0 Wah[hhh] Lok

Despite my love for all things Mediterranean, I suppose one cannot ignore one's roots. Mum chose to mark her big 55 at Wah Lok, a Cantonese restaurant at Carlton Hotel. It was a good choice; a classic comforting Cantonese dinner that pleased with every dish. 'Cuse the pun in the post title ;)

Christmas deco at the lobby. Not quite sure of what to make of their weird-shaped bauble lighting

Apparently the restaurant has just been renovated, and the new decor and furnishings are really stunning. For example, walking through the entrance itself already makes for a dramatic experience, with the arched frames, dark wood glossy marble flooring and backlit lighting giving an ethereal feel.

Equally stunning were the dishes. As with the Cantonese tradition, we started off with a soul-comforting soup - abalone and chicken/pork and wolfberries. The abalone was slightly tough and chewy, but I nevertheless ate it knowing its price value. Luckily though, it didn't have any of that fishy taste. On the other hand, the soup itself was very moreish; a great way to whet the appetite.

Then came the Peking duck which I didn't have.

After a hideously long wait, the tofu, spinach, sea cucumber and chicken feet casserole finally arrived. The ingredients were coated in a brown sauce that didn't fall prey to being too starchy or gloopy, as with many places do. The tofu could have been slightly softer, and the sea cucumber, for some unknown reason, was mushy instead of springy like it was a vegetarian mock sea cucumber. After all these nitpicking though, the casserole overall was still rather enjoyable.

But of course, the highlight of the meal, and possibly in my gastronomic experience - a whooping humongous 2.4 kg Alaskan king crab, lightly steamed in a clear egg white broth. I'd never seen such huge pincers and legs before. The shell was soft and obediently yielded to force, unlike those crabs at zi char places. For example, I didn't even require tools to open the pincers! The meat came out in chunks and was sweet and succulent and so very umami. It was a highly memorable experience.

By this time we were all groaning with pleasure but we still had to tackle the last dish - vermicelli with bean sprouts and meat. The brown sauce nicely coated the strands of vermicelli and bean sprouts added a nice crunch.

Service was great; the recommendations by the waiter was spot on and personally, he came across rather comical and entertaining too. The only complaint is that the food came out rather slowly so there was lots of waiting time in between. But maybe that's what you need to trade for top-notch food. The bill was beyond our expectations, largely attributed to the king crab. I'm looking forward to try the more affordable dim sum range in the future.