Hong Kong’s Best Chinese Brunch @ Hutong

If you’re visiting Hong Kong, taking out visitors, or just love Chinese food (and champagne!), then this is the brunch to choose out of your many weekend brunch options in town, as the latter are usually European/Japanese and won’t give you that uniquely Hong Kong experience.

holding up the “Red Lantern”: crispy soft shell crab with Sichuan dried chili

I came here last Sunday for the first time in my life, which is shocking since I’ve wanted to try this place since I arrived in 2011. 2014 marks Hutong’s 10 year anniversary and it’s been so successful they even opened up shop in London a couple of years ago.

Hutong, London @ The Shard

Without further ado, here are the reasons why I recommend Hutong:

1. Uniquely Chinese: from its Old Beijing inspired interiors to the food. Special mention goes to the antiques they salvaged from the razing of Beijing’s actual hutongs (small alleys between courtyards)
2. Amazing Northern Chinese food (Hutong is one of the first Chinese restaurants to have garnered a Michelin Star. They specialize in Beijing and Sichuan cuisine)
3. An unbeatable view from floor-to-ceiling windows – your view of Hong Kong doesn’t get any better than this. It’s high enough but not too high like ICC that you can’t see anything when there’s a haze. Besides, with my horrible eyesight everything seems too far…
4. Unlimited bubbles!  Hutong offeres Hong Kong’s first Chinese ‘Free-Flow’ Brunch. You can opt for brunch without the bubbles though
   

   free-flow champagne and specially created tea cocktails by Hutong’s mixologist

5. Children 12 and below eat free!!! 
6. Traditional Entertainers (Sichuan ‘Face Changing’ magic, Kung Fu Tea Pouring, a live demonstration of hand pulling Chinese Noodles
   

   hand pulled noodles demonstration

   

   this guy, age 19, was trained in Sichuan since he was a child in kung fu and face changing art. He now shuttles back and forth between HK and Shenzhen to perform

   Here’s the menu:

Don’t be intimidated by all the Sichuan dishes! The food was tailored for wider audiences so you can either request less spice or order the unspicy dishes like the mouthwatering beef tenderloin or crispy boneless lamb ribs… mmmm

Spicy minced pork with string beans fried chili and dried petite shrimp

The ‘Fēng Wèi’ brunch is super affordable (HK$398 for food only) considering it’s a buffet; a normal dinner at Hutong is around HK$700 per person. Brunch is served on Sundays from 12.00pm; with unlimited drinks it’s HK$598 per adult (including Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label champagne as well as made-to-order tea cocktails).

Again, Children under 12 eat for free.

‘Brunchers’ begin with a lavish
buffet of traditional, creative dim sum and Northern Chinese appetizers

Green vegetable dumplings

Spicy minced pork dumplings

Lamb and scallion dumplings

Thinly-cut pork belly with cucumber slices

Golden seafood vegetable cakes

THIS WAS AMAZING: “Ma La” Chili grouper fried with dried chili, Sichuan pepper and Chinese “Ma La” Chili

Appetizers are followed by a selection Hutong’s award-winning signature dishes

oh, and did I forget to mention the unbelievable view?