Chuan Yue Lou 川粵樓 @ Hong Kong

This restaurant used to be called San Xi Lou 三希樓 but there’s a change in ownership. However the staff and chefs are still the same original team.

Chinese restaurants always start with a couple of salty or spicy pickles to whet your appetite. Of course you can return them, but usually use would snack on them while we wait for our orders to come.

I could not get goose intestine in Singapore so I would order this if I can get an opportunity. Their version of goose intestine was sautéed with Sichuan-style pickled jalapeño which gave the crunchy texture with a really nice kick and slight sourness.

This was something new on the menu that I didn’t have in the last visit. The sakura shrimp pancake was a modern update of a classic Hong Kong dim sum staple. 煎薄罉 Jeenpokchan is a prata-like pancake with savoury ingredients. The trick is to keep it thin and crisp. Sakura shrimp added the savoury umami.

Usually cooked with chicken, the “lazi” deep fried frog was much better than the original with the garlicky taste and numbing spiciness.

Sichuan pork dumplings was classic dim sum made from wonton dumplings. Good level of spiciness and sourness, and not too oily.

Dim sum in a Szechuan restaurant? Don’t doubt it, Chuan Yue Lou is good for dim sum too. Classic like hargow, rice rolls, siewmai, xiaolongbao, etc were all freshly steamed and delicious.

The pork liver siumai was even better than Lin Heung with the addition of Huadiao, a very fragrant yellow wine from China. And unlike the previous visit (to San Xi Lou), the liver was cooked perfectly this time round.

The curry fish ball and cuttlefish were burn-your-lips spicy! No matter how spicy it was, you still go for more. That’s the attraction of their Sichuan dishes,

Very rarely you get good Szechuan outside of China. They have either been adapted for local palates or they just don’t get the same ingredients as Sichuan. They managed to retain the original fiery tastes of Szechuan cuisine and at the same time, improved the cuisine with local produce.

即撞豆腐花 Beancurd pudding is one of their signature dessert, and I have been craving for this beancurd pudding that used to be made on the spot.

I always add the ginger syrup for that halia taste that I grew up with drinking teh tarik. Osmantheus syrup was also good, but I find it too sweet for my taste.

The final dessert was something made popular in Jiangsu region and often served in Sichuan too. Bite-size glutinous rice balls are cooked in a sweet syrup made from wine lees fermented from glutinous rice. The fragrance and taste came from the osmantheus but it was the wine lees that gave this dessert all the wonderful flavours.

Despite the change in management, the standard of the food has not suffered and because our host is a regular, the service was also impeccable. I had been coming here for many years, and I guessed for many more years to come too.

Chuan Yue Lou 川粵樓
Coda Plaza, 7/F, 51 Garden Rd, Central, Hong Kong
Tel : +852 2838 8811

Visited Dec 2023