- Served in a large clay pot, the handmade noodles were thick, chewy and tasty, and fully absorbed the delicious chicken broth
- At HK$63, the Oriental beauty soup also good value, and used a wide range of ingredients; there’s a different version just for men
It did not take long for us to get seats at Wyji, a new noodle shop in Wan Chai, thanks to a fast-moving queue at lunchtime.
The restaurant is decorated in the style of an inn in a Chinese martial arts movie, with carved dragon screens, antique brick walls and a traditional dancing lion. The restaurant serves handmade noodles and various Chinese dishes.
We enjoyed the restaurant's speciality of fish maw chicken noodles (HK$58), which was served in a large clay pot. The handmade noodles were thick, chewy and toothsome and fully absorbed the chicken broth, which looked oily but tasted delicious without leaving a greasy feeling in our mouths. The healthy broth had a rich texture from the fish maw, while red dates and medlars added sweetness.
The chicken was fresh and tender, and served in a large portion, although we would have liked it better if it were boneless.
Oriental beauty soup (HK$63) is for those looking for a "beautifying" tonic, with its wide selection of ingredients, such as silkie chicken, peach gum, dried longan, medlar, red dates and cordycep flower.
This "old fire" soup (lao huo tang " literally slowly stewed soup) tasted light and a bit sweet, and was served in a finely moulded purple clay stew pot. The slowly cooked soup is made without MSG and salt so it retains the original flavours of the ingredients; diners who prefer heavily sauced dishes may prefer to add some salt. While the Oriental beauty soup is targeted at women, there's also a lao huo tang option for men.
You can order the soups with handmade noodles, for an additional HK$5, and if you like, spice them up with home-made chilli oil and spicy dried radish.
The menu offers a selection of traditional side dishes. We ordered two refreshing cold appetisers, both of which featured wine.
The first was Chinese drunken soft boiled eggs (HK$18). The egg, soaked in a blend of cooking wine and sugar, had a tender white, and a sweet, oozing yolk. It was cool and almost meltingly soft. It's a pity that the wine did not add much to the dish, as it did not have much flavour.
The restaurant uses the same wine in its drunken chicken wings (HK$18). This dish was disappointing " the chicken meat was tough, and the wine made it taste astringent.
At night, the restaurant serves barbecue dishes, many of them named after the martial arts novels of Jin Yong.
Wyji, Lok Ku House, 118 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai, tel: 3916 7563. Open: 11am-midnight
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