Arriving at Tasty Congee & Noodle Wuntun Shop at the International Finance Centre (IFC) well after lunch time, we were surprised to see the crowd didn’t die down a bit. For a restaurant whose signature dish sells for $58, attracting a constant stream of visitors might be the only way it survives the mall’s jaw-dropping rental charge.
Tasty was approached by IFC to set up a branch in 2007. At that moment, owner Stephen Ho thought long and hard before putting pen to paper.
“All the previous incarnations of the location couldn’t find a solution to stay. The food we make costs nothing more than $100. Certainly we worried how that could balance the expenses. The proposal was stalled for months, before Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Walter Kwok called us and promised to give us full support. Only then we were convinced and signed the contract,” Ho said.
While the decision was made with caution, it’s also a step forward taken with much ambition.
Tasty was approached by IFC to set up a branch in 2007. At that moment, owner Stephen Ho thought long and hard before putting pen to paper.
“All the previous incarnations of the location couldn’t find a solution to stay. The food we make costs nothing more than $100. Certainly we worried how that could balance the expenses. The proposal was stalled for months, before Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Walter Kwok called us and promised to give us full support. Only then we were convinced and signed the contract,” Ho said.
While the decision was made with caution, it’s also a step forward taken with much ambition.
Tasty’s IFC branch is decorated with extravagance, a far cry from the traditional noodle shop setting.
The Number One in Wonton Noodles
The ties of Ho to wonton noodles go way beyond Tasty. Ho’s father founded Ho Hung Kee, one of the most eminent noodle shops in Hong Kong. While his father retired in 1984, Ho gave up his flourishing career outside to take over the establishment. On the first day he joined Ho Hung Kee, he had already set a bar for himself.
“There’s an ‘Ah Yat (number one)’ focusing on abalone, why can’t there be one making wonton noodles? I wanted to be the ‘Ah Yat’ of wonton noodles,” he exclaimed.
According to Ho, it might be a wish or nominal title, but it gave him motivation. He wished he could be the representative of all wonton noodle makers, taking the dish to the world and earning international recognition like Japanese ramen.
His endeavour reached a milestone when he opened Tasty in Happy Valley in 1999. As for the IFC branch, its position above the Airport Express helps draw travellers from all over the world to the joint. Ho didn’t leave anything to chance. He spent a fortune on interior design, embellishing the dining area with chopsticks, Chinese cauldrons and ancient calligraphy to catch tourists’ eyeballs. Unlike eateries of the same kind in town, the seats were arranged with extra space in between to provide the most comfortable environment for diners to enjoy the noodles.
In terms of manpower, the IFC branch assembles the best staff from all the outlets. The waiting staff is dressed in smart black waistcoat, with good command in English, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. Ho hopes wonton noodles could get rid of the humble old image, where a table has to be shared among strangers. It’s something to be taken seriously and tasted by heart.
The ties of Ho to wonton noodles go way beyond Tasty. Ho’s father founded Ho Hung Kee, one of the most eminent noodle shops in Hong Kong. While his father retired in 1984, Ho gave up his flourishing career outside to take over the establishment. On the first day he joined Ho Hung Kee, he had already set a bar for himself.
“There’s an ‘Ah Yat (number one)’ focusing on abalone, why can’t there be one making wonton noodles? I wanted to be the ‘Ah Yat’ of wonton noodles,” he exclaimed.
According to Ho, it might be a wish or nominal title, but it gave him motivation. He wished he could be the representative of all wonton noodle makers, taking the dish to the world and earning international recognition like Japanese ramen.
His endeavour reached a milestone when he opened Tasty in Happy Valley in 1999. As for the IFC branch, its position above the Airport Express helps draw travellers from all over the world to the joint. Ho didn’t leave anything to chance. He spent a fortune on interior design, embellishing the dining area with chopsticks, Chinese cauldrons and ancient calligraphy to catch tourists’ eyeballs. Unlike eateries of the same kind in town, the seats were arranged with extra space in between to provide the most comfortable environment for diners to enjoy the noodles.
In terms of manpower, the IFC branch assembles the best staff from all the outlets. The waiting staff is dressed in smart black waistcoat, with good command in English, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. Ho hopes wonton noodles could get rid of the humble old image, where a table has to be shared among strangers. It’s something to be taken seriously and tasted by heart.
The noodles are freshly made every day with flour and duck egg.
The Spirit of An Artisan
After all the modernising effort on the shop’s hardware, Ho didn’t make a change on the original noodle making method.
“Tasty is a sole proprietorship. There’s no partner, let alone licensed shop. We inspect every branch frequently to maintain the high quality,” Ho said. Many restaurants striving for efficiency nowadays give in to mechanical production. That can’t be more different than how things are done at Tasty. Although the noodles at its five branches are prepared in one workshop, they are injected with the human touch of veteran noodle masters. The noodles are freshly made every day with flour and duck egg, and it’s up to the experienced masters who decide the proportion of the two ingredients based on the temperature and humidity level of the day.
All other working stages are all executed in the individual branches. Those include wrapping wonton, cooking soup and congee. Ho explained wonton is an art, from which one can taste the personality and emotion of the artisan making it. In this sense, it gives life to the wonton noodles. On the other hand, he makes sure the product from one branch doesn’t deviate too much from another through standardising the ingredients and creating a flavour profile he deems the best.
After all the modernising effort on the shop’s hardware, Ho didn’t make a change on the original noodle making method.
“Tasty is a sole proprietorship. There’s no partner, let alone licensed shop. We inspect every branch frequently to maintain the high quality,” Ho said. Many restaurants striving for efficiency nowadays give in to mechanical production. That can’t be more different than how things are done at Tasty. Although the noodles at its five branches are prepared in one workshop, they are injected with the human touch of veteran noodle masters. The noodles are freshly made every day with flour and duck egg, and it’s up to the experienced masters who decide the proportion of the two ingredients based on the temperature and humidity level of the day.
All other working stages are all executed in the individual branches. Those include wrapping wonton, cooking soup and congee. Ho explained wonton is an art, from which one can taste the personality and emotion of the artisan making it. In this sense, it gives life to the wonton noodles. On the other hand, he makes sure the product from one branch doesn’t deviate too much from another through standardising the ingredients and creating a flavour profile he deems the best.
Signature shrimp wonton noodles.
Maximum Precision
The wontons at Tasty are wrapped from scratch every day. Contained in the thin yet resilient skins are 30% river shrimp and 70% pork with a good amount of fat to add a sumptuous fragrance to the parcels. Matching the tradition in which the dish is eaten as a snack, every piece of wonton is shaped to bite size. The broth that comes with the dumplings and noodles is boiled with dried flounder and pork bone for at least three hours.
As it is served, the wontons float on the broth like gold fish in a pond. The soft skin breaks easily in the mouth to reveal the springy shrimp and rich pork inside. The aroma of fish permeates the broth, refreshed with a few yellow garlic chives. Free of any taste of lye water, there is a strength and smoothness behind the egg noodles as one slurps them up. Tasty’s wonton noodles add delicacy and glamour to a casual street treat. It’s easy even for foreigners to understand why it’s so highly regarded and its cultural significance.
The wontons at Tasty are wrapped from scratch every day. Contained in the thin yet resilient skins are 30% river shrimp and 70% pork with a good amount of fat to add a sumptuous fragrance to the parcels. Matching the tradition in which the dish is eaten as a snack, every piece of wonton is shaped to bite size. The broth that comes with the dumplings and noodles is boiled with dried flounder and pork bone for at least three hours.
As it is served, the wontons float on the broth like gold fish in a pond. The soft skin breaks easily in the mouth to reveal the springy shrimp and rich pork inside. The aroma of fish permeates the broth, refreshed with a few yellow garlic chives. Free of any taste of lye water, there is a strength and smoothness behind the egg noodles as one slurps them up. Tasty’s wonton noodles add delicacy and glamour to a casual street treat. It’s easy even for foreigners to understand why it’s so highly regarded and its cultural significance.
Stir-fried beef rice noodles is another sought-after dish at Tasty.
A Bib Gourmand Favourite
Another mark of success came in 2009. That year, the Michelin Guide published the first Hong Kong edition, and Tasty was selected in the list of Bib Gourmand Restaurants. It has earned this status for nine consecutive years, and as Ho wished, this has led to the restaurant’s increasing exposure among world food lovers. More and more tourists stopped by Tasty for a taste of Hong Kong. The IFC branch now sells over 800 bowls of wonton noodles every day. Nearly 30% of the customers are from abroad. Travel guides in hand, a lot of them wait for the outlet to open at around 11am to avoid the huge influx of office workers during the lunch hour. And for many, this is their last meal before they board the Airport Express and leave the city.
There are appreciative customers, hailing from Japan, Taiwan, Norway, Sweden and other countries, who sent letters to Ho singing praises for the remarkable dining experience he created. This satisfies him more than the stacks of money he earns.
“When I think many people would travel to Hong Kong only once, and this could be the only wonton noodles they would have in their life, how nice it would be for us to give them a good memory back home?” Ho says with a laugh.
It’s all worth the fat rental bill.
Another mark of success came in 2009. That year, the Michelin Guide published the first Hong Kong edition, and Tasty was selected in the list of Bib Gourmand Restaurants. It has earned this status for nine consecutive years, and as Ho wished, this has led to the restaurant’s increasing exposure among world food lovers. More and more tourists stopped by Tasty for a taste of Hong Kong. The IFC branch now sells over 800 bowls of wonton noodles every day. Nearly 30% of the customers are from abroad. Travel guides in hand, a lot of them wait for the outlet to open at around 11am to avoid the huge influx of office workers during the lunch hour. And for many, this is their last meal before they board the Airport Express and leave the city.
There are appreciative customers, hailing from Japan, Taiwan, Norway, Sweden and other countries, who sent letters to Ho singing praises for the remarkable dining experience he created. This satisfies him more than the stacks of money he earns.
“When I think many people would travel to Hong Kong only once, and this could be the only wonton noodles they would have in their life, how nice it would be for us to give them a good memory back home?” Ho says with a laugh.
It’s all worth the fat rental bill.
This article was originally written by Chan Wing Man and translated by Vincent Leung. Click here for the original version of the story.
