- Apart from a disappointing sautéed diced ham dish, everything from a starter of home-made squid sausage and fish patties to the wolfberry dessert shone
- The interior, which is adorned with bonsai, and the good service were bonuses
As I walked into Mr Zhang, the new Hangzhou restaurant in Causeway Bay, it seemed oddly familiar. When I looked at the menu, I realised it reminded me of Xin Rong Ji in Wan Chai.
The spaces are different " Xin Rong Ji is darker and moodier, but both restaurants are elegant, both have bonsai (or rather, the Chinese equivalent, penjing), some of the dishes are similar and the service at both places is very good.
It turns out that Mr Zhang, better known by its Chinese name, Zhang Sheng Ji, has been around in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China since 1988.
As at Xin Rong Ji, you're served a platter of fresh fruit to start the meal " on the evening we went, it was small tomatoes. They were pale red, so we thought they'd be insipid in flavour, but they were plump, juicy and sweet.
We started the meal with a dish we've tasted at Xin Rong Ji " home-made squid sausage and fish patties (HK$158). Looks were deceiving: the fish patties looked like ordinary fish cake, but this was far better than anything else we've tasted " mild and subtle, the pieces had been lightly fried on the cut sides, giving them a gentle crunch. The squid sausage was even better " deeply flavoured, slightly sweet and absolutely delicious.
We were hesitant about Mr Zhang's duck soup " HK$180 is a lot to pay per portion. We ordered two bowls to share between three of us. The broth was clear, light and delicate. The bowl also held pieces of moist duck meat and tender bamboo shoots, plus ham which was inedible, because all the flavour was in the broth.
Sauteed wild river shrimp with Longjing tea (HK$388) were much larger than we usually encounter; this is usually a bad thing " with river shrimp, the smaller ones are considered better. But they were some of the best we've had " soft and tender, with a clean taste, a mild sweetness and a subtle hint of rice wine.
In English, the menu listed one dish as Hangzhou traditional bean curd (HK$160), but in Chinese it read that it was stinky bean curd. As usual with chou doufu, its bark is worse than its bite " it smells a lot stronger than it tastes. This version was fine, and we liked the chilli dipping sauce, but the portion of at least 12 pieces was too much for the three of us.
When the waiter put the Hangzhou salt-baked fresh chicken (HK$350 for half) on the table, my guest asked "where's the sauce?" There wasn't any " but it did not need any. The chicken was succulent, tender, and delicious on its own.
The only dish that disappointed was the sauteed diced ham with garden peas and bamboo shoots (HK$280). We thought they were going to be tender, sweet Shanghai peas, but these were hard and starchy.
The last savoury dish was Huangqiao sesame puffs (HK$68 for four) which had great, flaky pastry with a salted vegetable filling.
Because the restaurant was new, the waiter offered us free desserts. Wolfberry, dried longan and chrysanthemum pudding (really a jelly) was cooling, not too sweet, and not at all rubbery.
Sweetened glutinous rice balls with fermented rice wine (HK$58) was light and not overstarched, and the small, delicate tong yuen were generously filled with black sesame paste.
Mr Zhang, 2/F China Taiping Building, 8 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2777 6068. About HK$620 per person without drinks or the service charge.
While you're in the area
Bargain lunch sets of regional Chinese favourites at Gold Mui Kee
Delicious twists on Italian alpine dishes at Castellana Restaurant
Bean curd sushi, bento boxes and rice balls for less than US$7
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