As a newly-opened venue for Cantonese opera and other forms of Chinese theatre, the Xiqu Centre unapologetically celebrates the Chinese way of life. Taking the theme even further is the Moon Lok Chinese Restaurant, a traditional Cantonese cuisinary located within the Xiqu Centre.
Covering an area of 8,000 sq. ft, the restaurant evokes the atmosphere of a Chinese garden, right from its jade-coloured floral painted walls down to its expansive menu. The highlight here is, of course, the succulent signature Peking Duck, that needs to be ordered a day in advance. Prepared in a temperature-controlled ageing oven, it takes more than a day to complete, and the result is tender perfection. The succulent slices of the roast duck come with an array of such accompaniments as finely sliced cucumbers, scallions, radish, ginger, cantaloupe, sweet sauce and thin pancakes.
But while roasted meat is one of the most popular dishes at Moon Lok Chinese Restaurant, it’d be a shame not to savour some of their other signature dishes like the Braised Mixed Mushrooms with Fungus, a vegetarian dish featuring elm fungus and yellow fungus, and Fried Rice with Minced Beef, Spring Onion and Garlic, a dish that is inspired by risotto, the Italian variant of rice. Flavourful and non-greasy, the humble rice is easily one of the hidden delights in the menu.
Of course, as a proud Cantonese restaurant, Moon Lok boasts a comprehensive dim sum menu as well, but this traditional fare has in some cases been given a contemporary twist, in the form of such delicacies as Pan-fried Shredded Radish Cake with Sakura Shrimp, Pan-fried Pork Bun with Black Garlic, Baked BBQ Pork with Aged Orange Peel Pastry, Crab Meat, Mushroom and Basil Spring Roll, etc. Comfortingly familiar yet with a creative twist, each of the dishes at Moon Lok is testimony to the vision of its award-winning executive chef Hui Mei Tak, who has been acclaimed as one of the best culinary geniuses in China.
It is no surprise, then, that Moon Lok Chinese Restaurant brings the best of Chinese culture and cuisine under one roof – and that’s indeed a joyful marriage for a restaurant whose name aptly means “full of happiness”.