An unique thing to check out in Hong Kong’s culinary scene is “Private kitchen“. Sort of similar to the speakeasy bar in the US during early 20th century, Private kitchens are unlicensed “secret” eateries that’re inside someone’s apartment or a nondescript office building, usually without prominent signage and were spread only through word of mouth. Such culinary “movement” got popular in the last 10 years due to the extreme high rent and difficult regulations/landlords in Hong Kong. There are many speakeasy restaurants in Hong Kong and their qualities varies, some are gourmet and fancy while some are very down home and grass root. After some research we decided to check out Club qing, a speakeasy that specialized in creative gourmet Chinese cuisine.
Reservation in advance is a must for Private kitchen, since the food is cook to order and the tables are limited. Club Qing was quite convenient in that regard as you can reserve a table via their website. Though they require a deposit for first timer and it’s annoying how much the bank charge for money wiring.
Club Qing locates on the 10th floor of an office building at Lan Kwai Fong (a cheesy foreigner/expat hang out night spot). Out of the elevator you would see two Qing dynasty theme paintings and you know you’ve reach the right place.
The interior is very small but decorated in Qing dynasty theme. They have 4 different set menus for you to choose from, we chose the HK$430 (about $54 in USD) one which contains 9 courses. Other than creative Chinese cuisine, the chef is also a tea expert. Three premium tea were paired with the course dinner.
First Chinese Tea Serving: Long Jing Tea.
I haven’t try high-end fine tea before so they were quite an opener for me to realized the differences compare with normal tea. We start off light. It is so crisp with lots of depth.
No 1: Chilled Lotus Roots in Pineapple Sauce.
Pineapple and lotus roots, who would thought that such combination works. A nice fruity and refreshing appetizer to wet your appetite with.
No 2: Serrano Ham & Portobello Mushrooms Roll.
A very un-Chinese dish. Hard to go wrong with ham and mushroom.
No 3: Mixed Vegetable Jelly in Szechuan Spicy Sauce.
Light and tangy, another “wet your appetite” dish. The fried enoki mushroom was a nice touch.
No.4 : Signature Dish: Baked Prawns with Fresh Pepper and Japanese Sake
This is very very delicious, one of the highlights of the night. The sauce that was in the prawns was amazing, you taste different flavors the more you eat it. The small green pepper is a type of Thai pepper and the big red ones are Szechuan pepper which is very spicy. There were sprinkles of Crab roe too. A rich and “fiery” dish that’s probably not too good for my sick body which was running yang/hot already.
No 5: Fried Scallop & Cheese Roll in Hawthorn & Kiwi Sauce.
Interesting combination. I found the hawthron and Kiwi sauce a little too sweet for the roll, which was better by itself. I like how light and fresh the deep fried skin were.
No 6: Honey Melon with Dried Scallop. – The soup taste healthy and “cooling” (melon is “yin/cold”).
Tea Break: Iron Kwan-Yin Oolong Tea – Another great fine tea to clean our palate.
No 7: Signature Dish: Mixed Mushroom & Vegetable Globe in Pumpkin Sauce
What a pretty dish. It’s very good, love the pumpkin sauce.
No 8: Steamed Chicken & Porcini Mushroom with Nigata Rice
We’re getting full by the time this dish came out. The chicken was very flavorful (unlike the chicken in the US) and smell wonderful. It’s a rich dish and went well with the rice.
The rice that accompanied the chicken dish was filled with shaved truffle. It’s really tasty and you can get refilled too. Though we were too full by the end and couldn’t finish the last dish. Final Tea Break: Dan Chung Tea
No 9: Dessert. I forgot what the dessert was, it’s a mousse and the top layer was raspberry.
The service was amazing, the waitress explained the thought process behind each dish which were very interesting (have to say she’s really good at presentation!). I wish I wrote them down. We had a wonderful time at Club Qing and I highly recommend this place for those who like to experience both “Private Kitchen” and “creative fusion Chinese cuisine”.
Club Qing
10F, Cosmos Building 8 – 11 Lan Kwai Fong Central, Hong Kong
www.clubqing.com or (852) 2536 9773 for Reservation
Tags: Chinese, creative, Prix fixe, speakeasy, Tea
