Hong Kong Food Blog

The Peace Bun at the Bun Festival Cheung Chau

2013-05-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

長洲太平清醮 ‧平安包‧搶包山‧
If you visit Hong Kong in the recent few days, you would have noticed the Bun Festival which attracts a lot of attention. Thousands and thousands of people flood into Cheung Chau to take part in it.

What is Bun Festival?
In fact, the name itself does not fully describe what’s up at Cheung Chau. The proper name of the activities going on is called 太平清醮. 太平 means peace. 醮 will need a little more words to explain. It is a high profile and large scale cultural ritual which consists of a series of events and the Bun Collection Competition is the highlight to wrap up the whole function. May be for easy understanding to foreigners, people simply call it Bun Festival. In fact, to be more accurate, it should be called the Peace Ritual.

What about the Peace Bun?
It is a kind of bun specifically made for the Bun Festival. As the event origination is for peace acquisition, each of the buns had a big red chop carrying the Chinese character 平安 meaning ‘peace’.

平安包

In terms of stuffing, it is usually lotus paste and sesame paste.

Peace Bun is a respectful food. Nowadays people have lots of foods to eat, and there are often left-overs on the table. Please do not treat the Peace Bun that way. If you want to eat a Peace Bun, please eat the whole bun.If you think that’s too much, share among friends. If you throw away any left-over bun, it is believed that you’ll bring bad luck to yourself, as well as receiving unfriendly eye sights from local villagers.

Chopping the Ping An Buns

Queueing to buy Ping An Bun

Climbing of Bun Pyramid

Bun Collection Competition 搶包山

Click here to view news video about the game

Origination of the Peace Ritual

There are different versions of legends. But generally it is related to ‘peace’. It was said that at some stage, some villages had plague attack and many people died. The whole society was feeling unsecure and thought that the disasters were brought to them by spirits or souls from the underworld. And there was a cultural believe that these underworld spirits are afraid of loud, noisy atmosphere and the collective energy produced when a large number of people gathering together. Hence to get rid of these unwelcomed spirits and to acquire ‘peace’ again, villagers held the ‘Peace Ritual’. The series of events include but not limit to monks set up the altar worship, parade, dragon and lion dance and finally the Bun Collection Competition, nowadays people call it Bun Festival.

There are many types of Peace Ritual held at different regions in Hong Kong (usually at out lying islands and new territories) and at different intervals. Some places have it every 5, 10 or even 60 years. But the one in Cheung Chau is held annually, usually around early to mid April in the Chinese calendar. Although many people go there for fun and see it as a festival, the origination of the whole event is not a festival and not for fun.

Hong Kong Food Blog - The Ping An Bun

Pre Mother's Day Dim Sum - No Discount

2013-05-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

No Discount Dim Sums

Like I said in my last post, restaurants are cutting discounts on Sunday. Since tomorrow is Mother's Day, they cut discounts today as well. So we had to pay everything on full price. Apart from that, many restaurants are being blocked for private parties. It's really difficult to find somewhere to eat. As for tomorrow, I think I better stay home and do some cooking myself.

Deep Fried Tufu 椒鹽脆豆付 HK$38

This deep fried tofu is served with fine pepper, salt and vinegar (in separate dish). I would like it to be more cruncy and more golden brown. I know I'm a little demanding, but that's the way this dish should be.

Stir Fried Rice Rolls with Dark Say Sauce 豉油王炒腸粉 HK$28

Rice roll is one of the most popular breakfast items in Hong Kong. We usually eat steamed ones over breakfast, but there are many ways to serve it. As for lunch or brunch, we like to have the stir fried ones.

Stir Fried Noodle with Bean Sprout and Dark Soy Sauce 豉油王炒面 HK$38

This is another popular Cantonese breakfast item in Hong Kong. Didn't realise that we ordered 80% vegetarian dishes today.

Steamed Pork Liver Dumplings 懷舊豬潤燒賣 HK$22

This is the only meat dish we had for today. The restaurant named it 'old fashion'. May be people are afraid of high cholesterol of liver, therefore fewer and fewer restaurants sell it. But we love it, it's really delicious.

Deep Fried Fluid Egg Yolk Bun 炸奶王包 HK$22

Fluid egg yolk bun is usually steamed. Today we found a deep fried one on the menu, so we tried to go for it. It's cruncy outside and soft inside, although the colour can be more golden brown, but taste is really good, the lava-like egg yolk inside is very hot and fluid. Well done, but need to take care when eating.

Insdie the Egg Yolk Bun

May 11, 2013, Saturday
Dim sum total: HK$148 (We usually have 30% discount on Saturday, but not today!)
Tea: HK$8 per person
Service charge: 10%
Total: HK$180 (US$23.1)

Hong Kong Food Blog - Pre Mother's Day Dim Sum - NO discount

Sunday Dim Sum No Discount

2013-05-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

NO MORE DIM SUM DISCOUNT ON SUNDAY

I haven't posted dim sum photos for some time. You know why? Some restaurants offer very special prices, but we had to compromise on the presentation. So I don't feel comfortable to show photos that are not attractive. Recently the economy is Hong Kong isn't quite well, shop owners are not happy to offer discounts. Special prices are only offered on Saturday and selected hours.

As there are no discount anyway on Sunday, so I've decided to go to a higher class restaurant which I haven't visited for some time. There presentations are good, taste also good, but the bill is no good - pricy!!

Turnip Silk Pie Cake (M) 蘿蔔千絲酥

Truly made to order. Even the plate is hot. Very crispy outside, soft and juicy turnip slices inside.

Pan Fried Rice Rolls with Dry Shrimps (L)

脆煎蝦干葱花腸

This pan fried rice roll is really interesting. It's crispy on one side and soft on the other. Pan fried to golden brown. Looks good and also tastes good.

Deep Fried Pork Belly Bun (L)

懷舊香煎燒腩卷

The Chinese name of this dim sum says 'old fashion'. Indeed, few restaurants nowadays offer this dish. Pork belly and taro inside. May be weight watchers won't like it, but I love it.

Steamed Pyramid Dumplings with Mushroom (M)

雲南野菌水晶餃

This is a vegetarian dish made from mushrooms from Yunnan. The dumpling wrap is very thin and transparent. It's a proof of the chef's handicraft. Well done!

Steamed Glutinous Rice Dumpling in Lotus Leaf (L)

瑤柱珍珠雞

I remember when I was a little girl, dim sum restaurants sold giant size rice glutinous dumplings. Nowadays people usually sell mini size ones. Its Chinese name is in fact called 'pearl chicken'. But there is nothing related with chicken, neither does shape, taste or ingredient. Interesting? Actually there are many other interesting names like this in Cantonese dim sum restaurants.

Sweet Brown Dumpling HK$22

擂沙湯丸

As a matter of made to order, we waited 20 minutes for this dessert, however totally upset. This restaurant used to produce very yummy sweet brown dumplings, but not this time. I gave it a 'fail' for this time. It didn't look good, taste so so, the stuffing inside was too fluid and that it splashed everywhere and made our mouth and table very messy.

Sportful Garden Restaurant
(L) HK$25@ | (M) HK$23@
Tea HK$10 per person
Total bill: HK$193 (US$24.8) for two persons, included 10% service charge

Hong Kong Food Blog - Sunday Dim Sum No Discount

Semi Buffet Brunch

2013-03-31T02:41:00.000-07:00

Eggs Benedict made my weekend brunch very special and I do love it. In Hong Kong it's not easy to find quality genuine western food at reasonable price. Recently I have had a very nice egg benedict from the Town Gas restaurant in Causeway Bay.

Town Gas is the sole supplier of cooking gas in Hong Kong. It promotes real fire cooking, offers cooking classes and at he same time running a restaurant which emphasis 'cooking on real fire'. Hence the name of the restaurant is called 'Flame'.

I went on Sunday when they serve semi buffet brunch. The cost varies upon your choice of main course. Salad bar and dessert on buffet table; soup, main course and coffee being brought to you by waiters.

Eggs Benedict - HK$128 (US$16.4)

My eggs benedict was very nice. My friend's king prawn linguine was also very good.

Prawns Linguine HK$148 (US$18.9)

We had an option of upgrading the daily soup to lobster bisque by adding HK$20. This was highly recommended by the shop manager, so we decided to give it a try. It was good but personally I thought the taste was a bit too strong for me.

Lobster Bisque (HK$20 surcharge)

The bread basket was also nice. The crunchy fingers and warm breads served with homemade butter.

There were many cold dishes and we love green vegetables the most. There were several salad dressings and I found the Balsamico to be the best, while my friend said their classic caesar dressing was really good.

Jet-Fresh Mesciun Mix Green & Fresh Romaine Lettuce

As for dessert, there were tiny cups of jelly, creme brulee, puffs and cakes. Of course the creme brulee is always my favourite.

Creme Brulee

Having a cup of latte to wrap up our Sunday brunch was absolutely perfect.

Latte, cappuccino or any other kind of beverage at your choice.

Flame

G/F, 59-65 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2367 2710

www.towngasavenue.com

Japanese Hot Pot in Hong Kong

2013-03-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

If you love Japanese hot pot, this place is highly recommended. I found it on an internet search and notice it has a lot of great reviews. So we decided to give it a try. They are specialised in hot pot and skewing. It was expensive but the food was really good. I was told that they were the pioneer in introducing one-person-one-pot into Hong Kong. We were able to choose our own soup base and do the cooking and eating at our own pace.

They mainly sell two dinner sets - seafood and A5 Wagyu (80 gram/150 gram), rest on a la carte. Both included starter, vegetables, clam or miso soup, udon or noodle of your choice, soup base of your choice and dessert. My friend is a seafood fan and I’m a beef fan, so both of us had our favourite foods.

My 80-gram A5 Wagyu

The A5 Waygu are flown in from Kyushu, Japan everyday. It was lucky I ordered 80 gram, otherwise I should not be able to finish the 150 gram along with the vegetables and noodles. 80 gram is approximately 4 sheets of little blankets 10x20mm and 2-3mm thick. It’s really silky smooth and worth the price. My friend’s seafood was also brilliant, tiger prawns, giant scallop and oysters. She’s oyster allergic, so they swap with scallops for her.

My Friend's Seafoods

Vegetables gave us a balance of diet. The whole meal was actually quite healthy. But we had no choice, everybody were given the same basket of vegetables. Anyway they were the vegetables that I love.

The 20-seat restaurant is small but comfortable. The whole restaurant was tailored for hot pot. Everyone sit around a rectangular table surrounding the service area. This makes service easy, but communications difficult if you have a group of more than two people. Luckily we had four pairs of people in the restaurant, all were not loud people. So we had a peaceful and lovely dinner, though pricy.

Katte Shabu Shabu 勝手

G/F, 5 Caroline Hill Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: 852-2577-2628

Booking recommended

Travel instruction: MTR Causeway Bay Exit ‘F’. Walk through Yan Ping Road along Caroline Centre, cross Leighton Road and walk into Caroline Hill Road. About 5 minute walk from MTR exit.

Seafood Set:

HK$480 (app. US$61.5)

A5 Wagyu Set:

HK$350 (app. US$44.9) - 80 gram

HK$600 (app. US$76.9) - 150 gram

10% service charge

Hong Kong Food Blog - Japanese Hot Pot

My 15-Minute Meal - Thai Yellow Curry Risotto

2013-03-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

My 15-Minute Meal
Thai Yellow Curry Risotto - Vegetarian Style

If you love risotto but find it too time consuming to cook, you should love my 15-minute recipe here. It's simple, cheap, quick to cook, and most important of all very delicious. You just need to enjoy cutting a bit.

Ingredients

Some grinded garlic
One onion
Two medium size chicken leg mushroom
One or two eggplants, depend on size
100 gm Thai yellow curry paste
250 ml coconut milk, thick or thin (I personally use thick milk as I can adjust consistency by adding water.)
Two bowls of plain rice

Thai Yellow Curry Risotto - Vegetarian Style

I don't know the proper name of this kind of mushroom. We call it 雞肶菇 (chicken leg mushroom) in Cantonese. I like its chewy kind of feeling. Eggplant is a good companion of curry. All the ingredients are cheap and easily available.

Cooking Steps

Cook two bowls of plain rice.
Cut the onion, mushrooms and eggplants into small cubes.
Add some olive oil to a hot pan and brown the garlic and onion.
Add curry paste and stir until aromatic.
Add the diced mushrooms and eggplants and keep stiring.
Add coconut milk, keep stiring until boil. Add water to adjust consistency as you wish.
Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.
Now your rice should be about cooked.
Add rice to the curry mixture and stir well for two minutes.
Dish up.

Serve for two. Cooking time 15 minutes

When I watch Jamie Oliver's 15-minute Meal, I notice one thing - he seldom or never wash anything. He only counts the cooking time. In that sense, mine is also a 15-minute meal. However if we count preparation time such as wasing, cutting, getting pans ready, it's fair to add 15 minutes. Well, cook a meal in 30 minutes is not bad at all! Isn't it?

I encourage home cooking, as it is far more healthy and economic than eating out. Lack of cooking idea? Check out the cook books I recommend in this blog.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Anna's 15-minute Meal

Luxury Lunch at Amber

2013-02-03T02:14:00.001-08:00

I seldom eat lunch, and seldom eat luxury lunch. Last week, I had a treat from a client and had a luxury lunch at the 2 star Michelin restaurant - Amber at Landmark Oriental. It's a high class famous French restaurant. You may come across their signature dishes very easily over the internet. Here are couple of them.

Duck Foie Gras

This little deep fried ball was one among the starter trio. They had the manager explained what it was and told us to eat it in one bite. It was hot inside, so we had to take extra care in that one bite. The other starter was something like a mini spring roll (1 x 3cm) and we were told to eat by hand (licenced no table manner!)

The mushroom consumme was in fact what I liked most. Unfortunately forgot to take a photo. The mushroom fragrance was wonderful.

We had two choices of main course. One was reindeer meat in ravioli, the other was fish. I really wanted to try the reindeer meat as it is rarely available on any menu. However to be on the safe side, I decided to go for fish. The other guests having reindeer meat said it was very strong in taste, while my fish was relatively mild. Served with lobster gravey, the combination and presentation was perfect.

We had two choices of dessserts. I don't like strawberries, so I opted for the chocolate mousse. It was also very well done and nicely presented. Crunchy chocolate sheets with vanilla ice cream. The silky fine chocolate mousse was lying on the little flat bed below. Very yummy!

Petits Fours is one of the Amber signature dishes. Although I was so full but I simply couldn't resist as they were so delicious and beautiful. After this super huge lunch, I had to fast through the next day's dinner.

After all, we took office a box of Amber cookies as souviner.
I thought this lunch may go beyond HK$1,000 if we had to pay.

Amber

7/F Mandarin Oriental, Landmark, Hong Kong

852 - 2132 0066

Hong Kong Food Blog

Old Fashion Hong Kong Dim Sum

2013-01-27T06:50:00.001-08:00

I have some dim sum dishes that remind me of my childhood. That's why I call them Old Fashion Hong Kong Dim Sum. These dishes have been existing for long and are ever lastingly loved by Hong Kong Cantonese.

Sticky Rice Chicken
Strange name! Look at it, this historic dim sum had nothing to do with chicken in terms of shape, ingredients and taste. In the olden days, restaurants made huge size Sticky Rice Chickens. Nowadays people usually make small size ones. It is hardly to find its original size. I happen to find one recently. There are many ingredients inside - egg yolk, dry shrimps, minced pork, mushroom, preserved sausage (lap cheung) wrapped inside sticky rice and a lotus leave. Very delicious.

Sticky Rice Chicken 糯米雞

Pork Dumpling with Liver

This is an old Hong Kong food as well. Somehow it seem to have disappeared on menus for a long time however re-appear recently in some restaurants. May be liver is relatively cheap and it was only popular many years ago when the living standard was not that high. Liver is high in cholesterol which made people feared. In fact, liver is rich in vitamin B and is good for preventing mouth ulcer.

豬潤燒賣

Mottled Spinefoot Fish Congee

When I was a little girl, I was only able to eat this congee while outing to Cheung Chau. Few to no restaurants like to serve this dish because it is very labout intensive. The fish itself is like 6 inches long and it needs a lot of manpower to extract the meat. If you have bones inside the congee and hurt the customer, you are going to receive complaints. The fish is very delicious though quite fishy. Therefore we usually put millenium tangerine peels to balance the taste. Of course we can add pepper to increase fragrance.

生滾泥鯭粥 HK$30

(weekend special price, original price $48)

Mottled Spinefoot Fish 泥鯭魚

You can imagine how labour intensive it is to extract meat from the tiny mottled spinefoot fishes

Stir Fried Noodle with Soy Sauce
Old Hong Kong living standard was not high at all. A perfect breakfast combo was a bowl of congee plus a dish of stir fried noodle. A typical Hong Kong Cantonese style fried noodle is the Soy Sauce Noodle with Bean Sprout. There is no meat in it, hence a lot of people grade it as low class cheap dish. Well, it is delicious. I don't care whether it is cheap or elegant. In fact it used to be quite cheap, like a few dollars a dish at some fast food shops.

Today I have fish congee and stir fried noodle together. What a sweet memory!

豉油皇炒面 HK$48

(weekend special price, original price $68)

Mini Egg Tart
One of the old Hong Kong desserts. Over the table we were discussing whether Hong Kong people invented this. I didn't seem to have found this dessert elsewhere. It used to be less than $1 per tart. When I was a kid. I was so excited to have one of these as an afternoon treat.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Old Fashion Hong Kong Dim Sum

Outback Wanchai – Aussie Set Lunch

2012-12-28T22:45:00.001-08:00

Outback Steak House - Aussie Set Lunch

At the red light district in Wanchai, there are lots of pubs and bars. Although these shops are situated among normal residents’ homes, I have never heard of any conflicts. In fact I live in this area. These pubs and bars provide quality set lunch at very reasonable prices. Outback is one of the restaurants that I like most in this area.

I wanted to go to Australia this Christmas however without success. I have therefore decided to go for an Aussie meal. Set lunch is far more economic than a la carte, however food is as equally good as dinner. I haven’t come here for long after my changing of eating habit (eat dinner only). Today I have a half day off, so I decided to do something different – eat lunch instead. Here’s a summary.

Aussie Set Lunch

All set lunches at Outback Wanchai are served with bread, soup, salad and a glass of soft drink. There are 9 set lunch options from $68 to $98, depending on the main course.

Well, this black color wheat bun is their signature dish. Hot, soft and aroma together with house cream, I’m sure it won’t let anyone down. Salad is quite average but the veggies are fresh and it offers a good balance of diet.

The porcini soup tastes very well, however extremely thick.I’m not if Aussies really love heavy consistency.

I used to come here for their hamburger which is really big and super delicious. But today I have grilled fish of the day, served with risotto and vegetables. The salmon is very crispy outside and juicy inside. Unfortunately the skin is a bit over done. For health reason, I’ve decided to omit the black skin.

After all the big meal made me completely full and satisfy. I must say it is a very good value of money. Western foods in Hong Kong are very often being cooked to compromise local taste. I’m not sure if Outback is 100% authentic Aussie, but I’m happy with them.

There is a bar area at the centre of the restaurant

You can find signs of Australia everywhere in the restaurant.

Grill Fish Set Lunch

HK$98 (US$12.6) + 10% service charge

Outback Steak House

1/F, De Fenwick, 8-12 Fenwick Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

Tel: 3101-0418

Outback has 8 restaurants in Hong Kong

Neighborhood bars and pubs serve set lunches from HK$58 to HK$98, plus 10% service charge. Most of them display their menus at the entrance. Feel free to walk around and pick your favourite foods.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Aussie Set Lunch

Wedding Banquet 2012

2012-12-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

I went to a wedding banquet last Thursday. I liked the food, but didn't like the arrangement.

Typical Hong Kong Wedding Banquet Run Down

Hosts usually start to receiving guests at around 4pm. Guests can play games, such as mahjong till 8pm. Hosts and guests usually take photos before dinner. Then after a short ceremony and video presentation about the couple's love story, dinner starts. Here's how I don't like the arrangement.

MC announced that dinner will start at 8.15pm (while the invitation card says 8pm). Well I would say a 15-minute delay is acceptable. Guess what, dinner didn't serve till 9.30pm. Guests all gathered around the tables, waiters were standing there waiting for nothing as they've done all they could, but there were no signal from the host that dinner could start. Everyone getting very impatient and very hungry. After dinner, the hosts were still busy taking photos and even forgot to go shake hands and say goodbye to the guests until the restaurant master reminded them.

Fortunately the food was not as bad as the arrangement. I would say it was quite a good dinner. Good food, fresh ingredient, well presented and served.

Good Chinese food has three elements: look good, smell good and taste good. Here are a few good examples. For wedding banquets, all dishes are given very beautiful and meaningful names. Please excuse me as I'm really unable to translate these names.

Stir Fried Spiral Shell and Broccoli

榆意珊瑚翠螺片

Very colorful and beautiful

South African Abalony with Cabbage and Goose Web

原隻非鮑扣鵝掌

My favourite! Each one of us has an abalony. The goose webs are very soft and delicious.

Mushrooms, Bean Sprout and Dry Scallop in Melon

金錢瑤柱襯玉環

A very healthy dish, mostly vegetable, looks good and tastes good

Shark Fin Soup with Crab Meat

紅燒鮮蟹肉生翅

I don't mean to offend shark fans, but this dish was exceptionally well done. The crab meat in the soup was like the size of my little finger. The shark fins are thick and chewy. It's expensive. I can realise that top grade ingredients are used.

It's time for a break. In a Cantonese wedding banquet, the bride and groom as well as the host family members will walk around the floor and toast to each table.

After the toast, it's time for the fish and chicken to show off.

Oh my goodness, this garoupa is really giant, fresh and yummy. Do you notice the little bowls and dishes around the fish. That was for the waiter to serve us. We were not allowed to grab the food oursleves. Instead we had to wait for the waiter to share for us. They replace a fresh serving plate for each guest for each dish. Well, good services, but not environmental!

Steam Giant Garoupa

清蒸大海星班

Cantonese banquest always fill guests stomach to their limit. After the heavy 8-course dinner, there were rice and noodle, dessert duo style and fruits. Come on, we simply couldn't eat any more. After all, everyone had to take the oranges home.

Hasma Dessert with Lotus Seeds

蓮子百合燉雪蛤

Few people will host their wedding banquet with this dessert, because hasma is expensive. That's why I say the dinner arrangement was bad, but the food was really good.

Wedding Menu

菜譜

Here's the menu. In a typical Cantonese wedding banquet, food is usually served in this sequence. Depending on the budget of the host, the choice of food may vary. I must say this banquet may cost around HK$6,000 per table.

Roasted Piglet * Prawns of Duo Style * Mushroom and Scallop * Spiral Shell and Broccoli

Shark Fin with Crab Meat * Abalony and Goose Web * Giant Garoupa * Crispy Chicken

Seafood Fried Rice * Dumplings and Noodle * Hasma Dessert * Pudding Dessert * Fruits

Wedding date: November 29, 2012

Restaurant: Chao Dynasty, 132 Nathan Road, Kowloon

Standard gift: HK$500

In the Hong Kong Cantonese culture, we usually give cash coupon as gift when attending wedding banquets. Of course this is the most welcomed gift. I spend $500 for this dinner, but well worth it.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Wedding Banquet

Message to Shark Fans

Please DO NOT post comments about your shark protection / protest message. I will NOT publish them. If you want to protect sharks, here are my suggested methods:

Advertise in mass media
Everyday protests, demonstrations…in front of all shops selling shark fins
Everyday protests, demonstrations in public areas such as streets, parks to educate the public not to eat shark fin
Letter, fax, email, telephone or personal visits to restaurant owners to insist them to remove shark fin from their menu
Write to the government to request shark fin eating to be illegal
Hire fleet of ships to go out to the sea to stop any shark catching activities.

Leaving comments in my blog is a matter of wasting my time to read and delete. It is in no sense contributive in saving sharks.

Old Hong Kong Cool Tea Culture

2012-10-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

Cool Tea in Hong Kong is nothing new. In fact it has been part of the life of Hong Kong Cantonese for centuries. However traditional cool tea shops are close to extinct.

The other day I was exploring the restaurants in Soho, the next day I continue to explore Hollywood Road and found one of the endangered cool tea shops.

Herbal tea shops in Hong Kong had been very popular especially during the 60s when TVs were expensive. I remember when I was a kid, we like to go to nearby cool tea shops, sat there for an hour or so to enjoy a cup of cool tea and at the same time watching television. Nowadays, life pace is fast, people just walk by the shops, place a few dollars on the table, drink and go. Of course they can still choose to sit down and drink, but there are no televisions in the shops.

Traditional Cool Tea Shop at Hollywood Road Hong Kong

My Sesame Drink was only HK$8

Cool teas are not necessarily cool in terms of temperature. To be more realistic, they are kind of Chinese herbal tea mainly derived from tradition and culture.

But why cool tea is called cool tea while it is not cool? It is believed that these herbal teas will provide cooling effect to the body, hence some of the minor defects could be cured without consulting a doctor, such as sore throats, flu, hangover or ailments.

There are many kinds of cooling tea. Most popular being 5-Flower Tea, 24-Taste, sugar cane juice, sesame drink. The 24-Taste is actually quite bitter. But as they are believed to be good to our bodies, it remains very popular among people of all ages. You can find these in almost any cool tea shop. The price is usually between HK$6 and 8 per cup/bowl. The other day my sesame drink at Hollywood Road was only HK$8, not cool but iced, providing very good hydrating and cooling effect under the mid day sun.

Middle photo - the 5-Flower Tea costs HK$7 per bowl

Right photo - 楊春雷 in Wanchai

Although traditional herbal tea shops are close to extinction, the culture of drinking cool tea remains popular among Hong Kong Cantonese. New generation cool tea shops are everywhere in the city. However if you want to have an old Hong Kong feel and drink a cup of cool tea at a very traditional cool tea shop, here are the two oldest in my knowledge: 春回堂at the corner of Stanley Street and Graham Street in Central; 楊春雷at Spring Garden Street in Wanchai. The one at Hollywood Road is also very old, but I don’t recall it’s name.

春回堂 on Stanley Street

See people just pay, drink and go

New Generation Cool Tea Shop

The new generation cool tea shops usually sell Turtle Puddings on top of the traditional cool teas. They also sell bottled cool tea for take away.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Old Hong Kong Cool Tea Culture

Soho Restaurants in Hong Kong

2012-10-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

How many Soho restaurants are there in Hong Kong? And what is special about them. These mini to medium size restaurants in Central Hong Kong are mainly situated around Elgin Street, Staunton Street, Shelly Street, all easily accessible via the Central escalator. One thing special about these restaurants is that they are all very cosy, stylish and with wide range of international foods.

If you've been following my blog, you may know that I usually omit lunch and do generally one meal a day. My office has recently moved to Central, nearby the Soho area. Although I do not eat lunch, but I have fun exploring the Soho restaurants and here is a summary.

Pampas - Argentinian Steak House

G/F, 32B-C Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2868 6959
They claim to offer fresh organic prime beef cuts flown in direct from Argentina

Enoteca

G/F, 47 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2525 9944

60-seat Mediterranean tapas and wine bar
This is my boss's favourite. He enjoys sitting at the entranace area.

Olive

G/F, 32 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2521 1608

Contemporary Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine with an Australian flavor

F.A.B French American Bistro
G/F, 30 Hollywood Road, SOHO, Central
Telephone: 2810 1600

Quite a cozy Italian restaurant. There are many Italian restaurants lining up at Soho.

El Taco Loco, 9 Lower Staunton Street,
(Off Central Escalator) Central, Hong Kong, Tel: 2522 1239
Mexican Cuisine - Signature dishes include Frijolesy, Carne Asada as well as Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas and Nachos. Margaritas and Mexican beers are a specialty.

Marouche Lebanese Cuisine

G/F, 46-48 Cochrane Street, SoHo, Central

Telephone: 2541 8282

The meat is mainly sourced from the US and New Zealand, but the spices and ingredients used are imported directly from Lebanon, and even the chef is Lebanese.

Nepal

G/F, 14 Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2869 6212
Evolving from the Royal Nepalese cuisine, into an assortment of contemporary dishes

I’m curious about Nepal food, so I took a photo of their menu. Main course is BBQ/curry, your choice of meat/vegetables. Starter is Bhenta Tareko (fried eggplant with Nepali herbs); Samosa (stuffed deep fried cone pastries with light spices) or soup of your choice (pumpkin, tomato, lamb, mixed beans), coffee and tea. HK$98+10% service fee.

If you want to spend reasonable money and enjoy unique food in unique stylish comfortable restaurants, you may want to spend a month to do your lunches in this area.

The set lunches for most restaurants are set around HK$98+10% service fee. This may be the way shop owners keep themselves competitive. Please prepare to pay a little more if you choose to go a la carte.

There are places lining up with Italian restaurants, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, British…you name it and you’ll find it. If you want to explore more about Soho restaurants, click here.

Hong Kong Travel Blog - Soho Restaurants

Trendy Mooncakes

2012-09-19T08:19:00.001-07:00

I've noticed that mooncakes in Hong Kong are becoming more and more creative. Apart from the ice cream mooncakes I've introduced before, I found some trendy mooncakes this year. These include chocolate mooncakes and coffee mooncakes. Now let me showcase some of the most interesting trendy mookcakes in the market.

Limited Edition Chocolate Mooncakes
You've heard of limited edition anything. Perhaps not mooncakes! Luxury chocolate GODIVA is launching 5 brand new 2012 Mid-Autumn limited edition chocolate flavours that comes in two different sizes: the refreshing apricot – mandarin crunch and the rich strawberry- lychee crunch are available in the regular sizes, whereas the tangerine- banana crunch, the mango-cranberry crunch, and the creamy passion fruit almond crunch are available in petite chocolate mooncakes.

Coffee Mooncake

This year, you won't go to Starbucks for coffee only, but mooncakes. In 2012, they are launching coffee mooncakes - Espresso & Hazelnut Mooncake; Salted Caramel & Almond Mooncake. HK$218 per box with two flavors and regular size, bulk discount available

The Moon and Nine Stars

Haagen-dazs sells Ice Cream Mooncake as usual. But this year I found a new series of a big box and each box contains ten Ice Cream Moon cakes with nine flavors: Belgian Chocolate (2 pcs), Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, Coffee, Cookies & Chocolate, Summer Berries and Caramel & Biscuit. HK$463 per box, early bird discount available.

Semi Traditional
The mini mooncakes are what I classified as 'semi traditional'. I thought they only become popular in the recent years. Of course cake makers try to be very creative in the stuffing, apart from the traditional lotus paste.

Traditional Moon Cakes
No matter how many trendy and creative mooncakes are there, my favourite remains traditional - dual yolks with lotus seed paste. This year I received a gift pack from HSBC - Maltitol Low Sugar Golden Lotus Seed Paste with Two Yolks. They look and taste very traditional however healthy in a way using simple sugar. That could be less demanding for the stomach. Quite a good idea for health conscious people.

Mid Autumn Festival Fruits
There are wide range of fruits available in Hong Kong year round, but there are some fruits more popular than others at time of Mid Autumn Festival. They are namely star fruit, red persimmon and pomelo. Ever since I was a kid, these fruits has become the best mooncake partners.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Trendy Moon Cakes

Note: I'm not a shareholder of any of the mooncake suppliers mentioned in this blog post.

Paleo Breakfast

2012-09-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

If Paleo diet sounds new to you, let me do a little briefing here. It is a diet that resembles what our ancient ancestors ate - foods from hunter gathering, wild game, seafood, fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts, whatever naturally from nature. There is no wheat, no grain, no rice, no pastry, no dairy.

What is special about Paleo diet and why I go on with it? I have digestive problem, some of my readers did suggest Paleo diet to me. But I’ve been doing well with intermittent fasting, so I’ve put this idea aside. Recently I’m suffering from some seasonal allergy, my doctor suggested a number of holistic healing methods and one of them is to go on a temporary Paleo diet.

Actually I don’t really fond of the idea of food restriction, as it is quite inconvenient when I have to eat with others. So buffet is a good idea, as each one of us can eat whatever we love to eat. Today I have a free coupon to eat at Café Too of Island Shangri-La. Below is a summary of my Paleo breakfast.

Anna - Paleo Breakfast at Cafe Too, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong

One Egg Omlette with Ham and Mushroom

Vegetables and Meat Balls. The string-like thing is not noodle, they are green bean sprouts.

Chicken Curry and Cucumber - I invented this combination!

Usually I do curry with rice, but on Paleo, I chose cucumber.

Poached Fruits - Prune, Apple, Appricot are very delicious and healthy. The one next to appricot is a baby pear. It's my first time to come across a pear of such size (like the fist of a new born baby).

Fresh Fruits to wrap up my Paleo Breakfast together with a cup of coffee.

I'm still eating what I love to eat. Not bad at all!

To do Paleo diet is not that difficult, but in the first few days, I do feel miss my favourite fried rice, fried noodle, pizza, hamburger etc. After the first week, it becomes much easier. As I’m not on strict Paleo, so I can still enjoy coffee and tea with a bit of milk. However at the buffet table, I do miss my favourite toast. Anyway, temporary food restriction is a test of my willpower. I’m sure I can do it, especially I’m doing it for my health.

If you want to try Paleo diet, please understand this diet encourages weight loss. I’m quite below par according to BMI, but I lost five pounds in the first week.

If you want to find out more about Paleo diet and learn prepare your own Paleo meals, here are some links for your reference.

Paleo Diet Paleo Power Lunch Paleo Cookbooks

Buffet Breakfast at Cafe Too: HK$298 + 10% service charge

7/F Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong

Weekend Brunch Special

2012-08-19T02:54:00.000-07:00

Managing time is a good strategy to eat good food at low price in Hong Kong. Today I pass by Spaghetti House and notice their weekend brunch special. I have a three-course lunch including a pastry soup, tomato prawn risotto and coffee. It's only HK$62 + 10% service fee. It is only 50% of the same items on a la carte which will cost HK$140. But for the weekend brunch special, you only have to place your order before 12.30pm and pay your bill before 1pm. There are several of such weekend brunch special sets ranging between $59-62. Good deals!

Pastry Soup with Clam and Mushroom

Tomato Prawn Risotto

May be I don't know Italian food well enough. I think risotto is far more creamy than the one I had. And the waiter just named it fried rice. Well, how should authentic risotto be?

Spaghetti House is a mid-range western chain restaurant in Hong Kong. Not too expensive, good food and reasonably nice eating environment. Their tea sets are quite good deals. Click here to view tea set menu

Hong Kong Food Blog - Brunch Special

Pear Charlotte Healthy Birthday Cake

2012-07-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Pear Charlotte is something new for me. We usually find mango, strawberries kind of fruits on cakes, but pear is quite rarely used. May be it is time consuming to poach pears. The cake shop manager recommended this to me as a healthy cake which is not too sweet, light and delicious. Though my brothers’ blood sugar levels are at the border of diabetes and my cholesterol (HDL) is very high, we still feel comfortable having it.

My two brothers and I were born in late June (22, 25, 27). This year our birthdays happen around Dragon Boat Festival (23). So we had a family gathering on 24 to celebrate all.

The restaurant served us Chinese style birthday buns free of charge. But I had a cake coupon from Island Shangri-La (because I’m a member of their Health Club), so I also brought my own birthday cake. Unlike wine opening, most restaurants in Hong Kong won’t charge cake cutting fee. They even helped to arrange birthday songs while cutting and serving the cake. Of course we paid a little more tips as appreciation.

Pear Charlotte

Poached Pear on top and inside ladies fingers

The June Birthday Trio of the Yuen Family - from left to right - 27-25-22

PS: Enjoying a delicious dessert at the end of a great meal is one of life’s sweetest pleasures.

But we often feel guilty for indulging in sweet treats. After all, most desserts are filled with sugar, refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats, and they pack more calories than the meal itself!

The healthiest desserts are home-made. There is a book called Guilt-Free Desserts which guides you through better baking. It was written by Kelley Herring the Founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet, and also the Editor-in-Chief of a four-book series published by McGraw-Hill including: Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility.

It will change the way you think of desserts. Even if you don’t decide to buy the book, you should opt in to subscribe it’s free newsletter and get instant access to two free reports Eat Your Way Into Shape: Your Get Fit with Food Guide - including a fat-burning 7-day meal plan!

Hong Kong Food Blog - Healthy Dessert

German Buffet in Wanchai

2012-05-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

I love buffet, but good deals are not easy to find. Some are too expensive, some are not my favourite taste. German buffet is not too expensive, however the foods are quite good. I had it couple of years ago and had one recently.

Don't assume that knuckles and sausages are crown jewels. On the day of my visit, the dessert and salad bar were doing the best.

Here is the crown jewel of the day - Serradura. I had never tasted such silky soft lovely serrudura even at Macau top notch Portuguese restaurants.

My top pick of the day - Serradura. I would really appreciate to have mini cups instead. But big bowl was ok. I ended up had several rounds of it.

Something new - German Luncheon Meat. It was hided inside a loaf of bread. The chef open it up for me to take a photo. Of course, I had a slice of it, very yummy, taste really like luncheon meat. But I thought it should be ham of some kind.

These mini lobsters were sitting on the salad bar along with some very lovely salads and vegetables. Healthy and nice.

We could also picked our own ingredients and had a dish of cook-to-order spaghetti. We could chose between spinach noodle and bow noodle; white sauce and tomato sauce. However the dish size was quite big, we had to share between the two of us.

Here are the knuckles, but not stars of the day. It was good but for some reason I thought it could be better. The sour cabbage was however very good.

The sausages really upset me. I really don't think a German buffet offers only two types of sausages and they were in no way pleasing. They didn't look good nor taste good - extremely salty. If you notice the assorted mushrooms and mini eggplants on the right hand side of my dish - those were the stars. I collected them from the salad bar for several rounds.

The various desserts, jelly candy, serradura, puddings...all are lovely, not to mention the ice creams.

To wrap up the buffet, a cup of coffee/tea was included. However if you want to have latte or Cappuccino, you would need to pay extra.

King Ludwig Beerhall

G/F, 183 Queen's Road East (tel: 2861-0737)

Weekend Buffet: HK$189 +10% per person

Buffet starts 12:00

Hong Kong Food Blog - German Buffet

Easter Macau Food

2012-04-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

Although Hong Kong is such an international city, you do need to go to Macau if you want to taste some authentic Portuguese food. Don't worry, it's easy. Macau is only an hour boat ride from Hong Kong. I used to work there and now I go there for a short holiday break frequently. Below are some photos I've taken from my recent Easter trip.

Although I'm from the food paradise of Hong Kong, I can't resist the temptation of Portuguese food which are so delicious. Here are some of my favourites.

A few dishes from the New Camoes at the Fisherman's Wharf. As there were only the two of us, so there was a lack of varieties.

Portugues Potato Green Soup

Baked Duck Rice - not bad, but not the best I have had

Stir Fried Cabbage with Bacalhau

Mind the fish bones!

I found something new this time. I've noticed that they put up some set lunch menu which cost around MOP98 + service fee. Dinner buffet is around MOP250. May be next time we shall try it.

I really love this restaurant - New Camoes - very authentic Portugues interior. It's newly decorated, and we can sit comfortably without having to eat in an crowded environment.

Not only inside, the whole building of New Camoes is of Portuguese style. That's why I love to take photos inside and outside.

On the Taipa Island is the newly decorated, re-opended Cozinha Pinocchio. I used to have great experience here but not this time. I must say there is no equal mark between great name/famous/historical and good food/consistency.

Baked Mussels

Well, I can only give it a pass.

Grilled Spare Ribs

Again, I can't say it's bad, but just can't say it's good. I can still smell the taste of frozen meat. Average food, expensive price!

Serradura

The most famous and my most beloved Portugues dessert.

Cost only MOP7 if eat at street side, but here it's MOP28. Well, we wanted to eat but didn't want to eat on a street, so we had to pay for it. But mind you, the street side ones are far more silky smooth than this one.

Although I've been to Macau countless times, some sightseeing is still needed in each of my trips. The most famous landmark in Macau - The St Paul's Ruin

From the St Paul's Ruin, just a few minutes walk, we arrived the Fortaleza do Monte. Up at a little hill, a good place to take a good look at Macau. If you don't want to walk, you can take lift from the Macau Museum. Of course you would need to pay entrance fee to visit the Musuem first before you can make use of their lift to save your walking time to the Fortaleza do Monte.

More Macau food photos from my outing blog

Japanese Buffet

2012-04-06T04:36:00.001-07:00

Holiday is a time for me to binge. Today is the first day of Easter holiday, I kick start my crazy eating by a Japanese buffet lunch. To be accurate, it's eat all you can at a fixed fee. The restaurant I go serves lunch buffet on weekends and holidays only. Here is a summary of my Japanese feast.

Sashimi - there are over 10 types of fishes for us to choose

Beef and Vegetable

The Ox Tongue is my top pick of the day, very delicious. The teppanyaki beef sheet (top right) simply melt in my mouth, very well done.

Grilled Mackerel

Fried Rice and Noodle

Tampura - prawns, egg plant and pumpkin

Pan Fried Assorted Mushrooms

Vegetables and Dumplings in soup

Soba and Cucumber Salad

Deep Fried Oyster and Cheese

The beautiful cheese cake wrapped up our buffet.

Actually I'm not that keen to eat the Hong Kong style Japanese buffet, although it has the advantage of 'cook to order' and the foods are freshly prepared. However there is one big disadvantage that I don't like. The food that they brought us are not 100% ordered by us. At the same time, some of the foods that we order never arrive. When I eat buffet in Japan, I just go collect food from the table, food type and quantity are fully controlled by me. In terms of size, the bowl of fried rice was so big. Of course we tried our best to not wasting food, but we were unable to eat a lot after that. So we ended up ate something we didn't order and missed something that we really love to eat.

After all we are quite happy with the food as they are really yummy, especially the tepanyaki beef and ox tongue.

Kaneda
74-80 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: 2866-1128

Luffet buffet available on Saturday, Sunday and holidays 12:00 - 2:30
HK$158 (US$20.2) (Adult)
HK$128 (US$16.4) (Senior and child)
+10% service charge

Hong Kong Food Blog - Japanese Buffet

Dim Sum Brunch Special

2012-03-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

Inflation in Hong Kong is becoming severe recently. Food prices rocket and we have been suffering. However weekend dim sum brunch is one of my strategies to enjoy good food at VERY LOW prices. Most restaurants in Hong Kong are offering special prices for bills being settled before 12.30pm.

Here's a summary of my dim sum brunch yesterday. The dishes were at half price or even lower comparing to peak hours.

Shrimp Dumplings HK$16.8 (US$2.15) 蝦餃皇

Breakfast Combo 早茶孖寶

Congee + dim sum of our choice HK$24.8 (US$3.18)

Breakfast Combo皮蛋瘦肉粥 / 义燒腸粉

millienium egg / pork congee and roast pork rice roll

Typical Hong Kong Cantonese breakfast

Deep Fried Dace Fish Balls 生炸鯪魚球

Only HK$9.8 (US$1.25) (Super Value!!)

Pan Fried Turnip Cake - HK$9.8 (US$1.25) 煎蘿蔔糕

Fried Rice with Chicken and Vegetables 生炒雞絲飯

Only HK$48 (US$6.15)

We just couldn't resist to order a dish of fried rice to wrap up our dim sum brunch. It is really of Super Value!! Nowadays even fast food shop will sell fried rice at HK$40-50. $48 at a dim sum restaurant is unbelievably cheap. (It will cost around HK$80 at peak hours) However we didn't have to compromise on portion and quality. It was a regular size, cook to order and very delicious dish of fried rice.

So our anti-inflation Saturday dim sum brunch sumed up at HK$39 (US$5) for each of the four of us, inclusive of tea and 10% service charge.

Alhtough I notice a bit of price rise recently, such as the dace fish ball used to be $8.8 and dim sum combo used to be $23.8 and the fried rice used to be $38, but our dim sum brunch was still at a very attractive price.

At readers' requests, here is the restaurant I went:

Mega Red
6/F Hopewell Centre
183 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong
Tel: 852 - 2528 1680

Hong Kong Food Blog - Anti-Inflation Dim Sum Brunch

Bok Choy Soup

2012-03-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

Gold and Silver Bok Choy Soup with Mushrooms

Home made bok choy soup is delicious and yet very easy to do. You only need some time for preparation. But why call it gold and silver? Look at the ingredients here and you'll know. The dry version of the bok choy is gold, the fresh version is silver. This is the the Chinese way of naming our dishes beautifully. Together with the mushroom, the soup is extremely delicious, low calories, high fiber and zero cholesterol. You don't even need to add any meat to it, so it is good for vegetarians and weight watchers. Of course you can add pork or spare ribs to your own taste.

I like things simple. So he is my simple recipe of bok choy soup.

Bok Choy Soup Ingredients

Some dry bok choy (free from my sister-in-law)

1 Catty of fresh bok choy, buy those with extremely thick meat (HK$9)

Several mushrooms, use big ones with extremely thick meat (from my kitchen stock, c.HK$20)

One piece of ginger

Bok Choy Soup Cooking Directions

Soak the dry bok choy for a few hours (don't throw away the soak water)

Soak the mushrooms for a few hours in hot water. If cold water, soak overnight. (don't throw away the soak water)

Boil 6 bowls of gold bok choy water and one bowl of mushroom water and one bowl of plain water. These will add extra fragrance to the soup. Make sure to use the top layers of water, as towards the bottom, there may by some impurities.

Bring water to boil, add all ingredients, and bring water to boil again.

Turn heat down and let the soup simmer for an hour.

Turn to high heat again for 1 minute, add salt and dish up.

My Bok Choy Soup is completely crystal clear and not oily. If you wish, you may add a few drops of EVO to your own taste.

Why Bok Choy Soup

If you know why I set up this food blog and have read my fasting blog, you would know that I'm a health conscious individual. But I don't have to surrender delicious food becasue of my eating habit (eat less in principal). Bok Choy Soup for example, it's simple, easy, delicious, healthy and inexpensive. I enjoy cooking at home as it is fun and healthy. If you care to cook some healthy yet delicious food for your family, take a look at my friend Nicholas Zhou's cook book for more healthy cooking ideas.

Some Quick Nutrition Facts About Bok Choy

Very low in calories. Only 13 calories per 100 gram
Rich in vitamins A, C and K, minerals and anti-oxidants
Rich in dietary fiber
Zero cholesterol

Hong Kong Food Blog - Home Made Bok Choy Soup

Hong Kong Chinese New Year Foods

2012-01-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year is a time for me to binge. You may notice that I have a fasting blog and if you read this post, you're sure that I can recover speedily after binge eating.

During the new year holidays, we visit relatives and the gatherings are all about eating. Here I'm going to share with you some of my favourite new year foods. And if your planning a visit soon make sure you find the best cheap travel offers out there.

New Year Puddings

Turnip Pudding is one of my must eats. If you've ever read about my health rules in my fasting blog, you'll realise that I enjoy eating fresh and natural. If you don't have the experience of eating turnip pudding freshly from the steamer, I'll suggest your learning to cook it. Here's Anna's turnip pudding recipe. Every year, me and my sister work together to make our own turnip pudding and eat fresh. Woo, yummy! Once you've tried eating fresh, you would never want to eat the re-heated ones, neither pan fried, steam or micro-wave.

My Home-made Turnip Pudding 2012 蘿蔔糕

Water Chestnut Pudding 馬蹄糕
This is a very popular Cantonese dessert year round. But we eat a lot of it during the new year. Little bit sticky but very delicious. We seldom make this at home, but eat at restaurants.

Sticky Nan Gao (New Year Pudding)
My sister-in-law made it at home and served us during our home visit. It is very sticky and chewy, but nice. We had two flavours: vanilla and coconut. It is so sticky that during pan frying, we had to add some egg solution so that the pieces won't stick together.

Home-made Nan Gao 年糕,年糕, 年年高!

In Cantonese, Gao (pudding) sounds like Grow, therefore Gaos are very popular foods during Chinese New Year.

Fa Cai (lucky money) Hao Shi (good business) Da Li (lots of profit) Dumplings 發財好市大利燒賣 - Fa Cai - is the black hairy vegetable; Hao Shi - is the dry oyster; Da Li - is the pig's tongue. This dumpling trio is a must eat when we have our family dim sum lunch gathering on the first day of Chinese New Year. All these foods are given good names and with valuable meaning in Chinese.

發財好市大利燒賣

After our home visit to my brother's house, he took us to a restaurant in Shatin for dinner. There was some unexpected pleasure as he ordered a few old Hong Kong dishes that reminded me of my childhood.

Stir Fried Kale with Preserved Meats 芥蘭炒臘味

This dish looks simple but few restaurants serve it nowadays. And we can only taste in cold winter days. It was really well done with 'heat of wok'. Do you see the smoke (top left corner of the photo)?

Stir Fried Kale with Preserved Meats芥蘭炒臘味

Pork's Knuckle in Hot Pot 梅子豬手煲

There are plums and pineapples in this dish. So it is a little bit sweet and sour however won't conflict the overall knuckle's flavour. Few chefs use this recipe nowadays. Again, very well done, though the waiting time is a bit long (roughly 40 minutes), but we all love it!

Pork's Kunckle in Hot Pot 梅子豬手煲

Stir Fried Goose Intestine with Pepper and Pickles 味菜炒鵝腸

Does this look like flat noodle? Nope. It may be difficult for you to imagine, it is goose intestine. Again, few restaurants serve this dish nowadays. Only some Chiu Chau restaurants do. It is quite time consuming in preparing the goose intestines. But the chef did a great job. It was not fatty at all and very crunchy. If you were to mention some rare foods that Chinese eat, would you include goose intestine?

Stir Fried Goose Intestine 味菜炒鵝腸

Hong Kong Food Blog - Chinese New Year Foods

Snake Soup

2012-01-05T05:09:00.001-08:00

In cold winter days, there are some foods exceptional popular among Hong Kong Cantonese. Sticky rice is one, snake soup is another. And these two seems to be perfect partners, as people usually eat them together. The other day my sister treated me with home made sticky rice with preserved meats (lap cheung). I've therefore decided to treat everyone with snake soup.

Snake soup shops in Hong Kong are usually small and full of people, so I have decided to go take away. For environmental reason, I brought my own container and the shop owner gave me bonus - all the four bowls were almost overflowing.
After our majhong games, we had to reheat the snake soup. The shop owner gave us some lemon grass and chips to add to the soup. The chips is a usual snake soup companion. As for the lemon grass, some shops serve chrysanthemum petals instead. You'll notice some other ingredients in the soup such as sliced pork, black fungi - wow yummy and keep us warm!

If you were to name some horrible foods that Chinese eat, would you include snake?

Snake Soup take away - HK$34 per bowl

Hong Kong Food Blog

Lamma Island Seafood Outing

2011-12-11T06:56:00.001-08:00

I'd always love to have seafood at Lamma Island. I would say Lamma Island has the best eating environment among all the famous live seafood spots in Hong Kong. See I was eating at a seaside restaurant below.

November and December has the best weather in Hong Kong - clear sky, sunny but cool - ideal for outing. I've therefore taken a day off and went on an outing along with a seafood lunch with my sister.

The tour started at Pier 4 in Central and took about 30 minutes to arrive at Yung Shu Wan. The scenic leisure walk to Suk Ku Wan is about 90 minutes which is easy for people of all age. I even bought fish snacks and shrimp paste kind of souveniors on the way.

Seaside restaurant at Lamma Island

Mantis Shrimp (HK$160)

You may not believe, only 2 minutes after we picked our seafood, the king-size mantis shrimp was delivered to our table, stir fried with salt and pepper. we could still sense the 'heat of wok'.

Scallop with garlic and jelly noodle (HK$25@)

The steamed scallops looked plain, but delicious though.

Steam Live Fish (HK$160)

There was an argument between the two of us. We both like live seafood. But my sister is far more demanding. She wants 'free range' seafood, i.e. fishes that survive naturally in the sea; and I don't mind fishes being manually raised in tanks. There are difference in price, and of course quality of meat and taste. Well, the one we had was from a tank!

Fried Rice (HK$45)

The seafood we picked didn't fill our stomach, so we decided to have a dish of fried rice. I thought we used to be served free soup, but not this time. Inflation! Free items gone!

Live Seafoods

There were plenty of live seafood for our choice. The shop owner told us whether we do A La Carte or set menu, the seafood supply are the same. While we enjoyed picking our favourite choices, set menu also looked good, especially for those who wanted a better budget control. Take the 2/3 persons set menu below for example, they had steamed prawns and stir fried vegetables on top of what we had, and the price of HK$468 was only $53 more than we paid. I must say it's quite a good deal. No wonder a lot of foreigners like to go for set menus.

Lunch Date: December 2, 2011 (Friday)
Cost: HK$415 (US$53.2), no service charge
Lamma Hilton
Suk Ku Wan, Lamma Island
Tel: 29828290

More information about Lamma Island.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Lamma Island Seafood Outing

Macau Luxury Dinner

2011-12-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

I had a day off yesterday and visited Macau. Well I would want to include some Macau food info in this blog. Because people visit Hong Kong always visit Macau together. I’m a frequent Macau visitor, and would want to share with you my dining experience there.

Jardin De Jade had my favourite dish – smoke duck – on their menu at very attractive price - MOP40/half and MOP68/whole – according to some information at the Macau Pier.

First, we were completely happy with the lovely and clean environment along with the friendly waiters.

We had some default appetizers (vegetable, ham and pumpkin) so we can start eating even before ordering.

Jardin De Jade - we had little booth, a semi private dining area.

The Appetizer - Vege, ham, pumpkin - MOP20. Lovely, colorful and well presented. We liked it.

Drunk Chicken - One of our favourites. I had never heard my sister kept saying 'yummy' while eating. In fact, this drunk chicken was extremely pleasing and delicious. We even tried to drink the soup. Very yummy and delicious. (MOP66)

Smoke Duck 樟茶鴨 - it's great that I find a place nearby to eat my favourite smoke duck. I don't need to fly to Beijing for it, at least. But the info from the pier was absolutely out dated. On the menu, it was MOP78/half and MOP108/whole. But the strange thing was that we paid only MOP55 at last for a half duck. We didn't know why we were offered the discount.

Buns to go with the duck. Same as eating Peking duck. Freshly steamed, hot and soft. Extremely comfortable to eat with the duck. And also we were served some sweet and sour sauce.

Abalone Mushroom with Vegetables. As a matter of balance diet, we always order vegetables. They were cooked with chicken broth, tasted very well. (MOP52)
Briased noodle. We always want some rice or noodle to wrap up a meal. This Yangzhou style noodle in soup is light, healthy and yummy. (MOP42)
I liked also the utencils from this restaurant. They are all tailored made. Tea pot, chop sticks, napkins, everything had their trademark on it.
The hotel where the restaurant situated is celecrating its 5th anniversary. I thought this could be the reason we had discount on the signature dish (smoke duck). I took this photo becasue I wanted to turn that $5,000,000 into real cash. Unfortunately I had no luck in this trip and end up losing money.

Dinner date: November 29, 2011
Number of People: 2
Cost: MOP285 (US$35.5), inclusive of 10% service charge
Restaurant name: Jardin De Jade 蘇浙匯
Restaurant address: 6/F, Star World Hotel, Macau
Restaurant telephone: 853-8290-8638

Note: This restaurant has a branch in Hong Kong (at Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wanchai).

Hong Kong Food Blog - Smoke Duck from Macau