Jamie will sure kill me and throw me on to the tracks and cause another breakdown! This post is very very long overdue and I apologise…

About a month or so before the Penang Hill funicular train service opened its doors again to the public after the long needed upgrading, we were invited by the Tourism Malaysia and Project Penang to test ride the new trains and have a walk about at the top of the hill. Although many things have changed on the hill, but it was still like getting to know an old friend all over again after 20 years of being apart. Time flies and it has been almost 20years since I last set foot on the hill. I could still remember the time when our scout troop hiked up the hill through the wet jungle tracks early in the morning after a night of rain.

Before the trip we were briefed about the train station, the upgrading works and what they have done or will do with the material salvaged from the old tracks. If and when you are at the lower station, you might see a piece of history now being used as a door/window frame.

The trains are well conditioned and fast. So travelling up and down the hill is breeze. But some people might like a slower ride for them to soak up the great scenery of Penang.

The new trains look slick and new, but I still yearn for the nostalgic flavour of the old trains minus the break downs and the sometimes warm and humid atmosphere in the cars.

Up on the hill we took some time to look at the almost forgotten memories that we have had during those good old days when Penang Hill was one of places to visit during holidays rather than now’s shopping complexes. I guess many of our age would remember the family trips up the hill, spending quality time together and building a stronger family bond.

During the trip, I had lots of opportunity to take some photos of plants and flowers that are abundant in the hills’ still surrounding.

A few days after our virgin ride on the new trains, we were invited again by Tourism Malaysia to witness the handing over ceremony of the Penang Hill Train Service to the Penang State Government. It was a simple event to officially return the trains back to Penang.

With the new and faster trains, we plan to go up the hill again to hunt for things that we have long loss touch with.

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It is not the first ‘Food Trip’ that we have planned and guided, but this ‘makan’ trip is one that we have been asked to draft for Taiwanese Celebrity Chef, Chen Hong 陈宏。 All the those eating spots that we have included in our section of the 3 days 2 night foodies tour was compiled from our eating experiences, reviews and most importantly recognition by the general public who patronizes these places to fill their tummy.

Argyll Road Roti Canai, they serve roti canai that has a crisp surface with a fluffy center and curries that have 60 years of history.

Kimberley Street Char Koay Kak, it is a 2nd generation business that still uses wood to fuel heat the big circular cast iron pan to stir fry pieces of hand cut ‘Koay Kak’ or dough cakes.Siew Fong Lye Chee Cheong Fun at Soon Yuen Coffeeshop, rolls of hot rice noodle sheets topped with generous amounts of sweet sauce, ‘har koa’ or prawn paste, chilli paste, and garnish with sprinkles of toasted sesame seeds.Gill is seen here talking to Chen Hong about the specialty of the Chee Cheong Fun.

At Cecil Market, we visited many street food stalls that many Penangites have grown up with. But before the visit started, Chen Hong had a short chit chat with  Gill and Ash Loh of Kwong Wah Daily.Cecil Market’s Jawa Mee, it has traditional flavours that we have grown to like. A bit of sweetness and acidity in a tomato base gravy over freshly poached noodles and bean sprouts.Cecil Market’s Ah Chuan Curry Mee, soup that uses both coconut milk and evaporated milk as the base that would have less strain on our health.Cecil Market Sago Char, after Weld Quay’s stall ceased operation they are the last one still selling this unique delicacy that uses ‘sago’ to make the cakes that are then stir fried with chilli and bean sprouts.

Cecil Market Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng was an ad-hoc addition  to the visit to Cecil Market. Chen Hong likes soups that are light and easy on the palate.

Cecil Market Pasembur is one of the well accepted Chinese style Pasembur in Penang. Our other choices would be the one in Batu Lanchang market food court.At Cecil Market Nyonya Kuih, it is their tapioca kuih, yam cake, etc has texture and old flavours which got it into the list.

At the junction of Kimberley Street and Cintra Street we found ‘飞鸿’ ‘duck feet’ wraps that still has the old school tastes that we constantly hunt for. The rich, slightly savoury with a sweet after taste duck feet wrap or ‘鸭脚包’ consist of duck feet with its web, a piece pork fat and meat wrapped (tied) with a piece pig intestine lining.  The couple is already semi-retired, so it would be best to know their business days and hours. We were lucky to have pre-booked the ‘duck feet’ for the shooting as it was already sold out even before we arrived.Kimberley Street Thong Shui, they are famous for their almond tea and traditional sweet desserts. This business is already in its 4th generation of proprietorship. Mr. Goh is lucky to have family that is willing to inherit his hard earned patrons and skills.

Kimberly Street Duck Koay Chiap after years of changing and improving their delicacy has left some impressions in our taste buds. Though the noodle is different from our preferred rough textured noodle opposite the Air Itam wet market, its savoury duck gravy and the slightly smooth handmade noodles were well matched.

(The above photo was used by another prominent blogger in Penang)

By late evening, we were at Chulia Streets’s ‘沙爹王’ Hainanese satay stall. It’s specialty would be the unique Hainanese recipe for marinating the tender pieces of pork and chicken, and the sweet potato base gravy used to dip the evenly grilles 3 pieces of meat on a bamboo skewer. Do not net forget to order his ‘roti bakar’ or toasted bread to mop up the remaining gravy.

As for the grill fish, it is the marinate that consist of lots of raw garlic and birds eye chilli, fermented bean paste, sugar and “asam”. The readied product would taste rich, sweet, spicy and nutty with slight acidity, but yet would not overwhelm the flavours of the fish.

On the second day, we met up with them at Teluk Bahang for Auntie Bee’s Loh Mee which has the sinful flavour of 5-spice and a consistently thick texture. Her Hokkien Mee soups is also not bad with a a heavy taste of Prawns and the price is very reasonable with portion she serves. The stall is just a stones throw away from the Caltex station under a big shady tree.Then we went down to Shamrock Beach to sample the ‘Tanjung Bungah Laksa’ that only opens on weekends. If I am not mistaken, the Malay Nyonya fusion style laksa had its humble beginnings of just being operated on a push cart by the current operator’s mother. Now they operate from a all white food truck that only rolls up during weekends. The laksa has a spicy and sweet taste without the fishy after taste. Though the price is slightly on the high side, the taste does induce one to have more than one serving.

After Lidiana we parted ways and only met up again at ‘Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine’ in Tanjung Marina. At Chin’s, Dave introduced some of their signature dishes to Chen Hong and shared some of his experience in the many years in the F&B business from England to Malaysia. We will definitely be back with more details of this Chinese Fine Dine in Penang.

Aromatic Duck, that has been deboned and its fibres broken downed.With the visit to Chin’s we end our list that was contributed for the purpose to promote Penang’s food scene and also to assist Chef Chen Hong on his quest to re-familiarize himself with Penang’s well sort after delicacies.

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We would like to wish all our readers and peers a Very Happy and Bountiful 2o11!

Fireworks at Esplanade and Prai area.

Fireworks at Straits Quay in Penang.

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On the fourth day of our Hong Kong trip we headed to Yuen Long (元朗) to look for Hugo Lam’s restaurant and also to soak in some of the old architecture that was left behind in the area. It tooks us 3 train rides and lots of walking to only see some of the places that was on the list.

One hundred year old temple.

Ping Shan Herritage Trail that brought us to many old Ching dynasty buildings that were still left standing.

Looks like the haunted houses in the old Chinese vampire movies!

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The meals that we had on Day 3 during our Hong Kong trip was focus on food hunting through the information gathered from blogs and other Medias. The first place that we hunt down was the much talked about old style dim sum place called Lin Heung (莲香楼). Much was expected from them especially reading about it and also seeing the article by 蔡澜 recommending this place which boasts old people serving good oldskool dim sum, what we actually got was poor and rude service from the waiters and food that had loads of MSG. The dim sum dishes were very much a letdown in terms of taste and texture, except for the ‘char siew pao’ which had some standard.

The ‘char siew pao’ is actually the world’s first dim sum. Both the dough and filling is equivalently important to deliver the soft fluffy texture and flavourful bites.

As we did not feel satisfied with what we had at Lin Heung, we continue our breakfast at ‘Mak Wai’ (麥记）wantan noodles. Their noodles were crunchier and thinner compared to those we have found in Malaysia so far. The wantan itself only consist of just prawn and prawn roe which was already sufficient to deliver satisfaction to what would be a disappointed morning. The wantan dumplings were fresh and crunchy and the taste delivered was sweet and savoury. The wantan noodle is actually one of my favourite noodle dish that I don’t mind having every morning.

Other than noodles and dumplings, we also sampled their ‘牛腩‘or stewed beef belly. It was not what we expected but just looking at the serving it was already enough to make me drool. The tendons and meat chunks were tender and full of flavour, the best thing were that the herbs and spice used did not overwhelm the beefy taste. The only thing that bugged me in this dish was the heavy usage of ‘Mandarin Orange Peel’.

After breakfasts, we set out to walk about and found this ‘泰昌饼家’ or Tai Cheung Bakery. They are famous for their egg tarts which even the last British Governor of Hong Kong enjoyed very much.

The tart shell was soft but not too flaky, and it does not stick to the grooves of our teeth. The egg custard filling was fragrantly eggy with a rich taste minus the overwhelming sugary sweetness. If you are in Hong Kong it may be one of the pit stops that would not want to miss.

In the evening and part of our hunting list, we headed to ‘蘭芳園‘ or Lan Fong Yuen to sample their famous pork chop buns and ‘奶茶‘ or milk tea. The milk tea was smooth as in subtle on the throat or in another words like downing a smooth full body wine, full of flavours but yet does not stress the throat too much.

The pork chop bun was also not a letdown, it was fried till golden brown and yet retained its tenderness and juices. Paired with soft mayo and nicely toasted sesame bun, it was the best that I have so far. In the past, we only found something of similar at Wongkok restaurant at  OUG in Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur, but the place has since closed down.

In the evening we went to shop for some items in the Mongkok area which is famous for its ‘电子街‘，’女人街’ and ‘球鞋街’, and to find some street food that may entice our taste buds. We found a street side shop that sells a variety of snack foods like stinky tofu,  curry fish balls, stewed cow innards and so on at the end of ’女人街’. The snack food sold here did not had as much MSG as compared to the shop fronting the hotel that we were staying in, Langham.

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Day 3 on our Hong Kong Free-And-Easy trip brought us to Hong Kong Island. Morning started with their usual Hong Kong Dim Sum, then proceed with a walk around on foot until they hurt and got on hop-on-hop-off bus for HKD50 only for the whole day.

Here I got off a shot of enforcement officers from the health department (I think) making their rounds on foot. Most of the time back in home soil, the enforcement officers are normally motor vehicles. With foot petrols one would see more and do more, and also keep the inches of the belly and the Government could reduce fuel consumption green house gases

A few minutes down our walk, we turned in to the maze like alley ways in the area we were in and found food stalls and market stalls practicing their trade in the morning hours.

After we emerge from the alleys and business district, we began our hunt for places of interests on foot then by bus.

The double decker public bus serve which provided the hop-on-hop-off service runs along 2 looping routes which allows tourists to move along their historical trail less the effort and with video and audio introduction of the places it passes through. How hope Penang state would have this in place to prevent taxis from fleecing tourists.

It is what we normally see in Hong Kong movies and soaps, they really take the effort to keep inconvenience and safety top priority by making it compulsory to erect scuff holdings and with extensive nettings.

The old Hong Kong Police Head Quarters is under renovations. There are actually quite number of old heritage buildings in the area, it is just we need to notice them and admire them in the midst of the ever expanding concrete jungle.

The tram system that runs along some of the streets in Hong Kong Island. One of these streets is the ‘海味街’ seafood street.

The entrance to ‘The Peak’  and ‘Madam Tussuad’. As the crowd was picking up, we decided not to visit the place and went on to plan E for makan.

Public transport in Hong Kong is well connected with sea, land and underground.

In the evening we walk through Lan Kwai Fong which we found was shorter in length than the famous Bintang Walk or Bangsar’s happening areas. It is all about the branding and image projected. The time to be there should be late evening or early night time, otherwise it was a bit quiet.

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These are what we had for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper on our second day in Hong Kong. Breakfast was quite rush as we had to head out to ‘Tai Yu San’, thus a fast bite was in order. Nothing fancy, just their usual breakfast set at their local ‘Char Chan Theng’.

Majority of the local ‘char chan theng’ would carry instant noodles, similarly like Kim Gary in Malaysia. But what set them apart is that the choice toppings. Over here we had Nissin noodles with pork bacon, simple and straight forward.

Then there was toast with ham omelet and read beans. The toast was slightly toasted and coated with a light spread of butter, the texture was slightly crisp on the surface and smooth and soft in the insides. One of the reasons that  we do not order this type of toast at our local Kim Gary type fast food chains is that it is often a bit dry and hard, and also of pricing issues. In Malaysia my choice would be our ‘roti kahwin’ or butter and kaya toast followed with soft boiled eggs at our local ‘kopitiam’

Another set that we ordered was the pork chop, toast, omelet and beans. Consistency was in the toast preparation, crisp, smooth and soft. The pork chop was egg/batter coated fried to a crisp surface and leaving a tender moist meaty slice of pork. Next on our item to look for would be the famous pork chop buns!

After reaching the peak at ‘Tai Yu San’, we took a pit stop at the temples’ eatery outlet, Deli Vegetarian Cafe. We heard they were famous for their soya bean milk and smooth ‘taufu fah’ or soya bean curd.

The ‘taufu fah’ was smooth and gentle on the palate and the sugar syrup was not overwhelmingly sweet with a hint of spice of ginger. But the soya milk was not as stand out as the taufu fah.

The food bloggers that we are, we would not just stop at those soya products, we had ourselves some light snacks from the same shop. Of the 6 items that we bought, we enjoyed the most was the reddish cake which has loads of shredded white reddish and carrot for added texture to the already perfect piece, and taste was well balanced with saltiness and sweetness.

At night we were lost for dinner! We were eager to try out a steamboat shop that has great offers but only after 9:30pm. Thus we end up having a fast dinner at the following restaurant. We had their ‘Siu Lung Pao’ with King Crab which was very expensive, just 3 dishes already cost us a few hundred(less than HKD400). The ‘siu lung pao’ had a rich soup stock in it compared to the usual dumpling that we had in Penang. Apart from the dumplings, we also order fried ‘nin koa’ and drunken pigeon which was not really something that we appreciate that much.

Later after we reached our hotel in Mongkok, we headed out again to the surrounding area to look for more eats and also for my camera beg. Too many eateries too choose from, we just ‘hantam’ the one with most people inside. Take my advice, don’t ever do that not even in Malaysia!

After dining in Hong Kong for eateries a few times, I noticed that this Hong Kong people can really eat! Although their prices are quite high, but their portions are not little either. For our second dinner we had ‘king soy fried noodles’ which was too salty, in fact all the dishes we ordered were too salty. On the table also was their stewed pork and hard boiled eggs,  coagulated pork blood(cooked), beef noodles and a plate of pigs innards and cuttle fish.

To save on your daily meals, look out for their special discount times. And you also look at the serving size before you order, so that you might not need to order many dishes if you are traveling in pairs of in small groups. It was a lesson learnt the hard way for us!

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After having our quick breakfast in Mongkok, we headed out for ‘Tai Yu San’ or Ngong Ping. We opted for the cable car route to get to our destination. I like the scenery along the way to the peak, especially the green pastures on the slopes. Totally different from the slopes in Malaysia which is full of trees of sort.

Upon reaching the peak, we were greeted with some the giant Buddha statue that we usually see in the TVB serial dramas.

There we are taking a photo at the foot of the giant statue.

Apart from visiting ‘Tai Yu San’, we also to half a day visiting ‘Tai O’, its jetty, township, market and took a look at the way of life of in this tranquil yet full of surprise village.

Clear bilingual sign boards which are great for tourists like us. If it had been implemented in whole of Malaysian, it would had in a way preserved the historical names of roads which has disappeared due to human ego.

Along the walk around, we found some shops that we took photo of which still had some human flavour  in them.

This place we found a ‘tzi yum’ or fellow jazz and coffee lover who was friendly and helpful in our quest to search some local specialties.

We bought a bottle of ‘Prawn Paste’ for for testing on ‘kangkung’ and some other dishes that we plan to experiment with.

Then we move on to scout for ‘eel fish maw’, which we had to ask around for the locally process ones. We were directed by the owners of the cafe that we visited to look for ‘Siu Sing Sok’. He makes his own salted fish too which we also got a few for tasting.

What we didn’t get from our excursion was the beautiful and flavourful freshly preserved whole duck egg yokes.

Then we made a pit stop at an old but tasteful house cum business premises run by an old uncle who is still making ‘char kuo’ or steamed glutenous balls stuffed with peanut and sugar fillings the way they used to make it, with wood fire and bamboo steamers.

Lastly, we headed to a stall which passed by earlier to get some home made pastes to bring back for testing.

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Our first night in Hong Kong, we were treated to a scrumptious dinner on a floating fish farm(鱼排) which is just a stone’s throw from mainland China by Gill’s uncle-in-law. The seafood that we had were very fresh, in fact they still swimming in the sea when we were deciding the dishes that we wanted to try.

When the boat touch base at the floating fish farm, we noticed that one of their clients had just caught a live cuttle fish. And the not so shy me started to get my gears ready to capture the not often seen, live, sea creature in Penang.

After taking a short walk through the fish farm and choosing the ingredients for the night, we settled down to our wobbling table. Each time a boat passes through the area, the whole place would wobble, but not too violently though. To quench our thirst, we got ourselves some beer and soft drinks that were foreign to our eyes. One of the beers that we had was ‘Blue Girl’, a German beer brewed in Hong Kong. This beer was smooth and malty. It had a slight sweetness to its end. Too bad it is not found in Malaysia, or else Carlsberg & Tiger would be knock out of spot by this German lass.

As the drinking started, the dishes also begun its course. The first to come was the poach cuttle fish. The cuttle fish flesh was tender and sweet, and when dipped into their soya sauce the sweetness was even more distinctively brought out by the saltiness of the sauce. In Penang, live cuttlefish is hard to come by the market place!

Then we had freshly harvested clams. The texture was firm and the taste was sweet and earthy, which the sauce did not overwhelm..

I am no a crab person, but when it come to tasting I will get my hands dirty. The crab that we had was definitely fresh as the flesh was still firm and juicy, taste wise it was sweet to the end.

Up next on the table was another clam species. This one was cooked with less heat in it, it had a nutty tasting sauce. This clam is almost similar to the ‘kappa’ that we have in Malaysia. It tasted sweet and earthy with a firm body.

On our diner list there were 2 types of scallops served, one seen here is the more common type that we may find in Penang or Malaysia which is the ‘Fan Scallop’ (扇贝).

Then there is the second type of scallop which shell looks like the horns of a bull and triangular in shape. This scallop dish was prepared by just steaming and then seasoned with their in-house sauce. Savory, nutty and sweet.

Then there is the fish, which we did not put much attention to as were almost full and were busy chit chatting and drinking. The only thing I can remember was that the fish was steam to just near cooked in the mid section. Thus, we were asked to start picking from the sides to the middle.

The ‘kailan’ with salted fish was a bit too salty and the texture was fiberish and chewy.

Chicken was different from our local chicken species. It had a yellowish skin colour and the meat firmer, but the version served here was just average, nothing to shout a bout.

Well that was the end of our first day in Hong Kong. Next up would be Day 2 and our exploration at Tai O and Tai Yu san.

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Last weekend we took time off our daily chores and went walking around the Penang state Chinese New Year celebration to usher in the Year of the Tiger. we decided to attend this years’ festivities after a one year absent. From what we saw, it seems that the exhibition of traditional and clan cultures has dwindle slightly due to the lower budget available from the private sector, but the food stalls has increased in numbers and prices were not to expensive. I guess may be due o the increase competition?!

During our walk through of the enclave, we managed to get some good shots that we would like share with those who might have missed this event.

Old Trades That Need Support

Sweets of Yesteryears

Old Time Favorites

Traditional Games

The People and Festivities

We didn’t stay for the fireworks as it would be very taxing on us because we were on location since 4pm or so. security was tight and the atmosphere was fun but weather was hot and humid plus the place was jam pack with visitors from local and abroad.

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Last week after returning from Kuala Lumpur,we made a decision to capture the colors of Thaipusum in Penang to share with our friends. Thus, we decided to stack out at Dato’ Keramat Road for the pilgrimage journey to the temple in Water Fall Road.

The sharing and giving.

The preparation.

The offerings.

The pilgrimage.

The smashing.

The photography enthusiasts.

The people.

The Law.

The clean-up.

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上集写到…

吃了香港第一餐后, 走回酒店时, 经过菜市场的入口处, 正是朗壕酒店的对面.  好奇心突然启发, 于是我们决定进入菜市狂一狂.

若你要认识当地风土人情, 非到当地的菜市场不可, 它必能让您了解一二.

从街头到张望, 街尾的两旁都开满了店铺. 我们一踏进这人头拥挤的”街市”, 就像乡民出镇, 大呼小叫. 看那每样蔬果,肉类, 海鲜都非常生猛,简直叫人振奋!
大马的巴刹那有活生生的海鲜卖啊? 只有宰你一颈血的大酒楼才看见踪映. 那满街都是活鲜怎叫我不”心乱如麻”? 哈哈.连最普通的虾都是蹦蹦跳跳的!
听我香港人的姑丈说, 在香港买菜回家煮是蛮实惠. 在外用餐比自己煮的高出3,4倍. 难怪我们看见街市的价格也蛮合理.

这里有各式各样的鱼,虾,蚌,蟹,贝, 螺,秋季大闸蟹, 非洲鲍鱼,  geoduck…..真恨不得把它们买下!

从未在大马吃过的韭黄是韭菜的胞弟. 是韭菜隔绝光线，完全在黑暗中生长，因无阳光供给，不能产生光合作用，合成叶绿素，长成的韭菜，就会变成黄色，称之为“韭黄”
它就和白,青芦荀一样的诞生了.

看过新鲜竹荀没?

所畏近水楼台,蔬果每日从中国运到, 不新鲜才怪!
有供必求, 每人要吃新鲜的, 才满街都是, 价格自然大众化.

新鲜牛肉高高挂,要什么有什么!

鸡是活着给你挑的! 够新鲜了吧?

食物就看得过颖, 但”人”就不敢恭畏.  那些街市民看见我俩拿着相机大拍, 就很不自在地瞪着我们问:”你是否是记者要来拍我们犯窥是吗?!”.  哇塞! 幸好解释得快, 要不然就客死异乡了  ~
是否我们讲得一口流利的广东话就误当我们是港人?

大部份香港市民可能压力大, 少了那份热情, 换句话说是冷漠. 其不秋不睬的太度真另我们大吃不消. 听说以前更糟糕呢…..

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Continuing from my previous post (Hong Kong Day 1 Part 1), we now go to the part where we went to the near by wet market which was jam packed with people buying fresh ingredients for their kitchen.

Initially when we began to take photos of the place we felt very out of place as the traders were staring at us with unfriendly looks on their face, then one of them ask whether we were journalists. After we said that we aren’t he at least, let us take shots of his seafood stall. Then bit by bit we were didn’t mind the staring eyes because we were like little children entering a new playground with lots of new ‘toys’. We found seafood that were still swimming and jumping with live, vegetables that still have their roots clinging for live (soil), meat s that were well butchered and separated to their respective cuts. If I were a cook in Hong Kong, this would be my hunting ground in an urban jungle filled with concrete structures and buzzing cars.

They even have live South African Abalone on sale at the market. We can find these type of freshness only in medium to high-end seafood restaurants in Penang, not in your daily wet market that we go to for supplies.

There was also abundance of crab in the seafood stalls. If I am not wrong, it is near the end of the hairy crab season, thus the quality would not be as good as at the beginning of the season. The average price was HK$ 100 for 3 pieces, very cheap to what we pay for them back in Malaysia.

The variety of vegetables found in the market were also mind boggling and freshness.

The meat stall at the market supplies both pork and beef, unlike in Penang where it is divided.

After getting tired from all the venturing, we headed back to our hotel. And along the walk back, we caught a glimpse of the how fellow Christians in Hong Kong spread the good words of the Lord. They just setup their make shift stage and starts singing and starts to talk about their testimonials.

Next would be Day 1′s last post. It’s where we had dinner…..in the middle of the sea.

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We have heard and read of the dining experience of many that have visited Hong Kong. Finally our prayers have been answered, and we were in Hong Kong for 5 long days.  This trip, our major intention was to experience ourselves the delicacies and cuisine that Hong Kong is famous for.

This Hong Kong post would be a series of posts that will focus on the experience that we have gain through the 5 days touring in Hong Kong, and later to be followed with some posts on the various delicacies, business concepts and point of interest that we have ‘walk through’ in Hong Kong.

In preparation for our trip to Hong Kong, we did some research on the net by reading other blogs and also visiting http://www.discoverhongkong.com/login.html for some pointers and tips.

As the trip was all the way free and easy, we had in our disposal maps, GPS, and their trusty public transport. It was very convenient to connect from one place to the other with their public transportation. Most of our time, our travelling to and from places of our interest was by their MTR and public buses. Payment for their usage was also very convenient with their ‘Octopus’ card (HKD 50 for deposit, HKD 100 for initial credit, HKD 7 for service fee upon returning the card) that is available upon arrival at the airport, 7-Eleven stores, the MTR office, etc. The ‘Octopus is similar to our local ‘Touch n’ Go’(Tn’G) card but with more usage or acceptance as compared to our Tn’G in Malaysia. In addition to the high tech gadgets, one would also need some low tech equipments to move around in Hong Kong; a good pair of seasoned walking or running shoes and a strong legs.

Our journey began at 8:45am on a MAS flight from KLIA.

The flight, MH72, was a 4 hour flight, thus I got to try out the notorious airline food which I have not had for quite some time. The mornings’ choice was either ‘Nasi Lemak’ or ‘Salmon Omelet’ on that faithful morning. As I was traveling with my wife, we got try east & west in one flight. To my surprise both servings did not disappoint and tasted quite standard.

After the flight touch down and taxied to the sky bridge in ‘Chek Lap Kok’ airport, we were greeted by a faithful ‘Black Labrador’ and his handler from the Hong Kong Customs (I guess). This actually reminded me on my maiden voyage to Singapore by train when I was a todd. On the Singapore side we had to walk through a line where it station German Shepherds to sniff out contrabands, very intimidating. A short walk later, we were at the Hong Kong Immigration counters. The efficiency of the HK Immigration was similar to that portrayed by a recent Hong Kong TVB serial, but it lack the warmth and friendliness that was seen in the soap. May be it is because they had to work on a Sunday! hahaha…  The CLK airport was well organised with directional sign at every corner to direct this first time visitor so that I won’t get anxious or lost.

The first thing that we had upon arrival to Hong Kong was the Famous Portuguese Tart that was brought over fresh from Macau. From the first look, we ask ourselves whether it could be good. Looks can really be deceiving. The paler coloured tart was made of egg whites. It was light tasting in flavor with mild sweetness, which is why Gill preferred this over the yolk tart. The yellowish egg yolk tart was stronger in flavor and sweetness, which had a prominent flavor and aroma of egg. Both tarts were equally rich in dairy cream taste. It would be best to have a cup of milk tea to go with the arts. After the real thing, I guess I won’t be able to savour Portuguese tarts in Malaysia the way I used to.

We were put up at Langhem Hotel in Mongkok which is on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong Special Administrative Area. Langhem Hotel is actually an old building refurbished into a 4 star hotel that is conveniently connected to Langhem place. We managed to get a very special rate off their usual publish rates for the 4 nights stay because of the travel business that my sister owns. More would come on the hotel that we stayed in. Back to Mongkok, it was a wise choice as the location is very near to their ‘electronic street’, ‘women’s street’ and ‘sport shoe Street’. I got my new ‘Lowepro Fast pack 350’ at around RM 335 or HKD 750. It is about RM 200 cheaper compared to price I got in Penang.

After arriving at the hotel we decided to grab a quick meal, before we move on to ‘Tai Po’ for dinner. ‘Tai Po’ is about 1 hour away with public transport.

The short search took us to a shop which had quite a lot of news paper clips published on their roast goose, which was one of the delicacies that is in our list of must tries, thus the decision was made to have a go at ‘Chan Kee’.

The rental cost per square feet is very high in Hong Kong, every inch of space is literally like gold. Which is also one of the reasons that we see many Hong Kong investors in our local property market. To maximise the income per square inch of the shop, 4 seaters are meant for 4 persons only and no less.  Even tables double up as storage space for cutleries.

Our maiden meal in Hong Kong was also our first encounter with real roast goose. Anxious we are, we ordered our first sample of roast goose with other meats and noodles at ‘Chan Kee’.

烧味拼盘 (烧肉, 烧鹅) / Roast meat platter of goose & pork HK$90. The anxiety or excitement attached to the first time savoring roast goose had built up every since we knew that we are going to Hong Kong. And it was at ‘Chan Kee’ that we gave our first to them. The goose meat is slightly whiter, taste sweeter and had a more tender texture as compared to roast duck. It did not have that unique tasting flavor of the duck which cause many to shy away from duck.  The roast goose at ‘Chan Kee’ had thin skin (not crisp) and quite a volume of fats. The roast goose did not quite appeal to us and it was somewhat a disappointment.

In the roast platter, we also asked for their roast pork a-la-Hong Kong. The roast pork is different in texture and taste compared to the ones we have in Malaysia. We were told that the standard of Hong Kong roast pork should consist of 5 layers, skin, fats and meat. The taste should be light, aromatically pork , lightly salted with a hint of sweetness. The skin should be crisp and smooth. It is a big contrast to the roast pork found in Malaysia.  The sample that we had in ‘Chan Kee’ was slightly an over dosage, the pork was cut into big chunks that was too big and fatty to consume much.  We are not accustomed to such big chunks.

佛山熏蹄 / ‘Foh Shan’ Pork Trotter HK$60. It is dish which is not commonly found back in Penang. This dish is a type of cold dish which is normally served as an appetizer. It may be we do not know how to appreciate this dish, we found that the slices of cold pork meat wrap in a layer of fats and skin did not have much taste. It was pretty blend to start with a very little hint of smoke flavor and sweetness.

明火例汤 / Soup of the Day HK$10. It was Water Crest soup with pig bones for the day. The soup was sweet taste and smooth in texture. Not very distinctive but average.

干炒牛河 / Stir Fry Beef and Rice Noodles HK$34. Tempted, we order the flat rice noodles stir fried with beef slices. The portion was quite good enough for  2 although it was an individual a-la-carte order. The serving came with lots of bean sprouts and slices beef (more than the usual finds available locally). And the rice noodles had a light hint of wok sear flavor and egg aroma, but the noodles were too smooth for our liking.

焉鸯 / Ying Yang  or ‘Cham‘. The ‘Yin Yang’ is similar to our teh+kopi, but it had a more tea fragrant than coffee taste. I heard that the tea leaves used in each individual cafes or restaurant varies from one to the other and unique to its customers’ palate. Many of the Malaysian owned Hong Kong style café like ‘Kim Gary’, ‘Wong Kok’, etc tries to imitate this famous beverage, but they can’t beat the real thing.  Although so, the one at ‘Chan Kee’ was not really a stand out as the taste was slightly bland to my taste buds.

May be I was  hoping for more than that can be delivered by ‘Chan Kee’ with all the paper clippings, but from our experience I could only give a 3.1 out of a max of 5.

After the fast meal, me and Gill took a short discovery walk at near by wet market which we found very appealing to us as a person who cooks and enjoy food. That will come in our next Hong Kong post………

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香港-我们终于等到啦! 每个人从香港回来都赞扬他们的点心美食. 这次的旅程当然是以”吃”为重啦! 体验当地风土人情是其次. 很开心在这里和大家分享我们俩的”香港吃旅”. 全程真实报道, 不偏袒,不奉成. 绝对真我的风采!

经光华日报的访问报道出版之后, 我们决定以双语面世,给读者更多的便利. 因我们很久没用中文写作,若有用词不当之处,请多多包涵.

在此, 我们将会推出一系列5日香港游, 然后才作出同类食物,店铺,景点的比较和推荐好吗?

所以暂时卖个关子,不多谈吃经. 谈旅程体验!

我们经过多次网上资料收集后,决定自篇行程. 你可游览香港近期大力宣传的饮食旅游网址 http://www.discoverhongkong.com/login.html.

若你自篇行程,用香港的交通工具最方便不过. 须配备: 八达通卡, 地图(包含地铁路线)和穿舒适运动鞋. 尤其是搭地铁.你将会走很多路! 记得在711或机场买八达通卡: $100用额  $50 deposit  $7手续费可使用在地铁, 巴士, 711,汽水机,麦当劳,超方便!

香港旅程终于展开了! 从吉隆坡KLIA, 早上9.15am乘达马航直飞香港. 需时4小时

你猜我们在吉隆坡KLIA 登记处遇见了谁?

明星? 是鼎鼎大名的羽球大将拿督李宗伟和其它球员站在一旁. 我们的心十五十六地不知是否要走上前跟他签名合照, 旁人也认得出他们.  最终我们没做出任何举动. Paiseh ma…

上了飞机后, 就开始吃餐点. 我选了椰浆饭, 味道普通囖. 听说亚航的椰浆饭不错喔.

而Jason 要了三文鱼蛋, 味道偏咸, 但总算合格.

值得一提的是, 机上有介绍我国世界古迹遗产,槟城,马六甲的短片.

飞机准时12.55pm降落于香港赦立角机场, 下机时竟然发现国家羽球队和我们同一班机?! 原来他们坐在经济仓的最后一排! 又错过了一次机会!

步出飞机后看见大只黑色警犬等着我们来嗅! 爱狗之人的我们都怕怕, 何况是歹徒?

到了入境处,海关先生毫无表情和笑容, 和TVB的海关电视剧完全相反.

香港机场, 非常有系统, 指示和方向牌都列得很清楚. 决不会点你到荷兰…哈哈.

到了机场出口可搭地铁,巴士或德士直到香港岛或九龙.

下机第一件食物竟然是澳门新鲜运到的”澳门葡国蛋撻”. 别瞧不起这毫不起眼的外表, 你一但咬下,它绝对会另你刮目相看! 那浓郁的糖焦香气, 幼滑清香的蛋浆, 多层次又带有口感的撻皮, 叫你吃得过颖! 吃了这个,很难在大马找到”合格”的葡国蛋撻了. 我个人比较喜欢蛋白蛋撻, 甜度恰好而不腻.

葡国蛋撻 – 蛋白和全蛋蛋撻. Famous egg yolk and egg white Portuguese Tart straight from Macau.

我们选择入住于九龙区, 旺角 (Mongkok) 的4星级的朗壕酒店 Langhem Hotel, 酒店连接朗壕广场Langhem Place.因Jason姐姐自有旅游公司, 顾此拿到特惠. 稍后在part 2 再来述说酒店的设备. 住在旺角是最佳选择.无论交通,购物, 吃喝玩乐应有尽有.

旺角是最旺也是最杂的地方. 在附近狂街都须多加防备.

到了酒店但房还没清理好, 既然有多余的时间我们就趁机找吃,问酒店的服务员附近那里有好推介, 她细心道明和推荐较干净的食店, 步行不须5分钟的街尾食店.

我们选了这家”深井陈记烧鹅”. 这店挂着像烧鸭的鹅,.多么的引诱! 我们进入这家窄小的餐厅后, 发现告事牌写: “四人坐位, 繁忙时间两位请坐一边”. 香港串金尺土,什么都讲求快! 所以别慢吞吞地点菜, 要不然你会被骂! 千万不要点太多,份量是大马的双倍! 所以多人同行比较合算.  来香港当然是要叫烧鹅来试试啦! 其余的有:

干炒牛河 / Stir Fry Beef and Rice Noodles $34

有少许锅气和蛋香, 牛肉片份量蛮多, 牛味浓, 但滑得有点假. 它们的银芽(豆芽)较瘦长, 没头没尾. 河粉ok 囖.

明火例汤 / Soup of the Day $10

西洋菜猪骨汤, 汤带甜. 蛮顺喉的.

佛山熏蹄 / ‘Fo Shan’  Smoke Pork Trotter $60

卖相不错, 但毫无味道.

烧味拼盘 (烧肉, 烧鹅) / Roast meat platter of goose & pork $90

第一次吃烧鹅,充满着好奇. 品尝了几口陈记烧鹅和鸭相比, 鹅肉较白,肉质厚而细密,肉甜, 没酥味,皮薄但有脂肪层, 吃了有点腻. 很多人说鹅和鸭都差不多, 它们其实各有特色, 可说相似但绝不能评为一体. 好吃的要决,当然是师傅的功夫和鹅的质素绝,缺一不可.

港式烧肉的皮面是滑的, 看那肥厚的肉层,猜是大猪吧? 大大块的脂肪往口里塞, 很腻! 没什么特色. 我倒喜爱大马的脆皮烧肉.

鴛鴦 – 出名的港式饮品-鴛鴦, 既是奶茶和咖啡一起泡, 在大马称之为Cham=”参”=campur(马来语) = mix(英语). 鴛鴦在金加利, 旺角, canton-i, 港式之类的餐厅都可喝到.  这杯鴛鴦有点淡,没茶味.

丝苗白饭 / White Rice – 香港的饭蛮有品质的. 在大马哪儿有丝苗白米??

总评分 / Average Rating for ‘Chan Kee’: 3.3/5

用餐后,回酒店时, 经过菜市场的入口,正是朗壕酒店的对面. 好奇心突然特起. 于是我们决定狂一狂.

若你要认识当地风土人情, 就应到当地的菜市场, 必能让您了解一二.”

第一天的内容实在太长, 敬请留意第二集…

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云吞面是起源于广州。据说，此食品在唐宋时已传入广东。至于广东何时用“云吞”二字取代“馄饨”之称，则无从考证。经几百年后的今天, 云吞面已经是谱罗大众绝不可缺的街头面食,在华人心目中有不可取代的地位. 随着华人移民的增加,在不同国家和区域里的云吞面也各有各精彩.在这儿暂别不谈历史, 不如大家一起来研究一下大马和香港两地的云吞面有何不同之处, 了解面条区分之余, 分享怎样吃云吞面才是最赞.

我和我丈夫俩人,素来喜爱吃猪油渣.别看那脆脆小小块的“渣”.放下一小匙乃有画龙点睛之效.某些食物若不配上它同吃,味道显然有差异.

不论是云吞面或是炒粿條，用“猪油和猪油渣”来烹调， 才能带出它原有的特色和香味。无可否认，现今社会每样都强调“吃得建康”。但不是叫你每天都吃炒粿條，云吞面呀！偶而尝一尝也无妨吧？什么东西多吃也有害. 例如Vitamin A, B, C够好了吧？若你吃得太多，它令你的肝脏负荷不来而倒至损坏. 那还有什么是好的呀? 不是“猪油”不好，而是现代人少做运动，怕肥才不敢吃.真可惜！你们该知道为何槟城的小食比吉隆坡来得有水准吧？虽然槟城好吃的越来越少，但有些还仍然保存着传统的烹调方式。

讲了老半天还没提到好吃的云吞面应该是怎样的呢？!

云吞面条

新鲜出炉的云吞面条其实是不鼓励现做现吃, 若你现煮, 会感觉吃面团一样, 毫无咬劲. 听前辈说, 云吞面条必须经过“走碱液”的步奏, 让它蒸发, 才算合格. 最理想的是放 置4天. 经过“走碱”的面条吃起来特别爽口而且有弹性. 现今讲求快速生产, 面家多以现做现批, 或最多“走碱” 2天而已.

查看书籍发现, 原来传统的云吞面条是用大茅竹竿即“竹升” 打压出来的, 称之为”竹升面”。面团经过用手搓面处理后，用“竹升”压打2小时,  全凭经验, 功夫和恒心.

云吞面有三类: 全蛋面, 半蛋面, 水面
全蛋面以鸭蛋和面，绝不加一滴水, 打出来的面条爽滑韧性好，蛋味香浓。
另一种是半蛋面，用鸭蛋与一定比例的水调配和面，面条爽滑可口，口感细腻。
水面则不放蛋, 煮后呈半透明, 和以上两种相比,没香味, 需靠酱汁拌味.

马来西亚云吞面

本土人民多喜爱味道脓郁的干捞云吞面.
酱汁做法是用酱清，黑酱油，蚝油，麻油，混入少许上汤和纯正猪油或烧猪油一起捞。配上半肥廋叉烧，肥美菜心，酸度适中的奄制青辣椒和皮薄陷美的水煮云吞或酥脆炸云吞，在洒上葱粒, 香脆可口的猪油渣…哇！简直是无敌的配搭呀, 满足满足！

而本地的汤头是以江鱼仔, 黄豆, 猪大骨熬煮而成, 有独特的清香甜味.
以我各人口味，我喜爱吃干捞，特别是干干的, 还有缺一不可的猪油渣！不防试一试.

马来西亚干捞云吞面

云吞汤

酥脆炸云吞

香脆可口猪油渣 ~

半肥廋的叉烧

香港云吞面

然而香港与马来西亚的云吞面版本完全不同, 他们讲究的是面条质感和弹性, 细得像米粉般幼, 配上大地鱼干上汤, 爽脆鲜味的大虾云吞(完全没放猪肉), 用韭黄段来点缀. 这就是名副其实的现代香港云吞面!

面条能够不易吸水还要有蛋香，爽滑而弹牙，鸭蛋就是秘诀.

汤头用猪骨, 虾米, 虾子和大地鱼干以文火一起熬煮，汤必须澄清透澈，味道浓，才可突显云吞和面条的色泽和口感。
云吞皮包上新鲜大虾和虾子, 口感十足, 鲜甜带有咸香. 一乐也.
香港干捞面决不像大马般的捞酱汁, 他们的非常简单, 只是捞猪油和虾子(干虾蛋)一起同吃.

无论是大马或香港都各有千秋.那您又有什么看发呢? 那一种是您的最爱? 有谁能介绍好的云吞面家吗？

弹牙十足的鸭蛋面条

鲜虾云吞

看那大虾!

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It feels good to be back! We went to Hong Kong one and a half weeks ago for a short adventure to look for good eats and nice places. These are some of the many photos that we took while we were there exploring what Hong Kong has to offer. They are more to come…heee

The Food

Duck or Goose? Flew all the way from M’sia for duck? no way! GOOSE is the must try in Hong Kong. What a nice and seductive figure hangging around the cafe….haaa

For those who had “goose is nothing much different compare to duck”, i would say the goose that you’ve tasted its rather out of the picture. with the experience, tasted twist goose meat in Hong Kong, i found the best and the lower grade. It’s definitely way different from the duck!!!!!! Texture  & flavor is great. Will share this in our next post

A lot of Seafoods…..

Dim Sum

Succulent Egg Tarts, Thumbs Up

Lots of Dried Seafood in Tai O, Fisherman Village.guest what it is? Its a Sun dried fish roe!

The People

The places

Tai O, Beautiful Scenery, Indeed a relaxing place

Hong Kong Central

Kowloon, Mongkok Street at Night

Wonderful lighting at Avenue of Star

More to come, stay tune!

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