(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!)
