Though Mui Kee is a well known institution in Hong Kong, there is a certain delight in eating a seemingly simple dish prepared in painstaking traditional fashion, with no shortcuts and the cooking excellent. Congee is a humble food that many blue collar workers eat to start their day. And Mui Kee, is a humble stall inside the cooked food centre in the Mongkok Garden Street Market Complex.
The stall has been around for decades and their congee is based on a mix of older and newer crop rice with the meat cooked quickly in the congee in old brass pots. We had the pork innard congee (#2) with intestine, heart, liver and meatball) and the fish belly soup. The liver and innards were cooked just right and the meatball had a pleasing bouncy texture. The fish belly congee had very fresh fish cooked to just the right tenderness, and the aromatic and creamy congee benefited from fish in the congee base. Both were garnished with some ginger, green onion and lettuce.
The type of food stalls that I hope doesn’t go away over time. Humble food but little delightful gastronomic pleasure sprinkled with history.
We cleaned the bowl despite its 30+C outside. Congee was noticeably superior than the Tasty’s version the day before.
That looks great! My last few trips have mainly confined me to the HK Island side for breakfast, so I haven’t ventured to many great congee shops in the Kowloon side. One of my favorite things to eat while in HK is fish congee – something I don’t make well at home (I make pretty good congee otherwise). I’m heading back at the and of September and can’t wait to find these places; thanks for the write up.
It’s been a good 3 years since I was last there so the names are fading. I also tend not to remember the names of the places for breakfast, more of the visuals. I’ve been to Keung Kee many times - the outpost by Times Sq usually since that’s closer to where I stay. I remember staying with a friend at North Point and finding this noodle/congee shop that had a decent selection. I ordered the fish with pidan, and it was tasty. The pidan was a revelation, because I’d never thought of adding that other than the typical salted pork and pidan offering. This place let you add pidan to any type of congee. Can’t recall the name but it was on either Wharf Rd or Java Rd.
I also enjoy the macaroni soup for breakfast there, so usually when I stop by a random cha chan teng, that’s what I’ll try in the mornings.
On Keung Kee - that’s likely the right one. While the store front doesn’t ring huge bells (it’s kind of generic), the photos I found of the menu and the some of the seating looks very familiar. It’s close to where my sister’s place is and I remember it being not too far a walk from her place. I like the small neighborhood-y places in HK, so I often stop and eat at places that have what I’m in the mood for and generally look clean. It’s not unusual for me to eat and walk right out without thinking about the name of the place.
It’s definitely not Tai Ping Kitchen or Yun Kee in North Point. Those places look nicer than this joint I remember.
Grass carp skin side dish is excellent there as well. The brass pots he uses for cooking the congee with the materials has been in use for 20 to 30 years at least.
Wife and I were in HKG in January this year. We enjoyed Fuk Kee twice. The first time for a early lunch: char siu/roast goose on rice, fish skin salad and jook (of course).
Went back the next morning for late breakfast: jook and cheong fun, full menu available only after 11am or so. The mixed organs jook was so good, we had it both days.
Many of the Fuk Kee customers were Asian tourist, mainlanders and Taiwanese.
The MongKok area has transitioned nicely from its red light district roots. Had some fantastic offal noodles in a place on Dundas street. Not good at noticing names, but we had good stuff at most of the places we stumbled into in MongKok.
