Happiness in every bite

One way to get your mind round the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong is through its delicious dishes, especially those served in the traditional teahouses that punctuate the sprawling city.

Hong Kong people traditionally eat five times a day with the morning repast featuring either congee or soy milk with Chinese doughnut. Lunch tends to be fast and brief, with busy workers grabbing a light meal near their offices but leaving enough unordered for the restaurants to offer bargain sets all afternoon. Tea is generally enjoyed around 3pm while dinner is always a big deal for locals, who like to linger over a meal that can be light, substantial or somewhere in between. Many people also indulge in siu yeh, a late night meal or snack, just before bedtime.

As visitors to Hong Kong will already know, there’s no shortage of a good food to suit any pocket. One of the world’s busiest trading harbours, it’s where leading chefs congregate and is the best place in the world to enjoy a Cantonese feast that won’t break the bank.

At the century-old Lin Heung Kui teahouse in the historic southwest Sheung Wan area, food is more than a meal; it’s also a delicious bite of history.

A sister branch of the famous and equally long-lasting Lin Heung teahouse in Central, Lin Heung Kui boasts more spacious dining floors, making it a comfortable place to linger over baskets of steamed delicacies. The round tables, the uniform furniture in these traditional places, are smaller at this branch, meaning you can come in a small group and get your own table instead of having to share with other customers. 

Lin Heung Kui serves teas and dim sum along with a variety of simple entrees – usually meat on steamed rice. First, though, you need to choose your tea. While Hong Kong hardliners usually go for the strong, dark and fermented Po Lei, also known as Pu-erh, others opt for the milder Sao-Mei (brown tea) or Ti-Guan-Im (green tea). The choice  is strictly personal with most places charging for tea per person rather than per type.

Steeped in the traditions of old-school teahouse, Lin Heung Kui has a unique ambience. For example, the first pot is always used to quickly rinse the eating utensils, tea cups included. The second pot is slowly poured and always in order of seniority. Once the most senior person raises his or her tea cup, the meal can officially begin.

Lin Heung Kui’s dim sum is hearty. The Sheung Fan, rolled noodles stuffed with BBQ pork, shrimp or liver, are thick and fluffy, making each bite rather like munching on a fat cloud. Their famous giant chicken bun, as big as a small side plate, is aromatic and tasty. The bun, made with fermented wheat flour, has a unique aroma and chewy texture and the savoury filling of chicken mixed with assorted vegetables and mushrooms rounds out the balance. 

Baked treats can be found at one of Wan Chai’s best kept secrets though the tiny Kam Fung Cafe serves such delicious goodies that queues form at all hours and especially in the afternoon. Egg tarts, chicken pies, pineapple buns and other uniquely Hong Kong snacks are served here along with chilled milk tea, coffee and more. Fans of the typically firm Hong Kong egg tarts should sample Kam Fung’s runny yolk version.

For more contemporary fare , head to Wan Chai’s minimalist cafe Xi Yan and savour traditional Cantonese dishes served in a modern presentation. Shredded jelly fish and cucumber are served not just with the usual sesame sauce but with a hint of wasabi giving the dish an extra kick.

Spareribs are battered, deep-fried and rubbed with tangerine zest, giving them an aromatic flavour that’s great with steamed rice. 

You can also opt for delicious turnip pancakes served with XO sauce, my personal favourite, or sigh in ecstasy over the Lamma Island shrimp paste fried rice with vegetable soup. Try too their wonderful tofu scoops, poached pear in Chinese wine or the scrumptious sesame-stuffed rice dumplings.

That way you’ll be sure to get to the heart of Hong Kong’s delicious traditions. One bite at a time. 

 

If you go

_ Lin Heung Kui is at 2-3/F, 46-50 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, telephone 2156-9328

_ Kam Fung Café is at 41 Spring Garden Lane, Wan Chai. It’s open daily from 6.45am to 7pm.

_ Xi Yan is at 8 Wing Fung Street, Wan Chai, telephone 2833-6299, www.XiYan.com.hk.

_ Download the free e-book, “Hong Kong Man Man Sek” (in Thai), from the writer’s blog at www.OhSirin.com.