Dragon Seal
If you fancy being shot up to the 101st floor for a dim sum meal or a piece of roast pork, then add Dragon Seal to your list of places to go eat. Located at the recently unveiled ICC tower (a proud and protruding 118-stories tall), this obscenely high-end Chinese restaurant is the latest project by local chef and food show presenter Wong Wing-chee. Having already established his name with a successful chain of eateries under the Dragon King brand, this lofty new enterprise is Wong’s attempt to zero in on the big money-making crowd from the offices of the neighbouring investment banks.
Inside, the main dining room is wrapped in full-length windows specially designed to exploit the jaw-dropping view. The space also boasts a long, marble-topped bar, tailored for pre-dinner drinks selected from an expensive wine list. Glass tube chandeliers hang from the ceiling and tabletops are outfitted with white linens and polished silverware. The set-up actually looks more fitting for a French fine dining establishment than your classic Cantonese restaurant – and it’s exactly the effect Wong was going for.
Parts of the menu have also been noticeably fusion-ised. For example, taking a cue from western dining tradition, dishes culled from the set dinner menus are served as individually portioned courses as opposed to larger sharing plates. But despite these internationally inspired tweaks, it’s still when it comes to the classic Cantonese dishes that Dragon Seal shines. We started the meal with one of the signature double-boiled soups ($400 for two), which is served in a two-handled cooking pot generously brimming with ingredients (conpoy, chicken and pieces of sea conch the size of a baby’s fist). Petals of chrysanthemum perfume the full-bodied broth, adding a beautiful floral tinge to the nourishing soup. It’s a simple but thoroughly sophisticated course that had us waxing lyrical until the final sip. The roasted pork ($120) is equally impressive and is executed in fine detail. Each uniform, bite-sized block is striated with three distinct layers – a sheet of shatteringly crisp crackling, a thin, near-translucent film of fat and a portion of tender meat right at the bottom.
The more inventive fusion attempts, on the other hand, fare less successfully. Thai-style salad with julienned cucumbers, pomelo and sliced mantis prawn ($160) is an enticing idea, but the garlicky chilli and lime dressing is overkill and completely wipes out any remnants of the mantis prawns’ natural sea-brined sweetness. Boneless pork ribs stewed in a bright orange sweet and sour sauce is served over a round of green apple with a slice of toasted, buttered baguette to sop up the sauce. It’s good, but nothing too spectacular to justify the $60 price tag for the unbelievably scant, two-bite portion.
To end, a twist on the classic steamed longevity bun has it filled with mashed purple yam ($20 per piece) instead of sweet lotus paste. Unfortunately, this comes off a bit bland and dry. Go for the sticky red dates and coconut milk cakes ($20 per piece) instead – a much better option with its subtle, palate-cleansing sweetness.
We admire Dragon Seal’s effort to elevate Cantonese cuisine, but the food quality here is not that much above Dragon King’s, where a meal costs about half as much. We’re sure that many will still be eager to dish out the extra bucks for the novelty of dining on the 101st floor. But for us, we’re content with eating on ground level. Dorothy So
101/F, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Rd, West Kowloon, 2568 9886. Daily 11.30am-3pm & 6pm-11pm.
The bill
Double-boiled sea conch and chrysanthemum soup $400
Crispy roasted pork $120
Poached Belgian endive with Shanghai cabbage $150
Mantis prawn salad $160
Stewed sparerib with sweet and sour sauce x2 $60pp
Steamed purple yam longevity bun $20
Red dates and coconut milk sticky cake $20
Ten per cent service charge $99
Total (for two) $1,089
8 Comments Add your comment
I've given this a rating of 2 (the second lowest) entirely because of the view, without which, it'll be a 0 rating. Just like Dorothy, the person who wrote this excellent review, our party of 4 are equally content to eat on the ground level now that we've tried this place. There are many much better restaurants in the Elements mall downstairs. There aren't many authentic Chinese dishes here at all, everything is played around and fusion-ised. Most dishes completely lacks character or identity. And the prices? This is probably the most expensive Chinese restaurant in town! People will naturally pay top dollar for food that is worthwhile, they're merely banking on the view here. Man Wah on the top floor of the Mandarin Oriental for instance is a place worth going to. Paying top dollar for mostly bland and unexciting cuisine will not bring you much repeat business. It's time for Mr Wong Wing-chee to tone down his ego. It's eateries like these that give classic, authentic Chinese cuisine a bad name! There are far too many good Chinese restaurants with stunning views in town to choose from. Skip this one, unless you're setting out to be ripped off !
I have been there last week. Awesome view, nice food. Especially I am so so impressed by the dessert called Fresh mango sago cream and grapefruit and red bean. A must-try dessert as it is a perfect combination of mango and grapefruit and red bean. Yes, the food is quite out of range but it does worth the price with the gorgeous view of victoria harbour. Where can you find such a place in Hong Kong? Will be there again soon!
It's hard to find a fine dining cuisine with style in Hong Kong located right next to the Victoria Harbour. Thanks for the invitation from my client I can finally 'climb' to the one of the highest buildings in Hong Kong for dinner. Of cause the view is simply awesome, the food isnt bad as well! Especially the fried shark fin and scallop and prawns in fusion style, I can really taste the word luxury and top-class fine-dining. Remeber to check the weather before the visit, Victoria Harbour is a part of the meal for sure~
I went to the restaurant to celebrate birthday with my mum last week. Has been a perfect nice under the skyline of Victoria Harbour. We had a $780-per-head dinner set with my mum. It includes freshly made shark fin, abalone, fish... They are all nice. Lucky enough to meet Mr. Wong (the boss of the restaurant), it has been a great hospitality for him to serve us! We had a red wine as introduced by him which is a perfect match with the dinner... but the fact that my mum cant drink much and so do I! Enjoy the dinner a lot anyways~
First visit to Dragon Seal since I worked at ICC. Nice view and enjoyed the luxury meal. Paid a full course meal for $1,000 per head for abalone, fish, shrimp, etc. Unfortunate the weather is a bit cloudly but I will come again next time.
Dragon Seal is definitely one of the hottest restaurant in Hong Kong's market recently. That's why I won't miss this in the trip to HK. Comments: Won't say it a solid surprise but definitely impressed by the view, the fusion seafood (including abalone, scallop, steam fish) and the red wine (found the magic with chinese food finally). Cost about $1,500 per head), what do you think? I would think this is reasonable.
Considering the owner of this restaurant and his family got 40,000HKD compensation (EACH!) for a delayed (economy class) flight - I hope the plough this money back into their food which is nice but can be had for 10x less the price.
Looking forward to visit Dragon Seal. First time visit restaurant at lunch time. Food not too bad. Dim sum is a bit pricey. We order few dishes from the menu instead. Food for me as an australian chinese is great. One thing i need to mention their customer service is excellent. Unfortunately the weather is not great very foggy and cannot see any view at all. We spent $800 for four dishes and 2 desserts. I will give the food 3.5/5 and dessert 4/5. I will go back to try their dinner dishes.
Add your comment