The Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel’s Dynasty Restaurant is known as one of the city’s ‘tycoon canteens’ as it’s an eatery of choice for those in the (extensively) monied crowd. Despite the moniker, though, it’s one of the most solid Cantonese dining experiences you’ll find in
town. And it’s just reopened after a six-month refurbishment. Replacing the gold-toned interiors is a subtly elegant dining room, where ebony wood panels and floors are matched with a palette of upholstery in silver-grey that’s accented by cool jade tones. It exudes elegance without too much drama.
New masterchef Benson Fok has spent close to 20 years working at some of the best hotels in Singapore and Malaysia so, on our visit, we’re eager to see whether his food matches the elegance and richness of the new interiors. His new menu isn’t overly adventurous, but we’re pleased there’s no shark’s fin. We plump only for mains and it soon becomes apparent this chef’s talent lies in making extraordinary dishes that feature marinades and sauces. We dig into the claypot rice with minced beef and water chestnuts ($240) that demands a perfect balance between sweet and savoury. We enjoy the dish, with its mildly seasoned, tender minced beef that pairs perfectly with the rich, silky soy mixing sauce. Our other main, the pork belly Hangzhou-style ($198), is also a well-rendered comfort food that strikes a perfect sweet-savoury balance. Served simmering in another soy-based sauce – albeit sweeter than the claypot rice variety – the tender pork belly is given a gold leaf accent. While some would dispute the effect on the taste of the ostentatious garnish, it certainly elevates a modest dish to an impressive one.
On the whole, Dynasty keeps to a solid repertoire and while the dishes aren’t adventurous, they are pretty consistent and really flavoursome. After an excellent revamp and the addition of a great new head chef, who needs adventure?