Tai Woo Restaurant (Mid Levels)

I have been told that one of Hong Kong’s nickname is “mei sik teen tong” (literally translated “good food heaven”). If Hong Kongers know nothing else, they know good food. Places dishing out below-par food usually won’t last long in this country where everyone’s a food critic. So, one would think it’ll be safe to hop in for dimsum at a restaurant that not only has survived HK palates for years, but also have branches in TST and CWB right??? WRONG.

We were utterly disappointed with lunch today at Tai Woo restaurant (off Caine Road in Mid Levels). I must state upfront that we never really expected Tai Woo to be on par with the likes of Luk Yu and Lin Heung anyway. But, when the first dish arrived (“har cheong” i.e. prawn rice noodles), we knew we were in trouble. The rice noodle was not smooth and silky, and the prawns tasted like they’ve been lying dead in the freezer for the last week. The dumplings (“har gow”) were not bad if they would bother using fresh-er prawns. The “cha siew pow” (roast pork buns) was a tad too sweet. I probably earned myself an extra 30 mins on the treadmill trying to work off the fatty pork they used.

The congee with dried vegetables and pork ribs (“choi kon chue kwat chook”) was lumpy and tasteless. God bless the person who invented soy sauce.

The crab meat shanghai dumplings (“hai fun siew loong pow”) came in little saucers in bamboo steamers. They obviously lacked the skill to make a good dumpling skin. The saucers helped retain the leaked soup.

I must say though, that the steam pork ribs saved the meal (read: it ain’t all bad). The meat was lean yet tender and juicy. Best of all, it wasn’t swimming in oil! But, one good dimsum out of eight is still pretty appalling.

There is, in my humble opinion, NO EXCUSE for dimsum to be THIS BAD in HK!! Needless to say, we will stand by our eating mantra: Bad food once, shame on them; bad food twice, shame on me!

We won't be back anytime soon...

Where: Mid-Levels (branches also in Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay)
Style of food: Yum Cha (and Cantonese for dinners)
Price guide: $$