Luk On Kui Dim Sum - What to eat here
You're in Hong Kong and everyone kept raving about needing to taste the dim sum in this city and you've been seeing viral videos of this restaurant in particular:
Walk into this shop and take the lift to level 2. Level 3 is only open past 3pm.
Once you get here, you'll be wondering what to actually try! There's so many things on the menu! You will notice that there are different carts being pushed around with stacks of bamboo baskets or stainless steel dishes, and perhaps also eyed a glass cart filled with what are obviously baked or fried pastries.
Well, that was us.
We were lucky enough to "ttap toi" (Cantonese phrase for share a table) with a local uncle who have been frequenting this restaurant for the past 40 years! So in this post, I'll share what we've ordered in our short run there in hopes you'll order some and enjoy them as much as we did!
If you're up for it, why not brave yourself to sit with a local and chat them up as well. Who knows what good food they'll recommend you eat there!😉
The Basics
Har Gao 虾饺 (prawn dumplings), Siu Mai 烧卖 (ground pork and shrimp dumplings) , Black bean pork ribs 排骨, Char Siu Chee Cheong Fun 叉烧猪肠粉 (chargrilled pork in steamed rice rolls). These are all steamed items.
You can read more about them in this random website I found: Understanding Dim Sum
Har Gao, Siew Mai, and Black Beans Pork Ribs
Steamed rice rolls
Their Signature Dimsum
Char Siu Sou 叉烧酥 (chargrilled pork pastries) and Ham Soi Kok 咸水角 (fried glutinous rice dumpling). These are fried items, recommended by the local uncle we were sitting with. Ham Soi Kok is filled with a mix of pork, shrimp, and some type of vege. The uncle recommended that strongly and we actually added another plate as it was so good!
Char Siu Sou, Ham Soi Kok, and a look of the fillings in the Ham Soi Kok.
Drinking tea
Unless you are a tea connoisseur, what tea you pick may not matter too much. We weren't, so we just ordered the basic Pu Er tea that came in a teapot. There's also Tit Koon Yam 铁观音 offered and perhaps even other options if we requested, but we didn't.
However, the uncle we sat with was drinking from a teacup filled with tea leaves, that also has a teacup lid which he uses to "filter" or hold the tea leaves back while he poured the tea into another teacup. Apparently, this was the traditional way of drinking tea, while ours in a teapot was the modern way of drinking it. * Shrug * We didn't manage to ask him what tea leaves those were, so I can't tell you what they were. Although, if you look to the side of the shop, you may see this shelf with a pile of tea leaves in one corner and stacks of traditional teacups. Perhaps try pointing to that to order. 🤭
Thank you in Cantonese is "mmm kgoi". Delicious is "hou sek". Saying these may just put a smile on the staffs faces, although they may also look smug as they already know their restaurant's food is good.
Extra menu items
We did not get to try a few other options on the menu as there are some served at certain hours of the day. For example, their egg tarts (which are apparently also their signature menu item) are only served past 1130am. There's also the roast goose and roast pork, served for lunch. The uncle mentioned that the amoung of basic dim sum served may be reduced across the day as they switched up the menu for lunch.
Dim Sum is as quiantessential Hong Kong as their classic red taxi. If you are reading this and are planning to go to Luk On Kui to see what the fuss is about, then there's nothing much left to read but to experience the bustling chaos and taste them dim sum for yourself! Go forth and enjoy!