Food: Festive (or Anytime) Local Food In Hong Kong

Stone-fried chestnuts and smoked sweet potatoes, inevitable!
Image from Locky's English Playground

Haven't got the time to change the English Playground's logo to a more Christmas-looking one, hopefully I will have the time to do it this week.

I took the above photo a week ago and this man's stone-fried chestnuts and smoked sweet potatoes gave me inspiration to write this article.

Hong Kong food and snacks
Image from 259dog

Last time I mentioned that my Singapore friend came to visit me in Hong Kong, and because she sent me a Word document of the restaurants and food in Hong Kong, I thought she had it all figured out, until the day I met her and her husband that she told me that was her friend's plan and she had no idea what food to try in Hong Kong. Unprepared I was, I tried to run my brain in hyper speed and came up with a number of very Hong Kong style items.

Scramble-egg on toast
Image from CNN Travel

How can anyone say they have had Hong Kong breakfast without ever trying some scrambled eggs on toasts, Hong Kong milk tea and macaroni with ham / roasted pork slices? Most Cha Chaan Teng offers this dish but Hongkongers will surely say Australia Dairy Company in Jordan is the best. The restaurant is infamous for their rude attitude but famous for their speed and quality. Be warned, do not expect you can sit for too long or eat a little slower, but do expect you can experience the rush-hour-like Hong Kong even when eating.

honey-glossy baked BBQ Pork Buns
Image from foodgps

Baked Cha Siu Bao, or baked roasted pork buns, is my favourite dim sum. It comes in roughly 3 different versions, honey-glossy, white-rocky and pineapple-bun-like.

White-rocky baked BBQ pork buns
Image from goodfoodgoodlife

I love them all, as long as they are served hot. Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists is named as one of the best, but I also like Tai Koo's West Villa Restaurant's, hot and sweet with a hint of Chinese wine, really addictive!

Baked pineapple BBQ pork buns
Image 

Baked pineapple BBQ pork buns isn't bad at all either! Fulfilling two wishes in one go!

Eggette with Chocolate filling
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hot instant made eggette is another must-have! If you remember my recommendation, you know that I think Mammy Pancake at Hung Hom has some filling, chewy ones.

Last but not least of my recommendation today, is the calories-sky high Hong Kong-style French toast, a snack of love-hate. Love because of the irresistible taste and colour, the peanut-butter / apricot jam in the middle, hate ...you already know.

Hong Kong-style French toast
Image from thefoodnomads

CNN Travel has an article titled 40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without and Discover Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Tourism Board has Local Snacks talking about the very unique food of Hong Kong. After reading them, I will have to admit that those recommendations are honestly very truly Hong Kong, but you may not need to go to those specific ones to get a bite if location proves a little too far for your travel.

If you are an internet user / visitor from overseas, Openrice.com is the website you should visit when you're planning your trip to Hong Kong. It is one of the all-time favourite food search engines for the local Hongkongers, and if you have a smart phone, you can download an Android or an iOS app for your convenience. Simply enter the choice of food or snacks and check the ratings of the shops and restaurants which offer the dish of your dream. You will definitely find more results than that from the CNN Travel page.

Image from Discover Hong Kong

The Michelin Guide has also taken a position in Hongkong-diners' heart. Blessing or Curse, this guide book has helped the shops and restaurants' businesses so much that the landlords of the location often use the very same book as a guide to up the rent, forcing some low profit-making or historical food sources to close down.

It is a sad reality, so before these lovely places disappear completely, you should give these restaurants a once-in-a-lifetime chance to serve you and create good memories for you and your stomach (if stomach has memory).

A great news for those of you from Singapore, Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists will open their first shop in Singapore early next year! Get your stomach ready!



Vocabulary:
glossy -- (adj) smooth and shiny
hint -- (n) [C usually singular] a very small amount of something
eggette -- (n)[U] 
love-hate -- (adj) (of a  relationship) in which you have feelings of love and hate for someone or something
irresistible -- (adj) impossible to refuse, oppose or avoid because too pleasant, attractive or strong

Resources:

Locky's English Playground @ Digitalrev
http://www.digitalrev.com/photo_detail?id=13363302

Hong Kong's best cheap eat @ CNN Travel
http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/eat/best-cheap-eat-801898

Cha Chaan Teng @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_chaan_teng

Australia Dairy Company@ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=90

Cha Siu Bao @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_bao

West Villa Restaurant -- Tai Koo @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=3981

Food: Eggette @ Mammy Pancake @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/04/food-eggette-mammy-pancake.html

40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without @ CNN Travel
http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/none/40-things-eat-hong-kong-coronary-arrest-820489

Local Snacks @ Hong Kong Tourism Board
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dine-drink/what-to-eat/local-flavours/local-snacks.jsp

Openrice English
http://www.openrice.com/english?tc=ornav

Michelin Guide @ Hong Kong Tourism Board
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/nz/dine-drink/dining-events-awards/michelin-guide.jsp

Sweet Potatoe @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/glossy_1?q=glossy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hint_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/relationship_2?q=love-hate#relationship_2__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/irresistible?q=irresistible+