Monday, May 18, 2015

Yan Toh Heen, Intercontinental Hong Kong *2 Michelin stars*

Intercontinental Hong Kong was our home for a few days during our trip recently. The location is superbly good with everything else just around the corner. What's best is the view from the room :))) Sometimes it's just fun to do ppl watch from our room....even watching cruise ships passed by early in the morning.
Pieces of large jade-liked tiles made such beautiful wall decoration.

the elite and popular cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong since the 1970s. It has undergone massive renovations and currently helmed by Chef Lau Yiu Fai, one of the very few restaurant in HK that reinvent themselves and yet the DNA of true cantonese cuisines are being maintained. So it wasn't a surprise when Yan Toh Heen was awarded 2 Michelin Stars. :)))

The other 2 famous restaurants here are Nobu and Spoon by Alain Ducasse, which we have tried a few years ago. So you could guess that their wine list is pretty neat considering all the top 3 restaurants are "something" in the map of Hong Kong.
The interior was so neat and modern with more jade pieces being incorporated into its interior. This pic was taken before we left, so most of the guests have already gone home. We were lucky to have a round table to ourselves with stunning view.


Monkey enjoying her view with such intensity. The restaurant is basically next to the Avenue of Stars on the lowest floor of the hotel.
Each table have 6 different types of homemade sauces. From savoury to sour, sweetness to spiciness.
I really like that all of its tableware are made with jade. Not too sure if it's real or not but it just add touches to our dining experience :))


Amuse bouche was pickled lotus roots. The texture was crunchy with a very light and balanced acid sourness to it. I supposed they used a special sweet vinegar?


We settled for individual set menu after some discussion and the first course was a deep fried golden lobster with spicy salt. when they mentioned golden, they kid u not!!!

the lobster was cooked to perfection and this piece has been rested well in order not to burn their diners. Very good flavour with no sight of oiliness at all.
On the other end of the same plate was a single lone ranger piece of BBQ Suckling pig. The skin was oh my oh my....how do I describe this? So fine, with no fat at all...it's just a piece of pure crispy skin, on steamed man tou and another piece of succulent pork meat under it all. It's a sandwich but made from pork....sandwiching that piece of steamed bun. HAHAHAHA. I wished there's more to this~~~

Braised imperial bird nest

They said there's alwiz FIRST in our lives....First visits, first indulgence, first experience and so on. For Monkey, it was her first savoury bird nest, usually I have it sweet as dessert. Next it's the first time that I had such a humongous portion at one go.

the heaps of bird nest was definitely too much for us but this is how the Hongkies dined. However the highlight wasn't the exquisite, rare, prized bird nests....it was the imperial broth. Oh my....so so so good.


*either bz replying messages, instagramming or FB-ing or just prollie taking notes on the wines and food*

it was only our 2nd course and JS already concurred that Yan Toh Heen is way better than Lung King Heen, the only 3 Michelin Starred chinese restaurant in the world. Yes I do agree with him, while Lung King Heen has an amazing winelist, outstanding service and a panoramic view of Tsim Tsa Tsui, its cuisine and dishes were still not as good as Yan Toh Heen.




This tea deserves 3 pictures on my blog...coz it's not any tea but a 53 years old, Limited Reserves, Pur Er. Wahhhhh our dinner cost a bomb bcoz of you my dear Pur Er, not the bird nest, not the abalone, not the wines that Mr. JS ordered...

One cake sells for about HKD 75k and we were privileged to try this, after all the aging...the tannin has gone...the color was deep and dark with very soothing and mellow flavours. All the oxidation and fermentation process gave this tea a different dimensional taste and flavours.

Golden stuffed Whelk with its own meat and baked to perfection. It was so full in flavours with amazing texture of the whelk. So so yummy that we couldn't stop digging in endlessly...it was really endless coz there's so much to eat deep inside this long shell.

Braised whole abalone in its jus, it's a 28 heads abalone. Monkey learnt that the number of heads do not account for its shape or design or that it has 28 limbs or whatsoever. Heads is a measurement system used to weigh Abalone. The higher the number, the smaller the abalone is....get it?


Monkey looking not pleased....prollie she was expecting a huge abalone with 28 heads...that would be a windfall....LOL. Anyhow I dun think I can consume 28 heads or 28 abalones at one go!!!

The sticky imperial sauce used to cook this abalone was so yummy with balanced umami-ness. I wished there's some rice to utilise the leftover jus. In the end, we just picked up our spoons and gulped every morsel down. It's just too too yummy and tasty!!!


Choosing a bottle of burgundy ain't easy here....First most of its good stocks has been depleted. In fact this is a main problem and concern for most establishments, Sourcing of good, reliable, outstanding wines at extremely affordable prices are getting more difficult now.

JS knows his pricing and ratings well....the first bottle that we have selected was not available though the restaurant updates their winelist on a weekly basis.

But I noticed that's always the case, the first bottle that he usually selected is alwiz a rare gem at the best price. Either it's a historical pricing or they just did an error. So again we were left with disappointment but this bottle of Charmes Chambertin was equally good and evolved throughout the night with more beautiful aroma.



Wok fried wagyu beef with foie gras in spicy sauce. That's a hearty bowl of protein there with chunks of foie gras underneath.


Served pink as per my order :))) I alwiz like my meat pink. This was so sinful but extremely good.


Finally fried rice steamed and wrapped in lotus leaf.
We all need Carbs at the end of the meal don't we? Unlike the French where they load u with carbs at the beginning with all the yummy crusty bread.


Yes and I was very very very happy with this meal. The pot of Pur Er was bottomless as they re-prepared our tea throughout the evening. Not everyday u can enjoy such amazing finely prepared cantonese food, with a 53 years old tea and a stunning view. But most of all, all these to be enjoyed with Mr. JS :)))


I'm not a dessert person but this was so interesting. Basil Pearls served with homemade ginger ice cream. It was so refreshing especially after all the food.
Petit four looks like dim sum!!!!

no 2 pieces were the same so Monkey was marking her territory...
"This one is mine!!! don't touch it!!!"


Nope, JS wasn't drunk...he was focussing his lens onto the panoramic view instead of this tray of sweets.


we were the very few last guests to finish the dinner, as we booked it late at 8.30pm to watch the lights show. Yeah I know, the lightshow was nothing spectacular coz it wasn't our first time but for the sake of my videographer aka Mr. JS...he needed something to document.

Ok next time I promised to give u access to the kitchen for more fiery wok action for your videography works and collections. :))))


as we exit and rolled ourselves out of the restaurant into the lift, straight up to our room, we noticed this sculpture outside the restaurant....it has a reflection of the emblem from the top piece onto the water feature here. Very minimalist :)))

Yan Toh Heen
Intercontinental Hong Kong
18 Salisbury Road, 


1 comment:

LiZhenYAn said...

How much did the dinner cost if you do mind letting me know? Also seem you know a lot on wine. You should write a short blog about wine. How we choose at a restaurant? How do we know is the right price and rating?