recent two visits in 2017, I still held it with high regards. Execution across the board was strong, dishes were Classical Cantonese and cooked more than correctly than many famous places in town, even the smaller details were attended to well except for a slightly run down interior. Personally I will still highly recommend here especially during Lunch Yum Cha hours, when you can order both Dim Sums and A La Carte.
Mysterious Drop from Michelin 1 Star, to Not a Mention -
Here's a summary of my last two visits in 2017. Once with Family and once as a Media Luncheon, and not every dish were listed below as it is indicative enough..
Pig's Trotter in Marinated Master Stock 滷水豬腳仔 -
Good fresh pigs legs, with bouncy skins, tender meat and a fine tuned master stock. One of the if not best version I tried in recent years... ~ 9/10
上湯煎粉果 Fried Prawn & Chives Fun Gor Dumplings in Superior Broth -
The traditional Dim Sum item that is disappearing in HK Restaurants, one can still find it in places like Fook Lam Moon or off shoots like Seventh Son, or the original Fung Shing restaurants (Prince Edward and North Point). The soup could have more Chinese chives flavor, but the dumplings themselves were more elegantly folded and fried here. ~ 8/10
鮑魚鴨腳扎 Duck Feet wrapped in Soy Bean Sheet, Taro, Abalone, Fish Stomach -
Another Classic oldies Dim Sum item. I usually eat this at very traditional Yum Cha places, here the version had very good powdery taro, well braised Duck Feet with a balanced Abalone braising liquid which isn't overly starched up. Probably the best version I remember having in Hong Kong. ~ 10/10
Baked Char Siu Pork Bao, Steamed Chiu Chow Fun Gor, Pork Siu Mai -
The baked Char Siu pork bun with honey coating is famous here and exemplary, with diced pork inside that is coated by a well tuned BBQ sauce but not overly gooey, the buns are fluffy and smells like honey. The other dim sum items also tasted like as they should, the Fun Gor with right amounts of peanuts, cassava, chives, dry prawns and pork, etc. ~ 8-10/10
Salted Duck Egg coated Fried Prawns with Scrambled Milk -
Another Signature dish here, it can be slightly heavy overall but who doesn't like this combination once in a while? Plus despite the slightly crunchy thickish batter, it had enough egg yolk flavor to support it. ~ 8/10
Ja Zhi Fried Chicken -
This was my less favorite dish. There is nothing particularly wrong with it, however the Skin could be even more wafer crispy and less oily, and the chicken meat was partially rougher at the leaner white meat parts. There are better versions in town even in Wedding Banquet restaurants, so this was surprising to me... ~ 6.5/10
Fried Glutinous Rice with Preserved Sausages -
This was a total Winner. I cannot remember a better version in town. Rice was flavorful chewy, coated with preserved pork oil, yet not greasy. Couldn't wait to order this dish here again. ~ 9/10
Fried Jin Dui Dumplings -
These days you expect them to have some kind of custardy or egg yolk, even matcha fillings. This was fried well and the dumpling skins were not overly thick, a common problem at most shops. But at the end of the day this is expectable, considering even a traditional Congee shop sells this item... N/A
White Sesame Ma Yung Bao with Duck Eggyolk 麻蓉包 -
Another Classic Dim Sum, the best version in town is arguably Luk Yu Teahouse, although Lin Heung might also give it a run for its money. The version here had good bread again, consistent with bread-y items here. Overall it was elegant, but it needed more Pork Lard and probably sesame toasting, to bring out the Sesame fragrance expected of this item. ~ 7.5/10
Red Bean Soup and White Almond Dessert Soup -
Both were the healthier less sweet type. The red bean with a gritty liquid, with a tinge of tangerine peel. The Golden standard for Red bean soup in HK is at Yung Kee Restaurant.... if that sets a 9.5/10 benchmark, I would say this version here stands at around a 7.5/10. Overall, and with the Dim Sum items hovering around the HKD $58-68 mark, and other dishes in the same ballpark as most Hotel Restaurants, I still thought the two visits were very consistent and of higher quality than many lauded places in town! And would recommend here as most dishes were great, bar the Chicken dish that was unexpectedly off one time...
Price: HKD $200-450 Per Person + 10% (1 Visit Privately, 1 Visit as New Years Media Lunch)
Food: ♕♕♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕♕
Address: 銅鑼灣怡和街88號富豪香港酒店3樓
3/F, Regal Hong Kong Hotel, 88 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay
Ph: +852 28371773
