強記美食 (Keung Kee local food), Wanchai, HK

Brought quite many friends to this street stall on Marsh Road (Wanchai).  It's also a favourite shop of my good old friend.  She would have been so happy to see this shop having an air-conditioning bigger one.

Talked to the owner and he said the old place's rent was rocket high at around HK$70k for just about 100 square feet place.  So he decided to choose this new shop at a justified rent.  The shop is just around the corner on Lockhart Road.

 

Tai Lung Fung 大龍鳳 - PMQ, Central HK

Took an icy drink of 7 up with soda and a preserved salty plum.  It's about HK$25 but it's kept on re-filling.  I had to gently turn down their 4th time re-filling.  I'd like the way they mix soda water with 7-up to make it less sweet.  My friend ordered a stir fried udon.  At just HK$38, it's not a bad choice. The shop is really nostalgic.  Quite a good place for gathering for some old fond memories.

義順牛奶公司 Yee Shun Dairy shop, Causeway Bay

Passed by this shop and found out it wasn't crowded (at 6pm).  Though it's not my favourite, it's good to give it a try.  The steamed double milk is recommended, but my choice is the red bean drink and an egg sandwich.  The red bean was cooked nicely (not too mashy but very tender).  The milk is pretty nice indeed - a perfect match with the egg sandwich.

強記美食 (Keung Kee local food), Marsh Road, Wanchai, HK

This shop has been my all time favourite local food and dessert.  They don't sell many choices of food or dessert.  They just concentrate on how to maintain good quality instead of variety.  Their specialities include steamed sticky rice with Chinese preserved sausage, stir fried noodles with bean sprouts in soy sauce, peanut pork bone dried fish congee, pan fried rice roll in dried shrimp and scallion, shimmered turnip, curry fish balls, dried pork skin and fish meat siu mai.  On the dessert side, they serve Jar Jar, green bean sweet, soya sheet sweet.  That's it.  I like all of them.  Though the prices aren't cheap, they use some quality ingredients and the way the make it is very thoughtful.  Like the sticky rice, they put some quality Chinese sausage and some dried mushroom.  The rice roll is with some scallion and dried shrimp with a drop of lard!  I can take one whole plate.  Their chilled soya sheet is kept with some frosty (note on photo 1).  So when you stir it, the frosty will melt and it's just so chilled!  The green bean is with the bean peel filtered.  What can I say?  Perfect!  That's why my gone friend loved this shop so much.  I used to hang out with her to visit this place every other week.  I am happy this shop has been keeping up so well after all these years.  Not easy at all.

明記甜品 Ming Kee dessert shop Sai Wan Ho HK

Got disappointed with the recent visit at this shop.  Too much coconut milk in almost everything.  They should concentrate on their herbal jelly rather than making too many other food like the snowy ice and hot meaty food.  It's really not the same humble Ming Kee which used to be adored by the neighbours, especially the students who spread the word of mouth to earn this shop a name.

砵仔糕 Mini bowl steamed cake, outside of Tak Kee Western District

On walking out of Tak Kee Chiu Chow restaurant in Western District, a cheerful granny asked for trying her mini bowl steamed cake, HK$4 for 1. It smells so good that I had to eat it right away. The red beans are very aromatic and in a very nice texture. The cake itself is not too sweet. So we can taste the original cake flavour too. Have to come back for another try.

常餐, 特餐, 快餐, 全餐, ABC 餐, 金鳳茶餐廳 Various meal sets with Kam Fung restaurant, Wanchai HK

某一個下午，路過金鳳，撲鼻而來蛋撻，雞批，菠蘿包熱烘烘香氣，這刻完全背棄什麼高纖低脂低納。傳統菠蘿包再加片鮮油，火腿蛋奄烈加沙爹牛米，腸仔意，凍啡，華田，雞批加蛋撻。感謝還有像金鳳這些茶餐廳，帶給我們最回味的這些。金鳳的咖啡甚有當年茶餐廳的檀島咖啡的神韻﹣用煲煮的，焦香無澀味，菠蘿包非常有麵粉香，最讚嘆的還是他們的雞批，酥香惹味!
Passed by Kam Fung on one afternoon. There came the hot aroma from the freshly baked egg tart, chicken pie and "pineapple" bun. Decided to put aside all those high fiber, low fat, low sodium. Got a "pineapple" bun with a slice of fresh butter, ham omelette, satay beef noodle, sausage noodle, iced coffee, ovaltine, chicken pie and egg tart. Thanks to such local classic tea rooms as Kam Fung for bringing back all those flavours. The coffee of Kam Fung still keeps the classic making of the old time so-called "Honolulu" coffee (a name to be referred to a western coffee) - boiling to be with roasted aroma without the bitter taste. The "pineapple" bun has a nice flour flavour. The best is their chicken pie, so buttered aromatic.

Local snacks at prices of 20 years ago, Lei Yue Mun Kowloon HK

I was surprised to see all these local snacks at an amazing pricing level. I gotta ask the shop sales lady why they could sell BBQ pork at prices more than half of the market price in downtown. She proudly told me they own their shops and don't need to bother the rent! I bought some "chicky" pastry 鷄仔餅 and (photo 2) "wife" pastry 老婆餅. It was still very warm and of course I took it right away. Then I also bought some BBQ pork (HK$25 for half lb vs HK$50 half lb in other shops) and local snacks. HK$10 (vs HK$20-30 in town) for one pack of mini-egg pastry and others. Good to come here for this kind of local snack instead of going to visit Ku Kee or Ki Wah/Wing Wah...etc.

Traditional Cantonese snack, 陳意齋 Chan Yee Jai

Our senior generation wouldn't find this shop a stranger. The shop has been famous for its various local snack including the dried shrimp roe vegetarian roll 蝦子扎蹄, bird's nest sweet cake, barley sweet cake and the classic almond drink as well as a wide selection of preserved snack. As I noticed they have a sugar-free almond drink, there I went in for shopping more than just for that. As it's going to be a dry season, our throat will get some itchy for some coughing. The below "winter" ginger is a good choice for itchy throat. Note that the almond drink has French translation.

Shanghai fried noodle 上海粗炒麵 by Juen Hwu Dumpling 君滬鍋貼, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong

Shanghai fried noodle is not my favourite since I don't like the udon texture-like noodle unless it's a very high heat quick fried one. In my memory, there's one in Yue Man Fong of Kwun Tong back in my high school time. Glad to find another good one from this shop in Sai Wan Ho. This one is just at around HK$15. Very nice and high heat quick stir fried with what we call "wok aroma"鑊氣 in Cantonese quick stir fry.

The first time ever I tried pan fried beef bun 邂逅牛肉包

Not sure if I was 7 or 8. My aunt brought me to Tai On Mansion (I even forgot what the purpose was). We passed by this market street (Shing On Street) in Sai Wan Ho. There I smelled something very aromatic. My aunt noticed it and brought me in. She ordered a soy drink plus a pan fried beef bun for me. There I fell in love with this shop. Whenever I went to the public swimming pool of Tai Koo dockyard, I would stop by for the same.

1. This evening I passed by it again. The shop may still look the same, but the old man who used to pan fry the beef buns is not there anymore. 2. It is serving more than beef buns.

3. The stairs is still there. 4. Tofu sweet HK$7.5. It's not as good as before. The people simply don't carry on the old time traditional tofu skill. No matter what those images were still deep in my mind for the first beef bun I ever tried, though I didn't feel like having it tonight.

安利魚蛋粉 On Lee Fish Ball Noodle, Shaukiwan, HK

40 years ago, On Lee was one of the street stalls selling fish balls noodle at a corner of Tung Tai Street in Shaukiwan. To me it was not that interesting as Shaukiwan was a fishing village and there were a lot of seafood I could see at home. I prefer something not found at home - the trolley noodle. As people talked about eating local and exotic in recent years, On Lee was one of those attractions. Not only the fame and glory has brought the family of On Lee a fortune, but also the greed and jealousy among the family members and split the business into 3 different shops. The hatred didn't end and hostile harsh words were spoken against each other.

1. actually the street stall was once next to this shop before the fight. 2. the shop still claimed itself as street stall.

3. Beef brisket noodle HK$21. 4. Fish ball noodle HK$19. Well, there are quite many people who often thought On Lee is so good at fish balls. The fish balls are not bad but what made On Lee so popular in the old time were not fish balls. They should be the everyday freshly made flat rice noodle and the fish stock in white. As you can see, none of these was carried on. However, still a lot of people came here for the name.

Five Dragon Congee and Wonton shop, 五龍粥麵店, Central, Hong Kong

Remember the Lee Tung Street 利東街 (the so-called "greeting card street"囍帖街) of Wanchai? There was an old shop called five dragon selling some nostalgic wonton and shrimp dumplings and congee over 40 years at least. Some tycoon rich men even asked their drivers to go to this shop for a quick snack. That was my high school time I ran in this shop with school mates and noticed that, after my bicycle riding in Bowen Road. When Lee Tung Street was under re development in 2005, the shop moved to Central. So tonight I got to re-visit this old friend.

1. Ordered a satay beef on stir fried flat rice noodle HK$38. The noodle is a fresh one and stir fried aromatic but not burnt, not oily either. Personally I don't like satay sauce but this one is pretty good. 2. Phoenix city shrimp dumplings 鳳城水餃 HK$20. I think this is still the only few ones I have found they put very little bit of chicken liver in it. Very classic style of the origin. Besides, some bamboo shoot and soaked dried mushroom slices bring the shrimp taste so sweet. The only minor thing I can complain is the soup base. Should have been a bit more "five spices" to go with this one.

3. Fish patty ball congee HK$25. Wow, they still the classic way of congee boiling. High heat boiling without cover 明火。It has a very nice rice aroma indeed. The fish patty is their home made too, with some dried tangerine peel. 4. The chefs and the waiters are very senior and I believe they also moved from the old shop. The shop appeared to be a bit quiet though.
5. the new shop is on Jubilee Street.