The best of HK...

...some of them, in my (and my friends') humble opinion(s) :)

Actually, it is because I have a few things from HK I would like to share still, and I decided to lump them all under one post.

Street Food

Frankly I didn't have enough street food (so many more I would have loved to try...but I wasn't feeling very well for that whole month there...plus, too much to eat, too little time) but here are a (very) few...including the HK must-try ---> smelly tofu!!


this is the one on 'goldfish street' in Mongkok...literally...lined with shop after shop selling fishes (plenty of goldfish)...and you will be able to smell this stall from far away :)


a closer look...before adding the sauces

Despite smelling quite bad from far away (like a rubbish dump)...the smell got less bad nearer (maybe it is just me)...and after coating the tofu with different sauces (don't know what they were...probably chilli & sweet sauce), I thought it tasted quite GOOD...haha. A layer of crispy skin, soft on the inside that melts in the mouth. Definitely wouldn't mind having it again! Haven't tried it anywhere else...so it could be the stall that is good...which is the famous one, apparently.

Another famous street food stall we visited was the one somewhere between Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). This one is famous for 雞蛋仔 ('gai dan zai' in cantonese)...which is something I would describe as something sweet made with flour cooked into oval-ish shapes - crispy on the outside and pancake like on the inside.


a lot of newspaper clippings with famous HK stars!! must be good...haha...it IS a well-known stall, really


the 'gai dan zai'...really good actually!


the same stall also sells other types of street food...and we did have the curry fishballs as well (another typical HK street food...always being mentioned in TVB dramas :)) which were the BEST ones I had in HK...the texture was just right...yum!

And something I always enjoy on a cold winter night (or day for that matter)...warm roasted sweet potatoes!! Sooo good :)


the colours are so pretty as well!


both were sweet and lovely...but I prefer the purple ones

Egg tarts

Another HK trademark food. I am personally not a fan of egg tarts but for people who like them...HK is an egg tart heaven. After talking to the locals, these are 2 places recommended for the best egg tarts.


somewhere in Mongkok...we had a hard time finding it...it is under some pedestrian bridge (I think) but there are a lot of bridges in that area


the egg tarts ;) they do look really good! (I just don't like biscuity things much)

The other place, best portuguese egg tarts...at KFC!! Surprised? I was.


recommended by our classmates

Milk tea

Can you believe it? There is a 'best milk tea' place!! (I do miss the milk tea in HK...used to have one with every meal...) Anyway, this place holds the record for selling most glasses of milk tea in a day or something like that. We went there after class hoping to try their egg tarts and 'po lo pau' (pineapple bun...which is a type of bun with a crusty top with criss-crosses hence resembling a pineapple...no pineapple involved in its production) but we were too late!! Apparently they run out of those early afternoon. So, we sat there and savour the milk tea. Didn't think it was too special...but good nevertheless.


famous milk tea

This place is somewhere in Wanchai...I am sorry that I don't remember its name :(

Noodles

One of the staples in HK. I love all kinds of dumpling soups...but of all the places I tried, my favourite has to be 樂園 (Lok Yuen). They have a few branches but the one that I've been to 3 times was the new one in Mongkok, opposite Argyle Center on Argyle Street. Why? Just because it is new, with a modern and trendy interior (rather than hawker style) and the food tastes as good. Price...perhaps just a couple of HK$ more...totally ok with me.


my favourite - fish dumpling noodles...even the skin of the dumpling is made from fish...very nice!! where are can I find this?? *sob*

Also, I love to have noodle soup with some deep-fried fish skin. I don't have a photo but they are really good just on their own, or after a quick soak in your soup :)

Lok Yeun is apparently famous for their 'exploding beef balls', which are beef balls with hot soup in the middle once you bite into it. They are good but fish dumplings are still the way to go for me! :)

HK cafe

Ahh...Australian Dairy Co. Many locals love this place. If you are not familiar with the asian culture at all, be prepared for some serious culture shock. This place is SO popular that if you go at lunch time, there will be a long queue...but not to worry because one will not have to wait long.

One of the many (they have SO many workers for a shop of that size) waiters will get you at the door to ascertain the number of people he will need to seat. With seconds, one will be ushered into the cramped and crowded shop where you will be expected to stand in any small space you can find, hovering over people who are still eating.

The idea is to stare as much as possible so people will get uncomfortable and eat faster so they will be able to leave as soon as possible and you will get your seat...I'm kidding actually...but who knows.


their popular tea set...good value for money at HK$26(ish) everything you can see in the photo...including a hot milk tea/coffee


another thing people go there for...too sweet for me to finish on my own...but oh-so-smooth

The staff...though not the most polite bunch, were certainly entertaining!! :)

And this brings me to the end of my 'best of' post!!