I remember looking into it last year when I went, though online reviews suggested some fairly low price performance ratio, i.e. charge like a good place but the food falls a little short.
Yee Tung Heen is fairly traditional. Solid good, along the lines of Ming Court post them taking the drunken har gau off the menu. I wasn’t too enamored with my Seventh Son dim sum meal. I posted about it. You’ll have better luck if you go with somebody known to the house.
Do you have time to drag the family to House 102 in Foshan? That’s the number 1 restaurant I want to go, though not in Hong Kong, but its just so very far.
Tsuen Wan is awfully far from Ap Lei Chau though. If you are staying there, it probably makes more sense.
I also like to try the Chairman for lunch some time. They got a set menu with fancier additions, including the crab fun dish. You can sample their menu without having to do the work of rounding up a bunch of people for dinner.
I don’t know Tsuen Wan at all, but Sham Shui Po is within reach and there are plenty of finger licking goodness there. Just ask @Google_Gourmet from his recent trip.
For wonton, the top ones are all solid. Unless you are looking for the absolute best, I think whichever that is closest to where you are at that moment is totally fine- Mak’s, Ho Hung Kee, Tasty, Mak Man Kee, Brothers (forgot the exact name, but the one run by Alan Tam and Harken Lee), etc etc.
We’ve walked by YMT fruit market often. We lodged in the Holiday Inn Express at the end of Dundas St., Mong Kok for 3 years in a row. Loved all the hole in the wall restaurants and roastie joints in the area, got to know the area very well.
Fruit market during the day is rather sedate (for Hong Kong). At night, the entire area is lit up bright as day, with the hum of warehouse folks yelling, the roar of delivery trucks and forklifts scooting in all directions.
A favorite breakfast place. The Jook was perfectly flavorful and creamy. Cheong Fun was silky and delicious. YaoTiu fresh and crispy outside, puffy and light inside. Great fresh soy milk.
A goose place sort of away from the main drag in MongKok. Love places with poultry hanging in the window. Goose and Chicken were good. The Goose Intestines delicious. The cashier (probably owner’s daughter) attended school in Canada, spoke good English.
Download the Mobile Passport app at the very least if you have to go through inbound entry. Just download on one device, its simple to add your family members who will be arriving with you. I’ve landed in the morning with five other inbound planes, and the resident’s line looked to be 500+ tired cranky weary travelers. The mobile passport line was at most 5 people long.
If you travel with family, getting a GE or TSA PRE for yourself doesn’t really help. Unless you are ok with letting your family languish with the herd, while you speed through. A few credit cards, eg. Chase Sapphire Reserve, will reimburse you for the GE or TSA fee.
GE appointments in SFO were (and probably still are) 3-4 months out. TSA PRE appointments are much easier to confirm, and the confirmation process is much less tedious.
Those on display in shop, are they cheaper than in a normal shop or market?
I remember some friend said their friends had bought a big unopened box to share among themselves, they had to trash half of the box of rotten fruit, according to them, it wasn’t so interesting with the price tag that were cheaper. Also depends on luck.
! Yeah I definitely need to go to there. Last time I was around Mong Kok, bought lots of fruits in the wet market near Cordis/Langham place. Never really thought of going to that fruit market because I always thought it was more of a warehouse area.
Yikes, might avoid that.
I’m leaning towards trying Mott 32 actually. I ate at the Vancouver one sorta recently (yes… the one in that… hotel…) and found it fairly good and I recall they’re opening a new location in Las Vegas. Just wanted to see if I can do a comparison of them at this point.
Ah gotcha. I’m still debating between Seventh Son and FLM. I read your post on Seventh but I recall Charles in Chowhound thinking that Seventh Son had better value than FLM. Over the recent years, I was in HK 3 or 4 times debating on those two and the sticker prices still shock me haha. Why can’t the HKD be like the Canadian dollar right now… Anywho, I don’t think anyone in the family really even attempts to go there nevermind has connections haha.
Oh wow, never even heard of that place. I just started googling some reviews and it sounds pretty amazing. Unfortunately, I probably can’t drag them there mostly because of uh… lack of visa lol. Currently, I have no large desire to pay for it nor do I want to go through that whole process but I really should.
I’ll be bouncing around from around HKU to Kowloon to Tsuen Wan. Might actually be faster to just go on an island hop than Sai Kung though if I’m around the piers. Hrm… good question. But I did have a wonderful lunch at Ap Lei Chau, just randomly picking the seafood and bringing it up to the cooking areas.
Yeah, I was thinking of trying the lunch set (I presume its a little lighter than dinner) and adding one or two dishes. Since I got reservations at Tasting Court I think I’ll opt out of the crab this time around (I did compare them both roughly 2/3 years ago and liked the smoothness more at Tasting Court) but will try a few dishes from the regular menu.
Ha, I was getting super hungry reading his trip. But yeah, I tried the one wonton shop actually based on Charles’ recommendation and thought they did a good job on the char siu as well as their wonton noodles. Might eat there if I’m around the area.
Actually any thoughts on HK Cafes? I don’t really know of any super famous spots that do the baked pork chops over rice (then again, its… really hard to go wrong with it I feel). Maybe some of the minced beef with the oyster sauce gravy over rice if places have good wok hei. Any thoughts on milk tea (for my folks) or lemon tea (my personal favorite)? I saw a blog mention about My Cup Of Tea 我杯茶 for milk tea so might check it out if near Wan Chai/Causeway bay.
Wow! Thanks for those pictures, will try to locate some of those eateries that you posted.
As I mentioned, used my credit on it and then it uh… expired because I keep forgetting to find adequate times at SFO haha… doh. But yeah, usually I’m not too affected by security. I find SFO to be pretty good for US standards, its usually not getting into the terminals that’s the issue but rather taking off haha. Thanks for the tips though, will do the mobile passport.
Thanks for the link! Will look and read through that carefully. Gah, now I have to compile a list of pineapple buns. I will say though, one of the most interesting variation I had was near the Mark and Spencers in Langham Place (near Ming Court). Had a pineapple bun topped croissant. Had that nice crust of the croissant and the crunchy top with buttery smoothness of the dough. I’m sure it shortens your life…
" As part of the Four Seasons Pop Down Hong Kong experience, everyone is invited to join Four Seasons at Pacific House on April 1 and 2, 2019 for a unique lunch hour indulgence. For two days only, Four Seasons Pop Down Bakery will open its doors starting at 11:30 am where Chef Chan Yan Tak will serve his famous pineapple pork buns and baked cream custard puffs among floral creations by Tokyo-based and internationally acclaimed celebrity floral artist Nicolai Bergmann.
This will mark the first time that Chef Tak has made his delicacies available outside of Lung King Heen, the world’s first Chinese restaurant to be granted a Michelin three-star rating. While supplies last, visitors to the bakery will receive the complimentary treats in a custom-designed takeaway box adorned with artwork by local illustrator Don Mak, and are encouraged to share the exclusive experience on social media with #FourSeasonsPopDown ."
I’m tempted to go since I actually am there just… I wonder if HK is like San Francisco where any notable item might be filled with lines… so many lines…
I love Irish/English breakfasts. We had the Hong Kong version at a HK cafe in TST, around the corner from our hotel. Prices very reasonable, portions hearty. A western style breakfast was a nice change after 2 weeks of yummy Asian eats. And No 10% Service Charge!!
Fried Egg and Beef for she, Thick Pork Chop Combo for me. (she didn’t realized until afterwards that they will toast the bread for HKD$2, live and learn)
Again, not a destination place. Nice change of pace after a few dozen Chinese meals. This place was part of a chain, Yuen Long Bistro. Locations throughout the territory.
Oh wow, that looks interesting. I was thinking more along the lines of the tomato based baked pork chops over rice for lunch or the macaroni and ham in soup for breakfast but might as well try the English/Irish style breakfast as well! I can’t recall going to that many in the bay
Also a slight update, probably going to try T’ang Court for dim sum. They actually have reservations and Mott 32’s menu seemed pretty similar to the one I tried in Vancouver so maybe another time for that place. Got reservations for Tasting Court and the Chairman though the menu is currently being discussed. I’m not sure if any of the items I asked for is seasonal during that month but currently trying to go for items that are seen at http://www.diarygrowingboy.com/ whom I believe is @Peech here on HO. I also dread seeing the prices…
Fiddler’s Green on El Camino in Millbrae (?) serves a nice Irish Breakfast with great housemade Soda Bread. Not fancy fare, but the kitchen has a very nice touch.
Huh, I walk by that place pretty often when I stroll around Milbrae, never even thought they would have Irish breakfast (always thought that place opened into the night since it was a pub)… Now I’ll have to give that a shot lol
I’ll throw in a few activities that may not be on anyone’s culinary list, but we’ve enjoyed as visitors.
The Mid Levels Escalator up towards the peak. Its a nice leisurely way to see the more residential side of life in Hong Kong. You take it starting in Central, and it wends its way up in tiers halfway up the hill. The aforementioned Lin Heung is in the area. Have the famous stuffed duck, you must reserve at least a day in advance. Not the most fantastic duck ever, but a fun taste of the old days.
The most famous Pigeon restaurant is in Shatin, at the Lung Wah Hotel. We’ve had better birds at other eateries, but Lung Wah definitely has them all beat with their location, patina and history.
For us, no visit to Hong Kong is complete without the double-decker bus ride to Sai Kung. Much of the seafood is extremely fresh, and reasonably priced. When we were there last month late morning, most of the diners at the quayside seafood places were eating DIM SUM. huh?? Must be very good.
We have seen boats dock, and the hands immediately start shucking mounds of fresh harvested Oysters and Scallops.
Sai Kung is happening all day. We usually get their about mid afternoon, and have an early dinner.
Google Maps is indispensable for our travels. Assuming you are transiting from Tseun Wan. You have a few options. We prefer the buses over the underground, more scenic.
