Michelin Dining In Hong Kong - Eating at Tim Ho Wan

Searching the local couchsurfing page for Hong Kong I saw a post about doing Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan. Apparently it's the cheapest michelin starred restaurant in the world. Tim Ho Wan, meaning "Add Good Luck", was created by the once chef of the Hong Kong Four Seasons Hotel (a three starred restaurant) Mak Pui Gor. Not wanting to miss the chance to eat at not just a good dim sum place but also a michelin starred restaurant, I signed aboard with a group to go and I can say me and my stomach are very happy that I did!

The restaurant opens at 10am so we decided to get there around that time. Luckily Jessie (an ABC from Baton Rouge visiting HK) got there a bit early. They fill the restaurant and then give numbers out to the others in line. We were #1, so had a 45 minute wait to get in.

Our order ticket. The restaurant is too small for carts so you fill out ahead of time what you want. It's sort of nice as the food is ready pretty quickly once you sit down.

Tim Ho Wan is known for it's crispy char siu bao (roast bork puns). A bit different than the usual steamed soft fluffy bao i usually get but very tasty. the sugared top is what adds to the crispiness and really compliments the meat flavor.

a few variations of the delicious wide rice noodles, some dumplings, and chickens feet. Usually I can't stand chickens feet, but this really changed my taste for them. For the first time I can say that I liked eating this dish.

Added in was some turnip cake (my favorite!), meatballs and spareribs in blackbean sauce.

What's happening in the kitchen?

A delicious meal, fun experience and my first michelin star restaurant. Not bad for a few hours time on a monday morning.

A day in Macau

To be fair to Macau it was more than just a day there, I was probably there for around 26 hours. And though it was just a short stay there I have to say that I really loved it. Macau is different things to different people. For some it's a gambling mecca, (Macau takes in more revenue than Las Vegas), others a food mecca (mixing Cantonese, Portuguese, and various former Portuguese colonies from the likes of Africa and SE Asia the food here can be traditional or fusion blends unique to only Macau) and also a classical European architecture mecca (the old villages still are as they have been for many years even with all the newer flashy casinos and high-rises that come with). Yes Macau truly is a mecca of many sorts which, taken it's geographical size, is quite impressive.

Macau is connected with mainland china but also includes and island of Taipa and Coloane cities, which are connected by bridges and a causeway. Because it is surrounded nearly all by water the most popular and convenient way to get in and out of Macau is by ferry. The problem for someone unaware of how to fully get there (read: me) is that there are a few different ferry companies and many different travel companies also selling tickets for these ferry companies. I just bought the first ticket I saw, thinking there would only be one ferry, and my ticket was very cheap but it left with an hour and a half to wait for the ferry. I then saw all the other companies and learned that about 3 other ships would take off before mine. whoops. well, live and learn.

I didn't spend any time in the casinos so I can't really talk too much about them here but I did get a good feel of the old towns as the majority of my time was spent walking and eating in them.

While waiting for my ferry to depart I had some time to kill and got hungry. Every so called restaurant in the plaza was packed and the only two places I didn't have to wait for KFC and McD's. McDonalds had this sandwich that I had never seen before on special so I thought I'd try. Not sure if you can read the writing here but it mentions how It's a real taste of Americana. There was other America propaganda on the tray paper as well. I also got a sweet potato pie as I've never seen that in the US. Both were pretty tasty in all fairness, though not sure I ever really need to get them again.

African Chicken. A Macanese invention of the best kind. Mixing african and asian herbs and spices and throwing in some curry for good measure, this dish is one of the classic Macanese specialties and I fully understand why.

St. Dominic's Church, a beautiful exhibit of the European architecture in Macau.

Buildings just outside of Largo de Senado (senate square). The color and design really appealed to me and are completely different than anything you'd find on mainalnd.

Ruins of St. Paul's. "Originally theCathedral of St. Paul, a 17th century Portuguese cathedral in Macau dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's most famous landmarks. In 2005, the Ruins of St. Paul were officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau." (thanks wikipedia! read more here Htttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruinsof_St.Paul's )

Up close (and blurry)

The backside of the front facade.

The crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the Cathedral.

bones in the crypt

more bones

some beautiful (in color not necessarily religious theme) pictures in the museum at the ruins.

One of my favorite snacks when I lived in NYC was Malaysian beef jerky. Macau is also know for this style as well, however they don't call it Malaysian. In doing a little research I found out that they are both actually all from China originally and it is called bakkwa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakkwa)

An old colonial style building at night.

All I really saw of the casinos. Though the picture doesn't do it justice. The light shows outside were quite spectacular.

Old Coloane Village's port.

An alley leading up to the Chapel of St Francis.

The Chapel of St Francis from up front.

Chapel of St Francis

Inside the Chapel of St Francis. I really like the sky painted pulpit area.

I also liked the painted wall in this room. Very colorful.

An alley in Coloane Village.

Another alley with beautiful old and colorful houses.

And another alley, this one with more focus on the roofs.

more alleys, notice a trend. I just found it all so beautiful.

Pastel de nata, or egg tart. I used to always get these at dim sum and thought they were chinese then year ago I found them in Portugal. The Chinese say they invented it but history shows that they originated in Portugal. Wherever they are from, they are delicious!

A temple in Old Taipa. I liked how it contrasted in design with the blue building next to it.

The city lights of Macau from the bus heading to the ferry port

On the ferry ride home they sat me in this seat. Notice how there is only one seat all by itself, heaven forbids the white man mixes with the chinese :)

A day on Hong Kong Island with Louie

I met Louie in Xiamen when I was heading south to Guangdong province and he was heading to see the Tulou buildings. Originally from Hong Kong but then transplanted to Australia and studies in Scotland, Louie was a nice guy and you could tell so from the minute you talked with him. He told me to contact him when I got to HK, and I sure as heck did. We met up with Tanja and Alex for a fun day out on Hong Kong Island. We started the day off with some authentic dim sum. We went to the type of place where they sit you where usually you sit with other diners at the same table. The cart get rolling around, but if you want something special you can just go up and grab it or ask for it. I thought i took pictures of the brunch but apparently I didn't. Alex and Tanja couldn't eat too much there because of there eating restrictions but I got a few of my favorite dishes in. It was tasty but the dim sum i'd have the next day blew it away (cliffhanger blog post!)

After dim sum we took the street tram around town and walked in various neighborhoods and through a few street markets. As it started to get darker we got on a bus to go to the top of the peak. From the the peak you can view HK's night skyline as well as the harbor. It's really a spectacular view and there is a reason it's on the list of "to do in Hong Kong."

Following our peak view and walking around up on top we headed back down and went to get some vegetarian food. Louie found a spot that was perfect, right near the bus stop and chock full of veggie dishes and fake meats. yum! Following dinner we split our seperate ways as it was already late and we'd spent a good deal of the day together. I was leaving HK in a few days but the other guys were both there for a month so I left each with the others contact info. Always in hope of connecting people, the old jewish lady matchmake inside of me is strong.

Louie, Tanja and Alex on the top deck of a street tram.

View from the peak. Sadly for this picture the fog was rolling in and not all the lights were on yet. You just have to use your imagination for how neon and electric the city will look at night.

vegetarian dining. To the left was bamboo fungus and mushroom coconut hot pot. In the middle was a mixed veggie noodle dish. in the front right was deep fried taro and honeydew milk. this was a little weird as the honeydew was ok but the deep fried milk part was just a little odd. in the back is a sampler of various mock meats in different sauces and styles. I loved these ones, especially the mock duck liver.

My time in Sanya

I headed to Sanya for three reasons. The first, to go surfing. The second, to relax on the beach in the sun when not surfing. The third to eat a shit load of fresh tropical fruits. Mission accomplished. Though I didn't get to surf much as the previous few days typhoon had brought in swell upcoming to it, after I got there the swell was pretty much all but gone. Bummer. I did manage to get a lovely sunburn after about only 20 min in the sun though, another mission accomplished. And it was nearly impossible to not find luscious beautiful tropical fruit, it was very where. I ate a ton of mangosteens, rambutans, star fruits, and some of the best tasting mangoes I've ever had.

At my hostel I met a great swedish couple, Tanya and Alex, and ended up spending most of my time with them. A week later we'd meet up again in HK. It is nice to travel alone sometimes, but it's also really great when you meet people you get along with from the get-go and can travel a bit with them.

Most of the pictures below are from an outing to Tianya Haijiao (End of the Earth and the Corner of the Sea) China's south-most point of land area. Some of the rocks here are very famous to Chinese people. Tanja took all those photos which is why you'll see more of the hero of this blog in them.

My second night in town I went out with some of the people from the surf club for dinner. It was a local spot that you had to take a boat to get to. The restaurant was a fishing village boat and you'd eat in the middle of the sea on the boat. It was seafood hotpot and they kept bringing out all this fish,crabs, shrimp and squid. the hotpot broth was pretty bland though so for me the experience was fun but the food was weak.

Our table at the end of the meal. Keep in mind there was around 10-12 of us.

A picture from the beach at Sanya.

Dinner at a local dirty dive spot that was pretty delicious. You can see how I got a little sun that day, good old pink face.

Same dinner, but Tanja is showing us from a different view.

Fresh seafood. The eel looks pretty happy there, little does he know where he soon will be going.

A "famous" tree at Tianya Haijiao as it's bent but still growing to the sky.

The Rocks of Sun and Moon (日月石) are two boulders near hundreds of other uniquely shaped rocks. Here the "Sun" refers to "husband" and the "Moon" refers to "wife". Looking from the distance, they resemble a couple entwined to each other but they are in fact separate rock.

Alex and I in serious discussion over seashells

I liked how the wave looked here, about to crash

boats and adventurers

Silke is eating a banana, and me a rambutan.

and i am making a silly face with part of the rambutan in my teeth. classic rosenstock.

chucking rocks at a coconuts in hope that one will fall for us to drink.

Southern Heaven Rock, so famous that it's actually on the 2 Yuan bill.

more famous rocks

The sanya local people have a different type of straw hat. there shape i find a bit more pretty than the typical cone/pyramid shape.

wow, another famous rock!

street lady making roujiamo, not as tasty as the lamb ones in Xi'an. Basically spicy pepper and pig fat sandwhich here.

But i really liked the roujiamo lady. she was so friendly. I always said hi to her when I walked by and I think she liked that. Tanja told me that she said hi to them after I was gone too. so sweet.

hard at work

Sanya's dragon bridge

that's me with the hand up in the back right. Hi!!

I like this shot Tanja took of the bridge and water.

kids going rollerskating.

this kid is so cute in her helmet and drinking her milk.

movie time! we went to see a movie in Sanya. We were told this one had english subtitles and it didn't. Luckily they had another movie that did. Unfortunately, the other movie wasn't in the super lush and comfy theatre that you see here.