Chiu Chau Food in Hong Kong

Lunch date: December 1, 2007
Occasion: Casual lunch

Number of People: Two
Cost: HK$180 (US$24), including 10% service charge

Restaurant name: Chiu Chau Garden Restaurant
Restaurant address: 3/F, Vicwood Plaza, 199 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong
Restaurant telephone: 852-2545-7778
Anna's comment: Authentic Chiu Chau cuisine, combined with some Cantonese dishes. Reasonable prices and services.

Noodle with Goose Meat 鵝片捞面

Cold Cut Preserved Pig's Knuckle 冰镇豬手

Deep Fried Taro Fritter with Thin Crispy Coating 芋角

Pan Fried veg/meat Dumpling 煎菜棵

Steamed Meat Rolls 鮮竹卷

Dessert

Steamed Crystal Dumpling 鴛鴦 水晶飽

Dim Sum - Chiu Chau & Cantonese

Lunch date: October 21, 2007
Occasion: Casual lunch
Number of People: Two
Cost: HK$180 (US$23), including 10% service charge
Restaurant name: The Grace Garden
Restaurant address: 12/F Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Restaurant telephone: 852-2506-3366
Anna's comment: Authentic Chiu Chau dishes, however combined with some Cantonese dim sum, in order to accommodate the taste of Cantonese population in Hong Kong. Nice restaurant.

Soyed Knuckles, Pork & Beancurd 卤水猪手猪腩肉

Typical Chiu Chau style

Mini Oyster Congee　蠔仔粥

Typical Chiu Chau style

Prawn & Vegetable Dumplings　鮮蝦菜苖餃
Mini Glutinous Chicken (outside)　珍珠鷄

There is no chicken in this dish,

no one knows the origination of the name Mini Glutinous Chicken (inside) 珍珠鷄

with minced meat inside (no chicken)

Dessert

Sweet Glutinous Dumplings with Thin Coating　擂沙湯丸

Hong Kong Food Blog - Dim Sum

My Boxing Day Chiu Chau Lunch

Lunch date: December 26, 2007
Occasion: Boxing Day lunch
Number of People: Two
Cost: HK$228 (US$29), including 10% service charge
Restaurant name: Pak Loh Chiu Chow RestaurantRestaurant address: 23-25 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (has four other branches)
Restaurant telephone: 852-2576-8886
Anna's comment: Authentic Chiu Chau restaurant, at the heart of Causeway Bay shopping area. Good quality of food and services.

Pan Fried Oyster Pancake 煎豪洛

usually served with fish sauce

Can you see the oysters?

Pan Fried Sugar and Vinegar Noodle 糖醋面
Very crispy outside, and soft inside. Add vinegar and sugar before eating.
Kung Fu Tea 功夫茶 (cost inclusive). Very fragrant.

Kung Fu Tea (tie guan yin 鐵觀音) is usually served in authuthenic Chiu Chau restaurants, otherwise it is not authentic or the waiters are lazy.

Steamed Crystal Dumpling, dual style 鴛鴦水晶包
My most favourite Chiu Chau dessert.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Authentic Chiu Chau Food

Good Friday Chiu Chau Lunch

Lunch date: March 21, 2008
Occasion: Casual lunch
Number of People: Two
Cost: HK$190 (US$24.4), including 10% service charge
Restaurant name: The Grace Garden
Restaurant address: 12/F Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Restaurant telephone: 852-2506-3366
Anna's comment: Today’s dessert ‘crystal dumplings’ is of four different fillings, this is something new and interesting. All our dishes today are signature Chiu Chow dishes.

Oyster Pancake 煎蠔餅

Preserved Pork's Belly & Beancurd 豬腩肉豆付
Preserved Pork's Knuckle 豬手仔
Crystal Dumplings 四色水晶包

No photo taken - mini glutinous dumpling 珍珠鷄

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Chiu Chau cuisine

Classic Chiu Chau Snacks

I found a newly opened Chiu Chau restaurant, Megared, nearby my house. So we decided to give it a try.

Like many other restaurants in Hong Kong, eating early or late is far more economic than peak hours. We went at tea time, ie. 2-4pm. For breakfast, if you pay your bill before 12.30pm, you will enjoy special price too.

Here are some of the special price dishes that we've ordered. They are really economic. The foods are delicious and served speedily. We've ordered a few of the Chiu Chau signature dishes. Even if you want to order a big dish of fried noodle or rice, the price is only around HK$38 which is really a good deal.

Goose Meat Noodle 鵝片湯面

(HK$13.5/US$1.73)

Spicy Soup with Pig's Belly and Pickled Vegetable

Wow...very yummy! My priority Chiu Chau dish.

When I make this at home, I must add a lot of pepper

and it's really good in relieving my bloating problem.

胡椒咸菜豬肚湯 (HK$14.5/US$1.85) Chicken Feet with Chinese Medical Herbs,

such as Gogi and Angelica
藥膳鳯爪 (HK$14.5/US$1.85)

Peking Duck in Hong Kong

I don't usually eat lunch. And I don't usually eat heavy lunch. But today I've broke all my rules. My boss took me out for a farewell lunch with an overseas colleague.

I need to fast for 40 hours after this lunch. Anyway, let me talk about the Peking Duck we had. Peking Garden, the one we went at Alexandra House has been highly rated by visitors. And they are one of top producers of Peking Ducks in Hong Kong.

The duck was included in our set menu, but I noticed the price is HK$380 (US$48.7) if you place a standalone order.

Look, the presentation was not bad at all. Cucumber, sauce and bread were all laid out nicely. They even brought the duck to the table for our photo taking before cutting it.

You may wonder what that is. Well, espresso. A Chinese restaurant serving espresso? That's correct. I have visited this restaurant many times but never know about it. I was a bit shocked when the waiter offered the service. Probably they only offer this to expacts and not locals.

Their menu is very comprehensive if you want to go a la carte. However if you want to save time and effort (of course not saving money), there are set menus available.

Here's the set menu we had for today.

Braised spare ribs with black vinegar sauce

Sea blubber

Sauteed prawns and scallops with cashewnut in hot garlic sauce

Braised shark's fin soup with crab meat

BBQ Peking Duck

Pan fried sliced fish

Sauteed seasonal vegetable

Fresh fruit platter

Cream Sauce Spaghetti

Bacon Chopped Onion Spaghetti in Cream Sauce
Price: HK$68 (US$8.72)
Surchage for soup and coffee: HK$18 (US$2.3)
Service charge: 10%
Restaurant: New Burgh Cafe at 113 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Does this dish look nice? It does. And does it taste delicious? It does. However I have a story to tell. This is my dinner for tonight: cream sauce spaghetti. Cream sauce?! Yes, that's what I order from the menu.

Size of the dish: 6 inches. Portion: even smaller than what I collect from a breakfast buffet chef. I finished eating in three bites and within a minute. That was the end of my $68. If you been following my blog, you know that I don't eat much. Even so, this was not enough to fill up half of my stomach.

I used to buy take-away from this restaurant which is usually of good value. Tonight I have some time and decided to sit down and enjoy a relax dinner. I ended up with this story to tell. What are you after, when you want to enjoy a good dinner, quality or quantity?

Hong Kong Food Blog - Cream Sauce Spaghetti

Tea Culture in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, if someone invite you to 'yum cha' 飲茶 (tea drinking), it does not mean drinking of tea only, but to have dim sum together with tea. However when we name this activity as 'yum cha', it indicates how important tea is in the food culture of Chinese.

Tea in a Cantonese dim sum restaurant is charged per head. Depending on the restaurant and the time you go, it may vary from HK$6 to 20 per person. There are many choices of tea. As for myself, I always ask for Pu Er. This is dark in color, very fragrant and strong in taste. It is very good to go along with food, as it will help digestion and melt off some of the fat in the food.

My Favourite Pu Er Tea 普洱

Some people like Xiang Pian as it is very fragrant,

however less strong than Pu Er.Xiang Pian Tea 香片

When we go 'yum cha' in a big crowd, we may order many pots of tea. The restaurant usually lable the tea pots so that we can easily identify our own favourite tea. Need to re-fill? Easy. Lift the lid as a signal and the waiter will come.

Lift the lid - Waiter will come add water for you

Chiu Chau Tea Culture

If you happen to go to a Chiu Chau restaurant, they may serve 'Kung Fu Tea' 功夫茶 without extra charge. However if you go during the economic hours like early morning or afternoon, they may not give you this little bonus. 'Kung Fu Tea' is just a nick name and it is actually Shui Xian 水仙 or Tie Guan Yin 鐵觀音 by tea type.

Chiu Chau restaurants usually serve it before and after meal in addition to the tea you order. They are finely prepared and Chiu Chau people usually treat their important guests with it.

'Kung Fu Tea' - Shui Xian 水仙

Strange Tea Culture in Hong Kong

Almost all dim sum restaurants, including some medium to high end restaurants will serve you a big bowl and an extra pot of hot water for you to clean the utensils.

Isn't it funny or strange? But it happens as a custom. Restaurants won't treat this as a shame. I don't think I need to clean the cups and chopsticks myself, but as I'm being served that way, I just follow the rule of game. When did this custom start? I can't recall. Guests demanding for extra hygiene or restaurants offering extra service? Probably it's a matter of whether a hen or an egg exist first. Anyway, don't be shocked in a Hong Kong Chinese restaurant seeing guests doing their own cleaning work.

Doing our own cleaning work

PS: I notice this 'cleaning' custom also happen in other areas of China, especially in restaurants serving visitors from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Milk Tea and Tea Set

Let's talk more about Hong Kong Tea Culture. Apart from traditonal Chinese tea, Hong Kong is famous for its very unique style Milk Tea. It's actually world famous. When you visit China Towns all over the world, you'll see restaurants putting up big signboards specifying "Hong Kong Style Milk Tea" . And here is it - very silky smooth. Secret recipe available only in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong locals love this milk tea, including myself. Some even addicted to it. They are usually part of a breakfast set, lunch set or tea set. Or they are sold stand alone. Hot is usually around HK$10 and cold is around HK$13, and ice-free cold is around HK$15+.

Now let's see what is usually accompanying the Hong Kong milk tea to make up a tea set.

Pineapple Bun - listen, the shape, the taste or the ingredients - there is nothing to deal with pineapple, except the name. Hong Kong people love to insert a flat piece of butter and name it Butter Pineapple Bun.

Egg Tart - both egg tart and pineapple bun are usually cheap, round about HK$4-5 each. Butter pineapple bun is slight more expensive.

Best Place to Enjoy A Hong Kong Tea Set - Tea Restaurants

Now, don't mix up with dim sum restaurants. We usually call dim sum restaurant Cha Lou 茶樓 and tea restaurants Cha Chantang 茶餐廳. Tea Restaurants (cha chantang) are some typical small casual restaurants. These are the place where you can enjoy superb quality Hong Kong milk tea. They outperform 5-star restaurants in terms of milk tea.

How Much is A Hong Kong Milk Tea Set?

From the Golden Phoenix menu above:

tea + egg tart - HK$17

tea + pineapple bun - HK$ 17

tea + butter pineapple bun - HK$19

tea + chicken pie - HK$20
How Does A Typical Hong Kong Milk Tea Restaurant Look Like?
Here is one.

This is one of the most classic and beloved tea restaurants in Hong Kong. It is situated at a side street in Wanchai. You won't notice it even you go pass it. The way to locate it easer is by the line of people waiting for a seat or buying out-of-oven egg tarts. I live in Wanchai for over 30 years and this restaurant has been here for over 30 years too. Guess what, I never had a chance to visit it because I just can't put up with the long waiting line.

OK, here are some sample tea sets - with all the tea partners, egg tart, pineapple bun and chicken pie altogether.

Next time when you are in Hong Kong, don't forget to see if you are lucky enough to find a seat at Golden Phoenix 金鳳茶餐廳 (see above) - 41 Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

Discounted Buffet in Hong Kong

Hong Kong restaurants are making excuses to offer discounts, such as early departure discount. I like the idea as I don't mind to go early if I pay less.

Over the Easter Monday, I went on a buffet which usually offers 25% discount before 12:50pm but I ended up had to pay regular price, becasue discounts won't apply on holidays.

Back to the buffet itself, many are attracted by big dishes of shushi, sashimi and the rows of salads and hot dishes. But I always pay attention to minatures. Not only because of the lovely cute utensils, but the little small size portion of food won't fill up my stomach quickly and I can enjoy plenty of these small dishes. Let me introduce a few of them.

What are there in these two 1" pans? On the left is Japanese Egg Tofu. Thought it has been deep fried and seasoned with some Japanese dry fishes and sauces. The other one is half an egg white plus some raisins and a small slice of salmon. Very healthy and delicious.

Here are my collection of dessert minatures
All 1 - 1.5" in diameter
Steam Egg (hot)
Caramel Egg Custard
Pomegranate Moussee with Cream Topping
Serradura (Macau/Portuguese dessert)
Pomelo in Mango Juice

Another 1.5" Serradura

Here is my 1.5" Hamburger. I'm the only guest who can enjoy this, because I made it myself. I'm a person who like to tailor something with ingredients from the buffet table. If they serve sausage, I'll make a hot dog. If they serve sliced bread with an oven, I'll make a club sandwitch. Today I collect a very thin slice of roast beef and made this mini hamburger. Isn't it cute?

Metropark Hotel Wanchai Hongkong
Address: 41-49 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2861 1166
Lunch buffet everyday from 11.45am to 2.30pm
HK$128 (US$16.4)/Adult + 10% service fee
25% early departure discount (before 12:50pm)
10% for one day advance booking
** No discount on Saturday, Sunday and holidays**