Jade Garden 翠園 @ Kowloon

This is an old and trusted name in Hong Kong dim sum, and only now did I realise it was actually the precursor to 美心 Maxim’s group of restaurants.

The Jade Garden Flagship Store was opened in 1971 at 4/E Star House, Tsim Sha Tsui, in the proximity of pottery and handicraft shops. This cultural and artisanal ambience is what inspired its name “Jade Garden”. When it opened, it abolished the “table sharing” 「搭枱」that is prevalent in Chinese restaurants then, and introduced a queue system similar to Western restaurants. They also introduced Western style desserts to complement the dim sum and Cantonese cuisine.

Besides the location next to the Star Ferry, it boasts one of the most beautiful skyline for dinner anywhere in the world. And no, this is not exclusive to the private rooms; this is the view in the main dining hall making it one of the most popular restaurants where Hong Kongers hold their wedding banquets.

Even there was only two of us, we were given a four-seater, and there’s no need to share the table with other strangers. So there’s no embarrassment for ordering too much for two persons and then have strangers staring at us while we ate. Much appreciated.

The appetiser/snack was like an otoshi in an izakaya. They would serve this (together with the “tea place”), but here you can reject the appetiser if you want, but most would not. We munched on this tasty treat while we waited for our dinner to be served.

翠園燒腩仔 Roasted pork belly

They are famous for their Hong Kong BBQ items. Like this roasted pork belly, it had an exceptionally crispy crackling and yet tender and moist pork belly below. This is listed as their signature item.

翠园烧鹅皇 Roasted goose

Next up their signature roasted goose, We ordered a standard portion but asked for 下装 (“lower portion”) so we got the part from the thigh and drumstick. Very delicious, crispy skin, not too oily goose, and tender and juicy goose meat. It needed a bowl of rice to balance the immense flavours.

莲藕准山甜豆 Sautéed lotus roots with Chinese yam and snap peas

It’s winter, there was limited choices for greens, so we opted for winter vegetables instead. The lotus roots were crispy and sweet. So were the Chinese yam and snap peas. This was a really crunchy plate of vegetables.

四季飄香荷葉飯 Lotus leaf wrapped rice with dried scallops and prawns

For our main course, we ordered a lotus leaf-wrapped rice with dried scallops (also called “conpoy”) and fresh shrimps. The uncooked rice was fried with ingredients and then wrapped in the lotus leaf. The pillow of goodness was then steamed to extract out the maximum goodness of the ingredients into the rice. Very delicious. We finished everything even though we had so much to eat.

杏汁海螺燉白肺 Double-boiled pig lung with sea whelk in almond sauce

Finally, a double-boiled soup to wash down everything. The Cantonese knows their soup, something we refer to as 煲湯 bow-tung. This is a classic soup using almonds, pig’s lung, pork ribs, chicken feet and stock, and double boiled for hours to extract that milky white soup. No MSG needed.

In the gourmet heaven of Hong Kong, a shop has opened as long as I have lived. This is no mean feat, not just the business brilliance of the founders, but also the quality and delivery of the food. If the food was not good, Hong Kongers will vote with their feet. The queue comprising of mainly locals outside the restaurant will give you that confidence. It was a really busy evening, so service was slack. I can see the frustrations of an overworked crew. Luckily the food was still very good.

Jade Garden 翠園
4/E Star House, Tsim Sha Tsui 九龍尖沙咀星光行四字樓
Tel : +852 2730 6888

Visited Dec 2023

@美心中菜 @maximschinese  #翠園