Hong Kong, Central - 2 to 4 Dec 2016

 We spent most of this Hong Kong visit in Central, Wanchai and Causeway Bay. The temperatures were around 21 degree C. with relative humidity of about 80%. Gorgeous weather!

A HK icon - the taxi

The season is Christmas!

Fruits and more fruits

Wellington St. towards direction of Lan Kwai Fong.

Side street intersecting Wellington St.   There are many fruits and other food market vendors all along these side streets.

Fruit vendors

The mid-levels walkalator can be seen going in the left and out of right of building.

Shop suspending its inventory above the pavement.

Steep sloping roads. Gough St. which is where Kau Kee is just on the first right. The left wall belongs to Lin Heong.

Kam's Roast Goose, Wanchai

We had to queue about 20 mins (2.30pm) for our seats.  The specialty of the house, which earned it a Michelin star is their roast goose.  But their steam chicken is also very uniquely smooth to the bite and taste as well.    Kam's is a one Michelin star restaurant.

The story goes that Kam's chef came from Yung Kee roast goose of Wellington St.  Now Kam's is touted to be better than the old Yung Kee.

Queue going into the shop

Seats outside for people queueing

2015 star was right above our table. The 2016 star was over the another table.

Roast goose on front kitchen's skewers.

The serving counter.

Very nice savoury starters - cucumber with bean gravy

Braised Tofu

Roast goose with sauce

Steam white chicken. Yellow tinge probably due to the use of ginger.

Noodles base.

Pork and goose-liver lap cheong

Please note that Kam's Roast Goose only accepts CASH. They do not take credit cards.

Mott 32 Chinese restaurant

We had lunch at Mott 32 restaurant.  It's located in the basement of the Standard Chartered Bank Building in Des Voeux Central.  There is a larger than life contemporary seated statue of the Bank's founder James Wilson next to the reception.   Mott 32 is in Michelin Guide 2017.

The restaurant name plate at the reception.  It's motifs remind of the Empire State Building in New York City.

Mott 32's reception

Escalator brings diners from reception to restaurant

The restaurant is actually in the basement, but it's hard guess this when customers first enter.  The way the entrance into the restaurant is designed and built is all about grandness and opulence and is very interesting twist.

After the escalator, the chains decor as chandelier lights hanging down the stairwell into the restaurant.

Finally, the restaurant...

The char siew cut had to be pre-ordered

The char siew is so succulent and basically melts in the mouth.  Best piece of meat morsel I have ever tasted.    The meat from the char siew is presumedly from the restaurant's signature barbeque Spanish Iberico pork douced with yellow mountain honey!

Sometimes called polo-pao, here it is their char siew bun.

 Call it whatever you like, this char siew bun is good!

The siew mai has a quail egg in it, and caviar on top!

The plain chee cheong fun...or cha-leong.

The sauce is added.

Wagyu-beef curry puff

Wu-kok, or fried shrimp meat yam paste ball

Wu-kok is an evergreen favourite of mine, and I try to have it on every menu I see.

The slow mixing of the sauce for the crispy duck.

Swirling the sauce....

......looks like hynoptic circles!  

Finally, the Belle of the Ball has arrived!

The apple wood-roasted Peking duck is the restaurant's signature dish, and we had pre-ordered it.    The duck is the main course for lunch!

First serve of the crispy skin is most delicate to taste buds, maybe some salt.

First cut. See the firm and translucent color of the skin.

Jelly fish head with some vegetables.

The jelly fish was both crunchy and tasty. The taste better than the view.

The second and third serves of the crispy skin.

The second and third cuts of the skin is served with the cut cucumber and spring onion strips and also with the sauces described earlier.

The Sancere went well with the dim sum and first cut of the duck.

The sommerlier explained that the maker Corty is an artisanal producer from Pouilly-Fume.  This Sancere is from a very small parcel and he actually finds it drinks better than the Pouilly-Fume wines which are also mainly Sauvignon Blanc.  Sancere and Pouilly-Fume appellations lies opposite each other, of the Loire river.

As we get into the duck, we had a Rhone shiraz to accompany the tasting.  We had a CDP Red from Southern Rhone.

Floral centerpiece decorating each wing of dining hall.

Literature on the pillar.

The remainder of the duck was served fried with spring onion and garlic...

.....to make an exciting companion for the CDP red!

Then came the soup for the last dish......this is a very Cantonese thing.

Where is the soup?

Red vinegar with ginger strips

Break the dumpling with the garlic and red vinegar...

and wala!...the soup comes out!

It is great soup!  But so preciously little!

Mott 32 is worth every word of its Michelin Guide mention.   The name came from a street in Chinatown New York City.  Pat and I must have walked past this street hundreds on times before.

Mott St is at the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown, and the restaurant states that no. 32 is "the address of the first Chinese grocery store to open in New York back in the 19th Century".   The decor in the restaurant is distinctively New Yorky in feel, we really like the ambience.

Tai Woo Seafood Restaurant, Causeway Bay

Tai Woo moved in 2011 and we initially we could not find it.  To get to the new restaurant, have to go up a floor (surrounded by plenty of HSBC panels) by escalator then take the lift on left side to 9th floor.

The is the building of new location of Tai Woo.   Entrance to escalator up is on the right.

Tai Woo (Causeway Bay) is featured in Michelin Guide 2017.  Unfortunately its signature dish, the mini lobster casserole was sold-out, and beef dish was no longer on its menu.

Dining hall

Awards and accolades

Soups are the most basic of Cantonese cuisine, and also the most nutritious.

All the nutrients from the watercress and pork went into the soup we enjoyed.

Steam fresh shrimps with salt

Soya sauce for the shrimps

Sesame chicken baked in salt.

The sesame chicken baked in salt is one of Tai Woo's famous signature dishes.  We were lucky they had the chicken still!

Stir-fried shrimps with vegetables.

Squid deep-fried with salt and pepper.

This was an interesting dish. Bit chewy but with salt and pepper, what can go wrong?!

Sauteed bamboo clamps with glass noodles.

We were not accustomed to have such big bamboo clamps, so it was quite a mouthful.

Sweet and sour pork.

Stir fried kai lan (or Chinese brocolli) with garlic.

The thick crunchy stems are really nice to bite into.  The leaves are for show!  The vegetable were well done!

Dessert - crunchy fried fritters.

Red bean soup

I thought the sweet red bean soup goes well with the oily fritters.

Sang Kee Congee

Sang Kee Congee is a famous local breakfast congee eatery.  It's like a hole-in-the-wall kind of joint.   Very small spaces inside.  We have to hunched down to fit the narrow chairs and table to eat!  But worth it.   We had breakfast here before, several visits ago....

Sang Kee is on Burd St, which is round the corner from Citadines apartments @ Mercer St.   

Burd Street is where Sang Kee Congee is located

We arrived at Sang Kee Congee just before 8am when the light was still not so bright.

Main entrance for Sang Kee Congee

Photo of the front with better daylight

This is December, and daylight comes up bit later. It got brighter as we finished our breakfast.

Wall menu in Cantonese (Chinese).

Lots of grey haired people around. The door at end is the extent of the depth of the eatery.

This menu for non-locals.

Yutiao & the all-important sauce - soya sauce with ginger and spring onion and probably some superior stock.

Slice beef congee with pig's giblets.

Pig's giblets congee (or chee-chak chok) with fish balls

Hot fish cake

 The fried fish cake was slightly crispy on outside and a bit gooey on the inside.

View of main door from out seats.

Guess it is quite obvious that Sang Kee accepts only CASH.

Lin Heong tea house

Lin Heong is a very traditional cha-tang or tea house.  When a incoming customer's presence is acknowledged, he will be served tea with tea-cups in boiling water, and also be issued a record card for the trolley ladies to "stamp" any dim-sum items taken from their trolleys.  Customers must watch out for the trolleys and signal if he wants to dim-sum items being trolleyed.  Otherwise no food will come his way!  After the customer had enough, he will take the card to the cashier.  The cashier will calculate the amount to be paid, and payment is then made.   A simple yet effective system where the cashier is also the owner!

Front shop fascade of Lin Heong

The stairs up into the restaurant.

Sterilizing the teacup with boiling hot water.

I first started to experience and learn how to sterilize teacups this way from Pat's late father, who showed me how it's done. He did it with chopsticks.  I still remember it was a dim-sum shop in Albert St. Singapore.

Bean curd skin wraps.

A view of the inside.

Fried wanton fritters.

Fried spring rolls.

"Hungry" customers surrounding the dim-sum trolley lady. Note that everyone is holding the record card for registering the dim-sum they want.

The dim-sum lady.

Cheong-fun.

Fish meat ball.

No-frills siew mai.

Contrast the no-frills siew mai here with the Mott 32's siew mai...with quail egg inside and topped with caviar!

The double table top.

Lin Heong also takes CASH only.  They do not accept credit cards.

Mak's Noodles

Mak's is a very old name in Central for wanton noodles.  It has been renovated and has more and younger waiters in uniforms now!   Many years ago there were only 2 or 3 very old serving staff in white thin singlet, and the restaurant had simple rows of tables and chairs.

Serving staff in uniforms.

Plain wanton soup

Wanton noodles.

I actually like Mak's noodles because they are firm, light and springily wiry. Good for light tea time snack.

The chilli sauce has a nice sour savoury taste. Indispensable for the wanton noodle.

The chilli sauce bottle!

The kitchen staff preparing for take-aways.

Mak's also served stewed beef brisket. Very nice.

Directly across the street, a competitor......

Tsim Chai Kee shop

Like Mak's, Tsim Chai Kee has also renovated and upgraded its restaurant.  We had eated at Tsim Chai Kee many times before as if has the same offering as Mak's except maybe slightly more inexpensive.    Tsim Chai Kee shop is directly opposite to Mak's.   Ethan says that he prefers Tsim Chai Kee, well I guess it's a matter of taste.

Sijie Sichuan restaurant, Wanchai

Because this is HK, we have been eating many Cantonese meals, so we thought it was time to try Sichuan for a change of palate.  

We were recommended Sijie Sichuan at Wanchai. It was at 1/F Aubin House, 171-172 Gloucester Road.  

Sichuan cold noodles

The cold noodles is really quite delicious except for the chilli. But as this was only the first dish we tried, we could "manage" the spicy-ness.

Cold edible tree fungus

Belly pork with spicy sauce

Sichuan style salt and pepper shrimp

Pigs' ear with spicy sauce

Poached fish in hot chilli oil

Looks like "soup", but the fish slices, glass noodles, and bean sprouts inside are actually soaking in chilli oil!   This is a really hot and spicy dish !!

Sweet and sour pork

Sauteed shredded potatoes with minced pork

The fish slices "revealed". Look at the hot chilli and peppers!

Sauteed chicken cartilage with spicy red chilli

The same hot chilli oil again....hot, hot, hot !!

Sun Hung Kai Building in Wanchai, is directly opposite Sijie Sichuan.

With our tongues "numbed", and our tummies "burning", Hugo and I rushed off for ice cream...."

Fighting the fires....

Yat Lok Roast Goose restaurant

Yat Lok had a good mentioned in the Michelin Guide 2017, but was already a household name in HK  for many many years.  The guide only highlighted them for the unfamiliar, the tourists.

It's hard to compare Yat Lok with Kam's because they are both very good.  In my opinion, the difference is that Kam's seemed to have invested a bit more in their restaurant and also in their serving personnel and processes.  Yak Lok is still very much like the many other delicious restaurants in the area.  Eg. Cramped seats and tables, oily, serving plates going over diners' heads and shoulders (no sudden moves!), heightened anticipation of hot delicious food coming our way! 

This may have impacted the relative ranking of the two competitors in the eating and dining guides.  Kam's has a better upmarket presentation.  Personally, all things being equal, we prefer Yak Lok because its more accessible (in Central) and it's simple no frills service.

Yat Lok front fascade

Front serving kitchen.

Roast goose bee hoon

Roast goose rice

An additional order of char siew and roast pork

Back kitchen

The restaurant has only 30-40 seats.

Char siew and roast pork rice.

Kai lan with oyster sauce

What's left..

The roast pork's crispy skin was mouth-watering good. Once started, hard to stop!  The char siew was sliced a bit too thick for my liking and faced with prospect of such delicious roast pork skins, it was easy to see which was the more popular....by checking out what's left?

A queue began to form as we were leaving Yat Lok

Tsui Wah 

Tsui Wah is a very famous tea shop and we have visited it many times before. My favorites were their nai-cha, kong chai mee and the occasional Macau pork bun..   This Tsui Wah is near the Lan Kwai Fung-end of Wellington St.

Tsui Wah shop front is directly facing Yung Kee on Wellington St.

The tea cup smiles at you!

Today we only had nai cha..

Inside Tsui Wah

Flashback to our 2013 visit.

Tsui Wah had for many years a restaurant in the HK International Airport. This is before passengers enter the restricted area.  We have been there before and usually its because we suffered hunger pangs in between our last feast in HK, and when we board the plane.

Today was no exception. We were again hungry when we stepped out of the Airport Express platform.  So we walked into Tsui Wah at the airport.

Tsui Wah at the HK International Airport

Nai cha or milk tea

Fish ball rice noodles (kway teow)

Kong chai mee

Crispy noodles with shrimps

Saffron risotto with chicken.

We were bored (waiting for plane) and hungry, a lethal combination when it comes to not being to fussy about the food we were served. I think the chefs at the airport knows it too.

Lei Garden at IFC

Because the city luggage check-in is at IFC, we typically stop for light lunch at Lei Garden there. Today it was about 3pm when we arrived at the restaurant and they were about to close for the afternoon break at 3.30pm.

Empty seats because it was 3.30pm as we were leaving.

Eggplant stir-fried in claypot

Cold tree fungus

Cold spanish cucumber with vinegar.

Bean curd wrappings in broth.

Savoury tau kee with meat fillings.

Beef balls.

Wu kok.

Kau Kee Beef Noodles

Kau Kee Beef Noodles on Gough St. was on our radar to try. But we missed Kau Kee because they are close on Sundays, and we didn't know   We walked past it.  Must remember next time we are in HK.

Nice pastries

We also managed to buy butter cookies with many flavors from Jenny Pastries,

Jenny Bakery just up a ahead on this street.

Opening queue customers have cleared..

and 2 rounds of custard tarts from Tat Cheong Bakery.

We did not get chance to eat at Ser Wong (its on street to the mid-levels) this time, but bought back some delicious lap cheong.

Ser Wong (flashback to our 2013 visit)

We also bought century eggs from Yung Kee and Ser Wong.

Concluding taste buds...

In the final food rating, we think the roast goose in both Yat Lok and Kam's are the best we had privilege to savor.   The flavors, taste and texture of the goose is simply outstanding.   We didn't order the exact same dishes from both restaurants, but it's good enough to want to make us come again, and again!

Mott 32 gave us an outstanding fine dining experience - the food was good and very fine, their wine list was comprehensive, and the sommelier was very helpful and knows his wines well.  The service was first class.

For us to start the day, Sang Kee Congee would be our first choice! Lin Heong is very touristy and besides dim-sum can be quite heavy for an early breakfast.

A special mention for Lei Gardens at the IFC. After so many years of lunching there before travelling to the airport, the food is still good and the prices are not too expensive.  A real comfort in an oasis, before flight.