Hong Kong :: Hutong, More like Woo!tong

On the our last night in Hong Kong, Squids and I made 7pm reservations at a Michelin starred restaurant called Hutong. Hutongs are narrow streets and alley ways in Beijing and the food served here is a modern take on the food that can be found in hutongs. There are a few cuisines, like Chinese and Mexican, that I think is best in the mom and pop shops with plastic covered tables and sticky floors. But a few of Hutong's dishes really made me rethink this especially factoring the amazing view of Victoria Harbour. Much to the annoyance of our waiters, we ate very slowly in order to catch the 8pm Symphony of Lights shows from our table. Every night, the buildings on Hong Kong Island put on a lovely light show that is best viewed from Kowloon. We enjoyed the show while sipping on lychee wine and chowing down on crispy lamb, noodles and apple fritters. It was the perfect way to end our trip.

Lychee rice wine served in a classic clay tea pot. This would most certainly make my mom sing, as she tends to do when she has a little something to drink. 

 Simple noodle soup with shitake mushrooms. The broth was incredibly flavorful. This was Squidward's favorite. 

My favorite dish of the night, crispy lamb done in a traditional peking style. I have never had lamb so juicy and delicious as this. It has a salty and crispy"skin" (I don't think it was actual skin...that would be kind of gnarly) which gave it some texture. I hope they never take this off their menu. 

Apple "eggrolls" for dessert. This definitely reminded me a lot of my dad. He's doesn't spend a ton of time cooking. He's mostly responsible for stocking my mom's kitchen with the proper tools and gizmos and telling her how delicious her meals are. But he does have a few signature dishes up his sleeve, one being banana fritters with honey and sugar and vanilla ice cream. I think that's why I tend to like fruit desserts over chocolate. 

We actually ordered a lot more food than this, but the restaurant is VERY dark and my pictures were coming out pretty bad and I think my flash was really annoying some of our neighbors. The menu at Hutong, like many Chinese restaurants, is HUGE. I welcome the chance to go back and try some of their other dishes.