Beef and flat noodles in swiss sauce

Restaurant Review!

Tai Ping Koon l Causeway Bay l Hong Kong

Come, sit at my feet and listen to mine words. Let me spread but a bit of my humble wisdom upon the subject of restaurants for like people, they may be your friends or enemies. Some may not share your views on how ingredients should be handled and respected. You will find these places may even go so far as to oppose all that you stand for and believe in. Others may so agree with your outlook on life that you will always be comforted and at ease within their embrace. I have the misfortune of actually having a crush on one of the oldest and most venerated restaurants in Hong Kong: Tai Ping Koon.

Established in the 1800’s, it has been serving Chinese style western food with a such a slavish dedication to its roots that upon entering one of its 4 locations, you can’t help but feel that you’ve been transported to an older and unchanged Hong Kong. One with a glamour that is unmatched by all but a handful of establishments in the city. Wood paneling, smoky interiors, and a wait staff no younger than 50 all contribute to the sense that this place is so self assured; it obviously doesn’t give two shits about what the rest of the world thinks of it. Even the customers have an old world air about them. I’ve seen old Shangainese émigrés having lunch with their furrier and while being measured for new mink coats. I’ve seen dapper old men dressed to the nines almost melt into the ambience. There’s a languid air about the place that seems to exclude the rest of the city and its usual hectic mayhem.

It’s most famous dish is its Swiss Sauce chicken wings. The story goes that in its earliest days some European merchants were dining and exclaimed that the sauce for the chicken was sweet. Mistaking the words “sweet” for “Swiss”, the restaurant staff thought that they had somehow stumbled upon some ancient Swiss recipe and immediately pushed it to the forefront of its menu. On this particular day, I had Beef with flat noodles and Swiss sauce. The Cantonese have something called the “breath of the wok.” In essence, what you need is a well seasoned wok and a gas burner like a jet engine on afterburner and you will imbue the food with a smoky steely flavor. Not harsh and metallic but full and warm. This dish has it in spades. The beef and the sweet soy sauce mingle perfectly with green beans and soft flat rice noodles without being greasy or overpowering. The braised ox tongue with spaghetti is another established dish that you’ll also find in many Hong Kong eateries but here you can find its roots in a pared down, simple, yet ultimately honest dish which balances the rich, meaty ox tongue with a simple spaghetti base.

Like real crushes, things that you would usually find despicable, like say, oh, anti-Semitism, suddenly become adorable and charming. In this case, it’s the intractable belief in its own methodology. There’s no substitution. There’s no veering from the course. This is great coffee but what do you mean I can’t have some proper cream instead of this evaporated milk? You’re telling me that you don’t have any cream in the kitchen? Bullshit! Why…I ……Oh, I can’t stay mad at you. Black coffee will be fine. Now let’s go have some lie down kisses.