Nanhai No. 1 - Retro Dim Sum Elegancy

★★★★★

$$$

2012 is all about RETRO. Retro Fashion, Retro Hair, even Chinese restaurant Nanhai No. 1 followed this trend and offer a range of retro dim sum! Dim sum nowadays is all about creativity and packaging, Nanhai decided to bring back some truly traditional but left behind dim sum to us, and how could we not pay a visit?

Nanhai No.1 is located at isquare 26/F, a prime location to overlook the magnificent view of the Victoria Harbour. Upon arriving the reception of the restaurant, I saw the receptionist wearing a stripe tee shirt. "How casual." was my immediate thought. Turns out every staff except the managers was wearing the very same stripe tee shirt to align with the cruising theme. The theme is implemented from huge dinning room decoration to small individual utensils such as chopsticks holder.

The tea was something worthwhile to mention. The tea is called Nanhai Tea, which is a house-mixed of two tea leaves. The combining taste was very refreshing and sweet in the throat.

There was also complimentary crackers on each table before meal. The crackers were very crispy and flavourful with strong shrimp taste. We would love to have another basket but there was no refill. :(

Not everything on the retro menu was interesting, so we only ordered 6 of them. They did not have the english translation, so I am just listing the ingredients here. The english names might be a bit putting off but the chinese name was poetic. 

Chicken Shaped Liver Dim Sum (蔥油風肝酥) $20 e.a. (10/10)

Very scrumptious dim sum. The dim sum shaped like a little chicken to imply that it holds a liver in it, which is cute. The liver taste was strong, it tasted like foie gras but a bit drier. The puff was very light and thin, it was mostly filled with the liver.

Fried Duck Brian Cake (窩燒鴨腦餅) $30 e.a. (7/10)

Sounding disgusting, the dim sum actually tasted nice. There was no fishiness or any sort of disgusting taste or texture in it. It tasted just like minced pork cake but much saltier. i guess the saltiness was to kick the fishiness away? Interesting dim sum.

Shrimp with Quail Egg (彩鳳隱籠懷) $30 e.a. (9/10)

I like how the dim sum was presented, it looked beautiful. The shrimp was wrapped around a halved quail egg, breaded and slightly fried to give a crispy texture. The sauce on top had soften the crispy layer a little but gave a great taste to it. The overall texture was quite nice.

Pork Belly Bun with Shredded Pomelo  (柚皮火腩夾) $20 e.a. (5/10)

The bun had a small piece of pork belly inside. The pork belly was savoury with some fatness in it, but it was too small to give a vivid taste to the bun. The Shredded Pomelo was generally weak in taste.

Deep Fried Banana Roll with Red Bean Paste (脫衣換錦袍) $48/3pcs (8/10)

The roll was very sweet but I like it. The banana was mashy and the red bean paste was smooth. The caramelized pastry was delicious and enhanced the overall texture.

Crispy Rice in Lobster Soup (龍蝦湯泡貴妃飯) $168 (8/10)

The crispy rice was delivered on a separate dish, so they could make the impressive cooking scene and "wow" us lol. There were also cooked rice in the bowl but the crispy rice sure enhanced the overall texture of the bowl. The soup was delicious, it had a vivid lobster taste but the meats inside the bowl was shrimp...Who moved my lobster? lol

Nanhai Oyster Cake (南海前蠔餅) $148 (5/10)

The oyster cake had a crispy golden breading but a moist inside. The amount of oyster was generous and tasted fresh in the cake. However the cake went soggy very fast half way of the meal, the Chinese dai Pai Dong in Causeway Bay definitely did a better job than them.

FINAL COMMENTS...

It was interesting to taste traditional dim sum that cannot be found easily in Hong Kong nowadays due to popularity and a switch in taste. I love how nicely Nanhai shaped their dim sum, I bet no girls could resist the cute little birdie (while my dad once refused to try at first due to its look but love the taste after his first bite lol.) Nanhai did a great job in offering scrumptious dim sum and dishes, my family were interested in dinning here at night and we are definitely coming back again. 

DISHES RECOMMENDED

Chicken Shaped Liver Dim Sum (蔥油風肝酥)

Shrimp with Quail Egg (彩鳳隱籠懷)

Deep Fried Banana Roll with Red Bean Paste (脫衣換錦袍)

Crispy Rice in Lobster Soup (龍蝦湯泡貴妃飯)

Nanhai no.1

Shop 3001, 30/F, iSquare, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
☏ 2487-3688