Top Gun J&C 尖東
What better to do on a Sunday morning than to have dim sum with family and friends? Our friends are regulars at Top Gun and bought a VIP card which gives them significant discounts. We got there at 10 am so that we could finish the meal by 11:30 am (for additional discount). Top Gun is one of the few dim sum places that serve individual tea ($1.20/person). I opted for Dragon Well (龍井), a high quality green tea with a mellow and subtly sweet flavour. I enjoyed brewing my own tea in the lidded cup using hot water heated over a tealight.
I love having dim sum with a larger group. This is especially the case when something tastes horrible like these egg tarts (酥皮蛋撻) (so I don’t have to eat more than one). Of course another advantage is being able to try more foods. But anyway egg tarts shouldn’t be that difficult to make since the puff pastry is the most challenging part and is usually purchased instead of made in-house. Now I don’t know whether this restaurant bought or made the puff pastry. But if they bought it, they should switch suppliers. And if they made it, they should buy it. Honestly it was one of the worst egg tarts I’ve had with a soggy doughy crust and flavourless filling.
The baked BBQ pork bun (金牌貴妃包) was alright, but the bun and the topping were extremely doughy just like the egg tart pastry. The pork inside was not bad; I just did not appreciate the mushy bun.
We ordered 2 bowls of congee: one with beef and the other with fish. I tried the fish slices and they seemed quite fresh; at least there was no freezer taste. The congee was soft and fluffy, piping hot and oddly satisfying.
I didn't like the fried doughnut rice roll (港式炸兩) because the Chinese doughnut filling wasn't done very nicely. The whole thing was very crispy and lacked a slightly chewy interior texture. It was also extremely oily and heavy on the stomach.
The taro cake (香煎芋頭糕) came in small blocks and I was a bit surprised that there were 8 pieces. Since the cake was pan-fried, it was slightly greasy, but tasty all the same.
The black ear mushroom and scallop rice roll (黑木耳帶子腸粉) was very mild in flavour and perhaps even slightly bland. I found it quite nice with the soy sauce, but that might be because I'm partial to milder tastes.
The fun guo (娥姐蒸粉果) or steamed dumpling was done well. The skin was thin and translucent and the filling was finely chopped and well seasoned.
According to the Chinese name of this steamed chicken meat bun (勁薑雞包仔), the filling was supposed to have a very strong ginger flavour. Oddly enough, I could barely detect the ginger in there, but I liked the bun anyway because the texture was soft and dense.
We managed to finish the meal before 11:30 am and got a 40% off discount with the VIP card. If we had stayed past that time, it would have been 20% off. I think the bill was around $40 after tax for the 5 of us (really cheap!), but that was after the discount. I would never consider coming here without a VIP card because the prices are so high and I'd feel like I was being ripped off if everyone else around me were paying half the price. Unfortunately one of those cards costs $50 (according to the website, but not sure if it's updated?), so I guess I won't be coming back any time soon.
I love having dim sum with a larger group. This is especially the case when something tastes horrible like these egg tarts (酥皮蛋撻) (so I don’t have to eat more than one). Of course another advantage is being able to try more foods. But anyway egg tarts shouldn’t be that difficult to make since the puff pastry is the most challenging part and is usually purchased instead of made in-house. Now I don’t know whether this restaurant bought or made the puff pastry. But if they bought it, they should switch suppliers. And if they made it, they should buy it. Honestly it was one of the worst egg tarts I’ve had with a soggy doughy crust and flavourless filling.
The baked BBQ pork bun (金牌貴妃包) was alright, but the bun and the topping were extremely doughy just like the egg tart pastry. The pork inside was not bad; I just did not appreciate the mushy bun.
We ordered 2 bowls of congee: one with beef and the other with fish. I tried the fish slices and they seemed quite fresh; at least there was no freezer taste. The congee was soft and fluffy, piping hot and oddly satisfying.
I didn't like the fried doughnut rice roll (港式炸兩) because the Chinese doughnut filling wasn't done very nicely. The whole thing was very crispy and lacked a slightly chewy interior texture. It was also extremely oily and heavy on the stomach.
The taro cake (香煎芋頭糕) came in small blocks and I was a bit surprised that there were 8 pieces. Since the cake was pan-fried, it was slightly greasy, but tasty all the same.
The black ear mushroom and scallop rice roll (黑木耳帶子腸粉) was very mild in flavour and perhaps even slightly bland. I found it quite nice with the soy sauce, but that might be because I'm partial to milder tastes.
The fun guo (娥姐蒸粉果) or steamed dumpling was done well. The skin was thin and translucent and the filling was finely chopped and well seasoned.
According to the Chinese name of this steamed chicken meat bun (勁薑雞包仔), the filling was supposed to have a very strong ginger flavour. Oddly enough, I could barely detect the ginger in there, but I liked the bun anyway because the texture was soft and dense.
We managed to finish the meal before 11:30 am and got a 40% off discount with the VIP card. If we had stayed past that time, it would have been 20% off. I think the bill was around $40 after tax for the 5 of us (really cheap!), but that was after the discount. I would never consider coming here without a VIP card because the prices are so high and I'd feel like I was being ripped off if everyone else around me were paying half the price. Unfortunately one of those cards costs $50 (according to the website, but not sure if it's updated?), so I guess I won't be coming back any time soon.
For the TG Gold Card, the trick is to have one membership and have as many supplementary cards under that one membership. Each supplementary card has a one-time set-up fee of $20 and it's eligible for all discounts at all restaurants under TG group. The points accumulated can only be used by the account holder. And when the membership needs to be renew, only $50 annual fee is charged.
ReplyDeleteTo get your money worth on the tea at TG J&C, try having 普洱茶, good quality and expensive (I know because I know where their supplier...hahahaha).
Dragon Well tea is not always top quality (nor it's ever considered as top Chinese tea), only 西湖龍井 is good (but also depends on what area the tea is from in this region), and the leaves must be picked before Qingming 清明 (known as 明前龍井) to be considered superior.
I deleted my own comment? Huh? Thank goodness the "back" button worked so I was able to copy and paste!!! Hahahaha!
ReplyDelete@BG: Didn't know they had supplementary cards like credit cards hahaha. I guess I don't know enough people who'd be interested and always eating at the same restaurant is not very conducive to being a food blogger.
ReplyDeleteIf I go again, I'll be sure to try the 普洱. I didn't think of getting that because I usually go for lighter teas, but thanks for the recommendation!
Yea...we go to J&C too much to the point that all the workers would say "see you tonight" or "see you tomorrow"...hahahaha! Our record was five meals in three days...sad...very sad! Most people who reads our blog knows when we say "our canteen"...hahahaha!
ReplyDelete@BG: LOL! Yes the prices are great with the VIP card. But I can't afford to eat at one restaurant all the time AND try out new restaurants regularly. When I eat out, I'd usually rather go to a place I haven't been before.
ReplyDelete