Han Lok Yuen Restaurant,
also called "Pigeon Restaurant"

16-17 Hung Shing Yeh
Tel. 2982 0608 / 0680
Yung Shue Wan Ferry Pier, then 15-min walk.
Open daily 11am-10.30pm, last order 9:30pm.

<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/Restaurants/Pigeon/Pigeon-outside7.jpg" border=1>

the original operators of Hang Lok Yuen have moved on to their new business. the Nam Wah Yuen family has taken over the Hang Lok Yuen business and have reopened the restaurant on Valentine's Day. i went with my friends on the reopening day and found that the food is DELICIOUS!!!

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I've just visited this restaurant for the very first time for a late Sat lunch with Lamma-Por & e.
This beautiful, laid-back place must be one of the best-kept secrets on Lamma. Just follow the signs from Hung Shing Yeh beach or from the path from Yung Shue Wan. See map above.

An amazing view over the entire bay and a green setting make it a green oasis for the mostly off-Lamma guests & tourists. In the reservations book, I saw groups of 18, even 50 people just these few days. Lots of companies taking their out-of-town business acquaintances there for a special experience.

Lots of celebrities seem to like the quiet, secluded environment and the food, of course. They keep celebrity photos and press clippings from around the world where their restaurant has been featured over the last decades.

But everybody seems to come for the pigeon, their signature dish. One Japanese group of six reputedly ate EIGHTEEN of them. As frugal locals we only managed one, $58. It was truly delicious, far tastier & juicier than other pigeons I've eaten in Hong Kong over the years. I should know, as I love roasted pigeon! We only had a quick, small noodle lunch, but we'll have to return soon to sample some more of their signature dishes.

As always, I had my camera with me and took a few quick snapshots:

<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/Restaurants/Pigeon/Pigeon-outside4.jpg" border=1>

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Lamma-Gung,

Your review of Han Lok Yuen looks good mate. Apart from pigeons, what other delicacies do they serve? How rich would one need to be for dinner?

Samson

P.S. What the... e eats pigeons! I thought he'd be a vegetarian! (Sorry e, just kidding. You're allowed to eat whatever you jolly want to)

e is a she, in case you couldn't figure it out from the tenderness of her messages.

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Ich arbeite als hund.

Samson,
e is a great, local Chinese lady, she acted as my guide & translator in the Pigeon Rest.

I've only tried the pigeon and a simple noodle dish there so far, but intend to find out more very soon! The prices looked very reasonable, double-digits, no triple-digits for most dishes, around $50.

More about them in the next Lamma-zine which will have a LOT of news, reviews and pics about local restaurants!

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I do apologise for my male-centric-ness

Thanks Gung for the preview too: drooling forward to the next zine!

that's all right. one my fellow volunteers at LAP has often made that criticism too and has repeated his urge that i should turn vegan.

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e,
I was always wondering how a vegan can reconcile feeding meat to his/her pets? Isn't it a moral dilemma? Maybe John or Sheila could respond directly?

By the way, e, a good and very long-time friend of the Pigeon Restaurant has pointed out that there are quite a number of factual mistakes in your message above about the history of the restaurant and its relation to Nam Wah Yuen Rest.
Would you care to correct them, as it seems to be "politically sensitive"?

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Paul and Linda McCartney sell a line of vegetarian dog food. So it's possible. My neighbour, David Slough, feeds his pack on offcuts from restaurants, so arguably that meat would just go to waste otherwise. A lot of petfood is also fairly unappetizing bits that couldn't be used for humans.

Sensitive? I didn't want to comment earlier, but I used to live nearby, and the owner of the restaurant is an obnoxious ****, so I never ate there on principle.

Could call it "The Rats with Wings Restaurant"

sorry, but what was their story? perhaps the "very long-time friend" has a more accurate record of its history.

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The family owning this restaurant just lost their other business, the Nam Wah Yuen on Main Street. Times are tough.

Having a regular lunch for two with just two beer there recently set me back $347. No wonder times are very tough for this place as well. Only one other table was occupied during our long lunch, but the service was really slow, taking about one full hour for our last dish (fried squid) to arrive.

Still OK food these days, but nothing special. But their amazingly high prices - similar to Central - and very hard-to-find location somewhere high above Hung Shing Yeh beach will make future survival for this place most difficult. I wish them all the best, as it's a spacous, relaxed place with partial sea views.

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Sorry Gung, but are you talking about the same restaurant? If so have you really changed your tune so much? First time you said,



I haven't noticed such a huge downturn in the quality of the place, and being a neighbour, haven't noticed that they have ever been anything but busy either.

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And a rinky dinky doo to you too!

Well, yes, I've changed my opinion,
but I'm not a frequent guest, only venturing out there every few months or so. The place was deserted all of lunchtime, except a single other table, when I visited there recently, the first time in many months. And the lunch bill was an absolute shocker, definitely not value for money at all, especially at lunch.

Other places have changed a lot recently, for example the food in the Deli has improved so dramatically since I gave it a bad review almost two years ago, getting fantastic grades now.
Similarly, the New Holiday Mood has finally cleaned up its act after so many tries over the last two years. Some places improve, others don't, that's life in the restaurant business.

But mine is just one opinion from one guest's visit, I'd love to hear your review (or anybody else's), as you're a more frequent guest than me, it seems.
Especially a dinnertime review would be appreciated, as I've never visited them for dinner so far. More people and better food at that time?

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I've gotta say that my only regular visit is to nip over and get some fried rice for my daughter - which she loves. We usually sit in so daddy can have a bottle of beer while we are there.

The staff are all very friendly, and I think usually give me a wee discount on the rice... so they claim. I haven't had a full meal there in a long time, so couldn't comment on the prices of a full meal.

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Doggy,
I'll follow your good advice and stick to their fried rice and a beer next time.

Thanks to our youngest restaurant critic for her recommendation of the fried rice!

Which other restaurants are child-friendly, or not?

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Unlike HK side restaurants, I can't really think of anywhere in Lamma where I would be reluctant to bring the kids - everywhere seems to be relatively child friendly, with high chairs and the like. The main thing you hve got to watch out for is the VVs roaring past any of the roadside restaurants.

I've found the Bistro is a good place for us to scoff and booze while Kaia dashes about and gets under peoples feet - at least it keeps her occupied.

The Bookworm is good because it has a selection of kiddies books for her to pick from and there are usually other kids in there.

Of course, for kiddie diversions the best has got to be the Concerto (even if it is lacking in other ways) because you are right there at the beach, and as long is they are in sight, the kids will kick sand at each otehr for ages while you sup the sundowners. They've got a good little area of kiddies slides as well.

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We were just at the Pigeon reataurant recently. Everything was so good and yummy. This restaurant is really our favorite one on the island. Can't wait to go back there.

Great timing, I was just having lunch there two days ago, after not visiting it for close to two years. The last time was actually with Pinky Chan and her boyfriend Iain. This time, I visited with two regular Han Lok Yuen patrons who even have a tab in the place: two policemen from the nearby police station.

Yes, the food is still fine and the service was friendly and quick. Only one more table was occupied, but it was a Wednesday lunchtime and the sky was grey. Hung Shing Yeh beach was also totally deserted, no tourists who might find the restaurant following the signs from the main path.

Their signature fried pigeons are still crispy-crunchy, the boiled shrimps big and tasty, the vegetables fresh and the fish very nice, too.

The view is pretty spectacular (get the outside tables at the end of the place for the best view), high above Hung Shing Yeh.

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