Cheung Sha Wan (長沙灣) does not usually feature on a foodie’s list as a dining destination, even for many locals - but surprisingly, quite a few if not the best known Cha Chaan Tengs, Roast Meat shops, Tofu stalls or Restaurants are scattered right within this isolated area, which some shops are on the top of its game in HK! It’s intriguing enough that I’d planned several separate visits to this suburb, sampling a few of their famous shops for exploratory purposes. Hey, I don’t want to miss out on anything! This old styled Hong Kong Steak House is one of 2 most famous ones in the area (the other one being 愛群餐廳), and unlike many similar HK styled steakhouses the meat here is thankfully not over sodarised and flimsy... At least it retains a bit of naturalness and meat texture. *Since I am not a big fan of Hong Kong styled Steak Houses, I will personally stop short of recommending this as a must-visit, but I did think this place to be ok in the end.. 
Russian Borscht Soup -
This Hong Kong-nised Borscht soup is the result of some seriously misintepreted, fusionised soup without much traceability? Who can explain why it’s almost found in every local older styled Western restaurants? Unlike genuine Russian/Hungarian versions, these have no Beets whatsoever. I am glad that in Sheung Wan @ ABC Kitchen, Joe realised its time to make a more authentic version. In fact this HK Version tastes more like a Minestrone ! ~ 6/10
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Croissants -
The good thing about this steak house is that they give out croissants with pre-packed butter,
instead of the typical softish bread rolls in similar restaurants ~ 7/10
New Zealand Rib Eye (40% Cooked) with Black Pepper Sauce -
These come on the sizzling hot plate, so when you order the steaks to the degree of doneness, they automatically adjust to make it slightly rarer, before the plate’s heat finishes off the cooking and keeping it warm. I don’t normally like this style of tenderised HK Steak,
but this shop is ok enjoyable for the style of food it serves ~
7/10
Baked Big Prawn with Beef Filet and Demi-glace sauce -
Surf and Turf seems to be popular in such steak houses, the filet is a little bland and also not maillard-caramelised on the surface for me. Prawn seemed a bit frozen and unfresh. Yet, compared to its peers its already one of the better ones around ~ 6.9/10
Iced Lemon Tea -
A little weak in tea taste ~ 6/10
Vanilla Ice Cream -
Don’t expect Movenpick quality! ~ 5/10
Chinese Mango Pudding -
This didn’t have much mango taste, it was just creamy.
A disappointing finish! ~ 6/10
Price: $100 Per Person
Score: ★★★★☆☆
Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun: 07:00 - 00:00am
Address: 長沙灣青山道316號地下
Ph: 2361 1996
檢視較大的地圖
I thought HK style Borscht soup originated from Russian immigrants in Shanghai/China first, then the Chinese chefs up there who worked at restaurants that offered the soup, brought it to HK. Or so somewhere I read...thus old school place like Queen's Cafe (the setting for Wong Ka Wai movies, supposedly Shanghai-nese style Russian, whatever that means) and that one other place that KC reviewed but I don't remember the name, that is supposedly famous for it. The last time I had a really good borscht...probably in the mid 1980s around Sheung Wan/Wing On area, a place coincidentally named Yung Kee or something like that, and they were also famous for peanut nougat candy. Tai Ping Koon had an ok one. But Cheung Sa Wan being a good food locale? That's interesting!
ReplyDeleteDear Beef No Guy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know how we came about adapting this HK-Shanghai Borscht soup ;), which also reminds me of HK-Shanghainese Dan Dan Mein. Actually I quite like these and usually choose them over the creamy corn/mushroom soup. Its just that I found it strange it has taken up until 2010 in HK for some local guy to think stuff yous, I'll buck the trend and make the authentic version! (Aside from the existing Russian places or defunct Hungarian/Polish restaurant which was on Wyndham St before, etc.)
Another funny thing - Olala boss 肥仔周 once commented that some other restaurant's Bouillabaisse soup is too watery thin, therefore its wrong and needs to be thickened. However he is judging this based solely on his HK standards ... a real bouillabaisse is actually more like a watery stew, much like a Spanish sopa de pescado, or say a meat equivalent in Italy bollito misto. That thicker seafood soup is more of a bisque.
And as locals become so used to eating the non-traditional versions served daily, most proprietors do not dare make the right version, another example being melting Chocolate Fondant Cake. As it'll just invite people to bag them online on Openrice or Blogs. I think they could solve this misunderstanding, by correctly explaining the dishes intention on the menu to the customers!