Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [114]
Dai pai dong can spring up anywhere – by the side of a slope, in an alley or under a tree, surviving on borrowed time, in borrowed spaces. However, these traditional places for under-the-stars dining are fast disappearing. The government has persuaded many stall holders to move into cooked-food centres and wet markets for easy management.
The culinary repertoire of dai pai dong varies from stall to stall. One operator can specialise in congee (rice porridge) while its neighbour whips up seafood dishes that give restaurants a run for their money. In places where there’s a cluster of dai pai dong, you can order from different operators.
The following are recommended for the food and the atmosphere: Ap Lei Chau Market Cooked Food Centre Click here, Chan Kun Kee Click here, Gi Kee Seafood Restaurant Click here, Tak Chai Kee Click here, Tak Fat Beef Balls Click here and Tung Po Seafood Restaurant Click here.
HOW HONG KONG PEOPLE EAT
Busy Hong Kongers take their breakfast and lunch at tea cafes and fast-food outlets three times a week on average. A full breakfast at these places consists of buttered toast, fried eggs and spam, instant noodles and a drink. Not surprisingly, this breakfast flopped an assessment of the nutritional values of common Hong Kong breakfasts by the Consumer Council. The winner was jùk, a rice porridge also known as congee, with dim sums of rolled rice sheets (chéung fán) and steamed dumplings with pork and shrimp (siù máai).
Lunch for office workers can mean a bowl of wonton noodles, a plate of rice with Chinese barbecue, or something more elaborate. With the economic downturn, packed lunches, usually made up of leftovers from dinner, are in style again.
Afternoon tea is popular at the weekends. On weekdays, it is the privilege of labourers and ladies of leisure – the former because they need the energy, the latter because it’s their first meal of the day. Workers are said to vanish, Cinderella fashion, at 3.15pm sharp everyday for egg tarts and milk tea. For tai-tais (married women, especially the leisured wives of businessmen), it could mean a traditional English affair or a bowl of fish-ball noodles consumed at the hairdresser’s.
Dinner is the biggest meal of the day. If prepared at home, what’s on the table depends on the traditions of the family. Dining out is extremely common, as the majority of people live within walking distance of eateries.
ETIQUETTE
Hong Kong people are casual about etiquette at the table. Before the SARS outbreak in 2003, most Hong Kongers would think nothing of sticking their chopsticks into a communal dish, which can raise sanitation issues. Now many ask for separate serving chopsticks or spoons with each dish if the restaurant does not already provide them.
At Chinese meals, all dishes are shared. Except for soup and staples, help yourself to no more than the equivalent of two mouthfuls at a time. If you can’t manage chopsticks, don’t be afraid to ask for a fork. All restaurants have them.
Your plate is the preferred spot for bones, but at budget places diners put them on the table beside their plate or bowl. If you find that disconcerting, place a Kleenex under or over your rejects.
Toothpicks are available at all eateries, even high-end Western restaurants. The right way to use them is to cover your mouth with one hand while using the toothpick with the other.
COOKING COURSES
Hong Kong is a good place to hone your skills in the art of Chinese cookery.
Chinese Cuisine Training Institute ( Map; 2538 2200; www.ccti.vtc.edu.hk;7th fl, Pokfulam Training Centre Complex, 145 Pok Fu Lam Rd, Pok Fu Lam) Four-hour course for groups of at least 10 that surveys the full spectrum of Chinese cooking for $620 per head including lunch.
Home Management Centre ( Map; 2510 2828; www.hec.com.hk;10th fl, Electric Centre, 28 City Garden Rd, North