Woo Cheong Tea House - Exquisite Cantonese Dining at Heritage Building
Lede: The beloved Woo Cheong Pawn Shop building is now home to a fine-dining Cantonese restaurant, and our culinary destination this month.
Woo Cheong Pawn Shop is one of most well-known historical buildings in Wan Chai. Sitting prominently on a busy street corner across from the Southorn Playground, the iconic 3-story pawnshop with its distinctive Tong Lau balconies popular in early 20th century is instantly recognisable. The pawn shop, which was designated a heritage building, was renovated and converted to the Pawn, a upscale Western Restaurant that opened in 2008. Pawn subsequently closed in September 2021 and re-emerged recently as Woo Cheong Tea House, an upscale Cantonese restaurant.
The décor of two-storey restaurant is distinctly opulent and elegant– marbled tiles, plush chair and sofas, sleek dining tables, and flowery wall coverings set against full-length sliding doors framed with ornate latticed windows. This is a dining experience clearly meant to be enjoyed leisurely.
The resaurant offers contemporary, refined Cantonese cuisine menu, taking advantage of the abundant availability of seasonal ingredients from around the region.. Given its location, clearly the goal is to make the restaurant Wan Cha’s next dining landmark.
Our sumptuous meal started with a trio of dim sum dishes: Steamed Fish Dumpling, Pork, Jasmien Tea ($98/3 pieces), Homemade Daikan Puff ($68/3 pieces) and Pan-fried Salmon, Tea-infused Homemade Tofu (488/3 pieces). We liked the texture of the jasmine tea-infused skin of the dumpling and the taste if the salmon topped with the crispy infused tofu.
Char siu - Woo Cheong Premium Barbecued Pork ($398) came next. The charcoal roasted pork is sourced locally, its meat honey sweet and tender. Sauteed Prawn ($380), a pretty looking dish which savoury sauce was made from the head of the prawn, followed.
Double-boiled Dried Sea Conch Soup Yellow Morel ($288/person), a tasty soup chockful of nutritious and pricy ingredients was then served. Another classic, Sweet and Sour Pork, Pineapple ($268) followed. The dish is served with popping candy on the side to offer a slightly different sweet flavour, but the meat morsels remain tender.
We are in the home stretch of our meal. Next came Deep-fried Crispy Baby Pigeon, Tea Cured Pigeon Egg ($168/piece) – a intriguing dish accented by the pigeon tea eggs; Poached Chinese White Cabbage, Matsutake Mushroom ($138/person), with the cabbage skilfully sliced and arranged, and Stewed Noodles, Shrimp Roe, Abalone Sauce, Spring Onion, Ginger ($268), which is delicious.
We wrapped up the meal with a dessert platter of Baked Egg Tart, Bailey’s ($68/3 pieces) - the egg tart filling infused with Bailey’s coffee, Steamed Red Date Cake, Coconut Milk ($68/3 pieces), and Steamed Sugar Cane Juice Roll ($68/3 pieces) in which the sugar cane is supplied by the famous Kung Li Sugar Cane shop nearby.
The restaurant operates a well-stocked bar with a wide selection of beers, wines, and specialty house cocktails. Both Whisper Oolong, Cold Brew Oolong, Vodka or Gin, Dry Vermouth, Strawberry Gum ($130) and Lap Sang Sour Lap Sang, Siete Misterios Mezcal, Pink Guava, Aquafaba ($130) that we tried are excellent.
We had a delightful dining experience at Woo Cheong Tea House. While the iconic setting is always going to be the wow factor, the food is excellent and thoughtfully prepared and presented. Whether it’s for lunch or dinner, you would want to check out the place for a truly rewarding dining outing.