Wonton noodles in Hong Kong

Do you know that wonton noodles (餛飩麵) is also nicknamed 細蓉 [sai3 jung2] in Cantonese?

For those who ask “what is a wonton”, wonton is a kind of dumpling in Cantonese cuisine, usually having shrimp and pork as the stuffing. So to put it simply, wonton noodles are noodles with Cantonese dumplings.

Let’s go back to its name. Some say the name was a poetic reference to refer to beautiful ladies; some say it was wordplay to describe what wonton noodles are: making the eaters warm and satisfying their hunger, as if a gentle embrace from a motherly figure…Sorry, I am not good with this literature thing, but you get the meaning.

                                                                       

細蓉 also refers to the size of the serving of wonton noodles. 細蓉 is the smallest, with one tael of noodles and four wontons; 中蓉 [zung1 jung2] is middle size, with one and a half tael of noodles and six wontons; and 大蓉[daai6 jung2]  is the largest, with two taels of noodles and eight wontons.

And don’t underestimate these plain-looking dumpling noodles. According to some wonton noodles experts, the formula of making good wonton noodles could be boiled down to three things: the wonton, the bouillon and the noodles.

Contrary to popular belief, the wontons should not be too big, where a mouthful size is preferable. The dumpling wrappers have to be thin, while the ratio of pork and shrimp can be adjusted to a person’s liking; the bouillon should be made with pork bone, dried flounder and shrimp roe. A good bouillon would be light brown in color and not too greasy; the noodles should be handmade egg noodles (it’s called “handmade”, but you can buy it from traditional noodles shop, so don’t worry) which taste smooth, thin and more importantly, al dente.

Of course you can eat it in whatever way you want, but care to try the traditional way?  Drink a spoon of bouillon, swallow a wonton, and then eat a mouthful serving of noodles. Rinse and repeat. You will be able to finish the noodles right on the fourth cycle!

You should have noticed though. The serving is pretty small. A bowl of wonton noodles is more like snack instead of proper meal.

But, hey, everything we have here is small AND expensive!

This is the essence of Hong Kong!

Vitasoy in Hong Kong

Do you know that the Vitasoy International Holdings Limited (維他奶國際集團有限公司) is one of the largest non-carbonated beverage sellers in Hong Kong?

The company was originally called “Hong Kong Soya Bean Products, Co., Ltd.” and was founded in 1940s by Dr. Lo Kwee Seong. Inspired by a talk about how beans are full of proteins and realizing many Chinese are lactose intolerance, Dr. Lo came up with an idea to formulate a drink which is protein-rich and cheaper than fresh milk. He believed that soymilk could replace fresh milk and thus Vitasoy (維他奶) was born.

                                                                          

However, Vitasoy’s sale wasn’t good in the beginning, and was mainly delivered to people’s home with bicycles. Later, Dr. Lo adopted a sterilization technology so that the soymilk could be stored without refrigeration. This greatly increased the duration of the drink and its sale started to skyrocket.

When Vitasoy first came out, it was portrayed as a healthy drink, with the slogan of 點只汽水咁簡單 (“It’s more than just a soft drink”). Therefore, it was (well, still is) pretty popular among students, as the teachers and parents would not oppose to it. Queuing in front of the snack kiosks, waiting to buy that bottle of soymilk, and feeling satisfied simply because of the sweetness it provided...this should be childhood memory to lots of Hongkongers.

The brand now offers many flavors and choices, like chocolate soymilk, malted soya drink, low-sugar soymilk, sesame soymilk and even weird one like oat-flavored, or fruit juices and teas if you don’t like soymilk. Still, the most classic one would always be the original flavor. The taste has always been the same: sugar, salt, seasonings, and more importantly, the savor we Hongkongers grow up with.

Hmm…must be the preservatives…

Stinky Tofu in Hong Kong

Do you know there is a street food in Hong Kong that stinks…literally?

Of course I am talking about stinky tofu. What else?

Stinky tofu is usually prepared by being put it inside brine made with fermented milk, vegetables and meat. While the full fermentation process can take up to months, stinky tofu sellers nowadays would simply have the tofu fermented a few days just to add the odor.

Technically speaking, stinky tofu is not a “Hong Kong” street food because it came from China (perhaps invented during Qing Dynasty?). And the way it is served varies from place to place. Some are served cold, some steamed and some stewed. In Taiwan, it is served with pickled vegetables. And in Hong Kong, we have it deep-fried.

Those who hate stinky tofu will tell you that it smells like rotten plants and sewage.

Those who like it (like me) will still tell you that the smell is strong…but at least I find it to be quite pleasant. So, let’s say you have overcome the fear and conquer that foul stench, you finally decide to put that smelly brick into your mouth. What do you think it will taste like?

The answer is…absolutely nothing. Sorry to disappoint you if you are expecting something extraordinary. But no matter how stinky it is and how greasy it looks from the outside, it’s still a piece of tofu on the inside. You will probably feel like you are chewing a piece of foamed plastic which is surprisingly tasteless. That is why the Hong Kong style stinky tofu is served with sweet sauce and chili sauce, though some stinky tofu lovers claimed that good stinky tofu should taste like sewage as well…I think I would pass on the “good” one…

Too bad you don’t find many snack stalls selling stinky tofu today. In the past, you are bound to find this delicacy if you visit those street food-filled areas, either sold by roadside food stalls or hawkers, and you really can smell it from a few streets away. But people nowadays are just weaklings who complain how stinky tofu takes away their right to breathe fresh air…Filthy stinky tofu haters.

Jokes aside, the government really has some tight regulations on selling stinky tofu, so your best bet on finding the snack would be places like Mong Kok and Temple Street.

…Have you been holding your breath the whole time?

Come on… If compared with those made in other places, stinky tofu in Hong Kong isn’t that stinky.

Now catch your breath before you faint.

Siu Mei in Hong Kong

Do you know that the siu mei (燒味) we have literally means “barbecued- flavor” and…

Hey, what’s that smell?

Oh…speaking of the devil…It’s siu mei!

What was I talking about? Right, siu mei is actually a general name for Cantonese dishes which have the meats roasted on BBQ spits or in huge ovens. And sometimes they are served with different sauces.

“So they are just barbecued meat with barbecue sauce? I have that in my country as well. What’s so special?”

Nothing  special, really. But depends on how the meats are seasoned, marinated and roasted, the siu mei could give a unique scent and taste. So, give them a try before you write them off, ok?

One of the more iconic siu mei food in Hong Kong would be char siu (叉燒). Char siu, which is also called “barbecued pork”, literally means “forked and roasted” because that’s how it is cooked. The texture and fat content of char siu can vary when used with different pork cuts (like loin or belly). The pork is usually seasoned with honey, five-spice powder, dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce and the like. Sometimes red food coloring is also used to give it some appealing color.

Char siu can be served alone as main dish, as side dish with rice or noodles, and used for stuffing in Barbecue Pork Bun. This versatility, together with its sweetness and smoke-grilled flavor is what makes char siu so popular.

Another famous siu mei choice would be roasted goose.

Goose is famous for its distinct flavor, and can you imagine how great it would smell after being seasoned with spice and roasted in the charcoal furnace? And let’s not ignore its crispy skin and juicy meat…a simple bite of it is enough to stimulate every single part of your tongue. Since roasted goose is greasy, lots of people prefer to serve it with the sweetish-sour plum sauce to counter the oily feeling. Like, char siu, roasted goose can be eaten alone or with rice and noodles (no such thing as roasted goose bun though).

But since geese are more costly, lots of standard restaurants would have roasted ducks instead. So ask if you want to make sure what you are eating is what you want to eat.

There are many more options like roasted pig, roasted pork rib and soy sauce chicken, but I will leave the exploration to you.

Even though they taste good, don’t eat too much. Just look at how they are prepared and it shouldn’t be too surprising that eating too much could result in heart disease and even cancer…

So…just one more piece of char siu, I guess. Or maybe two more pieces, or…

To hell with that, I eat what I want.  

Pineapple Bun in Hong Kong

Do you know that there is no pineapple in pineapple buns (菠蘿包)?

Please don’t be mistaken, your honor. Our client has no intention of speaking falsehood or deliberately misleading others to believe the buns have any direct connection with pineapples…probably.

Pineapple bun is a kind of standard sweet bun you can find almost everywhere in Hong Kong. What makes it special is not the bun itself (which is only some ordinary western bun), but that crusty layer on top, made with sugar, eggs, flour and lard. After being baked, the crust would turn golden brown. Together with its rugged texture and checked pattern, the bun looks like a pineapple from the outside (hence the name)… though I can’t really agree.

That’s all you need to know, I am done, bye

…is what I want to say. But there are a lot more about this bun.

Eating the crispy-top bun every day can be boring, right? That’s where the variation comes in!

A popular variation would be菠蘿油 (usually translated as “buttered pineapple bun”). As you can guess from the name, it’s a pineapple bun with butter inside. Soft bun, crunchy pastry and smooth butter, an ultimate combination that lets your tongue enjoy both the taste and texture at the same time. Watch out for your cholesterol intake, though.

There are also other variations with different stuffing, like red bean paste, custard and shredded coconut; if you prefer the savory ones, you can choose those with luncheon meat or barbecued pork; or pineapple bun with chocolate or cheese crust if you are tired with the original crust; maybe even pineapple bun filled with fruits like blueberry, strawberry and…pineapple!

See? It would take you nearly two weeks to try them all even if you try out one every day.

And did I mention that pineapple bun has become one of the items in Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage list since 2014?

So, go ahead.

Walk inside a Hong Kong style tea café and order a pineapple bun.

Preferably a cup of Hong Kong style milk tea as well.

Sit down, relax and taste the pride of Hong Kong…which looks like a pineapple.

Put Chai Ko in Hong Kong

Do you know that Put Chai Ko (砵仔糕) was first being recorded in Qing Dynasty?

What is this “Put Chai Ko”, you ask?

It is a traditional snack originated from Guangdong, and gets popular in Hong Kong. It is often translated as “sticky rice pudding” or “earthen bowl cake” in English. To put it simple, Put Chai Ko is a palm-size rice pudding usually made with white or brown sugar and rice flour, and sometimes (actually most of the time) mixed with red beans. The batter is usually poured into little porcelain bowls and steamed until cooked. That leaves the puddings with the shape of the bowls, hence the name (砵仔糕 literally means “little bowl pudding” in Cantonese).

That sounds simple to make, right? Not really, if you want to make it well. And it’s pretty time and resource consuming. According to some traditional Put Chai Ko makers, they need to choose carefully for the rice, making sure the moisture and hardness is just right, and then spend a whole morning to prepare the rice milk (for the batter). The rice milk is very important because it will directly affect the appearance, softness and smoothness of the pudding.  After all those experiments on the batter, they have to focus on the steaming process. Imagine spending a hot and wet summer day in front of the steamers…

Because of all these hard work needed to make the pudding and the disproportionately low selling price, less shops / hawkers are selling these nowadays. But don’t worry, long as you are willing to look (and pay more) for them, you can always find them in Hong Kong. Not to mention that there are still passionate Put Chai Ko makers insisting on providing the best to their customers, this classic snack still has a bright future.

If the standard sugar flavor is too plain for you, you can try those of pumpkin, green tea or even sweet potato.

But no matter what flavor you prefer, always, I mean ALWAYS, hold them with bamboo sticks.

Don’t “why” me!

Put Chai Ko is not really Put Chai Ko without the shape and the sticks, you hear me?