Friday 30 October 2009

Day 277 - Deep Fried Prawns with Mango Mayonnaise

At Watami: Japanese Casual Restaurant in Kowloon Bay. Delicious.

Thursday 29 October 2009

Day 276 - Fried Noodle with Beef and Preserved Vegetable

A surprisingly good dish. The Preserved Vegetable was just sour enough to add a little bite but not over-power anything and the Fried Noodles were deliciously crispy around the edges.

On a secondary note, the apparent "posterization" in the background is an artifact caused by the conversion to GIF format. I kinda like it anyway.

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Day 275 - Assorted Lo Shui


Day 275 - Assorted Lo Shui, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Lo Shui is a traditional Chinese cooking technique where various meats and other foods are cooked in a soy sauce and stock marinade. This marinade often has other spices in it and is normally reused multiple times. For some restaurants a years old Lo Shui is their claim to fame!

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Day 274 - Wonton


Day 274 - Wonton, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

A different folding style than the previous ones posted, but once they're cooked, they're all very similar... Delicious!

Day 273 - Family Dinner


Day 273 - Family Dinner, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

This is a fairly typical spread for us with a mix of home-cooked / store-bought items and traditional Chinese / Western dishes. Can you guess which would be my favourite here?

Monday 26 October 2009

Triple Espresso Stimulates Clicks

Day 262 - Cocktail Bun, Sweetcorn Bun and Triple Espresso

My breakfast at a desk (Day 262 - Cocktail Bun, Sweetcorn Bun and Triple Espresso) ran away with the voting last week. Granted, only four people voted, but it seems that 75% of people love the idea of a triple espresso first thing in the morning. I do! Next week's voting is up (and late - I blame the long weekend... feels like Sunday to me!) and ready for your clicks.

Vote away!

Day 272 - Fish and Chips


Day 272 - Fish and Chips, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

...at The Chippy in Central.

Whenever I can, I always opt to try a beer I haven't tried before. For dinner, I decided to go with a Fuller's Extra Special Bitter (ESB) (in the background) to wash down the fish and chips. Always trying new beers, often results in drinking a fairly bad beer (turns out there's a lot more crap beers than there are great beers), but on those occasions when you do find a great beer, you feel well rewarded. The Fuller's Extra Special Bitter is such a beer and, if you get the chance, I recommend you give it a go. A perfect accompaniment for a slightly greasy and delicious dinner.

Saturday 24 October 2009

Day 271 - Ho Beng (Fried Oyster Cake)

Always one of my favourites, when done well, this traditional Chinese dish is a wonderful mixture of flavours and (in what is a barrier for many) soft and crispy textures.

Friday 23 October 2009

Day 270 - Cookies and Cream Icecream

Once again I made Wonton (dumplings) for dinner last night; and once again, I couldn't wait and started to eat before letting them cool. But this time, I didn't just mildly suffer, this time a blister instantly formed on the roof of my mouth, burst and a left a huge flap of skin. Ouch. So...

Joe's list of Yay and Nay's after burning your mouth.
Beer - Good (Especially the great Löwen Weisse I was drinking)
More Hot Wonton - Bad
Icecream - Fantastic
Abrasive Breakfast Cereal - Not Good
Mouthwash - Aaargggh!

Thursday 22 October 2009

Day 269 - Cannelloni


Day 269 - Cannelloni, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Dinner last night was at PizzaExpress in Festival Walk. Both the Cannelloni and Margherita Leggera we had were great and thoroughly recommended.

As I was very happily munching away on the Margherita Leggera I realised that I was wrong my previous post on Hong Kong pizza. Sure, most of the pizza here is uninspired and dull. But, there are places to get fantastic pizza as well. I think out of all the pizza I've eaten in Hong Kong, my favourite place is PizzaExpress. Anybody have any other suggestions?

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Day 268 - Udon Noodles with Mini-franks and Broccoli

Perhaps a second image in the What's in your bowl series.

Dinner was Shanghaiese-style Udon Noodles with an assortment of other dishes; Mini-franks, Steamed Broccoli and Fish with Creamed Corn (in the background) just to name a few.

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Day 267 - Thai Red Chicken Curry with Bread

It's also great with rice, but I prefer to start with slices of a crunchy French baguette and move onto the rice later.

Monday 19 October 2009

Day 266 - Homemade Baked Blueberry Cheesecake

Certainly not perfect, but this very basic, baked cheesecake tasted great!

Trypophilics Unite!

Day 258 - Shu Mai and Dumplings

The winner of last week's poll was Day 258: Shu Mai and Dumplings, a trypophobics nightmare (or perhaps enough to make them uncomfortable). Personally I think it looks kinda cool. Sorry about running late with the weekend posts again! The poll has once again been extended to Midnight Saturday (Hong Kong time) to make up for my tardiness. The new poll is awaiting your clicks!

Day 265 - Soy Chicken


Day 265 - Soy Chicken, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Soy Chicken is as prevalent as, and almost always sold in the same shops as, Chinese Barbecue Pork. Although I do like it, I'd always choose the Char Siu instead!

This dish was part of dinner at an outdoor food market in Sha Tin.

Day 264 - Yum Cha


Day 264 - Yum Cha, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Birthday lunches at work generally mean eating at the only "proper" restaurant on campus, locally known as Ground Floor Chinese. Although you can get traditional Chinese dishes there, for lunch, most people opt for Dim Sum. I can't complain, we have all my favourites!

Friday 16 October 2009

Day 263 - Indian Beef Curry with Rice

Upstairs at The Cafe the Indian Curry is normally quite okay. Very mild and incomparable to the fantastic curries at Chungking Mansion in TST, it's still passable.

Thursday 15 October 2009

Day 262 - Cocktail Bun, Sweetcorn Bun and Triple Espresso

Breakfast at my desk after heading out for a pre-work run. Normally, after running in the mornings I'm not ready for breakfast when I get home, so instead, I just have a shower and head to work, picking up breakfast and coffee on the way.

The Cocktail Bun is always a favourite of mine, but I decided to try something new in the Sweetcorn and Egg Bun. It wasn't very corn-y but good anyway.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Day 261 - Baked Spaghetti with Beef Sauce and Spicy Sausage

Lunch at the Maxim's ran campus Cha Chaan Teng. Not particularly good really. The Spaghetti was very over-cooked and falling apart, reminiscent of tinned spaghetti. The sauce itself wasn't bad though, and would have been a lot better on top of rice. At least it was something new!

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Day 260 - Fried Pork with Cashews, Chilli and Garlic

Take away dinner from a Chinese restaurant in Sham Shiu Po. Clams with Chilli in XO sauce to the bottom right, Fried Salted Whitebait to the top right, Soy Chicken above, and Choi with Garlic to the left.

Day 259 - Take Away Pizza


Day 259 - Take Away Pizza, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

I've found that, for some reason, almost all the pizzas here in Hong Kong taste pretty similar. Normally, you can divide them into two camps: the tomato base camp and the thousand island dressing camp (yes, they use thousand island dressing instead of tomato paste on a lot of pizzas); and within each camp everything almost tastes the same.

It seems that in Australia, a Capricciosa is very different than a Hawaiian, is very different than a BBQ Chicken, etc. Possibly it's because pizza here is 'manufactured' and the taste standardized between branches and even chains, but in Melbourne, every small store has it's own style that they stick to.

I suppose it's comparable to Starbucks serving consistent coffee, it's not bad, but without that individuality, it just feels like there's something missing.

Monday 12 October 2009

2 Weeks, 2 Winners

Day 245 - Sushi Day 249 - The Peninsula Egg Custard Moon Cake

It would seem that the two winners from last week's super double poll occupy the two ends of the voting spectrum. The Sushi which is a better photo than it is food photo and the Mooncake which tastes great but is perhaps a pretty mundane shot. The new poll will be up shortly and will be extended till Saturday midnight (HK time), as I'm running late. Again.

Get those voting clicks ready!

Day 258 - Shu Mai and Dumplings


Day 258 - Shu Mai and Dumplings, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

A new perspective on a delicious lunch. Great when viewed large!

Day 257 - Pickled Cucumber


Day 257 - Pickled Cucumber, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

If the cherries were beautiful, then these Gherkins are ugly. With cracked, lumpy skin they are the food equivalent of a toad. But delicious!

Friday 9 October 2009

Day 256 - Sliced Pork Ramen


Day 256 - Sliced Pork Ramen, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Dinner last night was at a Japanese Ramen Chain in Mong Kok (as you might be able to tell from the electric blue glare off the rim of the bowls!). Not bad at all.

Thursday 8 October 2009

Day 255 - Tuna and Mayo Sandwich


Day 255 - Tuna and Mayo Sandwich, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Another sandwich for lunch at my desk. After taking this shot I got to thinking if I'd taken the photo "upside-down", meaning that the tuna should be on the bottom. I guess so, really... not that it mattered ten minutes later!

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Day 254 - Roast Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce and Ramen Noodles

I spotted someone else having this dish a while ago and wondered what it could be. I didn't ask the person at the time, and couldn't find anything resembling it on the menu. After trying a few wrong options I've finally figured out the vague written name for this dish was Roast Chicken Chop Noodle. Quite Tasty!

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Day 253 - Tuna Sandwich-in-a-Bowl

Don't be fooled by the new description... this is the same old sandwich in a bowl, just thought I'd identify it fully this time.

Lot's of dressing, so I'm not sure it's any healthier than the Roast Chicken with Spaghetti but it's a great option when the idea of a roast at lunch sounds too heavy.

Monday 5 October 2009

Day 252 - Sponge and Cream Birthday Cake

Obviously not mine again, but a combined grouping of family birthdays. As I was shovelling down the cake, I was thinking that the variety of cakes available here in Hong Kong is a bit lacking really. It's hard to find a good, dense Chocolate Mudcake, and Carrot Cake is practically unheard of. Almost every cake seems to have sponge (either butter or chocolate) with layers of whipped cream and mango.

Day 251 - Spicy Dam Dam Mein


Day 251 - Spicy Dam Dam Mein, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Sesame favoured Shanghaiese Noodles with both fried dumplings (Zin Gau) and soup dumplings (Wonton) in the background and Soy Milk (Dou Cheung) in the foreground.

Day 250 - Seafood and Pork Curry Fried Rice Noodles

Home-made; a take on the classic Singapore Noodles.

Day 249 - The Peninsula Egg Custard Moon Cake

A Lai Wong Bau inspired Moon Cake from the upmarket Peninsula Hotel in TST. Tasted more like a cheesecake type moon cake than Lai Wong Bau really.

Day 248 - Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Under construction!

I would have preferred salami with lettuce, fresh tomato and semi-sun dried tomatoes... but you can't have everything!

Friday 2 October 2009

Day 247 - Green Papaya Salad


Day 247 - Green Papaya Salad, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

With delicious Grilled Squid in the Background at Wong Chun Chun Thai Restaurant in Jordan again.

My parents liked this restaurant so much that we went back a second time. We also had the Green Curry, Fried Rice served in a Pineapple and Seafood Fried Rice Noodles. I preferred the Spicy Pomelo and Prawn Salad to the Green Papaya, but both were very good.

Day 246 - Thai Chicken Red Curry


Day 246 - Thai Chicken Red Curry, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

From the River View Cafe at Hong Kong Disney.

In trying to keep, at least a little, with the current Halloween theme there, my curry had "eyeballs" floating in it. Black olives stuffed inside lychees... very modern cuisine: almost more scary than real eyeballs in my curry!

Day 245 - Sushi


Day 245 - Sushi, originally uploaded by JoeGray.

Riding the sushi train at Genki Sushi in Jordan.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Day 244 - Pork Congee with Fried Bread

Since the only thing Mum would eat for breakfast was Plain Congee we ended up trying numerous places around the North TST / Jordan area. In the end we found a Congee specialist place with super friendly staff and great congee. My personal favourite is the Shredded Pork Congee with Thousand Year Egg and a large amount of the fried bread!

Day 243 - Black Pepper Beef Ball Noodle Soup

A quick lunch in Mong Kok at a popular noodle restaurant. Although neither of my parents tried chicken's feet (obviously not in noodle soup), they both really liked the fried fish skin!

Belated Poll Tie, No Internet Access and a Big Catchup

Firstly, apologies for the last posting of almost a week of photos. I was staying in TST with my parents while they visited. In this day and age, especially in Hong Kong, I would expect internet access to be a given, but unfortunately not! My week without internet access hasn't proven to be too big a drama, with the exception of not updating my 365 Days of Food. Rest assured that I have gigabytes of photos from the week, and plenty of those are food photos. I'll be editing them and posting them up asap, so prepare for the deluge!

Day 234 - Take-away Pizza and Potato Smileys Day 236 - Broccoli!

The poll from two weeks ago was a tie, with Day 234 - Take-away Pizza and Potato Smileys (the unhealthy option) tying with Day 236 - Broccoli! (the healthy option) - seems a balance is ideal!

When this weekend rolls around, I expect to have caught up and we can have a double sized poll for next week. Get those voting clicks ready!