Decent dim sum @ Heichinrou (Causeway Bay Times Square), Hong Kong

Although I have been a mum for almost 5 years, it never fails to amaze me how often we have to buy clothes and shoes for our boy. The biggest pinch is that kids clothes and shoes are more expensive than the things I buy for myself! My boy usually outgrows the stuff before they get worn out, but last weekend we had to replace his shoes only after a mere 6 months because he'd managed to wear them out rather well - either that, or Crocs don't manufacture good kids' shoes that are durable. That was the first and probably the last time we'll buy that brand. We headed to Times Square for our latest shopping expedition, but the first thing we did upon arrival was to fill our tummies with food to prepare ourselves for the task ahead. Times Square, like any shopping areas in Hong Kong, is always packed to the brim on weekends, and about 15 minutes before arrival, I did a quick internet search for good restaurants in the area to make table reservations so we didn't have to queue. Thankfully I managed to get a table on the second phone call I made (my first choice was fully-booked for the next 3 hours, and I wasn't going to wait that long for lunch!), at a Chinese restaurant called Heichinrou. This restaurant brand originated in Yokohama Chinatown in Japan, with a history that dates back to 1884. I found it rather ironic that we were eating Guangdong-style Chinese food in HK from a restaurant with Japanese origins. Heichinrou is a popular option for yum cha, and it was operating at almost full capacity when we arrived at 11:45am.

Fairly large and reasonably nice-looking dining area:

The service we received was adequate, certainly better than your typical 'Hong Kong-style' service, but not really much to speak of. Staff was willing to take allergy requests (it helps to have the allergies written down in Chinese characters), and our son could enjoy the egg tarts, the prawn dumplings and the BBQ pork bun. There was an English dim sum menu, and also a number of a-la-carte items but they were on a Chinese menu. We played it safe and ordered mostly classic dim sum dishes, and we found the food to be pretty good and reasonably priced.

As predicted, the sweet items were served first. The Egg Tarts were quite nice, but we wished the pastry had more of a buttery flavour:

A single order of Fried Rice for the boy, who especially liked the large juicy prawns:

Chicken with Sliced Jelly Noodles, a cold dish. The translucent noodles were shaved thickly, and the dish was dressed in a tasty sauce:

A dim sum staple, Har Gow (shrimp dumplings). The wrapper was a bit sticky so one dumpling tore open while I was trying to pick it up, but the other three stayed intact. The shrimp filling was fresh and delicious:

Another staple, the Har Cheong (shrimp rice noodle roll), with the sauce served on the side. The sauce lacked the sweetness that we associate with this dish, but the shrimp rolls were perfectly enjoyable:

Char Siu Bao (barbecued pork bun), which was soft and fluffy with a tasty pork filling:

The Lor Mai Kai (glutinous rice with chicken wrapped in lotus leaf) was decent, but I wished there was more filling. Hubby thought it was pretty good, but he had the first helping, so we suspect that most of the filling were contained in the portion that he took:

This item was part of a selection on the menu that is available only on weekends and public holidays: Pan-fried Taro Cake. At this point in the meal we were so full that we probably didn't enjoy this to its full potential. Hubby said he preferred the radish cake that we usually ordered. I enjoyed the taro cake with the spicy XO sauce provided on the table:

We left the restaurant satiated and fueled for the shopping task ahead. Hopefully the new pair of shoes will last a bit longer!

Heichinrou (Causeway Bay Times Square)
Shop No. 1102, 11/F
Times Square
1 Matheson Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel. + 85 2 2506 2333