Sweet Dynasty, Hong Kong

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My family came straight after Ocean Park and with the cold air, our stomachs were really rumbling. We were game to try anything and everything that the restaurant has.

Favorite Dish: Eating at this restaurant that's known for their dessert, you'll have to separate your stomachs into two portions - One to fit in the dinner, and two, no matter how full you are, you'll have to order a dessert or two.

My family tried their wanton noodles and also their fried rice. Not too bad at all. We then had "chee cheong fan" which was delicious.

Thinking that we had not engaged our stomachs enough, we went on to buy portuguese tarts and also fruit sago dessert! Burp!

With a name like "Sweet Dynasty", which is a Chinese pun on the Tang Dynasty, how can you go wrong with the desserts? The truth is, despite the fame and savoury food that they serve, the most outstanding thing here are the desserts and most locals really just come here for that.

There's a good variety of hot and cold desserts. I personally recommend "Yeung Zi Kum Lo"-- a delicious mix of mango, pomelo, and sago seeds in a bowl of coconut milk. Yum yum! Also tried their "Tofu fa" which is pretty nice-- it practically melts in your mouth and is not too sweet. :0)

For those who like to eat with more flair, Sweet Dynasty has quite a handful of cold desserts that are served in a bowl of dry ice. The dishes arrive in the flurry of frothing white smoke and you could be forgiven for thinking that you are eating out of a witch's cauldron! Thankfully, the white froth subsides so you actually get to see what you're eating. Dishes that are served this way include the "Mango Tofu Fa" and the "Strawberry Tofu Fa".

For those who like even MORE flair and have the cash to boot, there's a BIG bucket of "Tofu Fa" that can be had for HKD 88 (~USD 11). Just don't come with your stomach full.

After doing a bit of online research, I decided to try some of their dim sum and savoury dishes. Thoughts:
1) Ja Leung -- supposedly, this place makes one of the best versions of this in town. It's basically deep fried dough wrapped in thin white rice flour. You then dip it into a some peanut butter sauce and black soya sauce. The best thing I like about it is that the inside is actually crispy and not soft like some of the Ja Leungs that I've tried before. 3/5 stars

2) Glutinous rice wrapped Maltesers-- you read that right. They tried wrapping those Malteser chocolate balls with glutinous rice and then covered it in another layer of cocoa powder. I'd call it a "failed attempt at food reinvention". 1/5 stars.

3) Carrot cake-- this is the savoury Asian kind, not the sweet Western kind! Quite yummy as they were generous with the ingredients and pan fried it just right. 5/5 stars.

4) Steamed custard bun-- I, like most people, prefer it when the custard in the middle is molten, less solid. The type is serve here has more powder-y, more solid. 3/5 stars.

5) Mushroom Chee Cheong fun-- Stuffed also with enoki mushrooms but all in all, the dish doesn't bring out the taste of the ingredients and can only be called "average". 3/5 stars.

6) Pork and Century Egg Porridge-- Sweet Dynasty's take on this traditional Cantonese dish is of the more "patient" variety. Word has it that they cook the porridge for 4 hours so it has a very fine consistency. 4/5 stars.

7) Fried crispy chicken-- Not too bad at all. You (very lightly) dip pieces of chicken into a plate of salt and pepper. Alas, I had a blocked nose the day I tried this one so can't say for sure if it was the best dish or not. My friend did manage to polish of 80% of the half chicken one her own though!

Fun fact: for those who like star-spotting, they say that celebrities (local and other Asian ones) sometimes do like to visit Sweet Dynasty. Good luck!

All in all, this is just a nice place to burn time thanks to the copious amounts of comfortable booth seats they have. Another great bonus is that it's open very late (to accommodate the late night shopping habits of Hong Kongers). You can still grab a seat if you arrive at 11pm. As long as you don't mind a bustling crowd and brisk service, it's a great way to escape the summer heat for a few hours.

Favorite Dish: The secret is in the desserts! I personally like their "Yeung Zi Kum Lo" but you can't go wrong with traditional favourites such as glutinous sesame balls and mango-anything. (Yes! We Hong Kongers love our mango dishes!)

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This place is very famous for its desserts... and while I have always known of the existence of this place, I was never quite into tong shui (sweet soup, i.e. desserts) till of late. So on this trip I decided to try this place out...

I wasn't particularly hungry when I got there, but just had to try a few dishes so ended up ordering Carrot Cake HK$13 (S$2.50), BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Roll HK$28 (S$5.40) and rounded off the meal with Almond Soup HK$15 (S$2.90).

First time I've ever had Almond Soup (I normally have Sesame or Walnut) and was quite surprised by the strong almond taste... Everything I had was just ok, nothing particularly spectacular... but I realised that I should have tried the tofu pudding (tau huay), which is one of their signature desserts. And the next time, must remember to order their set meals - very worth it!

In Chinese the name is "Tang Chao".

Crystal told me here the "Zha Liang" is best in Hongkong which is deep-fried twisted dough sticks in steamed rice-flour roll. Yes the "Zha Liang" inside is very crisp.A tasty recommendation!

Favorite Dish: Steamed rice-flour roll
Sampan congee

A popular Chinese dessert shop right in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui

Favorite Dish: There are some dessert dishes that are placed in a bowl of dry ice! Thus, when the waiters/waitresses bring out your dessert your dessert is smoldering in white mist. I had a bowl of delicious mango in soya been cake.

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The ambience was good and so was the food. Silky sweet beancurb and other desserts. They have dim sum, rice, noodles etc. It took us quite some time to decide what to eat. A really long list of menu in English and Chinese.

Favorite Dish: Beancurb, carrot cakes, dim sum.

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The ambience was good and so was the food. Silky sweet beancurb and other desserts. They have dim sum, rice, noodles etc. It took us quite some time to decide what to eat. A really long list of menu in English and Chinese.

Favorite Dish: Beancurb, carrot cakes, dim sum.

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The ambience was good and so was the food. Silky sweet beancurb and other desserts. They have dim sum, rice, noodles etc. It took us quite some time to decide what to eat. A really long list of menu in English and Chinese.

Favorite Dish: Beancurb, carrot cakes, dim sum.

4 more images

The ambience was good and so was the food. Silky sweet beancurb and other desserts. They have dim sum, rice, noodles etc. It took us quite some time to decide what to eat. A really long list of menu in English and Chinese.

Favorite Dish: Beancurb, carrot cakes, dim sum.

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I have walked passing by many times, not until my friend Balio brought there I knew how nice this place is.
This place is just like all other restaurant in Hong Kong, crowded and loud, but as I mentioned before, that's how we the Chinese enjoy your food. Everyone is served with Chinese tea and charged for HKD3 pps, it's fair since the tea is nice. The cultery is fancy and makes you feel nice to dine.
The most important thing is that if you are tired from endless shopping and wish for something local and nice, they offer a brillant choice for you. One thing I really want to complain is their service... NOT good at all!!!

Favorite Dish: I really like how Cantonese make redbean suop. Taiwanese likes to add dry lychee; while Cantonese likes to add dry tangerine rind, it's different but both are nice. We also order a Chinese seafood pizza; well, it's not really made from flours but from white carrot, a bit like thin carrot cake, also a recommand from my viewpoint. Last but not least, we had one free gift from coupon given nearby. It's coconut flavour with a lot of nuts inside.