Hong Kong - Yun Fu

It is true that if you expect a lot in life, love (and food is a love!), you are more likely to be disappointed. The anticipation of something, eg. through reading too much of it, creates a crescendo which may cause an anti-climax.

Yun Fu (or Cloud Mansion for those who recognise its Chinese characters) was almost an anti-climax since I thought the reviews I came across might have caused an unnecessary buzz in me and my dining companion J. Of course, the lawyer in me had already placed many disclaimers along the way.

As with most reviews you will read about Yun Fu, it is the decor and the anticipation of walking down flights of steps decked with asian statues into a basement lined with Chinese inn rooms from the "martial kingdom" days, which is innovative in its concept. We walk past the rooms into an open dining area and are led to a table reminiscent of those you might see in a chinese kung fu movie. The innovation is definitely consistent with the Aqua group of restaurants.

J kindly let me order the reviewed specials:

1. we start with the marinated lamb rack roasted with assorted herbs and tea leaves.
- the lamb was nicely pink although the meat was a tad on the chewy side and did not come off the ribs as easy as I would have liked. Because of the cuisine (which is largely Tibetan in influence) it was not strongly marinated and was natural in its flavours so if you are not a lamb fan, this dish is not for you. I am ok with lamb but did find the dish a little on the bland side.

2. the winner for both J and I was the Mandarin fish fillet wrapped in golden salty egg yolk. Deep fried to a golden yellow and served with both the head and tail in tact, and laid out fish bone style, the fillets were fluffy on the inside, and crispy and fragrant from the generous salted egg yolk on the outside. A must-try if you love salted egg yolks as we do!

3. Our fibre dish was indeed fibrous. In fact, a little too much that biting through the aged "heen choy" was too much of a challenge that I gave up. After all, I do have a visit to the dentist soon and the less repair he has to do, the better!

4. Our dim sum of minced pork dumplings with chilli sauce and spring onions were nicely done with the "skin" al dente. The insert of minced pork was ordinary though..



While decent in its offering, Yun Fu was a tad expensive for the quality of food on offer. Good place if you are taking adventurous foreigners for a visit, and if you really have a craving for minority cuisine.

Basement, 43-55 Wyndham Street
Central, Hong Kong
(852) 2116 8855