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May 08, 2005

Cheapskates ride the yum cha train again

It was supposed to be our final fling with Hong Kong. We'd had foot massages that made us wince (apparently, internal organs I hadn't even heard of were in dire trouble), and we'd shopped for gizmos ‘til consumerist society lost its gloss.

What we hadn't done here in HK was attend yum cha.

It took four attempts - and one delayed international flight - to get us successfully seated at the round table with the tea, but once we were there, things picked up immeasurably.

'Why four attempts?' you ask.

Well, a little matter called cheap-skatery came into play. And trying to be cheap around Cantonese diners in HK is like looking for a polar bear on Bondi Beach.

In attempt one, we decided to go to Luk Yu teahouse on Stanley Street. The Luk Yu is a venerable institution that opened in 1925, and which still clings to its art-deco décor in a charming fashion. The waiters are gruff old men in white mandarin jackets, and the tea is divine. Service is famously brusque: dining here is considered a Hong Kong privilege, and no staff member is about to pander to your fancy. Unfortunately, the fact that the ground floor has been discovered by Japanese tourists, and the upper floors are patronised by well-heeled locals, means that the Luk Yu’s prices are pretty steep.

We committed the cardinal sin of sitting down, sipping at the tea, checking out the prices, and then leaving. Yes, that’s right – we walked out of an institution that was busily turning punters away because it was too popular to accommodate all the yum cha hopefuls. Nearly every table was marked with a scrap of white paper stuck in a teapot to indicate its ‘Reserved’ status.

The only blessing was that the waiters were so stunned that anyone would leave the Luk Yu without eating, that they just gaped - fish-mouthed - as we walked away.

Attempt two followed close on the heels of the Luk Yu: we walked to City Hall and filed upstairs to the well-known yum cha establishment there. We were on familiar turf: bright chandeliers and oodles of gold. Unfortunately, half of Hong Kong was there, spilling down corridors and staircases in manic, snaking queues. Prices looked scary, and the wait interminable, so we left empty-stomached and down-at-heart.

Attempt three was pure cheap-skaters’ gold. It was our final day in Hong Kong, and we traipsed down to a yum cha establishment on the Tsim Sha Tsui side of the city looking for a bite. We asked for a price list before entering, and saw that (relative to our small budget) prices were yet again high.

But what’s this?

Super discount from 2.30 pm to 5.00pm? Bring it on! See you at 2.30pm sharp. Timing was TIGHT: we had to be back at the guesthouse by 3.15pm to collect our bags and board a bus for the airport.

But this was yum cha – on special – so sacrifices would be made, and the stress of tight timing endured.

Verdict? Very, very good indeed. Chickens' feet with preserved soya bean, siu mai, turnip cake, fish maw and chicken fillet wrapped in bean-curd skin, char siu bao, gow gee – just delicious!

And to add that hint of local colour we’d come in search of, I noted that plenty of Hong Kong residents turned up at 2.30pm sharp just like us. Maybe there were some fellow cheapskates living here after all.

Posted by Tiffany on May 8, 2005 05:54 PM
Category: Food - the weird, the wonderful, the just plain tasty, Hong Kong
Comments

Hey Tiffany,
I am sitting here in a hotel in HK on my very first OS trip from Australia and i just found your site from your hairdressing story, (I googled Hairdressers Pouch for work)
I have to say i am absolutly in love with your style
I haven't seen the fonzies chips but i did find Walls Icecream (Pauls) and Imported Australian Milk in the supermarket. I am taking home a 20 cent piece. Since you have already left i hope you went to Sham Shui Po, I am here to get fabric but there are amazing fashion wholesalers. I am here for three more days can you please advise me on anything i should do before i leave.
Thanks Bianca
Have a fantastic time on the rest of your journey.

Posted by: Bianca on May 9, 2005 02:58 AM

Hey Bianca!

So happy to hear you're enjoying Hong Kong (it is such a fantastic, vibe-y place, isn't it?)

Hmmm ... stuff to do. I won't mention the Peak and all the usual tourist stuff, but here are my off-the-cuff suggestions:

*For free stuff, do check out the INSANE outdoor escalator that runs up the incline to Midlevels on Hong Kong Island. I can never get over the fact that they have truly installed this thing outdoors to ferry workers down to the city in the am and back up to their homes at night. There are supermarkets up here in the residential area that have little travelator mechanical trolley-lifters to take your trolley from one floor up to the next, because the shops are situated on the steep hill and are cramped for space. Very kooky!

*If you're in the mood for pain and/or a fun taste of locals' HK, then get yourself along to a foot massage place, take off your socks and relax. Try to pick the most local-oriented, divey-looking, un-touristed place you can find for cheaper prices and more intriguing companions (like old men snoring their lungs out in the chair opposite you). With a hot beverage in hand - like heated sugarcane juice - this is an experience and a half. It's not for the faint-of-heart though: they REALLY pummel your feet 'til you're begging for mercy.

*For shopping, in addition to the usual suspects (including the HIGHLY addictive Japanese chain 'MUJI' - branches everywhere), get along to the canto-design store called 'G.O.D.' (stands for 'goods of desire' in English and has an auspicious sound when said in Chinese). GOD sells all sorts of gorgeous design-y homewares (a bit like Ikea, but much more unusual, and with a Cantonese flavour). There are several locations, but we favoured the shop in Causeway Bay - it's in a street just next to the famed 'Times Square' shopping plaza.

Enjoy!

Posted by: Tiffany on May 9, 2005 06:01 PM
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