If you read this blog regularly, it should come as no surprise that I ate very well on my most recent adventure to Hong Kong. Although this was a solo trip for me, I didn’t always have to dine alone. In one happy coincidence, a friend’s holiday overlapped with my own and we met up for traditional dim sum brunch. We chose Jade Garden restaurant, found in a Mongkok shopping mall, one of the few spots in town where dim sum is still served from pushcarts.
As women wheel carts laden with steamer baskets and small plates through the crowded and opulent dining room, patrons signal when they want something, and a cart would pause in its slow orbit around the room. Following their example, we quickly found our table overflowing with dishes. The high points included delicate shrimp dumplings with wrappers so thin they were practically translucent, fluffy barbecue pork buns as large as my fist and deep-fried yams stuffed with roast pork. This is definitely not a meal to attempt alone.
On another fortuitous occasion, I tracked down a restaurant in my guidebook only to find it had recently closed. I asked a friendly couple if they could suggest another local option and ended up joining them for dinner at an Indian/Nepalese restaurant called Himalaya. There is a large Indian presence in Hong Kong, the residual influence of British rule, and curry joints abound.
Himalaya’s chicken tikka, eggplant masala, lamb curry and saffron rice were strong renditions, though I was most impressed with the Nepalese chili chicken. Tender, crunchy chunks of boneless chicken were deep-fried and drenched with a slightly sweet, fiery sauce the likes of which I had never experienced. As much as I enjoyed the food, sharing the meal with new friends is what made this evening so memorable.
One dish I didn’t get nearly enough of in Singapore last year was Hainanese chicken rice so I was delighted to find a Kowloon restaurant specializing in this regional delicacy. The dish generally consists of a boneless chicken breast poached in chicken stock and served cold with the skin on but separated from the meat. In this instance, the accompanying sauce was made from soy sauce and ginger.
My set meal came with sides of sauteed greens in oyster sauce, a rich soup with beef brisket and cubes of fried tofu and “oily rice,” which is wonderfully fragrant white rice cooked in chicken stock. I highly recommend this delicious meal!
I couldn’t leave Hong Kong without enjoying a plate of fish and chips. During my explorations of Kowloon, I stumbled on the Bricklane Restaurant & Bar which featured a British-inspired menu. I made the tourist mistake of showing up on a Friday night without a reservation, but since I was alone, the staff were very accommodating. I convinced them to let me eat outside on the sidewalk cocktail table normally used by those waiting for seats inside.
I wasn’t quite prepared for the gigantic platter of fish and chips that soon arrived, but did my best to devour it. Some diners watching me through the window were clearly amused, but I enjoyed myself immensely! The massive fish was a worthy dining companion and I left stuffed to the gills.
I wish you had written this before I went to Hong Kong. Yum!
You will just have to go back 🙂
I love dim sum! I would love to have joined you at that brunch! 😉
We’ll just have to go for dim sum on your next visit to Shanghai 🙂
This food looks amazing! And Hainanese chicken rice sounds delicious – I definitely need to try that.
You definitely do – it’s SO tasty!
I must admit that Hong Kong is a food paradise. I also tried those fluffy barbecue pork buns and there were so delicious! I’m not a big fan of beer, but enjoyed a glass of red wine with my seafood last time :). The food looks very appealing to me 🙂
I love the barbecue pork buns! We can get them in Shanghai and I’ve eaten way too many of them 🙂
Even though it was only the 2nd stop on our trip, Hong Kong still remains one of the big eating highlights from the past year and our time in Asia. Whenever I think about the dim sum, part of me just wants to start weeping because it was SO GOOD and I know that the only way I’ll ever be able to have it again is if we go back and I don’t know when that might be…
I so know what you mean! I fell head over heels in love with Hong Kong and got a little teary eyed when it was time to leave. It’s such an amazing place!
That dim sum looks amazing! It’s literally my favorite breakfast and it is definitely done best in Hong Kong but I’ve also had delicious dim sum in Malaysia as well in Malacca and Penang.
I love dim sum too! Fortunately, we can also get pretty good versions in Shanghai. My friend (a HK native) said that the hallmark of any good dim sum restaurant is the shrimp dumpling. Order that one first because if it’s not any good, it means the chef doesn’t know what he’s doing and it’s best to leave for tastier pastures.
I recently went to a mini-class which showed us how to make several dim sum dishes. Safe to say, it’s MUCH better to leave the cooking to the experts and simply gorge on the finished products…
Oh absolutely! My friend said that some of the dishes are too complicated to even attempt at home!
Looks great. I have never had dim sum before… well sort of. When I was in Vegas, one of the restaurants had what they called dim sum, but it didn’t nearly look as good as yours. I really want to visit an authentic restaurant now!
Sarah, you can get really authentic Chinese food in San Francisco’s Chinatown as well as Flushing, NY. Lots of immigrants there!
I would weigh 300 lbs. if I ate half as much as you do. Thank goodness you didn’t get my metabolism! Glad you were able
to meet up with your friend. Those dumplings look delicious!
the himalayan chicken and dim sum looked solo divine. I have yet to visit hongkong and when i do i will certainly source out your post again.
For some reason, I find myself only ever commenting on your food posts, probably because I love food so much!
Anyway, I’m curious to know how the fish and chips stacked up against fish and chips eaten in Great Britain. I love fish and chips, but I feel like it never tastes as good in the U.S.
(Also, I love that your mom posts as “Mom”. Super cute!)
LOL, my mom is adorable 🙂
I visited London twice as a teenager when I was too picky to appreciate a quality meal. Plus it was too long ago for me to remember! But I did have fish and chips in Gibraltar a few years ago and remember them being extraordinary. This Hong Kong version would come in a close second.
Whoa – you weren’t kidding when you said that the piece of fish was big! I haven’t been to Hong Kong yet and I’m surprised by the variety of cuisines offered there.
LOL! Hong Kong is an amazing city and I consider it the NYC of the East. The years of British rule created a very multicultural atmosphere that is unusual for Asia (besides Singapore and Malaysia). Definitely put it on your travel list!
YUMM. I really love dim sum and I’d love to get to Hong Kong to truly experience it! In fact, I’d like to get to Hong Kong to eat all these things!
Hong Kong has such amazing food options! It’s a little more expensive than SE Asia, but definitely worth a visit!
Every dish is so mouth-watering. I am feeling so hungry. I also experienced Hainanese chicken on my last visit. I think I will have to go back to have all these yummy food.