Hong Kong: Ho Hung Kee

This was my first Michelin star restaurant (one star). Little did I know that restaurants open a lot later than the ones in Toronto. We got there around 10:30 am but it wasn't opened till 11:30 am. Thankfully, this mall has a lot of floors so we were able to walk around in one of the largest book stores down below! It featured a total of 3-4 floors (can't remember the exact number). Anyways, even before it opened there was a line up of people waiting to get in.

 By the time it was 30 minutes after opening, the place was filled and there was already a line of people waiting to be seated. The interior decorations are absolutely fantastic! Featuring the Tiffany blue with gold accent, it was definitely breath taking. The place was also very clean which can sometimes be rare in Hong Kong. Even though it looks very modern they still managed to keep a touch of tradition by adding the lanterns and vases around the restaurant.

I wouldn't say it was a super big restaurant. There probably was a total of 50 tables, which maybe half of them included booths. Even the table legs were exquisite with the gold accent wrapped around. What fascinated me the most was the service. They were not explicitly amazing, but it definitely was very speedy! We probably sat down, ordered and ate all within 40 minutes. Since there were many staff it was very easy to flag someone down when we needed something.

For a small girl like me, it is very important that the portions are smaller. This was it. This was the perfect portion size for me! It may not be to someone who eats a lot, but the small bowl of noodle goes a long way. We ordered 2 items. The first is beef noodles. I have to say, nothing compares to what I've ever had. The beef was very tender and the texture of it was not ridiculously chewy. 

The soup was filled with MSG, but let's be honest here...that's what make most things taste good to begin with! The noodles were soft enough that didn't make me feel like it wasn't going to digest. I have had noodles before where it was extremely chewy that I thought it was just going to sit there in my stomach. Everything down to the veggies was amazing. I didn't finish the soup, but this small bowl of noodle was just perfect for the first meal of the day.

The second dish is a marinated pork lo mein. So what you do is you mix everything together and (optional) eat it with the soup that is provided. Since I already ordered a soup noodle I didn't really bother with the soup provided. Again, the texture and the right tenderness of the noodles was what made it so good! This was a slightly larger portion than the soup noodles but nonetheless it was still amazing.

This is a picture of the ceiling because I found it very fascinating that they covered the whole restaurant with the same swirly design. Ho Hung Kee was a bit more expensive than the restaurant at Shek O, but it was still worth every penny that we spent! The only complaint I might have is for the service to be better. I felt very rushed when eating our food, but other than that I would rate this 4.7/5 stars! Truly one of the must-try restaurants if you ever go to Hong Kong.