Hong Kong + Macau = Foodie's heaven

This is the first post of a special series relating to Hong Kong and Macau..

Wheeee!!

Just back from my holiday cum business trip in Hong Kong and Macau. I love Hong Kong. And I go there almost every year, either for work or for play.. Despite being the nth visit this time, I am never bored of HK.

For my personal trip, I went with my Mama who was a first-timer to HK + Macau. HK + Macau is a foodie's heaven. After my friend saw the food section in my itinery, she was like, "I hope you gain 5kg". Anyway I've come to a conclusion:

It's not possible to gain weight from all the eating in HK.

That's because we were walking (which I insist it's a form of exercise) most of the time.. Erm yes from all the shopping.. And when your legs are tired, it's a natural instinct is to find a place to sit down, rest and eat, right? And I think Hong Kongers walked a lot.. Their MTR stations have more stairs than escalator.. No wonder every Hong Konger looks slim.. Anyway long story cut short, here's a snapshot of what I did and ate. 

Our HK trip began with a magical adventure at Disneyland.

Saw an old grandpa watching fireworks in his wheelchair.. Life is like fireworks. It's short but it's up to you to make it as beautiful as you like.

 

Interesting glow-in-the-dark Booberry Mist drink, available at the new Mystic Point section.

We stayed at Disneyland Hotel for one night. The hotel was like a castle.. Everything was so princessy:

We woke up to have a buffet feast at Enchanted Garden..

..where some friends paid a visit :)

We ate really good dim sum at Tim Ho Wan.

Erm ya that's 6 Char Siew Pau for two pax 

And I had Hui Lau San almost everyday. Mangoes are my favorite food and I swear Hui Lau San's mango desserts are the best ever!!

Breakfast were the Polo buns at Kam Wah and Crispy Condensed Milk buns at Tsui Wah.

My mama was fascinated by the Big Buddha. It was Day Fifteen of the Eight Lunar Month 八月十五 and we had a simple vegetarian meal at the Po Lin Monastry next to Big Buddha.

Since we were at Lantau Island already, we also went to Tai O village. Tai O is a small fishing village and we went on a boat tour to see dolphins ! For just HK$20! Best value for money activity.. 

The beloved dolphins! You have to do the boat trip!

Growing up in Tai O..

We went up to the Peak on the same day as the moon was supposedly the roundest and prettiest on that day. We got a terrible shock to see that the queue up the Peak was insane.. There were a lot of China visitors as Mooncake festival was a public holiday. Anyway we were insane enough to go up..

What we were supposed to be squeezing our way up for:

The Sky Terrace on top of the Peak was so cramped and it was difficult to take a decent shot. We had dinner at the Bubba Gump on level 3 of the peak tower. View was great, no squeezing with insane crowds, food was affordable and good.

We had very nice Creme Brulee at Paul Lafayet at Hysan Place in Causeway Bay. The caramelized top with the soft vanilla cream made it the most perfect Creme Brulee that I've ever eaten.

We also had really good Hong Kong style fish congee at Sea View Congee (海景) shop in Mongkok Argyle Street. But the fried fritters wrapped with rice noodles was the real star. We have eaten a lot of food which is crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. But this one was the opposite - soft on the outside and crispy on the inside. The result - unforgettable and touched.

Must try:

Roast goose is also a Hong Kong specialty food. We had our fill of roast goose at Yung Kee. Sadly, I find that the standard has been dropping everytime I visit. The meat was getting tougher each time I visit. The only redemption was the crispy, sweet, roasted skin. Certainly not worth the price I paid (HK$150).

The last time I ate the egg tarts from Tai Cheong Bakery (泰昌餅家) was almost a decade ago. I remembered I happened to visit it on the last few days of its operations as it had decided to close down due to high rents. I remembered it was the best egg tarts ever. It was subsequently bought by Tao Heung group and several outlets opened. Happened to pass by one of its outlets in Wan Chai and I bought the egg tarts. Sadly, it's not the same as the old ones which were hot, and had a softest and smoothest egg filling ever, and crispy crust.

We also ate roast meat at Joy Hing Roasted Meats, a famous hole-in-the-wall eatery with Michelin mention. The jovial uncle recommended the Three Treasure rice, which consist of char siew, soy chicken, and roast duck.

I will ignore the uncle next time and order just char siew rice. I swear the char siew was to die for! Unlike Singapore's version which the char siew was dry and thinly slice, Joy Hing's version was tender, juicy, sweet and salty, and the charred parts were fragrant. Best char siew ever!

Our food adventures continued in Macau. We had a Portuguese cuisine feast at Albergue 1601. Ok now why doesn't Singapore have Portuguese restaurants apart from Nandos?

Seafood rice

Look out for upcoming detailed reviews for these places mentioned above:
HK
- Desserts at Hui Lau San
- Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan
- Breakfast buffet at Disneyland's Enchanted Garden
- Bubba Gump at the Peak
- Roast meats at Joy Hing Roasted Meats
- Experience at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
- Breakfasts at Tsui Wah and Kam Wah

Macau
- Portuguese cuisine at Albergue 1601
- Chinese desserts at Yee Shun Milk Company
- Crab porridge at Seng Cheong
- Sedurra dessert from Gelatina Mok Yi Kei
- Portuguese egg tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery
- Har Zi Meen
- Traditional Chinese desserts from 杏香园
- Experience at Conrad Cotai Macao Sands, best hotel stay ever!!