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This iconic restaurant was founded in 1860 (Whoa! Since I am crap at history, you can read all about it here), and it currently serves Hong Kong/Chinese style "Western" food. To me, this place is one of the must visit spots to bring tourists to. Thus, when my sis and mom visited me recently, I had an excuse to treat them myself to a leisurely lunch at Tai Ping Koon.
What do you mean, leisurely lunch?
Well. I made a huge mistake by not reserving a table, and it's 1 pm in Hong Kong's busiest CBD, Central. Getting a table without waiting for almost 1 hour is a miracle, and no. Miracle doesn't happen every day, especially when you needed it (ohhh...what a positive person Rita is!). So, we were hungry, our feet were wobbly from lugging around our loot from H&M (Tai Ping Koon is near to Central's huge H&M, another plus...or minus?), and we got no seat.
The eye candies of old dinnerware displayed on the cabinet couldn't help...we were desperately hungry. I decided to grab some snack from the nearest convenience shop and do some more shopping while waiting for the mad lunch rush-hour crowd to disperse back to their stuffy cubicles or swanky offices.
Shopping while hungry? A big nono.
Finally, when we were back at 2 pm, getting a seat is a breeze. Heck, at 2 pm, we could get the best seat in the house! One of those "car seat" right by the window. Don't forget to read the story of "Swiss sauce" on their menu. Hint: obviously, like many other things, it isn't called Swiss sauce because it was originated in Switzerland. It's hilarious.
We started off with a nice and refreshing shrimp, fruit and potato salad, which was excellent for a hot day, and a lobster bisque, which was really rich, generously filled with lots of seafood bits and pieces (note: I personally prefer their oxtail soup, but it wasn't part of the set...and I'm always mad about set meals), which I mopped clean with buttery, slightly sweet, soft and fluffy buns.
We chose the roasted pigeon in "Swiss" sauce. The pigeon's perfectly cooked, crispy skin, tender and juicy meat, flavorful sauce....and I did the unthinkable...I sucked the brain of the roasted pigeon in public. Yum!
We (of course) ordered one of Tai Ping Koon's signature dishes, TPK Style Fried Rice Noodles in Swiss Sauce. Greasy yumminess. Although it was delicious, the beef slices were succulent and juicy, the noodle was wonderfully chewy, the greasiness of this dish made me feel super guilty. I felt more guilty devouring this dish in less than 5 minutes than spending more than HK$1000 in H&M (oppps).
I am not a fan of plain vanilla ice cream, but on such a hot day...it was a jewel.
You'd think that we had enough...but of course, no touristy visit to Tai Ping Koon is complete without....
TPK's baked souffle!
It's light.
It's airy.
It's a GIANT!
It's always fun for me to see tourists' reactions upon arrival of the giant souffle.
"Wutttt???"
"We're gonna eat that???!!!"
"Is that going to eat us????"
and
"How much does that cost????!!!"
...and of course we always get this bored/gimme-a-break look from the locals, rolling their eyes, thinking...
"Oh...tourists.."
The souffle is very mildly flavored, my favorite is the top part of the souffle. It's more of an entertainment really. :p
We washed down our sinful meal with iced coffee and iced lemon tea. They're Hong Kong's famous drinks, and the caffein's essential to prevent sleepiness during an afternoon of crazy shopping.
...and once the food paparazzi's done taking pictures...she did disgusting things...as usual.
Tai Ping Koon
60 Stanley St, Central
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2899 2780
The set lunch costs HK$315 (for two) + service charge.
The souffle costs a little over HK$100 (sorry guys, I forgot! T_T)
Steamed fish is a super popular dish in Hong Kong households.
It is "the" ultimate dish. I can be shooting out gorgeous dishes and desserts outta my ass, but to sous chef's parents (and other parents would agree), if I haven't done any successful steamed fish, that means I can't cook.
There's gotta something about steamed fish that makes it so popular. OK, it's healthy (-er than the fatty food I normally cook), when done right, the meat's delicate, satiny smooth, the sauce kicks you right in your face with beautiful flavors, and the garnishes hitting every part of your palate.
So, why haven't this dish appear in my blog sooner?
I've been dying and fearing to try steaming my own fish for a while...but knowing my track record of failures, I thought I was bound to ruin the fish. I was afraid of the prospect of rough and dry overcooked fish no garnishes or sauces can hide.
But finally, I got over my pathetic self and faced my fear since I received some free fresh fish from sous chef's mom, I thought I'd brave the steamed fish challenge (nothing to lose...well, at least financially).
I wanted to try something that's different from the normal soy sauce poured over steamed fish garnished with chopped spring onions (real reason was, I can't afford having my initial attempts being compared to sous chef's mom's glorious versions, so, I had to make it different. HAHA)...so I went for citrus. Citrus and fish....they're bff.
Recipe
- 1 medium sized pomfret (one of my favorite fish, minimum bones, maximum succulent flesh. or I also like snapper)
- 3 cm ginger, crushed, divided
- a bunch of corriander
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
- 1 small clove of garlic, chopped
- 1 small clove of shallot, sliced
- 2 small red chilli, chopped
- olive oil, fish sauce and sugar
- hot water for steaming
Clean fish, stuff it with a couple slices of lemon zest (peeled using a peeler, not grated), a few pieces of corriander roots, and 1 cm ginger, put fish on a plate, add a few lemon slices on top and scatter some corriander roots around the fish too.
In a large wok/sautee pan (it needs to be large enough to place a plate upside down, with a plate of fish on top, covered), bring 3-4 cups of water to boil, place a small place upside down in the water (or you can use those small metal stand to hold your plate). The upside down plate/metal stand should be able to support your plate of fish, it should be tall enough so that it won't be completely submerged in the water or your plate of fish might be floating around and swim back into the sea (hehe, lame joke), and it should be low enough, so that the cover of the wok can completely cover the whole thing without touching the fish.
Whew! I should've taken some step by step pictures to illustrate this.
While the fish is steaming...
wait-a-minute.
For how long?
For smaller fish (around 25 cm), I steam them for about 7 minutes. I steam larger fish (around 30cm) for 10-11 minutes.
How do I know if the fish is done?
Try cutting the thickest part of the fish flesh with a spoon, it should easily go through and hit the fish bone.
So, while the fish is steaming, prepare the rest of the ingredients for the sauce/topping.
Reserve a few slices of lemon. Saute garlic, chilli, ginger and shallot in tiny bit of olive oil, add a generous amount of fish sauce, add about a teaspoon sugar, squeeze lemon juice, mix well, taste and adjust until you achieve a perfect balance of salty, sweet, sour, and hot.
Once the fish is done, add freshly chopped corriander, lay a few pieces of lemon and pour the sauce over fish.
Satiny smooth, succulent meat, with citrusy, kick-me-in-the-face spicy sauce.
Oh, one more thing.
You already know this.
Never overcook the fish.
If you did, give it to that neighbor you always hated (who knows, they might like it).
This might be old news.
But, hey! I love everything old. Vintage clothes, dinnerware, home accessories, etc etc etc...hmmm, except for boys, I like them young and crunchy. HAHA! (prompting you to hide your younger brothers/cousins from auntie Rita)
Many of my friends recommended this Starbucks outlet on Duddell St, Central. They know I am not a Starbucks freak, but from how I show up to work in HK$10 old vintage dresses, I've been known as a sucker for golden oldies.
Starbucks worked with G.O.D to make this old style Hong Kong cafe (Bing Sutt) happened.
Do people visit this place for Starbucks' "famous" coffee/food?
Yeah. I didn't think so.
Hello, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Blackberry, iPhone, Holga, etc etc etc...
For a first visit, it's quite an eye candy.
This one made you feel like you live in a densely populated old flat, maybe in Mongkok, the glare from neon signs illuminated your room, a flag by the street covered your view of (possibly naked) people from the opposite building looking straight back at you.
It was so hard trying to control myself not to steal this rusty jewel.
Love!
The birds which never chirped...
Another tempting corner of old fan, TV, and a cabinet full of treasures.
We still use that old style calendar back home in Indonesia. My mom always freaks out if my sister and I forgot our duty to tear off the old pages.
Hello, gorgeous...wanna move in?
Feel like swatting some bugs?
I want to own the world!...OK...or an old globe.
Tape your windows in case of typhoon.
I gawked and snapped, gawked and snapped, almost totally ignored my food (which normally is as unlikely as the sun rising in the West)...
The Bing Sutt trio snacks (HK$34), inspired by classic snacks from Hong Kong old coffee shops, with added Starbucks twists, namely coffee. A pineapple bun with a slab of butter, coffee egg tart (which was surprisingly delicious, the coffee is in the tart shell, not the filling)...and...the best bit...
Coffee cocktail bun.
I am not a big fan of the classic version, but the addition of coffee in the coconutty filling made it all better.
There were also many local beauties posing for pictures there. Go on, bring your biggest camera and most impressive lens to get to know them.
Starbucks @Duddell St
Shop M2 Baskerville House
13 Duddell StreetCentral, Hong Kong
I am shallow. Sometimes I choose my food based on the level of cuteness...and nothing, I repeat, NOTHING is cuter than those halved piece of straw mushrooms smiling at me.
I feel happy just looking at them.
I hardly do my leafy vegetables soupy and brothy, but it's perfect for this one. The straw mushrooms make the broth super earthy, and it works perfectly with tong ho's fresh fragrance.
Recipe
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed
- 1 heaping cup of straw mushrooms, cleaned, halved
- 1/2 pound tong ho (or you can use spinach)
- olive oil, water, salt, pepper, sugar
Saute garlic with a bit of olive oil, add mushrooms, let them caramelise a little, add vegetables, add water, season, cook until the vegetables achieve the level of tenderness that you like, serve hot.
A happy side dish for a happy weekend ^_^
I am so easy to please.
I feel euphoric just because of the simplest things in life.
Such as...
- being able to put together a decent work outfit in just one attempt
- finding a seat half way through my MTR journey (cos asking for a seat for the whole journey is simply impossible),
- hearing a "good morning" specifically for me instead of "jou san" from my office building's security guy (he remembers that I don't speak Chinese ^_^ how sweet!)
...and...
finding an empty bench in the shaded, lower part of Hong Kong park at lunch time.
I was in the mood for an extravagance, so I splurged on a Pret-A-Manger lunch.
Not just one pack of half a sandwich, but everything. Soup, salad, sandwiches. Oh my!
The Fusili Pesto Salad was freaking delicious. Perfectly cooked pasta, creamy pesto, sweet and tangy dressing, fresh vegetables...pasta salad never tasted this good. Thank God for that, if not it would've been such a waste of HK$40
The Chili Beef Soup was everything it promised. Hearty, tasty, bursting with flavors. It costs me HK$30. Wow, I could do a full dinner at home for HK$30.
I had the Super Club Sandwich and sous chef had Grilled Chicken with Mango sandwich, every bit of these HK$22 each half sandwich was delicious. Frankly, I never liked sandwiches before I tried Pret-A-Manger's before.
...and I was also ecstatic...
Seeing them having lunch and then hanging upside down.
Far too cheery for a mid-week post, don't you think?
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