Address: 32-40 Wellington St, Central District, HK

Telephone number: +(852) 25221624

Website: http://www.yungkee.com.hk/

Date of visit: March 2010

Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: $300 plus (approx $11.30=$1)

Comments on wine list/beer: Australian wine at under $200 a bottle and more..

Summary:

Yung Kee is a world famous restaurant, it was voted by Fortune magazine as one of the top 10 restaurant in the World in the late 60s. It had hosted the lunch meeting of Chris Patten (Governor of HK) and Helmut Kohl (Chancellor of Germany) in which they ate their way through 40 courses. They also provided the chefs for the first visit of the Chinese President to HK. If you go onto their web site, you will find pages of accolade.

On the night we went, we were offered a tight corner table – its not easy to get in before 9pm. The place (3 floors) were completely full. The owner has done so well out of this restaurant that he now owns the building which houses the restaurant and hundreds of apartments on top of the restaurant,

Yung Kee is famous for its roast goose. Nearly anyone who went there has the goose which starts at around $160 for a portion. The whole goose is just under $400. We had the goose which was superb. That was the highlight of the meal. We next had Garupa (white fish) in a wine sauce and King Prawns in a garlic sauce. Both dishes tasted similar except for the texture (prawns v fish). We also had the special fried rice and some sauté green vegetable. The rice was very good but the prawns and fish were very bland. Most main courses are around $100-$200. The whole lot was wash down with a few bottles of San Miguel.

Overall, I was not impressed. They are trading on their name. Maybe it’s because I didn’t order the abalone, sharks fin etc. A few days later we met an Australian couple who had exactly the same view. Our conclusion: go there and eat the goose as an appetiser, then move onto another restaurant for the rest of your meal.

Service was all right but not great. The waitress insists on filling my beer glass until it overflows. I suppose that they sell more beer that way.

E