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It was in
September of 2014 that I last walked down the steps to the dining room of
Ho Lee Fook (口利福). By that time I had already decided not to patronize outlets run by Black Sheep Restaurants, but made an exception to join The Great One on her review of the then-newly-opened restaurant. I managed to walk out alive and did not require any trips to the hospital, and since then have chosen not to tempt fate any further. My long-running boycott of Black Sheep continued for the next 10 years, and all my friends knew not to invite me when they chose to give them business.
My stance softened after a meeting with the restaurant group's founder in the middle of last year, and I did pay a visit to one of their restaurants for a casual lunch not long after. But I was otherwise in no rush to explore the restaurants in their portfolio, as I mostly stuck to places I am comfortable going to. There had to be a good reason for me to want to patronize one of their outlets.
That reason arrived on a flight from London today. S is back in town and wanted to check off more places on her hit list, and the first one was Ho Lee Fook. I did tell her that I was no longer averse to patronize Black Sheep Restaurants, and I would be willing to join her if she made the arrangements. So here I am... and I even roped in a couple of guys to come with us.
My friend had been in touch with Gabe about menu arrangements, and since I hadn't been here for 10 years, I left the choice entirely up to her. I knew that we would be getting some seafood from the market, the preparations of which sounded surprisingly traditional for a restaurant with a reputation for serving what Foursheets calls "
gweilo-friendly Chinese food".
“Prawn Toast x Okonomiyaki”, Kewpie mayonnaise, Bull-Dog Sauce, shaved cabbage, aonori (「蝦多士 x 大阪燒」配丘比蛋黃醬、日式喼汁、椰菜絲及紫菜) - we were told that this has been "on the menu for 10 years", although I didn't manage to taste it the last time I was here.
While this was, indeed, a Cantonese prawn toast in the sense that it's got a big pile of prawn mousse encased in a piece of a thick, crispy slice of fried toast, the flavors were definitely Japanese... thanks to the presence of Kewpie mayo, Bull-Dog Worcestershire sauce, shaved
katsuobushi (鰹節), and shredded raw cabbage.
Steamed Macau sole (蒸金邊方利) - I knew we were getting a "catch-of-the-day" and getting it steamed, but it was a nice surprise to find that it would be Macau sole. Funny that the last time S was in town, we also got served a
live Macau sole at Wing (永).
Gabe was kind enough to come and serve the fish to us.
I gotta say... the steamed fish was surprisingly legit! It tasted as if it had come out of a traditional Cantonese kitchen, without any flavors influenced by non-Cantonese cuisine. Definitely not "fake Chinese food"... And the texture was very, very nice - meaning the execution was on point.
Wok-fried mud crab with chili and black beans (豆豉辣椒炒蟹) - Gabe explained that this isn't the stereo typical typhoon shelter crab (避風塘炒蟹), but inspired by the one at
Hing Kee (避風塘興記). While the sauce was good, unfortunately the same couldn't be said of the crab itself. I found it a little "skinny"... meaning there wasn't as much meat inside the hard shell as I had expected. The crab meat was also a little more raw than what I am used to. Oh well.
Lower quarter of roast goose, aromatic soy sauce, plum sauce (明爐燒鵝配滷水汁及酸梅醬) plus
Kurobuta pork char siu, honey-glazed charcoal-grilled (炭火蜜汁黑豚叉燒) - another surprise... having classic Cantonese roast meats here. I could taste a little more five spice (五香) and star anise in the goose, but the skin wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. For the
char siu, I was a little surprised that the cut wasn't as marbled and fatty as many others in town, but this was still very tender and got some smoky flavors from chargrilling.
Baby cucumber flower, salt pork, garlic, chillies (蒜辣鹹肉炒青瓜花) - I'm so happy this was ordered as I love baby cucumber flowers, and they're even better when stir-fried with salted fatty pork. Slurp.
As this was my first time here in a long time, I was curious about the skillz of the kitchen with the wok, so I added something that would be a good measure of that. Grateful that the kitchen comped us the dish.
Wok-fried flat rice noodle, wagyu beef tongue, Royal Soy Sauce, onion, yellow chives, bean sprouts, toasted sesame seeds (干炒和牛舌陳村粉) - this was pretty tasty, and the
wok hei (鑊氣) was decent. Happy with this.
I was not in the mood to share my desserts, and I wanted not one but two of them. I was in for a little shock when they arrived, though... Having to eat both of these myself was a little too much.
Pandan milk bread French toast, peanut butter, smoked maple syrup, toasted coconut, coconut gelato (斑蘭花生醬西多士配煙燻楓糖醬，烤椰絲及椰子意式雪糕) - two slices of thick toast, and very crunchy on the outside. Definitely looks like a Hong Kong-style French toast, especially with the peanut butter inside. But I couldn't taste the pandan, and neither could the others who shared another serving among themselves. I tried very hard to shove it all in, and I think I did well despite not suceeding.
"Yuenyeung", milk tea gelato, coffee granita, hazelnut feuilletine, caramelized chocolate mousse (「鴛鴦」奶茶意式雪糕，咖啡刨冰，榛子脆片，焦糖朱古力慕斯) - this was a lot more enjoyable for me, but I love any dessert with coffee flavor. This one I did manage to polish off by myself.
We did finish with the
fortune cookie, but we all had the same fortune inside. Bummer...
The Zhongmeister and I always bring wine to our dinners, but I haven't been to a Black Sheep restaurant for more than 10 years and didn't bother to check their corkage policy beforehand. With corkage at a steep HKD 800 per bottle, we decided to order bottles from the restaurant list on a 1-for-1 basis, as that was less painful to swallow... and I chose to explore their offerings from China.
2022 Xige Jade Dove Rosé - the nose was pretty fragrant and fruity, nice and toasty.
2013 Ygrec - served 45 minutes after opening. Initial hit of glycerin with the nose being highly alcoholic, followed by flint and toasty notes.
2009 Clinet - started drinking about 1½ hours after decanting. Very nice on the nose with some smoke, lovely woodsy and minty notes. Good concentration on the palate but already rounded with some age.
Our evening ended later than I expected, but it was a pretty fun night out. Must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the classic Canto dishes which turned out pretty legit. The best part, though, was going in incognito without either of the chefs knowing who I am despite greeting us at the table, and even B Best had no idea I was showing up until I had left. Ah... the places that S manages to make me go...
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