DINING REVIEW: HONG KONG CITY (TAMARAC)
Hong Kong City, located at 5301 North State Road 7 in Tamarac, Florida, is a genuine New York Chinatown cuisine restaurant (view their website here). It is open daily until 11 p.m., and is known for its excellent dim sum. We have been coming here for about twenty years now, and have described below a few of our favorites.
Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine that consists of bite-sized portions of food served either in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Hong Kong City’s dim sum is as authentic, fresh, and tasty as it gets. A good indicator of it is all the local Chinese frequently eating here each time we visit.
HONG KONG CITY’S WONTON NOODLE SOUP
Hong Kong City’s wonton noodle soup ($8.95) comes with either sliced barbecue pork or shrimp. While it is normally served with egg noodles, we typically request thin rice noodles pictured above, as they are gluten free. The large serving bowl is meant to be shared among the table, especially if ordered as an appetizer before or with dim sum.
The sliced barbecue pork is very tender and flavorful, and marinated in homemade Chinese barbecue sauce. As fattier pork is typically more prized and preferred in Chinese cuisine, you should ask for leaner meat, if that’s what you prefer.
The soup also includes mustard greens, scallions, and very rich and flavorful broth. The wontons are Hong Kong style: a thin skin stuffed with pork and shrimp that is flavored with sesame oil.
HONG KONG’S STEAMED SHRIMP DUMPLINGS
Hong Kong’s steamed shrimp dumplings ($3.95) consist of four dumplings that are a mixture of chopped shrimp, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts wrapped in a thin rice paste casing. We love them for their sweet and delicate shrimp flavor.
HONG KONG’S SHRIMP RICE PASTE
Our absolute favorite at Hong Kong City, the shrimp rice paste ($4.25) consists of whole shrimp wrapped in a rice paste (sheets of rice flour and water, almost like lasagna noodle) and steamed. The shrimp rice paste come with sweet and salty soy sauce, and are soft and chewy. They are by far our favorite due to their silky texture with an amazing sweet and salty flavor. The soy sauce comes on the side, and you pour it over the paste, as pictured above. Once you cut into the paste, you can see the shrimp inside, as pictured below.
HONG KONG’S CRISPY SHRIMP BALL
Their crispy shrimp ball ($4.25) consists of six pieces that are comprised of a mixture of chopped shrimp, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts wrapped in traditional wonton skins, then rolled in strips of wonton dough, and deep fried. What makes them stand out is the contrast in texture with each bite: the silky shrimp filling in a crispy and crunchy casing.
HONG KONG CITY’S STEAMED BEEF HONEYCOMB
Hong Kong’s steamed beef honeycomb ($3.95) is certainly an acquired taste, as most people we know don’t particularly enjoy beef honeycomb tripe. However, if you do, you will like Hong Kong City’s very tender beef tripe, which is seasoned and tastes very similar to flaki, a traditional Polish tripe stew/soup.
In sum, Hong Kong City has excellent and authentic dim sum, which is also very reasonably priced. Their website lists some of their very impressive reviews from about ten years ago, proving the have maintained their quality and customer satisfaction.
Do you like dim sum? What are some of your favorites? Have you dined at Hong Kong City? Please share your likes and experiences with us!
Note: This is our honest, unsolicited review. We were not commissioned to do it, and received nothing in exchange.