Highlights from Hong Kong

Now on to part two of our Asia trip which included a five-day stay in Hong Kong to visit with Fonda's family, who live in the Kowloon area. Having arrived from the hotter, more humid climate of Bali, we were pleasantly greeted with dryer, cooler temperatures when we landed. After our 40-minute ride to the Mongkok area of Kowloon, we checked into our hotel and then meandered outside for some dinner-time grub, peeking our heads into the various noodle shops that lined the nearby streets. One particularly bustling noodle eatery caught our attention and thus we proceeded to take a seat and peruse the menu:

Now I realize that some of you can read this, but--and this should come as absolutely no surprise to many of you--I can't. Nonetheless, Fonda's bare-bones knowledge of conversational Chinese pays off, and minutes later, two hearty bowls of noodles are brought to us:

Noodles with BBQ pork

Noodles with chicken

I finished my bowl and then went to work on Fonda's. Shocking, right?

After our impromptu dinner we walked a few doors down to a dessert shop whose menu consisted mostly of shaved ice desserts. One item caught my attention, a "Black and White Jungle" with black sesame ice flake, dragon fruit, and black pearls:

Crazy, huh? That really is ice you're looking at, and it was incredibly light and flavorful. It was a perfect way to end the night.

The following morning arrives and we're anticipating a packed day of sightseeing with Fonda's cousins who live just a few blocks from our hotel, so a hearty breakfast is in order. We drop into a busy eatery just steps from our hotel where I notice most patrons enjoying a breakfast of noodles, fried eggs, and toast. The server looks to me to order, and so I point to one of the noodle and egg dishes on someone's table. She nods silently, and then takes Fonda's order of a plate of fried eggs and tomatoes:

Yep that's a fried egg with one, two, three slices of tomatoes.

My hearty breakfast of noodles, fried egg, garlic-butter toast, and some type of meat product (spam?). It was delicious and left me very satisfied, ready to barge my way into the subway cars.

Our busy day two included a trek to Victoria Peak, sightseeing in downtown Hong Kong, and of course plenty of good eats. Lunch was a fantastic dim sum meal at a huge banquet style restaurant that looks as if it could hold a 1,000-person wedding. We let her cousin order and he went with the usual standbys of pork buns, shaomai, dumplings, and har gow.

Delicious steamed buns. Steaming hot when they arrived.

Shaomai. The texture and quality was much better than anything I've had in LA.

After lunch, we spend a few more hours trekking through the Kowloon area, and then head to Fonda's cousin's house for some tea and snacks. Snacks? How about some home-made Taiwanese style moon cakes, courtesy of Fonda's cousin:

These were so good and light. I actually prefer these over the denser variety that have the solid egg yolk in the middle.

After a few hours of mingling at the house and devouring moon cakes, we hop into a taxi and head over to a seafood restaurant for dinner. For me, this dinner was the highlight of our Hong Kong trip, as Fonda's family treated us and they clearly did not hold back, taking to us a very nice and classy seafood establishment in the Kowloon area. Our three-hour degustation included Peking duck, sea cucumber with mushrooms, shark fin soup, a whole fish, and cold-cuts of BBQ pork and goose.

Our duck on display.

Server carving our duck. I'm salivating at this point. You would be, too.

Duck presentation with, ahem, Pringles. It also came with the larger tortilla-style wraps.

Sea cucumber with mushrooms and Chinese broccoli. Excellent. The sea cucumber was very fresh and cooked nicely with a slightly crispy outside texture.

Platter of duck, goose, pork, and chicken. The goose has a nice, crispy fried skin. Fonda has in the past always told me to serve others at the table, which I was, but everyone was refusing so I just kept eating until it was all gone!

Black sesame dessert. Extremely rich, heavy, and satisfying. Your diet is kicked the hell out the door when this bowl of guilt arrives.

The next morning arrives and Fonda was craving congee so our day three starts with two bowls of this Chinese rice porridge at yet another bustling eatery close to our hotel. Fonda attempts to order ours with pork and preserved egg, but the restaurant didn't have this combination so we're left with chicken and raw egg instead. Yeah as if I'm going to complain!

If you eat slowly like Fonda does, then the raw egg actually cooks to a soft boil. If you eat like me, then "huh what there was an egg in there?"

The main event for this day was a ferry trip to Macau island to visit the sites where Fonda's father and grandfather were born, raised, and laid to rest. Macau is a special province of China and has its own currency, a complex of mega Vegas-esque casinos, and excellent cuisine. Some pictures:

Lunch that day was a stop at a three-story restaurant seemingly packed with locals. The menu showcased mostly braised house-made noodle dishes, some with options such as pigs feet or tripe, but I go simple with a plate of braised noodles and pork dumplings.

Busy interior.

A beer I've never seen in the US. It tasted like Kirin, which I don't like, and when I inspected the can, I noticed it was brewed by Kirin. Beverage fail for me.

Excellent house-made noodles with fresh, hot dumplings. This was actually one of the better meals I had during my trip.

Several more hours of sightseeing follow and then we head back to Hong Kong in time for a quick dinner of more dumplings and noodles. This particular restaurant was filled with mostly tourists, so my exceptions were lowered a bit knowing that the flavors might be tamed to appease foreign palettes. My expectations were correct and the food was indeed just average.

Sugar snap peas. Overcooked and too much sauce.

Dumplings with a spicy chili and peanut sauce. Just OK.

Day four begins with a breakfast of chee cheong fun, or basically rice noodle pancake which are very common at dim sum restaurants. These were being made on a food cart outside of a restaurant, and were being served to guests in the dining room. For lunch, we snacked on all sorts of treats from various bakeries and street vendors within the Kowloon area. It is here where I tried the stinky tofu--a fermented tofu which truly does have a strong order that I'd compare to, well, sweaty socks. The smell hits you from a dozen feet away so you'll know when you're in the vicinity of stinky tofu. You can also just look for the crowds hording certain street vendors, as stinky tofu appeared to be incredibly popular with the locals.

Stinky tofu about to go down.

Sauces for the stinky tofu. I tried the "BBQ" sauce. Tasted just like something you'd get from a squeeze bottle.

According to the Wikipedia article about stinky tofu, preparation of stinky tofu can be unsanitary and is largely unregulated, but I have no clue as to how this particular tofu was prepared. Nonetheless, I found the taste and texture to be extremely satisfying and better than any other deep-fried tofu I've tasted--the outside was slightly crisp and the inside was deliciously spongy and full of intense flavors--and aroma. The fish balls were delicious as well, though I had to be careful with the skewer as I got close to middle balls.

Deep fried fish balls.

I also tried Chinese egg balls, which are waffle-like snack foods that are cooked to order from various street vendors. Similar to a waffle, these have a lighter and airier texture; the pockets or "balls" of air have thick walls of cooked batter that are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.. The taste was slightly sweet and the mingling of crispy, chewy, airy textures made this simple snack a very memorable one; I could have eaten these every day of my trip.

Chinese egg balls and the apparatus for making said balls.

For dinner we step into the seafood restaurant at our hotel and bring along two of Fonda's cousins. I wasn't expecting this place to be crowded, knowing that it was the hotel's restaurant and that we're in an area filled so many excellent dining options, but it was completely packed wall to wall. Somehow we managed to snag what I think is the best table in the room, right in front of the seafood tanks. We order one of the set menus which included a whole fish, cold cuts, shrimp, shark fin soup, and vegetables. We also threw in a small crab because the crab looked particularly fresh and lively in the tanks.

Fresh shrimp. Peel and clean them yourself. Cousin Donald make this look easy, I made this look like a train wreck.

Fresh whole fish; eyes, bones and all.

Unique presentation of Chinese broccoli and mushrooms.

The dinner was very good but not quite as good as our Peking duck dinner two nights prior. The cold-cuts plate wasn't nearly as fresh or flavorful, the crab's sauce was overpowering, and the dessert red bean soup was a bit runny, not thick and hearty like at the other restaurant. We end the night with some cocktails at the luxurious Royal Plaza hotel, about a half-mile walk from our hotel. I don't have any pics of our drinks, but I will say that I enjoyed my Manhattan and about two-third's of Fonda's Grand Marnier.

On the final morning of our stay, we board the subway to central Hong Kong to another dim sum spot, which came highly recommend by our Lonely Planet book. No carts here, just a small piece of paper to fill out your order, similar to ordering sushi plates. I'll also note that the other dum sum restaurant had no carts, quite unlike the majority of dim sum restaurants in the greater LA area.

Congee with pork and preserved egg. Very good.

Har gow. Fresh, still hot, and very delicious.

Steamed ox tripe. This was, well, interesting. I ate a fist full and then called it quits.

For lunch we opted to partake in afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel, regarded as one of the most beautiful hotels in the world. The wait on this Sunday afternoon was about an hour long, but well worth it. I take my place in line and Fonda scoots off to do a little window shopping at the high-end shops within the hotel. Some 45-minutes pass by and she returns to join me in the line, and 15-minutes later our table is ready and our tea service commences.

Interior of the dining area. Live orchestral music was being played from a balcony on the other side.

Tower of goodness. The little sandwiches and scones were the best part.

Tiny cakes. These were just meh, to be honest. That orange cookies in the back scared us. And yes, that is a slice of fruitcake on the left. Glad I paid $40 for tea service that included a fruitcake.

Excellent lychee tea. Note the little handle covers to protect your paws.

After more sightseeing and a quick foot massage, we hustle over to a sushi restaurant before our final meal in Hong Kong. This place came recommended by the concierge at the Peninsula hotel. We were in a bit of a hurry to eat and head out to the airport, so we when saw the conveyor belt of sushi plates, we'd knew we could be fed and scooted along quickly.

Blurry picture. Hey I told you we were in a hurry!

Toro with gold leaf. It was just OK; you could tell this fish was just defrosted as it was still very cool in the center. I really can't complain because it was served quickly and it was very cheap. I think this was about $7 US.

Spicy tuna over rice. Not bad. Not much spice, but the textures were nice.

Off to the airport we go to catch our plane, and with that said, I'll leave you with a picture of my dinner on the plane:

Chicken with rice, served with some salad and a very commendable coconut cake. Quite tasty, actually.

So there you have it, the culinary highlights from our Hong Kong trip. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures and descriptions, and I'm quite sure I've introduced you to some new foods you have probably never tasted, let alone seen. The fact that I was able to try so many new and exotic eats is what made this Asia trip that much more special. I'm not sure where our next trip will take us, though we are planning for a long stay in China next summer.

The pictures above only represent a portion of all the foodie pictures I took in Hong Kong. If you would like see more pictures, please visit my Hong Kong Flickr set here and you'll find over 100 images to make you drool (or cringe).