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I'm overcome with sadness. After 35 years, our friend's family has made the difficult decision to close down
Metropol Restaurant (名都酒樓). While business has recovered from the tough years of 2019 through the Covid pandemic, the family is sitting on unrealized gains on the restaurant space and that math just ain't gonna get better. The restaurant's coming closure before the end of September has been announced, and owners and staff can be proud of the institution that together they have built - hence the use of the term 光榮結業.
While I cannot pinpoint the exact date I first dined here, it would probably have been within the first week or two of me arriving in Hong Kong at the end of May 1995. My office was in Pacific Place then, and it was a regular affair to go to lunch at Metropol whenever visitors from other offices arrived in Hong Kong. What I didn't realize until years later is that the restaurant - part of the
Heichinrou (聘珍樓) group which started in Yokohama more than 140 years ago - is owned by the family of an alumnus of my high school in Tokyo.
The space is large, able to host banquets of 100 tables with at least 10 diners per table. Lunch here is alwas a boisterous affair, as the place would be buzzing for a few hours - building up gradually from 8 a.m. when their breakfast service begins. For our visitors from outside Hong Kong, it's a real culture shock and quite an experience.
I have many fond memories from this place, especially during my first couple of years or so of living in Hong Kong. Back then all the dim sum were only served from push carts, and the ladies roamed the large floor space of the restaurant, asking each table whether they were interested in the carts' goodies. If there was a particular item that you wanted but the cart didn't come by your table, you'd take the paper ticket and run around the floor hunting down the right cart. That was part of the fun of dining here.
And in those early years, no matter how much food we orderd, the check for our table would inevitably come to about HKD 100 a head. This was roughly 40% of the cost of
Victoria City Seafood Restaurant (海都海鮮酒家) - my other go-to place for dim sum when I wanted a more upscale experience.
I've been meaning to meet up with Mamo for a month and finally got around to doing so for lunch today. Dining with the boss has its advantages - such as a guaranteed table without waiting in line, attentive service, and you can be sure that whatever comes to your table will be the best that's on offer.
Steamed pork dumpling with crab roe (蟹籽燒賣皇)
Steamed shrimp dumpling (水晶鮮蝦餃)
Pig tripe and pickled mustard leaf (酸菜豬肚) - very happy that we share the love of this.
Deep-fried mashed taro dumpling (蜂巢荔芋角) - no, not as good as the ones at
The Chairman (大班樓), but unlike the ones found at
Forum Restaurant (富臨飯店), these don't taste of baking soda.
Braised chicken feet (滷鳳爪) - boss was happy he could enjoy these with me.
Steamed tripe with ginger and spring onion (薑蔥牛柏葉)
Roasted crispy pork loin (脆皮腩肉) - this is where it pays to be dining with the boss... The pork loin had just come out from the kitchen, and this was definitely very, very tender and juicy while the thick crackling remained crunchy.
One of my absolutely favorite things to eat at Metropol has been the sweet tofu dessert. It comes around in a push cart with this big wooden bucket, and I used to scan the whole restaurant floor during the second half of lunch to see whether the cart could be found, and run to grab myself a bowl as soon as I spotted it. Today the job was made easier as the cart was parked in the middle of the restaurant, and the boss went to grab me a bowl when I inquired about it.
Sweetened bean curd (山水豆腐花) - I can't tell you how happy I was to slurp this down. It's been way, waaaay too long since I last tasted it here. Gotta come back for more!
I was glad to have taken a long lunch today, and got the chance to discuss my plan for a gathering of our school alumni before the restaurant's closing. Hopefully we'll get a good turnout and have a proper farewell.
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