Fresh Seafood in Chiu Chow style in Hung Hom

You judge a restaurant by the ques outside.  Fresh seafood has been a mainstay in Hong Kong, it’s a port city and pearl of the orient.  Causeway Bay has its under the bridge spicy crab, North Point has Tung Po (in the cooked food centre) and Lamma Island has Rainbow Seafood Restaurant.  These three restaurants were popularized by Anthony Bourdain in his food show No Reservations so they are must-visits for all the travelers while in town.  They are good but they also have the price points to show for it.  They are busy regardless of food quality after being popularized on TV so my journey involves finding the gems among the local establishments.

This restaurant is in Hung Hom, it’s right across the harbour from Central, to the east of TST.  Hung Hom is home to a great many things, one of the most expensive restaurants for Japanese food in Kazuo Okada.  This restaurant has quite the story. Kazuo Okada is the money man behind the Wynn Casinos.  He was ousted last year for trying to develop his own casino in the Philippines.  He’s mega rich by any tangible wealth standard and created a restaurant solely to serve himself.  Everyone is most welcome to dine there, so long as he is not in town.  Hung Hom is also home to a large Japanese and Korean population so one should be able to find quite authentic dining.

This restaurant does fresh seafood in the Chiu Chow style.  The lineup outside on a Saturday night at 830pm.  The restaurant use to throw out tables onto the street for a true street food dining experience but that has disappeared.  Dining can only take place inside the venue, which takes away from the true gritty feel.

Don’t let the location fool you, it’s fresh seafood and ingredients, bar none.  By the time we sat down, most of the daily specials were sold out.  It’s best to go early.

Salt water blanched langostines, served cold.

It’s a lot of work to get at the meat.  The shell has prickly points that will easily fit inbetween the finger and nail.  In typical crustacean fashion, nature allowed these creatures to evolve in a manner where it will take some work but it’s worth the reward.  So long as you let mother nature make you bleed your own blood.  Dip it into the chilli pepper soy sauce vinagarette dressing.

Vegetables in a fermented bean curd sauce.  Fermented bean curd is a typical asian sauce where it smells terrible but tastes delicious.  Try it.

Fresh razor clams.  Razor clams are always served with a layer of vermicelli and garlic on top.  It’s one of the few examples of seafood where they don’t want you to eat it on its own to taste the ocean.  Their version had bits of sand which would suggest they did not clean it properly or it was so fresh the clam hung onto the sand implying fresh.

Fresh fish steamed in a lime sauce.  They carve the fish in half turning each side into a fillet.  No bones to pick out of the fish making it easy to handle.

A meal for 3 people at $540.

It’s located on the corner of 8 Bulkeley Street (and Ming On Street) in Hung Hom.  Take a look at Google maps, you will see the restaurant was super small when google did their initial drive by for Street view.  Now it takes up most of the block.  Service is nothing to rave about but they go out of their way to seat you and ensure you are familiar with their ever changing daily menu.  You may want to call ahead to make a reservation but doubtful your table will be ready for you when you arrive.  Phone 96859419.

Chan Kan Kee – Michelin star Chiu Chow in Sheung Wan

I’m not a big fan of roast goose.  It’s fattier than duck and I already avoid duck meat unless it’s a special occasion.   I am running out of dining options and being a creature of habit enables me to be a staple at the cooked food centres.  It’s time to sample the other restaurants in the area.  Chan Kun Kee has multiple locations, they have a Sheung Wan location on Queens Road.  They are a Michelin star chiu chow food restaurant so you will need to order the goose.

Chiu Chow food is most famous for its marinated goose.  The lunch special is $50.  The daily soup cost another $12.  Rice dishes generally come with soup as part of a lunch special.  I guess Michelin star establishments use their new status to warrant a la carte pricing.

Their cold drinks come in plastic containers so you can take it back to the office.  It was fun watching the employer drop lemon into the cold milk tea while the lemon tea lacked lemons.

This is Chiu Chow congee.  It is rice in soup lacking the congealed congee consistency.  $50.

Chiu Chow food is also known for their meat/fish balls.  The meat/fish balls came in noodle soup with seaweed over top. $50.  There’s nothing special about the meat balls, soup and noodles.  I don’t think it’s worth the premium pricing.

This is Michelin star Chiu Chow food.  I have now tasted the full gamut of Chiu Chow from Cooked Food Centres to Michelin star restaurants.  The Michelin star pricing is not high by any means but larger portions and the inclination to consume cheap alcohol makes a strong case for the Cooked Food Centres.  Neptune Chiu Chow in TST East makes food the traditional way so it is made right.  This restaurant is part of a chain with multiple locations so I suspect quality control may be suspect.  I will not be a regular customer at this restaurant for lunch.  I may give it a try during supper if I happen to be in the area with hangry friends in tow.

 

Chiu Chow Food at Sheung Wan Cooked Food Centre

I never cared to try another Chiu Chow Restaurant as I quite enjoy the service and atmosphere at Neptune Chiu Chow in TST East at the Energy Plaza.  A friend wanted to try the Chiu Chow restaurant at Sheung Wan Cooked Food Centre so it was perfect time to compare the difference.  The pricing was drastic with no noticeable difference in quality except the lack of table linen, hard liquor and private rooms.  You do not venture to the street markets in search of fine dining and exceptional quality.  The owner was grumpy at first but warmed up to us as soon as we sat down, showing we were indeed customers.  We stuck to the traditional chiu chow dishes.

First dish, oyster pancakes.  The dish arrives with fish sauce and a pepper shaker.  It rids the dish of the fishy smell.  Fish sauce is pungent and with a touch of pepper the pancakes go down easy.

 

Satay beef on a bed of vegetables.  The beef is drenched in satay sauce.

 

 

Lemon sauce fish.  $80.  The fish is steamed with lemon rind which is suppose to infuse flavour into it.  Another take on this dish is to steam the fish in lemon juice.  Lemon juice provides a sharper more refreshing taste.  I didn’t taste the lemon rinds until biting into it.  The fish was good.

Seasonsal veggies in soup.  We wanted to stay away from the fried varieties to keep it healthy.  It’s cooked in broth with pork belly.

 

The noodles are very traditional. It’s fried until the outside is crispy.  You dab a touch of vinegar and sugar over top with each bite.

 

Total cost for 3 people and 5 dishes, $352.  It works out to be $120/person.