27/09/2013
翡翠雲臺 Sky Crystal
尖沙咀柯士甸道西1號環球貿易廣場(ICC)101樓B2號舖
Shop B2, 101/F, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-skys-the-limit-e2322671
Located at the ICC on the 101st Floor, Sky Crystal most probably has the best views in Hong Kong.
(Please refer to Mjqueen7e's photos.)
It was my first visit to the ICC and the first time going above the 100th floor!
When we got up there, there were spectacular views at Sky Crystal matched by numerous sparkling crystal chandeliers in the restaurant.
Sky Crystal specializes in Shanghai cuisine and dim sums.
Thanks to a fellow foodie and the restaurant for inviting us to try their food.
I was extremely impressed by their creativity which made their food delightfully similar to the dim sums at Disneyland which are aimed for families and children.
Here's was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed siu mai dumplings with scallop and black truffle:
I loved how Western food was incorporated in the siu mai because scallop and truffle are usually paired together.
It turned the boring dimsum delectable with the addition of truffle and juicy sweet scallop.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed peapod shaped scallop dumplings:
These cute dumplings were shaped like peapods with scallops in each pod section.
Each bite guaranteed with a piece of scallop.
It was really nice having something normal presented in a different style and tasting great too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Carrot shaped Chinese pastry with grated radish filling:
These were filled with grated radish and the radish was not too soft or hard with a distinctive white radish taste complemented with light gravy inside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
House special soupy dumpings:
Ever since I saw them posted on the internet, I have always wanted to try them.
I really appreciated that each one was uniquely different and not just different by trivial sauces eg curry, chili or other essence flavourings.
They were different meats inside and they even had cheese or beef too.
The dumplings in this steamer were:
Orange - spicy chicken
Green - black Iberian pork and organic vegetables
Black - black truffle and steamed pork
Beige - foie gras and steamed pork
The one I tried was the spicy chicken and it is rare to get chicken dumplings in Hong Kong because it is usually made with pork by default.
Although in Nepalese restaurants they have chicken momos (chicken dumplings) and in China they have duck meat dumplings.
I loved the taste of it because chicken was really delicate and the spicy sichuan spices were really fragrant.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Plum pickled Chinese yam:
The yam was presented in a fun way, just like Jenga Blocks!
Each piece of yam was crispy with a slight viscous texture flavoured lightly with pickled plum.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pickled cucumber rolls:
The cucumber rolls were wrapped with carrots in the middle and it was nicely done because the cucumber was tautly rolled up.
The taste was really refreshing because the cucumber rolls were picked right through and there was a sweet aftertaste.
They reminded me of Chinese guerkins.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Homemade wine flavoured eggs:
These wine flavoured eggs were really impressive because the wine flavour was strong and soaked right through.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled fish maw soup with morel mushroom and conch:
The soup was really good and a must try item.
There was a big chunk of fish maw and a huge piece of conchmeat.
Initially I thought the conch would be chewy because of its size, but it was so soft that it needed minimal chewing and the broth had really strong conch taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shanghai style Soup with fresh salted pork:
Clearly this soup had salted pork in it that you could taste the salted meats in the soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried chicken:
Basicially it was a Chinese style roast chicken with crispy skin covered in their secret sauce which was really nice and not spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Nanjing style Salted duck:
The duck meat was gently flavoured not as salty as the name suggests.
It was nice and plain.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Poached asparagus wrapped with shredded Chinese yam in spinach soup:
This was another one of my favourites, not only does it look fabulous, it tastes great as well.
The crunchy asparagus is wrapped in ultra finely shredded Chinese yam which is also crunchy giving it a double crunch when you eat it.
The spinach soup was extremely light blended with spinach making you crave for more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried diced abalone dumplings:
Again this is the best savoury dumpling compared to other ones because it was not oily and the filling inside was abalone and lean meat in delicious gravy.
The outer casing was crispy with a chewy inner surface similar to mochi.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised imitated sea cucumber with pork:
This is another creative dish again, the sea cucumbers are actually dumplings shaped like sea cucumbers with squid ink which gives it the colour.
Inside it was filled with delicious grounded pork and gravy while the chewyness of the imitated sea cucumber is quite similar to the real thing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mini egg tart with birds nest:
These egg tarts were delicious and the crust was extremely buttery.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sky crystal dessert surprise:
In this platter there were:
-Imperial pea cakes (orange)
-Ejiao jelly
-Mango yam sorbet (top)
-Tremella and sweet scented osmanthus jelly
-Red date pudding
Personally my favourites were the mango yam sorbet and the imperial pea cakes.
The yam sorbet had a starchy texture followed by an interesting savoury taste complemented by the mango sauce.
The pea cakes were also nice because they were not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I can't wait to dine here again but I hope there are more product shots on the menu or photos posted so that I know what to order next time. But in general their menu is very impressive because it has properly translated dishes in English, a must for expats.
