Tin Lung Heen・天龍軒

Setting

Soaring ceilings, dark wood walls and lush furnishings manifest at Tin Lung Heen, the Chinese restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong. Its large floor-to-ceiling windows look out west to Tsing Ma Bridge and beyond and the setting is atmospheric as clouds fly past diners from their seats on the 102nd floor. Seven private rooms including one with a chef's table offer similarly splendid views.

Food

A thick menu of traditional Cantonese fare offers a range of dining delights, with set tasting menus, Chinese delicacies and seasonal produce taking centre stage. There are some winning dishes to be found throughout the menu too. An amuse bouche of fish balls and okra in a curry sauce is an unusual yet agreeable start, with a gentle kick. The signature dish of barbecued Iberian pork with honey comes highly recommended and is presented in surprisingly large chunks. It's not too sweet, nor too fatty yet verges perilously close to being dry, but the meat is good quality and flavorful. The signature double-boiled chicken soup with fish maw is sweet and served in a baby coconut, the sweet meat of which lends its fragrance to the soup. The pan-fried scallops with ginger and spring onion were perfectly cooked, tender, not chewy, if a little oily. The portion is large and the minced vegetables make for an addition of strong flavors that pack a pleasant punch but may have done better served atop the seafood as opposed to underneath. Dinner was rounded off with the signature baked egg custard tarts with caramel, bite-sized pastries with a lovely flakey base, a soft, lightly baked egg custard and a hint of sweet caramel drizzled on top. This was complemented by the chilled mango cream with sago, pomelo and aloe vera that was light, runny and refreshing with just the right amount of the pomelo’s sour tang to offset the sweet mango with the texture addition of the aloe vera. Petits fours of osmanthus jelly with goji berry – like a lovely tea jelly – and sesame biscuits which were sweet, crunchy and covered in a layer of white sesame seeds were the perfect end to a meal of subtle flavors and carefully thought-out texture combinations.

Wine

The wine list is lengthy, at over 40 pages, with grapes from around the world and vintages from across the decades. There is little at the lower end of the price scale but for the big spenders there’s plenty to choose in a variety of bottle sizes.  

Service

Service is outstanding. Recommendations flow easily and all queries are answered. Staff are attentive and amiable throughout.

Price   $$$$

Dinner for two with a glass of wine each came to HK$2,200 and could quickly sky rocket on ordering some of the more expensive dishes such as the traditional Chinese delicacies.