Day 4 HK

For breakfast, Hub wanted a bowl of tangjai jook (sampan congee) which always reminds him of HK, just as hagow and wonton noodles do for me.


Tangjai jook, soya bean milk and tofufa (tofu custard)

Less than than 40 years ago, sampans (small wooden boats) still plied the waters of HK. The people who lived on these boats were fishermen and their families so it's not surprising that the congee or jook created by them include dried squid and fish besides shredded pork, peanuts, pork skin and century egg. The century egg in this jook was very good, creamy and tasty without that pungent ammonia stink we get in the century eggs in Malaysia. It all boils down to freshness again, the one quality HKgers will never compromise with.


Pork and veg wonton

Pork wontons are unusual in HK (Cantonese wontons use prawns only as filling) but that's because this was a restaurant that served some Shanghainese dishes alongwith the Cantonese. Hub managed to grab a tzifan to eat on the way. Tzifan is a Shanghainese sticky rice roll with meatfloss and jacai (a preserved veg) inside. I didn't like it because there was too much rice and too little filling, and it was wrapped in cling-film, a no-no for me.

Lunch was whatever wherever as we (okay, it was me) were frantically shopping last minute.


Roasted goose

Another HK must-eat food is roasted goose. Yi declared this one of her newly discovered favorite dish (Vincent, that roasted goose you brought back from HK--with ulterior motive--when she was 13 was totally wasted on her). Roasted goose truly is one of the greatest gastronomic wonders. Roasted duck just doesn't have that flavor.


Shaorou/siewyuk (roasted belly pork)

You'd have to eat this to know how absolutely delicious this is. The flavor, the juicy tender meat and the crispy crackling just makes me happy I'm alive to eat this! And this was had in just a restaurant we walked into, not one of those fancy over-rated award-winners you read about (eg Yung Kee). We have a great shaorou stall in Merdeka Supermarket, but somehow the crackling doesn't come close because besides being crispy, it was extra crispy-light-light, if you know what I mean, as against crispy-light.


Dry-fry flat noodles with beef (gonchau ngoeho)

Another HK staple. Unfortunately, this wasn't so good. I saw many people eating this at Ho Hung Kee in Causeway Bay, and could tell by just the color of the noodles (and the 'ahs!' from the customers when the noodles were brought to their table) that it was one of their most popular dishes. Unfortunately I was restrained by Hub and Yi again when I wanted an order.

Other than the taste, a good plate of gonchau ngoeho must have long, not cut-up, strands of noodles and not be oily. Hard to achieve for most cooks because to keep the strands of noodles from breaking up, you'll have to use a lot of oil. But too much oil and the dish is a goner. Kinda like what they say about women after 40--you either choose to keep your face or your body... the next pic tells a lot.


In front of Peninsula Hotel

This used to be THE place for all celebrities and the afternoon tea is legendary, although by the time I could afford to eat there, I couldn't afford the time...prefer to shop. Just in case you are wondering, I'm learning to Photoshop and a strawberry is handy on a bad-face day.

Bank of China Tower (left) and the Lippo Centre (right)

Did you know that HK has 4 of the world's 15 tallest buildings (based on this list, the majority of the tallest buildings in the world are in Asia. Says something about little men with big egos huh?)? The two magnificent buildings in the pic are my favorite, especially I.M. Pei's Bank of China which just perks up HK's skyline from a distance. It is elegant while the Lippo Centre (which, like the Petronas Towers, is a pair of twin buildings) is so fun! The IFC stands out as the tallest building in HK, but that's just it unless you have a soft spot for the 'comb' on its top. The most pathetic building is Norman Foster's HongKong Bank Headquarters which was much publicized, like the emperor's new clothes, but really it was the notorious cost of building it that everybody thinks of when they see the building. Shame, because it doesn't withstand time and competition and now stands inconspiciously, looking old and ignored. I think even if they had made it higher, it'd still not help. Just look at Taipei 101. Embarassing. For some great pics of Hk's skyscrapers, go here.

And that's all folks on my trip to HK. Next stop is Macao!