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Tea Cafes in Hong Kong!

July 20, 2010 in Food, Hong Kong, Travel

A real friendly chap. Great with numbers too.

If you want to try local Hong Kong food (if there is such a thing) then you have to go to one of the many “Tea Cafes” (direct translation) they have there.  These cafes are open from morning to night, and have the most interesting varieties of food imaginable (here’s a Wikipedia page if you want to know more).  And the price is outrageous.  A full meal could set you back less than $4 per person.

Go in for breakfast and have toast or eggs.  Or maybe some sweet buns (I am referring to the edible kind).  Or perhaps some congee or macaroni soup.  Brunch or lunch?  How about some fried rice or pork chops?  Stir fried rice noodles?  BBQ pork?  Soy chicken?  How about a piece of black pepper steak or hot soup?  And there’s always tea.  Hot tea, cold tea, bubble tea, sweet coffee, iced lemon tea.  I don’t get how they choose what they serve, but let me tell you — it all looks great!

We went to three different Tea Cafes during our brief stay in Hong Kong.  Two of the three are chain stores that you can find just about everywhere.  All three are famous (I am certain of this because they are featured online and in books!).

Let me break them down one by one.

(click on ‘more…’ to read on)

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Dessert at Rice Paper (Vietnamese)

July 20, 2010 in Food, Hong Kong, Travel

Shortly after our filling meal at Tonkichi (Causeway Bay), we decided to push the boundaries of our stomachs by going for dessert around the corner at Rice Paper, a Vietnamese restaurant chain (which apparently serves the food of “Today’s Vietnam”).  My sister, who had just visited Hong Kong a week before us had personally recommended it.

We got a seat immediately by the window with a great view of the bay.  The interior was very clean, very classy, completely unlike the cheap and dirty Vietnamese restaurants in Sydney that I’m used to (and love).

Everyone else around us was having rice paper rolls and hot noodle soup, but I was still so stuffed from the Japanese that it wasn’t enticing at all.

All the desserts on the menu looked unbelievable, but we ended up going with the signature dish called “French Kiss”.  I’ll let the photo speak for itself but it was genuinely sensational.  The shortbread sandwich, the nougat, the almond and the raspberry sorbet combined to provide a sweet and sour flavour with a crunchy twist.

The chocolate dessert (can’t remember the name but it was recommended by the waiter) was also quite good.  Very pretty too.

I can’t rate the restaurant as a whole as I didn’t taste any of the main dishes, but the dessert certainly was unexpectedly exquisite, especially for a Vietnamese restaurant!

[For more info check out the page at Open Rice]

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Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood

July 20, 2010 in Food, Hong Kong, Travel

Finally, after a week in India, we arrived in Hong Kong.  I’ve been to Hong Kong several times before (including a month’s stay for work) so it was all pretty familiar to me.  That said, in my previous visits I had not channelled my attention towards the food of Hong Kong, and this time, I was determined to sample as much as I could fit into our stay.  Luckily the India trip had shaved off a couple of kilos.

Our first proper meal (after a long nap in the hotel) took place in Causeway Bay at Tonkichi, a Japanese restaurant that specialised in Tonkatsu and Seafood.

Having lived in Japan before, I’m a huge fan of Tonkatsu, which is essentially deep fried, crumbed pork, usually served with this sweet dark sauce and mustard.  Unlimited refills for the accompanying miso soup, rice and cabbage.

And so I ordered the pork loin, while my wife ordered the chicken (also crumbed and fried).  Tonkichi did a decent imitation of the stores from Japan, giving us a bowl of sesame seeds to grind ourselves and mix with the sauce.

After a short wait, the meal arrived.  It sure looked good, reminding me of some of the best katsu I’ve had in Kyoto.  As for the taste, well…it’s never going to be as good as the stuff you can get in Japan, but in Hong Kong, it’s not a bad substitute.  The crumbs were crispy and the meat was tender, albeit slightly dry.  The salad dressing was tangy but light.  The rice was fat and fluffy.  Not much to complain about, but I’ve had better.

Nevetheless, not a bad start to Hong Kong!

7.5 out of 10

[Check out Tonkichi at Open Rice]

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