Victoria Harbour Roasted Goose Seafood Restaurant (海港燒鵝海鮮酒家)

This is a chain restaurant with outlets in Kowloon and the New Territories.

We had the set dinner for three - soya chicken, steamed garoupa and prawns but ordered an extra vegetable and vermicelli dish. The set prawn dish was salt and pepper prawns but we changed it to boiled prawns (白灼蝦) for a lighter alternative. Not bad.


3rd floor, Emperor Plaza, 55 Chung On St, Tsuen Wan.

Yee Shun Milk Company

Above: double layered steamed milk

To be a true local, you have to get used to a fourth meal of the day: 'sui yeh' or midnight snack. These people are night creatures, and at 11pm that night, people were flocking to Yee Shun for their double-layered steamed milk (see the layer of film on top). Doesn't sound (or look) terribly appetizing I know, but the taste was sweet and actually pretty good. You can also get it coffee, chocolate or ginger flavoured. Yee Shun originated in Macau, but is now a local dessert shop staple.

Rows and rows of the stuff in the shop window.


Yee Shun Milk Company is located at 506 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay.

Lemon Exchange - Central

Above: freshly squeezed nashi pear juice.

I love stopping by for their daily juice specials on my walk from Central up to the Mid-Levels. At HK$5, it's cheaper (and healthier) than the pre-packaged stuff.

Lemon Exchange is located at Shop 5A, G/F, 45-47 Cochrane Street, Central.

Gala Cafe (嘉樂冰廳)

Above: Ovaltine milkshake $18


Above: egg and luncheon meat sandwich ~$12

I once heard someone say that one good thing that Hong Kong people learnt from the British was how to queue patiently. This must come in handy for those who frequent this merely 500 square feet cafe in Tsuen Wan, where people have been known to queue up to 30 minutes just to get a sandwich.

The reason? The portions are mammoth: the sandwiches are stacked way high. A small ham omelette is made with 6 eggs and costs only $16 (~AUD$2.50) while the larger serving is made with an unfathomable 12 eggs and costs $35 (~AUD$6). Good luck finishing that on your own.

Gala opened as a family business in 1978 and has been run by Mr and Mrs Mak for over 30 years. The cafe is named after their daughter (whose name is 'Ga' or '嘉' while '樂' signifies 'happiness') and these days other relatives also help out with the business. Meanwhile, the 65 years old Mr Mak and his wife tirelessly work from 6 in the morning to midnight 7 days a week, doing prep work before the cafe opens, making sandwiches, tea and coffee throughout the day until 7pm and cleaning the kitchen and dining area themselves afterwards. In a recent interview, Mrs Mak readily admitted that the taste of their food was likely just average, but really, with serving size and dedication like theirs, does this really matter?

Consciously avoiding peak meal times, I arrived at the cafe around 4:30pm one weekday. Although there was no queue to contend with, Mrs Mak's sister at the cashier could only direct me to the one remaining seat in the house: wedged into a tiny booth at the back where 3 others were already seated.

Despite the cramped and confined space, I was really looking forward to the Ovaltine milkshake (阿華田奶昔). In photos posted online, the milkshake was finished with an ice-cream/icy dome and if you can remember the cherry soda with chocolate ice-cream that Danny Zuko orders at the Frosty Palace in the movie Grease like I do, you will understand why I couldn't wait to try this. However, as you can see in the picture above, there was no dome on my milkshake. And as much as I love my Ovalteenies, the Ovaltine flavour in a milkshake didn't really work for me.

I also ordered the egg and luncheon meat sandwich. The overly stuffed sandwich was piping hot when it arrived. The egg was creamy, flavoursome and nicely complemented by the saltiness of the luncheon meat. And yes, in other words, I had Spam. Although Hong Kong has no annual Spam Day like in Hawaii, luncheon meat is still a pretty normal part of the food culture here, especially in cha chaan tengs (茶餐廳 or 'tea restaurants' i.e. the Hong Kong version of a fast-food joint) like this one. However, if you are already gagging at the very thought of putting luncheon meat anywhere near your mouth, you can opt for the popular beef and egg sandwich ( 鮮牛蛋三文治) at $14 instead.

With the gigantic size of the servings, it is very hard not to be satisfied after eating here. Although the food certainly did not break any new grounds, it was definitely generously done. It's little wonder that locals, who love good value for money, are willing to wait so long for a simple beef and egg sandwich.

Gala Cafe is located at 40B San Chuen St (新村街), Tsuen Wan. I walked past and completely missed it the first time because of the fruit stall which had set up directly in front of the shop. So look for that and you will find the shop.

Coca Cola Chicken Wings

Oh, the humidity. Why is it that an icy cold can of Coke tastes so good in this weather?

And so it was that I found myself almost polishing off an entire can of Coke in one gulp the other night. At the same time I was staring at a plate of chicken wings in my fridge trying to decide what to do with it for dinner. I looked at what was left of the can of Coke in my hand, then glanced back at the wings. You can figure out the rest.

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for coming up with this dish. In fact, the combination of cola and chicken wings is, strangely enough, rather commonplace here (some say it originated from China, while others say Taiwan). Wherever it came from, I suspect it is a popular dish with young kids because after the cooking, the cola just becomes a sweet (albeit very unhealthy) marinade for the chicken.

For this dish, I fried some garlic and ginger in a pan. Added 6 chicken wings (mid joints) to brown. Poured in 1/4 of a can of diet Coke. Added juice from half a small lemon to give it an extra kick. Threw another 2 lemon slices into the pan. Lowered the heat and let it all simmer for around 20 minutes (until the sauce thickened into almost a glaze).

So simple, and yet so good.

On Lee Noodle (安利魚蛋粉麵) - fish ball noodles

One lazy afternoon, I went to visit the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence in Shau Kei Wan. Whenever I find myself in Shau Kei Wan, I have to grab a bite on its 'eat street' - Main Street East - where the eateries offer everything from curry to congee, from dumplings to desserts etc etc.

That day I went with one of the street's most famous: On Lee Noodle, a popular fish ball noodles restaurant that has been operating since 1966. I remember queuing up outside their old store (also on this street) for a bowl of noodles with my parents some years ago. As a testament to their growing success and popularity amongst even non-locals, I was surprised to find that they now even had English on their menu.

However, apart from the English, this is still one of those typical HK fast-food style restaurants where the waiters expect you to know what you want before you even walk in the door. As soon as you sit down (usually at a communal table with 4 or 5 complete strangers) the waiter appears at your side ready to take your order. Their attitude is, get you in and get you out so that someone else waiting at the door can take your seat.

I opted for the rice noodles with fish balls and fish slice cake heads (魚蛋片頭河). The fish slice cake heads refers to the ends of the fish slice cake which are often perceived to be the tastiest bits because of the extra fried skin on them - there are no actual fish heads involved. On Lee is also known for its dry noodles mixed with soya sauce, which can be accompanied by beef brisket, fish balls, wontons etc.

Although people say the standard of the food here has dropped in recent years, I still thought that the noodles and in particular the fish slice cake heads were pretty tasty. But then again I am slowly learning that locals, with the abundance of food choices on offer to them and their discerning tastebuds, can be fairly hard to satisfy.


On Lee Noodle, 55 Main Street East, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong


A picture of the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, which I did not expect to find here on the side of a hill surrounded by greenery. Well worth a visit.

Ho Hung Kee (何洪記) - wonton noodles

'Where should I go for good wonton noodles?' I asked people at work.

'Whatever you do, don't go to Mak's Noodles' came the response.

I can't say that this is an atypical comment by local Hong Kong people. Indeed, having being to this famous wonton noodle shop myself, I would have to concur. Although the taste is not bad, it is also not that special. Furthermore, for $28 you get the most ridiculously small portion. As my brother noted, it is practically the same as not eating. While I acknowledge that $28 (around AUD$5) is still cheap by Australian standards, in Hong Kong where you can usually get a decent feed AND a drink in similar restaurants for under $25, it is almost inexcuseable. Mak's seems to be resting on their laurels after becoming a well-known (particularly among foreigners/tourists) wonton noodle shop.

Another colleague recommended Ho Hung Kee, a nearby noodle shop popular amongst locals. For $28, their wonton noodle soup (雲吞麵) was much bigger than the serving at Mak's Noodles, although the quality of the wonton was perhaps not as good, as I couldn't really taste the sweetness of the prawn inside.

Alas, the search for good wonton noodles in Hong Kong must continue.

Ho Hung Kee, 2 Sharp St East, Causeway Bay (near Times Square).