Trip to Hong Kong - Part 2

This past weekend I went to Hong Kong, and yesterday I posted about the first half of my trip (you can read about it here). I'm sorry I don't have any of the addresses, but the street names in Hong Kong confuse me :( but the places that we went to are all super famous, so just Google the names and it should be the first search result! So continuing chronologically:

翠華餐廳 Tsui Wah Restaurant
This was just a quick afternoon tea, although you can get noodles and rice dishes here, too.

We got iced and hot milk teas, an herbal tea, and Tsui Wah's "butter pig"--toasted, buttered bread with condensed milk. The bread was so good--the condensed milk was light and creamy, not cloyingly sweet.

The Peak Lookout Restaurant
This restaurant is at the top of the Victoria Peak, and I feel like it's pretty underrated--most of the tourists there are Chinese, so they tend to eat at the Chinese restaurants. But I think it would be such a shame to not try the western food in Hong Kong, since it used to be a British colony and continues to be a super international city. The food here is really good, but it's not unique--the point of coming here is really for the beautiful view.

We got six St. Hellen's oysters, which are from Tasmania. They're super fresh and really briny, which I love in an oyster; however, I find that they can be a little fishy. If you're sensitive to fishy flavors, I recommend getting a sweeter oyster (the menu has brief descriptions of each one).

I got the mushroom and duck risotto; it's really good, and the rice is al dente, but because the duck is in shreds and cooked medium well, its gamey flavor is spread throughout the dish--I would've preferred a couple of large slices of duck. I love duck, but the gaminess got a bit too strong towards the end.

The Indian food here is actually really good. Usually when I see more than one type of cuisine on a menu, I feel like the chef might not know what he's doing... but the chicken tikka was amazing. It's super moist and tender; I'm not sure if I've ever had such tender chicken breast before.

If you ever eat here, sit outside! The view is absolutely gorgeous.

After dinner, you can go to the other side of the peak and get an incredible view of the city.

橋底辣蟹 Under Bridge Spicy Crab
One of the most famous Cantonese seafood dishes is spicy crab (避風塘炒蟹--in a brochure I've seen it translated into "Hurricane Shelter Spicy Crab," but whatever). It's crab stir fried with chilis and a literal mountain of fried garlic--my favorite. When you stir fry something with a shell, the flavor can't permeate into the meat, but they crack the shell a little bit so you get that incredible aroma of garlic. I'm allergic to crab--my lips swell and itch--and the garlic gave me really bad heartburn, but this is so worth it.

We also got clams stir fried in a black bean sauce--it's so perfectly rich and savory, and enhances the sweetness of the clams.

Our third dish was spicy snails (or "escargots," if you want to be chic). I think this is how snails should be cooked--blanched or boiled, then immersed in a really strong, savory sauce. Snails taste pretty bland and watery on their own, so they need to be heavily seasoned and flavored.

To wash off that fishy smell on your hands, they give you a bowl of warm tea with a slice of lemon. First, wipe your fingers with a wet towelette (this gets rid of the grease) and then rinse your hands in the tea. Your hands will smell deliciously lemony. (You can also wash your hands with toothpaste).

鏞記酒家 Yung Kee Restaurant

This restaurant is Michelin rated, and is most famous for its roasted goose. 

We ate this as a late lunch/early dinner, so we just got goose, pork, and some rice. I feel like the goose is definitely worth the hype. The skin is so crispy, and the meat is so juicy and just melts in your mouth. It does have some unrendered fat, but I find that it doesn't have the flavor of raw white fat--it just melts and makes the meat even juicier.

We also got a platter of chasiu pork--roasted pork loin. This may be the best I've ever had; it's so tender and juicy, without any tendons in it. The outer crust is a little bit sweet, and so nice and sticky.

If you're familiar with Cantonese movies, I had this moment from God of Cookery:

So that's it guys--so much food, so little time. If you go to Hong Kong, definitely go to Yung Kee and Wen Huei. Dim sum is also a must. And for dinner, get seafood; I've had a lot of seafood, but I feel like Hong Kong is the best in freshness, variety, and cooking techniques. Seriously though, this trip was really bittersweet, because it ruined American Cantonese restaurants for me; I don't think I could love any ever again.