Many people raved about Man Wah even though it was only this year that it was awarded one Michelin star. Not that I really follow it, but it is a good general guide.
Hubby and I were originally scheduled to dine at Man Wah for Valentine’s day, but due to his work schedule, we tried it as one of our Wednesday’s lunches. In retrospect, I am glad that that we did not dine there for Valentine’s day. The atmosphere was decidedly unromantic. The decor was a 1970′s Chinese restaurant with pink tablecloths and lots of rosewood. Granted the decor was of very high quality but that still does not suggest romance to me.
The restaurant was intimate and our table had the best view in the entire restaurant. The bonsai tree was a nice touch.
We started off with their vegetarian duck which came with sweet and sour sauce for a nice twist. This was pretty tasty. It is one of their more popular dishes as pretty much every table ordered this.
We were at Man Wah mainly for the Peking duck. The maitre d’ severely discouraged us from ordering too much food as their 1/2 order Peking duck is quite hefty. Man Wah serves their Peking duck in two ways. With the first way being the traditional in pancake. I love how the pancake only has the duck skin with the fat shaved off, hoisin sauce, and cucumbers in it. Hubby and I had three pieces each and it was super delicious.
Part two of our Peking Duck was sautéed duck with pine nuts in a lettuce cup. Hubby and I each had two of these. This was tasty as well but not as tasty as part one.
Organic Scallop and bean curd. We were very full at this point so we only had one piece each. This was delicious as well, though I would not order it again as I can make this better at home.
Abalone and chicken rice steamed with lotus leaf. I could not finish this because I was so full so I took this to go as well. When I got home, I was too lazy to heat it up. But it was still so good even cold.
Overall: Man Wah serves very high quality Chinese food. The ingredients were all very fresh and tasty. Their service was top-notch with credit given to the maitre d’ who stopped me from over ordering. My main gripe is that I hate the decor, or perhaps I just hate that particular shade of pink. My advice to management would be to go all out and change the tablecloth to hot pink for a more contemporary look. Right now it looks like a high-class Chinese restaurant that is stuck in the 1970′s.
Other things of note: (1) Man Wah was awarded a Michelin 1 star in 2012. (2) Cost of meal above was $1100HKD($140USD). (3) Reservations are a must as the restaurant is small. Best to reserve at least a week in advance.
Located at: 25/F Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, 2825-4003
The dim sum dishes at Man Wah are some of the best I’ve had in HK, better than a certain Michelin 2-star restaurant. Perhaps the decor is one of the reasons why it took so long to receive a star? Service is top-notch and the food is excellent, and clearly I’m not the only one who thinks so
I’m always surprised that Hongkong metal railings don’t utilized Chinese lattice designs more. Look at that punsai on the table, so much cheaper than cut flowers haha.
I once saw a Japanese news clip showing that they even use Chinese lattice design on their sidewalks … but this time, they used the “shattered ice” motif … on the FLOOR where people walk.