Walking through un-touristy streets, discovering restaurants where locals eat -- those are my ideas of a really good time. My friend, long time Hong Kong resident and fellow foodie Beba had told me that Electric Road, which crosses Oil Street where Harbor Grand was situated, was a veritable local foodie's paradise. She pointed me in the direction of a few notable places where one could eat as the locals did on less than HK$50. My kind of places indeed!
Whole day meetings would not stop me, I made my first walk about on a Monday. During lunch break, I opted out of the (horrors!) hotel buffet and hied off to Electric Road.
Beba had warned me most of the places would not have English signs or menus but that I should walk right in and just point to what other people were eating. I decided that since lunch break was just a little over an hour, I couldn't wander too far from the hotel and with this in mind, I made my first discovery - just 5 minutes away from Harbor Grand was Sun Yun Kee at 270 Electric Road (no English sign on the facade but I found out the name on openrice.com -- a terrific resource for eating out in Hong Kong!)
It was a surprisingly cold day so I ordered a cup of hot tea with milk, as the British and the Hong Kong folks like it.
It was lunch time so the place was full of locals and people from the nearby offices. I sat in a table for two but was soon joined by a young man, who shyly tried to communicate with me in English. Food being the universal language, we enjoyed our meal together.
I ordered the fish ball and fish cake noodle soup. The fish balls were freshly made, very springy and tasty. A generous slice of fish cake and the ubiquitous broccoli leaves made up the rest of the dish. The noodles were chewy and the broth was a bit on the simple side which really made the fish balls the star of the bowl!
My next foray into Electric Road came the next morning. I woke up early and peered out the window. Hooray, there were restaurants that seemed to be open!
Why graze through the calorific and yet boring hotel breakfast buffet when more of the eateries along this electrifyingly delicious stretch of North Point were just waiting to be experienced!
Dor Ho was open at 7 am so I walked right in.
At this early hour, Dor Ho's regulars were already having breakfast. I saw a few having toast and eggs but most were slurping away at their bowls of congee.
So congee it was! For good measure, I ordered crullers -- bicho bicho to us, "stick" to the natives and the locals. My congee thankfully came in a small bowl so I was sure I would be able to finish it.
Just plain, rather soupy congee with century egg, eaten with the hot, freshly fried crullers -- it was a local breakfast that was so much better than any hotel buffet.
I also thought that Dor Ho's cutlery cabinet built in to the table was such a genius and handy idea!
 |
Fish dumpling soup is an old favorite of mine which I used to enjoy in a small hole in the wall in Tsim Sat Tsui -- the place is now long gone from the scene but its special fish dumplings are still fresh in my memory. Would May Wong's version rekindle the taste I knew and loved?
While I waited for my order, I saw that I was not the only one out for food at 10:30 pm. People were still coming and going -- the eating continues till late night along Electric Road!
Here are my fish dumplings and yes -- they were just as good as the ones I used to enjoy.
Firm and fresh, no hint of any fishiness at all. The broth was mild yet savory -- truly a great meal to end my eating affair with Electric Road!
I shall be back to discover more!
No comments:
Post a Comment