4
Khun Lim -
2 years ago
Eating here made my gustatory cortex went into heated debate with the cerebrum in my brain. it was hard to reach a conclusion If this place is simply a good or a not. Well first, how I ended up here is because of my desperate search for good quality Hong Kong Dim Sum. The only places you can find them in Thailand is in the Chinese restaurants within posh hotels downtown. The rest of Dim Sum you find elsewhere, they are never the same in taste and quality (eg, the first and last time I ate a popular chain of “lucky dim sum”, it was a joke and I never wanted to eat there again).
Now, arriving at Sauce, I see the label “by Chef Wong”. I was very delighted. That’s a real Chinese surname and my expectations raised several notches. My tastebuds were primed for the umami of wok flavors and my hunger escalated. In my mind, I wondered if I had found a gastronomic gem at least near to where I stay, where there is the real deal. I was hoping I did.
Here comes the real test. I ordered the Yang Chow Fried Rice. It was the first dish I ordered. It arrived too soon on my table. It was the right personal portion served correctly in a white porcelain bowl, to be eaten with chopsticks. It has the spot-on yellowish tint and the correct sprinkle of spring onions that stood out fresh green between the rice. The egg were in the right sized speckle all over and they had the correct looking oil heated crumple. As I put my nose near, hey where is the Wok Hei? One mouthful… . sadly, no trace of that distinct Chinese flavor I was so expecting. Well, that tarnished everything else down the menu I ordered.
Deep-Fried Taro Dumplings, correct crispy fluff but they ain’t no minced pork filing. It was filled with more taro. Braised Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce, could do a while more in the marinate before the steam. Hargows was really weird. There was something else other then prawn filling in there. I have to say though, the Crispy Tofu Skin Rolls was very generous with shrimps and ok. Everything I had just did not meet the expectations I had evidently set too high.
And all that was until the Stir-Fried Turnip Cake in XO Sauce was served. It was like zero to heaven in 0.3 milliseconds. Oh my food God, the turnip cake was so tender inside. It was pan fried seared right in such a way there is a thin crisp layer of crust. And when I bit into it, it kinda like just melts into my mouth. Infused with the light non-overpowering tang of XO sauce, it was fragrant and I was in bliss. I finished that in no time before it got cool. It was pure ecstasy. This is a must have if you are ever here. Turnip cake in all other restaurants are never so tender. Most places I had turnip cakes that could replace tennis balls. And this was why the mental debate in my head, what rating should I rant? This one dish made me forget the rest of the average I had, even the missing Wok Hei from the fired rice. If I ever come here again, this is the one dish I will look forward to for sure.
