Man Mo Dim Sum — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

Visited in October 2024. Hong Kong.

Man Mo Dim Sum, nestled in the heart of Hong Kong's bustling city center, offers a unique and intimate dining experience. While the space is small, it’s brimming with charm, boasting a cozy and thoughtful interior. Reservations are recommended, especially for dinner. The concept is simple yet intriguing: Chinese dumplings elevated with European influences, all expertly paired with a vast selection of wines.

Food:

This restaurant specializes in dumplings, with a menu that mainly focuses on this delicious dish, accompanied by a few appetizers. The dumplings are anything but traditional, featuring a decidedly European-inspired twist. They have expertly incorporated new flavors and ingredients into classic Chinese cuisine. The portions are well-balanced, offering the option of ordering two or three dumplings.

We tried a variety of dumplings, including vegetarian, seafood, and meat options. The crab dumplings were delectable, showcasing a delicate and subtle flavor, although the crab taste was a bit faint, leaving a dominant flavor of the dough. This might be attributed to the delicate crab flavor rather than the thickness of the dough, as the crab flavor seemed to vanish quickly.

The vegetarian dumplings with truffle and brie were disappointing. The truffle flavor was underwhelming, especially considering its typically strong profile. We hoped the truffle would dominate, but instead, the rich brie cheese took center stage. Perhaps pairing it with honey could create a better balance of flavors.

The meat dumplings, on the other hand, were sensational. The foie gras dumplings were especially noteworthy. The rich, creamy, and intensely flavorful foie gras, beautifully integrated with the dough, became the undeniable highlight of the dish. The taste was bold and pronounced.

The Peking duck dumplings were equally divine. They had a bright, rich, and slightly sweet flavor, incredibly delicious.

Service:

The service was excellent, with a warm and friendly demeanor. Our server was exceptionally helpful, guiding our choices and explaining how to best enjoy each dish. She even offered suggestions on how to enhance the flavors. The atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming.

Conclusion:

This restaurant is an excellent choice for those seeking a modern take on traditional dumplings, infused with European influences. If you’re looking for authentic, traditional Chinese cuisine, this may not be the place for you. I would strongly recommend focusing on the meat dumplings, as they offer a more pronounced flavor profile that isn’t overshadowed by the dough. The close proximity of tables can lead to a somewhat loud atmosphere. However, we enjoyed our meal and would certainly recommend...

This place looks like it could be any upmarket restaurant, serving sparkling water in ludicrous price, but a dim sum place. I probably shouldn't judge a book by its cover, however, I have walked to their doorstep at least 5 times, read the lunch menu and didn't go in. I simply don't have the confident that they could made 'proper' dim sum, everytime after reading the menu, their description, and thought, 'isn't it like ravioli in dumpling shape?' And I wasn't wrong.

I picked the Goat Cheese and Spinach Dumpling set, out of 3 choices, the other two are ratatoullie and tomato and mozzarella. All set comes with 3 dumplings on top of a salad and free flow iced lemon tea or hot jasmine tea. A hundred odd dollar for a set seems not too bad, it is a western restaurant in Hong Kong, that is much expected.

Here it comes, the dumplings are sitting on top of a colourful salad, deep red beetroot circles, bright orange pumpkin strips, on a bed of baby spinach, dotted with walnuts and goat cheese. It looks vibrant and very appetizing. The dumpling itself was well balance in flavours, the tanginess of goat cheese just at the right amount to accompany the metallic flavour of spinach. However, is it resemble any of the dim sum trait except the using of dumpling pastry and shape? Probably not, the flavour was pretty much a ravioli.

The salad was fresh, nicely arranged, well thought through, with a pungent spice kick from the pumpkin occasionally, I guess it's the garam masala or cumin powder on the pumpkin is the 'culprit'. The salad comes with a dressing, to be frank, I don't think the dressing is much needed, the goat cheese is strong and saucy enough to link all the ingredients together without the helping of dressing.

I guess I am harsh to them to say, 'it is not Dim Sum.', but the same goes to the Italians, they probably wouldn't like these dumplings be called raviolis just like pineapple on pizza.

Is it good food? Yes. Dim Sum? No. If you were looking for Dim Sum, then look elsewhere, if you were here for delicious, eye pleasing food,...

Food hunting in Sheung Wan is not easy on Sundays, especially in late afternoon. Quite a number of restaurants and coffee shops are closed (except the bars). I was disappointed by the incorrect information about opening hours of a noodle shop. Made a booking, got there, it wasn’t open. Boo…So I had to look for an alternative for a late lunch/early dinner. Glad that I found Man Mo Dim Sum still opened at 4:30pm on a Sunday.

Hidden among antique shops and stalls, you find Man Mo Dim Sum on Upper Lascar Row with a chic interior design that uses Chinese eating utensils and furniture with a western touch, which surprisingly blend in well and give a good vibes. This applies to the dim sum served too. Man Mo Dim Sum is famous for reinventing traditional Chinese dim sum with western ingredients and cooking style.

For instance, these gourmet Foie Gras Xiao Long Baos are definitely a must try. The bite size xiao long bao (soup dumpling) allows you to enjoy the strong flavour of foie gras, together with the delicious soup/sauce inside the dumpling. Thickness of the dumplings were just right to the point - not too thick to be chewy, nor too thin that ruptures upon picking it up from the spoon with chopsticks. One bite, one xiao long bao, one mouthful of gourmet and contentment.

I didn’t expect much when I ordered these Five Spices Lamb Buns. But they appeared to be way better than I thought they could be! First of all, the bun was so fluffy and delicious! Second, the cheese went so well with the lamb and the bun. Third, the diced lamb was so flavoured and juicy. Last but not least, there was a plate of chili oil for you to top up the spiciness as much as you want.

The whole dining experience in Man Mo Dim Sum was so enjoyable. Lucky that I got in 10 minutes before last order. The food and vibes were so good! No wonder my colleague (an expat) strongly recommended it to me. I would definitely visit again, probably with...