New restaurant in Hong Kong: Sun Chuk Yuen, Wan Chai - fast, cheap Vietnamese, but dishes and decor are nothing special
This busy Wan Chai restaurant is a popular lunch venue, with a large menu full of inexpensive Vietnamese classics, but the decor, ambience and flavours need some work
Vietnamese restaurant Sun Chuk Yuen in Wan Chai, is immediately noticeable because of the line of people waiting to get in for lunch.
Fortunately, the queue went pretty fast – we only waited for about 10 minutes, thanks to its automated ticketing system.
The smart, newly refurbished spot is spacious inside with frosted glass panels creating booths. However, the overall ambience and decor still leaves a little to be desired if it wants to attract diners looking for somewhere special.
First up was a dish of bun: grilled lemongrass beef vermicelli salad (HK$62). The portion was generous, with lots of rice vermicelli, but the herbs and toppings were a bit scant. Likewise, the beef was very well flavoured and tender, but there was not that much of it. Overall, the dish felt like a jumble of ingredients hastily assembled – a dressing or sauce; more fresh herbs and toppings would have lifted it to another level.
