After 23 under-sung Hong Kong eateries made it into the Michelin guide’s brand new “street food” category last month, Su-Min Hwang visited a handful and sprinkled a few stars of her own.
Joyful Dessert House
74 Hak Po Street, Mong Kok
(*)
Mango Napoleon at Joyful Desset. Photo: Su-Min Hwang
This place has a wide array of Western and Japanese desserts, and flipping through the photo-thick pages of the menu is a visual treat in itself. Waffles, soufflés, ice creams… you name it. I ordered one of the prettiest looking lovelies – the Mango Napoleon.
The puff pastry was really great, with the thin, crispy layers delicately divided by rich, sweetened cream. The chunks of mango came smothered in syrup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
While I enjoyed the dessert, I felt it needed to be fruitier to really work. Without any tartness, the Napoleon ended up being too rich and sweet.
Kelly’s Cape Bop
57 Johnston Road, Wan Chai
(**)
If you find yourself staring at a TV screen showing glitzy K-pop music videos while walking on Johnston Road in Wan Chai, you’re not the only one who’s been lured by Kelly’s Cape Bop. This lively little eatery sells typical Korean street food such as Kimbap, rice cakes, egg rolls and fried chicken for around HKD50 each.
I went for the Chicken Bites in spicy sauce, which came in a Chinese takeaway-style paper box. The sauce was made with a mix of ketchup and Korean chilli paste, just as it should be, while the sprinkle of chopped nuts gave it more flavour and bite.
The box was quite large, so I was pleased it wasn’t filled to the brim with fried chicken. A couple of rice cakes and seaweed dumplings (also smothered in the spicy sauce) were a pleasant surprise. As it turned out, I much preferred seaweed dumplings to the chicken – the peppery noodle wrapped in seaweed really brought out the spiciness of the sauce.
The chicken, however, was a bit too chewy – I suspect it had been fried earlier and reheated again. I also felt a whole boxful of chicken was a bit too monotonous. A little less chicken perhaps with rice or vegetables would have made a more balanced lunch.
Block 18 Doggie’s Noodle
27a Ning Po Street, Jordan
(***)
Fried Pork Fat Noodles. Photo: Su-Min Hwang
This is a difficult place to find – especially if you can’t read Chinese. It was a friendly shopkeeper who eventually showed me the way. The menu doesn’t sport any English either, so I ordered (or rather pointed at) what turned out to be the signature dish.
The “Fried Pork Fat Noodles” had a complex and rich flavour that, dare I say, is rarely found in Hong Kong street food. Coming with generous servings of mushroom, shrimp and dried radish, the noodles were cut into five centimetre pieces so they could be eaten only with a spoon – great for those with chopstick-related handicaps.
The (Imitation) Shark’s Fin Soup was tangy, and the shredded duck meat complimented the broth well. The fish balls I ordered as a side dish were nice and fiery hot, even by Asian standards.
All three dishes were full of flavour and had nothing to fault – although I wouldn’t recommend ordering all at the same time. Three big servings of soft, stodgy food was quite a lot to stomach in one sitting.
The Butchers Club Burgers
2 Landale Street, Wan Chai
(****)
Wu Tang Style burger. Photo: Su-Min Hwang
Take yourself to the noisiest and most bustling spot on Landale Street, Wan Chai, and you’ve reached the Butchers Club Burgers. The menu is very, very simple. The Burger (bacon, cheese, tomato and pickle) for HKD100, Duck Fat Fries for HKD30, and Ice Cream Floats for HKD40.
What makes the experience slightly more interesting, however, is that they have a “Secret Menu”. Originally, curious customers had to scan the QR code printed on the basic menu, but apparently the few people without smartphones in Hong Kong complained, so now you can view these menus at the counter. Where’s the fun in that?
On the no-longer-secret-menu, the selection becomes a little more experimental and, in turn, slightly more costly. The “What Food Eats” burger featured Greek yoghurt with a chickpea patty, while the “Red-Eye Reduction” came with a crispy hash brown smothered in maple hollandaise. I chose “Wu Tang Style”, a burger made with kimchi and tempura sweet potato.
The meat was satisfyingly thick and succulent, and the tangy kimchi went surprisingly well with the smooth kewpie mayo and sweet tempura – a great example of an East-meets-West fusion dish. My only complaint is that I was told by the staff the burger would be “really spicy”, but it wasn’t at all.
The place has a bar-like atmosphere, with loud music pumping and people squashed for a seating at high stools along long tables. It’s not somewhere you’d want to sit for a long time, but it’s definitely worth a visit for a well crafted burger.
Mammy Pancake
8-12 Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
(*****)
Mammy Pancake waffle. Photo: Su-Ming Kwang
My first reaction when I saw egg waffle on Michelin guide? “Pfff – how good can it possibly get?” As it turns out, pretty darn good.
The waffles here are sold through a tiny window, meaning I walked past Mammy Pancake several times before spotting it, despite its flashy golden decor and huge queue of people. I can be a bit slow to catch on.
The marvellous experience of the infamous waffle goes like this:
Carefully hold the piping hot morsel in a paper bag while the subtly sweet smelling waft of air gets your tastebuds crying. No need to resist too long; bite into the waffle and savour the exquisitely crispy crust and the seductively soft insides. Each bite is like a pop of flavour, which intensifies the more you chew.
The waffles are available in a variety of fillings, including chocolate chip and sweet potato – and I can’t wait to try them all.
And oh, and eat up before it gets cold. Even a Michelin Guide nod can’t stop waffles getting soggy.
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