Cantonese Seafood @ Tsui Hang Village Restaurant, Hong Kong

I have a confession. I like Groupon. I love the concept behind it, and this year I have already enjoyed saving money on a variety of stuff, like a photo shoot, a hair cut package, boxing classes and restaurant deals. It's a sweet way of getting around Hong Kong without breaking the bank. (Australia has a similar clone called Scoopon, which is the reason why Groupon isn't in Australia.) One of the deals I recently got was a Deluxe Supreme Seafood Set for half price at Tsui Hang Village Restaurant. This is a popular Cantonese restaurant that has been recommended by a number of prestigious guides, and I love seafood, so I didn't really think too hard before purchasing the deal. Last Friday was a busy day, so I decided to make life easier for me that night by having dinner out.

The restaurant's dining area was huge! Typically Chinese decor, but in a nice way, and I can see this venue being used to hold large wedding banquets and the like. Service was pretty good, and although many of the waitstaff don't speak English, this restaurant caters well to the foreigners and it is quite popular with both the expats and the more well-off locals. The food was tasty, but in a what-you'd-expect-from-a-Chinese-restaurant way, if you get what I mean (high in sodium and unsubtle flavours are what comes to mind). I think we also scored an additional dish than what we were entitled to in the Groupon deal.

The freebie (and the only non-seafood) dish: Charsiew, quite nicely done:

Abalone and Diced seafood in Lobster Broth Thick Soup - very tasty, and the abalone wasn't too tough or chewy like it can sometimes be when not prepared properly:

Sauteed Prawns in Crispy Basket - juicy tender prawns, prepared the way that Chinese restaurants always manages to get right:

Sauteed Eel Skewer - this one was very average, on the greasy side:

Pan-fried Minced Dried Oyster Wrapped in Lettuce - nice seafood take on the classic Sang Choy Bao:

Sliced Thick Noodles and Shredded Crabmeat in Soup - I think it's a little strange having two soup courses in one meal, but I love soups, and this was quite tasty:

Crispy Egg Puff Coated with Honey served together with Creamy Almond Sweet Soup with Bird’s Nest. The egg puff was like a pastry twist that was deep-fried, coated in honey and sprinkled with sesames. Nice, but only in small amounts because it is extremely sweet. The almond soup was reminiscent of almond jelly, of which I am not a big fan. I love almonds, especially roasted, but I cannot not appreciate the aroma in marzipan and almond jelly, which is due to small amounts of benzaldehyde that is found in the bitter almond variety:

We also ordered an additional dish of fried rice for the 2-year-old, with special requests to exclude soy, nuts and sesame due to his food allergies. Fried rice is Zak's most-requested lunch at home, and it goes without saying that the boy really enjoyed his dinner that evening.

Half-order of the Special Fried Rice with Conpoy, Salted fish and Roast Duck:

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The food wasn't anything outstanding, but I think that Tsui Hang Village would be a great restaurant if you want good Cantonese food in a nice setting. Apparently they do good dim sum too.

Tsui Hang Village
G/F, Miramar Shopping Centre
132-134 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel. +85 2 2376 2882

I am still working on photos from the Florence leg of our Italy trip, and will soon have up on my blog the photos of the beautiful sights and delicious food of Florence. Stay tuned!