For my Sunday in Hong Kong, I wanted to head over the Stanley. Stanley is a small village on the southern end of Hong Kong Island that has a nice, European feel. On a tip from my friend, he said to skip breakfast and to get an early ferry over to the island before noon as Stanley is a favorite place for the locals to hang out on their day off. So, I grabbed an early ferry over to the island, then a taxi across the island to Stanley...
Just to explain, Hong Kong is not just the island. There are many islands, plus a large chunk of the mainland (Kowloon, the New Territories, etc...) that make up the area. The cab ride over the Stanley from the ferry terminal to the village runs about $110 HKD, about $15 USD.
I arrived to Chilebrown's (of Mad Meat Genius fame) Asian version of heaven: Farm Markets...
These produce stands are on every corner with a fresh assortment of fruits and vegetables that you might know and others that you might not. There are also more conventional shops as well...
I was told that the waterfront was the place to be for a meal, so I scoped it all out to settle on a nice place for an early lunch...
You have expats of all types: Aussies, Kiwi's, Americans, and lot of locals. All walking yippy dogs. At the far end of the harbor, I found something that made me shudder: American Strip Mall...
No Golden Arches and high priced Lattes for me. I was here to strap on my Asian flavored feed bag. So, I walked back down the harbor front and picked a nice little pub with outside seating. The one with the beige canopy and the black umbrellas...
Strangely enough, it was called the American Pub. But, the chalkboard menu looked appealing and the old Cantonese lady was quite persistent in telling me I had to eat there. Besides, it was populated with locals, so I couldn't go wrong, could I? My first order of business was to order an adult drink. So, I settled on a Tsingtao.
Tsingtao is a nice, refreshing Asian pilsner. Asian pilsner is quite good. They are very German in taste and character. It makes sense since the Germans left the recipe during WWII. My starter was a nice bowl of Tom Yum Goong soup...
Tom Yum Goong is a flavorful bowl of spicy goodness. Chicken broth base, chunks of lemongrass, and filled with Thai chilies and shrimp. It leaves a nice fire in your belly and a tingle on your lips when you are done. Next up was a Dim Sum platter...
Dim Sum is a local specialty and cornerstone of Cantonese cooking. It come with many choices. This platter had, clockwise starting at left: steamed pork meatballs, pork dumplings, steamed buns with ground pork and shrimp filling, and 2 veggie springs rolls in the middle. This basket of flavor was served with three dipping sauces...
On the left is soy sauce, in the middle is sweet chili sauce, and the right is a savory vinegar based chili dipping sauce. All three complemented the steamed treats. Once I finished, I went exploring the Stanley beach front for a few hours.
Before returning to Central Hong Kong, I saw a noodle shop. I walked in, no encouragement needed. I ordered another local beer and contemplated the menu...
Here was my first disappointment of the day. The Hong Kong Beer is a micro-brewed dark ale. Unfortunately, it is lacking in body and flavor. Better than mass produced Crudweiser, but not much better.
For an early dinner, I settled on a bowl of Won-Ton soup, another local specialty...
Rich chicken broth, noodles, and Won-Tons filled with ground pork and shrimp. The filling is perfectly seasoned with the right amount of sesame oil. I have not had a Won-Ton soup this good. Unfortunately, it will be hard to find something like this back home.
My belly full, I started to make my way back to Central. When I arrived back at the ferry terminal, I went for a walk and ran into some local fisherman killing some time on a sunny day...
Unfortunately, the fishing report was not good. It seems all they were doing was feeding the crabs...
Public Service Announcement...
I ended my day at a local ice cream shop. Believe it or not, ice cream in Asia is very good, with flavors you would not normally get in the US. I tried a taste of the Rose Petal ice cream and decided to have a scoop of that, along with a scoop of the Volcanic Pistachio...
The Rose Petal had a fragrant flavor that was not overpowering. The taste was almost like a cross between cherry and lavender. Would I order it again? Probably not. But, it was not something I would say no to if it was the only flavor available. On the other hand, the Volcanic Pistachio was the best Pistachio ice cream I have ever had. Rich, creamy, and every bite had lots of coarsely ground Pistachios. I wanted to buy a pint and ship it home.
At this point, I rolled back to my hotel room and moaned until my belly settled. Thanks for joining me on my Asian culinary adventure.
Thanks for stopping by...
Bill
That is what the ferry looks like. A great bargain to get around. For the US equivalent of 50 cents, you can take one-way trips all over the area.
Just to explain, Hong Kong is not just the island. There are many islands, plus a large chunk of the mainland (Kowloon, the New Territories, etc...) that make up the area. The cab ride over the Stanley from the ferry terminal to the village runs about $110 HKD, about $15 USD.
I arrived to Chilebrown's (of Mad Meat Genius fame) Asian version of heaven: Farm Markets...
These produce stands are on every corner with a fresh assortment of fruits and vegetables that you might know and others that you might not. There are also more conventional shops as well...
I was told that the waterfront was the place to be for a meal, so I scoped it all out to settle on a nice place for an early lunch...
You have expats of all types: Aussies, Kiwi's, Americans, and lot of locals. All walking yippy dogs. At the far end of the harbor, I found something that made me shudder: American Strip Mall...
No Golden Arches and high priced Lattes for me. I was here to strap on my Asian flavored feed bag. So, I walked back down the harbor front and picked a nice little pub with outside seating. The one with the beige canopy and the black umbrellas...
Strangely enough, it was called the American Pub. But, the chalkboard menu looked appealing and the old Cantonese lady was quite persistent in telling me I had to eat there. Besides, it was populated with locals, so I couldn't go wrong, could I? My first order of business was to order an adult drink. So, I settled on a Tsingtao.
Tsingtao is a nice, refreshing Asian pilsner. Asian pilsner is quite good. They are very German in taste and character. It makes sense since the Germans left the recipe during WWII. My starter was a nice bowl of Tom Yum Goong soup...
Tom Yum Goong is a flavorful bowl of spicy goodness. Chicken broth base, chunks of lemongrass, and filled with Thai chilies and shrimp. It leaves a nice fire in your belly and a tingle on your lips when you are done. Next up was a Dim Sum platter...
Dim Sum is a local specialty and cornerstone of Cantonese cooking. It come with many choices. This platter had, clockwise starting at left: steamed pork meatballs, pork dumplings, steamed buns with ground pork and shrimp filling, and 2 veggie springs rolls in the middle. This basket of flavor was served with three dipping sauces...
On the left is soy sauce, in the middle is sweet chili sauce, and the right is a savory vinegar based chili dipping sauce. All three complemented the steamed treats. Once I finished, I went exploring the Stanley beach front for a few hours.
Before returning to Central Hong Kong, I saw a noodle shop. I walked in, no encouragement needed. I ordered another local beer and contemplated the menu...
Here was my first disappointment of the day. The Hong Kong Beer is a micro-brewed dark ale. Unfortunately, it is lacking in body and flavor. Better than mass produced Crudweiser, but not much better.
For an early dinner, I settled on a bowl of Won-Ton soup, another local specialty...
Rich chicken broth, noodles, and Won-Tons filled with ground pork and shrimp. The filling is perfectly seasoned with the right amount of sesame oil. I have not had a Won-Ton soup this good. Unfortunately, it will be hard to find something like this back home.
My belly full, I started to make my way back to Central. When I arrived back at the ferry terminal, I went for a walk and ran into some local fisherman killing some time on a sunny day...
Unfortunately, the fishing report was not good. It seems all they were doing was feeding the crabs...
Public Service Announcement...
I ended my day at a local ice cream shop. Believe it or not, ice cream in Asia is very good, with flavors you would not normally get in the US. I tried a taste of the Rose Petal ice cream and decided to have a scoop of that, along with a scoop of the Volcanic Pistachio...
The Rose Petal had a fragrant flavor that was not overpowering. The taste was almost like a cross between cherry and lavender. Would I order it again? Probably not. But, it was not something I would say no to if it was the only flavor available. On the other hand, the Volcanic Pistachio was the best Pistachio ice cream I have ever had. Rich, creamy, and every bite had lots of coarsely ground Pistachios. I wanted to buy a pint and ship it home.
At this point, I rolled back to my hotel room and moaned until my belly settled. Thanks for joining me on my Asian culinary adventure.
Thanks for stopping by...
Bill
You are adventurous. I would like that spicy soup. I have never been off of this continent but when we are in foreign territory we will search out the local meat market, farmers market,steak house and brewery not in any particular order.
ReplyDeleteChilebrown, I tend to be adventurous when I hit the road. But, my rules for eating are:
ReplyDelete1. It has the be dead.
2. It can't be looking at me (whole fish does not apply).
3. It cannot ever have been an indoor pet.
If it doesn't fall in the above 3 categories, game on...