I am a complete sucker for these egg waffles, and am convinced that you can only find these humble little bites of heaven in Hong Kong. Slightly sweet, crisp on the outside and a little bit moist on the inside, these are so addictive and will be gone before you even know it. LKK does pretty solid egg waffles, but I read that Mammy Pancake at Hung Hom does even better ones. Except it's really out of the way, and I didn't have enough time to hunt it down. If you get the chance to try it, please do! If not, these will be good enough.
Tai Cheong is so well-known for its egg tarts that the original store is like a tourist attraction - everyone just needs a picture at the storefront. You can't deny that the egg tarts deserve all the rage, especially when they're still warm with jiggly centers. It's neither overly eggy nor sweet. The flaky, buttery crust complements the egg custard perfectly. You have to have this. The sugar donuts here are pretty good too; they're airy and fluffy, albeit slightly tasteless on the inside, but the light coating of sugar makes it addictive.
The star at Kam Wah is the polo bun. You can get it with or without butter, but I prefer it with the salted butter that they sandwich in the fluffy bun as it contrasts the sweet, crumbly, crunchy crust. Don't get the french toast; I didn't fancy it 'cause there really isn't anything to shout about. You can takeaway the buns too, but they're best eaten freshly out of the oven.
Honestly, Tsim Chai Kee was disappointing for me. I liked the wontons, as the shrimp were fresh, huge and bouncy and the wonton skin was thin and silky smooth. Noodles were sufficiently springy and thin, but I really didn't like the heavy use of alkaline. I think it completely overpowered the flavour of the soup, if any, and all I tasted was alkaline, which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer Mak's, which is just opposite.
Housed in a nondescript commercial building is Sinmei Tea, a tiny, quirky cafe that serves green tea drinks and desserts, and a limited brunch menu. The matcha latte had sufficiently intense matcha flavour and wasn't overly sweet, which is great. Pictured is the green tea brownie, served on a hot plate, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some chopped almonds, and a green tea sauce. The brownie had good texture - a mix between cake and a fudgy brownie - and was seeded with nuts, for contrast. Flavour was spot on too. My only gripe is that we waited really long for this.
If you've visited Hong Kong and have never been to Lan Fong Yuen, then I have nothing to say. Or if you've been and have never had the noodles with chicken chop, you're doing it wrong. Get your ass here and order a plate of these noodles. They're served with cabbage, ginger scallion sauce (ermahgerd superb) and chicken that's so delicious, it's out of this world. You MUST eat the skin. It's the best part. Also get the condensed milk bun!! Wash it all down with an iced milk tea or a yuan yang. Both are good. I'm not sure if the branch at Chung King Mansion is better than the one at Central or if they've cut their portions, because the last time I went, there was more meat. In any case, do check it out!!
For Kee's a bit of a hike up, as it's slightly hidden at the corner of a lane, but it was completely worth it. Safe to say this was one of the best meals I had in HK. This family-run eatery serves amazeballs pork chops. The pork chop bun was really good, but I suggest going for the pork chops rice with seasonal veg because you get more meat and lots of greens to balance it out. I don't know how they do it, but the pork chops are super tender and seasoned really nicely. The one with fresh tomatoes looked really good, but I'm not sure if the sauce would have masked the flavour of the pork chops. Try the satay beef sandwich (which looked so good) if you have stomach space! If I'm not wrong, it's not on the menu so you might have to ask.
Yat Lok is reputed for having one of the best roast goose in Hong Kong, and it's not hard to see why. We ordered a combination of roast goose, barbecued pork and roast pork (which isn't on the menu but they'll do it for you for an additional charge) and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. The skin of the roast goose is wonderfully crisp and comes off the meat, that is super juicy, fat, and flavourful, very easily. That said, it was really oily and fatty, so I wouldn't finish the entire drumstick. The roast pork was to-die-for; the crackling on the skin was too good. The barbecued pork was good too, but I didn't think it was spectacular. Most people order the meats with rice, but you can get noodles too - just that the skin of the roast goose might get less crisp.
Even before the shop opens at 10am, you'll see a long queue forming outside Mirador Mansion for these cookies. Sold in a mixed assortment of 8 types of cookies (with nuts) and 4 types (without nuts), these come in small or large tins. You're not allowed to buy more than 4 tins, and it's pretty hilarious seeing tourists stuff their luggages with several tins of cookies. Upon opening the tin, you'll get a whiff of coffee and butter. These cookies are so crumbly, it's not hard to break them while trying to pick them up. Some people queue an hour for this, but I went round 2pm and there wasn't a queue, but the assortment of 8 was sold out.
I will admit that I've become a Mee Pok snob ever since I tried Chia Keng's. It's probably the only one that leaves me feeling really satisfied. Just look at dem noodles coated in chilli, chock full of fried shallots and lard. They add just a bit of black vinegar, which I think is great because it lets the chilli - which is the star of this dish - shine. For those who love a shit load of black vinegar in your noodles, you may not be as huge a fan as I am, but it doesn't mean you're not going to like it. You get a good serving of sliced pork, fishcake, fishballs, prawns and abalone with the large bowl!
Everything was on point and huge on flavour! Fell in love with Artichoke the minute I put some of their food in mah mouth.
A tiny, no frills shop in Central, you will always see a queue outside Kau Kee. They serve legit beef brisket noodles here. The broth is light, savoury and full on beef flavour. Beef brisket is superb but if you get the beef brisket noodles in broth, the meat might be chewier. Do yourself a favour and order the beef brisket noodles in curry. It's a thin broth-like curry that gives a good spicy kick. Because the beef is cooked in the curry, it gets super tender and flavourful. Choose whatever noodles you like: thin or thick bee hoon, hor fun, mee pok. Deeelish.
