Hong Kong - The Chairman / 大班樓 - Cantonese Cuisine

#1

This joint is a local food critic favorite but I was unfortunate to be sick on that day so I really couldn’t taste much of anything that day with my nose clogged. However, the texture and temperature of all but one dish were excellent. On the occasions that I could regained my taste buds briefly, the flavors were wonderful.

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Located in Central, The Chairman occupies the very last unit on an obscure cul-de-sac street.

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Wild Clams Stir Fried with Chilli Jam and Basil

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Smoked Baby Pigeon with Longjing Tea & Chrysanthemum

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Deep Fried Crab Meat and Mushrooms Dumplings

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Deep Fried Crispy Taro Cake with Smoked Duck

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Steamed Fresh Flowery Crab with Aged ShaoXing Wine & Fragrant Chicken Oil & Flat Rice Noodles

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Szechuan Spicy New Zealand Crispy Lamb Belly
The only dish that’s off tonight. The crispy lamb belly is a touch dry.

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Fried Rice with Prawns Trio: Fresh Prawns, Sun-dried Prawns & Shrimp Paste

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Gai lan with Preserved Mustard Greens

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Gojiberry Ice Cream & Sweetened Almond Cream

Verdict? I can only attest to the restaurant’s excellence in texture and temperature of each dish but my dad says it’s much better than the Tasting Court that we visited 3 nights ago.

The Chairman
18 Kau U Fong
Central, Hong Kong Island

2 Likes
Mott 32 Review
Hong Kong - November with 2 kids
#2

Thank you so much for this updated report! Brings back fond memories…

I went 4 ish years ago just when they lost their Michelin star but were in Pellegrino Top 100 Asia, and it was one of my absolute top favorite meals in Hong Kong. We had a killer server too who told us Heston (UK), Seiji (Ryugin Tokyo), and a few other world famous chefs dropped in to visit and loved it. He didn’t know who Seiji was and I said “dude that’s the Aaron Kwok of cuisine lol”.

The gojiberry and almond tea are excellent ways to close and I’m glad they kept that on the menu.

We didn’t have any alcohol but had a very strong high quality pu-er tea…it just blows away whatever pu-er in California.

I remember making my reservation by email with Danny (who spends time between Kyoto, Hong Kong, and maybe Australia), he’s a cool dude. They take locavore Cantonese to the next level and do great honest to goodness refined cooking.

The aged shaoxing wine blue crab is a signature dish that must be tried (or else you can’t say you’ve been to the Chairman). I remember upgrading to a medium sized crab, usually the larger ones have way more flavor and fat. The Shunde “Chan village” rice noodles are very similar to Vietnamese banh cuon, and have enough ridges to soak up the crazy good liquor sauce.

That taro puff with smoked duck looks friggin amazing. If memory serves the smoked tea squab bones were almost soft enough to bite into (and super aromatic).

I remember a cubed beef tongue dish with spice and black vinegar (chilled appetizer) that was quite amazing.

Glad you could still enjoy it despite your sickness, sorry to hear!

1 Like
#3

The crab is my #1 must-have dish for my next trip to HK.

#4

Have you tried it before?

#5

No, that’s why I’m eager to try it.