Reports on Hong Kong dining

[sheetz]

But one bad thing is most Hong Kongers... when they see you and if you look Chinese, they automatically assume you speak Cantonese!

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That's exactly the problem! Everyone would first speak to me in Cantonese and it would be nice to not have to keep switching to English.

Edited November 12, 2007 by sheetz (log)

[Fengyi]

I just came back from a long weekend there! Bliss I wish you the very very best trip possible and hope you enjoy it.

As for the changes, luckily, the neighbourhood where I used to live hasn't changed much - but the rest! WOW! I knew the central Star ferry terminus had been moved but it was still such a shock to see it actually gone!!!

Can't add any suggestions for good Cantonese food (except for the usual -which I'm sure you know about already). . . we actually ate nearly all western food just because my friends thought I needed a break from Chinese food.

The roast beef and yorkshire pud at Jimmy's Kitchen was terrific as usual. So if you want a change, go there on a Sunday and enjoy

(also was invited for a function at the Mandarin Oriental - the site of many a tea in ages past! - for the new-wave El Bulli style cooking there. It was very very fascinating with such things as a tomato "salad" with bubbles of 'Olives')

Have a lovely trip - the weather is WONDERFUL there at the moment!

Edited November 12, 2007 by Fengyi (log)

[hzrt8w]

Can't add any suggestions for good Cantonese food (except for the usual -which I'm sure you know about already). . . we actually ate nearly all western food just because my friends thought I needed a break from Chinese food. 

The roast beef and yorkshire pud at Jimmy's Kitchen was terrific as usual. So if you want a change, go there on a Sunday and enjoy 

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Your situation and mine are quite different. Since you live in Beijing and have many good Chinese eats available, and probably have less than ideal western food, your friends are probably right.

I, on the other hand, in Sacramento will always need to endue only second best (or even third) Chinese food available compared to San Francisco and Los Angeles, during my trip I will mostly save my stomach for Chinese food in Hong Kong.

Edited November 12, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[Ohba]

For Sichuan food, Man Jiang Hong in Causeway Bay is great. There are some others in the private kitchen category that people rate highly, and there's Shui Hu Ju in Peel Street, that a lot of people rave about (it's a look thing, I reckon). I don't think any of them hold a candle to Man Jiang Hong.

[Jaymes]

As for the changes, luckily, the neighbourhood where I used to live hasn't changed much - but the rest! WOW! I knew the central Star ferry terminus had been moved but it was still such a shock to see it actually gone!!!

I'm still upset that they moved the old railway station. Those were the days. When the station was right across the street from the Peninsula Hotel, everyone that came and went from China whiled away some time in the Peninsula lobby. There used to be a saying that if you could wait in that lobby long enough, eventually you'd see everybody you ever knew.

[maher]

How excellent! I'd like to make it out to HK one day. After I've brought my Cantonese up to an acceptable level...

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It certainly helps to speak the language (Cantonese). But you can get by with speaking English too. Most Hong Kong locals are bilingual (or you can find someone who is to help). But one bad thing is most Hong Kongers... when they see you and if you look Chinese, they automatically assume you speak Cantonese!

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i never had a problem with using sign language at the street stalls when english failed. somehow, a large middle eastern person pointing frantically... i want that that that... got understood and served pretty promptly.. i cant imagine why.

please make it to some of the night markets, that is some of my favorite street food in HKG, and have a great time, i know i gain about a pound a day when i am there.

[mizducky]

Oh, what a wonderful trip, Ah Leung! Enjoy it--you deserve it.

I am totally looking forward to your coverage of Hong Kong food--especially the street food. You know how I like the everyday people's food. Having it documented by somebody like you who knows the stuff so well is going to be a real treat.

[hzrt8w]

I'm still upset that they moved the old railway station.  Those were the days.  When the station was right across the street from the Peninsula Hotel, everyone that came and went from China whiled away some time in the Peninsula lobby.  There used to be a saying that if you could wait in that lobby long enough, eventually you'd see everybody you ever knew.

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I hope that the water fountain in front of the Peninsula Hotel is still there. When I was 5 or so, I passed by that water fountain every few nights mesmerized by the change of color from red to green to blue to white. Fascinating. Of course that was 30 some years before they built the Bellagio Hotel.

Ever drank a bottle of "Green Spot" at the Peninsula? That was a memorable TV commercial.

Multiple sources pointed to Man Jiang Hong for Sichuan food. Man Jiang Hong it is! See how many dried chili peppers I can handle...

[Cha xiu bao]

Ah Leung, you're forgetting something.

[Prawncrackers]

Gosh 21 days!! I hope you take some comfortable trousers Ah Leung Gor

I've not been back for a couple of years now, but my wife and i used to go back fairly often to visit our relatives in Yuen Long, Tai Po & Kowloon. Half of the time they would take us to local joints serving local food which as you would expect are out of this world. Especially the street food in Tai Po Market, I still remember the sight of live snakes, the smell of snake bile and the taste of them in Black Bean Sauce! The other half of the time they would show us how cosmopolitan they are and take us to eat ‘foreign food’; Shanghai, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai even French! What was surprising was how good this stuff was, the Escargot and Sushi was as good as any I’ve had in France or Japan (respectively…. of course). HK is truly is a global kitchen, I think with 21 days you could afford to spend a couple of meals outside the Chinese circle.

I’m afraid I can’t be of any help with vendor names, it’s always the case that we just eat where were told to eat by our relatives! But I have no worry, with your gastroinstinct Ah Leung I know that you will find the best eating in HK.

Just remember to take lots of pictures. A tip or two for you. Like you I use a DSLR on holiday with a P&S as a backup. I find that a lot of the time when taking pics of food in cramped places the P&S is better to use. This is because the barrel of the standard telephoto lens on my DSLR is a tad too big and the built-in flash casts a shadow on the food. I’ve ruined plenty of pictures this way. At home it’s no problem just stick a flash-gun on, but it’s a bit of chore in a cramped eatery whilst the waitress is pouring your tea. And you know how rude HKers can be! Especially if you are using flash and they think you’re taking their pictures. Of course, HK is the place to go for cheap camera gear, get yourself a compact bright prime macro lens in Mong Kok for your Nikon so you won’t need to use the flash.

Have fun!

[Domestic Goddess]

Ah Leung - I remember the foods, sights and smells of the Night Market. The curry balls, the octopus tentacles, etc. There was also this tiny restaurant in Mongkok that served this fabulous Shanghai Rice with Peking Duck slices on top of the mound. Man, I still dream about that dish.

[junehl]

There are as many street hawkers in Hong Kong??

OH MY !!! That's the one memory that sticks out in my mind from my trip to Hong Kong 15 years ago! All the street hawkers with the massive amounts of food at every turn. I still dream of the chestnuts cooked in sand and a big wok...

I hope you have a great trip Ah Leung! Please find as many street hawkers as you can!

[I_call_the_duck]

Ah Leung,

We don't have any plans to visit HK anytime soon, so I'll be enjoying your trip by the comfort of my computer.

Have a great trip!!

[docsconz]

Thanks Ah Leung. This will likely be as important a resource for anyone going to HK in the future as your tutorials have been to aspiring cooks of Chinese dishes! Have a great trip!

[hzrt8w]

Ah Leung, you're forgetting something.

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Cha xiu bao: You get me scared! What am I forgetting? Tell me, tell me!!!

[hzrt8w]

Thank you for your words of encouragement everybody.

Docsconz, thank you for your kind words.

Boy... now the pressure is on.

[prasantrin]

Ah Leung, you're forgetting something.

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Cha xiu bao: You get me scared! What am I forgetting? Tell me, tell me!!!

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Me?

[hzrt8w]

So... why November?

I believe November is the best month of the year to visit Hong Kong. Since we don't have any kid, we are not bound to make trips only in the summer.

January and February, it is a bit cold in Hong Kong. Though you can catch the Chinese New Year celebration.

March and April, Hong Kong is typically very foggy. Very humid. Clothes take 3 days to dry.

May may be okay.

June through August/September are typhoon seasons. And the summer heat coupled with high humidity is a bit uncomfortable. When the typhoon hits, there is nothing you can do but sit in the hotel room.

October may still be a little be hot.

November is the best. Dry, warm and nice weather-wise.

Early November may not be good because of the Grandprix in Macau. Late November and early December should be good. Many hotels have good discounts on rooms in the first half of December.

[aprilmei]

I agree with you - November is a great time to visit. The weather here is cool-ish (20 degrees Celsius - what's that in Farenheit?) and not too humid. Pollution is fairly low - I can actually see across the harbour! (it was very bad for awhile). And the autumn/winter foods are the best!!! Don't forget to eat plenty of hairy crabs! I don't think you can get them in the States (can you?) and if they're there, they would be extremely expensive. (they're not cheap here, either). Only eat the males - don't let them try to sell you females - the roe is too hard (like hard boiled egg yolk). Male "roe" is creamy (but don't think about it too much).

You missed rice bird season (I missed out on eating them too, this year) which is a pity - they're one of the most delectable things on earth (if you like eating extremely small birds, heads and all [only thing you don't eat is the beak]).

Oh, and the wind-dried meats are so good at this time of year. Try the yuen cheung at Yung Kee - it's very special there.

Be sure to have at least one meal of bo jai fan - cooked over charcoal, if possible. And try mutton casserole with fu jook pei, water chestnuts and fu yu (Yung Kee is good for that).

You mentioned wanting to eat beef balls in TST - go to the Haiphong Road Temporary Market (nothing temporary about it). There are lots of vendors and they'll all try to entice you to eat at their stalls but ignore them. Go to the place with orange bowls and yellow spoons. Their beef balls are fabulous, flavoured with dried orange peel and star anise.

[Ohba]

What was surprising was how good this stuff was, the Escargot and Sushi was as good as any I’ve had in France or Japan (respectively…. of course). HK is truly is a global kitchen, I think with 21 days you could afford to spend a couple of meals outside the Chinese circle.

But there's an awful lot of really sub-par sushi to be found in Hong Kong too. Let's just say availability exceeds quality by a very wide margin.

[Tepee]

If I had known about this Big Binge a month ago, I'd have gotten hubby to change our holiday plans to HK instead of Japan (sob...mine's only 6 days). It would have been great to discover street food with you as you re-explore it. Heheh, you may LOVE this experience so much that you'd be planning a next trip soon. Just let me know early, hor?

[hzrt8w]

You mentioned wanting to eat beef balls in TST - go to the Haiphong Road Temporary Market (nothing temporary about it). There are lots of vendors and they'll all try to entice you to eat at their stalls but ignore them. Go to the place with orange bowls and yellow spoons. Their beef balls are fabulous, flavoured with dried orange peel and star anise.

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Yeah... after all these years they are still there! These beefball food stalls used to be at the corner of Peking Road and Canton Road. When I was 4-7, I passed by their Dai Pai Dong all the time and I watched the sifu's using a ceramic spoon to scoop while the bare left hand to squeeze the beef ball from the mix to make beefballs. And they used a big pounding machine to pound the meat. Boom, boom, boom, boom... And they laid the beef balls in a spiral on a metal tray before cooking them.

I used to live in the employee living quarters of Kowloon Godown (my father worked there) on Haiphong Road. The government demolished the building where we used to live when they built the sort-of highway bypass for Canton Road. Where the Haiphong Road overpass is now, was exactly where I used to live 40+ years ago... And eating at that Temporary Market would be something...

[hzrt8w]

Heheh, you may LOVE this experience so much that you'd be planning a next trip soon. Just let me know early, hor?

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Worry not... I plan to make regular visits back, just to eat. Once a year perhaps? If Wall Street treats me right...

[BettyK]

Lucky you! I really miss those trips to HK. Maybe next time you can be our guide.

Have a nice trip and take lots of food pics.

[bethpageblack]

When I am in town (every other week), I always go for the congee at Law Fu Kee. Much better than the congee here in Guangzhou. It's on Des Voeux Rd in Central, a little closer to the Central MTR stop than the Sheung Wan stop. The congee is very creamy, and they fill the bowl with ingredients. I am partial to the pork liver and beef congee. Girlfriend gets the sliced fish congee and a bowl of plain noodles. Get a fried crueller and an order of fried dace balls as well. After that, hike up to Kau Kee (on Gough Street) and order a couple bowls of beef brisket noodle soup. Yes, a couple bowls; the bowls are tiny. I prefer the non-curry version because it's beefier, but the curry version is good, too. Make sure that you know when their hours of operation. That said, there's a beef brisket noodle soup joint in Yuen Long that's supposed to be better. Haven't had a chance to go.

What else to eat? Typhoon Shelter crab? Not sure if it's the season, but it almost doesn't matter. It's going to be good no matter what. Mantis shrimp fried salt and pepper style? Steamed scallop with garlic and vermicelli?

Let's see, what else? There's a pretty good fish ball noodle soup place in Shau Kei Wan. A little off the beaten track, but there's a 20-30 minute queue during peak hours there, just like Kau Kee. It's quite good, but not sure if it's worth all the effort. Let me know if you want the address. It's a pretty famous place, so if you look at HK foodie websites you should be able to find it without difficulty.

I would also go for some milk custard or ginger milk. I am not sure of the best places, but the Australian Dairy and another place whose name I forget at the moment have branches in Jordan, Causeway Bay, etc.

Lastly, I agree with the other poster about HK not being a place for sushi. I wouldn't bother with it.