dim sum | Fork & Talk

So after our questionable Michelin experience at Tim Ho Wan yesterday we searched for another dim sum eatery and came across LockCha Tea House situated in Hong Kong park.

We hoped that our second experience of dim sum would settle the question of whether dim sum is really meant to be squidgy and wet or are the textures right from what we know of dim sum in London.

LockCha Tea House is in the stunning location of Hong Kong park with its iconic water feature and peaceful atmosphere. The tea house has a huge range of Chinese teas to offer for any palette. The waiters are always ready to assist you in making a selection which for novices like ourselves was a big help.

Once the tea is selected the waiters will perform a traditional tea ceremony ritual which we were in ore of.

Watching the gentle movements of the washing of the cup and the brewing of the tea brung a sense of calm which was a total disconnect to what Hong Kong is all about. Where ever you may go in Hong Kong to eat there is the feeling panic and a culture of service with no smile but service with a growl. The staff at LockCha are friendly and approachable and it was nice to have that western touch to service after being without it for three days.

The dim sum on offer is all vegetarian and there is only a small selection to chose from which makes life a lot easier when you think about the length of the menus you are usually subjected to in most restaurants in Hong Kong.

As you can see we pretty much had most of the menu and regretted NOTHING. We ate and ate and yet we felt so good eating it.

The dim sum was largely steamed and were all made up of fresh vegetables so it felt like we were eating uber healthy in comparison to the majority of the week.

This has been the best dim sum experience ever. Such a range of subtle flavours and textures added with the fact you can’t feel you arteries clogging up with oil just makes it a double thumbs up.

The dim sum wasn’t gooey or wet like at Tim Ho Wan and after having this dim sum meal we can now confirm that LockCha Tea House has the best dim sum in Hong Kong. Luck was on our side today as we didn’t even have to wait for a table, we had heard horror stories of wait times but we managed to get away with it. Luck of the British 🙂 Beware, LockCha Tea House do not take reservations so build in some time just incase you have to wait.

Whilst making a trip to LockCha make sure you spend some time looking around the Hong Kong park, it truly is lovely.

Calm, peaceful and the best dim sum we have tastes so far.

LockCha Tea House
Ground Floor, The K.S. Lo Gallery, Hong Kong Park, Admiralty, Hong Kong Park, Central, Hong Kong

Fancy Michelin starred food for less than a £15 for two???? Well head to Tim Ho Wan for apparently the best dim sum in Hong Kong. This cute place has been awarded with one Michelin star and well we couldn’t pass up the chance to tick it off our list.

The owner of Tim Ho Wan once used to be the head chef at the Four Seasons Hotel and was crowned the dim sum specialist. He then ventured out on his own to bring us Tim Ho Wan.

Turn over is quick and this is definitely not a fine dining experience so please be prepared to sit at Hong Kong train station for this dine. The clients are both locals and tourists which gives you a good idea of the buzz it has.

Ordering – You are expected to fill out the menu card to state what you want before you are seated and the dishes are brought to you as they are made. Expect bamboo baskets to fly across your face as the waitress are continuously running around cleaning dishes as you finish. It is not the most relaxed atmosphere.

Cheap it definitely is, we are just not sure what we think of it. The only reason we say this is that the textures are a lot different to what we know and it was all a bit too squidgy and slippery for our liking. However, saying that this could actually be how dim sum is meant to be, so we would like to try another dim sum place while we are here, to be able to safely say whether this is the best or not.

Saying all that, the food is lovely and we can recommend the beef meat balls and the fried prawn dumplings. The seafood dishes are definitely the ones that stand out.

We were not a fan of the bean curd as we found, too wet and tasteless.

We were later told the signature dish is the pork rolls, which unfortunately I was never going to have. Elena shed a tear as she never got to have them, so if you manage to have it then let us know what was missed.