Ho Mei Review

My first dinner at Surry Hills, a night full of wonderfully attentive staff (the pleasant type and not overbearing), good food and wonderful friends- what more can you ask for? (nothing)

Whilst I was looking for places in Surry Hills I came across a few places that had specials listed with the food website 'Eatability', I used to visit it in the past but then I found Urbanspoon to be more up my alley and an appropriate site to visit to get a rough idea of the food but now I'm glad to say that I have an even better reason to go to Eatability again. They have really good specials, like really good, there are fine dining restaurants offering 50% their food menu, provided that you book online before a certain date and on the days and time that they are offering the special. So if you can fit that into your schedule then I definitely recommend that you give it a shot, click here to browse through the list- a guess some of the places aren't all that great but it is really subjective so your taste may be different to mine but be sure to keep an eye out on it to see if something is suitable for you. I think also when I want to dine out next without a specific place in mind, I'll definitely go here as my first point of reference. (NB Link that I've provided is for Sydney Restaurants, if you live in a different city just change the location to your city)

So the special that I went for was the 30% off food at Ho Mei- which translates to great flavour or taste in Cantonese. First time going to a full tapas menu, usually at bit hesitant because tapas means small snacks not as small as a canape but as the snack meaning may throw some people off who are looking for value for money. Although, word of advice if you ever decide on a tapas menu, ask the wait staff for a suggestion on the appropriate number of dishes to order. Ho Mei tapas were actually quite substantial, they're a great option for those looking to share and try different options on the menu and of course there are mains available for a more hearty feed.

P.S all prices below are full price not discounted price but bear in mind that what we actually paid was 70% of it (using a 30% discount)

The Meal:

Seared Scallop with homemade XO sauce in golden pocket (4) $18

Scallops, XO sauce? Yes Please! The scallops were really plump, sweet and juicy and seafood and XO sauce just go hand-in-hand so what's not to love. In opinion, I though the golden pocket made the scallops look really appealing but i wish there'd be greater consistency in terms of how they turned out and it is also quite awkward to eat the two together- you find yourself digging into the scallop and then moving onto the golden pocket separately. 

Steamed Dumplings Plate- Vegetarian (4) $13

Some of the best dumplings pastry I've had in a long long time.
Perfect pastry is fairly thick- at least so that it doesn't fall apart when stuffed nor cooked, and ridiculously smooth. I want the recipe for this an also the technique for how to wrap this. All in all, really worthwhile dumplings that should be replicated at yum cha joints.

Steamed Dumplings Plate- Scallops and Prawn (4) $13
Equivalent to your yum cha 'Ha Gow or Xiā jiǎo', I thought these were also quite good and I hope that the next time I go yum cha I won't be disappointed in their Ha Gow because these ones were pretty good so they'll be my point of comparison.

Salt & Pepper Tofu $14
I absolutely love my tofu in almost every form imaginable, I particularly adore in deep fried because you get the fried coating encasing the silky soft tofu on the inside. Unfortunately it was far too salty for my liking and I found it hard to taste any pepper in it which is why I glad that there were scallions used as garnish which that cut through the saltiness of the tofu.

Ho Mei Curry with Chicken $18

Plain Steamed Rice $5

YUM, super tender chicken just the way I like it i.e. cooked for those on a Chinese palette, it's one of the reason why I tend to avoid chicken when I eat out. The curry had good flavour, and I'm glad that they used a variety of vegetables and if I were to comment on the rice it was plump and soft just the way I like my rice.

Meat Platter for Two (BBQ Pork/ Roast Pork Belly/ Crispy Chicken/ Roast Duck) with two sauces one plum the other a soy sauce based one (from memory not sure about the later sauce) $36

I definitely think it's generous for two we shared it between 4 and we still couldn't finish it but if you're looking for value for money this is the option to go for. In a snap shot, the pork belly was quite nice, tender well-seasoned as was the chicken and BBQ pork, I did however find the duck to be a tad tough but that said, the great service made up for the minor faults in the meal.

Vegetable flowers are adorable, the one on the right is actually a chilli and not a capsicum like what I though initially

Champagne L (Lychee Liqueur/Lychee Juice/Sparkling Wine) 16 

Happy Hour 6-7pm $10

All in all, the bill was $20 pp I thought that the staff were very friendly and they delivered Ho Mei's vision- that is, a warm dining experience filled with good friend and great hospitality. I definitely recommend the dumplings, being Chinese myself I couldn't help but be jealous of the chef's talent in churning out dumplings.