The queue never ends at Federal Restaurant

Federal Restaurant (Diamond Hill)

Whether the food is good or bad, the queue does not end for this place because Chinese dim sum is a tradition.
It's location is also good too, right in the heart of a residental area and above the MTR station.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chinese radish puffs:

Oily pastry
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tofu:

This was not really a dim sum item but the only dish that tasted ok.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried noodles:
Oily, greasy with a nasty rancid wok taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Spring rolls:
Effortless fried spring rolls with nothing much inside it and extremely oily.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Price: $1xx
Service: OK
Service charge: 10% and tea
Yummy factor: yuck
MSG levels: slight
Napkins provided: no
Toilets: yes
Portion sizes: reasonable
Noise levels: Noisy
English Menu: Yes
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Mind blowing contemporary dim sums

As soon as I found about these Western dim sums I had to dine here.
It is located on Upper Lascar Row where they sell antiques.

The restaurant is called Man Mo Cafe because it is near the Man Mo temple which you can spot easily by the brightly lit blue neon lights.


Inside the restaurant it was modern and extremely chic.
On the ceilings there were phoenixes, illustrated in a Western way.

As well as that, their logo is well designed.
It is a Bamboo steamer lid with the logo incorporated in the bamboo weaving patterns.


I loved the ambiance at this place because it was relaxing and you won't find people shouting or those annoying ceramic bowls and cups clinking together.
The best part is that you don't need to rinse anything!

The menu was simplistic serving contemporary dimsums that comes in a choice of twos or threes.


Here was what I ordered.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Kusmi strawberry green tea:

The combination of strawberry and green tea sounded unusual so ordered it.
When it came, the smell of strawberry was so fragrant that the whole restaurant could smell it.
It is different to other strawberry teas because it was not sour and there is green tea taste to it as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ratatouille with tomato sauce:

The Ratatouille dumpling had an Italian flair to it.
It was filled with tomatoes, onions, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers with creamy tomato sauce to complement it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Kebabun:

This was my favourite because it was a combination of European kebabs and Mongolian food.
The pieces of lamb were done to perfection because they more moist and crispy on the edges heavily spiced with cumin.


It was dressed with salad, yoghurt and some feta choose which made it so tasty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken and mustard dumpling:


The chicken dumpling was slightly disappointing because the mustard sauce was too creamy and it did not have that mustard kick to it.
I was expecting the sauce to taste like English mustard with a kick or American mustard which has a tangy tone to it.
The chicken inside the dumpling was good, it was small chunks of chicken thigh and not minced chicken breast which has more flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Burgerbun:

I am not really a person for beef burgers but with those two cute bottles of squeezy sauces I decided to have fun and try it.
The buns are the same as those dim sum buns filled with roast pork (chaan baus) but they were filled with minced beef.
Basically you take a bite and add sauce to it using those cute mini squeezy bottles.
The sauce was quite creamy and not as refreshing as I would have liked so I just added salt and pepper to it which was also good.
THE SALT THEY USE IS BY MALDON AND THEY ARE A MUST SEE ITEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SQUARE FLAKES WHICH LOOK LIKE HOLLOW PYRAMIDS!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Truffle and brie dumpling:

The truffle and brie dumpling was amazing! Looking like an ordinary potsticker, it was filled with brie cheese.
It was really tasty with cheese oozing out when you bit it and the amount of cheese inside was just right that it did not feel sickly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hk egg lemon tart:
I loved this egg tart because it had a tarty lemon base topped with fluffy gooey meringue, however the base was too delicate and crumbly that I had difficulty holding it because it was going to collapse any second!

Since my review, I think the tart base has improved because on the latest press clipping, the owner was able to hold it in mid air without collapsing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I love the dim sums here and they come in twos or three so you can indulge them yourself!

Next time I am going to try the soups and look forward to more new creations.
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Man Mo Cafe: 40 Upper Lascar Row, Sheung Wan

Price: $4XX
Service: OK
Service charge: 10%
Yummy factor: great
MSG levels: None
Napkins provided: yes
Portion sizes: small
Noise levels: None
Glass of water provided: yes
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: Yes
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Oily dim sums at Zaan

This restaurant is located on the first floor of OZO Wesley which stinks of room fresheners that make you dizzy.

After getting your way through the smelly lobby, you enter the lifts to the first floor.

I was actually impressed with this restaurant, the decor was modern and the tables were nicely spaced out.

The people were not talking loudly.

The menu was impressive because it was neatly laid out with English and Chinese, and they give you a nice OZO square barrel shaped pen to use unlike other places where you find yourself scrambling your bags for a pen or trying to take a pen from the table next to you.


Compared to other dim sum places, it is on average slightly more expensive per item.

Anyway, if the quality is good then it is worth it.

Here was what we had:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy turnip cake:


They were called crispy turnip cakes because they were rectangular blocks of turnip cake wrapped in wonton skin and fried.
The sauce that they gave did not really match the turnip cake because usually people have chili sauce and sweet chili sauce is better paired with fried wontons!

The turnip inside was soft and did not contain a lot of preserved sausage but the crispy skin on the outside was too oily.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy taro croquette:

too oily
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice rolls with crispy bean curd sheet:

It was good that the soy sauce was separate because there were a lot of elderly dining there and most elderlies are not supposed have a high sodium intake.

Inside the roll, it was another beancurd roll which is wrapped with julienne vegetables.
Again it was nice with these sweet tasting vegetables and flavoursome beancurd skin but it was way too oily!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
fish maw, mushroom and chicken:
fish maw soaked in oil!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef tripe in black pepper sauce:

(The picture shows the beef tripe after I forced the oil out of it!!)
It was more like beef tripe steamed in black pepper oil!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
noodles in black truffle:


too oily and the black truffle oil tasted a bit off.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As a summary, their dim sums were creative but there was no excuse for being too oily because Dragon I does perfect dim sums and none of their items are oily.
I just felt that if this point was improved then it would be perfect because they have nice decor and ambiance.
The staff were really nice and refilled your tea cups, it was just the food that let us down.
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ZAAN (Wan Chai)
Price: $115 per person
Service: good
Yummy factor: too oily
English Menu: Yes
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The BEST dim sum in Hong Kong

Dragon I
At night, this is a thriving swanky chic club, in the day it is a classy restaurant for quality dim sums.

It is reassuring to see that 80% of the patrons are expats.
Although most expats are in Central, you don't find a majority of them in other Chinese restaurants which means this place is good!

I used to think the dim sums at Loyal dining and Loong Toh Yuen were good but the ones here are amazing, almost everything you order turns out great whereas at the other dim sum places, there are only one or two that are good.
I was surprised they are nominated in the Michelin nor in openrice's latest list because Dragon i dates back to 1967 way before I was born!!

As this restaurant is a nightclub at night, you would expect unpleasant smells from spilt drinks/alcohol/vomit but there were none.

However they do use aroma essences which make me dizzy.

Basically they serve all you can eat dim sum at $198 per person with nice ambiance because you don't get surrounded by loud chatter and clinking ceramics!
The best part is that you don't need to rinse anything!
Pity I did not discover this place earlier because it was cheaper before and I have been here so many times.

The quality is not as consistent as I would have hoped but the in general, the food quality is better than the dim sums elsewhere.

The staff here speak good English and are very attentative and they even refill your cups of tea as well.

I loved the huge oriental black teapot with flowers which was so classic and it holds a lot of tea in it too.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried crab claws:

It was a treat having these for dim sum because you usually find them in Chinese banquets and not served a la carte.
It was big and surprisingly filled with quality REAL crabmeat and prawn patty.
Again it was delicious when their frying oil was fresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sauces:

complimentary chili sauces that goes well with all their dim sums and enhances the taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jellyfish:

The jellyfish appetizer was divine, it was chunky pieces of jellyfish head which have a meatier texture soaked in their aromatic sesame and chili sauce seasoning.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice rolls with roast pork:
The best of the best here!!
They have joined forces with Joy Hing roast who are famous for roast pork!!


The rice rolls were truly delicious as well because of the thinly sliced roast pork from JH inside wrapped tautly in the delicious THIN and al dente rice rolls skin paired with their delicious sweet soy sauce!!
From the photo you can see how translucent the rice roll skin was.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried crab dumplings:

This was similar to the crab claws, but it had more crabmeat inside which was fluffier and softer encased in the delicious crispy shell!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sharks fin dumpling in soup:


I was surprised by this as well because I found crabmeat in it too, but the soup was a bit heavy for my liking however they have red vinegar which balances it out.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef and parsley balls:

If they are consistent, these beef balls are delicious because the parsley was fragrant and they put lots into it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
fried squid rings:

These squid rings were addictive because they were chunky, soft and the coating was thin and delicious.
I loved the soft fatty texture of each squid ring complemented by the light crispy batter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Vegetarian rice rolls:


Another genius dish of rice rolls because they were filled with crunchy vietnamese rolls with a crisp netting and juicy pieces of white carrot and waterchestnuts inside complemented by the fragrant parsley leaves on the outside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roast pork buns:


If these buns could be consistent, again they taste the best because the bun was really fluffy and soft without being dry.
The roast pork filling inside was delicious and not fatty.
Usually expats and I hate these roast pork buns because they just taste sweet but here you can actually taste the roast pork and the fluffy bun was not that sweet as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Anyway, I love this place for dim sum and I don't get bored of it.
If you google this place, it comes up with the best place for dim sum in expat forums but it hasn't been nominated for anything yet.
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Price: $198 per person
Service: great
Yummy factor: great
Toilets: yes
Glass of water provided: tea is provided
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: Yes
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Quantity not quality at 德仔記

As my general rule, I try not to spend more than $40 on Chinese food in the MK area because it is bound to be crap so if food is going to be crap I might as well choose cheap food.

Anyway chose this place randomly.

At the front they have a steamer with Chinese buns and drawers of food brightly labelled in red.

The menu was good, it had pictures and ENGLISH too!


It was quite funny because they had wonton with instant noodles as opposed to wonton type noodles.

Regrettably, the noodles which I did not order would have probably been a safe option because you can't fail with instant noodles.
After ordering, I was given the bill!
[Spot the difference??]



The restaurant name and the restaurant name on the bill seem to different.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roast pork bun:


Two huge buns, but unfortunately the bun was really dense and sticky, the flour mixture had not risen properly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken feet in black bean sauce:


They were nice and soft but too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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德仔記(點心小菜王) (Yau Ma Tei)
Price: $32
Service: OK
Service charge: no
Yummy factor: Could be better
Saltiness levels: too salty
Napkins provided: yes
Glass of water provided: No
English Menu: Yes
Air Conditioning: Yes
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