Looking back on Hong Kong’s storied history, the 1980s are often referred to as the city’s “golden age,” when the local film scene was booming, wealth was at an all-time high, and the general lifestyle trend was “work hard, play harder.”
When it came to livin’ in up in 1980s Hong Kong, one of the most popular cuisines when dining out was Peking (also known as Beijing, Mandarin, and Jing), offered at upscale Peking restaurants opened by northern Chinese natives who had immigrated to the city decades earlier.
Classic Peking cuisine is cherished by Hong Kongers for its rich savouriness, and it’s at new Sun Moon Place in Wan Chai, which has taken over the former Ship Kee site, that this style of regional Chinese cookery has been reincarnated.
A team of veteran chefs run the kitchen, many with years of experience at long-gone Peking restaurants that include Pine and Bamboo in Causeway Bay, Sun Hung Cheung Hing in Tsim Sha Tsui, and – a true Hong Kong institution – American Restaurant in Wan Chai.
Peking cuisine’s iconic dishes from Hong Kong’s heyday are celebrated on Sun Moon Place’s extensive menu – first and foremost, this means the restaurant’s barbecued Peking duck (HKD308/HKD468), which is meaty, fatty, and lacquered to a glistening sheen.
To start things off, the preserved smoked chicken (HKD148/HKD288) – also known as Shandong roast chicken – showcases succulent three-yellow chicken marinated in a spiced soy sauce, which is then steamed, hand-shredded, and plated alongside a bowl of a sour, garlicky, and spicy soy-based sauce. This is pure umami, truly whetting the palate.
Like most of the dishes on the menu, the mock goose (HKD98/HKD148/HKD198) comes in small, medium, and large sizes. This cold vegetarian dish features a sautéed carrot, shiitake, and celery filling within layers of smoky pan-fried bean-curd skin, a plant-based goose-skin imitator.
Sun Moon Place’s authentic hot and sour soup (HKD98/HKD148/HKD236) is packed with all the good stuff: pork stomach, pig’s blood, shrimp, tofu, and fungus. It’s as savoury, spicy, and tangy as it should be.
The sizzling handmade ramen with assorted seafood (HKD148/HKD198/HKD288), heavy on the ginger, stars plump, chewy noodles that reminded us of the “lo mein” we grew up with on Chinese takeout menus Stateside.
Another favourite on American and British Chinese menus, the fried shredded beef with chilli sauce (HKD138/HKD198/HKD268) is a dry deep-fried dish that’s more sweet than spicy – and absolutely addictive. The plump deep-fried garlic slivers take it over the edge.
For dessert, the soufflé balls with mashed red bean and banana (HKD72/HKD122/HKD172) are fluffy fried clouds of egg white, red bean paste, and banana that run towards traditional tastes.
It’s the caramelised apple (HKD72/HKD122/HKD172) – syrup-coated deep-fried apple, with tall wisps of burnt sugar enveloping the plate – that’s made for the ‘gram. Unfortunately, this signature Peking dessert was a letdown for us, offering mealy apple pieces with no discernible flavour other than “sweet.”
Our verdict of Sun Moon Place
Nostalgia is a complex and powerful emotion, and when we’re feeling sentimental for the past, it’s often a certain dish or cuisine that we crave the most. Sun Moon Place delivers a retro dining experience with Peking dishes that are hearty and delicious. We think it will be particularly popular with foreigners who are yearning for a taste of the “Americanised” Chinese flavours of their home countries.
Sun Moon Place, Shop 1, G/F & 1/F, Pao Yip Building, 1–7 Ship Street, Wan Chai, 2893 9686, WhatsApp 6491 6792, book here
| Order this: mock goose, preserved smoked chicken, Peking duck, sizzling mutton or beef, fried shredded beef with chilli Menu: Sun Moon Place à-la-carte menu Price for two: HKD600–800 | Atmosphere: old-school and no-frills Hong Kong to the max, with neon lights, vintage floral wallpaper, and gold-rimmed Chinese paintings Perfect for: a trip down memory lane for the Peking duck of your dreams |
This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.
