Cantopop is a new restaurant located in the lobby of The L Place in Central. It aims to be a modern, healthy cha chaan teng, and it largely succeeds, with a wide selection of Cantonese classics, prepared with fresh, locally-sourced (and often organic) ingredients, with no MSG.
The rear seating area
The ‘pop’ in Cantopop might refer to the Pop Art-style decoration, in addition to the local music playing in the background. It feels like Roy Lichtenstein himself put the crisp black Ben-Day dots on the wall along with the happy speech bubbles in English and Cantonese. It’s a very cheery room, muted only by the relatively moderate lighting. The color scheme is overwhelmingly orange, so if your date is Dutch – it’s your lucky day.
It it a rather large room, perhaps seating in excess of fifty patrons, and it must be an absolute madhouse at lunch (both of my visits were late dinners). The service is fast, friendly, and quite caring – a refreshing change from typically brusque cha chaan teng staff.
Sous vide cha siu
Pisco went with a large group on the first visit, and with a friend on the second, so he had the opportunity to taste many different dishes. Here is the sous vide cha siu, which was excellent. While it was not mind-blowing, it absolutely has the potential to be a life-changing dish, so you should give it a try. I thought it would be as impressive as the sous vide fried chicken at Green Waffle Diner, but that is an outrageously high standard, and this dish was merely excellent. Grade: B+
As tasty as it is life-threatening
Next up was the Cantonese scotch egg. Not having grown up in the UK, this was Pisco’s very first experience with this legendary food item. Eggs, sausage meat, bread crumbs, and a deep fryer? Sign me up! It’s an amazing dish that I promise to eat once a year, until they decide to serve it with a side of Lipitor. The egg was soft-boiled, and you can see the yolk oozing down the side of the egg… a sight to make a grown man’s knees tremble. Mine did, anyway. Grade: A
Amaranth
A brief sojourn to the land of vegetables brought us this gem. Delicious. Grade: B+
The “baked chicken” dish is essentially the classic Cantonese dish “bak ji gai” (locals: please let me know the correct spelling), but instead of steaming the chicken, it is baked. The flavor is richer, the texture is more substantial, and the overall effect is a slightly weightier dish than the original. It is served with ginger/scallion sauce on the side, along with a few salt crystals. The dish is little on the salty side, but as that is how the dish is traditionally served, I can’t fault the preparation or presentation. It is delicious and highly recommended; a simple and modern twist on a classic. Grade: A-
Lastly, the clams arrived, piled high in a small wok, interspersed with a couple chopped green and bell peppers, with a layer of mung bean threads on the bottom. The clams were delicious, and the sauce had a slightly spicy kick to it, which added a nice dimension that was not present in our other choices. Grade: B+
Overall, Cantopop is a welcome addition to the Hong Kong scene. The food is fresh, locally sourced, and respects the local culture while adding small innovations that are quite successful. The space feels playful and bright, and the service is solid. The prices are extremely reasonable and this could easily become an everyday haunt for those that enjoy cha chaan teng fare.
They are also open late (midnight during the week, 2am on weekends), so you now have another option besides Tsui Wah for late night snacks.
Full disclosure: on Pisco’s second visit, he spotted a daan taat on the counter on his way out of the restaurant. Overcome by a sharp desire for a sweet, happy ending to the meal, he pulled out his wallet and tried to buy it, but the lass at the register would not take his money. After some confused discussion, it turned out that the manager said it was on the house. Was it a gesture of appreciation for eating there two days in a row? Or was it the SLR on the table? No doubt in my mind that it was Pisco’s grace and charm as a patron that inspired this act of generosity.
And for the record, the daan taat was good, but nowhere near as good as you get at Honolulu on Stanley St.
A full meal runs around 100-200 HKD per person, but you can get away for much less.
Food: B+
Service: A-
Ambiance: A
Value: A-
Cantopop
UG/F, The L Place
139 Queen’s Road Central
Central, Hong Kong
+852 2857 2608
