Sang Kee Congee 生记粥品 (Hong Kong)

I love eating porridge from Dim Sum restaurants and decided to head down to Sang Kee Congee to have a bowl of its famous fish porridge. Open for over 40 years, the crowd inside is unlike the breakfast crowd you see at a normal cha chan teng. The shop space is very small and people just quietly slurp their porridge, unlike the noisy crowd in a cha chan teng. 

The soup stock, made of lean pork bones and dry scallop is simmered for four hours. The rice porridge is then made by Thai rice and bean curd sticks in the stock for at least another three hours. Unfortunately, I didn't taste all that flavour when I ate the Fish Porridge (27 HKD). 

Furthermore, I would have preferred it if the fish was in larger chunks instead of being in small pieces. A small bowl of fresh ginger and soya sauce acted as a complement to the porridge. The You Tiao (Deep fried crumpler) (5 HKD) was kind of disappointing because it was cold. It was easy to tell why because many bowls were filled with you tiao and just left in the open. 

The congee is a lot thinner than I'm used to. I'm guessing that with different cooking styles for congee, you either love it or be indifferent about it. I'm the latter and found this place overhyped, but it's more of a personal preference thing.

Sang Kee Congee 生记粥品
G/F 7-9 Burd Street, Sheung Wan
Closed on Sundays 
Sheung Wan MTR Station, Exit A2
Tel No: 2541 1099

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Maxim's Palace City Hall 美心皇宫 (Hong Kong)

The bell boy at the hotel we were staying at must be earning quite a bit of dough. When we asked him for a dim sum recommendation, he recommended us Maxim's Palace. When asked further whether it was expensive, he replied, "No. It's reasonable and affordable." Well, technically it's really not that expensive but we could possibly have at least 2 meals of dim sum at a decent cha cheng teng for the same price. 

This place is perfect for a wedding. Unlike many old Chinese restaurants which may be draped in gaudy red, this place has huge chandeliers above and you get a fantastic view of the harbour outside. You may have to queue for a place in this place though. We waited around 10 minutes when we reached at around 1 pm. This place is pretty old school, where servers push the carts around and you choose what you want. The interesting thing is that they paste pictures with English and Chinese words on it so that you can place your orders. 

We ordered the Lotus Leaf Chicken.The glutinous rice was moist, unlike some places where it can be too dry. The chicken was accompanied by some salted egg yolk.

The Rice Roll with Prawn was quite good with fresh and big prawns. 

After my encounter with Tai Cheong Bakery (which was far too buttery for me), the mini egg tarts here brought me much comfort. Warm egg custard with a flaky crust.

We also ordered some Deep fried Taro Puffs which had a very crispy and light exterior. The mushroom bits in the puff added to the flavour of the puff.

All of the above, plus a bowl of beancurd, added up to 223 HKD, which is a lot more expensive than normal dim sum. If you are looking for a place with plenty of seats and don't mind spending a little more, this place is an ideal choice with its good dim sum. However, once is enough for me because I don't think it's worth it to pay so much more because its quality isn't far much better than a good dim sum restaurant such as Tim Ho Wan. On the other hand, if you are looking for variety, this is probably the place for you.

Maxim's Palace City Hall 美心皇宫
Various locations
2/F, Low Block, City Hall
(Near IFC/Central MTR)
Tel No: 2521 1303 

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Tim Ho Wan 添好運點心專門店 (Hong Kong)

For people like me who don't or can't afford to spend an arm and a leg on their food, eating at a Michelin Star restaurant might be a dream that is nearly unattainable. Oh, but hold on! Did you see the word nearly? Helmed by the chef formerly from the Four Seasons Hotel, Tim Ho Wan is a definite must-go when you go to Hong Kong. But don't forget to get there early! 

When we reached at 5 pm (that's not really dinner time by any standards), there was a crowd outside. But we only waited 10-15 minutes which is really really really short compared to the hours that many spend queueing if you go at normal meal times. 

You can order from outside on a slip of paper with the menu on it (English/Chinese). When we went in, we were tucked in some corner and promptly served tea.

Here's a menu with pictures, just in case you don't know what the food looks like! The options are pretty limited though. 

We ordered the very famous Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (17 HKD). It's texture is like a po lo bun (pineapple bun) which is slightly hard on the outside and chewy in the outside. I loved this dish because of the skin and it's generous filling of char siew in it.

The Vermicelli roll stuffed with Shrimp (22 HKD) had very fresh prawns tucked in the skin.

We also opted for the Steamed Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (24 HKD) which tasted like typical siew mai served in good dim sum restaurants.

I didn't really enjoy the Pan Fried Turnip Cake (12 HKD) because I found the turnip a little bitter. But that might be because I had just eaten the very sweet char siew before this dish.

Our dessert was the Pan Fried Red Bean Dumplings (15 HKD). The glutinous rice skin was of an appropriate thickness and was a great complement to the red bean.

The food here is good and cheap. We spent 94 HKD between the two of us. Yes, you have to battle the queues but do yourself a favour by going earlier!

Tim Ho Wan 添好運點心專門店
Various locations
Shop 8, Taui Yuen Manion Phase 2
2-20 Kwong Wah Street, Mongkok
Hong Kong 

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Tsim Chai Kee 沾仔记 (Hong Kong)

After a bowl of wonton noodles at Mak's Noodle, we were still hungry! So we decided to head opposite to Tsim Chai Kee to get another bowl of noodles! 

With considerably more people at the shop, we had to share the table with other people. Markedly more trendy looking than Mak's Noodle, this place was adorned with trendy colours and decor.

We opted for Wonton Noodle (21 HKD) again. Approximately 10 HKD cheaper, the portion is twice that of Mak's. The wonton is also incredibly huge and is stuffed with lots of prawns. Noodles were a little too hard for my liking though. While everything seems to point towards the fact that this is more value for money, I think the soup broth at Mak's has stolen my heart.

Very value for money and tastes quite good. However, if you are interested in a slightly better soup broth, go to Mak's Noodle!

Tsim Chai Kee 沾仔记
98 Wellington Street
Shop B, G/F Jade Centre
Central MTR, Exit D2
Hong Kong 

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Mak's Noodle 麥奀云吞面世家 (Hong Kong)

A third-generation family business dating back to the 1960s, the recipe for Mak's noodle has apparently remained unchanged since then.

We went there around 6 pm and the tables were not filled. While waiting for our noodles, we read a newspapers article and a review slipped under the glass panel of the table. These included instructions by a reviewer on how you're supposed to eat the wonton noodles and also an interview with Anthony Bourdain who held this place in high regard. 

Our Wonton Noodles (32 HKD) came quite quickly. One thing that you are going to note is that the bowl is very small, even though it is heaped with noodles. The soup base, made of powdered dried flounder, dried shrimp roe and pork bones, was clear and delicious. I normally don't drink the soup of noodles because it's quite salty or oily- but I drank some of this soup because it was too hard to resist! The noodles were also very thin and chewy such that if they didn't break apart so easily, you probably could use it as a rubber band. The prawns in the wontons were very fresh and bouncy as well. 

Although this bowl of noodles totally didn't fill me up, but compared to the next wonton stall we went to for a second bowl, I felt that it had a slight edge in terms of the delicious soup broth. Nonetheless, if you prefer a bigger bowl of noodles, bigger wontons and something cheaper, head over to Tsim Chai Kee right opposite!

Mak's Noodle 麥奀云吞面世家
Various locations
77 Wellington Street
Central MTR, Exit D2
Hong Kong
Tel No: 2854 3810 

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