There are really only two things to do in Hong Kong: shop and eat. Hong Kong has become quite the showcase for the best cuisine. But most of all, some of the world’s best Chinese cooking. The four main styles of Chinese cooking are Beijing, Cantonese, Sichuan, and Shanghai. Of these, Cantonese is the most popular in Hong Kong – that thousand-year-old gastronomic culture (dating back to 206 B.C. during the West-Han Dynasty), which thrives in the art of combining different elements while maintaining the freshness and individual flavors of ingredients.

I saw a white bucket on the floor of Tung Lo Wan, the latest addition to the row of restaurants on Wilson Street in Greenhills that specializes in Hong Kong/Cantonese cuisine. It was by the foot of the waiter but the guest giving his orders didn’t seem to mind – although I did. How tacky (!) I thought – until I was awakened to its worth. The waiter picked up the bucket and presented its contents to the guest. The guest nodded in approval. I soon learned that in that bucket were live crabs, waiting for their death sentence for the gustatory pleasures of this customer. The bucket was to honor the Cantonese cuisine requirement of maximum freshness for seafoods.

The same commitment to freshness was demonstrated when I ordered a Lapu Lapu (grouper). Changing my mind a few minutes after placing the order, I requested the waiter to cancel the Lapu Lapu for an order of roast chicken. The waiter came back from the kitchen to give a reply in the negative. “Napatay na po yung isda Ma’am, eh (The fish has been killed).” They have live fish and don’t kill the fish until you order! Alas, I had to pay my respects. But no regrets – there was much glory in its steamed resurrection, giving its untimely demise much dignity.

Reggie Lee, the owner who personally created Tung Lo Wan’s recipes, explains their commitment to quality ingredients. “Siyempre, pag hindi fresh, pag hindi authentic, hindi ganun kasarap [Of course, if it’s not fresh, if it’s not authentic, the flavors are not as delicious].” That is why aside from the live seafood, Tung Lo Wan also offers chicken flown in from Hong Kong.

The quality of the chicken is evident in the Roast Chicken (Hong Kong style chicken) and the White Chicken. The Roast Chicken (not the Tung Lo Wan chicken) has golden brown crispy skin with succulent meat underneath. The White Chicken has plump white skin with the same juiciness preserved. Both are juicy without being oily. And that is the strength of Tong Lu Wan. Aside from a commitment to freshness, they also honor the traditional Cantonese method of cooking wherein food is never greasy. This is also evident in their Lechon Macau, an excellent presentation of pork with a slither of crispy, toasted skin resting on a beautiful balance of pork fat over meat over fat over meat over fat. In fact this is the one thing I would come back for to Tung Lo Wan over and over again. (It is served with mustard although I personally prefer it without.) So make sure you have room for this even if you order your feast the traditional way, i.e., beginning with several (four or eight) small cold dishes.

This tradition of beginning with several cold dishes – and the understanding that first impressions last – is probably also the reason behind a few excellent starters, especially those employing century eggs. Century eggs are a challenge to appreciate. They are creepy little b***ches. Pungent not in aroma but in flavor and in a manner that creeps into your taste buds to a pungent crescendo, these are not for the faint-hearted. However, like a diamond in the rough, when paired with more tempered ingredients, they become quite acceptable and for some, even addictive. At Tung Lo Wan, century eggs surround cold seaweed. Or accent a block of tofu crowned with pork floss. In concerto with the other ingredients, the century eggs shine.

Another good way to begin your meal is with the Buddha Soup. The restaurant carries regular Chinese restaurant soup offerings such as Hot and Sour Soup but it is the Buddha soup that is outstanding. Fo Tiao Qiang or Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (shortened to Buddha soup) at Tong Lu Wan) is a Cantonese and Fujian soup created as far back as the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). It is said to have been created by a Fuzhou official’s wife who, while cooking for an important visitor, placed duck, pork and seafood together in an empty wine jar to simmer. The visitor asked his cook Zheng Chunfa to replicate it. The cook made his own version which he later served in his restaurant Juchunyuan. One restaurant guest was so taken by the soup that he wrote a poem about it, saying essentially that the smell was so wonderful that even a Buddha would stop pattering and jump over the wall to have a taste – hence the name “Buddha Jumps over the Wall.”

What would Buddha find? Over 20 ingredients simmering in a Shaoxing wine jar. At Tung Lo Wan, you will find bell and shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts, lotus seed and taro, alongside treasures of the sea such as abalone, fish, sharks fin, pacific clam plus litid (cartilage). Delicious! It will also bring out the jumping Buddha in you.

While the food is fit for a Buddha, remember that the restaurant is no deity’s court but a “Food Express.” Tung Lo Wan ain’t no fine dining restaurant. Feel free to slurp your soup as loud as you please, eat with your hands, or laugh boisterously. As observed in The Rituals of Dinner, “Chinese diners are said to rejoice in a messy table: the more bones, shells, pods, and crab claws litter the table, the more fun the meal has obviously been.” The same author also notes the Chinese culture of allowing noise during eating to demonstrate delight. Anyway the noise will fade into the vibrant sound of Chinese conversation echoing in the restaurant – do not be surprised to find an all-Chinese crowd when you visit. It only completes the objective of the restaurant to make you feel like you are in a noisy Chinese diner in Hong Kong. •

Tung Lo Wan. Wilson Square, Wilson St. cor. Guevarra, San Juan (beside DEC, across Santi’s). Tel. 723-9201. Reservations recommended especially for Sunday lunch.

Photographs by Shaira Luna