Mrs Pound’s “Secret” Stamp Shop Restaurant in Sheung Wan

I dragged two different people to Mrs Pound with me last week on separate occasions because of all the hype surrounding the restaurant. Let me bring you my report on this Asian-fusion place on everyone’s lips.

Door on the right. There’s a stamp that you pull on the lower left side to open the door.

During Lunch the door is open and you can see a menu board in front. During dinner the whole ‘secret’ vibe is kept up. We had to stand in front of the door and wait until someone who knew how to open it came in.

History: Story has it that Mrs Pound used to be a burlesque dancer but finally met the love of her life Mr Ming who set her up in Hong Kong with this secret stamp shop…

Food
The lunch menu is almost totally different from the dinner menu – unfortunately. I was sorely disappointed with their selections and with the food they served over lunch. (See the dinner section below, a better experience as a whole)

The disappointment that is Mrs Pound’s lunch menu

Pomelo Salad (HK$105): Thai pomelo, carrots, daikon, squid, coconut shavings, ginger-lime dressing

Pomelo Salad (HK$105)

Flavour was good, fresh, piquant; but serving was unsubstantial. Under that salad is an inedible coconut husk placed there to make it look like there’s more salad than there actually is. Apologies for the photo as I had half eaten it already before remembering to take a snapshot!

Fried Kway Teow (HK$95): Chinese Chung Fan with shrimps in Malaysian Chili Sauce

Fried Kway Teow (HK$95)

This was only good when eaten warm and so oily I felt slow and sleepy after.

Lemongrass pork chop (HK$95): Deep-fried pork chop with lemongrass served with soy sauce

Lemongrass pork chop (HK$95)

The texture was decent and tender. There was a lot of meat served (which we appreciated) but we wish there were more greens (cabbage) as well. The darker greens were so salty it hurt. The rice was not soft and warm but a little dry and cold. UGh!!!!

I was so disappointed with Mrs Pound the first time I came but I decided to give it another chance for dinner the next evening, since the menu was different. Turned out to be a good decision because the experience was so much better!

Food (Dinner): No personal photos for this section, sorry – it was too dark!

Rendang baos ($45)

Rendang baos ($45) Delicious! Perfect baos and well-spiced and textured beef rendang (Indonesian stewed beef) inside.

Sriracha street corn ($58)

Sriracha street corn ($58) Yummy! A lot of flavour on perfectely-cooked corn on the cob. I really appreciated the cheese and sauce that gave it a good spicy kick although it wasn’t HOT at all (I actually cannot handle my spices).

Hainanese chicken rice ($148)

Hainanese chicken rice ($148) I LOVE my chicken rice and this was was great except the CHICKEN was not meaty enough. It was a skinny, bony chicken.

Thai milk tea cake ($50) Great consistency, great concept, not to sweet, but could have had more flavour.

Service: They had a lot of young international students serving up dinner, so they weren’t exactly the most experienced servers out there. They kept taking the plates too fast before we were even finished with our food! I noticed we weren’t the only ones who were having this problem because I saw other diners who still wanted to keep the sauce on their plates for dipping but the servers took them away immediately. ANNOYING.

Would I go back? Yes, but only for dinner. Never again for lunch. I’d like to try their other signature dishes including the bulgogi pork belly skewer ($38) and Mrs P’s chilli crab ($468).

Mrs Pound, G/F, 6 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan; 3426 3949