Dim Sum @ Cuisine Cuisine, IFC - Hong Kong

My makankaki, LB is visiting Hong Kong next weekend. I'm so excited for her as I love the food in Hong Kong! My last visit to Hong Kong was at the end of July 2006. As usual, the trip was filled with lots of food and shopping. I was lucky that DS was there on a biz trip so I crashed in her room. DS had an afternoon flight to catch so we grabbed a quick dim sum lunch before she had to make a mad rush for the airport.

A place that came highly recommended for dim sum (but also came with a warning about the prices) was Cuisine Cuisine at International Finance Centre (ifc). The concierge at Hotel LKF told us that reservations were necessary and made one for us immediately after our enquiry on the evening before. She also told us that the view from the dining hall was impressive. She was right, the view from the dining hall was beautiful except for the haze. The ambience was posh and we were glad that we weren't too casually dressed. The service staff were so polished that one is bound to feel like Scruffysaurus Rex unless dressed appropriately.

We couldn't resist ordering the Roast Goose though we'd already eaten some at Yung Kee the day before. DS & I prefer the Roast Goose here as its less oily, the skin is more crisp and the meat just a little more tender. Though the price is slightly higher (about 15% difference, if I remember correctly) than that of Yung Kee, this is definitely a MUST-TRY because it tastes much better and is well worth the higher price! After such a good start to the meal, we were a little disappointed by the remaining dishes.

Cuisine Cuisine gives traditional Cantonese fare a modern twist. The Xiao Long Bao (steamed soup dumplings) came with prawn tails sticking out of it. It was fairly tasty but cannot compare with a well-prepared classic xiao long bao for the "bursting with soup oomph factor"!

We also had the Boiled Dumplings with Spicy Szechuan Chili Oil. As you can see from the picture, this interpretation is clearly a modern, health-conscious version. Its a nice deviation from the traditional ones which are served with the dumplings literally swimming in a pool of chili oil (sesame oil which have been infused with the tongue-numbing spiciness of Szechuan peppercorns). I needed more "heat" in this dish so I asked for more chili oil.

Upon the manager's recommendation, we had the Steamed Sharksfin Dumplings. It was pretty good but since DS & I were divers, we felt a little guilty about ordering and eating this dish. The dumpling's skin was not excessively thick and thus was smooth to the bite.

The Chee Cheong Fun (rolled rice sheets) stuffed with Preserved Vegetables and Pork was also a recommendation by the manager. This is an interesting variation of the usual stuffing of prawn or char siew. As we were getting a little too full by this point, we didn't really enjoy this dish.

Cuisine Cuisine 3101 - 3107, Podium Level 3, ifc mall, Central, Hong Kong Tel: +852 23-933-933 e-mail: inquiry@cuisinecuisine.hk

Operating Hours: Lunch : 12.00 pm to 2.30 pm (Mon - Fri) 11.00 am to 3.00 pm (Sat, Sun & Public Holiday) Dinner : 6.00 pm to 10.30pm