For the majority of this visit, I stayed at an airbnb apartment in Mongkok. I chose the place mainly due to its relatively reasonable price, and I figured it would be pretty accessible to public transportation. Also, I am originally a Mongkok girl, this neighborhood being the one I lived in for the first 5 years of my life. My choice was a great one, as I was literally steps from countless food options.
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| Fa Yuen street. I stayed in the building on the left corner. There are dozens of food options in these few blocks, along with lots of shopping. |
For a month, I spent time with relatives, walked around the busy streets, and basically ate enough to gain over 5 pounds. Warning: upcoming pictures may induce feelings of hunger. Writer of this blog is not responsible for any keyboards broken due to reader salivation. :P
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| My uncle and his family took me to have an all-seafood meal. It was very very amazing. First up, was large shrimp wok-fried in soy sauce. |
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| Scallops in their shell, steamed with lots of garlic. |
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| Lobster, served with noodles on the bottom. All the lovely lobster gravy dripped onto the noodles and made them super delicious. |
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| Salt-pepper fried mantis shrimp. |
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| Fresh abalone. It was surprisingly tender and sweet. |
Besides fancy meals, I also got to sample a variety of food available from street vendors.
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| Hot and sour potato starch noodles. This was an intensely flavored bowl of noodles! |
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| The meal of my dreams! A big bao, filled with pork and vegetables ($6 HKD), a skewer of curry fish balls along with rice crepes ($8 HKD), and a mango ice ($14 HKD)... it's perfect! |
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| Braised beef brisket with turnip. |
Staying on Fa Yuen street had another perk: there were lots of fresh fruit stands on the street, all offering a wide array of fruit usually for less money than the supermarket. Being in Hong Kong during the hot and humid late Spring has its benefits: the fruit selection was amazing!
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| I had some of the best lychee I've ever had during this trip. This particular strain (糯米糍) is known for its small seed. This resulted in an unusually large, juicy, and sweet mouthful of fruit. |
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| My first experience with mangosteen! This fruit has a really unique flavor, not really like any other fruit. It is sweet, with a faint tanginess, and an interesting floral finish that you taste more with the nose than the mouth. |
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| Look at these tiny cute mangoes! |
Additional food...
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| Classic Hakka dish, braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens (梅菜扣肉). The pork was suuuper rich and fatty, but the greasiness was cut by the tangy greens. |
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| Cantonese style fast food: baked pork chop served over rice, and a red bean ice. |
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| An extremely large and fulfilling breakfast at a local Mongkok 茶餐廳. The HK style milk tea is unique and utterly delicious. I miss it already! |
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| I dream about this dish a lot when I'm not in Hong Kong or New York... thick rice noodles stir fried with black bean gravy. |
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| Before leaving, I had to have one last meal at an airport restaurant. I decided on Shanghai xiaolongbao, and a cold jellyfish appetizer. |
Ironically, Hong Kong girls are some of the skinniest women I've ever seen. With all this food, how do they do it??? Such a mystery!
