Prince Restaurant

11/F, One Peking, TST
Visited 10th November 2009
Getting a day off school to 'recover' from the trauma of the school picnic is one of the strangest things about teaching in Hong Kong. Could you imagine Aussie kids getting a day off to recover from an excursion? Stop; wait; why am I complaining about a day off work? Anyway I met a mate for lunch in TST and he took me to one of his favourites; the Prince Restaurant. Located on the eleventh floor of the rather nice One Peking Road the restaurant is spacious, elegant and sprouts some impressive views over Victoria Harbour. Glancing at the web it appears that it's the Hong Kong branch of a chain of restaurants scattered throughout China that also includes a hotel and health spa.

Prince Restaurant obviously caters for a Japanese crowd as sushi and sashimi jostle with classic Cantonese dishes and fusion creations on the menu. We ordered BBQ pork buns, xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings), grilled beef with wasabi cream, fried rice with truffle and egg white and wok tossed greens with ginger. The buns were divine; baked rather than steamed they were crisp on the outside with a delightfully sticky top. The dumplings were delicious as was the tender beef that was well matched with the spice of the wasabi. I was a bit sceptical of the rice (especially as truffles are so overused in Hong Kong), but the big serve of tasty rice was well-balanced with the flavour of the finally shredded truffle perfectly integrated. In an attempt to be healthy we got a big plate of crisp Choy sum that came with a tasty home-made ginger sauce. To drink it was the simple clarity of tea.

While there's a lot to be said for the regional food of China, the fusion dishes we tried at Prince Restaurant worked well. The beef, buns and rice were all excellent and managed to tweak traditional dishes with a little added flair. Our bill was $453 for the two of us, not a bargain, though we did order way too much and could have eaten a lot less. The waiter who looked after us was a mega friendly bloke who went out of his way to be helpful, even offering information about the dishes. Oh and of course the view; a view of the sort that makes you be glad to be alive and glad to be in Hong Kong. Good food, surprisingly impressive service and spectacular vistas are going to make the Prince Restaurant a definite consideration next time I've got visitors in town.
Visit restaurant website.