Best Mango Drink Ever

You wouldn't think my first blog in Hong Kong would be about dessert – but hey, seriously, this has to be the best dessert drink ever! I don't know why they don't have this in Australia! Especially on a hot day, or even after dinner when you want something sweet – this dessert is divine!

It's called Chilled Sago Cream with Mango and Pomelo – and as the name suggests it has mango, sago and pomelo. It's the perfect combination! They use copious amounts of fresh mangoes and the pomelo gives it that bitter taste – making this classic chilled Chinese sweet classic a standout – and definitely my favourite!

Can be found at Hui Lau Shan – it is everywhere in Hong Kong and its one of those places you just have to try.

2009_Hong Kong

Hubby came home one day and told me that he had news – I was cooking at the time, so in my head I presumed he got a promotion or a bonus. However, to my surprise, he was being transferred to Hong Kong for 12 months – my first reaction was – FOOD / SHOPPING / FOOD!!!!! Then after about 10 mins – it sunk in… what about me? what about my job? what am I going to tell my bosses? Well to answer that, I would definitely go with hubby for 12 months and try and find a way to work from overseas if they will still have me!!

That night, after dinner, I logged on and opened two browsers and Google "Shopping in Hong Kong" and "eating in Hong Kong" – it doesn't come to a surprise that there are many shops / eateries in Hong Kong! A couple of friends have actually said to Hubby "is it wise to take your wife to Hong Kong – do you realise what you are doing to yourself". I don't think Hubby realise the amount of food available in Hong Kong and don't get me started on the shopping! (I think I would need a separate blog for shopping!) I was over the moon and as nerdy as I am when it comes to 'spreadsheets', I started one and called it "HK Adventures" with tabs "casual dining" / "fine dining" / "coffee" / "bars" – and yes I have assigned the 'filter' function!! Yes I am a geek – but hey, if I am only going to be there for 12 months – I will want to try as many restaurants as I can!

Packing – I was told (by Hubby) that I was only allowed to take ONE suit case – that's right ONE suit case to Hong Kong! Was this an open invitation to shop?!?!?! It was one of the hardest things to do – trying to fit my whole life into one suitcase! What shoes to take? What bags to take? Most importantly – what clothes to take? At the end – I ended up taking 6 pairs of shoes (2 of which were my choos! I felt bad leaving the others behind but… I had no choice!), 4 handbags (and no I didn't take any of my brand bags – thought I would just buy another one here!) and clothes (more casual / partying clothes than work clothes!). It all ended up being 29kgs!!!! FRIG!! But I couldn't really take anything else out! I 'really' needed those – and it was the bare minimum!

The day of telling my boss finally came…and again I have to say, this was one of the hardest things I had to do! I like my boss, and I enjoy my job and I actually like the people I work with! So when the day came for me to tell them, I was a little sad but at the same time excited about this new adventure! I mean 12 months in Hong Kong! I have always wanted to live overseas for a while. So to cut the story short, after long discussions the Partners had amongst themselves, they finally agreed to let me work part time – 3 days a week. Of course my role was going to be slightly different but hey, I was definitely up for the challenge! And it's PART TIME, in HONG KONG!!! I couldn't ask for more!

The day finally came when we arrived in Hong Kong! It took a good 6 weeks to organise, and it felt like eternity! We have been here for about 2 weeks now – and everything is going great so far!! I am working part time at home, part time wanabe 'tai – tai' (a wealthy housewife, and one who often lives to shop and lunch but trust me – I am NOT, and I repeat NOT a wealthy housewife!) and totally loving the days that I am a wanabe 'tai – tai' – wondering through Hong Kong and eating my way around Hong Kong. Hubby is enjoying his work and his colleagues are all very friendly! So all in all – so far so good!

We are staying at a serviced apartment (BONUS!) and no it's not in causeway bay / central / mid-levels! We thought we would live a bit out of central, so we can experience the culture of Hong Kong… live with the locals so to speak. There aren't many gwai-los (westerners) around here, maybe in our building but i havent seen many!

We are on the 19th Floor, and it gets cleaned every single day (except weekends!), that's right DAILY! The place feels dirty by Monday morning - terrible! I don't even clean the apartment in Surry Hills once a week! I can definitely get used to this life style! Our maid is extremely sweet - she cleans all the rooms on the 19th floor, and she calls me 'maam'! So weird being called 'maam' - I have told her many times to call me by my first name but I guess 'maam' would just be easier! Really loving the apartment and well … – I have too considering I spend 3 days a week working here!

I am hoping to use a bit of my free time to blog about food in Hong Kong and catch up on all the food blogs in Sydney! And of course…. To experience the life of a 'tai – tai' here. I wish "B" was here, she would definitely enjoy the life here with me and my gosh – we would definitely eat our way around Hong Kong!

Anyway, hoping to a fantastic 12 months in Hong Kong! I am sure you will either read about it or hear about it!!

Wang Fu, Central

One of my ultimate favourite foods is dumplings – loads in carbs but when dipped in vinegar and chilli – what carbs? Who says they have carbs? It has to be 'right' though – the correct texture, the right thickness of skin, and flavouring. If the skin is too thick, it totally ruins the dumplings experience!

I have heard and read about Wang Fu many times, and when my cousin in law wanted to go for dumplings I suggested this place. I thought about Din Tai Fung, but we have that in Sydney and wanted to try something different.

Wang Fu is not a big place, probably could sit around 30 people, and it's not 'flash' but it didn't bother us and it's exactly what we wanted after a few drinks.

My 'ideal' meal would be to get a couple of different types of dumplings, alas, not everyone had the same idea – it was out ruled! After much negotiations, we decided to have 1 boiled shrimp and pork dumplings, chicken and cashew stirfry (very very gwailo food – but funnily enough I was craving for chicken and cashew!) and eggplant stirfry.

The shrimp and pork dumplings were very balanced – you could taste both shrimp and pork. Dipped (sometimes 'drenched) in vinegar and I was a happy camper! I could have seriously eaten a whole plate of it on my own.

Next came the chicken and cashew stirfry – I find this a very non-traditional Asian meal and would order it from time to time. I utterly enjoyed this dish – the chicken was moist and had the 'right' amount of cashews and chillness. One downside would be it was a tad bit oily, but nothing tea can't wash down!

Eggplant is one of my favourite vegetable. Unfortunately I don't get to cook it very often at home as it's not Hubby's favourite meal! So when we go out with friends, I try and order an eggplant dish. This dish didn't disappoint either, the eggplant was cooked extremely well, with capsicum, ginger and onion. Bit on the oily side, but otherwise, it was perfect and a great compliment to the chicken / cashew stirfry.

Great meal at Wang Fu, reasonably cheap also – will definitely go back! Next time will have to try all the different types of dumplings! Was a tad disappointed that we only got one, but its another reason to go back!

Wang Fun, Central
G/F, 98A Wellington St, Central,
Tlp: 2121 8006.

Mushashi – V Day Dinner

We have never been really big on gifts on Valentine's Day, as we both believe that it's a wrought – and besides, I would prefer that hubby would buy me something that's not on a 'commercial' day. However, when it comes to celebrating with food – how can I say no.

I have always wanted to try this Japanese restaurant, there are always a horrendous amount of people lining outside. Like the other Japanese restaurants under the 'Masuya' chain – they don't take bookings, and they have a 'ticketing' service, whereby, you rock up, and if its busy, you take a number and request whether or not you want to sit at the bar, table or outside. We were there 'early-ish' and didn't have to wait too long, however, we weren't exactly fussed where we sat.

The place was buzzing! We sat on the bench and I got to see behind the scenes of the kitchen! It's always exciting to see how they cook and how a kitchen operates. The waiters were friendly and tentative, our green tea was always topped up – which was a bonus!

We started off with the sashimi main – it's always a favourite of ours. Six different types of sashimi – 2 lots of salmon sashimi, tuna, king fish, octopus, king fish, and raw scallops. It was all very fresh, as you would expect!

We also ordered Chicken Karage and Beef Tataki – being Indonesian, I am used to having something deep fried at every meal. Thankfully, hubby doesn't like to eat deep fried food all the time. However, it was a special day, and he knows how much I love chicken karage – who can resist when it comes with sweet chilli sauce? Chicken was very soft and moist, crunchy on the outside.

Beef tataki was very very tender – it was medium rare. The sauce was rather sweet, didn't think it complemented the beef, but hubby seems to have enjoyed it.


Hubby unfortunately wasnt a great fan of the chicken karage - he said that my mother's fried chicken was a lot better! I agree, mum's fried chicken is good, but its not the same. I was more than happy to finish the chicken karage on my own. Clearly he demolished the beef tataki!

Over all, it was a great V Day dinner – relax and not pretentious. You can never really go wrong with Japanese food, especially if its under the Masuya chain. It is definitely worth another visit but be there early.. otherwise it would be a 30 – 45 mins wait!

Mushashi

447 Pitt Street (Corner Campbell Street) Sydney 2000
Phone: +61 2 9280 3777

The ‘Tea House’

I never really know the name of this café – however, to us who goes there quite regularly, it's the 'Tea House'. It's called that because it has all the different types of teas behind the counter, and the name 'La Buena Mesa Café & Providore' is just way too long to remember!!

I think they have changed owners again. I don't recall the menu being very Spanish! Regardless it's an old favourite. It can get extremely busy on Sundays for brunch and going there with a big group is just a complete nightmare! There have a few tables outside if you want to sit under the sun, otherwise, a communal table inside in the middle and table for twos closer to the window.

It was a gorgeous sunny morning, however, with a big group; we had to wait for a while and surprise, surprise, not a single table in sight. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait for long, otherwise, would have suggested elsewhere. It was definitely too hot for coffee, so I opted for the berry smoothie which consisted of all the 'berry' type fruit you can imagine. It was indeed what I needed after the 'long' wait.

Ordered the scrambled eggs with spinach and a chicken sausage. The eggs were creamy and moist – just the way I like it, and the spinach gave a very nice touch to it.

Hubby ordered eggs with bacon (which was rolled up) and roasted tomatoes. I personally think, my scrambled eggs with spinach and chicken sausage was a definite winner.

If you want a relaxing, casual café for a lazy Sunday with friends, go to the Tea House – be warn – it does get extremely busy!

La Buena Mesa Café & Providore
61 Annandale Street, Annandale
Telephone: +61 2 950 2698