[HK Dec 2009] Finally, last day in HK eats!

We skipped the hotel's complimentary breakfast and opt for a dim sum feast in the Chinese restaurant downstairs.










All this food for only HKD 12x!! Bargain.

After breakfast, it was time to check out. We hopped on a taxi originally intended to go to HK station but the driver said he would take us all the way to the airport for HKD200.

Mmm, it was cheaper than going on the express so we agreed. The fare turned out to be HKD26x. So I suppose, you can actually bargain with the taxi driver but proceed with caution, you might get screamed at, some Hongkongers are not the friendliest people on earth............

A friend caught a taxi frm HK island to Kowloon and the driver yelled at her to get off the car and stop wasting his time after she paid.........*speechless*.

At the airport, we were met with a flight delay until 8pm *die*. The airline compensated with a meal voucher each.

Lunch at Hang Hiong utilising the voucher (not a lot of f&b establishments accept the voucher *vomit blood*)

Baked pork chop rice

Noodle soup

Xiao long bao (forgetable, filling dry but tasted alright)

Black sesame dumplings (below par, skin hard and thick with little filling)

We also bought some famous 'wife cakes', they were truly good. Sadly the same can't be said of their food.

After lunch, we hopped on a bus and went to the nearest outlet. Bleh, total waste of time.

Dinner was Cafe de Coral roast duck at the airport, which was, surprisingly good.

[HK Dec 2009] Day 4 What we ate

Breakfast at Cafe de Coral

Sick of hotel's breakfasts, we decided to check out Hong Kongers' favourite local fast food joint.


Fried noodles

Oily and ordinary.


Maple syrup chicken chop set

Chicken chop tender and well marinated. Pan-fried radish cake is average, not too floury which is good.

The noodles was so blah, I decided to eat something nice and trekked up the street to buy egg tart from Tai Cheong. We were in Hong Kong for god's sake! Shouldn't be bogged down by sub-par food.

Ah bliss, those egg tarts never failed to please.

Tummy pleased, we made our way to Ocean Park.

Total waste of time and money. The only thing Princess enjoyed was those kiddy rides and we had better ones at our own backyard theme parks, Movie World, Seaworld so on and so on.

I even had asthma attack walking up and down the slopy roads. Not to mention the anxiety attacks earlier at the super long and scarily steep escalators at the bottom of those hills.

We had curry fishballs, mock sharks fin soup at the park and Princess had chips. All blah, must fuel the body with something nice when we escaped this nightmare place, grrrr, need good food!!

Tea at Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon (Landmark, Central)

Went with the intention of having the tea set but they were sold out, chan nian-ing...

Not even a macaron in sight, sob.....

Also can't see millefuille, cry..........

Opera slice

This was so more-ish, one of the best I have tasted, no joke!

Custard, chocolate and banana croissant

This is average (the croissant) but the filling is surprising tasty. Normally I shun banana whatever bake goods. I ordered this because Princess die die want almond croissant.

Not pictured but we also had a pear and caramel slice. It was so good I dived in and totally forgot to take a picture!

Kusmi caramel tea

Of course we had coffee too, it was decent. The tea tasted medicinal, liquorish/aniseedy which I personally dislike.

Dinner at Mak An noodles house


CWB branch

Dumpling noodle soup

The soup was seasoned OTT with white pepper and MSG. The wontons were tiny with little fillings. This can survived in good-food aplenty Hong Kong!? Seriously??

The noodles were springy, of course, for it reeks of alkali water. The lye was so strong it kind of seeped into the soup. Urghhh, total disaster bowl of 'thing'.

I can't believe Hong Kongers actually tolerate this 'thing'.

Dessert at Yan Wo soy products shop

Gloomy faced, I told Big-King I die die must eat something nice. We were in Hong Kong for @#$%'s sake. Morning episode coming back to haunt......

Cross the street and we arrived at a soy products 'specialist'.

Stuffed beancurds with fish paste

A man was pan-frying the stuffed beancurd near the entrance. The smell was amazing, it kept getting my attention as I was reading the menu.

Of course, I die die must try.

The stuffed beancurds were quite tasty and even nicer with the chilli sauce on the table. But they were quite oily. There were ladies on other tables using lots of tissues to soak up the oil.

Beancurd tau-fu-fah with black sesame paste

Tau-fu-fah was awesome!! Lose the black sesame paste, it got diluted by the syrup and made it looked and tasted yuck.

Princess die die wanted her daily dose of black sesame paste glutinous balls tong yun. I got a take-away from Lucky Dessert and they were blah tiny with little filling with super spicy gingery soup. But Princess enjoyed them nonetheless. Also had a take-away steamed milk pudding from Chui Yun, totally blah.

I wonder where I can find a good traditional dessert shop around CWB?

[HK Dec2009] Day 3 What we ate

Breakfast

We had brekkie again at hotel. Three Western sets this time.

Lunch

After shopping around Causebay Bay, I can't wait to make my way over to Kowloon Island to visit my personal favourite Tam Chai to have sour and spicy noodles and grilled chicken wings.

Then we traipse over 2 streets away to have our favourite desserts at Tai Leung Pat Kei.


Black sesame dumplings in ginger broth, warm sesame paste and cashewnut paste

There was this "The 44th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo" going on at Victoria Park so we decided to walk a round there after a heavy lunch to burn some calories.

Inside the place was filled to the brim with people!! Especially the 'Ginseng, Dried Seafood & Soup Packs' Zone. OMG, nobody can walk in that zone, we were basically being 'pushed forward' all the way.






Prices were really cheap and I went away with 'some' stuff hehe. We left when we can't carry anymore.

Dinner

Due to previous night's experience in scoring a table at nice restaurants, I called to book a table. But still they were fully booked after 7pm on a weekday :-(. So we had an early dinner at 6.30pm and had to leave by 7.30pm. Not a problem, we are quick eaters.


Wu Kong at Times Square, Causeway Bay

Siao long (meat dumplings), we had 2 baskets.

Sweet and sour fish

Beancurd dumplings filled with vegetables

The filling was very tasty with a hint of sesame oil. This is a must order.

Honeyed ham

Chinese ham served with fried beancurd sheet in a bun drizzled with syrup. Super yummy! Another must order!

The food is of a high standard in this restaurant. It was as good as I remembered from my last experience at another branch at Peking Road, Tsimsachui.

[HK Dec2009] Day 2 in Hong Kong, what I ate.........

Breakfast

Free at hotel.




Set B

We only ever eat Set A & B.

Lunch

Chui Wah Macaunese Restaurant

There are several branches throughout HK and Kowloon. The branch we visited was the one on Lockhart Road as we were nearby shopping for shoes.


Hokkien fried rice


Mixed chop set rice

Consisted of chicken chop, pork chop, hotdog, ham and chicken wing served on rice. Some greens were served on side.


Portuguese tart

Afternoon tea

UCC Cafe at Apita, Taikooshing




Winter special: Chocolate waffles served with ice-cream and fruit; coffee

We shopped up a storm at Taikooshing. By the time we decided to buy a luggage to put all our shopping in, I am super tired and my feet were killing me.

UCC Cafe was right next to luggage department so me and Princess went in to have a waffle and coffee while waiting for Big King to finalise the purchase.

Dinner

KFC

There were queues everywhere at every restaurants' doors.

It was raining and we were super hungry so we decided to just cross the road and patronise KFC. It was our last resort, but we actually had our best meal of the day!

Mushrom rice and portuguese tarts were nice. The tarts were a lot nicer than what we had in the arvo.

Supper

Yishun

We went back to the shops behind Sogo to look for Princess school shoes at Clarks.

After making the purchase, we walked a few doors away to Yishun to have the famed double skin steamed milk.

It had been raining since the morning and I was feeling a bit under the weather so I ordered steamed milk with ginger juice.

The ginger was very strong, I actually had difficulty taking a second bite but I managed to finish about 3/4 and felt energised after eating. It warmed the body up insantly starting from the tummy and spread to rest of body slowly. I felt it boosted my immune system, hehe.

I still think Australian Dairy Co. in Jordan is best for steamed milk.

[HK Dec09] Lucky Dessert

Lucky Dessert
Jaffe Rd, Causeway Bay
(opp World Trade Centre)




Mango and pomelo dessert

Lucky's signature dessert.

I guess it's the syrup-ed mango pieces that set it apart from other dessert shops. Most shops use fresh mango pieces which I personally prefer.

I can only think of one reason for Lucky to use stewed mangoes in syrup. To prolong the shelf or fridge life.

It has lots of followers but sadly I am not one of them. It was just like eating canned mango.

Durian and pomelo dessert

Another signature item. But to me the sour and tart pomelo does not go well with durian. I felt like eating tempoyak (fermented durian) in a dessert. If you don't find that scary, that means you have no idea what tempoyak is or how it taste and smell like.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of tempoyak especially eaten with ambuyat (sago gruel) but to find something similar in a dessert?? It's like having fermented shrimp paste sweet soup.

This is a VERY popular dessert shop (with several branches) in HK, just not my cup of tea that's all.

[HK Dec 2009] Shanghai Restaurant on Jardines Bazaar

First day in Hong Kong. It was late afternoon when we checked into the hotel.

We were staying at Holiday Inn Express behind Times Square, a fantastic location!.

We met up with my friend Leng Nui San for dinner. We went shopping at Sogo while waiting for her to finish work. Too many shops and stuff in Causeway Bay, my eyes and feet cannot keep pace.

By the time she came we were famished! Straight away she brought us to this ancient Shanghai restaurant on Jardines Bazaar. You should see the waiters, they were all, well, a-n-c-i-e-n-t. I can picture them working since their teenage years but I can't imagine whiling their time away all these years.

You know how fast-pace everything in Hong Kong is. In this place, it's like the time stood still. Aged tables and chairs which must tell lots of interesting stories, slippery tiled ancient floor. Slow movement of staff.

I kind of like it, its more humane, full of characters.




Pan fried bun filled with pork

Why the lone bun?

I was too eager to tuck in till Leng Nui San reminded me to take photos. This lone bun is waiting for its owner, Leng Chai Mason (obviously Leng Nui's husband), who was on his way.

Mock crab

It's really just stir fried egg whites. You stir the yolk into the whites (which will resemble crab roe) and eat with dashes of vinegar.

Double cooked pork

I prefer the veges rather than the meat in this dish. They are crunchy and flavoursome.

Chinese leaves with ham

Chicken and dumplings in claypot

Once again, I almost forgot to take photo, there was no more dumplings! Princess alone ate 6!!

Braised bamboo shoots

I love bamboo shoots but still a far cry from Taiwanese version.

Smoked fish

A real Shanghai delicacy. Smoked fish coated in sweet glaze. I love it.

Red bean pancake

Deep-fried pancake filled with red bean paste.

I stuffed myself silly though most dishes were quite oily but they were tasty. It's not the type of food you can get in Brunei or even in Shanghainese restaurants in Brissie.

Thank you so much Leng Nui San for giving us a wonderful treat.