In light of COVID-19, we encourage diners to take precautions when going out. You can also support your favourite restaurants by getting takeaway and delivery.
West Kowloon Cultural District is one of Hong Kong’s most exciting up-and-coming areas. While we’re a little sad that our favourite hidden gem of a running route has been taken over by families and dogs (and one cat on a leash), we’re thrilled by all the new foodie offerings lining the harbour front.
One of these fabulous new restaurants is FAM (which stands for food, art, music), a bright and colourful Chinese restaurant that opened up in January.
Like many restaurants that opened just before the pandemic, FAM has had to find new ways to be creative, and they’ve started offering takeaway deals. We stopped by to try their dim sum takeaway picnic set ($498/2), which includes five different types of dim sum and juice, soft drinks or Heroes Beer.
The set is noticeably pricey, especially when comparing it to classic (and delicious) dim sum spots like Tim Ho Wan and DimDimSum, both of which are within walking distance. At these restaurants you’ll almost never come out with a bill of more than $100 per person, let alone $250 each for five pieces! However, FAM’s dim sum is certainly elevated, with ingredients such as caviar jumping off the menu.
The friendly FAM team will set up a lovely picnic spot for you complete with beach chairs, a small table and a funky round mat, allowing you to sit back, relax and enjoy your dim sum with a view.
Before we get to the food, we do have one complaint: each individual dim sum is packaged in a plastic container. We understand that keeping takeout fresh and warm is very difficult, but this is just too much plastic for a casual picnic. A small picnic basket with reusable containers would be much better (although then the risk of customers not returning the packaging becomes an issue). Either way, we really do think there must be a better, less plastic-filled way.
Now, let’s get to the food. The rainbow-coloured har gow is adorned with a touch of gold. The filling was juicy and the casing delicate and perfectly chewy. The wild chicken stuffed with pork and topped with caviar from Royal Caviar Club is FAM’s version of siu mai. This street snack is given a serious makeover with its fresh and flavourful filling and fancy topping, a welcome change from the so often overly processed siu mai.
The spicy baked black pepper with minced pork puff had a strong black pepper flavour that was consistent throughout, and we loved the buttery pastry crust.
We’re not sure what the deep-fried mixed puff with pork is mixed with, but it sure tasted good! The exterior had a sweet, glutinous texture – not to everyone’s taste, but we enjoyed the chew – while the pork filling was deliciously savoury.
Our absolute favourite dim sum of the set was the baked turnip cake. Fashioned to look like mini carrots and placed atop a bed of chocolate “soil”, these were unlike any turnip cakes we’d had before. The texture combination of the crisp, orange-hued casing and melt-in-the-mouth turnip filling was to die for. We also loved the addition of chocolate, which had a hint of nutmeg too. We’re not sure if we were meant to, but we finished off the soil for dessert!
Our final dim sum of the evening was the roasted pork bun with buttered charcoal- crust top. The bun itself was almost like a choux pastry, the sweetness of which complemented the salty-sweet char siu filling.
Not included in the picnic set, we also tried the fried mixed rice with seafood and egg ($198). If you’re looking for something more filling to round off your dim sum picnic, we highly recommend this generous dish. Using five-grain rice for added flavour and texture, this fried rice dish comes with a hearty portion of succulent shrimp, scallop, crab and roe.
Verdict
Picnicking at FAM was a delightful way to spend the evening, especially thanks to the gorgeous views and harbour breeze. While the picnic is certainly pricey for five pieces and we would have preferred less plastic containers, we could not fault the delicate, creative and delicious dim sum creations. We will certainly be back for more of that delectable fried rice and those adorably tasty carrot-shaped turnip cakes.
Unit GF–01-03, G/F, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District, 22 Museum Drive, TST, 2866 3667
This write-up is based on a complimentary media tasting provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.
For more reviews like this, like Foodie on Facebook
