Hutong

We went to the craft cocktail bar on the top floor called Aqua Spirit for pre dinner cocktails and the experience was great. The ambiance and service was great, as well as the cocktails. I had a classic cocktail and I believe you can best gauge the skills of a bartender by how they make a classic cocktail. It was spot on. The view of Central Hong Kong and the bay is amazing.
After our drink, we went down one floor to Hutong, (No stair access and the elevators can get pretty backed up) Hutong had the same amazing view, but he décor was more classic Chinese with a good amount of bamboo.
We were sat immediately at a table right in front of the window. The seats were really uncomfortable made out of bamboo and very hard to adjust. We actually had to change chairs to different wooden ones.
The service started off on point as we were greeted right away. We asked for bottled water as we looked over the menu. It must have been 8 minutes till we had to ask our server for the water and his reply was, «Oh, you didn’t receive it yet.» Thank you captain obvious as you can clearly see there is no water on the table. We finally received the water and waited another 10 minutes till my wife had to flag our server down to place our order.
We ordered the duck which came cold as well as the rice. We might be spoiled as Decoy NYC has the best duck we’ve ever had. The food was sub par from what you would expect from a restaurant with that kind of view.
The bathroom was weird as it felt as though you walked outside. The bathroom was not clean or well taken care of. I was told in my early years of hospitality management that one of the most important things is a clean and well maintained bathroom. This was not the case.
All in all, I would skip this restaurant and probably stay up at Aqua Spirit as they also serve food.

This review is long overdue but the experience memorable.
The view of Hong Kong is spectacular from this restaurant. Loved the chic ambiance of this restaurant. We enjoyed watching the demonstration from one of their sous chefs making fresh long noodles for our soup.
The ribs were delicious and the service excellent.
Definitely going back when I’m HK.

Spectacular view of the Hong Kong island skyline!!! A local friend made the reservation, and I could tell easily by the clientele once I entered that it is definitely a place patronized by locals entertaining visitors/​foreigners. As far as food goes, I was pleasantly surprised even by the very high culinary standard of Hong Kong when it comes to Chinese cuisine. The beggars chicken is not just gimmick, it begs to be savoured (no pun intended). Intense and layered flavor it has. The shrimp coated with salted egg yolk batter is another winner. The only thing that I did not like is the dried scallop and egg white fried rice, found it a little too dry and under «charred». Hence the ³⁄₅ stars rating.

I don’t think I could tear into this restaurant enough with just one review. This is easily the most disappointing dining experience I’ve had in a foreign country. Not surprisingly, every single meal I’ve had in HK was amazing. It’s certainly one of many food meccas in Asia and I feel terrible that I wasted an entire meal here. Hutong has probably the best view– I mean honestly I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the skyline at night in HK. The décor was also quaint, adorable, and very much harkened back to «old school» Beijing, with wooden courtyard doors, rickshaws, and red fortune posters splashed across the entire restaurant. It was tasteful without being too kitschy. The food though – oh my god it was so awful that I felt terrible after I’d eaten it. Trying to recall the 4 – 5 dishes we shared and it included mapo tofu, a lamb dish, a noodle dish and another meat dish of some kind. All atrocious. The price is way too hefty to be offering terrible food like this. Don’t come here. Seriously.

Excellent food. American Express Platinum booked our dinner here at the last minute, we wanted to see the symphony of lights. The service was good, not great, but good. There was a noodle show that was pretty cool.

Great place with an amazing view. The light show is nothing spectacular and felt a little under-​whelming. However do try and get a table by the window as the view of HK is amazing.
The food lived up to the price tag and did not disappoint (which can happen when a place has an amazing view like this).
Larger groups have a minimum spend per person.

The atmosphere and view here are undeniably gorgeous — with décor evocative of a traditional Beijing courtyard and a stunning view of the Hong Kong skyline 30 floors above ground, it’s no surprise that Hutong ranks as a top contender for wooing out-​of-​town guests. Yet, at a hefty price of ~$ 1000 HKD per person, most of what we tasted left much to be desired. With the exception of a few, it was difficult to discern the dishes from Chinese takeouts in the States.
What I liked:
Jade bamboo shoots — light and refreshing starter
«Wu nan» Cod, aka cod filet with crispy fermented bean and chili — this was delicious, fish succulent and perfectly cooked
Spicy minced pork with string beans — really good
Average dishes:
Pork belly with cucumber & garlic — a Chinese classic, nicely done but nothing special.
Sichuan pepper prawns — quite spicy
Hutong dessert platter — nicely arranged puddings with mashed taro pancakes and fried apple rolls
What I’d avoid:
Razor clams — very meh and not really «Pekinese» so to speak.
Chicken fried with chili-​soy — over-​fried and dry
Sliced beef with sweet and vinegar sauce — same and a bit hard to chew
Seafood fried rice — the plain Jane of the night that was actually way too salty. I could still feel the grains of sea salt grinding against my teeth
With that said, I have no doubt that there are some other amazing dishes on the menu, so don’t rule this place out for a date night or special meal. There really isn’t another place quite like Hutong with such a East-​meets-​West feel — quintessential traditional Beijing dining style and amazing city view complemented by great service.

Western Chinese but stunning views and good atmosphere. It’s very expensive but there are several impressive dishes, especially the minced pork.

The presentation is what sold me here. Food was good but it was the showmanship. Beautiful views and what a perfect date spot. The food is extremely overpriced though.

Come for the view, stay for the food. While Hutong is not a place for an everyday meal it is a fabulous place to celebrate a special occasion or to take visiting friends for that «postcard» view of the Hong Kong skyline at night. It is particularly fun if you can plan to have your dinner overlap the nightly Symphony of Lights show (8pm). Make sure that you request a table by the window when you make your booking, preferably around a week out as these tend to fill up quickly. And there’s no wonder why, the view is perhaps the most spectacular in the city for watching the light show and the skyline. They also do a fun noodle-​pull show at around 9pm, which is typically a hit with diners (lots of cellphone video and photos).
The view and entertainment aside, Hutong also delivers an excellent dining experience, from the food to the service. The wait staff is extremely attentive and friendly, and always happy to recommend a dish if you are having trouble deciding what to order. The food is also pretty universally good; I can’t recall a dish that I outright didn’t like, and there are several standouts that I return for. Chief among them is the Boneless Crispy Duck, which is sort of a deep-​fried take on Peking Duck. Rather than going through the lengthy preparation for Peking Duck, this duck is deboned, fried until the skin is crisp and delicious (while making sure the meat is still tender) and served with pancakes, plum sauce and thinly-​cut scallions. Yum! The Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish and the Beef Tenderloin with Rice Cakes are also memorable. And, although lotus root is not my thing, my wife absolutely lives their fried lotus root dish, so I would be remiss if I failed to mention that.
I really struggled between 4 and 5 stars for Hutong, and feel a little guilty only rating them 4 since we have had so many wonderful and memorable meals there. However, the price point was the final factor. Although I will certainly continue to return with visitors, the view is spectacular and the food is consistently quite good, I just could not bring myself to give 5 stars to a restaurant where the bill makes me sweat nearly as much as the well-​crafted Sichuan cuisine. It’s not that I’m opposed to paying for quality and location, I just think the price can be a bit out of sync with an admittedly excellent experience.

One of the best view of the city. Excellent and finely done food if you want to discover the Sichuan province. Don’t miss the shrimp and the famous soft shell crab

Outstanding setting, service & food. A wonderful ambiance, dramatic yet comfortable!

Dined Sept 26, 2014
A little late in reviewing, but it was so positive and enjoyable, that I had to share the good news.
This was our 2^nd time visiting this restaurant, and it lived up to our expectations, again!
We arrived early (6pm) so that we would be sure to get a window seat, looking out over the harbor to enjoy the light show that starts around 8pm.
We had a wonderful meal with excellent attentive service. We started with the special assorted platter, titled Herbs and Spices, $ 1080. This is a grand assortment of foods. My wife had the Seafood Cake, $ 218, while I had the juicy (and messy) Rack of Lamb, $ 528. See photos.
A most memorable evening, accentuated by the laser light show.

Jaw-​dropping view and beautiful interior design. Everything else is the pits. For someone who is lucky enough to have family bring me to the amazingness in many other Chinese restos in HK — Hutong’s food is abysmal. One-​note and very geared to the tourist palate. Terrible rubbery cold chicken. Weird beef tenderloin skewers that were unevenly cooked and as another poster said had a weird mushy mouth feel.
The service ruined the night for us. The server obviously hated her job — never cracked a smile or thank you. We specifically asked for regular table water and they gave us $ 70 HKD bottled. When we settled bill another waiter hovered all over us, grabbed the bill the second we put the money down — all without a thank you. Worst service I’ve ever had. And all for the bargain price of $ 1200 HKD without alcohol.
Go to the many hotel rooftop restos if you want actual service with the view. Hutong is a complete tourist trap.

The view and the food are f**king fantastic, if you were on a international date with somebody I would bring them to Hutong. It’s literally a panty dropper kind of place. The food is beyond fantastic and it offers stuff like pigeon which was epic by the way. Beware of the spice level at Hutong because spicy means spicy like crazy spicy, hot. I pride myself in eating hot stuff but this has been the only restaurant in the world that has knocked me out. My mouth was on fire and I could no longer eat luckily it was after a few dishes of food. Service is top notch and they have a large assortment of fine wines.
Overall:
A Hong Kong must!
Tips:
I got lost finding the place because it’s in a sky rise building and it has a few elevators. So make sure to take the right one up and make reservations. I arrived during lunch and it was empty so it was a fun experience.

We went for the brunch deal here which was advertised as the first free flow Chinese tea cocktail and champagne buffet. We enjoyed the view immensely but as for the actual food, specifically the «main courses», we were saddened to see it didn’t live up to expectations. It was all very, very average. Belonging to the Aqua Asia Group, Hutong is usually spoken of positively, and my sister swears by this place for friends visiting Hong Kong. To their credit, I always assume brunches are going to have food of a lesser quality than the actual a la carte lunch and dinner menus, but when you have titans like Zuma and Blue Butcher successfully executing the brunch-​show in Hong Kong, you should only play the game if you know how to score.
The ‘Chinese tea cocktails’ were a gimmick more than anything else, dousing each barely-​infused tea mixer with a couple of gold leaves for show. A and I stuck to good ol’ champagne for the rest of the meal after this so I’m afraid I can’t tell you more. Other novelty factors included the Kung Fu tea pouring ceremony, the man of many masks, and a noodle pulling show. All were quite fun to watch, and did well to distract me from my food.
For the buffet dishes, the selection was somewhat limited — there were three varieties of dumpling: lamb dumplings, spicy pork dumplings, and xiao long bao. All of these had slightly too thick skin to be commended, but the xiao long bao had a nice warm burst of porky broth which I did enjoy. Besides the dumplings, it was mostly Chinese vegetarian dishes, but I loved the braised tofu and shitake mushrooms. Other nice (meat) dishes were the pork slices with cucumber slices and a drizzle of oyster sauce; spicy deep fried shrimp with Sichuan peppercorns and fermented chilis; shredded silky chicken; and shrimp cakes. Unfortunately, many of these were too spicy for A to handle, and the flavours didn’t blow me away.
But the main courses were straight-​up underwhelming. We went for the pork belly and beef option, after seeing that anything good — lobster and abalone, mainly — meant you needed to add another couple hundred to the bill. The ‘pork belly’ was really just thin slithers of Chinese bacon wrapped around a vegetable, I forget which. The beef was also not what we expected, and had a rather strange mouthfeel– it was rather hard but mushy at the same time.
In all, I’d probably avoid brunches at Hutong anytime soon, but I’ve heard many good things about their dinner service so wouldn’t pass up the chance to visit again. I feel like the whole brunch was geared very much towards tourists, especially with the performances. As far as the daytime dining goes, I’d get my brunch on elsewhere.