We're in Hong Kong

Yes after 4 long years we are back in one of my favourite cities on Earth. We have 4 quick nights here before moving onto Yunnan and up to the fabled Shangri La for some quality R n R.

Foto Friday # 52

As I've been doing this for a year now, I wanted to put a photo of somewhere special that I have great memories, and nowhere fits that more than Hong Kong. Enough said.

Foto Friday # 37

A quality beer in a quality area. 

Foto Friday # 27

I really miss Hong Kong

Foto Friday # 19

2 delicious char siu buns from Lin Heung in Hong Kong. They may not do the greatest dim sum in the world, but it has the best character and atmosphere.

Fernandez and Wells : Do They Sell the Best Egg Custard Tarts?

When we had our extended stay in Hong Kong a couple of years ago, I went a bit mad on trying to find the perfect egg custard tart. In Hong Kong I think I did. They were being sold by the Tai Cheong shop. 
A fantastic place in the Mid Levels, which was within easy walking distance of where we were living at the time. This small shop was made more famous by the then Governor Chris Pattern, who used to stop there on his way to work to buy a few for his mid morning snack.

I’ve tried a few places here in Chinatown, but they really are poor by comparison of their Hong Kong counterparts. But that is Chinatown all over really. Save that rant for another blog. I can feel it coming soon though.

Now, Fernandez and Wells, which have been trotting along for the last 3 years, delivering great food, and great coffee to the wonderful people of Soho.

I reckon, through reading a lot of blogs about the place. I have to be the only person who hasn’t eaten one of their sandwiches. No idea why I haven’t tried them, but so far I have been a bit shy on that front. Although I was tempted this morning by a Cumberland sausage roll, but the guy in front of me took the last one. Ho hum.

What I have to say though, is about their egg custard tarts, or to give them their Portuguese name pasteis de nata. These tarts were being baked in the 18^th Century in Belem, Portugal.

I cannot actually remember eating any on our trip to Lisbon, but we must have. I mean it’s like going to France and not eating frogs’ legs. Oh yeah, done that. Shameful I know.

We did however, in our few days in Macao eat a shed load. Very good and tasty. Quite Portuguese in a Chinese sort of way.

After a few recent trips to Fernandez and Wells on Beak Street. I have come to the conclusion that I am now at peace in my egg custard tart adventure. These are really, really, really very good.

The pastry is of the puff pastry persuasion, but it’s the interior that has driven me to new highs of egg heaveness. The filling is soft, smooth and sweet. It’s a delight in the mouth. I think I can now die a happy man. But I will continue to look for one better, but that may never happen. It would be excellent if it did.

Their double espressos are strong and not bitter. They give me that needed pick me up when I need it. Especially after wandering around the “do-shop”. I really want to buy everything in that place. Such stylish and decadent gifts for the home. Makes me cry that I cannot afford everything. Actually some of it I don’t need, but I want it all anyhows.

I’ve also had a lovely and warming bowl of Catalan stew in the St Anne’s Court bar. It did not remind me of Catalonia but it was a very good bowl of pork stew. The meat was so tender it melted on my tongue. Yummy.

All in all Fernandez and Wells has it all. Great coffee, good food and a nice ambience. It really is made for Soho.

Long may it continue to serve us fantastic produce.


PS - I went into the St Anne's Court branch again at lunch time today. Finally had one of their rolls. A spiced chorizo and aged manchego one. Awesome. Enjoyed every last bit of it... Will be returning sooner rather than later for more.

Noodle Heaven

We were led into a false sense of security by our time in Japan, thinking that all noodles were going to be that good. We were to be disappointed. I could not remember eating noodles before from a Chinese restaurant either in London or here in Hong Kong, so it all came at me as a shock.

After countless attempt to find somewhere that did good noodle soup. We eventually found 3 that hit the spot. 

The best was a small stall in the Cooked Food Centre in Bowrington Road Market. Shop number 3 if an of you want to try. I suggest you do.

The noodle soup base was really well made and full of flavor, and we could actually taste how good the noodles were, and they were really good. 

I had barbecued pork on mine, and Lina went for duck. Yum yum yum..... 

I noticed that when we were paying he also did a good mutton curry. Bet they would be fab with noodles. 

Next was Mak's Noodles, a small hole in the wall. We encountered this place on a Sunday lunchtime and had to share a table with an old couple, who looked like they were enjoying their food. It was packed with old couples and families on for a lunchtime treat. 

I had beef brisket noodles and Lina opted for pork with shrimp wonton noodles. Again as above its the soup base that makes it, this one had a slight fishy tang to it that a real delight to eat. our other one was a small place opposite Mak's. Again same deal really, only slightly cheaper. Really good soup base. Wish I'd have gone for the wide noodles.  

Overall our time in Hong Kong had shown us what a delight it is. We have experienced a lot more than we thought we were going to. We were both quite sad to leave as we had grown quite attached to the place. 

Our final meal was actually Sashimi and Sake. It really was just an excuse to use my new knife. Hahahahahaha ..... 

Next stop Macau ..... 

To Dim Sum or to Yum Cha

You have to do it don't you. When in Rome. Dim Sum or Yum Cha is as Hong Kong as the Peak or the Star Ferry are. You think of one, you think of the other. We wanted to try one, but where. Do we go for one of the super slick Dim Sum Restaurants that serve immaculate and innovative food. Or one that was jammed packed with old friends catching up on daily events, picking different dishes off the carts being pushed around by old women. We choose the latter. 

I managed to get one recommended to us, luckily it was really local to us as well. As we walked in, we saw a huge room packed with at least a hundred people, all in true Hong Kong fashion making a hell of a racket. It was packed, and I think we looked kinda lost as one of the guys there found us two seats on a table being used by two other parties. The normal way, I observed afterwards, was to pick an area and hang around, and as soon as someone stands up to go, you pounce on that seat. 

So seated we were. We were given a pot of oolong tea, and then we waited for the trolley to come our way. There is no menu in these places, which made it more exciting. Bit like playing shotgun noodles again. The first trolley that came around had plates of steamed rice noodles filled with either fish or pork. We choose the pork ones, the woman poured over some soy sauce just to coat  the noodles. They were delish to say the least. The noodles were really soft and delicate to the taste, although meat was only at the ends not all the way through. 

Next up which seemed to be thrust upon us was some Steamed Pork Rolls. Lina reckons Beef, but I say Pork as they tasted like sausage meat. They were pretty good, but should have chosen the ones with shrimp as well. 

We were still kinda peckish, so we ordered some honey glazed pork and rice, that we had seen people eating and we liked what we saw. This had a real nice sticky glaze to it and went well with the rice.

We decided to have one more dim sum, so when the next trolley came around we ordered what looked like a Tamale. But turned out to be a Glutinous Rice Cake with Chicken Wrapped in a Lotus Leaf. It is a Chinese Tamale. Same type of thing. Really nice, but I really like Tamales, so this was right up my street. We are getting pretty good at eating difficult things with chopstix, even with those darn plastic things. Much prefer wooden chopstix, have more grip. 

We were just coming to the point of no more tea. Thee guy had filled up our tea pot with water countless times, then we saw a mad rush to a trolley over the other side of the room. The woman was mobbed with people, taking her delicious parcels of food. We had to wait before someone from our side came back with what she had. It was steamed buns. So I was up like a flash to grab me some Char Siu. Luckily she had some left. Phew. Me loves these little buns of barbecued pork. They tasted so good, I wish I could of had more, but we were pretty full by that point. The rice again.

Went over to pay for our hour of gorging, and the bill was HK$105. Unreal. I was expecting double that. 

We shall return in October.

Fishy Fishy Fishy Fish !!!

I really can say that I have never eaten so much  seafood in such a short space of time. It has been excellent and I can see it continuing. The seafood that is consumed here in Hong Kong is at the other end of the scale from what we had in Japan, that I can not begin to describe. 

We started our mammoth seafood bonanza in a large open air restaurant near the beginning or the end of Temple Street Market. It was a joy to be able to sit outside in shorts, drinking cold cheap beer by the litre. The food wasn't the best n the world but the atmosphere and the place made it a joy. But I have to say that their razor clams in black bean sauce was pretty good, as well as their deep fried spicy prawns. The unfortunate thing was we never had enough money on us to try the crab, and the same happened when we visited the Spicy Crab Under The Bridge Restaurant Number 3. There are four of them, all within 20 metres of eachother. I had heard about this place for a while and came across it by chance. We managed to get in just before lunch time service, which meant our food came pretty quick. Sauteed Clams with Chili & Bean Sauce, Fried Eels with XO Sauce and a plate of Deep Fried Chicken Wings. 2 things here. Have you ever tried eating chicken wings with chopstix. It's not easy, but we are now masters. Stripped those bones bare... And XO Sauce. Found out after it's a Hong Kong creation, meaning Xtra Old. Goes very well with fish dishes. 

If you want to eat good Chinese food with a commanding view over Hong Kong Island, then Hutong it has to be. We had our table by the window facing that skyline. The menu here is like a book. It's soooo vast, it took us ages to go from start to finish, so we kinda went for some fish, meat and some vegetables. The plum wine was a bit of a bad idea. Had a slight hangover the next day. 

The highlight of the show was the Beijing Fish, no idea what fish it was, but it was fantastic, so delicate .... Yummy .... 

We went on a day trip to Lamma Island. Really lovely place and it was such a great day. Clear blue skies, nice walk from North to South. Whilst we were waiting for the ferry, we indulged in some more sea food at the Hilton Restaurant. Much better than any official Hilton Restaurant I have ever eaten in. It wasn't so much the quality of the food, as it was ok. But it was the place, the atmosphere. Imagine sitting at a table, looking out towards a small fishing harbour, small fishing boats idly bobbing on the water, waves gently swishing against deck we were sitting on. The breeze just keeping us cool and keeping the beers cooler. It was a perfect afternoon. 

Some Like It Hot !!!

I was quite excited to goto Chili Fagara. I had done my research and this was one of the best Szechuan restaurants located near to us. It is located half way up a steep hill on Graham Street, so you work up a thirst before you get there. There is not much lighting inside and the color of the place is deep red, a reference to the famous chili's (Pointing to Heaven is a literal translation) that Sichuan is famous for. The restaurant is pretty small and cramp. I could feel the pain that the poor girl next to me was going through, as I could feel the heat coming off her. 

The menu is shall we say contenpoary Szechuan. A few new additions, but mostly jazzed up old favourites. We started off on a few appitizers, some spicy, some not. Just to warm up the taste buds. We also had some beer, which was served to us in a bowl. Which was actually much more easier to drink from than a glass. Also you drink slower also. 

I ordered some Lemon Chicken to get us going, a time old favourite. Lovely pieces of deep fried chicken with a thick lemony sauce. This reminded me of lemon curd, a childhood obsession once upon a time. It wasn't on the menu, but I asked for Twice Cooked Pork, they were only too glad to do this for me. I was really happy. Absolutely great, apart from the lack of pork. Would have prefered a bit more. And to finish off and me literally as I was sooooo stuffed. Pearl of the Orient, a house speciality, they won an award a few years ago with this dish. It was a fruit, not too disimilar to a Lychee, coated in spicy crumbs and deep fried with at least 50 chili's. It really did have my mouth on fire. 

Now overall, it was ok but not as good as I was hoping it to be. The food in Bar-Shu in London has a more authentic note to it, and they do use Pointing to Heaven Chili's, which give you a more numbing effect in your mouth, not a mouth on fire effect. 

Good but not brilliant.

A Good Local Family Restaurant

Since we arrived here in Hong Kong, I have been searching high and low for some of the culinary delights that Hong Kong has to offer… I seem (well most of the time) to be able to spot or search out good eateries… No idea how I do it, but I am sure it is all my belly. Also as our kitchen here is pretty small, I cannot cook everyday, plus my Chinese cooking skills are not that good anyhows, and restaurants can cook a more varied amount of food. Plus they are much better at it than me. 

One of the best local places we have found is Ngau Kee Food Café, a family run places, we were told that number 2 son does all the cooking. The food is typically Chinese but with slight twists. We have eaten there a few times, and always the food has been fantastic. Ranging from Chicken cooked with ginger & spring onion (a personal fave) to the sweet n sour pork and deep fried shredded pork with minced salty fish, black Chinese mushrooms and water chestnuts (yes that long). The prices are very good also. It seems to be filled with locals and most of them I am sure are regulars. 

The speciality of the place seems to be the sweet and sour pork (as everyone has it) and a casserole of pork and noodles. We never tried it, but we shared a table quite a few times with people having it. Looks and smells great. Have to be in October now. 

We got chatting to the owner on one occasion, and he reliably informed us that Number 2 Son was doing all the cooking. A really god family place.

The Great Egg Custard Tart Adventure

This obsession I seem to have found for egg custard tarts has to stop. I can see my waistline increasing with every bite. But the taste of a good sweet shortcut pastry crumbling in my mouth and the taste of the custard melting is too much to resist. 

I have searched high and low for the perfect tart. At last I have found it, but to get me there I have had to eat some real bad ones. The main problem is the pastry, a lot of shops do not cook the pastry properly and some of it is raw. (I had the same problem at Leiths many a time).

There are two main types of base for custard tarts. Short crust pastry and puff pastry. Both made with lard if not mass produced. 

Unfortunately we never got to have any of the puff pastry variety. Now this was not through want of trying, believe me. Which is actually pretty god as I am a real big fan of sweet short crust pastry. 

For quite a while I thought that the Yun Ye Bakery on Aberdeen Street were the best ones. They always sell out their supply of egg tarts by mid afternoon. Which is always a god sign. The pastry was always cooked well and the custard filling was a delight to eat, and at only HK$2.50. A bargain. 

Then it happened, I came across Tai Cheong, which closed down from its original shop back in 2005, prompting queues of people about 100 strong in a mad last month long dash to buy their tarts. Their new shop isn't that far from the old. Still has a queue but not as long as before. Their tarts are a bit more expensive at HK$4.50, but boy are they worth it. The pastry is a joy on the sense. Cooked to perfection, crumbly and sweet, and the custard has a slight wobble in the centre. It really is a delight.

They were originally famous for their doughnuts, which are good but (for me) lacks a filling. They also do a white egg tart. Which the filling is made of egg whites. Personally I did not like them, I found them a tad salty. 

Now all I have to do now, is start doing some belly exercises so I can continue to eat enormous amounts of these delightful Hong Kong deserts. 

The Only Place To Buy Your Fruit 'n' Veg

I have been shopping in two places wince we arrived. The open market on Graham Street, is by far the most popular one I goto. I just enjoy the hustle n bustle of the place. The fish stalls where the fish is still alive when you buy it. The sellers take about 3 or 4 cuts to kill the fish and gut it. Then they descale it for you all within 10 se4conds. Incredible to see.

The fresh meat sellers, whose stalls look anything less that hygienic, with the meat hanging up on hooks in the humidity, but so far we have not had any bad effects from buying from these guys.

The fruit & vegetable stalls, all selling bundles of the freshest looking fruit n veg I have ever seen.

The other market, which is actually closer to home, is the Sheung Wan Covered market. A 3 storey building, which sells meat, cooked and uncooked, fresh fish, fruit, veggies and some dry goods, with a stall that sells some fantastic fresh egg noodles. This place is a bit cheaper than the one above, but then again it’s all about location, location, location here in Hong Kong. The top floor is the cooked food centre. We haven’t eaten there yet. Well we can only eat at so many places. Hahahahaha.

There are plenty of supermarkets here in Hong Kong, which we have been into to buy the store cupboard necessities like soy sauce, rice wine vinegar etc etc. There are some foreign or ex-pat orientated supermarkets, which really stock everything you would find back home. But am not tempted to make tacos just yet. They are also considerably more expensive than shopping at the local markets, and with prices of food on the increase the gap is widening.

We went the other day to Bowington Road Market. Another fantastic market, if we were staying closer then I would be here everyday. It’s similar to the one in Central but more spacious and a lot cheaper. Shame its in Wan Chai.

Every Sunday at the Star Ferry Pier in Central there is an Organic Farmers Market. The produce is grown in the New Territories. All the produce looks fantastic and fresh. They sell a lot of different varieties of salads that I have not seen before. They do not provide bags for you, they advise you to bring your own, but they will wrap your veg in a leaf for you, so you can carry it away. Excellent idea. 

It's Curry Time .....

I think this could be an English thing, but every so often if I do not have some form of Indian food, I turn into one miserable git. I crave the delectable tastes, spices and fragrance of a good curry, as some other people I know.

We tried a couple of places in Japan for their version of a curry, which were ok, nothing to write home about. They consisted of half a plate of rice with the other half with the curry sauce on and then wot ever meat on top, normally breaded chicken or pork. As I said they were ok, nice lunch time train station snack. 

So these prangs of need washed over me within a week of coming to Hong Kong, so we made the slow boat trip across Victoria harbour to Kowloon. The walk from the Star Ferry port to our curry lunch took us past the Peninsula Hotel, the grand old lady of Hong Kong hotels. Turn left up Nathan road, and all the glitz and glam that it offers first time visitors. Then before our eyes lays the Chungking Mansions. This monstrosity is 17 floors high with 5 blocks. They reckon over 4000 people live there with a melting pot of 120 languages spoke there, and at least a million people pass through its doors every year. Everyone who works there (legal or not) is just after making money. It’s not as dangerous as it once was. It kinda has a small feeling of respectability about it now.

No matter what the place is like, it has the best Indian and Pakistani restaurants in Hong Kong.

As we were just changing money we decided to stay on the ground floor, after wandering around the labyrinth of shops we saw a few places at the back. So looking at wot was on offer we decided to head for the Punjab Food Restaurant. A small nonsense eatery, filled with local wheeler and dealers of the Chungking Mansion family. Plastic tables and chairs adorned its small front. The waiter was a happy smiley bloke, which kinda drew us to it in the first place.

We had a gander at the menu, which focused on all the usual North Indian favourites. We opted for a mutton biryani, butter chicken, a naan and two mango lassi’s.

The lassi’s were as expected, lovely. Really fruity and refreshing. I mean any Indian joint that cannot make a good lassi, should not be in business.

The food arrived, thankfully as by this time we were starving. My Butter Chicken, was moist & melted in the mouth it was so tender. The sauce was thick and had a fabulous taste. Lina’s Mutton Biryani was pretty damn good. It had a good selection of mixed spices, which made it a delight on the taste buds. Although downside, not enough meat for my liking. The naan was hot and had that tandoor oven taste about it, it was great to soak up the gravy sauce from my chicken.

The bill came to just over a 100 Hong Kong dollars, about £7. Bargain.

Actually just writing this is making me get those curry tinglings again. Luckily there is a Malaysian café just behind this building. So may have to dash out for something soon.

More on that later …….

We've arrived in Hong Kong

We’ve been firmly en trenched in our small studio apartment in Sheung Wang for 2 weeks now. Been real lazy in updating, but here is a first of many updates from Hong Kong. Our apartment/studio is small to say the least. Probably best for one person but we are coping well. The only downside is the kitchen, as we are on a tight budget, most of our eating will be done in this small one hot-plated kitchen. It’s frustrating to say the least. As only one hotplate, one small frying pan and one small pot. It drove me to despair, so I had to buy a bigger pan so at least I could do some stir-fries properly. Which has helped.

The good thing is that we are very close to two good markets. The nearest one is the 3 story Sheung Wang covered market. Which on the 1^st floor has fish and meat, and the next floor is for veg and dry goods and 3^rd floor has lots of cheap eateries. In the other direction is the Graham Street outdoor market in Central, which is where I have been doing most of my shopping. Having a blast shopping there. There are plans to re-develop this area one day, but hopefully they will fail, as it is a great place to shop.

So until the next post….