All posts tagged: Hong Kong

Hong Kong Macaroni Soup

Today I’m sharing a humble dish that is perfect for when it is starting to get cold. HK macaroni soup. A popular breakfast dish in Hong Kong. It’s not glamorous so it doesn’t get international recognition. It won’t have traveled far and wide to any restaurant or dinner party. It’s just not that kind of a dish. This breakfast soup is found at every no-frills diner/cafe in Hong Kong. Featuring a sunny side up egg, with ham or SPAM. It is so popular it is even served in Hong Kong McDonalds. Not as a limited edition menu item, but as part of their regular breakfast menu. Yes, you can get a combo with macaroni soup, coffee and a hash brown. Macca’s version features their sausage patty. I have fond memories eating this at McDonald’s in Hong Kong in the wintertime and it’s super easy to recreate at home. HK MACARONI SOUP Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 1L chicken stock 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon rice vinegar A pinch of white pepper A …

Braised beef noodles (Crockpot recipe)

This post was made possible thanks to Crockpot. I am giving away a Crockpot Traditional CHP200 (RRP $119.99) just complete the entry form at the bottom of this post to enter. I was born in Hong Kong and the Cantonese have a long-standing obsession with food. They love to eat well and they love to eat often. Whenever I visit Hong Kong, my days transition from meal to meal. Almost the entire time is spent eating along with the social fanfare that comes with it. There are many dishes I am inspired by. However, locals typically do not cook at home. After working long hours, grocery shopping, followed by cooking at home is undesirable when eating out is so good and very affordable. Here in New Zealand, not so much. Regularly eating out in NZ is expensive but luckily there are clever ways to cook at home using affordable ingredients which yield maximum flavour. Enter the crockpot Thanks to Crockpot I have created a braised beef noodle recipe inspired by a dish found at Dai Pai Dong …

The Secret World of Private Kitchens in Hong Kong

Before our super epic trip, I’d mentioned to my cousin Charing that I wanted to dine at a private kitchen. From Wiki: Speakeasy, also termed private kitchen in Hong Kong (Chinese: 私房菜), is a term in modern Hong Kong referring to an unlicensed, restaurant-like establishment for eating. Some of the perceived problems with running a restaurant in Hong Kong—high rents and the common practice of landlords extracting profits from restaurants through clauses in tenancy agreements—have led to the establishment of this type of eatery. Owners also have the additional benefit that many government regulations concerning restaurants can be avoided. A typical speakeasy will be based in an ordinary apartment in a block of flats. Customers gain access by ringing the bell before the door is opened from the inside. Inside, the flat will be set out as a simple restaurant. Usually, it provides not only quality home-made food and drink, but a sense of being at home. Advertising is usually by word of mouth—it’s often not possible to have prominent signs outside to advertise the business’ presence, as with a normal commercial establishment. She knew …

Hungry hopes for Hong Kong

I was born in Hong Kong but we moved to New Zealand when I was 9 months old so I never really called Hong Kong home. But even though it’s not quite home to me, it’s special in other ways and being brought up by Hong Kong born and bred parents means that there a lot of things in Hong Kong culture that I relate to. I know there are a lot of cultures that claim this, but Hong Kong citizens are absolutely obsessed with food. It’s like a religion. I don’t know if that’s one of the reasons why I am the way I am. I haven’t always been like this. So it must be more nature than nurture? Here are 10 culinary experiences I hope to revisit or try for the first time during my next Hong Kong adventure (in no particular order): 1. Stinky Tofu I’d like to try Stinky Tofu next time I am in Hong Kong. Stinky Tofu or chòu dòufu is fermented tofu  and eaten as a snack. It …