Reports on Hong Kong dining

[insomniac]

I LOVE those old school places in HK - Tai Ping Koon, Perfume River, Nam Wah (RIP), Boston... I never got to Indonesia - but I always found the storefront intriguing.

oh, I had forgotten about Perfume River! don't forget Chung Chuk Lau(Pine and Bamboo)(also RIP) on Leighton Road in Causeway Bay....we loved that place

ps. Ah Leung, wasn't there an Indonesia Restaurant also in Causeway Bay? the sign looks similar??

pps. ooh, nearly forgot....Spring Deer has got to qualify, Canucklehead

Edited March 11, 2008 by insomniac (log)

[hzrt8w]

ps. Ah Leung, wasn't there an Indonesia Restaurant also in Causeway Bay? the sign looks similar??

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Hi insomniac! Sorry I wouldn't know. I have always been a Kowlooner.

[canucklehead]

ps. Ah Leung, wasn't there an Indonesia Restaurant also in Causeway Bay? the sign looks similar??

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Hi insomniac! Sorry I wouldn't know. I have always been a Kowlooner.

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There is one - right across from Leighton Center just outside of Happy Valley.

[warlockdilemma]

I have no idea how much a bowl of wonton noodle soup would cost in Australia or Japan or other European countries (but it would be interesting to know).

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In Toronto its Cdn $4.50 for wonton noodle.........

[HKDave]

ps. Ah Leung, wasn't there an Indonesia Restaurant also in Causeway Bay? the sign looks similar??

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Hi insomniac! Sorry I wouldn't know. I have always been a Kowlooner.

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There is one - right across from Leighton Center just outside of Happy Valley.

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That's a different owner, and that's the original "Indonesian Restaurant". They have 3 locations: Leighton Rd Causeway Bay, Observatory Ct TST and New Town Plaza Sha Tin.

The "Indonesia (not Indonesian) Restaurant" on Granville Rd TST is a copy, right down to the neon sign. It's been around for decades itself.

The original group now call themselves "Indonesian Restaurant 1968" (that's the year they opened their first location) to differentiate themselves from the Granville Rd one.

[prasantrin]

I'm at Kansai International and will be off in about an hour. I've got my list (a beautiful Excel spreadsheet narrowed down to 5 A3-sized pages), and I'm going to eat well! Thanks to all those who contributed to this topic and thus to my upcoming eating extravaganza!

[hzrt8w]

I've got my list (a beautiful Excel spreadsheet narrowed down to 5 A3-sized pages), and I'm going to eat well! 

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Have a great trip Rona! And will you eat a ham siu kwok for me?

[prasantrin]

Have a great trip Rona!  And will you eat a ham siu kwok for me?   

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No way! I only ask other people to eat them for me, then when it's my turn, I get them all to myself!

On the first day alone, I felt sick from eating too much twice! Should I feel good or bad about that?

I'll try to borrow a card-reader and get some pics up.

[prasantrin]

For the first time ever, I flew CP. I liked it, and if it were more convenient for me, I'd probably fly it more often. The seats were comfortable (I did have two seats to myself, though), I had my own TV...what more could I want? Other than to sit in business class, that is...

My first meal was airplane food. It was actually decent, though the main dish was a bit sweet.

The gomadoufu was my favourite, and the gelatinous things on top were good, too. They just tasted like chicken stock to me, but I liked them.

The main dish was some kind of beef thing with noodles. Sweet, but flavourful. The other choice was chicken, and it looked less tempting from what I saw.

Also included were a little souffle cheesecake and an ice cream bar! I never eat ice cream bars, but I gave in this time. It was good! But by the end of my meal (about 90 minutes into a four-hour flight), I was quite full, and therefore worried if I would be able to eat as soon as I got into the city...

[hzrt8w]

For the first time ever, I flew CP. 

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Marvelous pictures! I look forward to viewing more!

You posted your airline food pictures while you were on the plane via a satellite link??? (If you did, you are making new milestones!)

PS: The meals I had onboard a CP flight (between SFO and HKG)... I was so glad that they treated me more like a Hong Konger than an American, foodwise...

Edited March 23, 2008 by hzrt8w (log)

[canucklehead]

Who's CP? I think I answered my question.

I always think of CP as Canadian Pacific (RIP). Cathay Pacific is referred to as CX - their actual 2 letter code. Or has that changed?

[prasantrin]

Who's CP?  I think I answered my question.

I always think of CP as Canadian Pacific (RIP).  Cathay Pacific is referred to as CX - their actual 2 letter code.  Or has that changed?

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No, it's still CX, but I never think of Cathay Pacific as being CX (just as I never think of Toronto as being YYZ--who thinks of these abbreviations?). I wonder why Cathay ended up being CX...

You posted your airline food pictures while you were on the plane via a satellite link???   (If you did, you are making new milestones!)

I thought I read CP was going to have in-flight internet access sometime soon, but maybe it was Emirates. I can just imagine eGulleters everywhere dragging their computers out mid-meal to write about them. Poor flight attendants would never be able to get anything done!

So...my first meal in HK.

My flight managed to arrive in HK about 30 minutes early, so when I walked out of immigration/customs, my friends were nowhere to be seen. I thought I'd pass the time by browsing. I was still full from lunch, but there appeared to be a little Chinese fast food place by the arrivals area, so I walked over to see if I could find some cha siu bao. I had been dreaming about cha siu bao for weeks before arriving (and I even resisted making my own, because I knew I'd be eating the good stuff once I arrived). But darn it all! It was a ramen place!

Then I spotted a bakery, so I went to find some cocktail buns. I couldn't figure out which ones were the cocktail buns (coconut buns? mexican buns? coconut cream buns?), and they didn't look very good, so I went for some water, instead.

I finally spotted my friend sans husband, and we went up to Pacific Coffee to decide what to do next. It was pouring rain outside, and we could take a bus back to her place, but we would have to walk a bit. Or we could go straight to Central to find one of the dim sum places on my list, but that would also involve walking in the rain (with my luggage in tow). So we decided that since her husband wasn't with us, we could sneak over to one of the hotels and have afternoon tea!

Now don't y'all be disappointed with me. I wanted to experience the colonial side of HK, as well as the local side! Plus we could get to an afternoon tea location without having to walk outdoors in the pouring rain, and I could leave my luggage with coat check while we ate.

Prior research allowed me to narrow our choices to the Four Seasons or InterContinental. I had had tea at the Peninsula once before, about 9 years ago, and I thought the food sucked. Ling's observations of her and Henry's recent experience there confirmed that the Peninsula would not be the place for us. After looking at maps, we decided on the Four Seasons.

Look how happy I am to be in HK! And a non-blurry picture of me, at that! Clearly my friend is a better photographer than my mother! (See this picture for reference.)

My friend, Erin, is pretty happy, too! Her husband is on a very strict doctor-imposed diet, so he can't eat many many foods, like sweets, rich foods, fatty foods, etc. She feels too guilty eating them while he's around, so she avoids them, too. Plus he's a local, so he and his family cringe at the thought of spending so much money on food, when you can get really good food for much less. This visit of mine is Erin's chance to indulge in rich and expensive foods, as well!

Because it was Easter weekend, we were told the AT had some additional treats, and was thus a little more expensive than usual (HK$250 each, instead of ~$400 for two). We were fine with that, but we didn't quite understand what we were getting, so we made a few goofs.

First, we headed up to the buffet table. There wasn't a huge variety of sweets, but there were certainly enough to keep us occupied. There were no savoury items, though, and we thought that was a bit weird. From the left, clockwise, we have carrot cake, a tray of marshmallows, macarons, and a few other little things, creme brulee with whipped cream and blueberries, and bread pudding.

Bottom row, left to right: hot cross bun, tiramisu.

Bottom L-R: almond and cherry tart, peach cobbler, Middle L-R: tray of sweets, cinnamon balls with custard (they were like churros), Top: assorted chocolates (the left ones were like milk duds), and fruit cocktail.

We tried to take a little of everything, but we had an awful lot of sweet things!

The hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows was a special offering in addition to your choice of tea. It was good, but I've had better. My favourite of these was probably the tiramisu. It was very rich, but not too sweet. Erin loved the carrot cake and the bread pudding.

We had been eating for maybe 20 minutes, and we were both already feeling a bit ill from all the sweets when they came out with this monster

We weren't expecting it (I don't know why we weren't, but we just weren't), so had already indulged in all the sweet stuff. But we had to at least try to eat more!

Bottom tier--finally! Some savoury items! Little sandwiches, egg salad-filled gougere, and salmon millefeuille (sp?). The salmon millefeuille was outrageously good, and the pollack-topped very stale rusk was outrageously bad.

Scones and accompaniments--the scones were heavy, but not as heavy as I remember Peninsula scones as being. I just don't like scones made with eggs, I think. I much prefer flakey scones. The clotted cream was very nice, though.

The top layer--we were really really feeling sick at this point. We both like to eat, but can only eat so much. Plus remember, we front-ended a lot of the sweet stuff from the buffet table. Clockwise from 10:00, chocolate cherry parfait, some kind of almond cream tart, key lime tart in a chocolate crust, and little puffs filled with pastry cream. The parfait was very good, but we couldn't eat more than a spoonful each. I managed to eat the top of my little puff (I just wanted the crunch of the caramel), and Erin ate all the fruit off the top of one of the fruit tarts. We did both manage to eat the key lime tarts--they were perfect. Not too sweet, not too tart. It was the last thing we both ate, and we managed to do so without getting sick all over each other.

Bloated yet happy, we left to find our way home.

Edited March 23, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[hzrt8w]

So...my first meal in HK.

...

... we could sneak over to one of the hotels and have afternoon tea!

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That was only an "afternoon tea"??? I couldn't wait to see what a real meal is like!

...  Plus he's a local, so he and his family cringe at the thought of spending so much money on food, when you can get really good food for much less.  This visit of mine is Erin's chance to indulge in rich and expensive foods, as well!

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Actually... there might be two schools of different philosophies. Yes there are Chinese who would not spend much money on food. But there are also those who believe in "man yee sik wai teen" [Cantonese phrase], which means "eating is the top priority (more than anything else)". (You can guess which school I belong to! ) Those are the ones who wouldn't mind paying high prices for anything - as long as they are "worth the money". And that has been a prime driving force for most of the high-end culinary establishments in Hong Kong.

P.S.: And I believe the second school is bigger than the first.

[prasantrin]

Actually... there might be two schools of different philosophies.  Yes there are Chinese who would not spend much money on food.  But there are also those who believe in "man yee sik wai teen" [Cantonese phrase], which means "eating is the top priority (more than anything else)".  (You can guess which school I belong to!  )  Those are the ones who wouldn't mind paying high prices for anything - as long as they are "worth the money".  And that has been a prime driving force for most of the high-end culinary establishments in Hong Kong.

P.S.:  And I believe the second school is bigger than the first. 

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I want to be a member of the second school! It sounds like they have more fun (at least more of my kind of fun!)! I think his family has had to work too hard and too long, though, to feel free enough to spend a lot of money on food. Felix, however, is in the computer business, so he loves to have the newest and coolest gadgets. That's his only indulgence, I think.

Now onto dinner...

We managed to get back to the apartment without getting drenched. It was still raining when we left the Four Seasons, but by the time we alighted from the bus, it had stopped. Lucky us! Erin and Felix live in Shatin which is not the most happening place. I can see the race track from one of their windows, and there's a nice view of the mountains from the others. They do live relatively close to some good bus lines and one of the subway lines (taking the subway involves at least two transfers, though), so that's a plus.

We decided to hit the Sai Kung area for dinner, since it's only about 30 minutes from their apartment by bus. It's right by the water, and it's known for seafood. The restaurants really push the set menus, but you can also order from tanks, and have them cook your very fresh seafood however you like. Felix didn't join us, as he didn't want to limit our eating (he can eat fish, but no shellfish). It was thoughtful of him, but a little sad since we couldn't order as much food as we otherwise would have!

I'm sure pictures of the Sai Kung area have been seen on eG before, but I just wanted to add a few more.

I felt really sorry for the big guy. His eyes looked so sad...

And I felt sorry for this guy, too. Can you imagine being that big and not being able to even turn around? I was wondering if people actually bought fish like him. What kind of fish is he and how would he be prepared for eating? I can't imagine whole steaming or frying him.

In the middle row, you can see a poor crab trying to escape from his horrible living conditions.

I'm all for knowing where your food comes from, but I have to admit, I'm a softie when it comes to animals. I like to see them living freely or at least in comfortable conditions. I could probably still kill a cow and butcher it if I had to, but I'd like to know it lived a good life before I did so. So what could I do but put some of these creatures out of their miseries by eating them?

We settled on a place called Tung Kee. It was the first place we saw, but we did walk around a bit before selecting it. All the restaurants were busy, and all had the same types of set menus, but we chose this place because they were the only ones who weren't aggressively selling themselves. They didn't bother us at all as we walked by.

I liked how they clear the tables just like they do at dim sum places in Winnipeg--just wrap everything up and go! But here they do it with real cloth tablecloths! None of that plastic stuff!

We wanted to order off-the-menu (I think most people order set menus at these places), because I really wanted spicy salt prawns. We figured out that we had to go and select any off-the-menu seafood, then tell them how we wanted it cooked. The staff at this place don't speak English, so the manager helped us out with how to do things. He also convinced us to order a couple of these babies

What are they? They look like bamboo with pulsating snot coming out of one end. He suggested how we should have them cooked, and we went with his suggestion (though I didn't actually hear what he suggested).

Spicy salt prawns--these were really good! The shells were perfectly crispy so I could eat the whole prawn, including the heads!

We ate and ate and ate. Finally, we only had about 4 prawns left, but we still hadn't received any of the other food we ordered. It was a good 30 minutes (possibly more) before this came out--yung chow (?) fried rice.

It was good, but it could have been flavourful. It was an excellent vehicle for enabling me to eat more of the garlic from the spicy salt prawns, though!

Then our pulsating snot came out, cooked in black bean sauce. It looked like squid, but was far more tender and sweeter. I'd never had these before, but would definitely order them again (if I knew what they were). The black bean sauce went really well with the rice, too!

Then another 30-ish minutes went by, and our vegetables finally arrived. We had ordered stir-fried seasonal vegetables (ong choy in this case) with mashed garlic. This was more steamed than stir-fried, and it lacked flavour, so much of it went uneaten.

All-in-all, a very good first day of eating.

[hzrt8w]

What are they?  They look like bamboo with pulsating snot coming out of one end.  He suggested how we should have them cooked, and we went with his suggestion (though I didn't actually hear what he suggested).

...

We ate and ate and ate.  Finally, we only had about 4 prawns left, but we still hadn't received any of the other food we ordered.  It was a good 30 minutes (possibly more) before this came out--yung chow (?) fried rice.

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I believe they are called "razor clams". The Cantoness translation is "Sing Zhee" (by pronounciation).

The fried rice is "Yang Chow" fried rice. A staple in Hong Kong.

30 minute is indeed too long, especially in a fast-paced life-style in Hong Kong. I think anything over 10-15 minutes you can question the waitstaff. Perhaps no wonder Tung Kee is not as crowded as the other ones. When I was at Sai Kung, I also avoided the most crowded ones: Tsuen Kee and Hung Kee. But perhaps I had missed out. They were crowded probably for good reasons. Next time...

[aprilmei]

They call them bamboo clams Hong Kong, and they're delicious. Next time, order them steamed.

I believe they're the same as razor clams but I'm not sure; I've never eaten them in the States.

[canucklehead]

If you head back to Sai Kung again - try Ming Yuen - they have an absolutely killer roasted duck.

[prasantrin]

If you head back to Sai Kung again - try Ming Yuen - they have an absolutely killer roasted duck.

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You know, that was on my list (probably gleaned from one of your reports), but my friends were confused, and they said, "Why would you go to Sai Kung for roast duck?" Then Felix looked it up on Open Rice and said the reviews were not so good, so he cautioned us away from it. I was a little sad, because I really wanted some duck!

Razor clams! Must remember that. I'd heard of them, but had never had them before. I think "bamboo clams" are an appropriate name for them, too. They certainly did look like bamboo.

Tung Kee was actually quite busy when we first went by. We got there rather late (8 or 8:30), and they were the fullest of the restaurants along the water. By the time we got around to deciding where to eat, it was probably 8:30 or 9.

Yesterday was not quite as successful in terms of eating. A wrench has been thrown in my plans, and I am sick!! I've been trying to soldier on, and I think I'm feeling better this morning, but I'm not sure how things will happen. Our plans are lunch in Mongkok then dinner at Yung Kee. I want some roast goose, even if I can't taste it!

Any other suggestions for Yung Kee?

Edited March 24, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[hzrt8w]

[...]  Our plans are lunch in Mongkok then dinner at Yung Kee.  I want some roast goose, even if I can't taste it!

Any other suggestions for Yung Kee?

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Yeah! That's the spirit!!! Order a roast goose, take some pictures... just for us!!!

When I was there, I had some of their "yun cheung" (liver sausages) - which are excellent. You can order the liver sausages separately, or have them do a combo - roast goose and liver sausages.

I also had a casserole pot of mutton and beancurd sheets - which are very good but I like their BBQ items better.

[prasantrin]

Yeah!  That's the spirit!!!  Order a roast goose, take some pictures... just for us!!!   

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Yesterday my friend said, "I hope you feel better tomorrow, so you can enjoy Yung Kee," and I replied, "Even if I'm not, I'm still going to order roast goose! I want that roast goose!"

Then she said, "Well, at least you'll be able to take some good pictures of it!"

I'm lucky to have friends who are very supportive of my picture-taking habit!

Not big on liver sausages, but the hot pot sounds good. I heard the pea shoots were good there, so that may be our vegetable dish.

[sanrensho]

Rona, you sure didn't disappoint.

Needless to say, I'm enthralled to see that you started off your HK report with the most important course--desserts!

[aprilmei]

I'm not sure if the mutton casserole is available now because it's a winter dish. The yuen cheung might not be, either - for the same reason. I actually very rarely look at the menu when eating there - we depend on our waiter to recommend what's good that day.

[hzrt8w]

And I felt sorry for this guy, too.  Can you imagine being that big and not being able to even turn around?  I was wondering if people actually bought fish like him.  What kind of fish is he and how would he be prepared for eating?  I can't imagine whole steaming or frying him.

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The fish may not be able to turn, but he probably can float up, belly up, then roll 180 degree to turn the other way if he wants to.

The big question I have is who would order this humongous fish. How would they have the fish cooked? (Is it mostly for "show"?)

The biggest fish I have ever ordered was a "Chiang Yee" (Green Cloth), about 10 lb. I had it steamed. But the meat was quite tough. I think the best size of fish to have (steamed) is about or under 2 pound.

[canucklehead]

For the most part - the fish is for show. I don't know of anyone who has ever ordered one - and as you say Ah Leung, the meat tends to be too flaky and coarse. When it is ordered - it is usually taken apart and served over a number of courses.

It makes me sad seeing these beautiful ancient creatures being put on show when there is no real culinary reason to have them around (I know - I am getting soft in my old age!).

There have been instances where people buy these giant fish or giant crustaceans - and try to return to them to their home waters to release them.

But forget about that - more food pictures Rona. And not to be out of line - you're a looker!

Edited March 26, 2008 by canucklehead (log)

[prasantrin]

But forget about that - more food pictures Rona.  And not to be out of line - you're a looker!

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You mean a funny-looker?

I just noticed how sad that fish's mouth looks. Poor little fishy.

I would have posted more in almost real-time, but by Sunday night, I had started to feel very much under-the-weather, and by Monday, I was most definitely sick. I still managed to eat (though not with as much abandon, so I'm glad I got some really good meals in before the sickness set in), so there are still pics and posts to come!

I'm due to return to Japan today, and I'm hoping they let me go! I'm quite sure I still have a slight fever, and if the SARS-era initiated protocol is still being enforced, they may just detain me!

If not, well, I'll just use the time in quarantine to post a little more. I sure hope they have wi-fi in quarantine!