Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant

I came here with my partner tlooking to lash out and celebrate the the last night of an extended jaunt thru Japan and Hong Kong. If you are looking for authentic chinese dining this is the place for you but be warned it can be a bit intimidating. We had to wait in a queue for about an hour and fifteen before we could get a table. There's a formidable tuexdoed "door bitch" who organises the tables and lets say "be nice" and "be patient" if you are not a regular.  It's worth the wait though. As soon as we sat down and looked around it became clear that the best dishes were seasonal specials not on the western tourist menu (the one with photos of dishes and English descriptions). So we did a surreptitious reccy of what the other diners were eating and made our requests accordingly. The crab was sublime as was the duck  and once the staff  understood we wanted to eat Off piste all was well. I loved the atmosphere  and it would be good for a large group as you could sample a banquet but it is very crowded and noisy and its not a place for a romantic dinner or if you want to linger and chat.

Who would have thought a Traveler  like us  on a very tight budget would  try a fine dinning in Hongkong. It might have been for a second thought but oh  no... we never did. It was near the end of our trip and we still haven't really grasp the real  hongkong  and what's the better way than to  try an authentic chinese restaurant. But where to find one,that's  affordable and irresistibly good that's exactly our problem.

We just   let the number roll down from a list of restaurant at the causeway bay  at  Time Square building. (A mall  and another building on the side specifically catered HK  best  restaurant that are only  available upon early booking),   we all decided to try 13th floor out of those numbers considering  it's a chinese thing. Then upon reaching the floor  look out for an ideal restaurant that's right at our budget.  At our luck we were easily get booked at an authentic restaurant  and blindly choose a set meal costing 488HKD   including bottomless hot tea. 

The menu was good for four person but it had   extended to  fill   five satisfied stomach. The cuisine were all superbly presented and service was very good. Although we are not from around there we were assured that   food arrive on  our table in a continuous  flow.  We've   eaten for hours sampling  each 9 fresh dishes in total. My personal favorite are the  cold lean meat, then meaty shell less shrimp,  Delicate sweet and sour  fish, Dumpling with  sweet red bean paste and all of it in fact.   It had been a big saver for us. Each one person have eaten would only cost around 100HKD and  with nine dish and bottomless drinks  that a great deal worth repeating.

We had to look carefully to find the entrance to Wu Kong (it's on the side street, not directly on Nathan Road, and downstairs), but the search was well worth it. Tasty and varied menu, friendly but not totally enthusiastic service, and reasonable prices. We were told by a local fellow-diner that dinner can get very crowded (i.e., a queue out the door) so we were glad to be there for lunch. The cold pigeon in wine sauce, one of Wu Kong's signature dishes, was tasty enough, but slightly difficult to eat, on two accounts: the bird was served chopped into manageable parts, splayed out on the plate, but the meat-to-fat ratio was disappointing, and the poor bird's disembodied face stared up at us in reproach. The eel was dee-lish. We were among the few Westerners in the crowded restaurant -- clearly Wu Kong's a local fave.