Saturday 30 March 2013

Hong Kong

Our holiday to Hong Kong was a whirlwind of eating, shopping, and more eating! ;D To me, quintessential HK eating are cheap eats. Local street-side food really: curry fish balls on a skewer, the undeniable aroma of stinky tofu or chou dou fu (臭豆腐), charcoal roasted chestnuts, exotic pigs intestines and so much more. Bakeries offering a myriad of sugary and buttery cantonese goodness to choose from. Can't get any better than this!
A firm favourite in the HK street food scene is Gai dan jai (鸡蛋仔) or Hong Kong waffles to you & me. I can safely say if you haven't tried em, you haven't lived.
We woke up early to experience the Hong Kongers wet street markets. And yes, it's wet, dirty, stinky, fishy, bloody but it offers better than supermarket quality meat and produce at a very cheap price.
Hong Kong is a city that never stops

...eating. Dough fritters *drools*
We raced to a nearby cha chaan teng (HK style tea restaurant) and had zha liong (fried crispy crullers wrapped in soft rice rolls). Nothing fancy, just delicious!
 and a big bowl of smooth pork and preserved egg congee.
Not long afterwards, we met up with SJ for lunch at a japanese restarant, Wanya (18 Queen's Road, Central). Their set meals are reasonably priced with generous servings.
Frenchie bought us some oysters imported from France. It was delicious, light and juicy. It's a shame we can't get this in Australia ;(
Sashimi galore!
Garrett popcorn is the bomb! Anyone that love popcorn will looove this place.
I know a few of you will roll your eyes and say 'come on, it can't be that good'. 
But, you really have to trust me on this one. 
After a couple hours of shopping at IFC, we stopped by dessert-loving fashionistas Agnés b cafe for a sweet treat.
I was slightly frazzled, unsure which one to get. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...
We settled for two mini pâtiserie, frenchie's Patricia (pear, pear mousse, caramel mousse, vanilla sponge cake and feuilletine)
and my Venezuela (70% single origin chocolate from Venezuela, chocolate sponge cake and chocolate ganache).
Feeling sugar OD, we were hyper and went on for more shopping. We both tried on Repetto. Ahhh, super comfy!
Alexander McQueen's gold and black pavé knuckleduster long box clutch.
Met up with miss V for some local HK food.
Dessert was a killer! The biggest soufflé I've ever seen!!!
 Hong Kong skyline, beautiful isn't it?
 We took the Ngong Ping 360 cable car up to visit the big Buddha. More details on how to get there (here).

My childhood favourite dessert - Shan shui tau foo fah (山水豆腐花) silky, soft and smooth soy milk pudding with light ginger syrup. Yum!
After big buddha, we flew out of HK...to my hometown, Malaysia! Watch this space...till then everyone take care and Happy Easter! xx

Friday 29 March 2013

Tim Ho Wan 添好運


Fancy dining in a Michelin one-starred dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong without spending a bomb? Try Tim Ho Wan at Kwong Wa St Mongkok, located minutes from Mongkok MTR station, Ladies Market and Fa Yuen street. There's always a queue at this restaurant and the baked bbq pork buns are to blame. Waiting time can take more than two hours! So get there early.

Must-try here include the famous char siew pao (baked, instead of steamed), and cheong fun (rice rolls) with bbq pork. Other sure winners are their steamed lil parcels of perfection nestled in bamboo baskets - shrimp dumpling and green chives, mushroom and shrimp dumpling. Prices start from AUD 2 for a plate of dim sum, cheap cheap! ;P

Assorted steamed dim sum L-R: Chicken feet with black bean sauce (HKD 15), Shrimp dumpling "har gow" (HKD 23), Green chives, mushroom and shrimp dumpling (HKD 15)
Steamed dumpling Chiu Chow style (HKD 10)
Steamed pork dumpling with shrimp "siu mai" (HKD 23)
Steamed shrimp dumpling "har gow" (HKD 23)
Vermicelli roll stuffed with shrimp (HKD 19)
Deep fried spring roll filled with shrimp and egg whites (HKD 18)
Pan fried beef dumpling with seaweed (HKD 15)
Baked Bbq pork bun x 3 (HKD 16)
Goji berries and Osmanthus Jelly (HKD 10)
Slightly sweet and melts in your mouth flower jelly
Sweet black sticky rice cream with corn (HKD 14)
Double boiled bird's nest and egg whites (HKD 48)
Our bill HKD 248 (approx. AUD 31)

Locations:
  • FLT 8 G/F Phase 2, Tsui Yuen Mansion, 2-20 Kwong Wa St, Mong Kok, Kln (8am - 10pm)
  • G/F, 9-11 Fuk Wing St, Sham Shui Po, Kln (10am - 10pm)
  • Shop 12A, Level 1, Hong Kong Station, HK (9am - 9pm)
  • Shop B, C, D, G/F Sea View Building, 2-8 Wharf Road, North Point, HK (10am - 9.30pm)