A classic Hong Kong experience

Mikacina is back in town, and I was excited to have the opportunity to show her something more "local" than the other places she had on her itinerary. It would only the second trip here for Mr. P, and I was eager to let him experience more of what we love about Hong Kong. Rather than taking them to a cha chaan teng (茶餐廳), I opted for a slightly more comfy experience at Ho Hung Kee (何洪記). After all, it's a place that Foursheets and I visit from time to time by ourselves. I jokingly told Mikacina that she could have "Michelin-starred congee" when I first suggested the place, but she didn't take me seriously, and didn't realize until she arrived that the restaurant does, in fact, hold a Michelin star.

We were placed in a cozy booth just next to the restaurant entrance, which had been decorated with a flower motif. A somewhat romantic touch I did not expect from this place...

Foursheets and I proposed a few items that I thought were classics and visitors should experience, and after getting our friends' approval - including for items Mr. P did not think he would enjoy - we placed the order.

Assorted meat congee with sliced fish (羊城荔灣艇仔粥) - well, this IS one of the classic congees, and our Korean guests enjoyed it a lot. It's clearly very different from Korean porridge, and the varied ingredients like sliced fish, squid tentacles, jellyfish, shredded pork, peanuts... etc. make for an interesting mix.

House specialty wonton noodles in soup (正斗鮮蝦雲吞麵) - it doesn't get more classic than the 細蓉, served the traditional way with wontons at the bottom and noodles on top.

Stir-fried rice noodles with beef (干炒牛河) - a signature dish here, and they do it very, very well. This was stir-fried at high heat to impart that sought-after wok hei (鑊氣), and one can see charring on the flat rice noodles. I also highlighted the absence of a puddle of oil on the plate to our friends.

This was taken with the traditional condiment of chili sauce, and Mr. P had loved the bottle of Yu Kwen Yick (余均益) chili sauce we gave him. The chili sauce they use here seemed more "artisanal" and we thought they had made it in-house, so I asked to buy a bottle for our friends to take home. It turns out they actually buy it from Tai Hing (泰興) and were more than happy to sell it to me at 100% markup.

Bean curd rolls with prawn (鮮蝦腐皮卷) - it was obvious that Mr. P enjoyed these fried pockets of tofu skin stuffed with shrimp mousse, as he took about 2/3 of the dish by himself.

Rice noodle rolls filled with twisted cruller (香脆油條腸粉) - I almost never come here without ordering this, so naturally I had to introduce it to our friends. Love the contrast between the soft exterior and the crunchy center.

Barbecue pork bun with saucy filling (流汁叉燒包) - Mr. P had, apparently, not enjoyed char siu bao (叉燒包) on previous tastings, but I think he liked this one.

Shrimp and baby shoots dumpling (翡翠菜苗餃) - another of Foursheets' favorites, with vegetable shoots added to the standard har gau (蝦餃).

Pomelo skin with shrimp roe on top (蝦子柚皮) - we decided to order this because it is so distinctively Cantonese, and it's something that they probably wouldn't be able to find in Korea. Whoever thought of eating the thick rind of pomelo?! And to drench it in a thick sauce made with shrimp roe? Definitely an eye-opening experience for visitors.

Our friends wanted to drink up a bottle of Champagne they received for their hotel stay, so we paid HKD 100 corkage to drink out of these big ass glass tumblers...

Delamotte Brut - light on the palate and easy to drink.