Pololi

I've been struggling to find places to write about lately as I ran out of local places that I haven't talked about. The (unstated) goal of this blog was to introduce people to more cheap local food places, but today I will talk about something not cheap and not local because I think it's a pretty good deal for the quality and quantity of the food.

When I walked in a young lady was extremely friendly and asked if I've been there before or if I've tried Hawaiian food. Honestly the first things that come to mind when people say Hawaii is number 1, my favorite type of pizza, Hawaiian, and second, Lilo and Stitch. Anyway, I said no, and then she proceeded to give me a tasting of all their different flavors of tuna. I think there were like 10-12 of them so don't ask me what all the flavors are because I can barely even remember what I got today. The ones that I do remember are a spicy one, a spicy mayo, spicy avocado, ginger, "HK" flavor (pretty interesting actually and really did taste very Hong Kong because of the spices they used). They have a lot of non-spicy ones too but I only remembered the spicy ones since I like spice. If you are not a tuna fan, they also have a Korean style octopus thing (I did not like it). They may have some other vegetarian options as well but I was obviously not vegetarian so she didn't bother to introduce those to me. By the time I was done tasting all of them I was already slightly full.

She didn't really ask if I wanted the big one for $90 or the smaller option for $60, but I guess it was obvious to her that I could eat and gave me the bigger option. She takes out a pretty big box and asks me what I want as the "base". You can do all rice (white/brown), all salad (only one choice) or half half. I always want to try everything so I opted for the half half with brown rice. They only have one salad dressing but it worked in my favor as I like balsamic vinegar and love honey Dijon. On the tuna side you also get 2 choices, so I went with the first spicy one I tried and the spicy mayo.

To be very honest, $90 is quite steep for lunch, but the fact that the tuna really does taste good (fyi, I love spicy tuna), is fresh and you get a lot of it, I can justify the price tag (unlike TaKorea where it's $90 for one wrap). I can imagine on a hotter summer day or for a lot of girls here the smaller option for $60 would be enough as well. Tuna is protein and... protein is supposed to fill you up right? If you really think about it, this is only $5 more than what I usually get at Mana. It's nice to change healthy things up every now and then as well.

Location: 35-39 Graham Street
Website: http://www.pololikai.com/

斗記燒味之家 Dau Ji Roast Expert

Can't remember if this was my second or third visit to this place. Anyway, the first time I was here I was definitely not impressed. Though this was a couple years ago when they first opened in Central, I still remember that the BBQ pork I had was very salty and costs the same if not more than Canteen in Prince's Building (literally 5 minutes away from my old office and tastes much better).

While I still had doubts about this place, their lunch deals appealed to me since it was really cheap. It was $32 for a single dish on rice, and they had my favorite beef briskets with turnip as one of the options. I decided to give it a try and got the veggies as well ($18 - a little pricey in my opinion).

I didn't have to wait for long (since all the dishes are pre-made), and when I got the food I was a little shocked - the box was huge. When I was back in the office at my desk, I opened my lunch box and thought, um, where should I start? In any case, after a little over an hour I finally finished the food. I quite liked the beef briskets as it wasn't too chewy, and the turnip was very tasty. I usually love sauce but didn't enjoy it this time because it was very starchy in a bad way. I saved all my drowning pieces of beef and turnip and put them on my rice, leaving a large pool of sauce behind. The veggies - well it's pretty standard, but then it tasted a bit funky. I'm guessing they cooked it in goose broth or something so there's that... gamey goosey taste to it.

In conclusion I liked my lunch even though it was ginormous (maybe I can be one of those girls who ask for "less rice"). Just kinda funny that I do not recommended their BBQ stuff... Regarding the veggies, I would rather go to Nam Kee to get them if I wasn't in a rush. Cheaper ($12) and tastes better.

Location: No. 15-25 Chiu Lung Street, Central
Website: NA

勝香園 Sing Heung Yuen

I really don't know if this should be considered Central or Sheung Wan, hence it gets 2 labels on the location.

I've always liked tomato soup, so I've always liked Sing Heung Yuen. The reason why I don't visit it much though is because it's outdoors so no AC and it's always packed so you gotta wait in the heat for a seat (basically pre-heating yourself for the actual heat once you start eating the hot food). Anyway, I've been having a very bad appetite lately so I decided to grab some take out from this place last week.

I was greedy so I tried the beef, pork chop and egg on macaroni in tomato soup this time. I don't usually get pork chop but was glad I gave it a try this time because it actually turned out to be quite tasty. The tomato soup was still quite good, but it tasted more Campbell this time. I wonder if my taste buds changed or if they changed... or if I just don't remember the taste of it anymore since it's been so long since my last visit.

In conclusion, I think this is still a pretty cool place to try out if you are looking for a more local and sweating your face off experience. Of course if you don't want a heat stroke mid meal you can always get it to go (add an extra fiddy cent to get the soup in a separate bowl for less sogginess) and eat it in your office. If pork chop, beef, eggs, macaroni isn't your thing, don't worry because they have many other weird things you can choose instead on the menu. The soup though I think is pretty much fixed since it's their signature... so... if you don't like tomatoes... I guess don't come here.

Location: No. 2 Mee Lun Street (across from Kau Kee Beef Briskets)
Website: NA

新興美食 Sun Hing Fast Food

This is a very very local place that I quite like going to because it's fast (food is mostly pre-made), cheap (under $40 for their lunch deals), and has a big menu (they even have a separate Thai menu).

My favorite Thai chicken feet salad

Every day, they usually have around 10 or so lunch deals which ranges from baked spaghetti to beef curry on rice or random Chinese dishes on rice, and includes a hot drink or their daily Chinese soup. If you can't find anything you like on the lunch deals, you can also check out their other menu which includes fried noodles, fried rice, soup noodles, baked rice, and a small but interesting Thai menu.

Given that I'm quite local and that the there's a wide variety to choose from for the lunch deals (keep in mind I usually go for lunch early), I can usually find something I like on that menu (by the way, it's right outside so you don't even need to walk in to decide). My personal favorites are their sweet and sour pork on rice or the beef curry on rice. On the a la cart menu, my favorite has got to be their Thai chicken feet salad. it's only $30 and they give you a freaking full box of it. It tastes so good and makes me so happy. I introduced it to my friend and she sometimes brings it home for her husband too (yes I am talking about you, S), as he too is a Thai chicken feet salad fan.


One of my ex-colleagues commented on this place before and said that it wasn't that hygienic, but I personally haven't found any issues with it. Their kitchen is basically open, so you can see everything that goes on in there while you are waiting for your food. So far I haven't seen anything crazy that turned my appetite off . I've also seen expats coming into this place (though rare like unicorns) before too so I really don't think it can be that bad.

In summary, I really think this is a great place to get takeout food (I wouldn't want to eat there since the place is so small, I don't know how people do it) for those days where you just want to eat alone at your desk and read Yahoo news (which is most days for me).

Location: No. 9 Chiu Lung Street
Website: NA



I like this dish even though it looks kinda gross

越僑 Vietnamese Fast Food

This restaurant is at the end of Tit Hong Lane and caught my attention as I was hoping it would be a good replacement for cheap Vietnamese food (since I am no longer close to Pearl on Wo On Lane).

 

This is how I feel about this "new" place in comparison to Pearl. 

 

Price range: Vietnamese Fast Food is at around $43 for a soup noodle, where as Pearl is around the $27 mark which is significantly cheaper... so Pearl for teh win here.

 

Taste: I didn't actually get the noodle soup as it wasn't in the daily special so I got the cold vermicelli instead with spring roll and pork. As long as the fish sauce is right, it's not too easy to go wrong with this dish, so I would say it's about the same. However, the spring roll at Vietnamese Fast Food definitely does not taste as good as the ones at Pearl... so I guess Pearl for teh win again here.

 

Location: This is where it beats Pearl because it's significantly closer to people who work at IFC One. A lot of people who work in IFC don't seem to like to leave the mall because they don't really know what else is out there, so even if the taste and price doesn't match up to Pearl, it's still a new choice OUTSIDE of the mall without having to walk 15 minutes to.

 

In conclusion: I walk fast and in fact don't mind walking, so I will stick with Pearl.

 

Location: No. 12 Tit Hong Lane

Website: NA

 

 

Disclaimer: the veggies were not from this place,
but were from Fook Moon Yuen next door for just $12.



Crab Noodles 蟹麵膳 - Part II - Teh Dinner

So my crab dinner finally happened a while ago but since it wasn't the most exciting experience, I've been extremely lazy about this entry. In short, I would say that $400 is a little expensive in my opinion since the portions are small in my opinion (even if there were 8 courses). Also you need to keep in mind this cost is sans-drinks as they don't have a liquor license so it's byob (good news is 7-11 is just next door if you're not anal about your alcohol like me).

After you book the table, you will need to make a deposit of $100 per head to confirm several days before your booking. I went with a group of 7 and asked each person to deposit and then send me the slip so I could Whatsapp it to the owner so that did take a bit of effort to coordinate.

I came here for dinner because I liked the lunch which is a very casual Honkey cha can tang kind of place. I thought that at night time it would be really different... but I mean... I now realize that it's not going to be like Bruce Wayne by day and Batman by night kind of place, even if you are charged at a fixed price of $400. Wow, I realize I make a lot of reference to Batman... I'm really not a Batman fan actually...

If you are curious and want to give it a try... why not? Here are some pics for your reference. Remember to call in advance to book and ask for the latest menu if you are going.

Location: ground floor of Haleson Building on Jubilee Street by "The Game Center"
Website: https://zh-tw.facebook.com/crabcrab2013
Telephone: 39710933



Prawn toast and fruit salad. I usually don't like fruit salad but this one was aight.



"Deviled" crab shell.

Watercress soup. Interesting but my friends found it too "starchy".

Some steamed fish. The owner raved about this one but I thought it was just ok.
Would like it more if the portion was larger.

Again... taste was good but portion too small!

Some greens.



This was the largest portion and it was for us to share. I guess this is their signature dish but I feel like it tasted the same as the one at lunch which is just under $100? I mean I get that there is a whole crab on the plate, but I'm not crazy about eating the actual crab so... yeah the lunch one will do for me. I also get that this is supposed to be the dish that fills you up, but then honestly with all the booze that I had I was drunk by the time this came and it was hard for me to work on the crab. If I was fuller earlier on I wouldn't be that drunk by the end of the night.......

Tofu pudding. It was aight but again it's the same as the one from lunch and still tastes too artificial to me.

TaKorea

I noticed this sitting on Wellington Street last Saturday morning (proud moment for me to be in Central on a Saturday morning) where a tea place used to be. Although the entrance is on the ground floor of Wellington Street, the store itself is actually in a basement which is closer to Pottinger Street. When you are walking into the restaurant you will think to yourself, oh dang, that's a hell lot of stairs. Don't worry, there is another exit in there that doesn't require you walking up a bajillion steps of stairs when you are done eating and in a food coma.

Though not a fan of Korean entertainment, I am a fan of Korean food, so naturally I was excited to see a new Korean fast food looking place in Central. Mentally I put this on my to try list and on my calendar for Tuesday lunch and tada, I made it there (with 2 other colleagues).

To be honest I cheated and looked at their online reviews before going and was quite disappointed that their price range is very similar to K-Roll. I've been reluctant to try K-Roll because I find it too pricey and don't really like Korean style sushi. In any case, I've been bored of my usuals for lunch so was determined to give this a try despite the price tag. We got there around 12 and was going to get it to go but then decided to stay since there were still quite a bit of seats.

The menu is super simple, basically, you pick one of each of the following:

• The base: rice, burrito or taco (comes in 3 small tacos)
• The "meat": beef, pork, chicken or eggplant
• add traditional kimchi or butter kimchi for an additional $10

Their "side" menu includes a fried chicken salad, kimchi fries, sweet potato fries, and something else that I cannot recall. As you can see... there really aren't that many choices, and the cheapest dish (the sweet potato fries) was $40. Not exactly fast food priced...



Taco flavored kisses

We got the beef burrito, chicken burrito and chicken taco. I went with the burrito as I saw online that it contains rice so I knew it would fill me up. We went baller and I added the butter kimchi instead as I've never tried it before. You can choose between no spice, regular spice and Korean spice (which is the spiciest). We skimped on the drinks because we wanted to get some Chinese herbal tea down the street after instead, and our bill totaled to $90 each.

Our food took around 10-15 minutes to arrive which was reasonable. My burrito actually tasted like a bowl of bibimbap with fried chicken wrapped in a burrito blanket. It was quite interesting but nothing life-changing... Plus bibimbap is not my thing. My favorite Korean dish is the japchae, and I think it would be so dope if they had they wrapped this in a burrito or in a taco and slap it on their menu. Bam, FUSION!

After the lunch the 3 of us were wondering how long they can survive for. The logic being that given it's setup as a casual eating place, the prices don't actually match up and the place isn't exactly obvious so not that many people may notice it. My colleague also doesn't think that people will actually go there for dinner.

The burrito

To be honest, Mana down the street is in the same price range (just under $100 for a full wrap), however their selling point is healthy, vegan, and glutten free food. While my colleagues are pessimistic about this place's future and I myself will likely not return (high price tag and not healthy enough), I think they have potential to become the next K-Roll.

Location: 55 Wellington St, Central
Website: NA

Bee Two French Baguette & Coffee

No, I will definitely not go back for their "banh mi"s because they really aren't banh mis. Out of all the banh mis I've tried in Hong Kong, this has got to be the worst of my experiences.

This place supposedly relocated to Central from Prince Edward, and now that I think of it I think I've walked past it before when it was still in Kowloon. In Central, this place sits on a corner near the Kau Yu Fong Lan Kwai Fong Hotel. Banh mis are the only sandwiches I enjoy eating so I am always on a quest to find them in Hong Kong.

This place has lunch sets for $54 which includes a (small) "banh mi", a (small) salad and a drink (lemon tea, lemon water or milk tea). I was pretty excited as I took the food out of the paper bag until I took a bite out of the sandwich. The shreds of carrots were way too sweet, the meat was like... honey ham or something... there's no pork liver pate spread... no Maggie... no jalapeno slices (ok this last one they warned me, but I didn't think they would just put some chili oil in as the "spice" that I requested for). FYI, I still have a look of disgust and hunger as I am typing this as it brings back the terrible memories.

I'm guessing their pasta or other normal sandwiches would be better, but please don't go for the "traditional banh mi"....


Location: G/F, 166 Wellington Street (near Kau Yu Fong)
Website: NA

Yan Can Cook, So Can YOU - Soup Edition

This blog is about food so... I thought I'd share this how to make Chinese soup guide with you since I put it together for my friend.

“Green and Red Carrot Soup”  青紅蘿蔔湯

 

This has been one of my favorites since I was a kid. It’s relatively easy to make and is good for you especially in the winter time because it’s… how do I say it… it’s “moisturizing” for your body internally. Also good for when you are feeling hot air (热气)… like when you are getting pimples or sore throat. This might seem like a lot of work but it really isn’t especially once you get into the routine.

Ingredients (pictures at bottom of entry in case you don’t know what to look for)

·         1 green radish (look for ones bigger in girth (not length). Size matters)
·         1 “red” carrot (again look for thick ones, preferably the really muddy, dirty looking ones from China since those have the most flavor)
·         3-4 pieces of pork bones that are about 4x8cm in size
·         4-5 pieces of dried candied dates (“mut jo”) – you might need to get these from China town Chinese drugstores/pharmacies or supermarkets
·         10 pieces of Chinese South-North almonds (optional, good for your throat)
·         Half (or full if you have a big enough pot) a cob of corn (optional, for extra flavor)

Instructions
1.     Boil half a pot of water using a stainless steel pot (what I usually use, but you can use whatever works best for you as well) around 30 CM in diameter and 15-20 cm in height (I don’t remember the exact size… just a rough idea)
2.     While you are waiting for the water to boil, skin the carrots and green radish and chop to small pieces (around 2-3 cubic cm) – remember to wash them of course. (Steps 3 and 4 are optional, just if you want your soup to be more “clean and clear” and less fatty stuff floating around… also gets rid of the freezer taste if you bought frozen pork bones.)
3.     Once boiled, put in the pork bones and boil until they turn color (grey, i.e. kinda cooked on surface) and strain the water out and rinse the bones with cold water under the tap.
4.     Toss out the water in the pot, wash out the fatty stuff and boil some fresh water half way up the pot again
5.     Once the water boils, toss in the carrots, green radish, pork bones, candied dates, and almonds
6.     Boil for 1-2 hours and let it sit for another 1-2 hours, then boil for another hour or so. By this time your soup should be brownish and should smell pretty good.

Other tips

·         If too much water has evaporated you can pour in more boiled water. This is also a good way to adjust the taste (add more water to dilute, boil to evaporate more water out to “strengthen” the taste).
·         If for whatever strange reason your soup doesn’t taste like the soup my mom makes (I think you’ve tried before), add some Knorr’s chicken powder and/or salt. I don’t add any to mine because I have already mastered the art of making soup.
·         The reason why you want to chop to small pieces is so the flavor comes out of the ingredients faster, thereby reducing boiling time.
·         You will end up with a big pot of soup so likely you won’t finish in one sitting. You do not need to put the soup in the fridge, just remember to boil it thoroughly and DO NOT STIR it after and it won’t turn bad.
·         Because I don't have much time to cook during the week, I like to make this soup on Sunday so on Monday, I can take some of the soup into a smaller pot and cook a vermicelli with it and eat the carrots, radish and pork bones as the side dish. Added bonus, eat the carrots, radish and pork bones with soy sauce and chili bits.

 

Pictures below so you know what to look for when shopping.



Candied Dates 蜜棗

Candied Dates 蜜棗

Pork Bones



Green Radish 青蘿蔔

Chinese South-North Almonds 南北杏

Breakfast in Kaohsiung

 One of my favorite things to eat in Kaohsiung is their egg crepe 蛋饼 for breakfast. It's a very local and "standard" Taiwanese breakfast which is served at pretty much all breakfast joints. You can usually choose one of the following to include in your egg crepe, and can add cheese as well if you'd like: bacon, wieners, ham, tuna, veggies. My favorite is the bacon and cheese egg crepe while my nephew's favorite is the ham and cheese egg crepe. You can either eat it on it's own or you can eat it with 酱油膏  and 辣椒酱 (my nephew eats it without).

Another one of my Kaohsiung breakfast favorites is their ham and egg sandwiches. In comparison to the Hong Kong versions (which I also really like), the Taiwanese version's bread is sweeter and toasted by default, there is some mayo present, and also shreds of cucumber present. The end result tastes amazing even if the description sounds kind of gross.

As a bonus, the cost of these delicious breakfasts are very low (from the viewpoint of a visitor).

I was going to post on my other favorite, salt and pepper deep fried chicken 鹽酥鸡, but maybe I will just wait till next time since it's actually quite hard to write about it so many days after... In any case, the point of this post is to say that Taiwan is more than just beef noodles and pineapple cakes. 








Extra large menu here for you to read....

福滿源食店外賣中心 Fook Moon Yuen Takeaway

This used to be my favorite breakfast delivery place until our boss shut down the "breakfast club" at my last job. Oh the memories...

This place used to be on the end of Wellington street near the dumpling places. I guess they got booted out when that area became cool with the arrival of places like Mana and Cali Mex (how on earth have they managed to open up in so many new locations by the way!), and then they decided to move to the dark alley by the Centre (right next to the vegetarian place) - Tit Hong Lane. It took me a long time to track their new location down since I kept typing in the wrong Chinese characters on Google. I knew they weren't gone gone though since I still saw their delivery people walking around Central (yes, I ordered from them so much I recognize their people... plus their logo is a big orange and yellow thing so it's hard to miss).

I really like their breakfasts because

• they are relatively cheap, with a whole breakfast meal for just $25 (used to be even cheaper but... inflation)
• their portions are big
• they are tasty
• they separate the soup and noodles
• they've got a good menu to choose from - from sandwiches to congee to soupy noodles to rice rolls
• they've got soy milk as an option for the drink in meals

This morning I decided to revisit this place. Couldn't ask for delivery since I was the only person ordering (breakfast minimum charge for delivery is $50). I dropped off my bag in the office, called them to order my food, and then timed myself to see how long it would take to pick it up. Around 10-15 minutes assuming the elevators and traffic lights are in my favor (which it was this morning, hallelujah).

I was so happy I wanted to cry when I unveiled my food. Memories of the good old breakfast club days came all back to me. The portions still big, food still tasty, the same creamy soup base for my macaroni separated in a different bowl to avoid sogginess, and my warm soy milk. The only difference was that meal B now doesn't serve the egg/ham/bacon/wiener in a separate box, which is slightly annoying as it makes access to the macaroni a little more difficult.... but then again... let's reduce waste and safe earth right?

Sorry folks, menu is in Chinese only. Time to befriend a Chinese reader/speaker in your office!

Location: No. 10 Tit Hong Lane
Website: NA

福祿壽健康素食 Fook Luk Sau Vegetarian Restaurant

Disclaimer: I did not get vegetarian today because of green Monday. Just stumbled upon this spot when I was on my way to my Crab dinner (post on that later) last Friday. Also, please do not mistaken this as the trendier, more hipster, more baller 福祿壽. That one is Fu Lu Shou (Mandarin pronunciation) and this one is Fook Luk Sau (Cantonese pronunciation).

Master Liu Yut 了一法師 once talked about just aiming to have a vegetarian meal once a day (not breakfast) would already be a good deed versus not trying to have any vegetarian meals at all. Anyway, it's also a good way to switch up your lunch options every now and then. Is it a healthy option? I know I have that as a label, but I don't really know how healthy this is just because there is no meat. I mean... other things such as salt, sugar, carbs, starch etc etc also contribute to an unhealthy diet. Anyway, your call whether or not you find this healthy!

This place reminds me of another vegetarian place that I only had the pleasure of trying once as it shut down days after I went there. It was called 开心素食 Happy Vegetarian, and was also in Central near Pottinger Street. The style is pretty much exactly the same, you get rice and a choice of 2-3 dishes on top of it ($22 for 2 dishes, no soup or $26 for 3 dishes plus soup). If you dine in it's around $30 since you'd be taking up space and I hear you would get unlimited rice.

Today I went with the following, 

• Brown and white rice as the base: given the price, please do not expect a load of brown rice in the mix. Also unlike regular local lunch boxes, the rice only takes up about a quarter of the box.
• "Duck" w/ plum sauce: got 2 pieces, quite tasty and perhaps a little too spicy.
• "Lamb" with tofu curd and turnip/radish: creepy, the lamb really did taste a bit... lamb-ish. Tofu curd was standard, turnip/radish was standard and would have been a little bit more cooked.
• Bitter melon and "beef" scrambled eggs: probably my favorite out of the 3 since I finished it last. Not a fan of the imitation beef but can't really taste it if you eat it with the eggs so it's alright. The egg is scrambled the very Chinese way where it's slightly uncooked (err but what about avian flu...). The melon wasn't too bitter so it's right up my alley.
• Some Chinese melon soup (the daily): UGH! I was expecting some tasty MSG soup but no! it really is vegetarian!! Absolutely tasteless so I'm sorry but you've got to go... down the drain. I won't waste food next time and just let them know that I will skip the soup.

This place is very close to where I work, I was able to get there and back within 20 minutes (fast service since they are just scooping premade food into a lunch box). I would definitely go back since this adds to my lunch options, but I got to make sure I collect enough hot sauce packets to my stash since it makes a huge difference when added to the dishes.

I'm not sure how comfortable you are going there without a Cantonese speaker, but you may be able to figure out what to get without speaking Chinese as they show the dishes behind a glass case with numbers beside it, so you just order by telling the lady what number you want and whether you want noodles or rice (go with the rice. I don't think the noodles will be that good).

Random Chinese blurb that doesn't have anything to do with the restaurant that I can only say in Chinese: 偶爾不殺生去吃素當然是好的，但是如果你心腸不好，或者不吃素的時候瘋狂的吃肉，又或者你經常的浪費食物，我覺得你吃多少素都很難抵消你的罪業。每個人不多不少都會有罪過的時候，但是希望你吃素或做善事的時候是誠心地去做，而不是為了某種回報。

Location: No. 8 Tit Hong Lane (enter through Jubilee Street)
Website: NA