rkkwan

Well, since I've finished my report on the CO/CX flights:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34549939

and am finishing up the HK/Macau sightseeing report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34550041

I will now start up a thread to report my meals. I ate out every single meal, and averaged about 4 meals a day, and only went to the same eatery twice ONCE (not including the hotel breakfast), so lots to write about. I haven't decided the order, so stay tuned. But here's a preview:

- A buffet dinner for HK$38?
- A western-food restaurant at the same location with same menu for the past 30+ years?
- Conveyor-belt what?
- Arrive before 6pm to get the last queue number for the evening, and didn't get a table until 8:20pm? Food really that good?
- A dessert place where customers are segregated depending on what they may order?
- Can Chinese tea-houses challenge Starbucks and Pacific Coffee? [Also, dining in a musuem? Am I serious?]
- Can you still find restaurants with a spitoon under each table?
- Roast leg of lamb for <US$5 and glass of redwine for <US$1?

Stay tuned!

LynnieD

Anxiously awaiting more of your very informative report

rkkwan

Okay, I think I'll just do this in chronological order and just write more about the interesting ones. Keep in mind that where I went are places local Hong Kongers go, and are very different from most dining reports I've read on this board or on flyertalk.com, where most write about upscale restaurants in the major hotels, frequented mostly by expats, upscale tourists and people dining on business accounts. Some of my meals cost only US$2 or so, yet worth mentioning. Most expensive one is a wedding banquet, which costs the host about US$80 per person.

Now starting on 12/25...

I wrote: "A dessert place where customers are segregated depending on what they may order?"

After arriving at my hotel 9pm, my friends called, and came pick me in their Mercedes to the fishing village of Sai Kung in Eastern New Territories. [There are also frequent green minibuses from Choi Hung MTR.] Right when you got to Sai Kung, there's Honeymoon Dessert (Moon Kee) on your left. This place really wasn't that famous in the old days, but somehow got its name well known in the last decade or so. Lots of people drive in just for dessert. [The area is also popular with illegal road racing - you'll find lots of modified Japanese hotrods there; and many police roadblocks at night to stop the racing. I saw Mitsubishi EVOs, Subaru WRXes, Toyota MR-2s and even a Skyline GTR in Sai Kung that night.]

Business is so good that they have expanded into at least 3 stores, I believe. All are adjacent to each other. Now, why seggregate the customers? Well, they serve lots of dessert items, and some have durian in it. For those who don't know, durian is a large tropical fruit with a extremely pungent smell. A lot of people cannot stand it, and hotels in Thailand/Malaysia usually prohibits them in their room. For this reason, Honeymoon set up durian and durian-free areas at their stores, some with A/C some semi-outdoors.

Anyways, I had a "Yeung Chi Gum Lo" - a bowl of sweet soup with various stuff in it; and me and my friends shared an order of durian pancake, served chilled. Good stuff. Each item is about HK$20 (US$2.5).

Honeymoon Dessert. Opens till 2am. 10A, 10B, 10C Sai Kung Po Tung Road (which is the main highway - they are on your left at the traffic light in the main village. Can't miss it.)

rhkkmk

now you have teased us...lets hear more

bob

rkkwan

Well, before I answer the question about the spitoon, let me add that Sai Kung is a popular place for seafood. There are large seafood stalls near on the playa along the water, where you can choose live seafood from dozens of tanks. Then you bring them to the restaurant of your choice to have it cooked, or have the seafood merchant bring it to a a recommended restaurant. Also plenty of cafes and bars nearby, as the Sai Kung peninsula is home to a lot of expats living in HK.

---

Well, at this rate I guess I can keep this thread going for a while...

12/26 Breakfast

"Can you still find restaurants with a spitoon under each table?"

I have to say that I'm surprised that such restaurants still exist in Hong Kong, and that my parents eat there almost every morning when they visit HK. The last such really old-styled Chinese restaurant I can remember was Tak Wun on Queen's Road Central in the late 70's.

Well, anyways, the one I went this time is "Tak Yu" at the corner of Shanghai Street and Pitt Street, right outside Exit "A1" of the Yau Ma Tei MTR. It opens earlier than any other restaurant I know of, at 5:30, and serves traditionally Cantonese dim sum throughout the morning/lunch hours. Opens for dinner as well, with plenty of seafood dishes.

At least it's air-conditioned now, and people can't bring their caged birds to restaurants as they used to. But the decor is still 1950's style, with greasy floor and most importantly, a spitoon under each table. Prices are surprisingly not that cheap - HK$4 per head for tea, and then ~HK$15 for each dim sum. A breakfast for one with a congee and a dim sum with tea will run around HK$30.

Food is very traditional, and quality is very good. Definitely better than most Chinese restaurants in the US. But be really prepared before you visit such a eatery. Seats are not comfortable, nothing in English, and I don't expect any people there speaks it. I don't even see a English name outside the restaurant in the photo I took of it. Also, in the early morning hours, most customers are middle-aged or older single MEN (i.e. not women) who worked overnight shifts or are blue-collar workers starting the day early. [If you're into modern Hong Kong triad/gangster movies, you won't be surprised if Chow Yun Fat climb the stairs and shot at people eating there in the early hours.]

You can't find many downscale and authentic old-style Chinese restaurants (it's a large restaurant, not a hole-in-the-wall noodle place) in Hong Kong anymore. If you're really adventurous, or want to take the time machine to travel back in time, go to Tak Yu for dim sum. Just point at the dim sum cart for whatever you want. Servers and dim-sum pushers are laid-back and friendly.

"Tak Yu" Teahouse/Bakery. [I don't know the actual registered English name. May be called Tai Yu, according to a website I found.] Ground, 1st and 2nd floor, 372-376 Shanghai Street, at the SE corner of Pitt Street. MTR: Yau Ma Tei, exit A1. You'll see it right after you climb out from the station. Just 4 blocks south of the new Langham Place Mall - a few minutes walk down Shanghai Street. Opens 5:30am.

rkkwan

Sorry for slacking off for a day.

12/16 Lunch

This is not the most memorable meal during my trip, as we basically chose this restaurant for its convenient location in Central. The place is Hei Yeut Palace Restaurant on Des Voeux Road Central, not far from the Macau Ferry and the Western Hong Kong City market.

It's a typical very large multi-storey restaurant that serves mainly the Central white-collar crowd. Relatively modern decor and quite comfortable. Weekday lunch time is crowded, naturally. And if you look at the regular menu, you'll find prices that are very high. A dish of fried noodles for HK$70-80.

However, like most eateries in HK, there are good special deals. There were 4 of us, and there was a 4-person meal package for <HK$300, and comes with 2 dishes of choice (from about 15 different items), plus a whole steamed grouper, and dessert. Now, steamed fish is always expensive in Chinese restaurant, as it's a featured seafood item - always a luxury. True, there are many types of groupers, and the one they give us is not the best. Still the fish is fairly large (maybe 14oz), which will easily cost HK$200+ if ordered alone.

rkkwan

Sorry, hit the "Post" button too early. Anyways, you can still order dim sum on the side (cost extra). Not too bad.

Hei Yuet Palace Restaurant. 267-275 Des Voeux Rd Central, Central, HK.

rhkkmk

i'm drooling and you stop writing.....

rkkwan

I'll try to pick up the pace a little this weekend.

12/26 Dinner

Another solid meal, and this is at a Shanghaiese restaurant in the Kornhill Plaza in eastern HK Island. I tried very hard to find the official English name for it, but couldn't confirm it; the Chinese name is "Golden Shanghai" (Gum Sheung Hoi).

Unfortunately, I was too busy chatting with my cousin that evening, who was visiting Hong Kong from Perth, West Australia; and I was very tired, suffering from jet lag, so I really couldn't remember much. I did remember having the "braised pig knuckle", which was excellent.

This restaurant was chosen because it's close to my uncle's apartment, and I really don't think one has to deliberately find it. [Same thing with the Hei Yuet for lunch that day.] Food there was very solid, but there are more famous and probbaly better Shanghaiese restaurant in Hong Kong.

"Golden Shanghai", 1/F Kornhill Plaza North, Quarry Bay. MTR: Tai Koo, Exit A2. Restaurant in shopping mall directly above MTR.

rkkwan

12/27 Breakfast

I was staying at the YWCA Anne Black House in Homantin, Kowloon and my hotel rate includes breakfast at its little restaurant. I ended up having breakfast there almost every morning. One major reason is that I can pick up the newspaper in the lobby and read it for free during breakfast. As we all know, the tsunami happened on 12/26, and for my whole stay, I followed the news pretty closely. The English-language South China Morning Posts has really extensive coverage. [The SCMP costs HK$7 a copy.]

The hotel restaurant has I think 6 different set breakfast to choose from. Both Chinese and western style food. Really not much to talk about, and most stuff is just so so. All sets include tea or coffee. Please please please have the tea in Hong Kong, wherever you go. HK-style "milk tea" is excellent at any eatery, made by actually boiling ceylon tea leaves in hot water, not just steeping. It is then served with evaporated milk. On the other hand, coffee usually means Nescafe crystals, unless you go to Starbucks, Pacific Coffee, etc...

Well, among the food choices is the HK-style French toast, and that was my favorite. I don't know how the French eat their toast, and I rarely have French toast in the US, but in Hong Kong, it is made with two slices of thick-sliced bread, peanut butter in the middle. Then the whole thing is dipped in some kind of custard/bread crumb batter (I really don't know exactly what it is!), and deep fried. You then put butter and syrup on top. It is really good stuff!

Amazingly, I found a page on the Hong Kong Tourism Board's on "Tea Culture", and it was basically describing my breakfast! http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/...tea_hong.jhtml

Cheer-O-Cafe, YWCA Anne Black House, 5 Man Fuk Road, Homantin, Kowloon. Set breakfast $18-24, also serves lunch/dinner. [But really, unless you're staying there, no reason to eat there.]

rkkwan

12/27 Lunch

Some highschool classmates were meeting me for lunch, and they picked the Suzuki Tokyo Cafe Bistro at the Pacific Place mall. This restaurant is located next to the food court & first thing I noticed was that it wasn't too busy. Plenty of open tables while the food court outside was very busy for lunch. Decor is modernistic - nothing really says it's Japanese.

Anyways, I was too busy chatting with my friends I didn't really pay too much attention to the menu, and just let the others ordered. But from what I got, this really wasn't a place to eat traditional Japanese fare like suhi or sashimi. Instead, it's more a pan-Asian or fushion restaurant. Pasta, chicken-wings, pizza, are all available, but definitely with a Japanese flavor to them.

Portions are pretty small, but they also aren't too expensive, so people can order a lot of different dishes to try out. And it'll be pretty hard to get overly full. I didn't have to pay, but I believe it came to about HK$110 per person, including drinks. Quite reasonable.

Overall, I find the food creative and actually quite tasty. Definitely a fun place to eat. But if you want traditional Japanese cuisine, go elsewhere.

Suzuki. Shop 127 Pacific Place, Admiralty. [Also at 3/F, 8 Russell St, Causeway Bay.]

rkkwan

12/27 Afternoon Tea & Dinner

I got invited to two of Hong Kong Jockey Club's facilities on this day. First was the <b>Six Furlong</b> cafe at the Happy Valley Clubhouse. This clubhouse is pretty new, up a very steep climb, 5 minutes from the racecourse. Taxi is the only way to get there for those without a car (and chauffeur). The Six Furlong is a casual cafeteria, and have both indoor and outdoor rooftop seating. Quite a comfortable place to sit around. However, one cannot see the Happy Valley racecourse from there.

I only had a HK-style milk tea there, but the prices seem kind of high. HK$14 for a tea at a cafeteria? I guess if one's a Jockey Club member, he/she shouldn't care, right? My uncle had a &quot;mixed-fruit pancake&quot; - what's interesting is that they use a semi-automatic crepe maker, and I had seen the exact maker at a creperie next to Notre Dame in Paris a few months ago! That was pretty cool.

Then went to a wedding banquet at the <b>Moon Koon</b> Chinese restaurant at the Happy Valley Racecourse, which is next to the Racing Museum. This is a beautiful dining facility - floor to ceiling glass walls provide a great view of the racecourse. Service was excellent with high staff-to-guest ratio. We had a traditional Cantonese wedding meal with like 12 courses, including whole roast suckling pig, scallops, shark's fin soup, steamed garoupa fish, etc... Very good quality, except there doesn't seem to be too much shark's fin. And it was definitely not cheap. From what I overheard, and read on the Hong Kong Jockey Club website, it's about HK$500 or US$70 per person, plus service charge and tips. Since most people who attend such wedding parties bring a gift of HK$500 each, the host actually cannot break even. [While if they have the banquet at a cheaper place, they can make money...] This was the most expensive meal I had during my stay.

Six Furlong. 4/F, HKJC Happy Valley Clubhouse, Shan Kwong Rd, Happy Valley.

Moon Koon Restaurant. 2/F, HKJC Happy Valley Stand, Happy Valley.

Guests are welcomed at these facilites, but only when invited (and paid for) by members.

rkkwan

12/27 Brunch

&quot;The Wonton Nazi&quot;? No, not quite...

Now, this is starting to get exciting, after I've recovered from the jetlag. I was in Central this day, and decided to recuite my parents (who were also visiting Hong Kong, but have both lived there for 100 years combined) to go to some really famous eateries in the city.

First up is <b>Mak's Noodles</b> (Mak Un Kee). &quot;Legendary Wonton Noodles&quot; is what it calls itself. It is a very small shop that sits about 30 maximum on Wellington St - two streets South of Queen's Road Central. If you take the mid-levels escalators up, the first &quot;exit&quot; is Wellington St. Walk down a few steps and then head East. It's in the ground floor of a building with red tiles on the exterior and gold decorations. [More about this buidling later.]

Now, there are plenty of famous noodles shops in Hong Kong, but this one is probably the most traditional, and most expensive. There's really only two things you need to order there - &quot;Wonton&quot; or &quot;Shui Gow&quot;, with or without noodles. Shui Gow is larger than wonton, with a little bit of crunchy vegetables in it. Maybe a dish of vegetables. But that's it. Unlike other noodle places in Hong Kong where portion size has increased over the years, the portion size at Mak's remain TINY. My Shui Gow noodles has only 3 Shui Gows in it, and I can finish the whole bowl in 2 minutes. But prices have not stopped going up. That Shui Gow noodles cost me about US$3. Directly across from Mak's is another noodle shop, which also serves excellent food, has bigger portions Wonton and Shui Gow for less!!!

So, is the food that good? Well, the skin of the Shui Gow is very thin and soft, yet it doesn't break. The meat/shrimp/veggies inside is very fresh and crunchy. And while I'm not a big fan of Cantonese noodles, theirs is also very good. But is it really the best in the world? Probably not. Is it worth US$3 for such a small snack? Well, in my opinion, it's worth to get it once in a while, or if one's never eaten there. [I've walked down Wellington St perhaps 500 times when I grew up in HK, but have never eaten there. For a school kid, their prices were simply outrageous!]

I then asked my dad about their portion size. I've never seen such a small bowl of Wonton or Shui Gow in my life, and I even wonder where they get their noodle bowls! [They are just slightly bigger than bowls for plain white rice.] My dad then explained to me that wonton noodles were never meant to be for a meal, like many Hong Kong people do for lunch these days. In the old days, lunch/dinner must include big bowl of rice. Therefore a wonton shop is simply a place for brunch, afternoon snack, or late-night snack. And the portion size of Mak's was actually the standard. However, in the past 3-4 decades, most noodle shops increase their portion sizes so that it's enough for lunch, but Mak's hasn't.

What about their prices? Well, the owner has had the shop for decades, have earned more than enough, and definitely owned the property (so no need to pay rent). So, he doesn't care if the competition has better business. He does it his way, and it's probably easier to serve fewer customers at a higher price, then more customers at a lower price. [This is a pretty common theme at many historic and famous restaurants in Hong Kong, like the Luk Yue Teahouse on Stanley Street, just a couple of minutes' walk from Mak's Noodles.]

And there's another story from my dad too. One time he was eating there when a group of younger people came in. Since the largest table there sits only 4, and there were more than 4 in that party, the group started to move two tables together to form a larger one. Immediately the server stopped them, and said that the owner would not allow tables to be moved! Anyways, if Seinfeld was more popular in Hong Kong, people may start calling Mak's the &quot;Wonton Nazi&quot;.

Mak's Noodles. (&quot;Mak Un Kee&quot. G/F 77 Wellington Street, Central. Just east of the Mid-Levels escalators.

[Now, about the building. The upper floors of that 5-story building is now some sort of &quot;ancestral hall&quot; for some. If you walk up there, you'll find walls of people's pictures where people can pay respect to. In the past, many people will put such pictures in their home, but now it's probably more convenient to &quot;buy&quot; a spot at such hall in the city so that any descendants can go up there anytime. There are many other such places around the city, but my grandfather, grandmother, an uncle all had spots in this particular one. <b>Note:</b> It's not a tourist attraction, so don't go up there for no reason.]

Peteralan

rrkwan...this is absolutely fascinating. I have been visiting my favourite country Hong Kong on and off for thirty years but you have presented a whole new picture! I guess I'll have to take a Cantonese speaking friend next time. Keep up the report ..is is mouth watering! Cheers!

rkkwan

Just a couple more things about Mak's Noodles. First, their prices is actually even higher than I said. I believe each bowl of wonton noodles should be HK$28, or US$3.6. Most places in town sell them for under HK$20. Some even at HK$10.

Second, the chacter &quot;Un&quot; of Mak Un Kee is a Cantonese slang word for &quot;tiny&quot;. The character is made up of two parts, the top being &quot;not&quot;, and the bottom &quot;big&quot;. Not + big = tiny. I believe it's probably the nickname of the founder, but unfortunately people also now refering to the portion size of their food.

rkkwan

12/28 Lunch

So, since the &quot;shui gow noodles&quot; at Mak's &quot;Kau Kee&quot; just barely wet my appetite, I need to go have a real lunch. Where better in Central than <b>Kau Kee</b> on Gough Street to have some beef brisket?

Kau Kee is another very small eatery. A narrow store at the corner of Gough Street and Kau U Fong in an old are of Central, it also has a small dining room upstairs, and if weather permits some open air area under a canopy. But there's really no decoration to speak of, and lunch is always very very crowded. A line often forms outside the store. A table usually sits 6, and you must share the table with other customers. [This is common practice in Hong Kong, at all fast food place and some restaurants.] You sit on stools with no seatbacks.

But this eatery has a really long history. My dad started eating there when he was a kid, right after WWII, and it was probably around even more the war. It is still run by the same family today.

The menu probably hasn't changed in the last 50 years either. The way I understand it, they basically prepare two pots of meat - 1) beef brisket in clear broth, and 2) beef tendon in curry sauce. And they are famous for their &quot;yee mien&quot;, an egg noodle that's a bit wider than the noodles you find with wonton. So, you can order beef brisket noodles, or curry tendon noodles. Or you can have a combo. But you can't have beef tendon in clear broth, or beef brisket in curry. If you REALLY want to have the latter, you can order a regular beef brisket noodles and then pay extra for a bowl of curry sauce.

This place is not cheap either, also about HK$27 each, but at least the portion size is large enough for lunch. Curry sauce is $4 per small bowl. Now, how good is the food? They are really excellent - very juicy, very soft, very tasty. And the noodles is also one of the best &quot;yee mien&quot; I've had. It is really worth a visit.

[My dad mentioned to me that this place is popular with Japanese before we went. And indeed, one of the customers sharing our table was Japanese.]

Kau Kee. 21 Gough St. From Central, walk west along Queen's Road Central. 3 blocks after you past the Mid-Levels Escalators, you'll see a set of stairs to your left, which is Aberdeen St. Walk up the stairs, past Wellington St, past Kau U Fong, and the make next right onto Gough St. Kau Kee is one block down on your right. [Gough St is also just a block North, or down, from Hollywood Road - a street famous for its antique stores and the Man Mo Temple.]

[Right across from Kau Kee is a new cafe that one can lie down on mattresses to have coffee. Pretty neat idea, but didn't have time to try it myself.]

royben

Thank you, thank you. My husband and I leave Tuesday for HK and can't wait to hunt up your recommendations for restaurants and sites.

rkkwan

royben - Actually, that was only about half my report. Maybe I can finish this some day...

rkkwan

Okay, I'm picking this up from about a year ago. I'm sorry that I waited so long, but there's really a lot more interesting places where I ate during my last trip to HK.

12/28 Dinner

My high-school buddy suggested this place for Chinese hot pot, and the price is unbelievable. HK$38 for a dinner buffet (after 8pm; or HK$58 before), including all you can drink cheap Chinese beer! That's US$5, folks. Really unbelievable.

The restaurant is near the Fortress Hill MTR, in a commercial highrise building. The way the hot pot buffet works is that they'll set up a propane stove in the middle of the table, and a large pot of broth. They also give you a set amount of seafood - shrimps, scallops, mussels, etc - which is NOT all you can eat. But over on the buffet table is piles and piles of vegetables, fish balls, squids, pork, beef, noodles, etc...

Of course the beef is not USDA aged prime rib, but pre-cut slices of brisket. What's bad is that they re-freeze it, so it's hard to seperate. So my friends and I (there were 4 adults and 2 kids total) took the whole chunk - which probably weigh 1.5lb - back to our table.

It was so cheap, and lots of fun. Especially when the weather was cold, which was definitely my case.

I don't have the English name for the restaurant, but it's on the ground floor of the Manulife Tower, 169 Electric Road. 3 minutes from Fortress Hill MTR.

---

12/28 After dinner drink

So, after dinner, one of my friend and I decided to have a drink. He lives near Central, so we went to Lan Kwai Fong. Now, I have to admit that I just don't go to bars (except in the UK). And when I was growing up in HK, I would not even think of going to Lan Kwai Fong. So, there I was, actually going to spend some money at Lan Kwai Fong, for only the 2nd time. [The previous time was probably 12 years ago, at JJ, then the disco to go, before moving to the Grand Hyatt. Or at least if my memory serves me correctly.]

Anyways, ended up at a Mexican-theme bar called Agave for a drink. I don't know why, but I had a couple of Dos Equis. Which, I can get at basically any supermarket here in Houston.

But we got a table right at the door, so pretty good people watching. It's a weekday, so Lan Kwai Fong wasn't too crowded, even if it's between Christmas and New Year.

Agave Tequila Bar. 33 D'Aguilar St, Central.

---

12/28 Midnight snack.

On my way back from the Mong Kok MTR and the YWCA Anne Black House where I was staying, I found a little congee place still open, even though it's close to 1am. The place is so small that it only holds 2-3 tables inside the store; and another 2-3 under an awning. They sell noodles and congee (i.e. porridge) at nigth, with a variety of &quot;interesting&quot; ingredients for the congee to mix-and-match.

Ingredients you can get include meat balls (pork), pork liver, pork kidneys, pork intestines, pork stomach, coagulated pork blood, fish slices, etc... Yes, that's really what a lot of Chinese people eat daily. Anyways, I have a congee with pork blood and fish slices. And it's really good. Later, when I told my parents about that place, they told me that my uncle who lives nearby has been eating there for decades! And I really mean decades.

Ho Kee. 2A Victory Ave, Kowloon (right off Waterloo Road). [I did a search for it on Google, and I got a Japanese website that describes its wonton noodles (HK$14), including a photo of the store:

www.kcat.zaq.ne.jp/hirohide/0302/20/1.html

Also interesting is how it describes its opening hours: 11:00 - 25:30. ]

---

Anyways, that concludes 12/28. I started with breakfast at the YWCA, then early lunch at Mak's Noodles, followed by a proper lunch at Kau Kee. Dinner is at the hot pot restaurant, then a couple of beer at Lan Kwai Fong. Finally pork blood porridge. I'm in heaven!

rkkwan

12/29 Breakfast.

Like the previous two days, I had breakfast at the little restaurant in the YWCA. Again, reading the extensive coverage of the tsunami in the South China Morning Post. Same thing throughout my stay.

---

12/29 Lunch.

I toured the New Territories with my dad this morning, and we ended up in Yuen Long. Yuen Long is a fairly large town in the Northwestern part of Hong Kong, and the market there precedes the British rule. But right now, it's surrounded by new residental highrise developments.

We were wandering around, and found that on Fau Tsoi St and Yau San Street, there are lots and lots of large diner-type eateries. In Cantonese, they're called &quot;char chan ting&quot;. Unlike Cafe de Coral or Maxim, you get service at your table, and the menu choices are incredible. Rice, spaghetti, soup noodles, fried noodles, Thai-style food, Chiu Chow-style food, curry dishes. You name it and they have it.

And because we get there kind of late, there are numerous &quot;afternoon-tea specials&quot;, which include Hong Kong-style milk tea (or other drinks if you want), and special price for desert. I believe we had a spaghetti with ox-tongue (a local HK favorite) and Hainan Chicken special (which comes with soup and rice). After that, my dad ordered a red bean desert, a la mode.

Including everything, it's about HK$70 for two people. Both of us are super full!

You can still find this type of diners in Mongkok and elsewhere, but few have the menu choices like this one we went to in Yuen Long. I can't remember the name of the diner, but there are several side-by-side, all with about the same setup.

Fau Tsoi Street is one block south of Castle Peak Road, where the light rail runs. From Kowloon, you can take the West Rail to Yuen Long, and then switch to the light rail for one stop to &quot;Tai Tong Road&quot; station. There are even more eateries on Yau San Street, which starts at the end of Fau Tsoi St and run towards the South.

There are also many buses direct from Kowloon (fastest is 68X) and Hong Kong (968).

I would come back to Yuen Long a few days later and have another amazing meal. Stay tuned.