I’ve been waiting for a novel place like Yum Cha to pop up in Hong Kong, home to a myriad of michelin-star yum cha restaurants and tea houses. And to my pleasant surprise, it finally has – the concept is all about enjoying Dim Sum with a modern twist, almost like the way we savour tapas but with distinctly Asian flavours and ingredients, whimsically and stylishly presented in a contemporary cafe setting.
Hankering for some evening light bites and finger food in Tsim Sha Tsui and looking for a respite from all the shopping to rest my tired legs, I stumbled across YUM CHA, newly opened on the 3rd floor of the Attitude Hotel along Granville Road.
I immediately liked the bright and breezy cafe style setting that greeted me and its happy vibe – lots of noise, buzz and the sound of chatter. The evening crowd was pouring in, mainly shoppers from the street level shops below. We quickly got a seat and were handed a menu of the food and drinks and an order form to tick off what we wanted.
Whilst the menu was not extensive, the choices were good and the prices very reasonable. I liked what I saw from the picture menu – clever twists on dim sum favourites and some main courses that had a bit of Western flavour like the Ee Fu noodles with truffle oil and mushrooms – you could really taste and smell the truffle and the Egg White and Ink Seafood Fried Rice ($89).
True to any Dim Sum restaurant, there had to be buns. Yum Chas are as cute as they come. The Hot Custard Buns and the BBQ Piggy Buns (both $49) were a hit with my 10 year old daughter and instead of being all looks and no flavour, they went far beyond my expectations as they were as they were as tasty as they were cute! One bite into the custard bun, really saw delicious streams of warm custard daintily oozing out! Love the visual below which kind of reminded us of a drooling minion!
The Pickled Cucumber ($59) was equally good. Pickled in salted egg crust, this was almost a six star restaurant dish in terms of quality and taste! Great with a glass of white – you just could not stop with this dish. And yes, the restaurant serves drinks (alcoholic and non) and beverages.
My absolute favourite (and we ordered 4 plates of this) to go with Beer was the Honey Balsamic Wings (4 pieces for $79). Max tasty, sweet and sour all at the same time, this got my vote for the best chicken wing fusion mash up (even better than the Korean fried variety out there)! It came served with a few sticks of ripe roasted pineapple which I felt gave it a banquet-dish feel and really brought the whole taste experience to life.
There were so many items that I would have liked to order (see below) including the Shrimp Rolls (HK$69) which looked delectable, each rolled up in cucumber much like you would expect the Japanese or the Thais to do it – but that would be for another day. Definitely giving me the perfect excuse to go back and revisit!
Yum Cha is owned by Benjamin Ang with Chef Winson at the helm. The food at Yum Cha is completely free of MSG. There are two outlets – one in Granville Road TST and the other at Des Voeux Road Central. Check reservation details and addresses at: http://yumchahk.com
Simply Fabulicious 