weather got you down?

I think Hong Kong hot pot or fo wuh is definitely something I’d think about on a dreary winter day. Very shabu shabu like. And I LOVE shabu shabu ^^

The place our local friend took us to was right across the street from MTR Sha Tin Wai station. Right when you look at it, it definitely screams local. It was in an outdoor rickety tent and seemed very hole-in-the-wall and we seemed to be the only foreigners there which usually is a good sign for food quality. I’d probably never come somewhere like this if I wasn’t with someone from Hong Kong because it’s not one of those places that you’d really see in a guidebook for tourists which I loved about it. Even back home, hole-in-the-wall places have the best flavor.

You always find the best places for food when you go by recommendation of someone who lives in the area not when you look out of a book. Those bastards are probably paid to put those restaurants in there…. They’re never fully satisfying. Except for the dessert places. I’ve noticed that those tend to be all right.

steaming broth

ingredients for our fo wuh

fresh veggies!

I would kill to have a salad… Crisp fresh romaine… Maybe some nice spinach leaves with big juicy cherry tomatoes, olives, cucumber slices, with a nice light balsamic vinaigrette or some good house dressing.

It’s been ages since I’ve had fresh vegetables…. Vegetables that haven’t been pan-fried and soaked in oil……. Le sigh.

shrimp

hot pot!

HOTPOT.

There were some amazing little fish balls that were filled with CHEESE. Oh man, we were fighting over those. So delicious. They would taste amazing in dduk-bokki.

ladle

The place for hot pot is within walking distance of New Town Plaza so we just headed on over for some dessert. It was my second time at Honeymoon Dessert, but my first time at the one in Sha Tin. The first time was in Central and I got some kind of mango tofu pudding which was delicious.

honeymoon dessert

So, remember how I said that people here eat soup for dessert?

Well, they have a ton of those cold soups here at Honeymoon. It’s a very famous dessert chain, and their mango soups are all pretty delicious. Six of us split four desserts and it didn’t come out to very much… I think each one is about HK$26 which is about $3-4 U.S. so I’d say pretty damn cheap.

grass jelly in vanilla sauce with ice cream

This was definitely the winner overall. I think the ice cream gave it an edge over all the other desserts. The grass jelly was chewy and very refreshing also.

tofu pudding and sesame soup

This one I didn’t particularly like because the taste of sesame was a little too strong and came off a tad bitter. But the soft tofu was pretty good, but I preferred in in the mango soup instead of the sesame. I think we were anticipating the rich, smooth, buttery flavor of black sesame that Koreans usually pair with desserts.

mango pomelo & sago sweet soup

What is sago anyways? I know its those little jelly balls but I’m not sure exactly what it is…. This was just okay at any rate.

sweet ball in sweet ginger soup

sweet ball with peanuty filling

These sweet glutinous rice balls were delicious. I think the East Asian countries all have similarities in their foods because they all influenced one another at some point. They all have some kind of sweet glutinous rice cake type of dessert. I love it. Dduk. Mochi. And this one here. Yum yum. It had a nice sesame peanuty filling and it was very nice with the ginger soup.

I need to break this habit of having dessert after every meal. Once you start, if you don’t have dessert once, you feel like you’re going to die. I realized that I’ve fallen into a pattern of having dessert or something cold and icy like boba after every meal, and if I don’t have it, my meal doesn’t feel complete. This is not a good habit to have…..

Must.

Stop.

Now.

indian food & durian in causeway bay

Another food adventure in Hong Kong.
Causeway Bay is one of Hong Kong’s top shopping areas and even on a Friday afternoon, it was swarming with people sightseeing, shopping, and eating. It’s one of the densest areas on Hong Kong Island and when you’re there, you really feel like you’re in the metropolitan Hong Kong from all the photos… There are several big shopping plazas such as Times Square and SoGo, and if you have time to do things other than shop and eat, Victoria Park and the famous Noonday Gun are also nearby.

I’m not sure where this “fish bread” aka taiyaki originates from, but I’m assuming Japan? They’re very famous in Korea also and sold streetside out of carts and stalls.

the taiyaki

This stand is apparently famous for having a wide variety of taiyaki with unconventional fillings such as bacon egg, Italian, and German Potato along with the more traditional red bean.

taiyaki/boong-uh-bbang!

Cute! And they look delicious, don’t they?

french cinnamon

I’ve had a ton of the kind with red bean inside so I decided to be a little adventurous and try French cinnamon.

Poor decision.

With some things, original is always best. I don’t think anything can win over simple azuki. I love me some pat.

pig intestine

Saw this, had it again, and it wasn’t as fresh as the one in Mong Kok. But still delicious. The local taking us around said she won’t even it this stuff. Hehe…. Oh well. I like my food weird.

There’s a very famous Indian restaurant in Causeway Bay called Aladin Mess. It’s really easy to find and right across the street from Times Square. Supposedly, Aladin Mess has won quite a few awards for best Indian food in Hong Kong, and it seems pretty authentic but who knows. The only Indian food I’ve had is in the States, and this seemed to be a pretty close match to the “authentic” Indian food I’ve had.

Never did I imagine that I would eat Indian food in Hong Kong. I live next to Little India and get Indian food delivered to my apartment on the regular. Felt a little bit like home oddly enough.

tandoori chicken

Tandoori chicken was pretty okay. A little salty?

chicken curry

chicken masala

I always get chicken tikka masala. Always. That and lamb vindaloo are my personal Indian food favorites. Just top it off with a nice mango lassia and some garlic naan and I have myself a nice fatty time. The mango lassi here wasn’t as good as Manas back near SC. Not enough lassi, too much mango. It tasted more like a mango slushy than a mango lassi.

garlic naan

I guess Indian food is different everywhere, huh? I commented on how the naan was a little bit thinner and smaller than what I’m used to having, and my Korean friends said the naan was thicker then what they’re used to because apparently naan is crispier and more like a tortilla in Korea.

MADNESS.

I like my naan fluffy with volume so I can soak up more masala with it.

CRISPY NAAN? Nonsense.

lucky dessert

If I’m not mistaken, this is a dessert chain in Hong Kong, and their specialty is durian desserts….

O.o

Yikes.

I’ve heard all the stories, I’ve seen the Andrew Zimmern TV specials, I’ve smelled the smells, and oh boy.

I like to say I’m not afraid to try anything at least once, and now that I’ve talked the talk, time to walk the walk. Some people LOVE this stuff, and apparently, once you’re hooked, you become addicted to the durian fruit, the king of all fruits. I’ve also seen people spit it back out immediately and liken the taste to rotten garlic and all sorts of other disgustingness.

durian pancake

It looks pretty though doesn’t it? I could definitely smell the garlic rotten stink the moment they brought the plate to our table. This durian pancake was durian and cream filled crepe… I think the smell is definitely something to overcome, and it was really difficult not breathing through my nose while putting this into my mouth.

I have to say though. The taste is not as bad as everyone says it is. It’s pretty sweet, although I did get a whiff of that garlicy aftertaste in my mouth.

Durian is definitely not nasty-tasting or repulsive, but I wouldn’t say its something I would ever order again or really crave. Ever. The aftermath of eating this was too much to bear. On the subway, every time I would burp, I wanted to kill myself. I couldn’t very well breathe out the stench to everyone else during Friday night rush hour and the smell would just fill my own nose. OH GOD.

People are not kidding about the smell of this fruit. It is no joke.

banana puff pastry

Luckily, we got another dessert to cleanse the palate. Reminiscent of fried bananas at Brazilian BBQ or Thai restaurants. This was love. There’s a house dessert soup with mango that is supposed to be very famous, and I think that’s what I’ll get next time. No more durian for me. Except maybe if I go to Thailand. I hear Thai durian is the best. Although I don’t know how much a garlicy fruit can really improve in my books.

One observation: a lot of desserts here are soups. Red bean soups, mango soups, sweet soft tofu soups. It throws me off because when I crave dessert, I don’t imagine myself slurping soup. I dream of cakes, breads, and cookies like the ones on this blog. Soup. Huh. This is an adjustment.

home cooking

After three weeks of only Chinese food, I have to say my craving for Korean food was out of control. Korean food is actually quite expensive in Hong Kong, and a few Korean restaurants can be found in places like Tsim Sha Tsui especially on Kimberly Street. A Korean meal out costs about HK$100 or more which is pretty expensive considering you can get a meal of dimsum or noodles for less than half that price.

I like food in HK but sometimes, all I’m craving is some steamy hot soup and sticky rice and kimchi. Especially when the weather’s gloomy and gray, I miss my mommy’s 된장찌개 (dwen-jang-jjigae) with a ton of Korean rice and a nice grilled fish on the table. I don’t think I can eat any more noodles. I was never really much of a noodle person to begin with and now I really can’t stand them.

Well after having sub-par Korean food twice, we finally utilized one of the kitchens here in the dorms…

spicy rice cake

One of the unnis here makes AWESOME AWESOME 떡볶이 (dduk-bokki). It was so amazingly good. It reminded me of the dduk-bokki my mom used to make for me when I was in high school….. It had a little bit of HK flavor with octopus and fish balls haha, but it was freaking delicious. I’m going to have to ask her for the recipe and post it later. :)

kimchi pancake

On rainy days, Koreans eat 김치전 (kimchi-jun or kimchi pancake). No idea why. Anyone want to explain to me why this is?? Kimchi-jun is like a really flat okonomiyaki with kimchi, squash, and onions in it. This turned out really good, too. 언니들 다 시집가도 되겠어.. ;) It was a little bit sweeter than it should be because kimchi sold in HK markets seems to have more sugar in it than it should. But still good.

perfection

If you’re ever in Hong Kong and looking for Korean ingredients, go to City Super. We did all our grocery shopping there. City Super is a bit of a specialty grocery store that sells a lot of imported food products from the U.S., Japan, and some from Korea. I bought my cereal and Nature Valley granola bars there, also.

We made 된장찌개 (dwen-jang-jjigae), too which is a soy-bean paste stew, but it was VERY VERY unattractive looking so I didn’t take any photos of it. Ironically enough, it was actually my responsibility and I cooked it but didn’t take any photos of it. Now, that is an easy stew to make if anything.. All you need is the soy-bean paste, squash, tofu, onions, potato, mushrooms, anchovies, a jalapeno or two, and some soy sauce. It was missing quite a few of the necessary ingredients so it didn’t taste the same as I’m used to making, but it wasn’t bad.

One day when I make it and it looks okay, I’ll post pictures and a recipe!

My Korean food craving has been satiated and I am happy.

street snacks

food stall

I spent all of yesterday in Mong Kok and all I remember doing is eating. EAT EAT EAT. The smell of stinky tofu everywhere and tons of street shops in Lady’s Market and Flower Street. The feel of MK is very similar to Myeong-dong in Korea, and it was just packed with people on a Saturday afternoon.

stinky tofu

The girls wanted to try stinky tofu because it’s really famous in China and all our Chinese friends were raving about it and how great it is… The smell is definitely something you have to overcome and get accustomed to because you can pretty much smell the tofu before you can even see it.

I didn’t really want to try it again because I’ve had it once in the States and I have to say it’s not my cup of tea. Maybe more of an acquired taste? Haha.

We all at least can say we’ve tried it.

pork intestine

Now, don’t get freaked out by the picture, but this was one of the tastiest street snacks we tried on Saturday. I’m surprised none of us got any symptoms the day afterwards because we’re not really used to all the strange things we were eating. But this was deep fried pork intestine. Yum yum. Haha. Not for the faint of heart. Asians are very fond of intestines and all sorts of innards, and this treat on a stick covered in hot sauce was quite delicious.

grilled octopus

curry fish ball

This was one of the most popular treats that we saw people buying so we got a cup of them. I liked them a lot. They were like Oden/Odeng in Japanese/Korean culture but stewed in curry to give them a hint of spicy flavor. They’re supposed to be one of the representative street foods of Hong Kong, and I would definitely recommend these to anyone. I think they’re appealing to pretty much any appetite, not too outrageous or weird.

egg puff stand

This is something I think you can only find in Hong Kong (Or so I’ve been told.) The famous egg puff waffles! So good. They’re shaped like little eggs you tear off. They’re chewy and eggy and made out of a waffle-like batter made from custard, milk, sugar, and eggs. Half of the taste probably comes from the fun of eating it one “egg” at a time.

egg puff

boba

A day out in the city is not a day out in the city without boba.

This time it was peach green tea with tapioca pearls.

No one calls in boba here. WHY.

sticky rice in lotus leaf

I love this stuff at dimsum restaurants but this little whole-in-wall restaurant that we found in Mong Kong was so much better than any other place I’ve ever been to. The rice was sticky and warm and it had just enough filling inside. And each lotus leaf was PACKED with rice. I was with a group of people who had it for the first time that day and all fell in love with it.

It’s definitely one of my favorite Chinese snacks.

mini cakes

6 mini cakes that we picked up for about USD$3. Pretty sweet deal, ey? They were just so cute and irresistable. Fruit jam cakes, Lemon Lamington, Chocolate Lamington, marble cake, and sesame cake.

What an obese day.

My jeans are noticeably tighter today. BIG UH-OH.

love&hate post

Too many hate comments.

I didn’t post that up so I could hear a lecture from a bunch of shark lovers. Yes, this is a public blog but I don’t want your opinion if its going to be insulting or rude. So, I just filtered out the derogatory comments and password-protected the post.

Getting annoying.

If you want to see the pictures, just ask me for the password.

As for all you people who insist on being rude, yes, I’m reading your comments. But no one else will. Don’t you feel brave hiding behind your laptop screen where no one else can see you?