Located at the Hyatt Regency by University station in Sha Tin, the Chinese restaurant is not the easiest to get to. But it is worth it once you do arrive, as the modern décor with a glass-encased open kitchen and large windows is welcoming. The furnishings are not particularly Chinese in style, apart from a few wooden latticed partitions and cute lampshades that resemble birdcages. It is a family-friendly restaurant which can get quite loud on a busy night and it is definitely worth bringing a shawl, as the air conditioning can be fierce.

Sha Tin 18’s most famous dish is the Peking duck: as such, when you call to make a reservation, after getting your name and number, you will be asked if you would like to reserve a duck. Who are we to say no? One of the things that we like about the Peking duck here is that you can order half a duck, leaving plenty of room for other dishes. There are a few surprises when the dish arrives: first, the duck is split onto three plates. One plate of pure crispy skin; a second of plain breast meat; and a third one of expertly carved duck leg that is still attached to a thin layer of skin and fat. The other surprise is apart from the usual condiments of plum sauce, cucumber and spring onion, we also get minced garlic and sugar. We loved our Peking duck packets made with the dark leg meat that still had a thin layer of skin and fat but was more disappointed with the breast meat, which proved to be both dry and tough. The plain skin, which is meant to be eaten with the sugar, is extremely crispy, requiring little chewing before it falls apart in the mouth. Other dishes worth trying are the hand-pulled noodles with braised beef: the beef is succulent and tender, the soup is aromatic, while the noodles provide just the right amount of dense texture. We also enjoyed the simmered baby cabbage with preserved egg, salted egg and garlic, which comes in a broth that is much more flavourful than the other soups we actually ordered. The duck soup was a particular disappointment, as it tasted much more of Chinese herbs than the bird itself. We were also disappointed with the poached pork, cabbage and chive dumplings. While the wrappers are appreciably made in-house, we thought the fillings were underwhelming in flavour. To finish, make sure to order the egg custard tarts, which are slightly brûléed on top, Macanese-style, with a sweet egg filling and a deliciously flaky crust. There are also more innovative desserts available, such as a candied longan peanut brownie, candied kumquat crème brûlée or homemade ice cream in flavours such as jasmine milk tea.

The wine list at Sha Tin 18 is varied, but the layout can be a little confusing. Wines from the new world are arranged by variety, while those from the old world are arranged by region. The selection caters to most budgets and staff are able to help recommend wines by the glass, of which there are 16 to choose from. There is also Chinese wines ranging from an affordable 8-year Shao Hsing Chia Fan Chiew (HK$250) to the more impressive Kweichow Moutai (HK$4,500).

While the staff are generally amiable and knowledgeable, there were a few flaws which suggests that the staff were not showing quite as much attention to detail as you would expect from a five-star hotel: examples include a dropped napkin that was promptly picked up but not replaced; a slightly less than clean shawl we asked for to protect ourselves from the artic air-conditioning; and even though we had asked for the soups to arrive before the other dishes, we were served Peking duck first anyway.

A meal for two including one glass of wine and half a Peking duck, but without live seafood, comes to about HK$900. This is reasonable considering the atmosphere.