Wing Lai Yuen — Restaurant in Kowloon

I have been to Wing Lai Yuen long ago and have a good memory of the DanDan noodle here.

Years passed by, and when I looked this place up on Google Maps, I was surprised to see those bad reviews about this place, especially regarding the attitude of the staff.

When I visited it last weekend, I found the reviews are so true. The cashier seemed to have a terrible mood and shouted at us from the moment we stepped in. We can't feel any hospitality, and the staff is not even trying to settle us in, even though we are a group of 8.

We ordered several dishes to share. We found the food mediocre and nothing Wowed us. Dandan noodle (擔擔麵) is ok but not the best i have ever had. Xialongbao (小籠包) is also just ok but not the best I have ever had. Chilli oil with dumpling (紅油抄手) is not very flavorful. Pan fried meat bun (生煎包) has very little meat and quite dry. Boiled fish with pickled cabbage (酸菜魚) is too salty and very little fish.

After this lunch, I mentioned this restaurant to a friend who lives in this neighborhood. My friend also said she only went to that restaurant twice and never step in again as the staff's...

Found in 1947, Wan Lai Yuen (詠藜園四川菜館) offers authenticated Sichuan food.

Throughout the years, I have visited the restaurant a few times. As I recall, dinner can be quite pack and don’t expect much services. Recently, I have visited the restaurant twice for lunch and to my surprise, it wasn’t pack and the staffs were a lot friendlier in comparison.

They offer 2 types of dan dan noodles (擔擔麵); “Signature Dan Dan Noodles” and “Special Dan Dan Noodles w/ Minced Pork & Peanut Sauce”. I personally prefer the special one cause the added meat and peanut sauce enhanced the flavor.

Another house specialty was xiao long bao (小籠包), where the thinly made flour skin were filled with the right amount of meat and soup. If you like spicy food, can also try their pan-fried chilli peppers (虎皮尖椒) as not many restaurants in Hong Kong offer this dish. As for dessert, you can’t go wrong with their red bean paste...

This is an amazing restaurant if you know what to order. The misses are a bit off, but the hits are great delicious finds. They are apparently a Szechuan place, but have good Shanghainese food. Xiao long bao is a miss here, but have the best honeyed ham square buns that I have tried. Soups are rich and flavorful and their smaller dishes are also worth trying. Drunken chicken has little alcohol flavor (which I like) but the chicken's skin is crisp and meat is full of chicken flavor. The plum soaked bitter melon was a rare find that was surprisingly good - the bitter melon was crunchy and juicy but had little bitterness flavor, instead replaced by the sweet and tangy flavor of sour...