Morning Quickies - Landmark and Co.

When I was working at the Henley, I was eating the macaroni/noodle/congee breakfast sets from the CKC building almost every single day - another factor that contributed to my rapid weight gain. On other days, I liked to grab food from the places below.

Yummy (<$25): It's slightly further away from Henley especially in the morning, but I think their breakfasts are totally worth the walk. I usually go for this when I arrive in Central early (i.e. 8:15am - boy do I miss 9am starts). My favorite is their faux siu mais (fish meat siu mai), which are the best I've ever had in HK (my ex-colleagues really liked them too so.. yah!). On my hungrier days I would go for their congee as well making it a set. Their cheung fun / rice rolls aren't bad either but I guess they just really aren't my thing.

Location: Chiu Lung Street (can enter alley through Queen's Road Central by the McDonalds and Calvin Klein)

Sun Hing (<$25): It's somewhat across from Yummy and next to the 7-11 on Chiu Long Street. They have very good satay beef sandwiches, sweet/spicy/sour noodles (I know, it's heavy in the morning but... great for if you have a slight hangover from the night before), and pan fried turnip cake.

Location: Chiu Lung Street (can enter alley through Queen's Road Central by the McDonalds and Calvin Klein)

Urban Bakery (<$20): Croissants, their croissants are oh so very good. Very close to Henley too so it's fantastic.

Location: 4th (?) floor of the Landmark where 360 used to be. Man I miss 360.

Simply Life (<$20): yes they do have sandwiches for under $20, the only problem is it doesn't really fill me up. The cheese they use is really good though so... that is why I get it sometimes.

Location: Landmark basement near the Fuel.

HH: IFC Deals

I think I always had the misconception that IFC is one of the most baller shopping malls alongside with Pacific Place and Elements, and that good deals would be non-existent. Anyway, I was wrong. IFC actually has fantastic ghetto places like McDonalds, TWO Café deCorals (not to be confused with Café Too at the Shangri-La - AYO!), and my favorite, Maxim fast food. Unlike Pacific Place where I used to work, IFC didn't boot McDonalds out of the mall to preserve its "classiness".

Other than these ghetto food spots, IFC also has a couple of awesome happy hour deals, which is extra awesome if you work here.

Gogyo: By day they are a ramen place, and by night... guess what they are? also a ramen place, but with a buy one get one free happy hour deal until 8pm. I'm not crazy about their cocktails so usually I go for their wine, sake or beer instead. The staff aren't the happiest people on earth but I like to go there since it's super dead at 5:30pm so it's not weird at all to bring a book there to read while waiting for my friends to get off work. Recently I also discovered that they do give out fried chicken skin to their "regular" customers so... that shall be a status I will obtain hopefully sometime in the near future. Can't find this place? because it's a bit hidden. It's on the same floor Tasty Congee, near Fuel and IFC One... and the Watson's Wine Cellar.

French Window: In terms of value, I think French Window and Gogyo come in quite even. French Window has a happy hour drinks menu that's around $40/drink also until 8pm. The vibe is less relaxed compared to Gogyo, get's packed by around 6:30-7pm, and is often booked by companies for private events. I've gone to Gogyo instead at least twice because of these private events (sneaking in didn't work). I've heard that their food is not bad either, but I usually just munch on their popcorn because I am cheap and usually have dinner plans after already.

Blue Bar @ Four Seasons: Is this a good deal? I would say that is quite a controversial subject. The drinks are not cheap, but are interesting and worth it in my opinion. However, as you know, I am cheap, so unless it's a life changing cocktail I wouldn't pay ~$200 for a drink. The only "life changing" cocktail I've had is from Sohofama, but that's based purely on my personal preference. Ok, so what's bringing me back to Blue Bar repeatedly? The FREE GOOD FOOD. I've seen them put xiao long bao, siu mai, satay, chicken wings, ox tongue, nachos and guacamole, sandwiches, assorted veggies with dip on the buffet. Unlike Taz, you don't have to sprint to get the good food. I can't tell if it's because the staff are extremely attentive in refilling, or if it's because the people who go to Blue Bar are too classy (sans me and my crew) to fight over free food. Anyway, it's a great deal and the atmosphere is nice so it does get packed early. You should be there by 5:30pm to grab a table. I've gone at 5:45pm before on a Thu/Fri and it was packed already... hotel guests! Oh yes speaking of hotel guests, they give out $500 vouchers for some guests so... I guess that's why they get packed so early? Anyway, if it's packed you can try leaving your name with them and head to another bar in the mean time. Otherwise what I did once was go to their poolside bar (crappy cocktails, no deals, awesome view) instead which looks amazing at night time. Wouldn't have found the place if Blue Bar wasn't packed that day!

Beer Bay: This actually isn't in IFC, but by the Discovery Bay pier. I've only been there once but they seem to have a variety of beer available at below $40. It's basically just a beer stand outdoors, so I can imagine it being too hot to hang out in during the summer. They have a skewer stand right next to it which I'm actually more curious about and hope to check out one day.

... oh and Happy Lunar New Year!

Ozawa 小澤

Had a whole post drafted for California Vintage but deleted the whole thing after going there on Monday. Their lunch sets are now so generic that there is no longer a point in going there, for me at least. Sigh, I guess that's the thing about Hong Kong, things change, FAST. If you know about a good lunch deal, you got to write about it before it's morphed into another generic piece of ______!

With that said, I would like to introduce Ozawa to you before it turns... sour. This is a small Japanese restaurant on Graham Street next to The Globe and Chilli Fagara, introduced to me by one of my colleagues. They have a really good lunch deal which is $100 for your choice of 3 sashimi on rice / rolls / sushi / tempura / gyoza etc etc. There are probably close to 30 things you can choose from so it's one of those places where you can keep going back to until you discover your magical combo that works best for you.

Given the price, you can imagine that there won't be things like uni or toro on the menu, but then again if you are on this blog I'd sure hope those aren't the things you are looking for at LUNCH. Save your baller moments for other times... Anyway, for $100, I think their sashimi is quite fresh (I'm pretending I know what that really means). I have no standards so maybe this would be a better point of reference - my colleagues find their sashimi quite fresh, so for $100 it really is a steal.

I have yet to discover my magical combo, but I think I really like the following:

• diced sashimi on rice (like... chirashi?)
• spicy salmon roll
• minced salmon with spring onion on rice

I've tried the following as well which were not bad:

• unagi on rice
• unagi/cucumber rolls
• spicy scallop on rice
• scallop sushi
• tempura

I must stress that you will HAVE to book a table in advance, because this place is very very small. So small that they can only have one server working, which is why you can imagine how (not) happy she is manning all these tables at once. She is quite rude but can be ok after you get used to it =D At night time I am thinking their menu would be pricier, but I have no idea how much pricier so... go for it if you would like.

Spicy scallop, minced salmon with spring onion and diced sashimi on rice, oh and a miso soup! It might look small but trust me, 3 bowls of rice will fill you up even if it's just a small bowl! You even get a small scoop of ice cream (flavor changes every... day I think). So far I think sesame was their best flavor.

Website: NA
Location: Shop C, G/F, 49 Graham Street, Central









HH: Taz + Wagyu Lounge

Ever since I started working, I've preferred happy hour over regular late night drinking. There is something liberating about finally being off work and having a drink with your friends or colleagues, or in the rare case, yourself :) Plus, you are already out so there is no getting ready to go out factor. For me it's extremely tough to go out on Saturday nights because there simply just isn't enough "momentum". I'm either coming from home which means I got to change and take a 45 minute bus ride out, or I am coming from my sister's place which is still about 30 minutes away from Central. In the latter case I am also usually suffering from food coma since I like to stuff my face when I'm eating at my sisters. Fun fact, did you know that you eat more as you are dining with more people? The amount of food you eat is correlated to how many people you are eating with. In other words, if you would like to eat less, it's a good idea to dine solo.

Back to the topic, I'm trying to think of the place that got me excited about the idea of happy hour. It was either Taz or Wagyu Lounge, so why don't I just talk about them both today.

Taz (Tasmania Ballroom)

• The deal is buy one get one free from their happy hour menu from 6-8pm. I usually get the Riesling which is around $100. Beers are around $70-80 I believe, so when you divide that by 2 I would say that's a pretty awesome deal. The best part about this deal is that is comes with FREE FOOD. Free good food. They have dimsum, sometimes sushi, and some other delicious items on the buffet that is totally worth going for. Added bonus: they have ping pong and pool tables if you're interested.
• Location: In the LKF Hotel... second or third floor? anyway, not hard to figure out once you are in the elevator or on Wyndham Street
• Downsides: given the awesome deal you can imagine that the place get's packed by around 7pm. Next "problem" is the crowd. I'm not a fan of hardcore bankers, and this place is usually in excess of this population. Also, you've got to be super quick to the ha gao and siu mai, otherwise it's usually all gone by the time they are on the buffet!
• http://www.tazmaniaballroom.com/main.html#/philosophy

Wagyu Lounge

• Last time I was there, the happy hour menu had drinks for around $30-40. Food menu was mostly below $50 for amazing mini burgers and hot wings. I like the vibe there since there is much less hardcore bankers there and the crowd is much more chillaxed than Taz.
• Location: LG/F, Hollywood Commercial House, 3-5 Old Bailey Street, Central, Hong Kong (next to the Flying Pan)
• Downside: Oh! there are quite a bit! First of, the deal is only until 7pm. Second of all, it's hella far for most people working near the Landmark area. It's far even for those in the IFC area. Third of all, they keep bumping up their prices! I get that rent prices are rising... but seriously...?
• http://www.casteloconcepts.com/our-venues/wagyu-lounge/wagyu-lounge-hong-kong-menus?locations/hong-kong/wagyu-lounge-hong-kong/wagyu-lounge-hong-kong-menus

Shugetsu 周月

I 've never been a fan of soupy ramen, though I love almost any other kind of soupy noodles. I am talking about actual ramen and not instant noodles. It irritates me when people call instant noodles ramen. Dude, stop trying to "class it up", it's just gong zai mien. Anyway, it's something about the texture that I don't like. Japanese and Shanghainese ramen both have that consistency. Anyway, so naturally when S suggested Shugetsu to me I was like fo realz? Ok fine, I will try it, since even though I am not a super fan of ramen, it's not like I am allergic to it or hate it.

Anyway, with skepticism we got there and luckily we got a seat. S explained that this is not a soup ramen, but a "dip" ramen, where the ramen is served dry on the side and you have to dip it into the sauce to eat.

When you order this, they will ask you a couple of questions which has no affect on the cost.

1. how many grams of noodles would you like? 100 / 200 / 300
2. would you like your noodles cold or hot?
3. would you like the sauce (soup) to be light or strong in flavor?
4. would you like the sauce (soup) to be less greasy?

My answers:

1. 200 grams. I have tried 300 grams before but it was just way too much. Even for me.
2. cold - I think this makes the noodles more chewy which is how I like it
3. strong - I've never tried the light
4. less greasy... which is already quite greasy. Plus why would anyone want extra grease? Doesn't add to the flavor

I never thought I would like ramen but Shugetsu sealed the deal for me. I guess the reason is because their ramen is more like udon than ramen, and I love udon. There is just the sufficient amount of pork in the sauce, and of course don't forget the egg on the noodles. Price used to be $85, but today they finally jacked it up to $97! Oh well, I still really like them so I will let this slide.

A lot of people think I am a foodie, but really I am starting to think that S is the real foodie. I can't recall any one of her recommendations disappointing me. The cheese and the chocolate chip cookies from Mark and Spencers, the croissants from Urban Bakery, Shugetsu. S - you've got excellent taste.

Location: Gough Street by the Kau Kee Beef Briskets.
Website: http://www.shugetsu.com.hk/

Morning Quickies - IFC

I am talking about breakfasts. If after work drinks are called happy hours, should morning pre-work breakfasts be called sad hours? Skip the next paragraph to get to the actual food part.

Though I am not a morning person, I have a special fascination with breakfasts. I guess it's a treat to myself for yet waking up on time and making it to work for another day, or a celebration on a day off that I woke up early and have earned myself some extra hours to do something random for the day. I have to admit that I am getting old, and that I no longer sleep in till 2 or 3pm on days off. 12pm has been the latest, and that it really quite early for me because seriously, 2/3pm was the norm for me. Biologically I probably don't need to sleep that much anymore, and mentally as I am getting older, there is more I want to get to during the day instead of sleeping through it (e.g. cooking, eating, cleaning, boxing, errands etc etc).

Anyway, on my well behaved days my breakfast consists of a boiled egg brought from home (made the night before) and a herbalife milkshake. On my non-behaving days or colder days, I like to go with one of the below.

Listed in order of how often I visit them, with the first being the most frequent.

Maxim ($23.5): Maxim fast food has replaced Café de Coral's place in my heart, because their staff is much nicer and their food is quite good. I usually like to get the A2 meal, which has a macaroni in soup, ham and egg, toast or turnip cake (in HK, apparently these things are interchangeable), and a drink. I really like this on cold mornings, and it reminds me of the good old days when mom made me breakfast every morning. Other times, I get the set with 2 eggs with ham/BACON/wieners with toast and a drink. Good for days when I don't want to behave but still kinda want to be good. Their coffee is also very good for some reason.... like unusually good. Not a big fan of their congee and noodles as it's tasteless compared to de Coral.

Location: Hong Kong Station, near the exit for IFC 2

McDonalds (<$30): Need I say more? always a good morning breakfast for days when you feel like crap. I alternate between the sausage and egg mcmuffin meal and the pork bone soup pasta meal.

Location: P2 level if you are taking the elevators from the Airport Express area, closer to IFC 1 area.

Hung Fook Tong  ($10): good for super quickies since everything is pre-made here. Their $10 menu includes: faux siu mai (fish meat siu mai), beef siu mai (new item!), chao zhou dumplings, and meat and veggie buns. They also have fried noodles which I've never tried and not sure how much they cost. Maybe I can try it next time.

Location: Hong Kong Station, near the exit for IFC 2 (near the Maxim fast food)

Arome Bakery (<$20): another good place for super quickies as they have a variety of the typical HK bakery items as well as pre-made Hong Kong style sandwiches. I've tried their ham and egg sandwich which was only $14 (much cheaper than Maxim bakery which charges $17 or 18 on Theatre Lane). You can make it a set and get a coffee with it as well which I have yet to try since coffee is free in the office.

Location: Hong Kong Station, near the exit for IFC 2 (next to the Hung Fook Tong)

Starbucks (<$20): I really like their toasted bagel with cream cheese which has gone from $13 six years ago to around $17 or $18 today. I only go for this on very very rare mornings since I try to avoid an overdose of carbs in the morning making me sleepy for the rest of the day.

Location: they are everywhere.... Airport Express check-in, One Exchange Square, and I think second floor of IFC near the Senryo and new juice place.

I'll get to the Landmark area next. I find that area much more interesting for breakfasts.

Dan Dan - Soul Food from Sichuan

Did you know that soul food means bla-I mean "African American" food? Anyway, I am not American so I don't know. This place caught my attention because I like spice (in case it wasn't already obvious from my previous posts). It looked interesting but the cartoon logo kinda put me off because it seemed... how do I say it... less legit? Like it won't really be authentic in my opinion. In any case, I ended up trying it on one of my solo lunch days after talking about it for so long.

I got there around 12pm to beat the rush and it was a good choice as it started filling up pretty soon after. Got the Classic Dan Dan Noodle set with seaweed and the tea. I think I got the regular spice and it was ok, but I could see how it can be quite spicy for some people.

• Classic Dan Dan Pull Noodles ($55): I liked the taste but can go for the spiciest (extra spice) next time. Please try to dine in instead or take out because it actually tastes much better there as they don't separate the soup when you get it to go.
• Tofu slices ($30): I was really looking forward to it as it was raved about on several reviews that I came across. I love peanut sauce but their sauce was too thick that it was basically gooey. I think if the sauce was thinner, less sweet, more spicy, it would be fantastic.
• Seaweed side dish (came w/meal): didn't enjoy the taste
• The tea (came w/meal): nothing special to be honest. I don't get why people were raving about it on their reviews

In summary.... I don't think the set (~$70) is really worth it because the side dish is very small and the drink is very normal. I would rather get an a la carte menu and try another side dish (I really want to try the pork ear slices) and just drink something when I am back in the office (where I have an awesome selection of free drinks).

Location: 181 Queen's Road Central,  Grand Millennium Plaza (near the Jenny's Bakery)
Website: http://www.dandanhk.com/

Yummy

I used to go to Yummy a lot when I was working in Henley Building. The alley it is situated in is called Chiu Lung Street, which can be entered through Queen's Road Central near the Calvin Klein and McDonalds. You know that McDonalds? the one you've been to before when you were absolutely hammered at 3am and wanted nothing more than 20 chicken nuggets / filet o'fish / sausage and egg mcmuffin? The memories are coming back now huh? You must know which McDonalds I am talking about ;)

They are actually just a regular che zai mien / cart noodle place, but they do street food style breakfasts (siu mai, congee, fried noodles, rice rolls), other cool noodles (viet style chicken vermicelli, sesame sauce chicken noodles) and rice (curry, tomato sauce, viet style).

Dishes I liked:

• viet style cold vermicelli with chicken or pork 越式凍米線 (in picture)
• cold sesame sauce chicken vermicelli黑嘛嘛雞絲掛米線
• siu mai 燒賣: I used to get this for breakfast a lot for me and my colleagues. They were always happy to see this on their desks greeting them in the mornings!
• pork bone congee with dried mini oysters and peanuts 旺菜豬骨粥: another breakfast item. Goes well with the siu mai when I'm very hungry.

Dishes that I found were so-so. None of these were bad but just I didn't really like them:

• fried vermicelli 金牌撈米粉
• che zai mien / cart noodles 車仔麵
• yu dan / fish balls 魚蛋
• cheung fun / rice rolls 腸粉
• curry beef brisket on rice

Service: it's an independent local restaurant, please do not expect the baller service like McDonalds next door. You also get what you pay for... for around $40 I don't mind the local service and good food.

Location: Chiu Lung Street, Central
Website: NA

Sohofama

Is Sohofama trendy? I guess somewhat since it's co-opened with G.O.D., the store that sells trendy local  nick nacks. Their main selling point is that they do organic, no MSG, healthy Chinese food.
I've never given a crap about organic food (though I hear it's less fattening), but the no MSG appeals to me since it would mean I won't die of thirst by the evening. This is basically my go-to restaurant now for dinners so I can go on and on about it. I also apologize for this pictureless post as there is really no time for me to whip out my phone for pictures once the food lands on the table. In any case, let's point form it shall we?

Lunch or dinner: both but I would recommend lunch for your first time and then dinner for second if you liked the lunch so you can try more other dishes and the cocktails with a larger group. Since it's Chinese food served family style, I suggest going in at least a party of 3.

Price point: dinner is around $250-300 / head with no drinks. Lunch is around $140 with a soup, choice of side dish and choice of a main.

Alcohol: I believe they do do regular standard drinks but one of the reasons why I love this place so much is because the head bartender (is that a real term?) makes delicious cocktails with Chinese alcohol as the base. Keep in mind I am not a cocktails person, but I always order their warm 花雕 cocktail that is off menu (I think). Drinks can be $168 so it is by no means cheap (I mean, that's almost the same price as Blue Bar), but I think it's worth it if I cannot get it elsewhere.

Dishes I really liked there...

• xiao long bao 小籠包 (I've tried with truffle (when boss was paying ;)) and without, and to be honest it's perfectly fine without)
• sheng jian bao 生煎包 (sorry dad, they make it better than you.... Though yours are special in their own way)
• drunken shrimps 醉蝦 (they tasted super fresh and totally got all our appetites going)
• ma po tofu 麻婆豆腐 (ask for less spicy if spice ain't your thang)
• sweet and sour pork 咕嚕肉 (not a big fan of the kiwis but the meat is great)
• Warm hua diao cocktail (no idea what the real name of this cocktail is)

Below dishes were aight so not on my must try list:

• Crab meat with egg whites 賽螃蟹 (nothing special, tasted just like the ones at Crystal Jade which is probably a cheaper)
• Drunken chicken 醉雞 (the chicken was a bit too drunk to be tasty I guess)
• Chinese cabbage with iberico ham 黑毛豬奶油津白 (I think regular veggies without the blingin ham would be fine already)
• Stir fried organic beef 沖爆有機牛肉 (the most regular dish I had there)

I would definitely not get the fen pei (clear noodle sheets)  because it tasted a bit funky and not in a good way.

In general I think one of the main reasons why I like this place is because I find their dishes to be quite down to earth with surprising flavours compared to all the other hip new Chinese restaurants I have been too. Fu Lu Shou for instance has a great warm cocktail called the Dai Leng Lok, but their dishes are just too MSG and salt heavy which left me dying of thirst for the rest of the night. Ho Lee Fook was aight but there isn't really anything there that would lure me back except maybe for their lu rou fan 滷肉飯 which I can just get in Taiwan on my next visit. Plus they don't take reservations for small parties which is extremely irritating for someone OCD like me.

Location: Right next to G.O.D. in PMQ on the Staunton Street side, kind of across from Little Bao
Website: http://www.sohofama.com/

Edit: I found photos! of the cocktails :)

Crab Noodle 蟹麵膳

I don't even know if they have an English name, I always just refer to it as "Crab Noodle". This is a restaurant that has been around for a long time... possibly for around 5 years? I just never went in because none of my friends ever talked about it and they don't really do any "marketing".

One day I decided that I would step away from my desk and do some solo eating at a restaurant, so I thought, let's finally go try that restaurant that you've always been oh so curious about.... and well so I did.

Though I don't like wonton, I ordered their signature crab meat wonton noodles simply because they said it was their signature. I got a side of veggies and fried fish skin as well because altogether the bill would still be under a $100 and I felt like I deserved a nice meal that day. Honestly it didn't change my mind about wontons, but I could tell that if it was someone who like wontons they would have really liked that bowl of noodles. Also I saw that at the bottom of my bowl there were real pieces of crab meat (not the imitation crab meat), so I felt like they really put a lot of effort into making the soup base (which tasted very "crabby"). The veggies were pea sprouts and was only $20 so I thought that was really a steal. The fish skin I would not recommend because I found it not that crunchy and had a strong oily taste... or maybe it just didn't go with the crab wonton soup. Another thing that really impressed me was that the owner turned down my offer to move to another seat to make space for another group. Being in Hong Kong for 6 years, I know the cha tsan tang game... if you are taking up a table for 3 and you are alone, you should move to share a table with the other solo eaters! Anyway, I was impressed that the owner let me finish the last bites of my food instead of pushing me to sit shoulder to shoulder with someone else.

Anyway, after seeing the real crab meat and the refusing my offer to move to another seat incident, I went on to rave about this restaurant to my friends and colleagues. I brought my friend N there like... 2 days later or something and she really liked it as well. In 2 weeks I went there for about 5 times and tried most of their dishes.

• Hua diao chicken wings vermicelli 花雕醉雞中翼米: absolutely delicious and my favorite there. It really tastes and smells like hua diao without getting my drunk
• Hainan chicken rice 海南雞飯: also very good, the rice tastes really really good and they are really generous with the portion so I was really happy
• Crab brain sauce over pea sprouts and udon 蟹黃豆苗烏冬: this was on their daily rotating menu and recommended by the owner. I can see that they used real crab brain but the flavour was a little more on the light side (probably because they didn't want to overdose on the msg)
• Hua diao shrimp balls noodles 花雕醉蝦丸米: no I wouldn't get it again because it tastes nothing like hua diao and I don't like to pay $60 for noodles and the main ingredients are freaking balls
• Fried 3 treasures 炸三寶: I totally just made that English name up right now. Basically it's your choice of 4 items (I don't know why they always call it 3), so like bell pepper, tofu, wonton skin and eggplant "devil'ed" with fish meat and deep fried. I think they do a really good job of it here and it tastes very fresh and non-greasy.

By day they are a regular cha tsan tang kinda restaurant, but by night they are... Batman. No just kidding, by night they are a private kitchen with a set menu, so you have to call at least a day in advance to see if they have any spots left. You will also need to have at least 2 people in your party to make a reservation. It looks pretty legit so the plan is to visit it "someday". Visit their facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/crabcrab2013

This is the shrimp balls noodle I wasn't really happy with... oh well, I still love them.

Location: ground floor of Haleson Building on Jubilee Street by "The Game Center"
Website: https://zh-tw.facebook.com/crabcrab2013

TamJai Sam Gor 譚仔三哥

This used to be one of my go to solo eating spots when I used to live in Prince Edward with my sister. I love their ma-la spicy soup base (medium spice) with the minced pork sauce (ja jeung). Like Nam Kee, you can choose to add other items in your noodles, but I tend not to because just one item, the minced pork is usually enough for me since they are really generous with the portion of noodles. When they say spicy, they really mean spicy, so maybe start with the "small" spicy level on your first try and go from there.

The reason why I kinda stopped going was because I moved to the Hong Kong side, and 5.5 years ago they haven't moved their business to Hong Kong Island. A couple of years ago they finally joined the "bright" side, but they were mainly just in Causeway Bay so I still didn't frequent it much since I find this more of a lunch spot and... well I do not work in CWB so it didn't make sense for me to go all the way to CWB for lunch. Recently I've also been trying to eat healthier, so a big bowl of carbs doesn't feel like the most health conscious choice for me (even with a side of veggies).

I went there on Friday night because I was too lazy to cook and well, I kinda missed the mince pork sauce. It's something I can't really get anywhere else because it's kinda sweet, kinda spicy... kinda awesome.

Other than noodles, they also have some pretty good side dishes like the cucumber (in picture below). Although it's covered in chilli oil it really isn't that spicy and actually quite refreshing. I find it also helps cool me down when I'm sweating from the spice. Another side dish that I really like but don't order unless I'm with a friend is the chicken wings. They have several different types but the one I like the most is the cumin one 土匪雞翼.

I would say compared to Nam Kee this place is even more local, but if you are adventurous enough you might be pleasantly surprised by this awesome chain.

Location: mainly in the Causeway Bay area on Cannon Street across from Tsui Wah and by the Wanchai Firestation on Hennessy Road. 
Website: http://www.tjsamgor.com/ (like Nam Kee, also doesn't have an English website...)

Mana (Fast Slow Food)

... well actually, more like slow slow food. Seriously there was a while people had to wait 30 minutes for their wrap and this was at 12:00... not even lunch rush hour in Central yet!

I've never been one of those super healthy vegan, gluten free people, and honestly do not think I will ever become one of those people any time soon. However I do feel that every now and then I need to "cleanse" my system and have a healthy day. Some people might think that's useless to have just one healthy day a week, but I feel like at least I'm doing something good for myself every now and then. 

Today was a "stressful" day so I went ahead and spoiled myself and got their lemonade ($45) as well. Someone told me their lemonade is VERY good so I thought I'd give it a try. Well, meh, it was not life changing. Along with the full "Pick Four" wrap my bill was at $130, which is super expensive considering it's self serve fast food kind of place. Oh well, I deserved it today. I will put this price range at $70-100 tag because I normally would never get a drink which lowers the damage to $85, which is still high but once a week I can handle. I think a half wrap is around $40-50, but I really do not understand how that can possibly fill anyone up. I always get the full wrap with hummus, tofu, cheese and rockets (all the filling stuff to make sure I stay full until dinner). My recent discovery is that along with the hot sauce I steal from Nam Kee, these wraps tastes so much more awesome.

Location: Wellington street near the escalator
Website: http://www.mana.hk/

Intro + Nam Kee 南記

(skip to 5th paragraph for actual content on the food instead of BS)

I think I’ve always enjoyed eating, though at some point in my teenage years I wished for the invention of a pill that would be able to satisfy my hunger instantly. I found cooking and looking for food too time consuming, and for whatever reason I was at a really busy point of my life. I also never went out to eat much when I was living in Canada since I as a poor student… and going to restaurants meant asking my sister/dad to give me a ride, until I hit the age of 17 where I was able to drive but still too poor to dine out.

Moving to Hong Kong changed my eating habits quite drastically. For the first 1-2 years, I was living off satay udon with fish balls at home pretty much every single day. There was no longer a sister, dad or mom cooking for me, and given that I was still poor and living in a touristy area, I just cooked whatever was easiest and filled my stomach. If I tracked the number of times I ate veggies or anything remotely healthy in a month, it would definitely be under 5 times. The next 2 years, I became less poor, but I was basically working like crazy so I stuck with the satay udon and fish balls sans-veggies/healthy components. To make life less miserable, I started to dine out much more and gained a load of weight.

Year 4-present is when I feel like I’m at a happy medium. I cook a lot at home, trying to add in veggies as much as possible, cutting down on the processed foods (fish balls & co.), the instant noodles, and started to make Chinese soup every weekend. I still go out to eat, but I don’t go as crazy and always try to include the veggie factor. When I know I won’t be able to include the veggie factor for a particular meal, I would dose up during other meals of the day.

Alright so I don’t know why I spent the past 10-15 minutes talking about my eating habits, because it doesn't actually have much to do with why I wanted to start this blog. The reason really is this, I do like to eat, and friends and colleagues keep telling me to start a food blog. I think I’ve always brushed it off because there are just way, way too many food blogs out there. Recently though, I’ve befriended a number of “foodies” and “food bloggers”, and started reading some of the blogs they recommended and honestly… BLAH. I feel like these bloggers are just reviewing restaurants to show how they are hip and trendy, rather than actually sharing their love for food… or maybe I find their tastes too high end… or maybe I’m just too ghetto. In any case, I am starting this blog because I just want to share what normal people in Hong Kong eat. Not just what the trendy hipsters eat. I have very normal taste, not an expert in anything really, with a salary just slightly above average compared to the typical non banker local. I hang out mostly in Central and CWB because those are the 2 most easily accessible locations for me, but I also frequent MK. I am just a very average person sharing with you where I normally eat, with the possibility of the occasional baller places. That's very normal too, right? I mean it's totally normal to be not normal. You know... Like that motivational poster, you are unique, just like everyone else! I will try my best to include photos, but since I am usually too hungry and attack the food when it's served, it's very likely that you will be seeing half eaten foods or no photos at all.

With that said, today I shall start with one of my lunch time staples. Nam Kee noodles.  They have been around for a long long time, but I never went until one of my "local" friends brought me there one day. I say "local" because he's one of those half Brit international school students who speak no Chinesey. Anyway, he was raving about their "spring rolls" which again are in """" because they are definitely not spring rolls, but more like fish meat rolls wrapped with thin bean curd sheets. I'm not a big fan of it, instead my favorite is the 中辣大腸小鍋米線, which is a sour and medium spicy soupy noodle with pig intestines. It's right up my alley because 1. I wouldn't cook pig intestines at home and I honestly really like it 2. It's spicy enough for me 3. Fills me up and 4. Is easy on my wallet. I know carbs aren't the best thing to eat, so I usually get a plate of veggies on the side to "even it out" slightly. Altogether my bills is usually $44. I steal a couple extra packs of their hot sauce on my way out and proceed back to my desk in the office to begin the attack and leave the area smelling like Nam Kee for the rest of the afternoon. I've mastered the art of eating alone at restaurants, but seriously Nam Kee is too small for me and I prefer to eat slowly at my desk and sweat as much as I need to without feeling gross. Plus there are free drinks in the office so.... Win win!

You have been blessed by the fact that I remembered to take a pic today before the food was all gone.


Locations: They are seriously almost everywhere. In Central alone there is one on Stanley Street and one on Victoria Street. In CWB there are also 2 that I know of, one near the Regent Hotel, closer to the Tin Hau side, and then the other is by the wet market, closer to the Wanchai side. Go on their website and look for the one closest to you and enjoy!

Website: http://www.namkeenoodle.com.hk/nav_content.html (I like how they don't have an English version of the website... truly catering to local Hong Kongers!)