Legendary Hong Kong at Jurong Point in Singapore 港饮港食

I've visited Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 twice since it recently opened at Jurong Point, Singapore. Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 serves familiar Hong Kong cafe fare like dim sum, noodles, congee, roast meats and signature beverages such as milk tea.

I asked Margaret, one of the partners at Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食, to share the idea behind her latest cafe.



Margaret who has 5 Legendary Hong Kong cafes in Guangzhou and Xiamen, said that she wants to share authentic Hong Kong style cafe food through Legendary HK.

There were over 100 items on the menu, so I managed only to try a few, and have to be back for more :D

Chef Ho who helms the noodles and congee station has many years of experience including at Michelin-starred MAK's noodles before joining Legendary Hong Kong.



I tried the Hong Kong style wanton noodles.

Hong Kong wanton noodles come only in soup form. There is no "dry" version unlike in Singapore and Malaysia.



These slender egg noodles were among the crunchiest that I have tasted in Singapore, so far.

The broth which was round bodied was not greasy and was mildly flavoured with layers of savouriness.

The noodles had a slight kansui taste (lye water 枧水). Hong Kongers like to eat the noodle with a touch of lightly tangy vinegar which balances the kansui taste.

I like the flavour and texture of Legendary HK's noodles.



For the wanton, Legendary HK kept to the Hong Kong tradition of having just a single whole fresh shrimp inside the wanton wrap. There was no minced blend of pork and shrimps. 



I like to eat my noodles and wanton with this house made chili. It had a sharp sting and was loaded with flavours from Chef Ho's own blend of herbs and spices.



Eating my wanton with the chili sauce with the red chili oil flowing down the sides. 

Yums.

Chef Ho is also famous for his beef brisket noodles. I shall be back for this Hong Kong food icon :D



Congee with pig's liver SGD6.80.



Legendary HK's congee is made by boiling a blend of a few different types of rice grains for hours till it become a gummy paste. No short cuts like using rice flour powder, so we can really taste the difference. We can taste the layers of rice flavours and textures.

Love this congee, a lot.



Steam shrimp dumpling SGD5.50.



The shrimp was plump and crunchy.



Steamed pork dumplings SGD5.00.

Good quality, meaty pork dumplings made right here at Legendary HK. Best eaten steaming hot, of course.


Click on photo for full review of roast duck and meat section

Chef Siu in charge of the roast duck and meats section had been a roast chef since he was 15 years old. Chef Siu's London roast duck, char siew and siew yok are Must Try items. (Click on Chef Siu's photo for full review of the roasts section.)



Custard crust bun with butter SGD2.50.

The signature custard bun was crispy on the surface. Inside, it was fluffy. Eaten with butter, the mouthful of crisp, soft, creamy, rich and buttery savoury flavours and textures was quite addictive, actually. 

Quite a sensational snack, really.



Of course, one cannot go to a Hong Kong cafe without tasting HK style milk tea.

Chef Lo who is the chef in charge of the beverages section, has been in this line since he was 19 years old. Margaret refers to Chef Lo as a "tea professor 茶博士", a honorific in Hong Kong for master tea brewers. 



Nice cold, sweet and fragrant Hong Kong milk tea SGD2.80.



Hot Hong Kong milk tea SGD2.20.

Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 is the place in Singapore for authentic HK cafe fare at reasonable prices.

Thanks to Marie and Winnie of Icon Group for the invite.

Restaurant name: Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食
Address: Jurong Point II, Level 3 (at Boon Lay MRT Station), Singapore
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/ZmFG2
GPS: 1.340615,103.706312
Hours: 08:00am to 11:00pm (Closed 2:00pm to 5:30pm)
Non Halal

Dates visited: 27 Jul 2014, 6 Aug 2014

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Legendary Hong Kong London Roast Duck and Meat in Jurong Point, Singapore 港饮港食

Three decades ago, on my maiden week long trip to London, my senior relatives would insist on going back to London's Chinatown for lunch just to eat the London roast duck 伦敦烤鸭. No matter which part of the big city we were at, we had to make our way through London traffic, all the way back to London Chinatown just for the roast duck. This got me really, really frustrated as I wanted to try other foods as well, like fish and chips and steaks :P

Nowadays, my tastes and palate have changed, and I will probably be guilty of the same irrational fetish behaviour, if I am in London again.

Today, I still have relatives who will always ta pau 打包 (take away) London roast ducks back to Singapore, whenever they stopped by London.



Fortunately now, we can all enjoy authentic London roast duck in the just opened Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 cha chaan teng in Jurong Point, Singapore.



Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 has under it's roof four HK signature foods namely, roast duck and meat, noodles and congee, dim sum, and tea and desserts.



Inside Legendary Hong Kong, it has the feel, looks and sounds of a typical HK cha chaan teng 茶餐廳. The fluorescent lit dining hall is too bright, people sit rubbing shoulders, back to back and have to speak above the drone of the other customers. Singaporeans won't be uncomfortable as this is not much different from local food courts or hawker centres.



I will be checking out each of the dishes in Legendary Hong Kong, one by one. This post is about the Hong Kong roast duck and meat.



Legendary Hong Kong's roast Chef Siu has 23 years of experience in his trade. A roast meat specialist, Hong Konger Siu has worked in the restaurants of HK and Thailand.



The roast belly pork hanging in the window.



The poached chicken. I haven't tried this yet. Must come back for it.



Legendary Hong Kong's signature London roast duck 伦敦烤鸭 is sold at SGD58 (whole), SGD30 (half) and SGD14.80 (per serving portion).



Chef Siu shared that Legendary Hong Kong uses only ducks imported from Ireland - the same fat ducks used in Chinese restaurants in Europe and London.

Ducks from Ireland (and similar colder climes) differ from ducks from tropical Malaysia as they have a thicker layer of fat and more tender, finer meat. The feathers are also hand plucked, so the skin and meat are not bruised unlike ducks mechanically de-feathered by rough tossing in a machine.

We tried Legendary Hong Kong's char siew and London roast duck 伦敦烤鸭.



The char siew was golden brown outside with charred edges.



The slices were cut thick and chunky. The meat was more tender than what is normally found in Singapore or Malaysia, with texture approaching that of braised meat.

The juicy meat was savoury with spices deeply infused in the fibers. The savouriness was balanced with sweetness from sauces on the caramelised surface.

Though different from Singapore or Malaysia char siew, I liked Legendary Hong Kong's flavoursome BBQ pork, a lot.



The signature London roast duck was golden brown outside.



Like the char siew, beneath the crispy skin, the savoury marinate with subtle herbal notes deeply infused the tender and juicy duck meat.

The crispy skin too had a robust savoury and smoky flavour.

The roast duck had a lightly herbal aroma like a very subtle seductive incense.

Fat was not excessive as much of it was melted away during the roasting process. Actually, I gladly ate the fat too as it was rich, deeply and robustly flavoured :P  To me, chewing a mouthful of skin, fat and meat together is the best way to enjoy roast duck :D

Now, I fully understand what was in my senior relatives' minds when we fought our way through London traffic every lunch time, three decades ago.

Legendary Hong Kong's London roast duck and char siew are outstanding.

My thanks to Marie of Icon Group for the invite.



Restaurant name: Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 (roast duck and meat section)
Address: Jurong Point II, Level 3 (at Boon Lay MRT Station), Singapore 
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/ZmFG2 
GPS: 1.340615,103.706312 
Hours: 08:00am to 11:00pm (closed 2:00pm to 5:30pm)
Non Halal

Dates visited: 27 Jul 2014, 6 Aug 2014

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.