Duddell’s Hong Kong

This is post #37, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post. This is also one of many posts that are part of the series Jen’s Guide – Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors

Imagine visiting the well-designed home of an avid art collector, whose gorgeous home happened to also have a lovely outdoor terrace as well as a dining area offering Michelin-starred Cantonese cuisine. This is what it might feel like if you were to visit Duddell’s, a high-end Cantonese restaurant located on Duddell Street on top of Shanghai Tang mansion in Central Hong Kong.

Not only is the entire interior beautifully designed, the space hosts regular art exhibitions and screenings as well. There are private dining rooms, a library, and a showroom for art and cultural talks. Most importantly (for us food-focused people, that is), there is the restaurant which offers all sorts of top notch, high-end Cantonese fare.
 
Executive chef Siu Hin Chi, formerly at T’ang Court, runs the restaurant, which had two Michelin stars from 2015 to 2017 and one Michelin star in the 2018 Guide.

There is a massive a la carte menu with all sorts of classic, high-end Cantonese fare (roast meats, abalone, double boiled soups, shark’s fin, Iberico pork, sea cucumber, bird’s nest, just to name a few . . .) as well as several tasting menus. Since there were only two of us, we decided to order two tasting menus in order to try more dishes.

We ordered two different tasting menus: one priced at 1480 HKD per person and one priced at 1980 HKD. There was also one priced at 3380 HKD per person, and you could also upgrade the abalone to nicer varieties as well.

Below are the two tasting menus, described separately. General thoughts are at the end.

Tasting Menu #1: 1480 HKD per person

First Course: braised whole South African abalone, fish maw, supreme abalone sauce

Second Course: steamed local young lobster with egg white and caviar

Third Course: double boiled matsutake mushrooms, bamboo pith, Chinese cabbage

Fourth Course: pan fried Kagoshima A5 Wagyu beef with wild mushrooms and black pepper

Fifth Course: sauteed asparagus with fresh crab meat

Sixth Course: fried rice with crispy Iberico pork, sweetened preserved vegetables, and egg white

Seventh Course: double boiled imperial bird’s nest with almond cream and petit fours

Tasting Menu #2: 1980 HKD per person

First Course: Duddell’s Appetizer Combination – marinated cucumber with jelly fish
 
The “crispy suckling pig” was a single bite, with a beautiful square of crispy skin, a cloud shaped “bao” sheet, and a small piece of suckling pig meat. We ate it in one bite. There was also an Iberico pork with honey glaze (top right).

Second Course: fish broth with dried fish maw

Third Course: steamed garoupa filet with a delicate, beancurd custard and soy sauce

Fourth Course: braised whole South African Abalone (3 heads) with Shiitake mushroom

Fifth Course: poached enoki mushroom stuffed with bamboo pith

Sixth Course: egg white fried rice with black truffle and fresh crab meat

Sixth Course: chilled sago cream with mango plus petit fours

General Thoughts – Duddell’s Hong Kong

There’s no question that dining at Duddell’s is an elegant, exquisite, and pleasant high-end experience. We had a relatively early dinner reservation, so the dining room was very quiet and there weren’t that many diners until later into our meal. The food is great, albeit quite pricy. The beautiful artwork, high level of service, and excellent location definitely come at a price!

I think if you’re trying to impress a client, organize a really special date, or if money is no object, this is a great place that offers all of the classic high-end Cantonese luxuries and exotic eats in a more European style setting. We found the food to be excellent, and the tasting menu was indeed a nice way to try various things.

If I were to come back, I would be curious to enjoy some of their more casual offerings, such as dim sum, snacks, or brunch in the salon. Coming back during daylight to enjoy their beautiful outdoor patio would be another one on my list.

Duddell’s Hong Kong
3-4/F, Shanghai Tang Mansion
1 Duddell Street, Central
2525 9191