dynasty

tsim sha tsui, hk

website

turns out there was a great chinese restaurant right in our hotel. we went out to eat with derek's mom and two aunties for yet another feast. crispy shrimp, chicken feet soup (with an amazing yam-looking turnip), pigeon, dou miao (pea shoots), rice steamed with various chinese sausages, roast pork, and sago pudding with mango and grapefruit.

this was our last night in hong kong. we must have had a massive feast every night that we were here. and usually a massive lunch too. and afternoon tea. and breakfast. i don't think i really ever stopped eating. at dynasty, while reaching for one of my favorites - the pork ribs with strawberry sauce - i actually got a cramp in my chopsticks-holding hand! must stop eating. at least until we get to singapore.

tien yi

the peak, hk

website

there is a huge mountain on hong kong island that overlooks the downtown skyscrapers. we took a tram up, which looked like a san francisco trolley, but this one goes up an extremely steep incline and you feel like you might fall out of your seat. at the top, there's a lot of touristy shops and tourist-priced restaurants with a view of downtown. we chose tien yi, the chinese restaurant. there were other cuisines, but we had learned our lesson from SML and decided to stick with chinese food.

tien yi is an appropriate name for this restaurant - it translates into "sky one". derek's mom requested a table with a view and as you can see, we had a great view of the harbor and downtown hong kong. what a light show! downtown new york seems so old and boring in comparison. oh yeah - there was great food too - soy sauce chicken with crispy skin, sticky rice wrapped in a lotus leaf, and sweet and sour beef rib. everyone else loved the chicken, but my favorite dish was the fried noodles topped with seafood. in the US, this is referred to as "hong kong style" or "cantonese style" noodles. and this version was the best i've ever had. it had just the right amount of sauce so that some noodles were softened and others still retained their fried crispiness.

SML

causeway bay, hk

website

SML stands for small-medium-large. it's basically italian tapas and you can choose the size of your portion. maybe you want to share a bunch of large plates family-style, small plates tapas-style, or order medium-sized entrees. it's located in times square mall (does every major city have a times square?) on the 11th floor.

i ordered a rocket (arugula) salad which was served with a massive amount of balsamic dressing. the crostini topped with tomato and basil was basically chunky prego on a piece of bread. derek's pesto pasta was similarly overdressed and unappealing. basically, the menu of 'inoteca with the taste of the olive garden. ugh. derek's mom's shrimp toast (pictured) was better. from now on, we're sticking to chinese food.

super star seafood restaurant

tsim sha tsui, hk

website

downtown hong kong seems to consist of a maze of malls and shops. you could probably walk from one to the other without ever seeing the sun. at the top of one of these malls, harbour city, was the super star seafood restaurant. it's a chain of restaurants and when we visited other malls later in the day we saw other branches. and it was 50% off before 12 pm - discount dim sum!

if only US malls had food this good. the best tofu i've ever had. it has a salty, crispy, lightly fried exterior. the tofu interior was like a creamy silky pudding. amazing! also: fantastic stir-fried turnip cake with XO sauce, cheong fun, fried chicken with taro, and sticky rice. we also ordered taro cakes, which are like turnip cakes but with taro. my mom used to make these for me when i was younger - delicious.

hop fung noodles restaurant

tsim sha tsui, hk

website

after getting some excellent cocktails at the starck-designed felix in the famed peninsula hotel, we decided to find a late night noodle bar. we wandered around TST (tsim sha tsui - the downtown area of kowloon) looking for a good spot. one of our friends suggested hop fung and as our large group of hungry asians approached, the man cooking tripe in the front window eagerly waved us in.

cheap greasy food - perfect after a late night of drinking. i had the mai fun with preserved cabbage and pork. derek had the salted fish and chicken fried rice. both were good, although i liked his better and kept sneaking bites off his plate.

lamma hilton shum kee seafood restaurant

lamma island, hk

26 first st, sok kwu wan

it took about a half-hour by boat to get from kowloon's public pier to lamma island. it's a beautiful lush green island and we took a walking tour to see a temple and some caves. but this is a food blog and all that walking made us hungry.

the newlyweds and their families had arranged another huge feast for their guests. the freshest seafood that i've had so far on my trip: scallops, fish, giant crawfish, crab, and squid. amazing. pictured is one of my favorite dishes - swimming shrimp are plucked from the sea, thrown briefly into a steamer, and then served on a huge plate with a spicy soy sauce. delicious.

cafe at hyatt shatin

shatin, hk

website

i love breakfast buffets at hotels in asia. unfortunately, this one was over $210 HKD (almost $30 USD). but there was a lot of food. a noodle soup bar, a congee bar, continental breakfast, various pastries, fruit, cereal, and other typical breakfast buffet stuff.

derek and i liked the congee bar the best. flavorful chicken congee with an array of possible toppings. i topped mine with thousand-year-old egg, dried pork, pickles, and you tiao. derek chose salted duck egg and pickles. yum. but everything else was just okay and it is outrageous to pay 30 bucks for congee that we can get in NYC for 5. we'll probably try to get our congee fix elsewhere.

chung chi college staff club

CUHK, hk

website

we just dined at the clubhouse restaurant at the chinese university of hong kong. 12 course traditional chinese meal. which means, just when you think you can't eat another bite, they bring out another plate. you think - okay, i'll have some of this and then i'm done. but no, out comes another plate. and another. and another.

i think i might be too full to type. sliced meats. jellyfish. tofu hot pot. veggies in white sauce. black chicken soup. shrimp with noodles. bird's nest with squid. soy sauce chicken. abalone. crab maw. fish. fried rice. e fu noodles. red bean soup. i have to say - chinese people know how to eat.

yan toh heen

kowloon, hk

website

derek's mom took us to a fancy restaurant with a great view of the harbor and hong kong island. all of the utensils were made of jade and metal! even the menu had a jade piece inset into the front. we were there for dim sum, although the other items on the menu looked good as well.

decent dim sum, but derek really liked the fried rice with spicy XO sauce. it had a lot of green onions in it and somehow they managed to keep the beef bits nice and tender. i might try making this at home. for dessert, we had chilled red bean and coconut jelly which was excellent and mochi balls with red bean paste and a giant sweet grape inside.

fung lum restaurant

taiwai, hk

45-47 tsuen nam road

i think a picture of a cooked pigeon head is a great way to start off what will be a series of posts from asia! honestly, the plate of pigeon was really good - it was juicy, full of dark meat, and with crispy skin. i even tried eating one of the heads, but could only figure out how to eat the meat on the neck, which was tasty.

we also had shell-on head-on crispy fried shrimp, beef with asparagus, and a spicy lamb stew (amazing and i don't even like lamb). the fried tofu was pretty good, although the dipping bowls of vinegar and sugar were a little odd. the pigeon, however, was the restaurant's specialty and definitely the highlight of the meal. note: if the restaurant does not have a website, i will include the address instead.