Kong
Dorsett Mong Kok
Prior to my foodie days, I visited Hong Kong with my friends in 2008 and had a blast. It was one of my first group holidays with my friends and we went everywhere. This time around I went with the family and celebrated my birthday abroad. The initial delays flying out with Cathay Pacific from Gatwick meant I was delayed in arriving in Hong Kong, but I did get to fly out on the new planes that had WIFI which I didn’t pay to use.
The 11 and half hour flight was a long one, once you step out on Hong Kong and the sudden climate change. Hot heat immediately hits you in the face. Eventually landing in Hong Kong we took the red coloured urban taxi to Tai Kok Tsui. The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel is a fixed fee. We stayed at Dorsett Mong Kok in Kowloon area and I couldn’t have highly recommended enough. First of all, there’s a 24-hour desk lobby, they let me check in earlier than 2 pm. There’s a free shuttle bus for guest to use, to go into town and the convenience of the airport shuttle bus stopping right outside our hotel. The free smartphone handy was proven useful for the little brother that can also be used as a hotspot for other mobiles. I had a travelling sim card from Three network that could be used worldwide for free. A 24-hour Mc Donalds is across the road, perfect for my matcha tea ice cream cravings and tons of restaurants, desserts shops with late-night eateries.
11 am // Dorsett Mong Kok
添好運 Tim Ho Wan
Arriving early morning I had the day plan to get dim sum at the worlds cheapest Michelin star Tim Ho Wan 添好運 for lunch. Before the relocation to Olympia city, there were massive queues in the former Mong Kok address. With dim sum dishes costing around $20 = £2 a dish. You bet I was eating like a royals.
赛螃蟹春卷
Spring rolls with egg whites had thin crispy wafer light layers. Biting into crab and vegetable fillings had thin crispy wafer light layers. Rice pots in Hong Kong comes in deep silver pots, filled with fluffy rice and a variety of toppings. We ordered the minced pork and mushroom. Bursting with flavour, and meat juices running into the rice, best enjoyed as it is or with some soy sauce.
古法糯米鸡 glutinous rice is a lot larger in portion than the ones in London. It makes a great dish as a filler to make you full.
Michelin Dim Sum
The usual dim sum staples of har gau and siu mai are essentials for yum cha. Silky transparent skins, and chunky prawns. Meanwhile, the siu mai has fragrant pork, cooked tender and chewy with a goji berry on top.
One of the light staples that can be enjoyed at any time of the day is the silky smooth Asian style porridge known as congee. Pork and century egg is one of the all-time classics to try.
The standout dish from Tim Ho Wan 添好運 had to be the baked bun and BBQ pork. 脆皮叉烧包 char siu is always a firm favourite Hong Kong Chinese dish that I never get bored off. So many things going on in flavours, sweet, sticky flavours and pieces of pork. The bun has a crackly outer layer but the inside is still fluffy.