Thursday, September 18, 2008
Yung Kee
Yung Kee is a restaurant located on Wellington Street in the Central District of Hong Kong. Founded by Kam Shui Fai in 1942 from a ''dai pai dong'' streetside café, it has developed into a Hong Kong institution centered around their world-renownedhttp://www.yungkee.com.hk/award/award-e.html roasted meats, most notably the and . While Yung Kee has both a dine-in and take-out sections, with a premium being charged for dine-in. The quality and consistency are mostly uniform according to critics, but many locals claim a continuing deterioration in both food quality and service standards over the past decade or two.
Yauatcha
Yauatcha is a restaurant in Broadwick Street, Soho, London, England, specializing in dim sum.
The restaurant was created in 2004 by Alan Yau, who previously created the Wagamama and Busaba Eathai restaurant chains and the more expensive Hakkasan restaurant, also in London. Like Hakkasan, Yauatcha has gained a Michelin star rating, in 2005.
In April 2005, the British magazine released its fourth annual global ranking of the and Yauatcha was rated 43rd in the list .
In January 2008, Yau sold a majority interest in Yauatcha and Hakkasan to Tasameem, part of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Previous Chinese London restaurants awarded a Michelin star have been Lee Ho Fook in Soho , Poons of Covent Garden , Tiger Lee in Earls Court , and The Oriental at the Dorchester .
The restaurant was created in 2004 by Alan Yau, who previously created the Wagamama and Busaba Eathai restaurant chains and the more expensive Hakkasan restaurant, also in London. Like Hakkasan, Yauatcha has gained a Michelin star rating, in 2005.
In April 2005, the British magazine released its fourth annual global ranking of the and Yauatcha was rated 43rd in the list .
In January 2008, Yau sold a majority interest in Yauatcha and Hakkasan to Tasameem, part of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Previous Chinese London restaurants awarded a Michelin star have been Lee Ho Fook in Soho , Poons of Covent Garden , Tiger Lee in Earls Court , and The Oriental at the Dorchester .
Wong Kei
Wong Kei is a famous restaurant in . No exact figures are known but it is estimated to be one of the largest Chinese restaurants in the UK with seating for around 500 diners, second only to Mr Chu's China Palace in Kingston upon Hull.
Wong Kei is situated at 41-43 Wardour Street, which used to belong to Willy Clarkson , a famous theatrical wig maker and costumier, as attested by the 1966 blue plaque on the facade.
It was designed by the architect H. M. Wakley. Inscriptions record that the wig-making business was established in 1833, that Sarah Bernhardt laid the foundation stone of the present building in 1904 and Sir Henry Irving the coping stone in 1905. Street directories show that Clarkson's occupied the premises from 1905 until 1940.
The building contains four storeys and a garret. The front, with a width of three broad windows, is designed in a style combining Baroque and art nouveau forms, realised in brick and green stone with buff stone dressings. The doorway is centred between display windows, and at either end of the ground floor an pilaster with garlanded capital supports a great bracket-stop upon which stands a large urn with a tall conical top.
The outer windows of the three floors above are in canted bays faced with green stone and contained in tall recesses, three storeys high, with stone surrounds finished with segmental pediments broken to receive small iron-railed balconies serving a pedimented dormer behind, and beneath each balcony is a large foliated .
On either side of the flat-headed central first-floor window is a , one inscribed 'Estb. 1833', the other 'Rebt. 1904'. From the centre of the second floor is suspended on wrought-iron brackets a double faced clock inscribed 'Costumier Perruquier' on both sides. On either side of the door metal plaques record the visits of Bernhardt and Irving mentioned above.
In 1972, another Chinese restaurant, called Lee Ho Fook occupied the ground floor of the building.
The address is also used by a distributor/wholesaler established in 2000 called Aarton.
In 2004, the restaurant was refurbished and the staff lost their usual white shirts for red or black branded t-shirt sporting the slogan "upstairs downstairs" in reference to how customers are allocated seating positions. These T-Shirts are also available for sale. The waiters tend to sit parties upon their group size e.g. single diners are seated in the ground floor front dining area , parties with children are seated in the ground floor back area and business party groups are almost always seated in the smarter first floor area. Most of the seating is shared and requests for non-shared seating are often ignored.
Diners are provided with chopsticks, a napkin and a Chinese soup spoon; if a knife and fork is needed it has to be requested. On every table there is plastic plate with a small bottle of soy sauce, and a glass of a condiment with a small steel spoon. Every customer gets a free pot of Chinese tea with unlimited refills. To request a refill, one leaves the teapot lid open.
The current restaurant is spread over five floors, from the basement up to the third floor. The kitchens are on the top floor with food being transferred using small food elevators. Sections of the building, the rear of the first floor and the top floor are only opened at the busiest times.
Restaurant security is also very well coordinated through an internal telephone system. In case of an incident, large numbers of waiters will appear in the area of the incident within seconds.
Wong Kei is popular with locals and tourists, serving Chinese food at low prices. Its reputation has been built despite the rudeness and bad behavior of its waiters and sharpness of the service - in fact, these are considered by most regulars to be part of the experience but the general opinion is that this service has mellowed in recent years.
Customer opinions of this restaurant are very varied. Online feedback made about Wong Kei illustrates this. Most online negative feedback appears to be come from one-off customers whereas positive feedback appears to be coming from more regular customers. Wong Kei is not your average restaurant by any means and has an almost cult following.
Most regular diners would agree that this restaurant has very authentic Hong Kong/Chinese cuisine from a variety of regions. There are always numerous Chinese/Hong Kong origin customers here. The menu is extensive and expanded by the fact that ordering off the menu is allowed. The amount of choices must run into the thousands.
The usuals are all there: Duck with Pancakes, Prawn Crackers, Spring Rolls, Sesame Seed Prawn toast, Chicken and Sweetcorn soup, Singapore Fried Noodles etc.
The most popular and better Menu choices at Wong Keis however are just one plate meals based around rice and noodle dishes with meat or vegetables. Noodles come in the plain, fried, Ho fun or Udon types. The most popular include Monks Vegetables, Barbecue Pork , Crisy Pork, Roast Chicken , Roasted Duck, Shredded Duck, Stewed Pork and Beansprout, Beef and Tomato, Beef with Vegetables, Pork Chop, etc.
The fact that some of the sole meats i.e. Crispy Pork are served cold may surprise new customers. As do the egg-based dishes, which although popular with the Oriental customers, may not be as well-cooked as Western tastes are used to.
Other options include the Congee meals. The Deep Fried Chilli Salt Squid is also a very popular choice as are the many tofu-based menu items.
The noodle-based soups are also widely eaten. They are often so large that many diners just go for a soup alone as a meal.
The Building
Wong Kei is situated at 41-43 Wardour Street, which used to belong to Willy Clarkson , a famous theatrical wig maker and costumier, as attested by the 1966 blue plaque on the facade.
It was designed by the architect H. M. Wakley. Inscriptions record that the wig-making business was established in 1833, that Sarah Bernhardt laid the foundation stone of the present building in 1904 and Sir Henry Irving the coping stone in 1905. Street directories show that Clarkson's occupied the premises from 1905 until 1940.
The building contains four storeys and a garret. The front, with a width of three broad windows, is designed in a style combining Baroque and art nouveau forms, realised in brick and green stone with buff stone dressings. The doorway is centred between display windows, and at either end of the ground floor an pilaster with garlanded capital supports a great bracket-stop upon which stands a large urn with a tall conical top.
The outer windows of the three floors above are in canted bays faced with green stone and contained in tall recesses, three storeys high, with stone surrounds finished with segmental pediments broken to receive small iron-railed balconies serving a pedimented dormer behind, and beneath each balcony is a large foliated .
On either side of the flat-headed central first-floor window is a , one inscribed 'Estb. 1833', the other 'Rebt. 1904'. From the centre of the second floor is suspended on wrought-iron brackets a double faced clock inscribed 'Costumier Perruquier' on both sides. On either side of the door metal plaques record the visits of Bernhardt and Irving mentioned above.
In 1972, another Chinese restaurant, called Lee Ho Fook occupied the ground floor of the building.
The address is also used by a distributor/wholesaler established in 2000 called Aarton.
Current Establishment
In 2004, the restaurant was refurbished and the staff lost their usual white shirts for red or black branded t-shirt sporting the slogan "upstairs downstairs" in reference to how customers are allocated seating positions. These T-Shirts are also available for sale. The waiters tend to sit parties upon their group size e.g. single diners are seated in the ground floor front dining area , parties with children are seated in the ground floor back area and business party groups are almost always seated in the smarter first floor area. Most of the seating is shared and requests for non-shared seating are often ignored.
Diners are provided with chopsticks, a napkin and a Chinese soup spoon; if a knife and fork is needed it has to be requested. On every table there is plastic plate with a small bottle of soy sauce, and a glass of a condiment with a small steel spoon. Every customer gets a free pot of Chinese tea with unlimited refills. To request a refill, one leaves the teapot lid open.
The current restaurant is spread over five floors, from the basement up to the third floor. The kitchens are on the top floor with food being transferred using small food elevators. Sections of the building, the rear of the first floor and the top floor are only opened at the busiest times.
Restaurant security is also very well coordinated through an internal telephone system. In case of an incident, large numbers of waiters will appear in the area of the incident within seconds.
Reputation
Wong Kei is popular with locals and tourists, serving Chinese food at low prices. Its reputation has been built despite the rudeness and bad behavior of its waiters and sharpness of the service - in fact, these are considered by most regulars to be part of the experience but the general opinion is that this service has mellowed in recent years.
Customer opinions of this restaurant are very varied. Online feedback made about Wong Kei illustrates this. Most online negative feedback appears to be come from one-off customers whereas positive feedback appears to be coming from more regular customers. Wong Kei is not your average restaurant by any means and has an almost cult following.
Menu
Most regular diners would agree that this restaurant has very authentic Hong Kong/Chinese cuisine from a variety of regions. There are always numerous Chinese/Hong Kong origin customers here. The menu is extensive and expanded by the fact that ordering off the menu is allowed. The amount of choices must run into the thousands.
The usuals are all there: Duck with Pancakes, Prawn Crackers, Spring Rolls, Sesame Seed Prawn toast, Chicken and Sweetcorn soup, Singapore Fried Noodles etc.
The most popular and better Menu choices at Wong Keis however are just one plate meals based around rice and noodle dishes with meat or vegetables. Noodles come in the plain, fried, Ho fun or Udon types. The most popular include Monks Vegetables, Barbecue Pork , Crisy Pork, Roast Chicken , Roasted Duck, Shredded Duck, Stewed Pork and Beansprout, Beef and Tomato, Beef with Vegetables, Pork Chop, etc.
The fact that some of the sole meats i.e. Crispy Pork are served cold may surprise new customers. As do the egg-based dishes, which although popular with the Oriental customers, may not be as well-cooked as Western tastes are used to.
Other options include the Congee meals. The Deep Fried Chilli Salt Squid is also a very popular choice as are the many tofu-based menu items.
The noodle-based soups are also widely eaten. They are often so large that many diners just go for a soup alone as a meal.
Star Seafood Floating Restaurant
The Star Seafood Restaurant, formerly named as the Treasure Floating Restaurant, is the only restaurant built with granite taking on the shape of a ship berthing along shore.
It is situated at the eastern shore of Shing Mun River near the junction of Siu Lek Yuen Road and Tai Chung Kiu Road. It provides Cantonese dim sum, cuisines and seafood.
Image:Ming Sing Seafood Restaurant View2.jpg|Full view
Image:Ming Sing Seafood Restaurant Enterance.jpg|Lion entrance
Image:Ming Sing Seafood Restaurant View1.jpg|Decorations
It is situated at the eastern shore of Shing Mun River near the junction of Siu Lek Yuen Road and Tai Chung Kiu Road. It provides Cantonese dim sum, cuisines and seafood.
Gallery
Image:Ming Sing Seafood Restaurant View2.jpg|Full view
Image:Ming Sing Seafood Restaurant Enterance.jpg|Lion entrance
Image:Ming Sing Seafood Restaurant View1.jpg|Decorations
Shun Lee Palace
Shun Lee Palace is one of several New York City Chinese restaurants that claims to have invented the popular dish General Tso's chicken. The owner claims that crispy sea bass and orange crispy beef were also invented at the restaurant; but as with General Tso's chicken, this claim is uncorroborated. . It is located at 155 E 55th St. between Lexington and 3rd Avenues, and opened in 1971. This site is known as Shun Lee East.
They have a second restaurant, called Shun Lee West , which is attached to a less expensive sister restaurant, the Shun Lee Cafe, at 43 West 65th Street near Lincoln Center. It serves such dishes as Szechuan Alligator, which the menu describes as "crispy chunks of tender alligator showered with Szechuan sauce".
In a 2003 interview, proprietor Michael Tong estimated that 70% of his customers are Jewish and that he goes out of his way to accommodate them - including being open on Christmas and catering to Kosher customers.
They have a second restaurant, called Shun Lee West , which is attached to a less expensive sister restaurant, the Shun Lee Cafe, at 43 West 65th Street near Lincoln Center. It serves such dishes as Szechuan Alligator, which the menu describes as "crispy chunks of tender alligator showered with Szechuan sauce".
In a 2003 interview, proprietor Michael Tong estimated that 70% of his customers are Jewish and that he goes out of his way to accommodate them - including being open on Christmas and catering to Kosher customers.
Sea Hi Famous Chinese Restaurant
Sea Hi Famous Chinese Restaurant is a famous restaurant in the heart of Toronto's Jewish enclave. The restaurant has been at the Bathurst Street location since the 1950s. The interior is decorated like the typical chop suey style of the 1950s and 1960s.
It has been featured in a 2005 movie Where the Truth Lies.
It has been featured in a 2005 movie Where the Truth Lies.
Rice King
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