Jackie Miao

Day 2: Central Hong Kong (Part 3-2)

Last Wednesday, I made an “impulse” trip to Hong Kong for the first time. What started out as my soul’s plea for new landscapes became a whirlwind adventure that opened my eyes, challenged old perspectives, and shifted personal paradigms. This is a 6-part story about my 4 days in the most densely populated city in the world.

After Rachel and I had breakfast, we proceeded to explore the streets in Central Hong Kong. Some of the things I saw made me question how much the environment we’re presented with dictates our value systems, whether the luxury of choice can be manufactured at all by some people, and ultimately to evaluate my own contextual thresholds and limits with reference to time, circumstance and place.

When I saw this grandma vegetable seller shivering from the cold and rocking back-and-forth to keep herself warm, I felt that besides offering some momentary relief to her I really couldn’t do much to change her life. I tried offering her a hot drink but she rejected my offer. Instead she agreed to a picture, so I inched in to get a shot with her before wishing her well and moving on with my day. I felt bad walking away but knowing that she has to sit out there tomorrow and the day after, all I could do is hope that she wears more clothes and that the temperature improves in her favor.

Why Were You Tied Up Kitty?

Along the way we also came across a disturbing sight of a kitty on a leash.

Do you think Kitty is for dinner or are they trying to find Kitty's owner?

Admittedly this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a cat on a leash, but the last time it happened it seemed less inhumane. You see, that other cat wasn’t tied to a post. It was jogging with its master at Gunnersbury Park! (True story, and one of the weirdest things I ever saw while out on a run.)

So Kitty, what did you do to deserve this?!

I just hope the shop owners weren’t trying to sell it off to someone hungry to have kitty for dinner!!

Tai Cheong Bakery

Couldn't get a shot of the tart but here's Tai Cheong's other pastries

When we got to Tai Cheong, the small bakery had a queue so I stayed outside while Rachel squeezed in to get an egg tart for me.

Tai Cheong Bakery is said to have the best egg tarts in Hong Kong. It is also said that the last governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten loved this bakery dearly.

I liked that their freshly-baked egg tart has a silky smooth flan, cradled so perfectly by a buttery, flaky crust. It has all the elements of a great pastry without being too sweet or rich.

The flan doesn’t have much structure so you have to be careful to avoid making a mess on yourself. Although I can’t claim their egg tarts are the best in Hong Kong just yet, it’s definitely one of the best I have ever had! I’d readily recommend this tart to anyone passing through Hong Kong.

So here’s where to go for some really yummy buttery egg tarts:-

Tai Cheong Bakery
Address: 35 Lydhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong, China
Phone: +85225443475

Yung Kee Restaurant

Before long we were ready to have lunch.

The real thing didn't look like the plump goose on their website!

Growing up, my parents used to always talk about how delicious the roasted goose in Hong Kong is. In fact it was one of their obsessions, not so different from the way Westerners feel about streaky bacon.

This was something I needed to have, so Rachel and I headed over to the Michelin-rated Yung Kee for some Siu Ngor. Too bad the goose failed to impress. Perhaps it was the years of overhype from my parents, or maybe we got a skinny goose and even skinnier pig on our plate, but I really didn’t think much of it. I much prefer the juicy roasted duck at Four Seasons in London (Chinatown and Bayswater) and the even juicier Char Siu from Ho Kee in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

If what we had was good enough to get a Michelin star and was also a factor to being voted as the 10^th Best Restaurant in Asia for 2009/2010 by the Miele Guide (beating Nobu?!), I now have major questions about the quality of their Asian food reviews. Do they have cuisine-specific epicureans on the panel? Are they eating enough of the same thing all over the world to make a fair judgment?

That said the century egg was really aromatic and exquisitely good.

Very stinky and very nice

You can tell it is fresh because part of the yolk is still yellow and runny, and this preserved duck egg is quite lovely with the pink ginger pickles. The wontons were fresher than most any wonton I’ve ever had, but the noodles were nothing to write home about and neither was the broth. To me broths are all about the umami factor.

Rachel paid HKD $400 for our meal (about RM $175 or £31) which I thought was extortionately expensive even by London standards. It was after all just a plate of roasted meat on rice, a century egg, a bowl of wonton noodle soup and some kailan, something we could have gotten easily for about £20 in Gerard Street or RM $70. I rarely give a bad review but the goose didn’t warrant the premium prices she paid. With that in mind, the service was excellent and the restaurant was very well-managed. I liked how genuine and friendly the staff was to us.

Moral of the story? A bad cut of roasted goose is not always better than a good cut of roasted duck, food in Asia is not necessarily cheaper than food in the West, and sharing a so-so meal with a good friend is arguably better than having a dozen gourmet meals alone!

If you prefer to judge for yourself, here’s where to go:-

Yung Kee Restaurant

Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2522 1624
Fax: (852) 2840 0888
Email: info@yungkee.com.hk

Part 3-3 (final part of Part 3) will be published at 8pm, Sunday 29th November 2009. Stay tuned for Part 4 on Monday (the most exciting part) where you get to meet a celebrity!