If you want some truly authentic Cantonese cuisine and outstanding dim sum, then look no further than Sing Yin where Chef Johnny Chan works his magic. But if you’re expecting the stereotypical grandeur or most Cantonese restaurants, you’re in for a big surprise.

The W hotel, in which Sing Yin is housed, is an expression of new China – bold, brash and flash. This theme carries through to the restaurant, located on the ground floor. Guests are greeted and if you’re lucky, seated at one of the booths that run along the left-hand side. “Private” rooms are in name only, with transparent panels allowing people to look both in and out. The rest of us get to catwalk down the black marble runway, past the fish tank, real and video, into an open, if somewhat dull main room with mirrored ceilings.

The interiors might be contemporary, but the menu draws mostly from classic Cantonese in its barbecued, steamed, boiled, fried and braised dishes. It’s worth noting that many items are served as individual portions which quickly adds up the price of dinner here.

The Dinner

With 30 years of kitchen experience under his belt, W Hong Kong’s newest Chinese Executive Chef Jonny Chan is bringing a blend of the traditional and the contemporary to Sing Yin Cantonese Dining restaurant as well as a more health-conscious approach to Cantonese cooking

西班牙黑豚叉燒 barbecued Spanish iberico pork

The use of Spanish iberico pork has taken char siu to new heights at several restaurants around town, but sadly, that’s not the case here. It’s dry and chewy and all the more disappointing because we were really looking forward to it.

荔枝柴炭香燒雞 lychee wood fried crispy chicken

Things look up with the wood fried crispy chicken. The skin is golden and crisp and the meat is moist and tender, though we wish we were told the truffle came as a side sauce, which should be included as part of the dish.

黑蒜燉響螺湯 double boiled conch soup with black garlic

Cantonese has a natural gift for boiling soup, all kinds and all combinations. The double-boiled conch soup was boiled over such a long time that the liquid was creamy white in colour and the texture sticky.

Just look at the amount of ingredients used to boil the stock. Unfortunately though the black garlic did not come across.

雲丹蟹肉大明蝦 sautéed king prawn with crab meat and sea urchin

If there’s one course to hate, it would be this. The taste of uni was totally destroyed by the used of a heavy Szechuan peppercorn sauce. The king prawn was drenched in the sauce, which was tangy and hot, but afterwards you cannot taste anything else.

椒鹽豆腐 salt and pepper Japanese tofu

Imagine McD nuggets but instead of unknown chicken parts, this one is soft Japanese tofu. How did they manage to make the coating stick to every mm of the tofu?

清炒菠菜 sautéed spinach

Surprisingly, the sautéed spinach was really tasty. And the spinach used was really young and tender.

鮑魚荷葉飯 steamed fried rice with whole abalone wrapped in lotus leaf

Very extravagant, there’s a whole abalone for every lotus-leaf wrapped rice. But it would be equally tasty without the abalone.

星宴甜品碟 Sing Yin desset platter

Chinese desserts in upmarket Cantonese restaurants often fail to live up to expectations. Not here. A combination of three best sellers – 杏仁露 warm almond milk, 椰汁桂花凍 osmantheus and coconut cream jelly, and 山楂凍 hawthorne jelly. Loved all three, the sweet and creamy almond milk complimented the light and fragrance osmantheus which was lifted by the sour hawthorne jelly.

Service was attentive. The food portion was alright. If there was one thing to comment, it would be their effort to try too hard. Their Michelin ambition was very obvious. But it will take another level of creativity and harmonious flavours to get that first star. They were not far off, yet that final mile was always the most difficult in the cutthroat industry.

Sing Yin Cantonese Dining 星宴
1/F, W Hong Kong, 1 Austin Road West
Tel : +852 37172848

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/details/hkgwh-w-hong-kong/5971303/

Date Visited : Oct 2016