vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Travel
Seremban Baked Crabs 芙蓉烧蟹 @ Kedai Makanan Seremban
Nov 10th
Would a makan trip to Seremban be complete without trying their famous Baked Crabs? I guess not. Since this is a local specialty, for sure there are a couple of restaurants that prepares this dish to cater to the demand. But through the recommendation of the locals we chose to eat at Kedai Makanan Seremban seafood restaurant. It is also the most famous one in town after being featured in countless media.
Although the dish is called 芙蓉烧蟹 (‘Fu Yong Siu Hai’) in Cantonese and translates to Grilled/BBQ Crab, the crabs are not barbecued at all. In fact they are deep fried and then coated with some special sticky sweet sauce. So if you are coming here expecting the the crabs to be grilled/baked/BBQ-ed then you will be surprised, heh. Actually I feel weird that I am calling it ‘Baked Crabs’ when it is supposed to be ‘Fried Crabs’ lol. But I am sticking to it anyway in respect to its Chinese name.
I believe there are people out there who do not like to have their crabs deep fried because the flesh tends to be dry and stick to the shells. Well, I am one of them. Luckily the chef is experienced and the crabs were fresh, plus he did not overcook them. So the amount of meat that got stuck at the shells is minimal and mostly at the legs. As you can see, the chunk of meat at the crab’s claw is still perfect and juicy. FYI it costs RM70 for two crabs (1 large and 1 medium) weighing a total of 1.4kg.
Kung Wo Dou Bun Chong (Soya Bean Products) @ Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Nov 7th
Kung Wo Soya Bean Products (公和荳品廠) at Sham Shui Po is one of my more memorable eats in Hong Kong thanks to their unique Tau Fu Fa. Like the shop’s name suggest, Kung Wo is an everything soy-related kind of factory cum eatery so they also sells raw ingredients like beancurds and beansprouts.
The Tau Fu Fa is of course soft and silky smooth as expected and tastes just slightly sweet with only a small drizzle of sugar syrup. I believe it is made this way so that the sweetness will not overpower the subtle soy flavor. And actually it is the “red sugar” that makes it one of a kind for me.
Tim Ho Wan 5 Star Dim Sum at Two Star Price @ Mongkok, Hong Kong
Oct 11th
If you Google for dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong, Tim Ho Wan (添好运点心专门店) would surely come out tops. One of the reasons contributing to Tim Ho Wan’s fame is the fact that this dim sum joint at Mong Kok is said to be the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world.
The kitchen is backed by Mak Pui Gor, the highly renowned ex-dim sum chef of Lung King Heen at Four Seasons Hotel. His decision to quit his former job to follow his dream of managing his very own restaurant is good news to everyone, as the restaurant aims to serve quality food at friendly prices.
However, there is a huge drawback. Due to their immense popularity and the shop’s tiny size, waiting time is super long. Last time customers used to queue outside the restaurant for hours before getting a seat. This seem to have irked the neighboring shops hence a signboard reminding customers to stand ‘ar‘ one side as not to ‘black‘ the shops next doors.
In order to eliminate the long queues, they have recently implemented a numbering system. A total of 130 numbers would be distributed every morning, usable as long as you return by 3pm. There is another distribution after 3pm but I don’t know how many they are giving out.
FYI, We were here at 10.30am, took our number (40+ ish), waited for an hour or so then decided to eat something else first elsewhere before returning an hour later. For those who are here in large groups you are in bad luck because most probably you will be directed to their branch at Sham Shui Po where there is usually no waiting required. But! The reviews about the SSP branch has been bad so better stick to the main branch here.
This is the size of of the entire restaurant including the kitchen at the background. With about 10 tables or so, it can only accommodate a maximum of 30 customers at any time. The tables are so close to each other that you will be sitting literally elbow-to-elbow. But as a consolation, the food is worthy of the wait and the service is genuinely warm and friendly (remember this is HK!), something I find rare and surprising considering their big fame and all.
I have to commend on the staff’s patience especially the lady who assigns numbers to customers outside the restaurant. Can you imagine how many questions like “When is my turn?”, “What number is it now?” “How long more do I have to wait” are thrown at her daily? Yet she is still able to handle it as graceful as she could. I am pretty sure I would have snapped if it was me.
Roast Goose @ Yue Kee Restaurant (裕記大飯店), Sham Tseng Hong Kong
Oct 1st
Dim Sum aside, ‘Siu Ngor‘ (Roast Goose) is one of the more memorable food we had in Hong Kong. There are quite a number of restaurants selling Roast Goose in HK but the famous ones are none other than the original Sham Tseng Yue Kee and the classy Yung Kee Restaurant at Central. We actually tried both, and felt that while both are equally good and up to expected standards, Yue Kee is more appealing to us because it won’t burn a hole in your wallet like Yung Kee would.
The ‘lai pai‘ (regular) portion here is a quarter of a roast goose and it is priced at $100 for the upper part and $120 for the lower part. The lower part is slightly more expensive simply because that’s where the drumstick is at. If you were not specific enough while ordering you will most probably get the upper part like we did. So if you intend to savor the drumstick and thigh portion, do let the waiter know exactly which part you want when he is placing the order. If the menu is missing from the table, insist on it to know what is available.
