A lot of effort has gone into creating different spaces within the JW Marriott in Hong Kong. Each of the bars and restaurants has a distinctive look.

We availed ourselves of a Luxury Escapes voucher to spend five nights at this hotel which included a number of additions. Arriving in Hong Kong from Beijing, we booked in for the included six-course banquet at Man Ho, a Cantonese restaurant that is a feature of many Marriott Hotels.

After enjoying our complimentary cocktails at the Flint Bar (another part of the deal) we headed downstairs to Man Ho. The decor is in glamorous Chinese style – lots of wooden panelling, upholstered seats, crystal chandeliers, swathes of white linen – and seats a lot of people. Each place setting has two sets of chopsticks – one for serving from communal platters and one for eating. Given we were given individual dishes the two sets seemed a little redundant, but …

Both Greedy Girl and gluttonous husband arrived in Hong Kong with colds, so we opted not to have our customary bottle of champagne with this feast – choosing Jasmine tea instead. The restaurant air-conditioning was running full bore – gluttonous husband needed to retrieve a jacket from our room for Greedy Girl. But soon, we settled into our meal.

First up was a selection of barbecued meats – this platter gave us crispy-skinned pork and duck.

Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

Barbecued meats

Both of these were tender, juicy and tasty. The very thin, crispy skin was delectable. We were quite impressed.

Next up was a wonton soup with shrimp and pork, presented with a side dish of a chilli paste. We’d had a similar dish to this at Melbourne’s Flower Drum so we knew what to expect. It was food for the soul. The broth was full of flavour and the addition of the chilli paste just gave it a little kick. The dumplings were superb.

Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

Wonton soup

Our next dish was a deep-fried Kagoshima pork roll stuffed with foie gras, red onion and ginger. The description excited Greedy Girl, who loves foie gras and while the dish was quite enjoyable, she didn’t particularly enjoy the addition of ginger.

Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

Pork roll stuffed with foie gras

Gluttonous husband excused himelf for a pit stop and we had a slight miscommunication with the wait staff, who started to clear the table, uttering the words: ‘all finished’. Our six-course meal seemed to be rather severely truncated. Greedy Girl shook her head and asked for the menu to be returned so she could indicate we were only half way through. Some rapid fire Cantonese ensued among various staff members but the chopsticks, plate and bowls were replaced.

The next course was another soup – this was poached seasonal vegetables with wolfberry (another name for Goji berry), in ‘superior soup’. It seemed a little odd to have more soup, but the vegetable combination was a bonus for us both, not having had a lot of vegetables in the trip to date. The berries gave an additional texture and a slight sweetness.

Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

Poached vegetable soup

Our final savoury dish was fried rice with chicken, duck, shrimp and mushroom in an abalone sauce (pictured at the top of this post). This was quite yummy. The fried rice we’d had throughout this trip was a lot drier and flakier than we’re used to in Australia, but the abalone sauce gave the dish welcome moisture. Quite delish.

All that remained was the chef’s sampler of desserts. We were offered ‘mini’ egg tarts and the restaurant’s signature mango pudding.

Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

‘Mini’ egg tarts

Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

Mango pudding

The egg tarts were quite large for us, and had a little bruleed sugar on top. They were quite nice. The mango pudding was very cold and didn’t have a huge hit of mango flavour. Thankfully though, it wasn’t overly sweet.

And we were done. All told, it was a very good meal and a real bonus as part of our deal at the hotel. Certainly the standard of cooking and produce here was quite high – it would need to be to compete with the enormous number of high-end Cantonese restaurants dotted throughout Hong Kong.


Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong

Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong

marriott.com/jwmarriotthongkong/dining

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