Totally haphazardly ran into this place, as we were trying to go to the Cajun restaurant next door, but they were closed on a Monday. We were ready to hop back into our vehicles and head out to plan B as we just got done playing golf and we were all starving. Then a strong waft of wok cooking caught my senses and I started looking around. And lo and behold, this Chinese restaurant was right in front of us, but you can't really tell as it is just in a basic strip storefront.
Hong Kong Iced Coffee ($3.75/4*) I was sold this as I've never had one. I've had milk teas hot and cold up the yin yang, but never thought of Hong Kong as having a rep for coffee. It was quite good, like a much lighter version of Vietnamese Iced coffee. Quite milky, a tad sweet from condensed milk is my guess. And the coffee had a strong roast flavor similar to Viet coffee just not as thick or dense, this had regular coffee viscosity. This went surprisingly well with the food here, as I've never really had Iced coffee with Cantonese food before.
XO Seafood Fried Rice ($13/4.5*) I'd say perfectly fried rice, fluffy texture with each grain being separate versus sticky clumps. Great wok flavor with that smoking oil flavor that I just love. The only knock for me, is that I didn't really get a big hit of the XO in the bites. If it were there, then it is really on the mild side.
Kung Pao Chicken ($14.25/3.5*) I let my friends each pick a dish, as when I pick the menu, then I tend to get the same things. This way I may get to try a dish that either I've never had or haven't had in a long time. This was the latter for me. Chicken was perfectly cooked, super tender and tasty. No shortage of peanuts, which is appropriate and the veggies were a bit heavy on the bell pepper. The sauce was like a lighter version of sweet n' sour, which doesn't excite me, but at least it wasn't gloopy thick here, which is to be commended. I didn't love this dish but I also didn't hate it.
Spinach with Garlic ($11.50/4.5*) I'd say perfectly executed, nice and vibrant whole leaves and stems of chinese spinach, blanched til just barely done/wilted and served with a scant of a light soy sauce on the bottom. I prefer a bit more of a browned garlic flavor, as the garlic here had a blanched/boiled texture.
Rock Cod with Mushrooms cooked in Consommé ($15.50/5*) Very well balanced and well composed dish. Crunch from the bell peppers and onions, nice meaty chunks of mushroooms and even meatier chunks of rock fish. The sauce was a slightly thickened broth so nothing got smothered in a thick sauce. The sauce was like a see through veil, very classy.
The kitchen here has some skills, better than most. I can just tell that they'd be able to rock out my faves at a high level. And the service is very western in that the host is quite chatty and would probably get to know his regulars. A very rewarding yet serendipitous outing. Pleasantly pleased. read more