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saltie

Having read the article in the last City Weekend about dianping.com and popular restaurants you've never heard of, I decided to give one a try. As all 5 locations of Spicy Joint were booked over the Dragon Boat Festival weekend, I decided to try Tan Gong as I am a huge fan of Cantonese food. The decor of the restaurant was nothing special and the service was slow when the restaurant was empty. When the restaurant was full, the service became annoyingly over-attentive in a 'we would like you to leave now as we have customers waiting' sort of way. We ordered several staple favourites which are, in my opinion, the mark of a good Cantonese. I found that the menu tried a little hard however and some of my favourite dishes were given the elbow in favour of more obscure substitutes. We opted for the 'Charcoal Roasted Belly Pork' (38RMB), the 'Hong Kong Fried Noodles' (30RMB) and the 'Fried Shrimp Buns' (38RMB). The pork was still warm when served and this rendered the fat almost liquid, with a crisp top and a delicately spiced and succulent body which yielded to the slighest chomp. This was sublime and was a world away from Bi Fang Teng's rendition. The Hong Kong noodles were 'hai ke yi', but were nothing special for this price. The shrimp buns at 38RMB for 6 were expensive, but what they lacked in value they made up for in pure eating pleasure. The buns were light, sweet, soft on the top and crisp at the bottom, with the perfect amount of filling and not to much juice. Four times the price of Xiao Yang on Wujiang Lu, but four times as good and nowhere near as oily. Yummy. The quality of the dishes was certainly a cut above the usual lower end Cantonese, but for 4 dishes and 2 soft drinks we paid 170RMB and I felt it was a little expensive.They even had the cheek to sneak 8RMB onto the bill for the 'bai chi' without telling us! I prefer my Cantonese served hot and fast, with a dripping pot of tea and a nosiy, crowded atmosphere and this lacked all of the above. Yes, the food quality is better than Bi Fang Teng or Tian Mi Mi, but at 2 or 3 times the price for each dish it's not worth it. If you want my advice, forget this place and head down to Wujiang Lu where you can have all of the dishes for 1/2 the cost and it's much more fun. Or alternatively try Bi Fang Teng (I like the one on Nanjing Xi Lu where you can sit outside). Cantonese is not meant for white table cloths and finery, it's cafe food. Why eat cafe food in a restaurant?

6 months, 3 weeks ago

ckhsu32

You only go to Tang Gong for two things! Remember!

1. The roasted squab/pigeon! It's quartered and I can easily eat 6 - 8 pieces myself! Hot oil drizzled on top to crisp the skin of the bird - it's the Chinese fried chicken but better!

2. The abalone cooked in soy and ginger shreds! Right off the shell. Absolute delight! Perfectly tender yet still a tad chewy :)

Enjoy! Go! Dinner time, it's usually packed but trust me - these 2 things are worth the wait!

 

4 months ago