HK Special - Private Kitchen 'Da Ping Huo'

Private kitchen dining is one of Hong Kong's best kept secret for years until the rave review and excessive promotion from movies and bloggers unconcealed the covert dining secret. Private kitchens that were only known among old customers are now being published as a list on websites and I chose the fiery Szechuan private dining which is also on Michelin Bob Gourmet list  - Da Ping Huo (大平伙), which literally means everyone, regardless status, sit and dine together. 

Owner Wang Hai (an artist / painter) and wife Wong Siu King (chef / Chinese opera singer) moved to Hong Kong in 1980s and every Saturday night, they invited friends over for traditional Szechuan home cooking. Eventually more & more guests were coming that they simply have to add tables and extend the 'serving hours'. Now, a spacious basement for approximately 30 people is open for dinner, two sessions each night (6.30pm & 9pm), fixed 12 course menu and only accept cash payment (actually payment has to be made up front but they made exception for tourists like me), drinks at extra costs.

Even though I know exactly which street to go to, it still took some minutes to find the 'hole in a wall' entrance. The door was not open 10minutes before the serving time (of course, they need time to clean off the previous session) which makes it a bit difficult to spot the house number ;)

While we still have some minutes before the dinner is ready, the kind waiter took a couple of pictures of the two far travelling hungry tourists. Our 9pm session was out-ratio by foreigners (Expats in Hong Kong), 6 locals and 15 foreigners (me included, of course). We were sharing table with an expat and his visiting girlfriend from US, lovely couple. Oh, and we were definitely the most 'under-dress' people in the whole restaurant :p

Before serving, Mr.Wang explained to us that the dishes will be served with spicy & non-spicy Szechuan food alternately to revive the taste bud if the spiciness is a bit over the top. And if the fiery hot dishes are not spicy enough for our taste, they can always 'level up' the spiciness :) Soon we were serve with 2 appetizers:- chilled julienne pickled cucumber 糖醋香瓜 and spicy Szechuan salad 凉拌三丝.

chilled julienne pickled cucumber 糖醋香瓜

 spicy Szechuan salad 凉拌三丝

Just when we thought we can well handle the spiciness, came spicy bean sheets with soy nuts and spring onion 酸辣粉皮. The translucent bean sheet (sort of glass noodle texture, more chewy) is slightly chilled, soaked up the delicious sauce, very spicy but the cold noodle brings out the contrast of the spiciness topped with the crunchiness of the nuts and a bit of the 'stinginess' of spring onion, definitely one of my favourite dish.

spicy bean sheets with soy nuts and spring onion 酸辣粉皮

After washing the spicy/non-spicy starters down with some sweet sugar cane juice, up next is the famous 'Mouth Watering Chicken 口水雞' - braised chicken in Szechuan spices and chilli oil topped with sesame seed and peanut. The chicken is served traditionally cold with skin on and bone in. Texture of the chicken is really smooth and the sauce is wonderfully seasoned, well balanced spiced and really mouth-watering :) Mr.T's 'chopstick' skill that night is not perfect when he dropped a chicken piece and splashed my t-shirt with chilli sauces!!!

braised chicken in Szechuan spices and chilli oil 口水鸡

To sooth our gradually numbing tongue, we were then served with a non-spicy mushroom white cabbage and minced chicken soup 雞豆花. I find the taste a bit too subtle compare to the strong spicy dishes we had before, which is intentional but not one of my favourite.

mushroom white cabbage and minced chicken soup 雞豆花

Keeping up with the alternating balance in dishes, stewed beef brisket in spicy gravy 水煮牛肉 was served. We were warned by the owner that this dish is super spicy and that he has extra rice and water standby for top-up if we find the dish too spicy. I actually think the bean sheet & the smooth chicken were much spicier than this in a different way (unless one bites into one of those chilli pepper in the beef dish, then it's a different story :p). The beef is braised to perfect tenderness and the gravy was irresistibly delicious than I was drinking it straight from the bowl. The owner was really impressed with the spiciness tolerance, but hey, I'm a Malaysian, we can eat spicy food :D

stewed beef brisket in spicy gravy 水煮牛肉

While I'm busy enjoying the beef, Mr.Wang served us the Szechuan spices marinated prawn 川味泡椒蝦. I don't find it memorably in any way especially when served together with the beef brisket. And the prawn shells are tricky when we're only given chopstick. I can't even be sure if it's supposed to be spicy or not, too bad.

 Szechuan spices marinated prawn 川味泡椒蝦

Steam sticky rice with pork rib and pumpkin 粉蒸南瓜排骨 is up next, giving us some rest from the spicy dishes. The pumpkin was a really nice touch but I found some small bone pieces in the sticky rice, not a very pleasant experience when it nearly broke my tooth and the taste was just so-so.

After a sort break for the tongue, classic Szechuan dish, tofu in spicy chilli sauce - Mapo tofu 麻婆豆腐 was served. At this point, I change my comment about the bean sheet or chicken being the spiciest because the tofu just blow my tongue away. It is so out of the world spicy and when you thought your tongue is too numbed to taste anything, the wonderful flavours of the sauce well soaked into tofu creeps back to your mouth. Eating this dish is like taking drug. Suicidally spicy and yet I can't stop eating it. The minute I put down my chopstick, my mind is savouring the taste, commanding my hand to pick up the next tofu again...

Mapo tofu 麻婆豆腐

Mr.Wang then served us a soothing vegetable soup 蔬菜汤 (I stopped him from clearing the tofu away) and immediately after bringing my tongue back to life, I resume eating the remaining tofu even though my stomach is screaming to explode. The soup was yet another not so memorably taste ones but it comes at the right time to temper the palate :)

vegetable soup 蔬菜汤

Just when I thought we're going for dessert (I lost count of the dishes at some point), two home made dumpling in spicy sauce 成都水饺 was served in a small bowl. The dumplings had thicker skins than Shanghai's dumplings, hence preserving the subtle taste of seasoned minced pork inside while contrasting the spicy dressing outside. I never like thick skin dumpling, but I like this.

dumpling in spicy sauce 成都水饺

Dessert is a Da Ping Huo special - varied textures of sweetened beancurd with white fingus, atapchi (palm seed), water chestnut and Chinese pear 马蹄雪耳香梨豆花, slightly on the sweet side but oh so refreshing. It might not fit everyone's taste for its slightly slimy texture but I could easily eat a few more bowls if I'm not already too full to even breath. While working through the wonderful dessert, the couple (owner, of course) appears at the table and invites guests to stick around for one final hospitality.

Da Ping Huo special dessert

Being a former Chinese opera singer, our chef of the night presented us a high pitch Szechuan classical opera song. I was surprise to hear so much power and volume from a small size lady like our lady chef here, the voice echoes the basement for quite sometime. Not exactly my cup of tea but I highly appreciate the sincerity and effort.

Dining at a private kitchen is a highly recommended must try experience. Not knowing the menu up front might not pleased some with special dietary but definitely brings out the element of surprise and anticipation, and in some way, 'spiced-up' the dinner. The serving portion in Da Ping Huo is generous, so if you're going there, don't eat anything up to 4 hours before and enjoy ;)

Da Ping Huo (map)
L/G 49 Hollywood Rd.
Central, Hong Kong
+852 2559 1317