The Century

Its barn-like big brother, Golden Century, set the standard. This more elegant baby brother steers a subtler course, with windows to the street and plush private rooms. The signature Golden Century wall of double-glazed tanks is there, however, brimming with larger-than-life crustaceans and slow-moving finfish, and the menu is a series of time-tested GC classics. Good-humoured waiters are as personable as they are efficient, even if the room can be a bit chilly for some. Warm up with sweet, fleshy braised eggplant, refresh your palate with cold cucumber in garlic sauce, then settle in for must-have live pipis tossed in XO sauce and slathered over noodles. Salt-and-pepper squid has just the right bite and salted fish and beancurd hotpot is pungent and earthy. It may not have the chaotic, slam-bam, wee-hours chef-pit-stop feel of the original, but with great food, a touch of style and exemplary service, who's quibbling?