Last updated on February 17th, 2023 at 10:39 am
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Yat Tung Heen is one of the Michelin luxury dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong.
Similar to Summer Palace and One Harbour Road, Yat Tung Heen is also inside a hotel. The restaurant is inside the Eaton Hotel in Jordan.
One thing that does stand out about this basement restaurant is that you have to enter through a side door. Usually, you get to these hotel restaurants by entering the front door of the hotel.
Booking a Table at Yat Tung Heen
Some restaurants like Agehan require you to call the restaurant directly. For Yat Tung Heen, you can book a reservation on their website.
It’s faster. Calling in means you have to make sure someone is there to pick up the phone on the other end. They also have to check in their system whether or not a table is available.
Booking online also means there’s no human interaction – a positive for introverts.
It’s not impossible to get a table during lunch primetime but be prepared to book weeks in advance.
I’ve been to Yat Tung Heen twice. For both times, I could only get a table at 10 am, when it first opens.
Yes, it’s that busy.
Other than 10 am, 2 pm is also another good time to get an available table.
People tend to eat lunch around 12-1 pm so that’s when it’s the busiest. Some people are okay with 11 am because weekend dim sum is often our brunch in the Western world.
The Food at Yat Tung Heen
1) Baked Barbecue Pork Buns
At first glance, the baked barbecue pork buns look plain.
Its appearance is not impressive.
When it comes to BBQ pork bun, there’s usually steamed one and one with a pineapple bun. The pineapple bun has a sweet crust on top. It adds a contrast to the salty BBQ pork.
Although steamed BBQ pork buns are usually considered more local, it’s cool to mix two HK dishes (pineapple bun and BBQ pork) together.
If you haven’t tried it before, you should because it’s delicious.
Yat Tung Heen’s version isn’t either of those.
Do not let the look of this dish fool you. The first bite was amazing.
The outside was crispy while the inside was saucy. There’s a good amount of juicy char siu inside the bun.
Some restaurants have too much bun and not enough meat. Thank god they didn’t skimp out.
My friend and I demolished this dish in less than 5 minutes. To be fair, we were pretty hungry and it was so yummy! One of my favourite dishes at Yat Tung Heen, for sure.
2) Pan-Fried Rice Rolls with XO Sauce
Next up were the pan-fried rice rolls with XO sauce.
The restaurant added the little egg pieces as toppings to make it look more appetizing.
Doesn’t a darker looking rice roll look better than a lighter looking one?
Yat Tung Heen did an excellent job with the dark colour.
This dish is the opposite of the pork bun. It looked good but it didn’t taste good.
The pan-fried rice rolls here were a bit bland. Meh.
It’s disappointing too because not all dim sum restaurants have this dish. I was excited to try it.
Normally, if I had to choose between the bbq pork bun and rice rolls, the XO sauce rice rolls win by far.
At Yat Tung Heen, the clear winner is the baked BBQ pork buns.
The rice rolls are not something I recommend getting. Fill your stomach with some of the many other delicious options at the restaurant.
3) Fried Rice with Diced BBQ Pork
Hong Kong is known for its Cantonese BBQ roast pork.
If you can’t tell, I’m a fan of the Cantonese BBQ roast pork. There are so many ways to eat it. You can eat it by itself with some steamed rice, in buns, and in fried rice or noodles. It’s so versatile.
Since I had a good impression of their pork bun, I thought ordering the BBQ pork fried rice would also be a good idea. There was also a chef recommendation logo beside it.
When you eat at a new restaurant trying to decide what to get, how much influence does the chef recommendation logo have on you?
For me, if I’m deciding between two things and one has the little logo next to it while the other does not, I’ll go with the logo one. The logic is that it’s probably better because it’s a signature dish.
In this case, I’m wrong.
The portion size itself was huge. Very Western style. It reminded me of Toronto’s restaurant, Congee Queen.
However, the taste is not something I would recommend others to try.
In fact, it’s my least favourite dish at Yat Tung Heen.
You can tell the rice was fried but there was no taste to it. It almost felt like steamed fried rice with some BBQ pork in it.
At some point, I stopped eating the rice and picked up the tiny chopped-up BBQ pork pieces to eat.
Hey, you gotta eat your money’s worth. The BBQ pork is the most expensive ingredient in this dish.
4) Baked Wagyu Beef Pastry with Whole Abalone
Abalone is a popular seafood here in Hong Kong. It’s considered an expensive dish.
When I saw that this pastry has abalone and wagyu beef, it piqued my interest. It sounded fusion and fancy.
Unlike other dishes, you order the pastry by piece. When my friend and I ate here, we ordered two, one for each of us.
There are mixed reviews about this pastry.
The first time I ate here, it was the last dish to arrive. Although my friend and I were stuffed by then, we liked it enough to order 2 more pieces.
The second time was coming here with my dad. I knew I liked the beef pastry from the first time so I ordered 4 pieces right away.
However, the taste wasn’t consistent.
Both times – the abalone on top was soft and chewy. The pastry also had an ample amount of sauce. The biggest difference was that the second time around, the pastry had a soggy bottom.
It was disappointing that it wasn’t as good as the first time.
It’s something worth trying if the staff made the beef pastry like the first time I ate here. Since it’s not consistent, it’s not a MUST-try dish.
Whenever I visit this restaurant again, I’ll try it again. Could it just be a one-off situation?
It’s surprising because I thought that a Michelin star restaurant had higher standards.
5) Steamed Rice Flour Roll with Crispy Spring Roll and Prawn
This is hands down my favourite at Yat Tung Heen.
Okay, top two because I feel very strongly about their scrumptious baked BBQ pork buns.
Their spring roll is unique because it’s a shrimp spring roll with a rice roll wrapped around it.
It’s one of their signature dishes and unlike the BBQ pork fried rice, this deserves a chef recommendation logo next to it.
The texture might be strange at first because you’re not used to eating rice rolls and spring rolls. It’s not the most common combination but it works. Again, it might be a bit of fusion for local people.
The shrimp and spring roll was both freshly made. When you take a bite, the spring roll was still hot inside.
Again, like the abalone and beef tart, the second time I ordered this was still good but not quite like the first time.
The second time around, the spring roll wasn’t as crispy or as hot. Even then, it doesn’t stop us from gobbling up the whole thing.
It’s something I would highly recommend people to try at Yat Tung Heen.
Visiting Yat Tung Heen Twice
In order to write a fair review, I would like to state that when I ate at Yat Tung Heen the first time, it was on a weekday. It was busy but when I ate here the second time, it was during a weekend, which was CRAZY busy.
The restaurant might have had more time to take care of the customers and the food on the weekdays. On the weekends, they’re too busy pumping out the food demands from all their customers.
I’m glad I ate here on a weekday. If I had come on a weekend, it’s not a restaurant I would for sure give a second chance.
Strict Time Limit at Yat Tung Heen
There is a strict time limit at Yat Tung Heen. They give you 1.5 hours before you have to leave.
The dishes come out pretty quickly so that’s not much of a problem.
About 45 minutes after you sit down at the table, the staff will ask you if there’s anything else you would like to order. They would also gently remind you of the time.
The feeling of being rushed doesn’t feel great. Usually, nice restaurants let you take your time. It’s about the food AND the experience.
I’m not sure how strict Yat Tung Heen is regarding reinforcing the time limit. However, it does affect your mood because you can’t take your time to relax at Yat Tung Heen.
Final Thoughts – Yat Tung Heen?
The restaurant is in a convenient location. You can squeeze in some time for shopping after your meal.
It’s a 15-minute walk from Granville Road, a place that is known for its affordable clothing.
There are also cute gift stores nearby. You can visit Sanrio in the Jordan Prudential Center.
If we’re talking about the food alone, it is pretty good. There are many good dishes here. After all, it has one Michelin star (and many other awards) and that’s certainly an achievement.
Yat Tung Heen is a restaurant suitable for those looking to eat fusion dim sum. For food fanatics, you’ll likely enjoy your experience here other than the fact that you get rushed.
Eating here does take weeks of planning especially if you want to eat at this place on the weekend.
It’s not a place you can pop in to get a table randomly.
If you’re looking to walk into a restaurant spontaneously, Yat Tung Heen will not be your choice.
There’s a slight chance you might be able to do that on a weekday for Yat Tung Heen but there’s almost no way for weekends. Hong Kong people are probably used to this because good restaurants take time to book.
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Xoxo,
Nicole