From the category archives:

For The Stomach

Waited More Than 1 Hour For This!

I didn’t have enough dim sum earlier, so I was always on the search for another good dim sum in Hong Kong before I leave.

There were so many restaurants (and hotels!) that I found on the Internet. Maxim’s Palace, Lung King Heen, Che’s, Yung Kee, Fook Lam Mun, Canton Room, Lin Heung Kui, Sportful Garden, Graces Restaurant, Zi Xing Xuan, Fu Sing, Lee Gardens, Sam Hui Yat, Luk Yu and the list goes on and on.

Almost everyone and their dog said it’s highly recommended. Everything is highly recommended.

Is dim sum in Hong Kong really that good?

There were enough of highly recommended dim sum places to confuse me to start with. So I stopped looking and went to Macau.

And on my way back from Macao to Hong Kong, there were this magazine (can’t remember the name) recommending a new dim sum outlet in Mongkok, which is very near to where I’m staying. It was recently opened by the ex main chef of Lung King Heen and famous for it’s Char Siew Pao. (More info of the restaurant here)

The shop is at Kwang Wa Street in Mongkok and it’s called Tim Ho Wan. The man behind it is Mak Pui Gor.

The very next day, I was outside his tiny dim sum shop. The first thing upon arriving was to get our queuing number and resulted in us waiting for more than 1 hour, at the 5 foot way. The shop is so small that it fits about 20 people at a given time and everyone else (no prizes for guessing) waits outside until your number is called.

Everyone Patiently Waiting For Their Turn

Everyone Patiently Waiting For Their Turn - © Bernard Loke

Only 20 People At A Time (Others Wait For Your Turn Outside!)

Only 20 People At A Time (Others Wait For Your Turn Outside!) - © Bernard Loke

But 1 hour of waiting didn’t disappoint. I just had the best-est char siew pao in my entire life. It was even better than the one at Maxim’s Palace. Much, much much better.

The Best-est Char Siew Pao I Ever Had

The Best-est Char Siew Pao I Ever Had - © Bernard Loke

That's How It Looks Like Inside The Best-est Char Siew Pao

That's How It Looks Like Inside The Best-est Char Siew Pao - © Bernard Loke

And the other usual dim sum suspects I always order.

Shrimp Cheong Fun

Shrimp Cheong Fun With Silky Smooth Wrappings - © Bernard Loke

Har Gow

Har Gow - © Bernard Loke

Lor Mai Kai

Lor Mai Kai - © Bernard Loke

What was the damage it did to our pockets?

Very limited. It was only $HKD 120 for two.

{ 0 comments }

Most Expensive Dim Sum I Ever Had

One of the reasons we went to Hong Kong again was for food. The previous trip was more on sight seeing. This trip was for food.

Dim sum was among the priorities.

With some research on Google, I found out there are lots of dim sum everywhere around Hong Kong. I found about 5 restaurants which were highly recommended, but there’s only so much that we could eat.

So we chose Maxim’s Palace (22.2806N, 114.1586E) at the City Hall Building in Central, Hong Kong island. It’s about 10 minutes walk from the Central MTR station.

The interior of the restaurant is like a ball room after it’s recent renovation. I think it could easily fill up to 80 tables at any one time. And still, there were people queuing for up to 45 minutes outside to wait for their tables.

Did we have to queue up too?

No. We were lucky to be there at 11am. By 1130am, there were already people waiting outside, and by the time we left at noon, I think there were easily about 30 people outside, eagerly waiting to have their dim sum.

Aren’t there other places to eat? Is it that good?

It really makes me wonder why people are queuing up for so long just to have dim sum.

It’s one of the few dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong that still serves dim sum on a cart, like what we have here in Malaysia.

2009-Hong_Kong-212 copy

Rolled Shrimp - © Bernard Loke

BBQ Pork Polo Bun

BBQ Pork Polo Bun - © Bernard Loke

Wu Gok

Wu Gok - © Bernard Loke

My Favourite Siu Mai

My Favourite Siu Mai - © Bernard Loke

Har Gow

Har Gow - © Bernard Loke

Siu Long Pao

Siu Long Pao - © Bernard Loke

What about the damage the dim sum did? HKD 314.6 which was about RM140! And that’s like RM70 per person for a dim sum.

A HKD314.6 Dim Sum for Two

A HKD314.6 Dim Sum for Two

{ 3 comments }

Quan An Ngon Again…

It was almost 2pm and we were really hungry after walking around Hanoi since early in the morning. The Temple of Literature was our last stop and the nearest restaurant I can think of is, again, Quan An Ngon. It’s probably about 700 metres away.

So, I was back there again.

We ordered something different this time and they amounted to 320,000 VND (approximately 19USD) which to me was really reasonable for 3 persons (beers included).

Fishballs to be Wrapped Into Spring Rolls

Fishballs to be Wrapped Into Spring Rolls - © Bernard Loke

Shrimp Spring Rolls

Shrimp Spring Rolls - © Bernard Loke

Vietnamese Pancake

Vietnamese Pancake - © Bernard Loke

Bun Cha - Fried Pork Served With Rice Noodles

Bun Cha - Fried Pork Served With Rice Noodles - © Bernard Loke

Fish Rice Soup (Porridge)

Fish Rice Soup (Porridge)- © Bernard Loke

Che - A Local Type of Dessert

Che - A Local Type of Dessert - © Bernard Loke

{ 0 comments }

Quan An Ngon – The Best of All Street Food Under One Roof

Quan An Ngon - Hanoi

Quan An Ngon - Hanoi - © Bernard Loke

Quan An Ngon – Ask anyone where you can have all the best street food under one roof in Hanoi, and you’ll mostly likely be told to head to Quan An Ngon at 18, Phan Boi Chau in Central Hanoi.

It is my favorite  dining place since I arrived in Hanoi a month ago. I would go there at least once a week; trying out different kinds of local food for each visit.

The reason why Quan An Ngon is so famous among both tourists and locals is that it brings all the best street food available in the whole of Vietnam under one roof, and with reasonable pricing. There are lots of varieties on the the menu that sometimes I don’t even know what to order!

But, the good thing is, I don’t even need to know what’s written on the menu anyway.

I’ll just ask the waitress to come along with me to walk around the restaurant compound where they prepare all the food, like how they used to be on the streets. If there’s anything that looks nice or interesting, I’ll just need to let her know and she’ll take down the order. That’s how easy it is (who needs the menu?)!

The Spacious Compound of Quan An Ngon

The Spacious Compound of Quan An Ngon - © Bernard Loke

Lots of Local Varieties Available At Quan An Ngon

Lots of Local Varieties Available At Quan An Ngon - © Bernard Loke

BBQ Beef

BBQ Beef - © Bernard Loke

Fried Springrolls - A Typical Vietnamese Food

Fried Springrolls - A Typical Vietnamese Food - © Bernard Loke

Dried Papaya with Drief Beed Salad

Dried Papaya with Drief Beed Salad - © Bernard Loke

{ 1 comment }

Is Cha Ca La Vong Any Good?

Cha Ca La Vong (21.035194 N, 105.848253 E), 14, Cha Ca Street.

Cha Ca La Voung

Cha Ca La Voung - © Bernard Loke

Yes, it’s on Cha Ca Street. I don’t know whether the road is named after the restaurant, or the restaurant is named after the road. Most of the locals say the road was named after it.

This little 2 storey, century old wooden building is situated right in the middle of Hanoi’s old quater, about 10 minutes walk away from Hoan Kiem lake. It’s really that famous that you can find it being recommended in most of the travel and food guides you can find. It’s even featured in New York Times!

So I thought, this 5 generation old restaurant must be one heck of a restaurant. I have no excuses not to give it a try as I’ll be here for 7-8 weeks. I wanted see for myself what’s so special and famous about it.

First, they have no menus. They serve only 1 dish, grilled fish. Upon sitting down, the waitress presented me with a plastic laminated paper that reads :

1 Dish Only - Grilled Fish

1 Dish Only - Grilled Fish - © Bernard Loke

Either you answer yes or no, and how many person’s serving that you want to order. Wait for about 10 minutes and the fish is served.

The fish is served in a frying pan on top of a charcoal burner. It also comes with rich noodles and some vegetables which I’m supposed to mix them together with the grilled fish.

Grilled Fish Served With Charcoal Burner

Grilled Fish Served With Charcoal Burner - © Bernard Loke

Cha Ca - Grilled Fish

Cha Ca - Grilled Fish - © Bernard Loke

All in all, 100,000 VND.

For me, it’s slightly overpriced. Nothing really special though. It tastes like the grilled fish in kunyit back in Malaysia but those in Malaysia is half the price.

{ 0 comments }

Street Hawkers in Hanoi

Street Hawker in Hanoi - © Bernard Loke

The lady above was selling some local desserts at one of the streets near Hoan Kiem lake right in the middle of Hanoi. There are tens of them every street I walked into; selling from Pho Ga (chicken noodle), Pho Bo (beef noddle), dumplings, BBQ beef, seafood to desserts.

A lot of people said the food is cheap in Hanoi. It used to be even cheaper about 5 years back when the tourism industry hasn’t picked up. Nowadays, it’s a little more expensive, but it’s still reasonable for me.

A bowl of dessert (red bean + coconut milk + some kinda of rice. It’s called bi kok moi in Hokkien) below costs 6000 Vietnam Dong, about RM1.30.

Street Hawker Dessert in Hanoi - © Bernard Loke

{ 0 comments }