Megan’s Kitchen caught my eye many years ago when i stumbled across an article about a hot pot restaurant actually being in the Michelin Guide. Of course I asked my cousins in HK about it and all i got was posh posh and very expensive. I checked out their website and indeed it was very very expensive – it can run almost 80 – 200 HK dollars just for the soup base. Very expensive indeed even for HK pricing. 6 years later working alone and no one to have lunch with i gave it a go. I went to the website to reserve a seat – and there was a special promotion – Lunch set for 148 dollars. Off i went….
It was interesting that hotpot is a communal activity – Even if you had individual pots you almost never see people eat hotpot alone. I’m not surprised when the waiter asked me “How many Miss?” “For one?” Nothing bothered me as I settled for the Beef Hotpot Set with the Winter Melon and Yunan Ham broth. With the lunch set i suppose as it’s the bare minimum you wont get much of the usual things you might get with the normal price – but i think it was good enough as it is. The condiment set came with Chillies, Spring Onion, Garlic, Shallots and their soy sauce. I asked for some vinegar – Chou which they gave me at no extra charge.
I peeked at the other tables though and some people paid another 25 HKD for the big sauce condiment – I thought i saw OX sauce, fried shallots etc. I honestly believe you don’t need anything else as the broth was so good already. Eating for one gets you the luxury of being able to do as you please – I ordered the Shrimp Paste (Which was almost 70 HK Dollars – GASP) this is something you don’t get in thailand. Fresh beaten and flavored shrimp is pounded until it’s a sticky paste, when you drop in boiling broth it becomes sort of a misshapen meatball with non of the fake floury taste. It transforms into a soft, sticky chewy deliciousness.
In the set there was 2 meatballs and 2 wontons. I”m not really a boiled wonton person, i feel sometimes the wrapping is too thick and the filling is sad. I also have a mistrust with meatballs – Either you get rubbery icky borax filled bits of minced mystery meat or you hit the jackpot with something very good. The meatballs here is a delight – you can feel how fresh the beef is with a carrot filling. Usually meatballs come precooked which you jsut sort of reheat, these ones were fresh beef which were a bit bouncy and very juicy and with the carrot in the middle it was a surprise. However the wonton actually won the show. It was pieces of chopped beef with cheese. The wrapping was a perfect ratio to the meat. IT wasnt smushy but chewey and nicely dense. It was amazing!
The set itself was quite plentiful – The beef is nice marbled and not too thickly or thinly cut. It was amazing. I think it’s very important and I judge alot of these hot pot places by the thickness of the beef – It’s crutial to have extremely good thickness – Too thin and the beef has freezer burn, too thick and it’s too tough and chewy. You really can’t find problems with Megans Kitchen except for the fact that it’s expensive.
The set came with 3 different kinds of lettuces, 2 giant shitake mushrooms, 3 tomatoes, some Eringi Mushrooms, Rice noodles, the 6 slices of beef (Quite big sized slices) and 2 meatballs and 2 wontons. The soup is great it’s bubbly and always topped up by the nice staff. It’s really delicious and great for spending that lunch hour alone. It’s a treat noone should miss…. (Theres a 12 HKD for the tea and a 10 percent service charge.
Megans Kitchen
5th Floor Lucky Centre –
Wan Chai Road
Hongkong
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