Hole in the Wall - Food in HK

Good food in Hong Kong has always been very affordable. Part of it is because the taste buds are just more sophisticated and mediocrity will not be tolerated. So, as a restaurant, you have to offer a good product regardless of the price. And because the food comes first (not the service or the environment, factors much more important elsewhere in the globe), restaurants are able to offer their good food at a decent price without the best location and decor.

Legacy-type hole-in-the-wall restaurants are plentiful in Hong Kong. Most of them have been around for years and slowly made a name for itself. 蘭芳園 and 九記牛腩 are two I frequent quite a bit. Here are some a bit off the beaten path:

蝦醬豬腩 （Shrimp paste pork belly)

This is a specialty in Tai O, all the way in Lantau Island. It's a fisherman's village that has retained some of its charm despite the development of tourism. Here are some pictures from the hike to Tai O. I cann't remember the name of the restaurant, but I suspect they all offer similarly awesome food that is fresh and MSG-free.

B-仔涼粉

A visit to the remote Yuan Long (Pictures from our visit to Wetland Park, right next to Yuan Long) would be incomplete without a visit to the famous 佳記 for it‘s 涼粉 - um, you can't even see it as it's buried under the fruit! Quite yummy... although what I remember is the pig's skin 咖喱豬皮 and wing tips 雞翅尖. Those were even better than their signature dessert. Nonetheless, I feel I have the obligation to show the picture of the gorgeous and ultra-large B-仔涼粉 - it was enough for six of us.

炸蠔 (Fried Oysters) from 流浮山

Everyone in Hong Kong knows about the oysters from 流浮山. It's just that only a few of us actually venture over there, as it is almost an hour from anywhere else in Hong Kong. There's a Chinese saying called 聞名不如見面 (To see the real thing is way better than hearing about it). Unfortunately, the oysters in 流浮山 is reverse - tasting the real thing never measured up to the expectation. The oysters were okay. The shirmp was nasty and didn't taste fresh at all. And the fish was overcooked.

炸蓮藕餅 (Fried lotus) from 生記

Was lucky to be inivted for a birthday dinner for a friend at the famous 生記海鮮 in Wan Chai. It's a difficult reservation and you sense it right when you walk into the restaurant. Despite its modest decoration, some tables were showing off a lot of bling. The food is absolutely fantastic (besides a dish of pig's feet) across the board. The fried lotus was fresh, crunchy, and yet still moist. 生記 has been regarded as the place that makes the most authentic sweet and sour pork in HK (um, the world)... I've had better, but this is still pretty good (top 5 perhaps). Mmm... sweet and sour pork. I really shouldn't be posting about food at 10:30am... not good for my stomach.