Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine
I stumbled upon this new eatery in Dixon Street while walking to uni one night and from the outside it looked ultra modern but I didn’t know what they were selling. I did a few searches online and realised they specialised in Hong Kong cuisine. It was not until a few weeks ago that after walking past yet again with a friend, where we saw ducks being roasted in their oven that sparked my interest in going.
I made a booking for 6:30pm a few days prior and managed to get in without any fuss. The interior is nicely furnished and rustic looking with the wooden tables, a dessert making area, a bar area and kitchen within two levels. We were seated on a four seat table on the second level and the table was so small, that there wasn’t enough room for more than two large plates of food.
The first thing they brought out was the ‘Sweet and Sour Pork ($16.80)’. Portion was so small that we got an initial shock as to how small it was. Imagine a rice bowl times two. A few pieces of pork coated in a batter, fried and then stir fried. Nothing overly special about dish. Balance of flavours wasn’t right as they must have been a bit heavy handed on the vinegar as it tasted sour at parts.
The first course was beautifully presented and cut into one portion skin and one portion skin with meat, eaten with pancakes. This was to be wrapped together with cucumber, finely sliced shallots and hoi sin sauce. The duck was superb cause it was freshly roasted. It was marinated, cooked and oven roasted to perfection. The skin was crispy and the mean was filled with flavour as the juices were still coming out . There wasn’t too much fat as it must have been rendered away in the oven. I especially liked their hoi sin sauce as it wasn’t just your normal hoi sin sauce. It must have been made in house as it tasted different to what you get in the bottles.
Second course was ‘San Choy Bow' made from the duck meat. I really liked the crunchiness from the water chestnuts and the vegetables together with the duck meat. Yummo.
The ‘Xiao Long Bao ($6.80)’ was an entrée dish but came out last. They must have been confused with the order of menu items . However, it was made nicely and how it should be. The sweet pork and soup sat within the thin parcel. Oh that porky goodness.
We got the ‘Old Town Fried Rice ($12.80)’ second last and I must say it was pretty good. Not too oily and not too dry. The portion wasn’t small but adequate and this was polished off fast.
I like the glass cups that they use. 'Crown Lager Beer ($6.50)'.
It is more catered towards the younger diners as my parents who prefer the traditional Chinese restaurants found the restaurant to be normal and mediocre. They liked the duck but then again we can also find good Peking Duck in the South.
I stumbled upon this new eatery in Dixon Street while walking to uni one night and from the outside it looked ultra modern but I didn’t know what they were selling. I did a few searches online and realised they specialised in Hong Kong cuisine. It was not until a few weeks ago that after walking past yet again with a friend, where we saw ducks being roasted in their oven that sparked my interest in going.
When it initially opened there wasn’t much people but now that people have heard about it or seen it, the crowds are coming in. On a Friday night, the queue was out the door but when I went on Saturday there was only a few people in the queue. They do take bookings so if you intend on visiting, it’s better to book ahead as you can’t predict whether there will be a lot of people or not.
Let’s just say my family have high expectations when it comes to Chinese food and they set their bar really high regardless.
I made a booking for 6:30pm a few days prior and managed to get in without any fuss. The interior is nicely furnished and rustic looking with the wooden tables, a dessert making area, a bar area and kitchen within two levels. We were seated on a four seat table on the second level and the table was so small, that there wasn’t enough room for more than two large plates of food.
We ordered one entrée and four mains. They have a large variety of dishes to choose from such as an assortment of congee to live seafood. Food price wise it wasn’t expensive but it wasn’t cheap either.
Considering we ordered fried rice, I was expecting to get that before this dish arrived. As a result, it was left aside till the rice made its way to our table which was towards the end of the meal as the ‘Peking Duck with Pancakes’ arrived not too long after. The crunchy pork in the sauce went soft and soggy.
The star of the night was the ‘Peking Duck (Whole - 2 Courses) ($55.00)'.
The first course was beautifully presented and cut into one portion skin and one portion skin with meat, eaten with pancakes. This was to be wrapped together with cucumber, finely sliced shallots and hoi sin sauce. The duck was superb cause it was freshly roasted. It was marinated, cooked and oven roasted to perfection. The skin was crispy and the mean was filled with flavour as the juices were still coming out . There wasn’t too much fat as it must have been rendered away in the oven. I especially liked their hoi sin sauce as it wasn’t just your normal hoi sin sauce. It must have been made in house as it tasted different to what you get in the bottles.
Second course was ‘San Choy Bow' made from the duck meat. I really liked the crunchiness from the water chestnuts and the vegetables together with the duck meat. Yummo.
The ‘Xiao Long Bao ($6.80)’ was an entrée dish but came out last. They must have been confused with the order of menu items . However, it was made nicely and how it should be. The sweet pork and soup sat within the thin parcel. Oh that porky goodness.
We got the ‘Old Town Fried Rice ($12.80)’ second last and I must say it was pretty good. Not too oily and not too dry. The portion wasn’t small but adequate and this was polished off fast.
I like the glass cups that they use. 'Crown Lager Beer ($6.50)'.
No dessert this time around but N2 Extreme Gelato is located across the street for those ice-cream lovers.
Overall, a ok dining experience with ok food but nothing out of the ordinary. Service was friendly and efficient and they attended to most of our needs.
Better Chinese food can be found at places closer to home (Hurstville and Beverly Hills). Not worth the drive to go just for dinner but if you’re in the City and after a decent Cantonese feed then this is the place to go.
The quality of food may improve as they get a hold of how things work as they have only been open for short period of time.
The quality of food may improve as they get a hold of how things work as they have only been open for short period of time.
It is more catered towards the younger diners as my parents who prefer the traditional Chinese restaurants found the restaurant to be normal and mediocre. They liked the duck but then again we can also find good Peking Duck in the South.
Where?
10 Dixon St
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
Phone no: 02 9426 4888
Opening Hours
Dinner 5pm - 2am
Website
NA
Oh snap, we were here recently too :) The roast duck is pretty tasty!
ReplyDeleteEhehehe. New places in the city are found pretty quickly. Btw great post Helen :)
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