A Trip to Hong Kong

(I made this trip to the Territory last 25 - 28 June with my parents.)



(my plane for today - a PAL 747-469M, registered N754PR. It was the same plane that took me home from San Francisco more than two years ago on my last PAL flight.)

It was going to be my first trip to Hong Kong in almost three years. I used to fly to this territory three to five times a year, typically on weekends so as not to miss my classes. Then the rigors of medical school set in so I was grounded for the most of the three years.

Hong Kong is one of my favorite places after Manila (because it is home) along with San Francisco and Munich. I like Hong Kong because of all the wonderful food: exotic fruits, rare ingredients and authentic Chinese cooking. And of course the shopping!

You can get the best dim sum only in Hong Kong. Their har gou (shrimp dumplings) are simply the best! They always have a slightly elastic but thin, almost translucent skin. And the filling is unmistakably shrimp – fresh and “crisp.” Unlike the blob of flour and pork lard you get elsewhere – producing a dumpling that can go from soggy to just plain tough. But usually soggy and impossible to pick up with chopsticks!

And you get the best roast meats from Hong Kong, too! Yung Kee at Wellington Street, in Central serves the best roast goose! Undoubtedly because it is multi-awarded restaurant! They even cater some meals for Cathay’s first class! Their roast goose is simply the best! I know duck is much more popular (Peking Duck), but trust me, goose is much better. Goose has a delicate meaty, slightly game-y flavor – owing to its herbivorous diet. And the meat is much more tender. The opposite goes for roast duck. Ducks eat just about anything! I know this because we used to have several in our backyard.

Then comes the shopping… the best time to come is late August as it is the end of summer sale. The price of most branded goods go rock bottom!
But I was not willing to wait for August before I make this trip. I have been away for so long already!

Federal Palace

(Federal Palace)

As always, we were met by friends on arrival. It was sort of like barter: we would bring them boxes of gifts – fresh mangoes, ensaymadas and ice cream! Then they would take us for lunch and dinner!

Today, we were brought to Federal Palace, said to be a popular chain in Hong Kong. I could not find their web site as they are probably well-known for their Cantonese name (which I failed to ask).
For starters, we had goose feet, choy sum (kale) and a pan-fried scallop and prawn dumpling. The goose feet was rather difficult to eat as it was a bit “crunchy” but otherwise tasted good! The dumplings were soft and fluffy on the inside, yet you can still bite the bits of prawns and scallops! Yum!

(fish ball made with dried mandarin orange peel and served with preserved clams. it was actually quite yummy!)

(more Yum Cha - dim sum - goose feet, choy sum and a pan-fried prawns and scallop dimsum.

Then came a fried fish ball made with tangerine peel. It was so fragrant. It came with a very curious sauce – one made with fresh clams fermented in wine! I first tasted this dish at a noodle house at Times Square. The fish balls were so-so while the sauce was completely disgusting. But for some reason, today I found the combination marvelous! Perhaps I have been away too long!
There were other dishes served to us that day, but I failed to take pictures as my hands got a bit oily.

Canton Road Market

After half a day of business, my mom and I asked out friend to take us to market. We walked outside the office through the market at Canton Road.

(one of the many roast meat shops scattered along Canton Road.)

Yum! Roast meat stores like this are everywhere! Roast duck, suckling pig, fried pork, pork barbecue, soyed chicken, white chicken, etc. Yum!

Whenever in HKG, my mom and I make it a point to shop for rare ingredients, like dried squid. I know we have them locally, but the type you get in HKG is skinned which gives it a beige/ ivory color. This gives it a sweeter flavor, much like the taste of the sea.

Likewise, the quality of their dried shrimp is far superior. The shrimp are shelled whole and are firm, and smells like the sea. The ones we get here are soggy, discolored and smell fishy!

(almost every type of seafood is dried and available in various forms. here you see dried peeled shrimp, dried shrimp with shells, dried mussels, and others.)

And who could resist the cherries! We always go cherry hunting! They are always sweet and soft and juicy!

(we bought several kilos of cherries but only half of it made it to manila - we ate them at the hotel!)

Seafood Dinner

For dinner, our friend forgot to make reservations at her favorite Peking Restaurant, so we ended up eating at a seafood place. I forgot the name of this restaurant at Prince Edward. We even got lost looking for it!

(most of the creatures you see here alive...we ate)

Our first course was our favorite, roast goose! It was tender and juicy, but slightly too geme-y for me. I still like the ones they sell at Yung Kee, although I suspect Yung Kee’s would be several times more expensive!

Soup was served in a giant egg-shaped golden pot. It was a wintermelon soup. The wintermelon was steamed whole and had stuff floating on a clear broth inside – chicken, scallops, mushroom and others. The broth was mild and smooth, complementing but not overpowering the little ingredients. The melon scooped out at each ladling of the broth was crisp. It was neither sweet nor bitter.

(soup was cooked and served inside a whole wintermelon. it was placed inside a golden egg. you see the floating yummy bits - ham, dried scallops, mushroom, and melon pieces.)

(after a dramatic entrance, soup was served individually)

(this half goose fed six very hungry people!)

Other courses included the usual, Steamed Black Garoupa – Hong Kong Style (in seafood soy sauce), Stir-fried Crabs in Ginger and Onion, and Fried Mantis Shrimp. The latter seafood seemed to have gone extinct from local markets.

The final course was Spiny Lobster on a Bed of Noodles. It was superb! I thought I could die after eating this. The lobster was stir fried in a velvety buttery sauce. The noodles were slightly flat, and were soft and smooth, but definitely not soggy. The lobster tasted fresh and sweet with a buttery accent. It was still crisp yet juicy. Its flavor permeated all aspects of the dish - the sauce and the noodles. I survived the meal not touching a single article of food, but I found myself licking my fingers after I struggled to snatch every bit of meat from its shell.

(lobster pieces resting on a bed of rich noodles in a buttery sauce! how could you go wrong? i was stuffed, yet i managed to gobble up a whole bowl of this last dish!)

Overfed as I was that evening, I did not even remember what we had for dessert. But I know there were several bowls of sweet stuff after the lobster.