(and perhaps one or two occasions of #sianstakesonmacau)

as a closer to #siansEATShongkong series of 2014, there were a few memorable foodie highlights during my short but yummy adventure at the world's food fair, hong kong!

p.s. my picks for the list are limited to my 2014 #siansEATShongkong eating haul.  

{ the best meal }

tim ho wan. 

it served the best siu mai and bbq pork cheung fun that i've had, yet. its siu mai had the a delicate balance of umami and sweetness, succulent with meaty goodness while the latter had a silky smoothness with moist bbq pork with a dash of the sweetened light soy sauce made every biteful unforgettable. 

dim sum is a light touch to the heart and tim ho wan certainly left a lasting yummy impression on mine. 

{ the best milk tea }

lan fong yuen.

after having a warm cup of this favorite local favorite hong kong beverage, THE see mut nai cha with almost every meal i had, this dai pai dong turned teahouse wins hands down against the others that i've tried. its silky, milky yumminess paired with a punch of freshly brewed tea which was delicately balanced is the reason behind lan fong yuen's beloved status in the heart of the locals (and perhaps tourists alike).

{ the best egg tart }

they may be portuguese versions but they are pretty darn good. this is one of the #sianstakesonmacau entries. it is the flakiness of the buttery pastry filled with the smooth, satisfyingly sweet egg custard that is smooth on the tongue. evidenced by the long queue at the shop for these treats and also the constant search for a table/chair even early in the morning, cafe e data margaret has become synonymous to macau. 

and no, i've not tried tai cheong bakery's rendition of egg tart and would love to.

{ the best century egg }

wong chi kei.

call it thousand year egg, preserved egg, hundred year egg or even millennium egg, this  was arguably the best century egg i've had (yet!), it even outshone all the other ingredients in the bowl of congee. these high quality eggs had yolk with creamy consistency without having the overpowering flavor while the "whites" have a hard-jelly like consistency. 

{ honorable favorite mentions }

• favorite pineapple bun •

kam wah cafe.

still warm from the oven, the crispy, crusty sweet top contrasted and mellowed by the soft baked bread. all that with the freshly baked bread aroma to top it off. it's a love at first bite with the combination of crusty and soft. you know where it is in kowloon when you've seen a line queuing up for the fresh buns even the wee hours in the morning.

• favorite bang for the buck sandwich •

cafe nam peng.

another #sianstakesonmacau entry.

yummy iconic sandwich from an old fashioned cha chaan teng in macau, the generous filling of chunky, succulent meat sandwiched between fluffy eggs that can be barely contained in the two soft fresh slices of white bread made this sandwich a delicious cheap eats that lasted me from early morning till dinner, skipping lunch. 

• honorable mention | local dining experience •

yee shun dairy company.

hailing from guangzhou, these desserts are made out of milk, egg white and sugar. several food bloggers recommends this as a must have of hong kong cuisines calling it "heavenly", "pure", "delicate",  "foodgasm", "ethereally smooth & light" just to list out a few. 

one order of cold steam milk in 2 films (hkd 29) and hot steam milk with ginger juice (hkd 30) as after-a-huge-dinner desserts. in fact it was our sixth meal of the day. the former had a strong milk flavor with a smooth and soft sweetness. it was really refreshing. the latter was strong on the ginger punch syrup and it reminded me of soybean pudding (aka tau foo fah) every mouthful melt into an ethereally delicate loveliness. however both of them weren't as magical for me as it was for the other foodies.

• honorable mention | unassuming yumminess •

kam wah cafe. 

it was found in the most unassuming dish -- the instant noodles with beef and ham. the instant noodles i could give it a pass but the beef stood out with it tender textures, succulent and moist to the bite and seasoned perfectly with a hint of sweetness in the soy base sauce. it wasn't what you'd expect from a bowl of instant noodles in a cha chaan teng. 

#siansEATShongkong series of 2014 had created some really delish memories. one thing that particularly stood from our dining adventure was chefs' and cook's mastery in meat execution. they almost always get it to perfection - crispy skins as and when it was meant to while remaining succulent, moist, tender and just plain lovely. on top of all that, seasoned perfectly. 

there are still so much food yet to be explored in hong kong (i've probably crossed out only 40% of my bucket list of food) that i'd love to return for more food escapades.

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.

it wasn't my first but it certainly wasn't my last. 

as we entered and rummaged for a table within the packed cafe, we drew brief stares from the cafe regulars. perhaps it was our uncertain demeanor as we made our way to an empty table timidly while the staff was wiping the table before we settled down at our seats. 

the middle of the pastel blue and green dining space were lined with petite booths the diners went about their daily morning routines. an old man was contemplating about life as he enjoyed his morning breakfast while to his right, another was catching up on newspaper reading. most of the younger crowd were scrolling on their phones while waiting for their order to be served. the staff ferried the warm plates of food to the hungry patrons from the open kitchen at the back of the cafe.





{mh} drew inspiration from the breakfast choices of the diners around us -- and it seemed one of the iconic breakfast items was the breakfast macaroni in light broth.

however, even that was a whirlwind of confusion. blame it on our elementary cantonese while the staff only conversed in cantonese so there was a minor language barrier.

(us conversing mostly in broken cantonese) 

"can i get this?" as {mh} points at the 'ham macaroni' on the menu.
"oh no, this one" {mh} reiterated by striking through the menu item
"macaroni"
"ma-ca-ro-ni!" as both of us pointed the word on the menu. 

the noodle selection discussion between us and the staff went on for almost a minute that we were on the verge of even illustrating and gesturing with our hand movements. finally, we decided to take the risk and ordered noodles.

to her disappointment, it came with instant noodles, instead of macaroni.

when i finally met up with my hk friend the next day and asked her what macaroni was in cantonese.

so, what i thought i heard was glass noodles ("tung fun"), the staff meant "thong fun" which translated to hollow noodles - hence macaroni. /faceplate

oh, {mh} thought that the noodles were only alright.



i had better luck with my choice. in fact, my breakfast was already decided before i even stepped into the cafe.

and milk tea (mop/hkd 11) seemed like a must in a teahouse such as this. smooth and strong on the tea brew. not bad. but the highlight of my breakfast was in its partner in crime - the sandwich.


sandviche "sandwich" :: nam peng sandwich (mop/hkd 20)


the iconic must try breakfast from nam peng, its namesake sandwich. beginning with two slices of fluffy, steamed white bread slathered with butter, a thick blanket of luscious golden omelette, soft and moist wrapped around the layers of sweet, smoky, lean roasted pork, still succulent, which contrasted with the salty thick cut ham.


it was a massive portion of filling that was barely contained in the within the two slices of bread. after half a sandwich, i was almost stuffed and had to find inner foodie strength to finish most of the other half but vowed to not have lunch. the sandwich was over the top but in a yummy way!



on our way out, the inner foodie just had to check out the freshly baked pastries at the display glass. but i was far too stuffed to even think about food, let alone getting more food to go. instead it was {mh} who were tempted and tried out the "chinese donut". it had a custard like texture and a strong eggy flavor in a good way. a little too sweet but she seemed to like it to cure the disappointment of her main breakfast meal.


nam peng cafe pays ode the nostalgia of the old cha chaan teng that may have been forgotten with the inevitable modern progression. with a yummy iconic sandwich (and a huge one at that) that is rightfully so, it should not be missed if you hope to mingle with the locals in one of the city's charming cultural experience.

nam peng cafe | location

rua do cinco de outubro,
no. 85
macau
{opens daily: 6:30 am to 6:30pm}

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.

checking my #siansEATShongkong list, specifically for congee...

-- it's two for two! 

to be honest, this was an unintentional food pit stop. 

it started with "fa yuen street" sign, followed by a stroll, browsing the stalls flanked on either side of the street. after walking about two blocks, we slowed down almost to a halt, confused as we planned our path to our next destination.

it was then i noticed a green sign board, flashed to my right: "fa yuen street market" 

the name rang a bell and minutes later, it dawned on me why.

starting with a quick glimpse through the dry market, followed by the wet market where the fresh produce were displayed, up the escalators to the fourth floor and then braving through the sea of tables as the locals slurped down their lunches with gusto while engaging in a boisterous conversation in cantonese to finally arrive shop 12 where the wall of the shop were filled with newspaper/magazine features about this stall - mui kee congee {妹記生滾粥品}

it was obvious that this family-run business has its horde of loyal followers as we searched for a table for two. we weren't really hungry but i had an intense desire to taste one of hong kong's favorite dishes - the congee. it was brunch after our breakfast.  probably best to call it lunch.

okay, i admit! it was just me being a tad greedy. maybe just a tad.

the menu was all kinds of congee, which had us at a loss.

and the right thing to do is to try the ones food bloggers have written great things about. 

-- it was exactly what i did.

congee :: pork meatball congee (hkd 29)

let's start with the heart and the base of it all: the texture of the congee.

soft, smooth and with the right amount of time and ratio of water to rice resulted to a congee with a lovely thickness. seasoned well but clean flavors making it the perfect base for the ingredients it featured. served hotter than warm, it was a comforting treat to the belly.

the featured: pork meatball. 

succulent and moist. they were delightful petite sized meatballs that could be eaten in one or two bites, seasoned but perhaps was a touch heavy on the ginger. 

the sidelines: thinly sliced ginger and roughly chopped lettuce. 

lettuce is not a typical appearance in all the congees i've had before. a sideline it may be but one with a purpose that offered a fresh crisp crunch, adding a different texture and dimension to the congee. 

congee :: sliced fish congee (hkd 29)

the featured: the sliced fish

loved the generous amounts of thinly sliced fish that were very fresh and mildly cooked all the way through in the warm congee. the fish itself imparted a natural sweetness to the congee itself, resulting to different flavors from its porcine counterpart. it was a huge drawback to constantly having to pick out fine fish bones from the fish slices. despite that, {mh} picked this as her huge favorite over the congee at wong chi kei. 

similarly, the thin sticks of ginger alongside with the wilted lettuce for bite both from textural and flavor aspects added little something something to the dish.

a classic cantonese delight, mui kee congee has warmed its way to the hearts of the locals through its fresh and generous serving of featured ingredients in the deliciously smooth congee. i loved the clean flavors of the congee with the freshness of the ingredients plus  having the chance to learn about hong kong's dining culture at a food court during lunch rush hour.

great food + culture experience -- you really can't beat that. :)

mui kee congee | location

shop 11-12
4/f, fa yuen street market
mongkok, hong kong
{opens daily: 7:00 am - 3pm}

nearest mtr station:  mongkok station, exit 3b

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.

rush hours in hong kong is usually between 7:30 am - 9 am. 

we planned for an early start.

or perhaps we wanted to be a part of the rush hour crowd just to experience the local culture. 

and in the thick of things we were -- at about 8 am. 

mtr stations were full of commuters and it was replicated in the sardine-like trains. it forced us to wait for a second train, which wasn't any different and we squeezed ourselves into the small space that was left. 

the sun was working its early morning shift as it was reflected against the tall glass buildings in central, glaring into our eyes as we exited the mtr station at central.

we were a few minutes early as we found the front of wong chi kei {黃枝記}. it wasn't quite open yet but we hung around about 5-10 minutes that we were happy when the metal doors were lifted.

we were the first and perhaps a tad too early for service but they graciously accepted us and gave us a table for two in a spacious dining space. the restaurant was tastefully decorated with chinese accents from the choice of paper lamps to the walls adorned with calligraphy drawings framed by wooden panels and the tables with marble tops.  the open kitchen shone from the back of the dining space as the steam emanates from many pots and the kitchen staff seemed really chirpy in the morning. perhaps a tad too early in the morning.

i came with an intention. i was led here from my extensive food research and this was the favorite/best spot for cantonese style congee or rice porridge according to a lot of food bloggers -- especially for a special kind of congee, the crab congee! in fact, i've had my heart and tummy set for some fresh crab in rice porridge and it was the first thing i asked when they showed us to our table.

"oh, we don't have crab congee now. it depends on the supplier since we get the fresh crab every day and it's too early so it isn't here yet. perhaps you could try later in the day"

-- oh..that was disappointing.

so it was back to the drawing board, menu to pick out something else.




congee :: sliced pork + preserved egg congee  (hkd 43)


congee or rice porridge is one of the many foods that hong kong eateries prides themselves with the smooth textures and perfectly seasoned with generous amount of ingredients. wong chi kei embodied exactly that. the congee was smooth with a nice starchy thickness, resulting from the correct ratio of water and rice, cooked just nicely. it was a nice lightly flavored base for the the sliced pork, which resembled more of shredded pork, which were a tad dry but what stood out the most is the preserved egg.



the preserved egg. also known as century egg or even the thousand year old egg. the preservation ingredients and process makes it an acquired taste for some. this was the best one i have ever had. the creamy consistency of the yolk and the hard jelly-like of the "whites" of these high quality eggs added different dimension of texture to the congee without having overpowering flavors of the yolk itself.

the combination of these ingredients made it a comforting and heart-warming bowl of delicious congee (the pork could have been done a little less time)


noodle in soup :: shrimp dumpling noodle soup (hkd 38)



{mh} was in the mood for egg noodles (aka wanton noodles) and opted for shrimp dumpling noodle soup. the noodles looked like it was cooked al dente but i only tried a sip of the soup. it was a tad bland and wished for a bit more seasoning. the shrimp dumpling were huge and generously packed with fresh ingredients {mh}'s comment: the shrimp dumpling was delicious. it was a plus point that the bowl of noodles had some vegetables (at this point, we were craving for vegetables! lol)


[#protip] : payment is cash terms only




wong chi kei serves cantonese-style congee as authentic as it gets. although i haven't managed to get their famous whole crab dowsed in congee, my bowl of congee was a yummy, comforting warm meal with clean flavors to start the day with.

as we were more than halfway done through our breakfast choices, a delivery was made to the kitchen.

"man, i would be somewhat upset if that was the fresh crab. i mean, it couldn't be!"

i meant that as a joke but it DID end up being the fresh crabs! grrrr!
and as much as we wanted to order it, we knew that we were too stuffed for another bowl of porridge.

lol perhaps next time if i return to hong kong! and without a doubt, it will be with addition of century egg! :)

wong chi kei | location

15b wellington street
central, g floor
hong kong
{opens daily: 7:30 am - 12am}

nearest mtr station:  central station, exit d2

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.