Summer Palace, Island Shangri-La

Address: 5th Floor, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central
Tel:2820 8552

The newly renovated Summer Palace is a luxurious and elegant setting for a classy dim sum meal. The new décor has a beautiful red and gold theme with subtle paintings of birds and trees that tastefully and appropriately evoke the sweetness of summer, and the food is meticulously prepared to perfection by renowned chef Lee Keung. The legendary chef has been with the restaurant since it opened in 1991, and he is still very much hands-on in the kitchen.

The inventive dim sum menu consists of some very unusual items. While most dim sum joints serve shrimp dumplings, this restaurant raises the bar with lobster, offering steamed lobster dumplings with bird’s nest. This fancy version has a much firmer texture, and the bird’s nest is a bit of tasty extravagance.

Vegetarian definitely does not mean bland when the dish is steamed celery dumplings with lotus root and fresh lily bulbs, which are bursting with the strong flavour of celery and have a crunchy bite. The vegetarian spring rolls wrapped in rice rolls combine two dim sum favourites to create a crispy spring roll with a soft and moist outer layer.

Shark’s fin dumplings are large dumplings with thin skins packed full of minced meat, vegetables and shark’s fin, and each dumpling is served in a bowl of clear soup. The ones at Summer Palace are definitely worth a try with their high-quality shark’s fin and the palpably fresh meat and mushrooms.

You may want to match an à la carte item or two with your dim sum meal, as the signature crispy chicken with spicy herbs simply must be tried. It is extremely tender, moist and flavourful.

Chilled sago cream with mango juice and pomelo, one of Hong Kong’s most popular desserts, is now served everywhere in the city, but it was created right here at the Summer Palace by Lee. If you are going to try this dish, it might as well be the original. Dim sum is served daily from 11.30am to 2.30pm.

Dragon-i Address: UG Floor, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street, Central Tel: 3110 1222 This SoHo hotspot is probably the hippest place to find mouth-watering dim sum. It sticks to authentic Hong Kong traditions and serves standard dim sum dishes, but not to be confused in the least with boring. Each bite is typical dim sum at its best. The restaurant’s classy red dragon décor, funky music and beautiful outdoor terrace are bonuses.

Victoria City Seafood Restaurant

Address: 2nd Floor, Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
Tel: 2827 9938

It is human nature to desire that which is rare. Something that is both rare and delicious is doubly loved; such are hairy crabs and yellow oil crabs, the specialities at Victoria City Seafood Restaurant. The odd-looking hairy crabs, small with dark hair along their claws, are only available from October through the winter, and with a scant amount of meat, the most prized part is the creamy orange roe in the centre. Yellow oil crabs are also seasonal, only available in the heat of the summer. Similarly, its oily yellow roe is considered a delicacy.

One of the restaurant’s signature dim sum dishes is steamed coral dumplings with crab. The delicate dumplings have tender skins, and the filling is made with a mixture of crab roe and meat. The type of crab used depends on the season’s availability, so this dish’s ingredients change year round. A bite into the dumpling will reveal the soft, runny and yellow-orange filling dripping with flavour.

Barbecued pork buns are a staple of all dim sum restaurants, but Victoria City makes a unique version of the dish. Their baked barbecued pork buns have a smooth and slightly crispy outer skin that’s sweet on top. The sweetness on the outside and the salty pork filling are an unusual and intriguing combination. The innovation continues with the pan-fried minced meat dumplings, which have a lattice of crispy fried bread strips decoratively attached on one side. Not only is the presentation impressive, but the crispy addition enhances the overall texture of the dish.

One dessert favourite is the mango rolls, made of glutinous rice and coconut puree with mango in the centre. Not too sweet, they are a very refreshing way to end a great dim sum meal.

Sun Hung Kai Centre is only one of this restaurant chain’s locations. Each location offers a slightly different dim sum selection, catering to the specific tastes of the clientele in that part of town. The restaurant is open daily from 11am to 11pm (opens at 10.30am on Sundays). Dim sum is served until 3pm, with selected dim sum items available for dinner.