EatinAsian Contributing writer: Josh Schaffer
My wife and I recently returned from a 17 day journey to Southeast Asia consisting mainly of the Philippines, more specifically Manila, Baguio and Boracay, with side trips to Hong Kong and Macau. This being my first trip to anywhere in Asia, there were certainly some cultural surprises along the way.
Many of such surprises came from food — the variety, the preparation and generally just a wide deviation from what my typical SoCal diet was used to expecting. While Hong Kong had a strong Western influence, even when it came to their Asian dishes, the Filipino cuisine is very much still its own.
While both have a supreme love of simple carbohydrates, the Filipino diet skews strongly towards all meats being bone in, often with their eyes staring back at me (as I delighted in feasting upon them), and the belief that all parts of an animal are edible. Having believed my palette to be eclectic with a mind open to new experiences, my ignorance was on full display. Andrew Zimmern I am not.
Anyway, on with the show. Here are a few of the items I sampled in my travels.
As someone who loves strong American ales, the beers of Asia leaves something to be desired, but once in the hot and humid climate, eating the food you find just how well the beers they have compliment their dishes. My favorite? Red Horse by San Miguel. At 6.9% ABV it’s the strongest I could find, yet still quite refreshing.
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞∞
∞
The fried tilapia comes courtesy of a small chain called Mesa, which serves what they call modern Filipino cuisine. I will say this way maybe the only place that served any meat off the bone, having fried much of the tilapia separately. Though as you can see, there was still plenty left on the fish. It’s hard to dislike anything deep fried and breaded to perfection, this included. Kare Kare is a stew made predominantly of oxtail cooked in a peanut sauce with vegetables. I’ve been a fan of Kare Kare (or anything made with peanuts and garlic really) and found this one to be a great example.
∞
∞
Our next 3 photos come courtesy of a Hong Kong institution, Yuen Kee which is famous for their roast goose. Established in 1942 it’s received numerous awards as recently as a Michelin star in 2009, but apparently recent infighting within the family has seen the quality drop.
Having chose their prefix meal, we found the dishes to be touch and go with some extraordinary while a few were passable. To start, we were given century eggs. These regularly pop up on bizarre food lists. An egg is preserved for weeks to months in a mixture of clay, salt, ash, quicklime and rice hulls. Surprisingly I found them to be delicious. The egg “white” had a very light flavor with a jelly texture and while the yolk was a tad pungent, but softer and smoother than a normal yolk. If given the chance I’d try them again.
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
As for the roast goose, the skin was crisp while most of the meat was moist and greasy (the way I like it). The deep fried prawns were tasty (as was the crab that came with) while the wonton noodle soup was a stand out. Generally the meal was good, but not great. Hopefully the fighting can stop and they can get back to making great food again.
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
While in Hong Kong we knew we had to do Dim Sum, and were given many recommendations. After befriending a bartender from the very elusive Wyndham the 4th he recommended a place named Tim Ho Wan located near the subway stop of the IFC building. His description didn’t prepare us for the insanity that followed.
∞
Outside of this small establishment there may have been 30-40 people waiting for a seat. What we didn’t learn until afterwards was that Tim Ho Wan is actually the cheapest restaurant to ever win a Michelin star, and deservedly so. The food was phenomenal. They are known for their Baked BBQ Pork Bun (light, sweet and steamy), Steamed Egg Cakes (a very fluffy dessert cake) and Vermicilli Roll (light and slightly gamey) and none disappointed. The food came out fast, though the language barrier, which wasn’t much of a problem elsewhere, did cause service to be less than stellar. Overall I highly recommend.
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
∞
Anyone who visits Hong Kong must head over to the Temple Street night market located on the Kowloon side of the city. Merchants close down the street to sell all manor of items while food vendors open shop alongside.
After doing a quick walk around we settled down at an open air restaurant called Tong Tai Seafood. My eyes immediately went to these large scary looking crustaceans in a plastic container. Turns out they’re called mantis shrimp – and they were delicious. Cooked with various spices they tasted like a cross between a prawn and a lobster. We also had squid in garlic sauce, and I mean A LOT of garlic. They were incredible, along with clay pot rice (something Temple Street is known for) with Chinese sausages and bok choy.
Other than being very messy, this was a great way of taking in local cuisine and really mixing with the crowd. The tables are small and so close together it may as well be communal seating, but it just added to the overall experience. I’d go back to Tong Tai anytime, and definitely not miss Temple Street.
∞
∞
∞
∞
On our last night in Hong Kong we stumbled upon a familiar restaurant, Din Tai Fung Dumpling House. If anyone is familiar with this establishment, they are based in Taiwan with a number of locations along the West Coast, and are known for making soup dumplings with the consommé cooked inside the dumpling.
As is typically the case here, there was an almost one hour wait there as well. It was well worth it. There were definitely certain menu items listed here that you can’t find in the states. We started out with noodles in a peanut sauce, which were cooked to perfection. On the dumpling front we chose a few, but had to splurge and went with the pork dumplings with black truffle. I cannot tell you how much it’s worth spending extra on. Do it. You will not be disappointed.
For dessert we wanted to try something different. They make great dessert buns filled with taro and red bean paste, but you can get those here. Instead, we tried their yam paste sago dessert. It’s something of a sweet, cold, milky concoction, but was a very refreshing way to end the meal.
Overall Hong Kong was incredible for food and we know we’ve only just sampled a tiny sliver of the tip of the iceberg in our 4 days there. We definitely see a return trip sometime in our future. Now, on to the rest of our Philippine getaway..