My first ever fine dining meal in Hong Kong goes to the 2 Michelin Starred Tin Lung Heen. The restaurant is located on the 102nd floor inside Ritz-Carlton which sits atop the tallest building, International Commerce Centre (ICC), in the city.
Upscale dining atmosphere
Spectacular view of the ocean from our window side table
Amuse Bouche: Candied Walnut with Sesame Seeds
Sweet, slightly salty, nutty, crunchy…These are like crack. I couldn’t stop eating them and you can get free refills!
Barbecued Iberian pork with honey
Meaty but tender, succulent, flavorful, delicate…got the sweet and salty thing going again. It was easily the best char siu I’ve ever had by far. Is it the use of Iberico pig or the skills that went behind BBQ-ing this perfectly that elevated this dish? Perhaps a bit of both?
Chef’s signature barbecued combination
Roasted goose with plum sauce - Crispy skin with rendered fat…meaty flesh was perfected roasted. It easily bested the 1 Michelin Starred Yat Lok’s roast goose I had the week after.
Marinated chicken in soy sauce - A touch overcooked by my standard but still juicy with a delicate balance of salty sweet.
Roasted crispy pork belly - Skin was shatteringly crispy while meat had a great chew. Fat to meat ratio was also excellent.
Baked Middle East Yoshihama abalone puff - The tart was incredibly flaky. While the flavor of the roast goose fillings got lost, the firm mollusk had a lingering deep shellfish flavor that merged once the buttery flavor of the tart subsided. A side of extra abalone sauce was given but ultimately unnecessary.
Deep-fried crab shell filled with crab meat and onion
The golden crust was light and crispy which enclosed a generous portion of sweet crab flesh mixed with sweated sweet onion. The texture contrast between the 3 elements was very satisfying. On the other hand, the fried pickled ginger on the side was a nice addition to dish acting as a palate cleanser. Frying the pickled ginger took away some of the harsh spicy and gingery taste resulting in a very mild gingery flavor with notes of sweet and sour from the pickling.
Braised pork belly with supreme sauce - Alternating layers of meat and fat on the pork were well balanced which contributed to its incredibly tender and succulent mouthfeel. The sauce, on the other hand, was able to cut down on the richness of the dish with its sweet and sour notes. Finally, the carved wintermelon was simply steamed or braised so it can act as a palate cleanser before you move on to the next dish.
Fried rice with diced abalone, goose and shrimp wrapped in lotus leaf
Packed with surf & turf well cooked ingredients and flavors while giving off a mild lotus leaf fragrance…
Chilled mango cream with sago and pomelo, sugar cookie, coconut mochi with egg custard
Flaky sugar cookie was of the Chinese variant with mild sweetness while the pleasantly chewy mochi’s coconut and egg custard flavors meshed unexpectedly well together.
Extremely smooth with awesome balance between sweetness from mango and tartness from citrus. On occasion, there were burst of fragrance and brightness from the pomelo. Sago, along with each of the dessert’s different ingredient, gave the dish varying satiated mouthfeel when eaten together. It’s a classic Hong Kong dessert done very well!
Conclusion: Easily the best Cantonese restaurant I’ve been to and cooking was almost flawless.
Tin Lung Heen
Level 102, International Commerce Ctr.
1 Austin Road West
Kowloon, Hong Kong