Shortly after opening in early 2024, Ming Pavilion became a must-stop for Hong Kong’s food cognoscenti. It’s got pedigree: the culinary consultant is David Yip, the quiet intellectual force behind multi-Michelin-star modern Cantonese luminaries like Shanghai’s 102 House and Hong Kong’s The Chairman. And, unusually for Canto-centric Hong Kong, the restaurant showcases the under-represented cuisines of coastal Fujian province, along with the Southeast Asian interpretations of Fujianese food that emerged as Hokkien-speaking migrants spread overseas to the Malay Peninsula.

Ming Pavilion’s breezy, green-accented interior, with a semicircular wall of paned windows that opens to the lush poolside area of Island Shangri-La Hotel, might remind you of tropical Singapore or Penang, and so will some of the signature dishes, like the popiah (fresh spring roll), which comes with a generous serving of rich king crab meat along with the usual cold veggies and flat pancakes. There are also lesser-known dishes from the Fujian repertoire like shan shu — a slightly bitter (but addictive!) leafy green stir-fry that arrives dotted with tiny, semi-crisp pork fat lardons, and a show-stopping wide-eyed mud crab perched atop a bed of glutinous rice, unctuous with neon-orange roe.

The standout, though, is the least Instagram-ish: a clear double-boiled soup broth made from chicken and clams, simmered down so painstakingly and for so many hours that each spoonful of broth hits the palate like a mouthful of rare expensive wine. You will marvel as the opening burst of brine flavors unfolds to a delicate lingering sweetness. And you will glance over your shoulder to make sure no one is watching when you pick up the bowl to savor those last exquisite drops. —Daisann McLane

shangri-la.com/hongkong/
+852 2820 8580
Level 8, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Rd., Admiralty, Hong Kong

Ming Pavilion: Fujian Flavors

Hong Kong Dining

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