Pigeon and Nostalgia at Lung Wah Hotel 龍華酒店, Shatin Hong Kong

Pigeon and Nostalgia at Lung Wah Hotel 龍華酒店, Shatin Hong Kong

• August 14, 2015

Nestled in a very residential area in Shatin, is the famed Lung Wah Hotel, a restaurant specialising in Pigeon. Lung Wah was established in 1950 and remains an affectionate and nostalgic eatery for many local Hong Kongers.

Most of the original decor is still intact, and walking up the steps to the main restaurant certainly triggered memories of how Hong Kong used to be like when I was a child. I spent many long summer holidays in Hong Kong and remember with fondness what Hong Kong was like back in the 80's and 90's. 

Recent reviews of Lung Wah floating about the internet seem to suggest that it has since passed it's glorious days and the pigeon, nor it's other dishes are worth the money charged.

As I was on a family lunch trip to Lung Wah and my dad would be there (Masterchef in our family!), I was nervous about it being a let down. I've taken my dad to restaurants before where he didn't rate them at all and jokingly said I've lost all credit when it comes to knowing about good food!!! 

However, my dad and myself absolutely loved the food at Lung Wah, and whether it was worth it's price tag or not, we thought it was money well spent. 

The wonderfully old school setting inside the restaurant. I arrived super early at 11.30am to bag a table and they weren't yet open, but the staff were kind enough to let me in anyway. The restaurant opens at 12pm on a Sundays.

Signature roast pigeon.

Soya braised pigeon.

Lo siu, salt baked and braised pigeon.

We ordered 3 types of pigeon rather than sticking to the signature one, so that we could taste the different styles. The signature roast pigeon was the tastiest of them all. Crispy skin with perfectly plump, juicy and gamey meat.

The soya and lo siu style were also good, but was a little on the salty side. There were complex flavour pairings in the soya sauce pigeon which shows that no ingredients are skimped on, but too much dark soya meant it became a tad bitter. But still, it was a good pigeon, and the plump juicy meat made up for it.

Deep fried salt and pepper 'crystal' pigeon eggs. This was a dish worth raving about! 

Somehow, the egg white is a crystal/transparent jelly form rather than a brilliant white. We think maybe the eggs were cooked in a water bath first to firm up over a long time before being deep fried. How they did it, I'll never know! The salt and pepper bits were made of garlicky cornflakes (yes, cornflakes!) and together with the crunchy and savoury basket, it went perfectly with the jelly pigeon eggs.

Sweet and sour pork.

Steamed salted fish pork cake.

Fried beef ho fun.

As the rest of the dishes followed, the satisfaction also grew. A really old school dish of steamed salted fish pork cake was made home style and I could have eaten a bucket of rice with it. Savoury but not too salty and good pork mince that was juicy and tender. Additional shiitake mushrooms and spring onions also added another great dimension. It's the same dish as I ate at The Chairman but executed in completely different ways, I enjoyed both ways just as much. 

The beef ho fun was full of 'wok hei', the smokiness from the breath of wok, a classic characteristic of Cantonese dishes and seasoned perfectly. The sweet and sour pork was great in presentation, but batter was a little on the thick side. 

This meal for 6 came to around $800 (£67) and we loved the food. I'm glad the internet rumours got Lung Wah all wrong. Whether you class $800 as expensive or not, the food is delicious and surely, a trip down memory lane is priceless?

What sealed the deal for me was the look of happiness on my dad's face and pure silence as he worked his way through the pigeon. Right after the meal, he gave me a thumbs up on the food and the bill amount, and said I'd redeemed my credit again! 

The easiest way to get to Lung Wah is to take the East Rail train to Shatin. From Shatin train station, it's approximately a 10 minute walk on a straight road. The road is very much open and blistering hot on a July day, so taxi is an option too. 


Address:
Lung Wah Hotel 龍華酒店
22 Ha Wo Che Chuen
Shatin
Hong Kong

Read about my other Hong Kong eats and recommendations.