While some would argue the Aberdeen Market wasn’t the most appealing of places when it was open, it was a gem when it came to finding unique and authentic food businesses.
The likes of Thai restaurant, Madame Mews, and avocado eatery, AVO, both experienced huge success while in the market, and have also went on to have their own venues and residencies since.
Another former Aberdeen Market venue doing just this is Taste of Hong Kong.
Offering an authentic flavour of the bustling city in China, expect all sorts of Asian cuisine at this recently opened venue on the hidden Adelphi Lane in the city centre.
Venturing out for our first cinema trip in a year and a half, my boyfriend and I wanted to grab a quick bite to eat close by. I’d heard lots of great things about Taste of Hong Kong when it was in the market, so decided it was about time to try it out.
Run by Teresa Chiu and her husband Vincent who is the chef, it was Teresa herself who greeted us at the door.
The venue isn’t large by any means, but it was packed when we arrived on Saturday night. Every seat was taken, minus those awaiting reservations to arrive, so I was glad we had booked.
Those who came after were sadly turned away, and it ended up being so busy that they had to refuse takeaway orders in the end, too.
The food
What I loved about the menu was how obvious they had been in pin pointed dishes unsuitable for those with specific allergies and food intolerances. The information was right at the top of the menu and there were different coloured icons to show each allergen. Although I don’t have an allergy, I can imagine this will be very reassuring to those who do.
The offering was extensive and there were plenty of options to choose from on the laminated A3 menu.
The deep fried homemade dumplings with pork and Chinese leaf (£6.50) caught my eye immediately, but we decided to ask Teresa what the most popular dishes were to unearth why so many love Taste of Hong Kong.
We’d been eying up the salt and pepper starters and she advised the calamari version (£6.50) was a winner.
She took our drinks order and returned to our table in no time with them – a Coke Zero and Diet Irn-Bru.
The thought of the noodles in soup bowl with beef brisket and barbecue pork (£11.50) was too appetising to pass up, and my other half ordered salt and pepper chicken strips served with boiled rice (£8.50) for his main, although he updated the rice for fried noodles for an extra £2.
The place was buzzing and food was flying from the kitchen into the dining room.
While it isn’t overly fancy, it isn’t rustic either and your eyes couldn’t help but gravitate towards the large picture of a ship with the Hong Kong skyline in the background at the right hand side of the venue.
When the starters arrived we decided to share them to experience the best of both.
The salt and pepper calamari had a mild spice symbol and crustaceans icon on the menu. It was apparent when it arrived why it had a spicy icon due to fresh red chillies being sprinkled all over it. That was alongside the fried onion and spring onion, too.
For those expecting bog standard rings of calamari that you get at most venues in Aberdeen, you won’t find that here.
Instead wide, thick strips of deep-fried squid graced the plate. It wasn’t greasy and the breadcrumbs it was fried in were nice and crispy.
The squid itself was beautiful. It was soft and not overly chewy like calamari can be. A bit more skill was required to eat these with the chopsticks because they were a bit tougher to bite into in one, but great nonetheless.
As for the dumplings, there was six of them and they all looked uniform and homemade.
Served with soy sauce they had been fried and were very beefy in the sense of being packed and large.
There was big chunks of succulent pork hidden inside with shredded onion fried. They were easy to pick up with the chopsticks and gone in two big bites. The soy sauce was rich and packed with flavour.
I had heard rumours about their homemade chilli oil being fantastic and asked if I could get some on the side.
It was great. A good balance of dry heat and ending with a sweetness on the tip of your tongue, you could taste the smokiness from the fried chilli. It was a runny oil with chilli seeds in it which pooled together at the bottom of the ramekin. I took this opportunity to dip as many of the dumplings in as I could.
Ahead of our mains arriving I ordered a cold iced lemon tea (£3.50). It was incredibly refreshing and not as sweet as previous Thai lemon teas I had tried. This was much more fruity and savoury than sweet.
My boyfriend had loved the salt and pepper dish so eagerly awaited his main. The chicken dish was just as good as the starter and the noodles were fried well and came with beansprouts and onion.
The strips of chicken were well cooked and there was plenty of it.
Speaking of plenty, my bowl of noodles and broth was huge and there was so much in it.
From the braised beef which tore away to the juicy and tender barbecue pork, every element played a part in bringing this incredible dish to life.
The noodles were delicious and I slurped up as much of them and the broth as I could. The chopped spring onion on top added a freshness to the dish, and the pak choi was buttery in my mouth due to it having been cooked in the soup.
I couldn’t finish it and admitted defeat. That’s one thing to note, they certain don’t hold back when it comes to portion sizes.
We politely paid our dues after our table was cleared and made our way around the corner to VUE to see the latest Bond movie. And like the food, it didn’t disappoint.
The verdict
There aren’t many Chinese and Asian restaurants to sit in and enjoy a delicious meal in Aberdeen any more, but Taste of Hong Kong is really trying to change that and offers something very different to other venues.
The food is authentic and isn’t styled within an inch of its life. It is homely, well made food that I’d happily eat in the restaurant or on my sofa at home.
The team clearly prize themselves not just on quality food, but also portion sizes too.
And be sure to try that homemade chilli oil if you like a bit of spice!
Address: 28 Adelphi, Aberdeen AB11 5BL
T: 01224 912221
W: www.facebook.com/TasteofHongKongAberdeen
Scores:
- Food: 4/5
- Service: 4/5
- Surroundings: 3/5
Price: £44.50