When I travel, I love nosing into the little alleyways and byways, especially when I see steam rising from a street vendor’s stall. When I see lots of people sitting around little makeshift tables, I know there’s bound to be good (and cheap) food to be had!
I found one such alleyway on my most recent trip to Hong Kong. Nestled between two buildings in the busy shopping district of Mongkok was a little shop/stall and lots of people sitting down and slurping down bowls of hot noodles. When every table is full, and more and more people were stopping by for food, its a sign that I had to sit myself right down and have a go!
So there I was, sitting elbow to elbow, sharing a table with total strangers, sweat dripping from my forehead as I too slurped down my noodles. Service was impressively quick and portions were good sized and very substantial. Quite perfect after a long day’s walk around the city.
(1) Braised beef brisket and tendon with ho fun rice noodles (2) Fishball noodles with egg noodles (3) Wantan (pork and shrimp dumplings) in soup
Each dish was just HKD22 (approx RM5.50 RM9) which was a lot cheaper than eating in a shop, and it was delicious! I am pretty adventurous when it comes to street food, so this was nothing too squeamish for me 😀
Do you scout out street food when you travel? Or does it make you squeamish?
Paris B
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Samantha says
September 27, 2012 at 9:18 pmi missed the food in HK its lovely & charming esp with its crammed space n its amazing how the service is very quick even though not all may be friendly.Its is through the crammed space that we get to take a closer look of their culture, they way they talk etc..i don’t get tired of HK. Alongside with South Korea, its a place i can go over & over again
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 10:53 pmI enjoy HK too 🙂 I didn’t enjoy Korea as much but it might have been my experience there 🙂
Jyoan says
September 27, 2012 at 9:56 pmOh yes! Street food are always the most authentic.
It’s just like how I think people who visit Singapore must go to coffee shops and hawker centres. hahaha.
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 10:55 pmI love street food, but other than a few hawker centers I haven’t been to any good coffee shops in Singapore. Any recs? 😉
Jyoan says
October 1, 2012 at 2:08 amTried Old Airport Road at Dakota MRT? Handmade chee cheong fun there, and goreng pisang. But it’s actually not coffee shop. haha. But still good.
Hmmm, some others are really out of the way.
Paris B says
October 2, 2012 at 10:19 amHmm… nope! Next time I go down to Singapore, I’ll be sure to hunt around the hawker centres (anyone I should visit?) and coffee shops 🙂
Beauty Box says
September 28, 2012 at 1:22 amI would eat street food in developed countries like HK or even BKK but I’ll be quite scared in places like Vietnam and Cambodia. Though the type of food is also a factor. If it is fried or grilled I would but not with loads of soup – had a nasty incident in Nepal and I’ve been on Paranoid Street since then. However, those fishball noodles make me yearn to slurp that soup right up!
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:02 pmI haven’t been to Cambodia so I can’t vouch for their street food, but I’ve had some of the best food ever in the streets of Vietnam – steaming hot beef pho and beef salad 🙂 sorry to hear about your experience in Nepal. It must have been horrible! Getting sick on holiday is one of the worst experiences ever.
Issa says
September 28, 2012 at 9:21 amthese soups look yummy! I got hungry reading your post 🙂
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:17 pmThat was a tummy rumble I heard! 😉
Ginny says
September 28, 2012 at 9:50 amThanks for another delicious food recommendation! If I’m not mistaken, the cost in ringgit appears to be under-stated. At HKD100=RM41, it should convert closer to RM9 per bowl.
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:19 pmYikes! I have terrible math skills. Thanks for the correction 😉
Lian Sim says
September 28, 2012 at 9:55 amI ate at this shop as well when I was in HK last December! 🙂 Wanton was awesome and I had to finish the noodle quite fast as there were quite a few customers waiting for their seats.
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:21 pmOooh! It’s so good right? I don’t know how I never noticed this shop before when I was there before but was so happy to discover it and how delicious it was 🙂
Jasmine says
September 28, 2012 at 10:01 amOooh…I lovee Hong Kong! It’s so cosmo and there have delicious inexpensive hawkers food and exquisite restaurants. Of course shopping is a must. The only thing that drives me up the wall is their language..though we speak the same mother language however they have kinda slang and often I find it ‘deep’ to understand .. but interesting 🙂
Paris..do share with us what you got yourself this trip.. and share with us more photos ya.. can’t wait ;p
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:24 pmI’ll try to Jasmine 🙂 I didn’t record much of this trip except for Disneyland which I will be sharing later. Oh and I don’t speak Cantonese very well but I can do the rudimentary bits after living in KL and I love the way people in Hong Kong speak. It’s so musical!
Tammy says
September 28, 2012 at 8:26 pmI see where you went! This one you went to is actually VERY famous! 😉 Did you follow a guide book or something?
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:31 pmWow I didn’t know it was famous! No, I didn’t use a guidebook, just wandered around till I chanced upon it 🙂
Tammy says
October 1, 2012 at 12:57 amSo you were really lucky then! 😉
Ching says
September 28, 2012 at 11:30 pmHK – the best place to eat & shop! I never miss the “kai daan chai” on Nathan Rd. Street in HK is not cheap at all! I paid hkd28 for 2 pcs of kai daan chai!!!
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:35 pmWould you believe that I have been to HK quite a few times but have never had kai daan chai! Somehow, every time I saw it, I knew that I’d never finish it up myself so I never bought it. I should next time!
Chia Callie says
September 29, 2012 at 6:53 amOh the food!!! I’m missing HK already! ^^ Doesn’t help that I’ve to fast today for my Body Check-Up. =(
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:36 pmOh dear, I hope it was a regular check up and all went well 🙂
Chia Callie says
October 1, 2012 at 9:59 amYup yup! Just a yearly thing so no worries. ^^
HapaGirl says
September 29, 2012 at 7:02 amAbsolutely! Eating street food, especially in Southeast Asia (where they do it best!) is a must. Although I am probably missing out on lots of fun by only eating fish, seafood, and veggies (I don’t eat meat), I’ve so far never gotten sick traveling around Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, etc. Just look for the crowded stalls/hawkers – their food is probably the best bet for cleanliness and tastiness. 🙂 One of the many reasons I love Malaysia is for the AMAZING street food!!! Now I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
Paris B says
September 30, 2012 at 11:37 pmI don’t think you’re really missing anything by not eating meat 😉 the seafood in this part of the world is quite something! It’s great to know that you enjoyed your trip here 😀