巴依餐廳 Ba Yi Restaurant [Hong Kong] - Xin Jiang Cuisine in Hong Kong

  Ba Yi Restaurant in Sai Ying Poon area is one of the rarer Xinjiang and Uyghur based restaurants in Hong Kong,  and even carries a Michelin Recommendation.  It was actually my first time visiting here even though it's been on my radar, and luckily we had a sudden last minute change of plan.  They offer mostly Lamb and Camel dishes here,  with a few vegetarian options albeit they did run out of camel meat during this visit. 

The Menu was surprisingly quite Pricy in General -

Don't expect Ethnic cuisine in Hong Kong to be similar to China prices! 

Natural Yogurt - $28

Like an Ayran or a Lassi drink,  I expected much more flavors.  This wasn't very tangy sour and was quite bland or diluted,  albeit big in size...

Century Year Old Eggs on Tofu,  with Spicy Pickles -

We ordered two of these since we had quite a few people.  This was doused with quite a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce.  I wasn't entirely sure this is a Xinjiang Uyghur dish,  but it turned out to be the best and most normal dish this night.. and decent knife work to make it flower petal shaped  ~ 8/10

Minced Lamb with Flat Bread - $68

The bread is like a Roti or Pita style crepe.  This is a typical dish in the North, from Beijing to further upwards, although it's origins could be traceable more towards India or the Middle-East?  The minced lamb had little flavors, and were totally under seasoned,  also dry gritty.  Probably the worst of such a similar dish I have had in many years,  a child could cook and reheat this recipe better.  ~ 4/10

Roasted Lamb Leg on the Bone - $368

They ran out of many dishes here, including Cumin Lamb Skewers and any Camel based dishes, despite us arriving quite early.  We decided to order this instead.  When it arrived - we were second guessing what kind of spicy sauce it arrived with.... someone joked it's probably just Ketchup.  It really was ketchup *frowns*.  The meat was again way under seasoned compared to authentic Xinjiang Cuisine, also quite dry, and the surface was like it was steamed rather than spit roasted.  You could get way better in Shenzhen or anywhere within China.  ~ 6/10

Lamb Dumplings - $68

This turned out to be quite fair in price compared to other dishes.  The morsels are on the smaller size, with evenly folded skins. Inside, the mutton lamb taste was a bit muted and it wasn't that seasoned nor juicy.  They were edible but not memorable compared to my favorite shops in town, one which is just down the street from here.  ~ 6.5/10

Michelin Plates -

Actually I felt a bit 'robbed' personally at how mediocre the food tasted here, considering up in Shenzhen or many places in China especially in the North, such cuisine tastes completely different.  And Xinjiang cuisine also has sub-regional dishes but not many were presented here.  Everything tasted quite toned down,  and a lot of dishes were sold out early.  The quality of the food was so far off the mark from I am used to eating for Xinjiang cuisine,  I doubt I will be in a hurry to be back anytime soon... But then again,  food is subjective and it could just be me.

Price: HKD $200-300 + 10% Per Person
Food: ♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕

Address: G/F, 43 Water Street, Western District
西環水街43號地下
Ph: +852 24849981