Dance like no one's watching

Went to HK for a quick weekend trip with Azure and we really fleshed out the HK Tourism Board ad – Eat, Shop, Eat, Shop, Eat Shop.  I was so focused on the above I didn’t even bring a digicam.  Haha.  Figured if I needed to take any really good photos, I could always get Azure to snap them for me since we have the same digicam.  So here’re the photos from our eating & shopping trip.  We visited some of our favourite eating places more than once but I grouped the photos together anyway.

1. CHE’S CANTONESE RESTAURANT

Add: 4/F, The Broadway, 54-62 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Tel: 852 2528 1123

 

This has gotta be the best char siew pau ever!  The buttery bun is absolutely light & crisp and goes unbelievably well with the sweet char siew inside.  Iceman and I first tried this in 2007 and I made Azure go back to the restaurant on this trip just for the char siew pau!

 

The egg tart is also marvellous.  The pastry is light and texture flaky.  The egg custard is a little wobbly in the centre and melts in the mouth.

 

The har gow was also delicious.  The prawns were fresh and crunchy and the filling was so well marinated they were heavenly – and coming from someone who usually skips eating prawns ‘cos I don’t like them, you gotta believe me when I say they’re GOOD!

 

 

This is Che’s special meat dumpling with bamboo shoot.  I can’t remember the official name for it but it’s the first item on the dimsum menu.  The outer layer of the dumpling is very thin and crispy.  The inner layer of the skin is a little sticky, mildly sweet and chewy.  The pork and bamboo filling was wonderfully savoury and the combination was great.

 

This is the char siew cheong fun.  The cheong fun is silky and thin while the char siew is lean.  It was good, but not as yummy as the prawn cheong fun.  Once again, I was surprised at how delicious the prawn cheong fun was ‘cos I usually hate prawn.  It was so good… we walloped it before I remembered I was suppose to take a photo…

 

This is the pau with sweet custard filling and bits of salted egg.  The caramelised custard was quite good but it could probably do with a few more bits of salted egg as the overly sweet pau got a bit jelat (è…» – a little too cloying).

 

We also had the siu mai and their golden pan cake – both were ok but nothing to shout about.

 

2. TONG TAI SEA FOOD RESTAURANT (along Temple Street)

We originally wanted to check out this noodle place that Azure got from some guide book but didn’t quite make it there – we got distracted by this seafood place which Iceman and I ate at in 2007 and decided to have dinner here instead.  Heh.  We didn’t manage to order a lot as there were only 2 of us but food is about the quality… not quantity!!

We had the squid (aka sotong) fried with salt and pepper and this was soooooooooo sedap!  I suspect there was a dash of curry powder in the dish but whatever it was, the sotong was terrific especially when dipped in the vinegar that came with the dish.

We also had razor clams stir fried with black beans & a bit of chilli.  This was tasty but I would’ve preferred it if it were a bit spicier.

To ease our guilt from pigging out, we also ordered a plate of chye sim cooked with garlic – it was good too!

 

 

This is a pic of a very satisifed Azure.  Haha.  We took a short walk at the night market after that and that’s when I saw the fake iPhones from China.  Was very tempted to buy one given how it has more functions than the real iPhone.  Haha.  It was cheap you know – only HKD500.  That’s like SGD90!!

 

3. KAM MOON KOK (opposite BP International House along Austin Road, near Jordan MTR)

 

This is my favourite cha chan teng (茶餐厅) in the whole of HK.  Azure and I first chanced upon it on our first trip together in 2002 and I’ve returned to eat here every time I visit HK.  The milk tea is so smooth!!  Even if you leave it sitting untouched for a period of time, the milk remains well blended in the tea. 

The spicy pork cube noodles (五香肉丁面) is also fabulous.  After you’ve tried it, you can never step into a HK cafe in Singapore for the same dish.  The pork cubes are spicy and salty and they retain the taste even after being submerged in the soup.  *Slurp*!  Iceman loved it when we had it back in 2007… and Azure is fan now too!  (She had it twice on this trip).  Hehe.

 

Another must have for me is the French toast (西度斯 – sai tou xi – not sure how to spell the Cantonese words).  The slices of bread are buttered and dipped in egg before being fried.  The edges of the bread are crispy and the centre is soft.  The secret ingredient is the peanut butter in between!  Served with a splash of buter on top and a container of maple syrup for you to drown the toast in, this is fantastically delicious!

 

4. MAK’S NOODLE LTD

Add: G/F, 44 Jardine’s Bazaar, Causeway Bay, H.K

Tel: 852 2895 5310

I first tried the wanton noodles here with Azure back in 2002.  Am glad I had the chance to eat it again this trip.  I had the shui jiao soup this time.  The broth is tasty and the dumplings had a nice succulent bite.  Really yummy.  This place is going into my list of “must eats” for my next trip!

 

5. Jenny’s Bakery

I initially promised my colleagues I’ll buy a tin of cookies from Jenny’s Bakery but they were closed!  Twice!  Azure and I popped by the branch at Melbourne Plaza around 6pm+ on Friday and there was a notice saying that everything was sold out and so the shop was closed.  We returned hoping to buy the cookies on Sun but they were closed again!  Boohoohoo.  I really love the cookies here!

 

6. Xu Liu Shan / Fa Ji

We visited almost every Xu Liu Shan we saw.  We had dessert every lunch and dinner!  *Faints*.  At first I thought I was the OCD one… but now I think not. 

We had mango drinks / desserts so many times that I decided not to post any photos.  Ok… to be honest, I slurped everything down too fast so I didn’t get a chance to take any photos.  Haha.  But I did take some photos of other desserts available at Xu Liu Shan.

Left: Walnut & Sesame paste

Right: Boiled pear, dates and I can’t remember what else… hehe.

 

7. Cheung Hing Coffee House

 

This cha chan teng is supposed to be popular with celebrities.  I thought the breakfast was ok… but not fabulous.  Didn’t see any celebrities either.  Instead, we were treated to the fire alarm going off 3-4 times.  I sort of suspect it was a ploy to get customers out of the shop..

 

8. Shopping Haul!

 

Left: A belt from Esprit.

Right: (Top Row) – Top + slip from Giordano Ladies, boots from Island Beverly (really comfortable!  Love them!), purple mouse shoes from… some shop at Tsim Sha Tsui (a little tight for my right foot unfortunately), brown shoes from Argyle Centre, black top from ATO (another shop at TST area).

(Bottom Row) – 2 bandeaus / tubes from some dinky little store at I can’t remember where, leggings from the same store, DVDs for my mom and a bag from Esprit.

Didn’t manage to find anything I liked / fit me at H&M.  Looks like I’m still more of an Esprit & Giordano Ladies person.

 

 

Accessories from Times Square and Argyle Centre.  🙂

 

Now this is a totally random photo I took at the toilet at Che’s Restaurant.  Gosh!  Can you see how tiny the entrance to the loo is?  Hong Kongers are sooo slim.  I’m usually an XS / S size in Singapore but in HK, I’m easily an M!  Damnit.  If the weather wasn’t so hot and humid, I might consider walking up the 5 storeys of stairs to my flat just to be a HK size S!