Wah Lok restaurant

Wah Lok Restaurant

Carlton Hotel

Had a really great dim sum lunch at Wah Lok restaurant today. Though it wasn’t an extensive menu, most of the dim sum that I ordered were either very good, if not exceeded expectations. Shall do a more detailed review of the dim sum I ordered.

Lao sa bao! This lao sa bao wasn’t too runny but I thought it was of the right viscosity. It’s still really smooth and doesn’t feel buttery or queasy at all. Some restaurants tried to make their lao sa bao really fragrant by using more butter but wah lok did not have its taste compromised even though less butter was used. Bao was fluffy and soft. It’s a lao sa bao that I don’t feel guilty eating.

Egg tarts. Love the flaky, soft crust and the warm, fragrant, smooth custard. Really good egg tart served.

Chicken and diced abalone pie. This dim sum was however quite mediocre I thought as it tasted a little gwei lou (westernized). The creamy sauce in it masked the abalone taste and texture I felt and could have easily been replaced by mushrooms.

polo char siew bao. This is my favourite dim sum of the day. The crust was thin and fluffy and was filled with loads of honey glazed char siew in it. Most restaurants will add quite a substantial amount of fatty char siew in it but wah lok uses mainly the lean ones and I really like that. Polo was fragrant and not too sweet . That really complemented the char siew in it. A very good dim sum I thought and I ate two.

Har cheung. Fresh and succulent prawns in it. Cheung fen was slithery and smooth. But I thought the soy sauce could have been a little more fragrant but on the whole still well made.

Har gao doesn’t look that pretty actually but then what matters is the quality of it. Skin is thin, translucent and doesn’t stick around easily. Wrapped under this thin piece of skin is a substantial amount of fresh, succulent prawns.

The braised e fu noodles was a killer as it made us so stuffed but I still managed to finish 3 bowls of it as it is just irresistible. Prawns and squid were very fresh as expected. What I think is more important in this is the quality of the noodles. Like what hk ppl love to say, I feel that this e fu noodles is ‘hou dan’ which means springy and ‘hou heung’ which means really fragrant. This dish just need these 2 adjectives to make it close to perfect. The presentation however wasn’t that perfect as there were too much noodles which made the ingredients seem insignificant. Maybe they can increase the amount of seafood added. Would also prefer if they can give a smaller portion but of course at a lower price.

Tried the avocado cream and ice cream dessert. Felt really refreshing and the avocado puree was really smooth. This dessert doesn’t taste too sweet and would be just right if you do not have a sweet tooth. A good dessert to round off this good dim sum lunch I felt.

Wah Lok restaurant is located on the 2nd level of Carlton Hotel. We were really lucky to get seats though we made the reservation last week as it is really popular. So do make sure you make your reservations in advance if you want to go on a weekend. Though it is a little more expensive than what you would get from the normal restaurants outside, with such good quality, it is really worth the price of about $45 per person I felt. The whole interior felt really family friendly and comfortable and service was prompt. The really interesting part is when the waiter talked to me in canto assuming that I could understand which I did and replied in canto too. What a hk like afternoon! A really highly recommended restaurant for dim sum indeed!