Located inside the Langham Hotel, right in the middle of the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui district, you get a sense of tranquility as soon as you enter the restaurant. It’s spacious in there – plenty of room between tables. The decor is verging towards pure decadance, with burgundy and gold as the main theme of the colours, and velvet curtains and sculptures adding to the finishing touch of the place. Maybe the idea was to reflect the golden era of the Tang dynasty in Chinese history.

I went there on the last day of my business trip in Hong Kong, just before I headed off to the airport to catch the plane back to London. It was also the opportunity to meet up with my friends Ken, Carol (and their baby Sigmund) and Joyce. And anything to prevent me having to stomach airline food afterwards was also a big plus.

The menu was extensive, with the price range spanning across the whole spectrum. For dishes such as abalone and bird’s nest, the cost would be about HKD1,000 ; while for the dishes with the more “ordinary” ingredients, the cost was about HKD150-300 per dish. Not at all unreasonable. After studying the menu for quite a while, we opted for the following:

(1) Sauteed Prawns and Crab Roe with Golden-Fried Pork and Crab Meat Puffs, which had won the Gold with Distinction Award in the 2001 Best of the Best Culinary Award. This dish was beautifully presented, and the taste was exquisite.

(2) Steamed Boneless Chicken with Yunnan Ham, Black Mushrooms and Vegetables – I normally can’t stand steamed chicken, but the ham and mushrooms augmented the otherwise very bland flavour of the chicken.

(3) Stir-Fried Diced Beef with Mango, Walnuts, Celery and Red Pepper – The different textures from the beef, nuts and mango worked really well in this dish.

(4) Stewed Asparagus in Broth – nice young asparagus, and the broth had a full body of flavour…. the sauce did look as if there’s a bit too much cornstarch in it.

(5) Baked Rice with Avocado and Diced Cod in Cream Sauce – this is how a Chinese dish should be: the colour, fragrance and taste all worked magic. I would have asked for seconds if there were any left in the dish.

I would love to go back again and try a few other dishes. And if money is no object, then a few very expensive dishes would certainly be on the card!

Address: 8 Peking Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Telephone: +(852) 2375 1133  ext 2250
Website: hongkong.langhamhotels.com/restaurants/tang_court.htm

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 12:00 noon – 3:00pm & 6:00pm – 11:00pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday: 11:00am – 3:00pm & 6:00pm – 11:00pm

Food: 8/10
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 16/20 [Based on visit in January 2010]

• Hong Kong
• Restaurant