Hong Kong China Street Food 香港街頭食品

My cousin Tammy and I went on a food mission to seek  Hong Kong’s best street food treasures! Departing Discovery Bay to  Hong Kong Island (by ferry) as soon as we arrived to Hong Kong Island our minds immediately became stimulated by the fragrant aromas of ginger and popping sounds of oil in hot woks.  I knew I hadn’t died, but was about to be in food heaven!

We ventured into Kowloon neighborhoods that are nestled between the massive sky scrapers.  It was interesting to see (unlike Shanghai & Beijing) the foreign business men & tourists snacking on the street with the Hong Kong locals!  Great, why not join the crowd?

We blew through the first set of small street front eateries, munching on curry fish balls, noodles, dehydrated chili pork (Bee Cheng Hiang), and cow’s stomach soup. The curry fish balls had the texture of a raw butternut squash that was hot tubing in a opaque curry broth. (See picture above)

The Bee Cheng Hiang was semi soft, translucent, cured, charred, and had the consistency of a tough fruit roll up.  I ate an entire square.  The salt cure made my mouth dry out so felt a glass of boba was in order!

We took off to meet my cousin (Tammy’s husband) for lunch (Part XX of eating frenzy!)… OMG, so full, we went lite, heading to a vegetarian restaurant high up in a sky scraper.  We managed to put away six different dishes and enjoyed great conversation.  Then the three of us went to walk the local food markets.

First stop, wet market (live seafood), 2nd stop, produce markets, 3rd, pastry shop!   The foul smells and abundance of produce transported my mind back to the Asian markets in San Francisco. We nibbled our way through the market, drinking freshly made soy milk, and chomping on egg custard pastries.  They are the “hot thing” in HK, apparently.  Not the biggest fan, but managed to consume 4 while walking around!  Yes it was a 5,000+ calorie day (packed into 4 hours).  Call the cardiologist please!  I will never know how the Chinese can stay so thin with all that great food at their finger tips!

Tammy LIVES to EAT! Don’t miss the intoxicating food scene in Hong Kong!  Look forward to returning, stay tuned for the next adventure into food!  Where, when, with whom…

see the gallery below for more shots from the street.

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Eating Hong Kong China 吃閎空

Welcome to Hong Kong, a city 1/4 the size of New York with 7 million bustling people.  Luckily for this chef I have cousins who have called this East meets West city home for nearly 25 years.  Slipping away from Shanghai like a fish that doesn’t want to get caught for dinner I picked up an early morning flight and flew to Hong Kong.

Facts that travelers should know about Hong Kong before they get there. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world with an average of 6,250 people per square mile. This acorn size metropolis was under British rule for nearly 150 years.  And let me add the “Hong Kongers” are quite happy they have a sophisticated and unique place to call home.

My eyes turned around like a flounder once I stepped off the plane!  3 languages make up Hong Kong; English (thanks to the Brits), Mandarin, but the native tongue in the south is Cantonese.  Thank god I had my cousin “T” and bizarre foods eating partner to help out in the other two!

Hong Kong has a sophisticated system of public transportation and ways of doing basic day to day commerce with what they call the Octopus Card.  Swipe and go! We spent several days eating our way through Hong Kong and sadly we were only able to patron a small fraction of the bustling city’s food scene.  The day I arrived I was ready to EAT, so packed onto a boat like a sardine headed in on a food mission!  We went into one of Tammy’s favorite sit down joints where sampling shrimp sates, noodles, and other various dishes.  All were a huge hit and flavor profiles differed quite a bit from Mainland China food.

After we ordered 1/2 the menu at dinner my cousins took me around Hong Kong’s night markets and a variety of neighborhoods before heading home.  I found the entire city to be like the Las Vegas Strip but with hills and much better food!

Winding down and back in Discovery Bay it was time to drink some  Chinese tea and head off to bed.  I better get some sleep Tammy and I have some big bites to take tomorrow!  My rules for Eating Hong Kong are:  Street food, weird food, organs, brains, all okay, embrace me with all Hong Kong has to offer!  I sense the best street food stands in Hong Kong are in my future!

Please, no fermented tofu (stinky tofu)!

Stay tuned for Mission Food Scene, HONG KONG.

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