Hing Kee Claypot Rice

Temple Street is synonymously known as Hong Kong's busiest night market. That said, we also did not have to delve much deeper into Temple Street to learn that besides the night market, this street is also very popular for its claypot rice and oyster omelet. In attempts to find the location of the popular claypot rice restaurant, Hing Kee, search results were as vague as you won't miss it on Temple Street, or you will know it when you see it on Temple Street. Like many local eateries in Hong Kong, Hing Kee's signage only bears Chinese characters which could be a little tricky for those who do not read the language. However, with faith that we wouldn't miss it since that was what everyone else said, we headed to Temple Street ready for some claypot rice and oyster omelet.





We had to stand in line waiting for a table on a Monday night, which in itself showed the popularity of Hing Kee. It does have several locations on Temple Street and while standing in line we saw an employee transporting claypot dishes on a trolley to the other nearby Hing Kee locations. The line moved along quickly and we were seated within 10 minutes. Anyone expecting a little bit of Hing Kee fanciness will be disappointed. This place is a hole-in-the wall with tables crammed together, Hong Kong-style, where people come to just for the claypot pilgrimage. The employees have a straightforward and no nonsense aura so as to be as quick and efficient as possible to get the orders put in and have the food served to the hungry customers.

The claypot rice was brought to the table, steaming hot, with the lid on the pot. The way to eat it is to take the bottle of black sauce, already on the table, and drizzle as much as you would like over the rice before stirring it up. You can put the lid over the rice again for a few more minutes but we decidedly dug right in after we stirred in the black sauce wth the rice.





The claypot rice with chicken meat and Chinese sausage was a pleaser. The chicken was soft and tender; the sausage flavorful. We also ordered the claypot rice with frog legs which was very delicious as well. Served with strips of ginger and scallions, it added a nice fragrance to the rice. Given that the rice was cooked in a claypot, the sides of the pot will have rice stuck to it. This part of crispy-and-slightly-burnt rice makes a nice bite and crunch if the meal did not already fill you up.

The oyster omelet was a tad bit greasy but fried to a perfect crisp. Hing Kee's housemade chilli sauce added a wonderful tangy touch to the omelet but even without the chilli sauce, I found the oyster omelet to be as great eaten on its own.

We were in an out of Hing Kee in less than an hour, with satisfied bellies. The Temple Street Night Market was a fantastic way for us to walk it all off.



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Hing Kee
Temple Street
Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon
Hong Kong

Tim Ho Wan

Tucked along Kwong Wah Street in Hong Kong's busy district of Mongkok is the most unsuspecting Tim Ho Wan restaurant. This place is a hole-in-the-wall with no English signage on the outside except for the huge green Chinese characters on the outside that lets customers know that this is the place. What makes this place special is the pretty darn amazing dim sum served here. But what makes it even more special is that this hole-in-the-wall restaurant garnered a Michelin Star which makes it the cheapest 1 Michelin Star restaurant in the world. This rarely happens but yes, you do not have to burn a hole in your wallet to dine at a restaurant that is Michelin rated, at least not at Tim Ho Wan.

We promptly arrived at their opening time at 10am and joined the line of people from all over the world, Asians and Europeans, who were hungry for Tim Ho Wan's dim sum. This place has got its system worked out to be the most efficient as it could in dealing with the expected crowd everyday. The place is small and only accommodates a few small tables a time, pushed together close as possible, Hong-Kong style. We took our waiting number (#17) was given an approximate wait time of 1.5 hours, but we fret not. Nearby was Dundas Street, well known for street food in Mong Kok, where we got a bite or two while placating our stomachs. Off Fa Yuen Street was a local produce market which we busied ourselves with. We were also given the list of dim sum items to take with us so that while waiting we could mark the items we wanted. We returned to Tim Ho Wan to more people standing in line. Our number had already been called but Tim Ho Wan's system is such that if a customer misses his or her number, the next available table will be given to that customer. We were seated within 3 minutes when we returned to the restaurant.





Once seated the staff was quick to take from us the list of items we had chosen and marked earlier on the piece of paper. Our table was set in no time with paper placemats, chopsticks, bowls, and tea cups. Our mouths watered only for a very short amount of time before the food was promptly brought to our table. The staff have very limited English proficiency but patrons will be able to get by with a little friendly courage. Everyone, Asians and Europeans alike, come for the food.


 




Every item we ordered was extremely well prepared but the star of our meal goes to the special and unique char siew bao (barbeque pork buns). Arguably the best we ever had, the bun was very special, Tim Ho Wan-style. A cross between steamed and baked, the bun was spongy and delicately chewy while maintaining its soft texture. The bun was topped with a thin crisp layer of pastry which added to the resulting excellent texture and natural sweetness. The barbeque pork was an added winner with the meat filling still so incredibly moist from the sauce that was threatening to ooze out.





Unwrapping the steaming hot lo mai kao (sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf) was a great anticipation in itself. The rice was perfectly moist and flavorful at every bite.

The steamed beef balls were outstanding and one of the most tender we ever had. The braised chicken feet and pig knuckles were delicious in their own right.


 


Our first bite into the cheung fun (rice noodle roll), we knew we were in for a delicate dish. Filled with barbeque and beef, the noodles were drizzled with a light soy sauce.





A great added touch to the dim sum meal was the congee with pork ribs and mui choy (preserved vegetables). The bowl of rice porridge was light but not without flavor, and a fantastic way to finish off the incredibly tasty meal.

We stepped out of Tim Ho Wan with satisfied bellies, surrounded by people still waiting for their tables. We wanted to tell them, it was worth the wait. Best dim sum we ever had.

Note: Chef Mak was formerly with Lung King Heen (at the Four Seasons Hotel) which has been awarded 3 Michelin Stars. Word has it that Chef Mak left Lung King Heen during the recession to open Tim Ho Wan so that people could still enjoy excellent dim sum with affordable prices.




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Tim Ho Wan
2-20 Kwong Wah Street
Mongkok, Kowloon

Accolades
2011 1-Michelin Star
2009 CNN Top 25 Most Influential Asians, Chef Mak Kwai Pui