Duvel

Somewhere in the background you can hear Jim Morrison singing "This is the end ..." Thank you all so much for following my week of food in Hong Kong and for your kind words. I hope I could give you an idea how the culinary life is on this side of the planet - from the very basic to the more exotic. I very much appreciated your interest and all your questions and hope that - with a lot of help from other members (especially @liuzhou) - I could answer them to your expectations. Always feel free to drop more questions, either in this blog or via PM I am looking forward to the next eGullet foodblog

To complete our week in Honk Kong I believe I still owe you one last dinner. Since we started in Japan I found it only fitting to also finish with a Japanese meal (after all, it is my favorite cuisine and hugely popular in HK as well). In order to get to the restaurant I need to cross the Victoria Harbor to Kowloon via the "original" mode of transportation - the Star Ferry. Most of these ferries are old - this one has almost 60 years of service. The restaurant I was heading for is called "Gyu Kaku", a Japanese chain specializing in Yakiniku Before the battle ... from left to right: Garlic with salt, Tare and spicy Miso. Starter: Tofu with Onsen egg and chili oil ... Chicken thigh ... Harami, Kalbi and Hongalbi ... Pork cheek with Miso ... Oysters with butter ... Chicken livers ... Getting ready ... Different Kalbi ... Wagyu tongue ... And Wagyu fillet - this was incredible. You just put is for a couple of seconds just to melt the fat. Dipped into egg with soy sauce Making progress ... Of course there was also some drinks ... Dassai 39 - fantastic sake ! Whisky highball ... Anyone up for seconds ? Miso-marinated Kalbi ... And steak with garlic butter ... The restaurant is located next to the harbor front, so ... ... on the way back from the restaurant the full skyline of Central unfolded!

Very often, but usually not at the prospect of a free meal

I almost missed one iconic Hong Kong dish ... but was luckily reminded. Won ton noodle soup (Wan Tan Min) is a simplistic affair, drawing its appeal from a the perfect execution of the three ingredients: Won tons (purely made with shrimp), super-thin egg noddles that are barely cooked (and reamin crunchy, almost like shirataki noodles) and a lightly seasoned fish broth (from dried fish/shrimps, that sometimes has undertones of cured pork products). Occasionally gai lan or gau coi (garlic chives) are added. For lunch I usually go to the Midlevels, which stretch uphill from Central along the slopes of Victoria peak. Alas, you don't have to climb thanks to the roofed midlevels escalator, that conveniently transports you via several stages up the hill. While walking/riding up, you have good views over the streets and into the neigbouring buildings ... Mak's Noodles is similar iconic, being located in Wellington street since somewhen in the 50's (the bottom of the picture). Two chefs are happily working in the front kitchen of the shop, dishing out houndreds of won ton soups in the next two hours or so ... Menu is simple and cosists of the won ton soup and its varaitions (with brisket, additional pork dumplings etc.). Alternatively, they offer all dishes "dry", e.g. without the broth but then accompanied by a brown sauce (if desired). I took the classic (40 HKD). Very hot, noodles very crunchy, won ton slippery and soft and a very flavorful broth. In order to make sure I get a seat I went early (11.30h) and I was successful. About thirty minutes later you would need to queue. Strolling back to office you can take the little cobble stone alley downhill, where you can pick up daily necessities from little electric fans over second hand books to your next scary Halloween mask

I think its a bit of a trade-off: I love the carts and if the place is large and swamped, food from the carts is fresh and has so many different offers. In smaller places or at times with fewer customers, a la carte would be my choice as well. Needless to say, when I have guests from overseas a place like Maxim's palace is fantastic, and without having to go through a menu from which half of the names don't really give you anything everyone can just basically pick their choice from the passing-by carts - instant gratification!

I would call it more like a brunch thing. Starting early, most places close after lunch and by lunch sometimes very popular items are already out. Maxim's Palace for example opens around 8.00h. The worst mistake you can make for these places is actually showing up at 13.00h or later ... And for the early morning exercise: yes, definitely. All public places, the waterfront, public playgrounds - even in my street when you get up early enough. Whether they head out for dim sum afterwards I can't tell. But the fun of dim sum is to have a larger group (= more choices), so maybe individually they rather have a bowl of congee (or macaroni and ham ).

Yeah, won't happen to me. As you can see from most of my posts my inner strength lies in complete portion control and my ability to say no to any treat

Yes, the English etymology of the humble turnip cake is a bit of a pickle. You find very few places that do not sell it as "turnip cake" here, but strangely when you ask your (local) friend as to what it is inside the answer is usually "white carrot" Thanks for clarifying, @liuzhou !

Good morning from Central ! Today is the final day of this food blog and I decided that in order to provide a more diverse inside into Hong Kong's food offerings I had to step outside of my comfort zone. So, instead of my beloved dark green tea I purchased a bottle of cold Pu-erh tea at the convenience store. Rest assure, I will not do that mistake again ... (the warm ham & scrambled egg roll was good, though)

Quite some actually. It's part of the experience and actually what the locals come for ...

Garlic and some bacon pieces are fried in butter, half a pound of chopped champignons are added and sautéed. White wine is added, reduced, then cream, reduced again and some powdered porcini are added and everything is reduced to a proper consistency. Salt & pepper to taste ...

It has been a long day with some even longer discussions. That calls out for comfort food, preferably deep fried So tonight "Jägerschnitzel mit Kartoffelgratin" (or deep fried pork cutlet with mushroom sauce and [very garlicky] scalloped potatoes), with a couple of Japanese fixings on the side (benishoga, tonkatsu sauce, curry) ... For tonight I am reconciled with the world

I know what you mean. Luckily dim sum is a communal affair with all dishes shared, so there is some sort of social "portion control" For the turnip cake: let me get you a recipe from one of my Cantonese friends and you can give it a try ...

Lunch at Maxim's palace at City Hall ... Belonging to the same catering group as the MX "fast food" joint from last week, this restaurant is located just next to Jardine House. It is very popular and normally you need to show up well in advance. Luckily three lovely ladies from our department took over the task to secure a table at 11.30h and about 15 min later we all joined. It's a reassuring sign that hygiene is a priority if they announce that the door handle (outsde) is "frequently" cleaned The restaurant is occupying most of the third floor. You have a nice view over Victoria harbor if you are lucky to get a seat next to the window ... Service is old school and you can hail the ladies with the push carts to come to your table. But they'll come anyway ... Seating for eight ... Turnip cake. Pu-erh tea ... Deep-fried shrimp & seaweed roll. Squid. Deep-fried shrimp cake. Fried won ton. Steamed shrimp watercress dumpling. Meat dumpling. Siu mai with pork. Siu mai with shrimp & pork. Steamed rice roll with char siu. And with shrimp ... Egg tart. Baked BBQ pork pastry. Char siu bao. Har gow. The dessert cart approaching... Sesame cake. Mango soup. Tofu fa. All washed down with more hot Pu-erh ... At the end we paid around 150 HKD per head ... well justified. ... and went back to Jardine House.

Correct. Very fatty. Which is a good thing

Duvel is 8.5% I do love the Belgian golden ales ... I lived in Brussels for a while and believe me: I tried them all

Thanks, interesting read ...

Good morning from Central ! It rains and has cooled down a bit (31 oC). Even better, I got my dark green tea this morning at the convenience store next to the ferry pier Now editing slides while watching the clouds slowly creeping down from Victoria peak, at the backside of Jardine house...

A little bit of confession time: the above mentioned Mentaiko Carbonara spaghetti was actually my second dinner - the type of salty rich carbohydrate fuel you'd associate with being a bit tipsy and a bit more hungry ... Yesterday evening after work I went out with two colleagues for a drink, just because. The location of choice was "Globe" close to Hollywood road in a side street, a pub-type establishment with quite a selection of beers on tap and decent nibbles. Beer on tap ... While these looked tempting, my favourite beer was available, so naturally: And sticking the the Belgian theme: La Chouffe. Note that they didn't had the correct glass. It should come in something that looks pretty much like a Duvel glass ... Nibbles ... Fish fingers ... Lamb ribs with minty sauce ... ... and carbs. Before heading home perhaps a cocktail ? I'll had the Gin Royal Tea. Quite refreshing ... Toilet signs were a bit confusing. I doubt that in an establishment that serves copious amounts of alcohol obscure gender designations for toilets are a good idea ... Hollywood road at 20.30h ... Walking home to the ferry I enjoyed the view over Victoria harbor and the thought that there was a pack of Mentaiko waiting in the fridge ...

I brought a box of Mentaiko for my friend from Japan, part of which went into Fridays Takoyaki. Today I got presented with some of it back, so a "light" dinner was in order: Mentaiko Carbonara Spaghetti. Garlic fried in butter, cream added and reduced, bit of dashi and mixed with cooked spaghetti. Finally Mentaiko crumbled in and mixed ... Very tasty

The topic of the domestic helpers has a lot of controversies - exploitation is still known, but less common these days as more and more people become aware of their situation. I would not subscribe to the statement of a "dark underbelly", though. Yes, there are horrible stories floating around how some people treat their helper. I personally know a lot of helpers that are happy with their employer, and do have a "regular" working life with fixed hours and sufficient free time. I don't think neither that the helpers would agree on the "homeless" statement. It is true that because they usually live with their employers families, they can't just meet at their "home". That being said, where and how they spend their free time is completely up to them. Some go to the beaches, the outlying islands, the parks - the cardboard boxes / walls are merely a tool to make the meeting place a little bit more "cozy". The common denominator is that they meet with their friends and have a good time. I agree that the rest of the week it is a hard live for them and it is my personal conviction that the only way to support them is to treat them fair, and show them the kindness and respect they deserve as you would show to anyone else. You will not be able to change the fact that they earn so much more in the years spend abroad (be in HK, the middle east, ... compared to even a good job in their home country) and thus frequently make the decision to sacrifice so much of their private life for a more secure future of their family abroad.

Kewpie mayonnaise is only popular here with fried foods. The trend in HK is all things torched/broiled/grilled and I have to admit that the torched salmon with black pepper is currently one of my favourites ...

As promised a small glimpse into Kowloons fruit market, your address for all things "sweet" ... The market is located close to Shanghai street, where all restaurant supplies can be found in Hong Kong. Melons ... Grapes. Apples & co ... Exotica ... The cherries looked fantastic! Hmm. Technically not fruit Drinks. Soooo fresh ... The market has a distinct "wholesale" feeling to it ... Workers are here since the very early morning and spend their "afterhours" playing Mahjong ... ... or contemplating about the meaning of life. Close to the market, a herbal tea shop. Cantonese are very health conscious and you can get any kind of tea for curing heat-induced insomnia to the dreaded foot asthma for just 20 HKD Of course everything tastes like its very healthy ... And if that doesn't help, you can but some tonics and ointments in the nearby pharmacy ... If you walk a bit north you'll close in to Mong Kok, home of the famous "ladies market", a very popular night market selling everything from kitschy souvenirs to high quality copy watches. Of course, nothing to be bought there at daytime but the area has also some very good street food. Snacks ... e.g. battered and fried veggies ... ... skewered variety meats, stinky tofu ... ... and of course curry fish balls - maybe the most iconic street snack. Fish (or cuttlefish) balls simmered in flavorful curry sauce and sold at 15 HKD for a noodlecup full of spicy goodness. I believe @rarerollingobject is particularly fond of them. So popular you can buy it in the convenience store for making at home ... And for those with a sweet tooth: Waffles

For lunch we headed out today for Sushi. As sushi is very popular with locals and expats alike, there are a couple of decent sushi chains in Hong Kong. Todays pick was Genki Sushi, the "low cost" outlet of Sen Ryu. As far as I can tell they share the same rice preparation (which is very tasty), but Genki Sushi has cheaper cuts and some Japanese-style "fast food" type dishes added (e.g. fried cuttlefish lips, kaki furai, etc.). Genki Sushi usually operates as a Kaiten sushi place, but you can always order a la carte as well. The recently reopened branch in Shun Tak center has a slightly different concept: You order via tablet computer and your choices arrive via a two story sled system. If you come mid service (around12.30h) you'll need to wait a bit to be seated, but everything comes fresh. I do enjoy particularly the still warm rice ... Your "station" ... Choices ... Ordering is done via tablet PC. 8 choices max per order, but you can send as many orders as you want. I have not fully grasped as to why the limitation... Salmon roe ... Crab meat & avocado ... Fried shrimp ... Red shrimp sashimi. My "go to" choice. Super sweet meat ... Broiled salmon ... Marinated and broiled salmon with spicy condiment (kind of ma la) ... I ordered the wrong Udon. Wanted Tempura Udon, got Bacon Carbonara ... Negitoro ! Grilled black pepper oyster ... Fatty tuna belly ... Tataki bonito with Yuzu peel. Very good! And to end the meal - the traditional egg. Success All in all about 20 USD. Definitely more than I would usually spend for lunch, but very worthwhile ...

350 HKD for a catty (604.7 g).