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Dynasty

Dynasty, the Chinese restaurant at Renaissance Harbourview Hotel, has long been a local favourite for refined Cantonese dining. Known for its dim sum and authentic Cantonese dishes, it also periodically introduces innovative menu concepts, taking advantage of Hong Kong’s robust culture of culinary cross-pollination. So, when Dynasty announced a beer-pairing menu, it piqued our interest.

While pairing Chinese food with wines is not quite passe, it has become mainstream, something offered by many fine-dining Chinese restaurants. Beer tasting? Not so much. As any committed beer drinker will tell you though, beer goes very well with Chinese food. We know of a well-known winepairing guide in which, when it comes to Sichuan food, simply states: beer. That makes eminent sense. Beer’s refreshing carbonation effect goes well with savoury or spicy food; and the bigger gulps help rinse the palate.

For our lunch, Executive Chef Suen Kam Sing chose a six-course menu paired with two artisan craft beers by Duvel Moortgat of Belgium, a Flemish brewery founded in 1871.

Before starting on the tasting menu, we were treated to a couple of Dynasty’s signature dishes: Deep-fried Shredded Taro and Cashew and Honey-roasted Char Siu or Roasted Pork. The tender and sweet-tasting char siu certainly got us off to a good start.

First on the tasting menu is Deep-fried Crispy Ox Ribs, in which the ox rib is first simmered in a sauce of rock sugar, spices and soy sauce before being deep-fried to crisp the skin while retaining the tender texture of the meat inside. The ox rib is served with Deep-fried French Quail Legs with Five Spice Chilli Accompanied with Marinated Tribute Vegetable in Chili Peppercorn Sesame Sauce, with the vegetable marinade helping bring out the flavor of the fried quail. The paired beer is the Vedett Extra White Belgian Premium Wheat Beer 4.7% alcohol ($95 per bottle), the crisp, refreshing citrus aroma contrasted nicely with the meat.

Baked Fresh Lobster in Sea Urchin Sauce is next. The lobster is lightly fried then baked with the sea urchin sauce with mayonnaise, which helps retain the moist and succulent texture of the meat. Then came Sauteed Kale with Dried Shrimp and Minced Pork Served in Clay Pot, where the kale is cooked with shrimp paste and Dynasty’s home-made X.O. sauce.

Next comes Poached Vermicelli with Fillet of Garoupa in Hot and Spicy Soup. Here, Chef Suen combines the best of Sichuan and Cantonese cooking, substituting the thin fish slices favoured in Cantonese cooking with thick, more textured Garoupa fillet. An excellent strong golden ale, Duvel Belgian Premium Wheat Beer 8.5% alcohol ($95 per bottle) is paired with the soup and kale dishes. The stronger beer goes well with the spicy soup, adding a zesty taste to both.

To cap it off, two dessert dishes, Baked Egg Custard Tart, Egg Fritter Glazed with Honey Sauce and Chilled Mango Sago Cream with Pomelo in Mini-style, help rebalance our palate.

At $688 per person (minimum of two persons), the tasting menu is quite reasonably priced. So, if you are looking for a delicious meal consumed with excellent craft beer, you’ll want to check out Dynasty and its beer-pairing menu.

3/F, Renaissance Harbourview Hotel Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
2802 8888