After a good night’s sleep with no sign of jet lag, I decided to trek across the harbour to visit a 3+ decades old Dai-Pai-Dong institution - Shui Kee, on the island side. Famous for their HK style street food, ‘ Braised beef offals, briskets and tendon noodles ‘, using recipes passed down through generations. More importantly, the owner is a rare breed, insisting on using only fresh and never frozen beef offals parts.
It has been over 9 years since I last frequented this place! Apart from the price increase, it seems like nothing has changed! Long lines are still forming at least half an hour before the stall opening! NO take outs of any of the braised products are accepted and sharing of tables is mandatory! The only new addition I noticed was the welcome offering of mid-cut ‘ox-tongue’ as an added supplement to their Beef Offals Soup Noodles.
Again, was it the effect of my over-imagination or over-anticipation? For, somehow, I found my bowl of Beef offal plus Ox-tongue Ho-Fun rice noodles, though tasty, to be lacking in the wow factor that I remembered. Seasoning and overall taste profile was definitely off and on the underhanded side. The texture of the protein toppings was perfectly chewy and tender though!
Noticing I was taking photos of his place and food, the friendly owner/chef approached and had a nice chat with me, even comp-ting me a few pieces of his famous Fried Fish Skin! Now! That was some real yummy treat! Cut thicker than most, the crackling skin was perfectly seasoned, super crispy and oh-so crunchy! Absolutely addictive!
Next, back to my Kowloon side hotel to unwind using ‘above surface‘ public transportation so as to allow me to take in some of the sights and sound along the way…..just like your typical tourist! Ha!!
