Monday, June 30, 2008

Sichuan King Lam Rice Noodle Restaurant



It is easy to tell the difference between rice and egg noodles, the rice ones being white in color. We love both types of noodles and this restaurant specialises in rice vermicelli. It is always crowded around lunch and dinner times and is very conveniently located for people in Hung Hom or visiting Whampoa Garden.



There are not a lot of options on the menu but you can choose any number of the following toppings: beef, pork, goose, pig's liver, spicy minced beef, fish skin dumplings, bean curd, abalone, ham, cuttlefish balls, beef balls, fish balls, fungus, beef and mushroom balls, and fish head, pickled vegetables, lettuce, mushrooms, turnips, red sausage, wonton and pig intestines. Every bowl has bean sprouts, fried tofu and chives. You can optionally ask for Sichuan spice soup with many different levels of spicyness. Price is dependent on the number of toppings, 1 topping being HK$21, 2 toppings $24, 3 for $27, 4 for $30. They also have set meals and a $40 very large bowl with almost everything.

Bbq chicken wings (optionally spicy) $10 for 3 are a specialty and you should definitely try them out.



They also have afternoon tea specials from 2:30-6pm. Set A includes noodles with one topping, chicken wings and a bean curd drink for $21. Set B is also $21, and you get two toppings but no chicken wings.



We had a slightly spicy pig liver, mushrooms, fried bean curd rice vermicelli and a non-spicy wonton and turnip as shown in left and right hand side of the picture below. The service was fast and the noodles come piping hot. We also had a vegetable dish.




This is one of our regular restaurants and it costs about $30 per head. Perfect for a quick meal, the food is always excellent. There is also a branch in Jordan. We give it 5 out of 5.

17-27 6A Man Tai St
Hung Hom
Kowloon Tel 27656855


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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Noodle Dim Sum King (面点王)

Noodle Dim Sum King (MDW) is a restaurant chain which sells handmade noodles, sort of like a Chinese McDonalds. We had lunch there on our visit to Book City.





You get a card which is stamped as you take food from the front counter and return to your table to eat it. Unlike McDonalds, waiters and waitresses are on hand to serve you. It is more upscale than typical noodle places on the mainland and is hence a little more expensive.



Noodles are freshly made and have just the correct amount of chewiness.




Many people order the braised pork ribs which are a specialty of the house. There is not much meat but they are very tasty. This a favourite of Mrs Fisher.



Kailani likes the cucumber marinated in soya sauce, chilli and garlic.



I like the beef cakes and Chinese pizza.


All in all, this restaurant is dependable in quality and we always look forward to having lunch there. It costs about RMB20 per head and we give it 4 of out 5.

Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Book Mall

We took a trip to Shenzhen to visit the Shenzhen Book Mall in Shaoniangong. The way to get there is to first take the MTR train to Lok Ma Chau (see the map here).

Lok Ma Chau is the new border crossing, designed to take some of the real estate and traffic pressure from the other crossing reachable by MTR, Lo Wu.



Compared with Lo Wu, it is not nearly as crowded. Opened only last year, the facilities inside the station are excellent though unfortunately, there is no taxi stand outside so getting one is a little chaotic.



The picture below is of the Shenzhen River which forms the border between Hong Kong and Mainland China.



Once you have passed through immigration, you are on the Shenzhen side which is called Huanggang. Go down to the subway and take it four stops north to Shaoniangong on line 4 (refer to the map here). The book mall is across the road from exit D as shown in the photograph below. A good street map is available here.



There are several book stores within the mall as well as a music shop, restaurants etc. More information about it is available (in Chinese)from their website.

They have a huge range of books, mainly in Chinese but there is also a collection of English books. For example, Henry David Thoreau's Walden was 18 RMB.







Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Da-li Restaurant, Tai Wai (大利興隆茶餐廳)




We went to Tai Wai, Shatin, and had dinner at the Da-Li (大利興隆茶餐廳) Tea Restaurant. It offers a wide range of Hong Kong style food. We had curry beef brisket, beef and turnip rice and red bean curd vegetable pot. The food was tasty and the bean curd pot excellent.



We highly recommend the red bean curd vegetable pot, which has dried mushrooms, vermicelli, broccoli and cabbage. The mushrooms were juicy and extremely delicious. The radish and beef was very good as well. The beef was tender, and the turnips, unlike most tea restaurants, were not cooked until they were soggy. If you like spicy food, then you will surely enjoy the curry beef brisket. It is cooked in mildly spicy curry sauce with juicy beef and potatoes. You would not regret this choice.

Da-li was full even when we arrived at 6:45pm on a Monday, so if you are planning to have dinner there, get there earlier. The restaurant is located about a 5 minute walk from Tai Wai station.

We give this restaurant 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Address: 22A Chik Fu St Tai Wai
Telephone: 26950113



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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Where to purchase photographic equipment in Hong Kong

We are often concerned that many visitors buy their equipment from unreputable dealers, giving Hong Kong a bad name. There are many stores on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and I would not recommend any of them.

One needs to be careful as not all of them are authorised dealers and, in fact, one has the option of choosing grey market goods (which are imported from overseas and do not have the Hong Kong manufacturer's warranty) which, depending on the product, may be considerably cheaper.

I don't have much experience buying grey market goods although I have bought a few point and shoot cameras from the Mong Kok Computer Center (8 Nelson St, Mong Kok) and they gave me a great price and good service. Grey market dealers import from overseas (usually Japan) and the warranty is handled by the shop you buy it from. A friend had the opportunity to have something repaired under warranty from a grey market shop, and had no problem, the item being returned in 3 weeks.

For the authorised dealers, there is not a large price difference between them and the prices are normally fixed so no haggling over the price is entertained. For those who want to learn about all of the shops in detail, I suggest you read the excellent thread at http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000GnZ.

For those of you who just want to buy a camera from a very honest dealer at close to the best price, most local photographers just go to Wing Shing in Mong Kok (map below). They have a huge range including all of the common brands (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Sony, Ricoh etc) as well as professional gear such as Gitzo, Leica and Hasselblad. They are a few steps from the E2 exit of the Mong Kok MTR station.

Finally, if you would like to know the price of DSLR equipment, Billy Ho has done us a wonderful service of having a frequently updated price list at http://www.ygdragon.net/index.php?page=photo/cameraprice.htm.

Wing Shing Photo Supplies
G/F, 55-57 Sai Yeung Choi St., Mongkok Kowloon, HK
Tel 23966886 / 23966961
info@wingshingphoto.com


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Monday, June 16, 2008

Four Seasons Hot-Pot Restaurant, Fortress Hill (春夏秋冬火鍋店)





This unpretentious restaurant, just across the road from Fortress Hill MTR station, serves Cantonese-style hot pot food to a mainly local clientele. It has the unusual opening hours of 5:30pm to 5am and is a favourite of the city's insomniacs. We recommend it to adventurous tourists who want to experience an authentic Cantonese dining experience. You can get a feel of the place from the photos above.

They have a wide selection of soup bases, we chose pickled cabbage and pig stomach. Make sure you order the top grade beef which is sliced paper thin and melts in your mouth. Among other things the three of us also had sweet corn, Chinese lettuce and dumplings, the latter being excellent. The food was very fresh and the helpings a good size. This economical restaurant ($310 for 3 people including a 10% service charge) is one of the best hot-pot places in its class and is highly recommended. We give it 4 out of 5 stars.


Shop 1 G/F and Shop 4-7 1/F Rialto Mansion
177-191 Kings Road North Point, Hong Kong (see map below)
Tel: 31066933, 31066077

春夏秋冬火鍋店

這家餐館位于砲臺山港鉄站出口對面馬路,只需橫過路面的唯一行人天橋即達。 它有異常的开放时间:下午5:30至零晨5時,並且是我們吃過最好的的火鍋店。您能從下面照片到地方的感觉。 那裏有很多不同類型的湯底,而其中最好的就是胡椒豬肚湯。入口即熔的高級的牛肉(每盆$98),玉米、生菜和餃子都非常新鮮,也值得一試。 我們三個人一共花了$310塊錢。(包括10%服務费)

我們給它4出于5個星。

地址: 香港北角英皇道177號1/F

(砲臺山地鐵站天橋旁)


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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Star Ferry


Whether you use the Star Ferry for transport or a means of sightseeing, you are sure to enjoy the ride. Services run between Hung Hom, Central, Wanchai and Tsim Sha Tsui. They also have harbour tours and you can even hire a ferry for your own function. Here is a recent picture of the ferry taken at Hung Hom pier.