Our final Michelin stop in Hong Kong brought us to 2 Star Ying Jee Club. The fine dining Chinese restaurant in Central area draws the high end crowd with classic Cantonese fare.
Nestled in the latest food hub, Nexxus Building in Central, two-Michelin-starred Ying Jee Club epitomises the highest standard of excellence in Cantonese cuisine. The name, Ying Jee Club, symbolises prosperity, success and business in Chinese.
The elegant restaurant is spearheaded by Executive Chef Siu Hin Chi 蕭顯志, who has garnered 24 Michelin stars for the past ten years, a legend within the industry. Having led some of Hong Kong’s finest Cantonese kitchens — including the three-Michelin-starred T’ang Court at The Langham and, most recently, two-Michelin-starred Duddell’s, he is a venerable name in the local dining scene, a master of classical Cantonese cooking styles with an eye for beauty.
Since its opening in 2017, Ying Jee Club has become a premium destination for Cantonese cuisine connoisseurs. It earned its first Michelin star three months after debut and was promoted to two stars in the subsequent year. The honour has now been retained for the four consecutive years.
Another thing to note, these portion sizes are normally for four persons, we had eight pax that night.
花雕太白無骨醉雞翼 Chilled Chicken Wing in “Hua Diao”
The first appetiser of the evening was Chilled chicken wing in “Hua Diao” ala Ningbo-style. What was nice about this drunken chicken was that the bones had all been removed. We loved this so much that we ordered another round.
咸魚茸酥炸千里香 Crispy Fermented Tofu with Salty Fish
Their take on the street food, stinky tofu. Crispy fermented tofu with salty fish did not have the stink of the stinky tofu – who wanted the sewage smell in the fine dining restaurant – but it did have that “satisfying” tofu taste with the incorporation of salted fish 咸鱼 and fermented beancurd 腐乳.
滷水豬腳仔 Marinated Pig Feet with Spices
Marinated pig feet with spices was Sichuan inspired, nothing surprising except for the exceptional crunch.
片皮乳豬件 Crispy Suckling Pig
The suckling pig is famed for its crispy skin in perfect contrast with the tender and flavoursome meat beneath. Paired with the special dip, it was something for an encore. Unfortunately we ordered the last portion for the evening.
脆香貴妃雞 Crispy Salted Chicken
Chicken has long been a staple of Cantonese feasts. Using locally sourced chicken, Ying Jee Club’s signature Crispy Salted Chicken is first poached in a rich broth, air-dried for one day and one night then deep fried to achieve the perfect combination of delicate glass-like skin and succulent meat.
花雕金腿雲耳蒸肉眼根 Steamed Pork Loin with Black Fungus, Yunnan Ham, Black Mushroom and ‘’Hau Diao”
I loved the simplicity of this dish, something you can make at home.
Inspired by this dish, I made a variation using salted fish I bought in Hong Kong with pork belly and black fungus. The plating needed some work though but the taste was great.
鮑汁扒柚皮 Braised Pomelo Peel in Abalone Sauce
This was the first time I had pomelo skin, but this is an old school Cantonese dish that perhaps only exists in these traditional Cantonese restaurants. These days pomelo skins are simply discarded. In the old days when resources were scarce, everything on the pomelo was used. Braised pomelo peel in abalone sauce has a citrusy fragrance from the fruit and umami from the abalone sauce.
生炒臘味糯米飯 Fried Glutinous Rice with Chinese Pork and Liver Sausages, Dried Shrimp and Conpoy (Seasonal)
I was talking to a friend during the meal about our favourite glutinous rice store Keung Kee 強記美食 and that I could not find it at the original location anymore. Luckily for us, Ying Jee has a similar dish and also the store simply moved a couple of blocks away. Fried Glutinous Rice with Chinese Pork and Liver Sausages, Dried Shrimp and Conpoy was a seasonal dish for the winter season and was really delicious.
鮮魚湯花膠海味泡豆苗 Poached Pea Sprout with Fish Maw and Dried Seafood in Fish Broth (Seasonal)
Pea sprouts in winter were also in season and the chef came up with this seasonal special. Poached Pea Sprout with Fish Maw and Dried Seafood in Fish Broth took one of their signature dish and replaced the vegetable with pea sprouts. The fish maw had soaked up all the goodness of the broth and dried seafood, and the pea sprout was crunchy and delicious.
秘醬乾鍋唐生菜 Chinese Lettuce Casserole with Dried Shrimp and Homemade Xo Sauce
In a daipaidong this would be called 啫啫生菜煲. Here it’s given a classier name. Chinese lettuce casserole with dried shrimp and homemade XO sauce.
碧綠松露醬煎星斑球 Pan-fried Leopard Coral Garoupa with Vegetables in Black Truffle Sauce
These are the collar meat of the leopard coral garoupa or more commonly known as dongsingban 东星斑, the most expensive of all the mid-size grouper fish. This was one of the more expensive dish in the whole dinner because of the fish used. Even it was well executed, it was the least favourite dish for me.
生浸豉油乳鴿 Poached pigeon in sweet soy sauce
Hong Kong is the place to eat pigeons, no where else would come close in terms of quality and size of the bird, or the cooking technique. They put in the menu that there’s a 35 min wait for this. And it was well-worth the wait. Poached pigeon in sweet soy sauce was full of flavours, juicy and tender.
And finally we came to the end of the dinner and proceeded to order our desserts.
營致雷沙湯丸 Sweet Rice Ball with Black Sesame & Coco Power
芋香糯米糍 Glutinous Dumpling with Taro
We ordered two types of mochi (glutinous dumpling or rice ball) with different types of fillings and coating.
生磨蛋白杏仁茶 Almond Cream with Egg White
I always end my meals in Hong Kong with a bowl of almond cream if it was available. And this had chunks of egg white in it.
A classical Chinese restaurant is just that: classic. Ying Jee Club serves top-notch food that lacks groundbreaking creativity. The only break from tradition comes by way of the Western-style welcome bar that greets customers at the entrance. Nonetheless, Ying Jee Club rests comfortably in the realm of classical Chinese cooking and Chef Siu has proven time and again that he can draw out the purity and essence of high-end Chinese ingredients and prepare them with skill and aptitude.
Ying Jee Club 營致會館
Shop G05, 107-108, Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Rd Central, Central, Hong Kong
Tel : +852 2801 6882
Visited Dec 2023
Michelin Hong Kong and Macau Guide 2 Stars 2019-23, 1 Star 2018
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