Ho Choy Restaurant 好彩海鮮酒家, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

So after several frustrations from eating at Serenade and Jade Garden, I went to Sheung Wan and chose this established Hoi Choy Restaurant. Note Hoi Choy in different locations would have different menu and certainly different cuisine and quality. Why Sheung Wan? It's the gathering places of those well established dried seafood/ginseng/herbal shops. Some well established restaurants like Phoenix City 鳳城, West Villa西苑, North Garden 北園 and this Hoi Choy are there at the tramway turnabout at the Sheung Wan Market. So that area is something!

1. Lovely five spices soaked peanut! Grand mom. often suggested taking this kind of soaked peanuts as it's less "hot air". I think I haven't seen this kind of soaked peanuts for many years. BTW, I did see a lot of people who look like they are in the dried seafood/ginseng business. See the gentleman in red knit. The waiters and waitresses look like they have been with this restaurant for many years. This is even something cooler than those "fake" smiling people with those shiny XXX rating cert. or XXX award in the shop. 2. I like this card too and the handwriting.

3. Kai Lan stems in aromatic salty fish sauce. This hot pot was served sizzling and so lively. As you can see, the kai lan stems were cut and trimmed out the hard chewy parts. The salty fish sauce is perfect and this is what we called aromatic salty fish sauce. Some restaurants often put "bean paste with some chili" as "aromatic salty fish sauce, esp. with the eggplants. The classic aromatic fish sauce is the soft wet/aromatic salty fish 梅香咸魚 with crushed and chopped ginger and browned together first in the wok to make these 2 main ingredients blast for that aromatic flavour. So glad to find this dish done right! 4. Wow... another lost and found! Rough veggie in "south" bean paste casserole 南乳粗齌煲. When it was served, the strong aroma of south bean paste caught my attention that someone did it right! Lately at a very popular cooking class show (though I still enjoy watching it as a hilarious show), it was shown that the south bean paste was mixed with water to stir in for shimmering. The classic way of making dishes with south bean paste should be to slightly burn it in the wok and then put the soaking fluid in that "south bean" paste jar to make it taste more aromatic. Besides, the main ingredients should be with the deep fried tofu sheet. Also I found the "big bean" bean sprouts 大荳芽菜! So nice to go with more steamed rice!

5. Steamed scallop on tofu. The tofu is very smooth and the steamed at a right timing. 6. Spare ribs burnt with preserved veggie. At my first bite, the rock sugar flavour caught my attention rather than the preserved veggie. The Chef is very clever to balance out the salty taste of preserved veggie with rock sugar and yet the rock sugar made the spare ribs tender after being deep fried. I actually got surprised with this way of "burning" and yet it delivers the sweet taste first and then the salty preserved veggie flavour. That reminds me of the rock sugar salty plum sauce (冰梅醬). Must try!

7. Green bean sweet with seaweed and fragrant grass 海帶臭草綠豆沙. Never ending surprises - this green bean is so good to finish a tasty meal! The fragrant grass is awesome! My favourite! 8. the shop entrance.