Ming Court, Mong Kok
Mong Kok is well known for its red light district, street food and outdoor market. Who would think that the Langham Hotel group would open a hotel in this area? Not only has the Langham Place Hotel become one of the landmarks this side of the harbour, its contemporary Chinese restaurant Ming Court has been awarded two Michelin stars for three consecutive years. Two Michelin stars means ‘Excellent cuisine, worth a detour’, and to me Ming Court is definitely worth a detour.
The restaurant is made up of two main dining areas - Ming Sun and Ming Moon. They are both decorated with Chinese fine arts, and walls of Ming Dynasty pottery replicas. In addition to the regular menu, there is also a section of award-winning and signature dishes, featuring some unexpected ingredients such as truffles and cheese. Ming Court is also well known for its extensive selection of wine, and there are more than three hundred bottles of wine stored in the 'Ming Cellar'. Each of the featured dish has a recommended wine, which is rarely seen in a Chinese restaurant.
Moving on to the food...
Stir fried fresh prawns with egg white – A good plate of Chinese fried egg has to be fresh and silky smooth ’嫩滑’, which is hard to achieve using a wok. The chef in Ming Court has showcased this skill in this signature dish. The prawns were shelled, and lightly fried with part of the egg white. The remaining egg white was gently cooked to form several snowy layers, before being placed on top of the prawns to form a wobbly mountain. The prawn heads were deep fried to provide an intense flavour from the brown meat, which was a big contrast to the subtle taste of the eggs and prawns. I loved the idea of the crispy Shiso leaves, where the citrus flavour and saltiness brought the whole dish together beautifully.
Braised flaming Japanese Kurobuta pork loin in red wine sauce – Although I am not sure how much the flame contributed to the taste, it was certainly an impressive display. The main ingredient, Kurobuta pork, was of high quality and extremely tender. It is uncommon to use red wine in Chinese cuisine, but the chef has brilliantly brought this into the sauce to give depth of flavour. It was relatively sweet compared to a western red wine reduction.
Stir fried minced pigeon and pine nuts, served with lettuce - A twist on the common ‘lettuce wrap’.
Braised sliced giant garoupa with wheat gluten in sweet bean sauce - The meaty garoupa was caramelised on the outside before being braised with the wheat gluten in the sweet bean sauce. The gluten was elastic and tasted a bit like tofu, soaking up all the essence of the sauce. It was heavenly.
Award winning fried rice with silky chicken and dried scallops in Shao Xing wine - Silky chicken is normally used in making Chinese soup, which claims to help maintain good health because of the higher protein content compared to a normal chicken. The fragrance from the dried scallops, together with a hint of Shao Xing wine, made this a perfect end to the meal.
Ming Court is a fine dining restaurant featuring modern Cantonese cuisine at its best. There are no noodle making performances, no beautiful sea view, just magnificent cooking with quality ingredients.
This is the last Hong Kong post of 2011. I have a back log of London restaurants to cover before the end of this year, so I am putting the rest of the Hong Kong posts (mainly Japanese restaurants) on hold. Please see here to read what I have covered so far.
明閣 Ming Court
Mong Kok is well known for its red light district, street food and outdoor market. Who would think that the Langham Hotel group would open a hotel in this area? Not only has the Langham Place Hotel become one of the landmarks this side of the harbour, its contemporary Chinese restaurant Ming Court has been awarded two Michelin stars for three consecutive years. Two Michelin stars means ‘Excellent cuisine, worth a detour’, and to me Ming Court is definitely worth a detour.
The restaurant is made up of two main dining areas - Ming Sun and Ming Moon. They are both decorated with Chinese fine arts, and walls of Ming Dynasty pottery replicas. In addition to the regular menu, there is also a section of award-winning and signature dishes, featuring some unexpected ingredients such as truffles and cheese. Ming Court is also well known for its extensive selection of wine, and there are more than three hundred bottles of wine stored in the 'Ming Cellar'. Each of the featured dish has a recommended wine, which is rarely seen in a Chinese restaurant.
Moving on to the food...
Stir fried fresh prawns with egg white – A good plate of Chinese fried egg has to be fresh and silky smooth ’嫩滑’, which is hard to achieve using a wok. The chef in Ming Court has showcased this skill in this signature dish. The prawns were shelled, and lightly fried with part of the egg white. The remaining egg white was gently cooked to form several snowy layers, before being placed on top of the prawns to form a wobbly mountain. The prawn heads were deep fried to provide an intense flavour from the brown meat, which was a big contrast to the subtle taste of the eggs and prawns. I loved the idea of the crispy Shiso leaves, where the citrus flavour and saltiness brought the whole dish together beautifully.
Braised flaming Japanese Kurobuta pork loin in red wine sauce – Although I am not sure how much the flame contributed to the taste, it was certainly an impressive display. The main ingredient, Kurobuta pork, was of high quality and extremely tender. It is uncommon to use red wine in Chinese cuisine, but the chef has brilliantly brought this into the sauce to give depth of flavour. It was relatively sweet compared to a western red wine reduction.
Stir fried minced pigeon and pine nuts, served with lettuce - A twist on the common ‘lettuce wrap’.
Braised sliced giant garoupa with wheat gluten in sweet bean sauce - The meaty garoupa was caramelised on the outside before being braised with the wheat gluten in the sweet bean sauce. The gluten was elastic and tasted a bit like tofu, soaking up all the essence of the sauce. It was heavenly.
Award winning fried rice with silky chicken and dried scallops in Shao Xing wine - Silky chicken is normally used in making Chinese soup, which claims to help maintain good health because of the higher protein content compared to a normal chicken. The fragrance from the dried scallops, together with a hint of Shao Xing wine, made this a perfect end to the meal.
Ming Court is a fine dining restaurant featuring modern Cantonese cuisine at its best. There are no noodle making performances, no beautiful sea view, just magnificent cooking with quality ingredients.
This is the last Hong Kong post of 2011. I have a back log of London restaurants to cover before the end of this year, so I am putting the rest of the Hong Kong posts (mainly Japanese restaurants) on hold. Please see here to read what I have covered so far.
明閣 Ming Court
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