Ming Court Restaurant Review, Hong Kong

Reviewer: Foodnut.com

Ming Court Hong Kong 2

We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.

Other Hong Kong Reviews:  Lung King HeenChuen Kee Seafood,Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Fook Lam Moon, Lei Garden, Ming Court, Sai Kung Seafood Market, Sun Tung Lok, Yung Kee.

Ming Court is a two Michelin star Cantonese Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, located in super busy Mong kok that is also home to shopping mecca Ladies Street and the Mong kok Computer Center. This high-end restaurant is located on the 6th floor of the Langham Place Hotel (Many of the top Hong Kong restaurants are in hotels.), above the massive shopping mall. This shopping mall features some of the steepest escalators, we have ever seen. With such a convenient location, it was a no-brainer to do some serious eating after shopping nearby. We returned at the end of Summer 2013 for Lunch and Dinner.

Our last supper of our Hong Kong 2013 trip was at Ming Court, chiefly because we were staying nearby. We had already eaten dinner here. This was an interesting meal because we had gourded ourselves at the Whisk Sunday brunch buffet at the Mira Hotel. We had to eat something, but were filled to the brim already. This meal leaned heavily towards soupy dishes.

In the summer of 2013, we returned to Ming Court for lunch. We were staying in a nearby hotel, so it was very convenient for us to retry this Michelin Two Star restaurant again. We remembered our previous dinner visit being nothing short of excellent. Dim sum lunch was a new experience for us at Ming Court.

Chinese Name: 明閣

Summary – Ming Court is a top-notch Chinese restaurant with very good service.
Insider Tip – Reservations are a must.

Cuisine – Contemporary Cantonese Chinese
Chef – Tsang Chiu King
Location – Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Opened – 2004

Decor, Vibe – Ming Court has elegant decor with a circular flow, featuring many old Chinese pottery, Ink landscape paintings, tastefully displayed. The restaurant was filled with everyone from businessmen, to families, to tai tais.

Ming Court Menu

Menu features a wide variety of items with chef specialties clearly marked, several set menus are also available. The waiter was extremely helpful in pointing out the must get dishes. We wish we brought more mouths along, so we could order more items. Roasted Peking duck requires advanced ordering. Noticed several interesting dishes that come with tabletop cooking utensils.

Ming Court Signature Dishes – Chef special chicken, Stir fried Wagyu beef

Website Ming Court Menu

Full Ming Court image set

Ming Court Lunch Picks:

The menu was difficult to decipher. We are used to San Francisco Bay Area Chinese restaurants which use terms like har gau – shrimp dumpling or Shanghai Steamed dumpling.  There were also many exotic combinations that move classic dim sum into the modern era through the use of special ingredients.

Roast Suckling Pig (HK$380 for regular size) is normally a dinner appetizer dish, but seeing that we had not ordered any during our current trip, we just had to endulge ourselves. This dish is taken to another level if you compare it to the version at San Francisco’s best Chinese restaurants. You are given 8 pieces of crispy skinned that is pre-applied with plum sauce and with the fat removed. Accompaniments include oyster sauce, sugar, and plum sauce. This dish was excellent and always a must order whenever we come to Hong Kong.

Ming Court Hong Kong honey pork

Honey Pork (HK$188) had a pretty large portion of char siu or roast pork. It looked pale and unappetizing, but one bite and you would become a believer. Again, a dish that is not replicated in the San Francisco area. We noticed that the pork was extremely fat, perhaps 40% of each piece!

Ming Court Hong Kong steamed Shanghai dumpling

Alaskan King Crab Meat, Shanghainese Pork Dumpling, Steamed (HK$25 per piece) was a fancy name for Shanghai steamed dumplings. We were simply tempted to see how well a Michelin Two Star restaurant could cook this dish. We forgot about our golden rule of never ordering this unless it is a Shanghainese restaurant. The dumplings were larger than normal, filled with an excellent but strong soup. Lots of crab flavor but not overwhelming. While we cannot say that these were authentic, they tasted as good as the one’s we had at Din Tai Fung Singapore, the week before.

Drunken Shrimp Dumpling, Shao Xing Wine, Steamed (HK$25 per piece) was a fancy name for shrimp dumplings modern style. There was a slight wine flavor, but these definitely hit the mark and were excellent. Creamy shrimp goodness that we don’t have back at home.

Pork Dumpling, Foie Gras Pate, Pan-Fried (HK$56 for 3 pieces) fulfilled our need to fill up on Foie Gras while outside of California. These dumplings were made potsticker style with a crispy bottom. Couldn’t really taste the Foie, although it imparted a creamy flavor.

Ming Court Hong Kong deep fried pork dumpling

Glutinous Dumpling, Dried Shrimp, Minced Meat, Deep-Fried (HK$48 for 3 pieces) are some of our favorite deep fried artery clogging dim sum dishes. These 3 beautiful little beasts were extremely hot, crisp, not too meaty, and were filled with some crunchy veggies.

Glutinous Rice, Conpoy, Chicken, Lotus Leaf, Steamed (HK$48 for 3 pieces) included 3 fairly small portions. Lots of scallop, chicken, and shrimp. Decent, but not as good as fried rice wrapped in lotus leaf.

Rice Pasta Roll, Homemade XO Sauce, Sauteed (HK$78) were wrapped in a different manner than most. Light XO flavors, quickly sauteed and filled with sprouts.

Premium Fish Maw Dumpling, Chicken Consumme (HK$98) is their substitute for shark’s fin. Unfortunately this was fishy and just average.

Chinese Tea (HK$22 per person) was served using high quality tea. We did not select the more expensive versions.

Ming Court Dinner Picks:

Hot and Sour Soup (HK$88 per cup) was an interesting choice. Many would laugh this off as a tourist’s soup. Ming Court’s version used high quality ingredients and was pretty spicy.

Fish Dumpling, Vermicelli in Fish Broth (HK$188) is a more traditional dish with excellent soup base and lots of tender noodles.

Sweet Corn Crab Meat Soup (HK$88 per cup) was also an excellent soup with lots of fresh crab meat and sweet corn.

Ming Court Hong Kong sweet and sour pork

Sweet and Sour Pork (HK$168) was a dish that we intentionally ordered to try the real deal. They stated that they used hawthorne fruit in the sauce, something difficult to find. The sauce was very mild, not too sweet. The meat was lightly fried and perfect. Foodies should definitely give this a try.

Boxed Australian Wagyu Beef with Black Truffles (HK$118) was the cheapest wagyu beef dish on the menu because it was sold on a per person basis. Luxurious truffle odors along with some quality tender beef from Australia. The Wagyu Beef we ordered a couple years ago with pumpkin is a better bet.

Ming Court Hong Kong bean curd sheet vegetables

Fresh Bean Curd Sheet, Premium Fish Maw Seasonal Vegetable, Chicken Consumme (HK$208) contained lots of soybean curd along with some vegetables that aren’t sold in the US. Not as soupy as the versions over here.

Complimentary Deluxe Dim Sum Set Promotion – This was a refresher on how good their dim sum was. We were so full we sucked the rich soup out of the Shanghai steamed dumplings.

Ming Court Hong Kong 3

BBQ combination (HK$288) is our standard appetizer that we love to order. Roasted suckling Pig an awesome crispy skin with the fat removed.
Barbecued pork and honey sauce was thin and featured a restrained flavor, not our most favorite version.
Roasted goose in Chiu-chow style was simply excellent, one of the better versions. Crispy Golden Brown skin, juicy meat, delicious.

Ming Court Hong Kong 4

Stir-fried diced wagyu beef with black truffles and pumpkin (HK$298) is a signature dish that we had to order. Excellent super tender beef, with abundant truffle flavor. Perfectly cooked pumpkin, that balanced out the meatiness. The waiter later came back and helped us slice the pumpkin up. They probably should have trimmed more of the fat off the beef. Dishes like this, epitomized modern Chinese cuisine, No funky MSG or thick sauces here. State-of-the-art fresh ingredients stirfried.

Ginger Kale (HK$128) had lots of fresh and simply cooked vegetables.

Crispy chicken (HK $198 for half) is another signature dish. Golden Brown skin, Lotus chips, tender meat, simply a must order. Only the chicken at legendary old-school restaurant Fook Lam Moon is slightly better.

Ming Court Hong Kong 6

Fried noodles with soy sauce and xo sauce (HK $168) Having had a stellar XO sauce at Lung King Heen, we decided to give this version of noodles a try. A simple but sublime dish. Super thin egg noodles with a perfect sauce.

Ming Court Hong Kong 7

Complimentary Rabbit Cream Puffs were light and fluffy meringue delights.

Ming Court Hong Kong 1

Double Boiled Milk with Birds Nest Served in a Whole Papaya (HK $128) was suggested to us by our server. This dessert takes about 15 min. and features subtle flavors. The dish was steaming hot and filled with creamy, rich coconut milk. The creaminess was perfectly accented by scoops of warm papaya.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

Service – Ming Court had excellent service, a knowledgeable waiter and service folks roaming constantly, service you unfortunately just don’t find in American Chinese restaurants.

Value – Prices are not cheap, but in-line with top Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.

Alternatives – Restaurants in this class include the best; Lung King Heen, Sun Tung Lok, Cuisine Cuisine, Fook Lam Moon, etc. This restaurant is less touristy, due to its location.

Verdict – While Ming Court is located in an out-of-the-way location, without a beautiful view, it deserves to be on your shortlist if you appreciate fine Chinese dining. They serve lunch, which includes dim sum and is more affordable.

Ming Court’s lunch served up top notch food as expected. Prices are high, quality is high, service is just very good. We have no reservation recommending this restaurant if you are looking for some of the best dim sum in a beautiful environment.

Ming Court continues to impress us with excellent food, even with these lower costs dishes. The service was about the same as our lunch meal here, distant and needing improvement to bring it up to the quality of their food and to Michelin Two Star standards.

Service was excellent during our visit in 2011. Unfortunately, it has faded. Servers were not around as much as before, plates were changed very slowly, and more was expected. We ate at another Michelin Two Star restaurant and received far superior service.
MTR station: Mong Kok

Open Rice page – Rating 3.9

Restaurant Map:


Overall Rating: (Super 3.5)

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