Lei Garden restaurant review: Upmarket dim sum for special occasions
- We find Hong Kong’s hottest eats ’n’ treats
Crispy Roasted Pork Lei Garden
10/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay
Tel: 2506 3828
Grub: Cantonese dim sum
Vibe: Slightly upscale Chinese restaurant. You PROBABLY won’t get the same sort of rowdy family crowd here as you normally find in your local cha lau, but it’ll still be full and lively thanks to its Michelin star status.
Who to take: You parents or your grandparents. Whether you’re celebrating a particularly good score on your homework or exam, a promotion at your weekend job or you simply fancy treating your fam to good food you know they’ll love, Lei Garden will be a surefire winner. They’ll be bragging about it to their friends for weeks!
What’s hot: While it is impeccably tiny (the entire portion is no bigger than the size of your palm) and pricey (HK$135), the Crispy Roasted Pork is a must-order. The top is crunchy and savoury, and the balance between the fat and the meat layers is just right.
The Chilled Mango Paste with Grapefruit & Sago (HK$40) is very refreshing and great to have when the days are still relatively warm. The mango is sweet and we enjoyed the various textures within the dessert. We liked the Sweet Dumplings with Sesame Filling (HK$33) even more - the mochi-like outside was sweet and chewy and provided a nice contrast to the sesame paste inside.
What’s not: The Preserved Meat Clay Pot Rice (HK$135) will probably be a hit with your older relatives, but we just didn’t love it as much as we had hoped we would. The rice was nice and crispy, but the meats were a little overpowering.
Sadly, as much as we love salted egg yolk buns, the ones we were served (HK$45) weren’t great. There didn’t seem to be as much filling as there should have been, and what there was didn’t have that salted kick to it.
Cost: Appetizers cost HK$30-HK$88. Soups are HK$218-HK$328. Mains are HK$50-HK$360 (LOTS more for the fancier delicacies). Desserts are between HK$26 and HK$198. There is a tea charge of HK$14 per person.