I’ve only been to Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine once, but I have already dubbed it my new favourite place to have a decent, yet affordable, Chinese feast. Everything was impeccable – from the high quality decor, to the vast menu choices, to the execution of the dishes. Old Town is the perfect place to grab a quick bite or organise a gathering with old friends.
—–HER{curio}MAJESTY SCORE SHEET—–
Visited: 14 September 2014 (for dinner).
Food: 9/10 || Ambiance: 8/10 || Service: 8/10 downgraded to 6.5/10 for the sneaky soup charge
What I loved: The food. The decor. The efficiency. The menu choices.
Will I come back: Yes.
Being a traditional Hong Kong dinner, of course there’s a nice selection of assorted BBQ pork, BBQ duck, chicken and the like. They even have Peking Duck! These shiny offerings are displayed at the open kitchen facing the entrance.
The restaurant has two levels, both are reasonably spacious. There’s a cashier on level 2, and the place seemed well-staffed.
The only setback was that there’s a 2% surcharge on all card payments (EFTPOS or credit card) which I think businesses (especially one that seems to be of scale) shouldn’t pass on to customers out of principle.
Of course, no authentic Hong Kong eatery would be complete without the complimentary soup before the meal! I always appreciate this simple and yummy gesture. Edited: Actually, I was cleaning out my wallet just then, and I realised we were actually charged $3.80 per head for the soup (x 4ppl = $15.20 for the bowl)! Not happy. If you’re gonna charge your customers for something that you put on their table, it’s common courtesy to ask whether we want it or not. It’s good soup, but I wouldn’t order it if it’s on the menu for $15.20.
The most impressive part about my experience was the efficiency of service. One dish came after another even before I was half way through my bowl of soup!
Sauteed Green Beans with Pork Mince, $14.8. Who doesn’t love sauteed green beans! This was a nicely executed classic dish.
Curry beef brisket hot pot, $16.8. Absolutely beautiful. The curry went extremely well with rice. The chunky beef pieces were cooked tenderly and flavour-packed.
Fried Prawn with Egg Yolk, $26.8. Whole prawns covered and deep fried with salty egg yolk, mmm, one of my favourite delicacies. The uber efficient service meant that the prawns were still sizzling hot when it got served, which made it taste even better.
Chicken Skewers with House Special Cream Sauce (6 Skewers), $18. This was one of the recommended dishes marked with a chef’s hat in the menu. However, this was my least favourite dish as the chicken itself was cooked very lightly (a little bit boring) as I like my skewers charcoal-ed.
Grilled Green Onion Pancakes (2 per serve), $6.8. Decently deep-fried, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, yet surprisingly not over-oily.
Hong Kong style milk tea, $4.50 (cold). Just right, not too sweet.
You could tell that they put in a lot of effort in fitting out this place from the oriental elements that they used on every corner.
{Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine}
Address: 10A Dixon Street,
Website: http://www.oldtownhongkongcuisine.com.au/
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ermahgerd i want those salted egg yolk prawns so badly it hurts
Completely agree on how they should have informed you about the soup charge before stamping it on the bill. The fried prawns with egg yolk looks good though.
So unfair that they didn’t tell you about the soup charge. That HK Style Milk Tea looks SO REFRESHING! Heading there tonight!
It must be an oversight cuz I went there three other times afterwards and no soup:)