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Published: March 27th 2010
Round 1
My delicious rice wrap and spring rolls.The effects, I presume, of my lunch yesterday carried into today as I awoke with my stomach not feeling 100%. Setting conventional wisdom aside and opting for something similar to the alcoholic treatment - viz., nothing gets you over a hangover like having another beer - I opted to go out for dim sum, a lunch time specialty, for breakfast.
Following yesterday’s dim sum exploration debacle, Wendy was kind enough to send me a recommendation for a dim sum place called Star Seafood which is near my hostel. For a moment I had a bit of trouble finding it; like most things that are right under your nose. It was too easy; in fact, it was housed in the same building as my hostel, but up a floor or two. Why the hostel worker didn’t just send me there yesterday is beyond me.
When I got inside, I surveyed the place to see what was customary - do I just find a seat, do I sit with others since it’s full, do I wait to be seated? After walking around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do, I signaled a waitress who promptly handed me a sheet of
paper with a Cantonese menu and English translation on it and sat me at a table with an older woman and a middle aged gentleman, who were each on their own. I perused the menu, quickly marking off dishes that sounded good. I thought I figured out the pricing system through looking at some markings next to the menu items and consulting a key at the bottom. If I was right it would be relatively inexpensive. I hoped I wasn’t missing something yet asking for assistance was pretty much out of the question. This would at the very least be a learning experience.
With my selections made, at least on paper, it was now time to figure out exactly how I order my food. Does the waitress come back around and collect the paper? Do I go up to the counter in the middle of the massive restaurant and order like I saw some others doing? I had seen some servers bringing food around like any western restaurant so that part seemed to be settled. But I still had to set that process in motion. I finally flagged down a waitress and gave her my card with number “1”
Dumplings
These were excellent, especially with the rich sugary substance in the lower left hand corner. markings in the boxes adjacent to the foods I wanted. She took it and I realized I had no copy and only a fair recollection of what I ordered. She looked to see where I was sitting and, as I hoped it would come, entrusted her in full with my meal.
About five minutes later, round 1 showed up. The waiter said something in Cantonese, I showed him my card, which is solely used to denote prices, and he stamped two different spots with the number “86”. I hoped this was his staff number and that it wasn’t the price or this would get expensive (if it were HK86 per dish and I think I ordered five that would be about $US56 in total).
The first round consisted of three fried spring rolls, which were good, and some sort of rice wrapped roll. I have no idea what the latter was but it was excellent, even for breakfast, though it really wasn’t much of a traditional breakfast food by my standards.
The only problem with it was that it was difficult to eat properly. Trying to eat it with chopsticks was like eating an entire uncut, mushy
Stanley Market
Walking down to the market. sushi roll. It clearly wasn’t all going to fit in my mouth and cutting it seemed problematic as there wasn’t a fork, only a soup spoon and chopsticks. So I improvised, put it in this spare side bowl that was either intended for scraps or as a Chinese equivalent to a bread plate (or both). I took one of the rolls, put it in the bowl and used a combination of the chopsticks and the inside of the bowl, which I raised to just below my chin as I scooped part of the roll into my mouth and severed off a bite with my teeth.
In my mind a crowd stood round and stared at the disgusting exhibit before them, chastising all Americans. In reality, no one noticed.
Before I was even partially through round 1, round 2 showed up. This one was three dumplings made of dough with a sugary sauce on the side, something I remembered ordering. Again the waitress spoke in Cantonese and the middle aged man at my table gestured in my direction, as if to say “Of course that goes to the American. Everything will go to that glutton.”
The single lady
Repulse Bay
Very empty on a cool day. left the table and a couple sat down across from me, ordered tea and hot water. It came out and they used a combination of the two to clean their chopsticks by pouring it over the plate on which their teacups had been. I had grown accustomed to wiping off the designated food end of chopsticks with a napkin but I had yet to come across this method.
I keenly observed this fascinating new couple as they seemed to know all the ins and outs of the dim sum process. They took to filling out their card like I did - though I doubt they need a special English version - and gave it to a passing waitress. While they waited for their food, I continued to enjoy mine, shifting my focus to a man at the table behind the couple. This man was also using his side bowl to shovel food into his mouth and catch the overflow. I no longer felt like a slob.
Round three showed up and brought about some confusion between me and the couple across from me as to whose order it was. The language barrier wasn’t the cause, for if I
Aberdeen
The floating seafood restaurants. even were able to converse properly I didn’t remember what I ordered anyway. They determined it was my order, marked my card (with a different number that was stamped twice, making it appear that these are in fact server numbers) and left me to enjoy. A minute later the couple received their order, seemingly the same one, which was some other dumpling-like dish consisting of shrimp with a rice wrapping.
Round 4 quickly followed, with me and, a few minutes later, the couple, getting a sort of cream of wheat like soup. Perhaps this was the congee I ordered? I had no idea what congee is but saw it mentioned several times and decided I should try it. In the congee, - as I’ll refer to it perhaps erroneously - were several chunks of fish. Now I love fish and am not even turned off by receiving a whole fish like Finn said he was when he was here around Christmas - Finn doesn’t like it when the food he’s about to eat watches him - but I don’t like whole fish because I detest the extra work that goes into picking out the bones and shells. I like to dig right in.
Unfortunately for me, this would have the same effect. The chunks of fish must have been from taking a whole fish and dicing it with no real concern about what’s in the middle. I spent my time working through the chunks of bone and God knows what else instead of enjoying the flavor of the soup. At least I noticed that while I was spitting these out like watermelon seeds in my side bowl, I wasn’t being uncouth since the woman across from me was doing the same, but onto her plate with the tea and hot water wash.
As I discarded the rest of my congee and finished off the remains of the rice wrap dish from round 1 and the dumplings with sugar (both of these were the most delicious parts of the meal) more food came out. I thought I ordered five dishes and five had come out. I hoped this would go to someone else and it did.
To be safe, I dawdled a bit as I finished my tea and dumplings to ensure that all my food had come and I wouldn’t be stiffing the place. Nothing else appeared to be on its way so I took my card to the register and paid. In total, my massive feast cost me HK65 (about $9). What’s more, my stomach actually felt better.
The rest of the day would be spent on the outskirts of Hong Kong Island. I made my way to the bus terminal in the Central district and found the bus to Stanley, where there is a reputably good market. The market was in fact very nice, with less of a crowd than most of the heavily touristed ones. On my way back I stopped at Repulse Bay, which is ordinarily the home beach of Hong Kong’s beautiful people. Today it was empty since it is overcast and a bit cool, with highs only in the mid 60s (Fahrenheit).
From Repulse Bay, I caught a different bus line to the southwest part of the island called Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a local fishing port and has a number of floating restaurants featuring fresh fish caught by the locals. After my feast this morning there was no way I could do a full lunch. Instead I tried some pastries from a nearby shop for small snack.
After taking the bus back to Central, I went to look for Honolulu Coffee Shop, a place that Wendy had recommended for some of the best egg tarts in town. She had sent me a link to a website which even showed the location on a map. I had copied this down on my map but must have screwed something up because, after looking all over the area, I couldn’t find it. I did, however, pass by another one of her suggestions, Yung Kee Restaurant. This place is known for roast duck and goose noodles. Again, I passed on account of a full stomach.
It was already very late in the afternoon so I spent the rest of the day walking around Causeway Bay. There I went back to the stand by Times Square where I had the fishballs to try the minicakes that Wendy suggested. They are almost like waffles but they break apart into small, bite size balls. They are also much better than waffles. These do not need syrup, butter or added sugar. They are delicious on their own. Since many of the locals were on their way home from work, I wasn’t the only one partaking as numerous others grabbed a quick snack for their walk home.
My walk concluded with a small dinner and some relaxation back at the hostel. I continue to be really tired yet can’t sleep. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some rest and get to see the infamous Big Buddha tomorrow on my way to the airport.
Before going to bed, I chatted with a few of my roommates about our travels. One guy from Singapore was in town for a documentary he worked on that was at the Hong Kong film festival. A couple was traveling the world like I am but the two weren’t taking breaks at home along the way. They’ve been gone for almost a year and show no signs of stopping anytime soon. As they continue onwards, my trip is rapidly approaching its conclusion - I leave for Taiwan, my last new country, tomorrow.
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