Back in February we went to Hong Kong to see some city lights and eat some food. I made us reservations at
Hutong because I read that it is basically a restaurant in the sky. Upon arrival we confirmed this: Hutong is a restaurant on the 28th floor of One Peking Road (yes, that is really the name of the street) in Kowloon overlooking the bay and the neon Hong Kong skyline. Our table faced the view, as did just about every table in the restaurant. We took lots of pictures and I even took a few pictures of pictures being taken - the Hong Kong skyline is just that impressive. It's like Times Square times ten, and that's before you take in the glowing watery reflection.
We started the meal with scallops tossed with pomelo segments and green asparagus coated with white sesame. The scallops were raw and I didn't know what to expect from the pomelo but found it to be just like grapefruit which cut the saltiness very nicely.
For my entree I took our server's suggestion and ordered the Dragon Red which was lobster fried with red pepper and sweet chili sauce. It was delicious but it was really hot (almost too hot for me) and really, really hard to eat (I mean, WAY to hard). They gave me a big wooden spoon and a tiny silver fork to master the dish and my embarrassing performance was not unlike Julia Robert's escargot scene in Pretty Woman, I hate to say. But what I did get up to my mouth I enjoyed very much.
I had a first with the dessert menu; every item on it was deep fried. Not a problem. We ordered two deep fried desserts. This one is the apple spring rolls with apple chips. It was good, but when hasn't deep fried sugar been good?
Before we left for the night I ordered tea and asked for milk and sugar like a good westerner. They brought out a cup of tea, a bowl of honey larger then my cup of tea, the smallest pot of milk I have ever seen, and a slumped over, melted-looking jar holding a couple of sugar packets. I probably should have ordered green tea but then I guess I wouldn't have been able to snap this funny shot.
But first we went for the oysters. One half dozen Malpeque oysters... and then there were none.
Next up, the oven roasted Guatemalan shrimp with chili de arbol. At this point, after the appetizers, I thought and even said out loud that this has already been a great meal. I could have stopped right there. But then we would have missed the whole purpose for our visit.
Which was of course the lobster roll. Ah, the lobster roll! How did I go twenty-six years without ever having the pleasure of eating a lobster roll? It was fresh - the chunks of lobster were enormous - yet rich - the mayo and the buttered bun were just fatty enough. It was so delicious, that by comparison the fries seemed completely pointless. How could anything compete with this?
Once we were done, the waitress informed us that both the Florida Key lime bar and the strawberry blueberry shortcake were homemade. Well, who can pass up a homemade dessert? We were sold and we finished off the meal with the Florida Key lime bar. It was sweet, tart, and creamy - just right.
If you are looking for some killer seafood, I highly recommend Mary's Fish Camp - just make sure to bring a thick wallet. We were a little shocked by the hefty bill, but in my foodie opinion, it was well worth it.
