Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant

> Location : Alpha House Basement 27-33 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Shanghainese
> Tel. # : (852) 2366-7244
> Website : http://www.wukong.com.hk/

> Update (12/04/06): Visited the Wu Kong at Casueway Bay recently. I wanted to report two new dishes I had and the consistency of both restaurants. Overall, the quality / taste of the Tsim Sha Tsui compared to the Causeway Bay outlet is just as good. There's a slight difference in the menu (plus/subtract certain dishes) but the popular ones are intact.

One of the new dishes I had is the stewed pork in brown sauce. It's a very popular dish in Shanghai. Basically it's very soft and tender pork meat that melts in your mouth with a tasty/sweet brown sauce. With some vegetables on the bottom. Definitely great stuff with rice!

The other dish I had is the Fried yellow croaker cooked in wine sauce. This is an amazing dish. The fried fish is basically dipped in wine sauce before served. You still get a slight fried texture in your mouth, that common fish taste and that extra sensation of wine in your mouth. It is kind of like chicken in wine sauce but a bit more exciting!

I am definitely a fan of this place now! So check it out if you ever get a chance. I can safely give this place half an extra point now because of the consistency and the new dishes impressed me. I actually had xiao long bao again. The quality this time is a tad bit better than last. Anyhow, my verdict this time is...

< 4 1/2 out of 5 >

> Original Review: Shanghai cuisine can vary in taste because it derives a lot of its dishes from its surrounding neighbors. Yet, through the decades of the cuisine's evolution, naturally, it has become a cuisine of its own! From xiao long bao to sweet and sour spare ribs to various siu sik and wine flavored dishes, Shanghai cuisine definitely touches every part of one's taste bud. Recently, I visited one of the top-rated Shanghai restaraunt here in Hong Kong. This place is called Wu Kong! Wu Kong has two locations in Hong Kong: The main location is in Causeway Bay at Times Square's food forum and the second location is at Tsim Sha Tsui which is where I ate at.

Wu Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui location is located on the basement floor. The entrance is small and somewhat hidden but once inside, it is actually bigger than you would expect. The Ceiling of the place is kind of low (maybe just to me since i'm taller than the average asian, haha) but that shouldn't be a problem because the food will make it up! The service at Wu Kong is great and the menu is plentiful. In addition to all this, there place at night was packed! No empty seats and people still waiting outside to get in.

Now lets go straight to the dishes I had! First up we have some siu sik or in english, small dishes (dim sum). Braised Shanghai Wheat-Bran is the first to come. The wheat-bran contained a sweet-like flavor. On the side, there are some black fungus which is a good healthy pair just like the wheat-bran. Overall, this is a healthy and interesting dish with a nice sweet flavor to it.

Next siu sik dish is the supreme jelly fish. Other visable ingredients are black vinegar, green onions, and sesame oil. The flavor of the dish is lightly salty with a define black vinegar taste. The jelly fish is crisp. Overall, this is a good dish to try out!

Now for one of the most attractive shanghai cuisine dishes! Wine chicken, wine fish and other wine marinaded dishes is quite a delicacy. For my experience, I had the chicken wing in wine sauce. Usually, these dishes are served cold or at room temeperature. The chicken in our case was served at room temperature, tender and the taste was somewhat salty with a define taste of wine. My educated guess would tell me rice wine is used to marinate this dish. The combination of the chicken taste, marinate ingredients and the wine flavor makes it quite an experience. It is truly something that is hard to describe. If you try this dish in other Shanghai/Chinese restaurants, it might be called drunken chicken as this is the common literally translated name from chinese. When this dish is served cold, usually gelatins are formed from the sauce. Anyways, definitely recommended!

Continuing with siu sik dishes, we now have the mixed shreds seaweed and jelly fish with legume. This dish is served cold with shreds of four season string beans which is "legume" in the dish title. The taste has a slight sesame oil flavor to it also. Similar to the last jelly fish dish, the highlighting factor from the last dish (vinegar) now in this dish is replaced by the seaweed and the string bean flavors. In the end, it is a nice dish again but if I had to choose, I would definitely go with this one because of the variety of ingredients.

Ending the siu sik dishes, we have the deep fried bean curd rolls stuffed with mushrooms. This rolls are slightly crispy and mild in taste. I was expecting a deep fried dish like this to have a stronger, definite flavor to it (sweet, salty, etc). Not much to say about this dish except that this is the only weak link of my entire experience which is good for the restaurant and but for this dish!

Beginning with the normal dishes, we have the steamed shanghai pork dumplings. Like the marinade wine dishes, steamed dumplings (xiao long bao) is another highlight of Shanghai cuisine. If you've read my Northern Chinese/Shanghai restaurant reviews, what makes a xiao long bao good is in three factors: the tenderness of the meat, the sweetness of the soup inside and the softness/durability of the dumpling skin. At Wu Kong's, the meat was tender, the juice was good but slightly salty and lastly, the skin was a tad bit hard. The slight hardness of the dumpling skin was a down point but naturally gave it its durability (skin not easily broken). But as I said, the best xiao long bao in my opinion is where the skin is nice and soft yet durable enough for you to pick up and not spill the soup within. Overall, the xiao long bao is good but definitely could be better.

Before I continue, let me educate you on how the soup gets into the dumpling. Gelatin is formed using steamed chicken stock and pork rind traditionally. Yet these days, a lot of xiao long bao are ready-made gelatin packets instead of hand made. The gelatin are usually cut into small pieces or cubes wrapped around with the meat and into the dumpling skin. For further and very specific information, check out Kuidaore's food website!

Next up is the stewed spare ribs with bean paste sauce in casserole. First off, another visable ingredient are green onions. This dish is the heaviest of the bunch seemingly. The taste is mildly sweet and the meat is tender for the most part. I was anticipating for a stronger flavor. It isn't bad but it definitely gets the job done for most eaters.

Okay, almost to the end! Next we have the Tofu skin dumpling. This has to be the most intriguing dish of the night! this "dumpling's" skin is made out of tofu. This tofu dumpling is filled with vegetables and mushrooms inside. This is a very light flavored dish yet due to its uniqueness and its emphasis on being a healthy dish, it is definitely a must for ordering! Also, the firm tofu dumpling is surrounded by a thick mildly flavored sauce.

Last but not least is the steam shad fish. Shad fish is a type of fish that contains a lot of small, thin bones. It is a must use fish for cooking this famous Shanghai fish dish. The sauce that surrounds the shad fish is a very fishy-sweet flavor. Most Chinese steamed fish would generally give you some type of salty flavor but this is different because the sweet flavor dominates your taste bud (of course, not candy like sweet). The dish is topped off with shrimp and smoked ham. Mostly for decorations in my opinion. The shad fish was tender overall and on a side note, this fish was frozen from northern China. This is definitely a must order if you enjoy fish and something totally unique!

In the end, Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant is a great place to visit. Trying out so many dishes, 90% of what I had didn't disappoint me. My only complaints aren't big problems so it's very positive. I am undecisive with my final verdict because there's this hump that I don't think Wu Kong has gotten quite over yet. What exactly is it? Well, as a northen Chinese restaurant, it is important to know how to perfect your steamed dumplings! The skin as I mentioned before was hard. This probably was either due to it being left out for a bit after steaming or the skin used was thicker. Traditionally, the thinner the better yet being able to hold onto the meat and soup while picking it up with your chopsticks! Secondly, the soup was a tad bit salty and not sweet enough. Mainly due to this but I must tell you, not exactly the biggest problem if you're not a picky person like me =), my final verdict is...

< 4 out of 5 >