Maxim’s outpost in Hong Kong – indubitably.
This Hong Kong trip had been a bit of a disappointment in terms of food – I was expecting greatness at every meal but it ended up being a mixed one. The congee breakfasts were exceptional. Fried rice at the traditional Luk Yu Tea House was good. Lunch at the casual Kyoto Joe’s was below par. The 16 course dinner at the Yellow Door private kitchen was a complete disappointment. The fried noodles at Crystal Jade, famous for their hand pulled noodles, were greasy. So, when the 36 hour sojourn at Hong Kong came to an end, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to come back to this city again.
On our way out of Hong Kong we decided to step into Maxim’s outpost with minimal expectation. The outpost offers a pleasant dining area inspite of its airport location. It is an open terrace overlooking other restaurants and stalls with a modern decoration. The staff is courteous. We ordered seasonal vegetables in supreme broth, braised eggplant and crab, century eggs with pickled ginger. It turned out to be an exceptional meal. The seasonal vegetable was mustard greens – it was refreshing to sink ones teeth into crisp greens after six meals of primarily pig, fish, rice and noodles. The broth was perfect – a very slight touch of arrowroot made it linger on the taste buds. The eggplant with crab was a perfect dish – lightly battered eggplant slices fried lightly and then braised in a broth served with a sauce of crab and egg with an egg drop soup texture – soft and lightly crispy crab flavoured creamy eggplants. Century eggs had a perfect gelatinous exterior and a soft interior.
A perfect meal at the end of a short and turbulent culinary experience. I would indeed be returning again to this city but this time with a more through research than chowhound and popular food blogs.
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